Testimonies File One: PFF Investigation Day One: 10 AM, arrived at the Wylie House. Victorian, pockmarked like a killing moon with dimpled limestone and windows. Didn't like the look of the place.. looked like it was filled to the brim with secrets, more secrets than I cared to know. Still, I'm light on dough, can't complain about a paying job. Following are notes from today's interviews. Spooks did not want to open up to me. I suspect some of them were misinforming me. If I want to crack this case soon, I may need some outside help to crack these spooks. Madame Z Real Name: Unknown. Brushed off my question with a comment about truth being in the soul. Didn't press it. She's the boss. First Impressions: Hard to tell. One moment she has a thousand yard stare, the kind that makes you wonder if her mind took a permanent vacation while she talks about cosmic echoes. The next moment she was asking me about the World Cup. Nice-looking dame but definitely not my type. Previous cases to the contrary, I'm not a spiritual kinda guy. Her Story: Z says five of the ghosts – one, Stanley, doesn't "live" at Wylie – were excited all that day. Couldn't wait for opportunity to connect with people, all but Mr. Emerson who seemed to be getting second thoughts, had been irritable. Explained that all ghosts interfaced with computer directly, otherwise they stayed solid. Can't walk through walls. Could pick up plates and silverware, can open doors, but nothing much heavier. Z said she doesn't go up to the second floor except to use the bathroom, some sort of deal she made with them a while ago. Thought all the ghosts (minus Stanley) were upstairs, hadn't seem them for an hour. Stanley came over half an hour before KH was supposed to come and chatted with Z. Didn't know spooks could stay outside in the daylight, but Z says they have mystical powers man was not meant to know, etc. She remembers: Was outside with Stanley when neighbor, Emma Wickerson, came over. Emma was a dame looking for trouble. Apparently, she'd reported the ghosts for "making faces" about a month ago and now that there was a real spook in plain view, she wasn't about to let him get away without a tongue lashing. Stanley headed Emma off at the head of the driveway and talked to her out of earshot. Z heard a smash and ran into the house. From the parlor, she could see cutlery and dishes on her bedroom floor. She got closer, saw that it said "DIE Z." Remembers screaming. All spirits came running. Thinks the order was: Emerson, Stanley from outside, Nick & Jasmine together, Samuel, then the Dutchess. Emerson entered from the north. The rest came from the west or south. All of them seemed shocked by the message. Z felt faint and collapsed. Stanley carried her into the parlor while the rest of the spooks babbled. KH came in and yelled at everyone to shut up. Z told what happened. Jack Brown, Z's tenant, showed up during Z's recitation followed shortly thereafter by Emma, who started screaming about how the ghosts were going to murder them all in their sleep. Eventually, Jack calmed Emma down and walked her outside. Z noticed that Stanley had already left as had Samuel. The Marshals, the Duchess, and Mr. Emerson remained while KH took pictures of the threat. Z contacted me and cleaned up the dishes and cutlery. She is still shaken. Doesn't know why a spirit would send her that message. Nickolas & Jasmine Marshal Date of death: Unknown First Impressions: First ghosts. When I looked at them, a disconcerting feeling settled in my gut like a bowling ball. They were a lovey-dovey pair, always touching each other on the arm or a leg, or leaning in for a kiss. That wouldn't rattle my cage any, except that only their faces stayed in focus for any length of time. Everything else about them just started to fade out. Backgrounds: Nickolas said he was a chemical man for the big companies, back in the 40s and 50s. Other than that he was as tight as a clam. None of his past life mattered as long as he was with his "sugar plum." I have to admit, she was easy on the eyes, but I noticed that even his face went vague when he made those declarations. I wonder... Jasmine told me she was a singer, and that they had met in some nightclub, out in so and so street, some posh bigwig affair, nothing I'd heard of. She's a tough dame, you could tell when she talked about the old days. My guess is that she started off at the sort of gin joints that I frequent and picked up Nick as a way of getting as far away from lunks like me as possible. She didn't seem happy to be associating with a lowlife detective, but nobody ever is. I asked them what they were doing in small town Bay Horse. I thought I caught them giving each other a look as he said, "We just liked to get away. This was the last place we 'got away' to." I wondered about that too, but they wouldn't tell me anything else. If only I could check on their deaths. Maybe I'll head into town and look up the old newspaper records. Their story: They said that they were in their rooms most of the day. "Who needs anyone else?" Nick asked. They didn't want to be around Emerson's bellyaching. He'd recently begun talking about how he'd been the first spirit in the house, and the only one who knew anything. The site, and the house, should just be his. Jasmine muttered something about "no class." I couldn't tell if she was talking about Emerson or her dear old ball-and-chain. They claim that they heard the crash downstairs, but didn't go investigate until they heard the scream. They ran out into the hallway followed closely by Samuel. Duchess Lahmina had her door open and looked curiously out at them. She didn't follow them down right away. They