“Is that dependent on Connor getting a place?” Sunny demanded.
“No.” Connor and Michelle swapped glances, and Michelle’s lips pursed. There was a secret between them. My gaze narrowed as I let the silence roll. Connor seemed to be struggling with a matter.
“Other than the reasons that are publicly known for my quitting The Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire, there was something nobody knew. Damon, my co-presenter, was messing with dark shit. It was plenty of reason to quit, and I’d already handed in my notice before the blow-up. The reason it escalated to the point where people could film it was that Damon risked my safety, and I caught an attachment.
“For years, I’ve had a dark entity following me and harming me. Damon caused that. Finally, someone recommended Michelle to me—and I can’t say how many times I’ve been blessed or exorcised and it didn’t work. I was resigned to living in hell for the rest of my life, but Michelle succeeded where everyone else failed. For the last twelve months, I’ve been free to recover my health and live again.
“I’d love to join your team, but I don’t want anyone to feel pressured. You guys do good work. You’re straight up and don’t mess around with someone’s safety. I want to work for a team like that, and I’m happy to follow behind you and Jack. Callie, I just want to do the job I love,” Connor said honestly.
Michelle caught my eye and nodded. “There’s also another reason I brought Connor. The demon that attached to him left Connor with the ability to sense demons.”
Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather. “What?”
“Connor developed a sensitivity to demonic presences. And Callie, when you give birth, you’ll want time with the baby. If you had another lead investigator, it would allow you to relax. You’ve told me how stressed you’ve been about placing everything on Jack’s shoulders, and Sunny doesn’t want to be Jack’s counterpart. Also, I’ve noticed how stretched you are during investigations. You need more people,” Michelle said logically.
“Honestly, babe, it’s not a bad idea as long as Connor realises this isn’t his show; it’s yours. You make the decisions, not him. He’s a small cog in a large wheel,” Sunny said.
“You’re right. And we could have used three teams here. It’s huge, and we’ve several more coming up like this, and then there’s New Orleans; that’s a fortnight investigation. Connor, if you don’t mind, I’ll offer you a temporary contract. Let’s see how we all get along for six months before making it permanent. Michelle, you didn’t join us for a reason last time. Why now?” I asked.
“Because you’re heading into more dangerous situations, like tonight. Out of your last ten investigations, you’ve called me seven times. That’s a lot, Callie. It would make sense for me to come on board. I can bless the equipment before the start and also cleanse it afterwards. There’s a lot I can do, including helping Harry with research,” Michelle stated. “My joining is separate from Connor.”
“Okay.”
“The only thing I will say is if I get a call for an exorcism, I will attend it, but not at the risk of endangering everyone here. I can schedule exorcisms around the investigations you do.Callum and Hugo have agreed to help me if I can’t get through to someone. That takes a weight off my shoulders,” Michelle added.
“I’ll have the contract sent to you. Welcome aboard, both of you. We’ve two spare bedrooms on the tour bus; you and Connor can pick which one is yours. I know you’re informed about how we live, are you, Connor?”
“Yeah, and trust me, this is better than a lot of hotel rooms I’ve stayed in,” Connor said with a self-deprecating grin.
“It’s something,” I agreed. “The demon we’ve got here. Have you seen the footage from Staci and Grace?”
“I watched on my phone, as did Hugo,” Callum replied.
“I’ve seen it, but Connor hasn’t,” Michelle replied.
“Phil, can you play it again, so everyone has it refreshed?” I asked, and Phil nodded. He linked his laptop to the TV, and we all turned to watch.
As Staci mentioned, the lights went out, Phil and Callum stiffened, and Hugo yelled, “Pause that!”
Phil had already hit the button, and I gazed at the screen, trying to determine what they’d seen. When I spotted it, I let out a hissing breath.
“What?” Levi demanded, frowning.
Phil got up and pointed to a pair of red glowing eyes peering through one of the tinted windows.
“What the fuck!” Levi exclaimed as the eyes were just above his shoulder in the footage. He’d been sitting next to Grace.
“I thought the demon was contained in cellblock five!” Callum exclaimed.
“That’s what they said,” I replied, shocked at the image. I couldn’t make anything else out but those eyes.
“Press play. Let’s see how long they’re there,” Sunny muttered with a dark frown.
The eyes stayed for a few seconds and then blinked out abruptly.
“That’s not confined. It’s free,” Hugo said.
Something niggled at my memory. “The spirit called Dutch, he warned us to leave and run. Dutch said we’d awakenedhimin cellblock eight.”
