Deadly Chaos by Annette Brownlee Read Free Book Online Page B

it would be a big deal.
    Linda placed her recording device and EMF monitor on the table. They’d found electromagnetic frequencies in all the expected places - around the television, near the outlets, and it had presented a small blip around the rocking chair. Nothing too notable but worthy of attention. From the positioning of their bodies, he could tell Linda was directing her attention on the rocking chair. She must have sensed something. The family that lived here said the chair moved by itself sometimes. They also said the house smelled like cigar smoke occasionally and that the doors opened and closed on their own. He’d debunked the doors closing. The house was old. Simply standing in the right place caused the floor boards to bend and pop. This fluctuation made the doors close and open. It might not be the explanation but it was one possibility. The cigar smoke had been easy to find a logical cause for as well. The next door neighbor was a grizzly old man who smoked when he couldn’t sleep. He smoked outside so the smell and a well-timed breeze brought the smoke up into the attic. It then vented through the house. Dakota was pretty sure all of the family’s paranormal events were explainable. The rocking chair was probably just being activated by floorboards again or a draft. If the women didn’t find anything, he’d check it out when he went back inside.
    He watched for a few seconds, stretched, yawned, unscrewed a bottle of water and had taken a sip when his heart plummeted into his stomach. The rocking chair was moving by itself. Shit. Every instinct wanted to rush inside and make sure the women were safe. But if he barged in while they were communicating and scared it away, Linda would have his hide. So he watched - his legs tense and ready to run into the home if they needed him.
    He glanced at the EMF recorder. Nothing. Not a blip. If the spirit was communicating with them, it wasn't using electromagnetic frequencies. Maybe they'd get something on the recorder. He saw Linda wave her hands in the air. She started talking. He knew the words by heart. She was cleansing the chair. Dakota relaxed. A residual haunt. Usually they had to ask the clients permission to cleanse any belongings or their space if they had residual spirit energy attached to it. These people had given their permission outright. They were scared. He supposed most folks would be if their furniture moved on its own, even if there was a logical explanation for it. The owner of that antique rocking chair must have enjoyed it and left some of their energy behind when they passed. It happened more often than people realized - especially in Colorado where the granite and quartz in the ground held onto energy like a superpowerful battery. He figured that’s why the Stanley Hotel in Estes was so haunted. It sat on a huge formation of granite. Every single person who stayed at the Stanley since it opened in 1909 left part of themselves there, stored deep in the stone and destined to become part of the hotel’s lore.
    Dakota sat back, propped his feet up on the table, closed his eyes and relaxed. The women would likely be out in a few minutes and they could call it a night. Good thing. He was tired.
    "Dakota," the walkie beeped. "Dakota, get in here."
    Breathy and excited, Sheila’s voice sent a warning through his body. Something was wrong. “Shit.”In a flash Dakota was out of the van and tearing through the front door. “What’s up? What’s the matter?"
    “Nothing’s the matter,” Sheila laughed. She had a pleased with herself look on her face that never failed to tick him off.
    "She's on her way."
    "Who?"
    “Sheila has just had a vision,” Kat announced.
    Linda lit a bundle of sage. She was going to cleanse the space thoroughly which meant they were going to be here a little longer than he thought. Exhausted, Dakota was more than ready to go home.
    “Our new team member is on her way," Linda said. She blew into the bundle of sage to