both claim it must have been Emerson. An hour or so before the crash, Nickolas went downstairs to see if the computer was ready yet. Madame Z was nowhere to be found, but Mr. Emerson was there to glare at him as he came back up, and complain about noise. Their door was open, so they could have seen the pastor or Emerson go down the front staircase, but there's another staircase in the back. They claim that Emerson must have gone down that one and set up the dishes. Mr. Emerson First Impression: Since the Marshals seemed so certain he'd done it, I talked to Emerson next. Maybe I'd get lucky and close the case without having to do any more legwork. I have never met a man so bitter and angry. Everything he said was a harsh, and his form, his face... there was something about it, something that made me want to run away. I can't picture them now, but I can remember thinking that his eyes bored into you like the devil's own stare. Strange. Why would a ghost like that want to help people find friends? Background: Wouldn't give it. "You can see I'm dead, can't you?" Are all spooks this closed about their lives? Wouldn't give his name or his occupation... as far as I stand now, his past is a blank. I get the impression that he doesn't like detectives. But then, I get the impression that he doesn't like anyone. Story: He told me that after lunch (Madame Z's lunch, anyway) he ordered all the ghosts up to their rooms. Interesting that the Marshals never mentioned that. He told me that he didn't want them to somehow break that "contraption" near the stairs again. I assume he means the servers. I'll have to ask Z if there'd been server problems. Maybe our poltergeist tried to be subtle and didn't get what he wanted so he had to resort to bald threats. Mr. Emerson told me that he needed to be doing good work again, that's why he wants to help the users of PFF. Can't do that if that contraption is broken. He tried to get them all to stay, but they are all "a bunch of fussy busybodies" and he had to glare at Nickolas and Jasmine as they both went downstairs. Lahmina too, as she went to the bathroom to "freshen up." He laughed at that, a bitter lemon sound poured over ice. "She makes a show of that, but she's a ghost. Bet she won't tell you that, but she does. What's there to make up? No one can see her face anyway, even if she could. Shouldn't trust people that won't show their faces." Emerson can see down the entire hallway, so nobody could go downstairs without him noticing. Nickolas went downstairs as did Jasmine later. Lahmina might have, after she was done in the bathroom. He was too busy grumbling at Jasmine as he came back up to be sure. They were all back in their rooms when he heard the crash, he knew that. Duchess Lahmina First Impressions: Lahmina nearly buried me under her gift of gab. I could hardly get a word in edgewise but I hardly needed to, since the dame spilled her guts like she was in the informant Olympics. If Nick and Jasmine were just a little hard to see, this broad was practically a polar bear in a snowstorm, and I was buried under that snowstorm of words. But can I trust them? Background: She ain't no duchess, not really. She told me she was a movie star, cut down in her prime. An actress. Hmm, no one I'd heard of, but I was never one for the picture shows. I like my entertainment live and seen through the bottom of a bottle for preference. Her Story: This wasn't so much an interview as it was an accusation session. She ended up accusing every other ghost. Mr. Emerson: He's got those shifty eyes. No one with those eyes could ever be trustworthy. She was sure that he'd threaten someone. She said she knew some things about HIM, but she wasn't one to gossip. Right. She looked a little scared when she mentioned the things she knew about him. Is he keeping her quiet somehow or is he just that scary? Having seen those eyes of his, maybe it's both. Samuel: He was next. No one that quiet and holy could be a spirit. He must be faking it. What if he was a killer? That thought scared her until I reminded her that she was already dead. Stanley: She doesn't trust anybody who hides his face. I figured it was wiser to just nod. Nickolas and Jasmine: That's where she said something interesting. She was in her room, waiting for the moment of connection ("I know I would have helped my fans lead rewarding lives, so that must be my calling now!") when she heard them raise their voices. They were arguing about something, but of course Lahmina didn't listen in until Jasmine yelled “It's about HER again! It is, isn't it?” The door flew open and she peeked out to see Nickolas's retreating back. He went downstairs. She closed the door, and about half an hour to an hour later she heard the crash. She told me that she didn't go downstairs until she heard the scream. "Mortals are so clumsy." When she went to investigate, both Jasmine and Nickolas were exiting their room. Nickolas must have come back upstairs. Doesn't remember anything else that was important. Stanley First Impressions: It took me a long time to sniff out this hidden ghost. He doesn't live at the Wylie house, and none of the others seem to know exactly where he lives, and he wouldn't tell me. I only got the interview because I saw him wandering around outside the house. I think he almost ran. What a strange ghost... I'm a traditionalist at heart, but even I don't think a spook absolutely has to wear a sheet. Background: Stanley says that he was a war hero back in the Civil War. There were a bunch of battles in eastern MO, and he took part on the Union side, though he seemed a little confused about when and where exactly he fought. He wears a