It was getting dark when they arrived back on Maple St. Bobby parked 
the van in the middle of the block and they walked down towards the 
big house.

Darien had his flash light from that afternoon, but he wasn't looking 
forward to spending more time inside the house.

Bobby unlocked the front door, then relocked it behind them. 

"Were are going to wait for him?"

"I think the second floor, better view of the approach to the house."
Bobby was thinking strategically.

Darien had been hoping for the ground floor. Most of the ghost 
activity had all happened on the upper floors. He rolled his eyes and 
sighed but followed Hobbes up the stairs. He was used to the creaking 
step now, so he didn't jump when Bobby stepped on it. 

He followed Bobby into the first bedroom on the second floor then 
closed door behind them. Bobby moved to the window to check the view 
of the front walk and driveway. He turned off his flashlight so his 
eyes would adjust to the darkness. 

Darien sighed and also turned his flashlight off, after taking up 
position beside Bobby near the window. 

Darien slumped against the wall beside the window. Letting Bobby 
watch for the guy they were expecting to return to the scene of the 
crime. 

He was more uneasy now, than he had been earlier in the day. He kept 
scanning the room and doorway, looking for the arrival of one of the 
ghosts that haunted the house. 

"You know I saw a ghost once before."

"Hobbes I don't want to hear about it." Darien complained.

"Before today I mean. Our forth grade class took a trip to this 
historic house in New York it was the house the Major had once lived 
in before an official residence was built for him. We were waiting 
outside for the people that were going to give us the tour."

Darien was listening, if his partner had been a kid at the time it 
couldn't be to awful of a story. 

" So we were waiting and kidding around with each other pushing and 
shoving. Then one of the girls at the front of the line pointed to a 
lady on the balcony. Our teacher spoke to her and asked to be allowed 
inside. She just kind of stood there looking off down the street like 
we weren't even there. Then she was gone, poof, just like that."

"She disappeared?" Darien asked. 

"Yeah, it was weird, I thought I must have blinked when she turned to 
go back inside the house. But other kids saw it too. Or didn't see 
it, which ever." Bobby nodded, he was still watching out the window 
as he told the story.

"Where you scared?" 

"No, we didn't know she was a ghost until later. When the ladies 
finally did open up the house for us to go inside. Our teacher asked 
her about the other lady,the one dressed in period costume. But she 
said they didn't wear period dresses,that she must have seen 
Katherine."

"Who was Katherine?"

"She's one of our resident ghosts, but she never does much but walk 
the hall on the second flood and look out the window towards the 
harbor. Says the lady like it was no big deal. Our teacher turned 
pale and had to sit down. We still took the tour of the house, but I 
think we were the last forth grade class that ever did."
Bobby glanced at his partner for a second. 

There was a loud clap of thunder just as Bobby finished his story. 

"Oh great just what we needed, more atmosphere." Darien pushed away 
from the wall and looked out the window to see rain pouring down in 
sheets. 

"You still think he'll come in this?" 

"We have to stake the place out, orders." Bobby sighed. 

"Fine," Darien glared at his friend. There was a flash of lighting 
and another clap of thunder. The lighting caught Darien off guard and 
he jumped. 

" You might want to move away from the window there Fawkes." Bobby 
suggested.

"Don't worry." Darien was already back stepping away from dark pane.
"This is just like every bad horror movie I ever saw." 

" I don't know there use to be some good ones every once in a while."
Bobby tried to argue with his partner, just to get his mind off their 
situation.

"Yeah, name one good horror movie made since Hitchcock died."
Darien challenged.

"He wasn't horror he was suspense." Bobby corrected. 

"Okay but aside from the first Friday the Thirteenth movie I don't 
think there were any good ones since they started filming them in 
color." Darien argued.

"What about The Exorcist, or The Shining those were both intense 
films."

"The Shining maybe, but the special effects were so fake in Exorcist 
come on?"

Bobby kept checking out the window every minute while he trained half 
his attention on Darien and the topic. 
" You don't like fake special effect, okay then how about Nightmare 
on Elm Street the first one was damn scary." 

"Yeah I'll give you that, but the sequels were lame."

There was another bright flash of lighting outside, then a rumble of 
thunder. It sounded like it was directly above the house. Darien 
rolled his shoulders, in an effort to ease some of the tenseness he 
felt in his current surroundings.

"I use to stay up and watch the Horror movie every Friday night when 
I was a kid." Darien added, Kevin use to say I was just wasting my 
time with such obviously fake entertainment. But I remember Children 
of the Corn scared the pants off of me when I was ten or eleven."

"I don't know that one, there is a movie I saw on leave one time 
called The Hitcher with that German actor Rutger Hauer had me on the 
edge of my seat just about the entire time." Bobby confessed. 

