FILE 23: THE PAINTING PART 3

They were silent after my inquiry. I moaned at their reluctance. Come on, there's money at stake. I smiled enticingly at the woman. "Come on, tell me. If you are innocent and there's something else causing the disturbance, I can get rid of it, I promise you."

She blinked in amazement at my approach. [Well, uh, it's not something we're supposed to speak off—]

[What are you doing to my wife!] The husband growled angrily. What a nuisance. I rubbed a hand through my hair as I replied, "Nothing. I'm just asking her a question as it's my job."

Before he could retort, Lea and Gene appeared behind me, looking curious. "Are you talking to someone, Nathan?" Lea asked questioningly. The distraction was enough to let them quickly vanish, leaving me behind frustrated.

"I was, but you ruined it. Can I have something to eat, Gene? I'm hungry all of the sudden," I griped. Lea looked upset as we returned to the kitchen. "Not my fault," she muttered defensively.

Yeah it was. 

"I'm sorry to inform you, but you have two sets of supernatural beings haunting your home," I informed Gene. She looked surprised while chopping spring onions. "Two? How do you know?"

"The ghost family I was speaking to hinted at it. Apparently they weren't the ones haunting you, but something else. Even if they came with your painting, they're not causing havoc."

"Did they tell you what it is?" she implored eagerly as she poured several vegetables into a pot. 

"No, I got interrupted by some woman before they could tell me," I responded spitefully. Lea grimaced as she uttered, "I said it's not my fault you bastard."

Gene smiled at our bickering. "I'm sorry Nathan. To make it up to you, I'll pay extra." More money? "I won two tickets for a two week stay at a Hotel, so to repay you, you can have them," she offered generously.

My happiness deflated like a popped balloon while Lea perked up. "Yeah, thanks," I produced a fake smile as she happily cooked.

It happened as we finished our dinner of bibimbap, a South Korean dish. Lea couldn't use her chopsticks properly yet so was given a fork instead. 

 *

The Haledon family watched the three relish their dinner. [Why can't we tell them, Mommy?] Timothy Haledon asked curiously. She shakes her head while the father, Lukas, replies darkly, [This isn't safe for us. He'll find out, so it's better to stay out of it.]

[But Daddy, what if they think it's us and try to harm us instead?] Frederick Haledon, the twin brother implored fearfully.

[Stay out of sight until they leave. That's all we can do for now,] Veronica responded. [So we can't even tell them it's our murderer who is the culprit?]

*

While the girls chatted happily about girl nonsense, I triggered my SENSE and listened sharply for anything, and it was a bull's eye. I heard the family's entire conversation, and smiled.

"What are you so thrilled about, Nathan?" Lea questioned. I leaned back in my chair. "I just discovered some good news, that's all," I replied evasively. 

"About what? All we talked about was her house."

I didn't acknowledge her and remained silent, infuriating her. "Want us to help you wash the dishes?" I tactfully ignored the fuming blonde.

"That would be great, thank you," Gene said thankfully. We were helping her by the sink when the ghost struck. We didn't notice at first, not even me since I had none of my skills active.

Lea dried the dishes just as Gene placed them back in the cupboards while I doused them. Gene stopped when returning the plates, looking baffled.

"Something wrong, Gene?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered slowly. "Nathan, you did wash the plates, correct?" I didn't grasp what she meant. I had thoroughly washed them, hadn't I?

"Obviously I did." I looked at Lea for support, "you would have noticed that they were dirty," I said. 

Lea frowned as she nodded, "He's right. There wasn't a speck of dirt on them." Gene appeared distressed. "In that case, it's starting." I instinctively initiated my SENSE and tried to pinpoint the source of mischief.

"Oh no!" cried Lea. I twisted back to the women. Dismayed, we stared at the floor. Mud and spoiled food were dumped everywhere. I gagged at the stinky smell. "How vulgar," I croaked. 

"We should clean this up. The smell is horrid. Has the spectre done this before?" Lea asked in disgust. 

"No, never. Not even when the priest was here did he do something like this." Gene held her nose between her fingers.

"Regardless, let's clean this up and rid the place of the stench. I can barely endure it," I stifled my nausea. Lea and I followed Gene eagerly to her closet and we wiped the place as fast as we could.

We sprayed air fresheners and opened the doors to allow the breeze in. We inhaled sharply when the wind blew inside. Despite returning the cleaning equipment, we threw away the mops. 

As we relaxed, the windows slammed shut, filling the house with a dank smell once again. Lea sprang up and tried her best to force the windows open, but to no avail. A realisation hit her, and she dashed to the door, only to find it unable to open.

"We're stuck in the house. Now what do we do? Nathan, since you are the boss, you take the lead." She just delegated all responsibility to me while taking over the discussion earlier.

I rendered a mocking salute. "Will do. To begin with, I must know what we are dealing with, so I can exact revenge—I mean help it properly crossover."

"You meant revenge. I'm certain I heard revenge," Lea grumbled.

"It's your imagination. Once I comprehend what it is, I'll require your help with the exorcism," I went on blandly.

"And then it will be completely over?" Gene inquired anxiously. I bestowed her my enticing smile, making Lea scowl. "I promise."