sheet because of the terrible wounds he took. Then he asked me if dames like battlefield scars. I didn't feel like swapping scar stories, so I let the question slide. His Story: Claims he was sitting on the front stoop with Z waiting for KH for about fifteen minutes before Emma strolled over and started yelling at him for making faces at her. How she could tell underneath that sheet, I don't want to speculate. Z started getting upset, so Stanley took Emma aside and tried to calm her down. Says it was only right for a soldier to sacrifice himself for a lady. Wasn't facing the building, so didn't see when Z headed in after the crash. When Z screamed, Stanley turned and ran inside, leaving Emma standing at the head of the driveway. When Stanley got there, Emerson was already there and the Marshals and pastor were coming down the stairs. The Duchess entered soon after. He thought that Jasmine might have been giving Nickolas an angry look. Mr. Emerson was giving EVERYONE an evil look. But then, does he have any other kinds? He has the look of a bottle covey I knew whenever he was off the sauce. Sort of haunted and angry and a good reason to steer clear of his side of the street. Then they all gathered in the parlor at the front of the house. While he was "ministering" Z, he noticed Samuel heading to the back of the house but got distracted by KH, then Jack, then Emma coming in one after the other. Says he left right after because he was worried that Z would call the police. What sort of spook is worried about the police? I wonder... Samuel First Impressions: A very sad ghost. Was he that broken down in life? I could see pain in him, pain that cut down to the bone, if he had bones. Parts of him were always fading out of existence like a bad-news thunderstorm rolling across him. He seemed like a straight up guy, too. Background: Samuel is very tight-lipped, which is par for the course. He was a preacher in the local church, many years ago. He wouldn't tell me anything else, except that he wants to help people. He's going to be a tough nut to crack, if he knows anything at all. I have my doubts. Story: Samuel says that he was in his room all day, praying. He would not say what for. He thought he heard arguing, and doors opening and closing, some time before the crash of a broken plate. That could not rouse him from his prayer, but Madame Z's scream could. He followed the others down, and didn't see anything unusual other than the message. He told me it made him sad to know that anyone could write something like that. Emma Wickerson First Impressions: Quite the harpy. Wouldn't stop complaining about the ghosts. According to her, they keep her up at night making faces, crush her flowers, case her goiter to flare up, suppress her appetite, and cause drafts. There was probably more, but I was thinking longingly about the bottle I had back at the office. Gotta solve the case first... Background: Widow, lives in the house next to Z. House has always had reputation for being haunted, but she didn't notice anything until Z moved in about 5 years ago. Since then, she's had problems off and on. Story: Eventually got her to start complaining about Friday specifically. Saw one of her "faces" downstairs and headed over to complain. Saw Stanley and cornered him and Z. Stanley took her aside. She says he stuttered. I didn't notice any stuttering, so it was probably nerves. What did he have to be nervous about? Saw Z head into the house over Stanley's shoulder. Didn't hear a crash, but she's mostly deaf and compensates for it with a bullhorn of a voice. I'm surprised that Stanley could it hear over her. Stood yelling at them a little after habit and then started in after them when KH pulled up in front of the house. KH pushed past her and headed inside. Before she could get over the righteous indignation from that, Jack walked up from the street and asked her what was going on. Says Jack was red-faced, like he was angry, although he seems to have calmed down by the time Z noticed him. Emma followed Jack into the house, screaming the story to him all the way. Jack took her outside when she threatened to call the police and promised to do something about the ghosts if she'd just give Z a break. Jack Brown First Impressions: The first really friendly, normal person of the bunch. Ran into him in town, near a little antique store and got the interview out of the way. Background: Says that he's been living at Z's for almost a month now. He's always been interested in spooks so when his antique business brought him to the area, he asked if he could rent a room at her "haunted house." Takes all kinds. Story: Not much to tell. Was in town looking for antiques all day. Got back and found Emma yelling outside, then noticed people clustered in the parlor. Says he was feeling good about some little purchase he'd made. Followed KH inside with Emma following him. Looked around some to figure out what was going on and then took Emma outside so that Z could relax. Says that he doesn't recall Emma saying that she'd call the police, but she does threaten that a lot. Promised to do something about the ghosts to calm her down. He says that he's a little nervous living in a house with a poltergeist, but as long as there's not any actual violence he's going to stay around. He has the feeling that Z needs his money and he likes her. "KH" Couldn't get ahold of KH. Z says that he lives several towns away and only comes into town when she has problems. Didn't answer his phone or email. I'll try again soon. Other notes Got a copy of the floorplan of Wylie House in town. I've marked out where everyone stays so that I can keep track of who saw what.