"Oh yeah, I know that one it was wild, torn that lady in half with 
those trucks. I saw it twice the summer it was out." Darien sounded 
excited about finally really agreeing with his partner about a scary 
movie. 

Just as Darien finally got involved in the argument the door to their 
room slammed shut. Bobby moved into a defensive stance, taking 
several steps into the middle of the room. Darien startled, turning 
to confront what ever was in the room with them.

"You feel that Partner?" Bobby asked as a cold swirl of air spread 
through the room.

"Yeah, but I don't see anything." Darien quicksilvered just his eyes 
to search for any sign of spirts. 

"I'd bet Claire's fancy detector would be going off the chats again." 
Bobby continued to search the room for any sign of a ghost. 

They heard heavy footsteps climbing the stairs, like a man wearing 
boots was coming up to the second floor.
"Did you miss Richard?" Darien whispered.

"No, unless he's got a entrance other than the front door." Bobby was 
sure he
hadn't missed anyone arriving at the house from the outside. 

Darien eased open the door to the room they were in, and peaked out 
into the
dark hall. The foot steps on the stairs were nearly to the top, he 
saw a grey
form pause at the landing then move past to the next flight of stairs 
to the 
third floor. Bobby was leaning over his partner, peering into the 
darkness at
the weird sight before them. A man in a long coat that billowed 
around him 
as he moved was walking past. His face was dark, the place where his 
eyes
would be were darker still. In his hand he carried a dueling pistol 

"Philip Mills." Bobby whispered. 
Darien clapped a hand over Bobby's mouth, to keep him from saying 
anything
more and giving them away. The ghost continued on up the second 
flight of
stairs they heard him walk to the end of the hall then the sound of a 
muffled 
gun shot.

"I thought he killed his wife and her lover." Darien commented.

Bobby shrugged, "Maybe he strangled her?"

The storm outside was at full force, lighting flashing three times 
right in a row
and thunder booming loud in their ears. Bobby turned back to the 
window to
check for any sign of Richard's arrival. Darien closed the door to 
their room,
and sighed. 

" Great what's going to happen next?"

Just as he asked there was the sound of a wolf howling over the 
storm. 

"You had to ask?" Bobby scolded him. 

There was a cold chill in the room, and then the grey mist began to 
gather on 
the far side of the room. 

Darien quicksilvered his eyes, and he saw the grey mist take shape 
like a wolf
again. "He's ba ack." Darien said like the little girl from 
Poltergeist. 

There was growling and a glow from the beats eyes. 

"I see it this time, it's a wolf right?" Bobby moved in beside Darien.

"Yeah, each time it shows up it seems a little more solid." Darien 
let the quicksilver
flow and moved towards wolf. 
" I've had just about enough of you get out of here." He yelled as he 
moved towards
the grey growling creature. 

It snarled and lunged towards Bobby and Darien tried to grab it and 
again as soon
as he attempted to touch the ghost it vanished. 

They heard noise down stairs again, the rain pouring in threw the 
front door.
But when they moved to the landing to check on the noise there was no 
sign
of any ghosts. Richard was standing in the middle of the foyer, 
shaking off the
rain from his jacket and folding an umbrella. 

Bobby put out his arm to prevent Darien from moving further into the 
hall.
He pushed his partner back towards the bedroom, they were going to 
jump him as soon as he moved toward the room were the ladies were 
trapped.

"You want me to go see through again?" Darien whispered. 

"Yeah, just let him get up here and I'll grab him. You can be there 
in case he 
tries anything."

Richard Mills pulled off his wet jacket and hung it in the foyer. He 
picked up
a bag from the floor and moved towards the stairs, a small flash 
light in one
hand. 

Darien and Bobby where waiting for him on the second floor. As soon 
as he
turned towards the next flight of stairs Bobby stepped out gun drawn 
flashlight
pointed at his face. 

"Freeze Mills you are under arrest." Bobby barked in his best Marine 
Corps voice.

"NO! NOOO! I won't let you take me." He threw his bag at Bobby and 
ran up the
stairs Darien chased him and grabbed hold of him half way up the 
stairs. 

"Stop man, you're caught." Darien took hold of Richard's collar in 
one hand and 
wrenched an arm behind his back with the other. 

"No, no I won't go back." Richard sobbed and tried to break free. He 
managed to 
push Darien off balance and raced up the stairs. Bobby chased after 
him and
Darien unquicksilvered and followed after regaining his feet. 

Richard was running towards the secret room, but he was brought up 
short by
the lady ghost appearing in front of him. She moaned at him 
"No more, no more." 

Richard was startled by her appearance and slowed in his head long 
flight just
long enough for Bobby and Darien to catch up to him. 
"Give up Mills, Federal Agent." Bobby grabbed hold of the frightened 
man and
slapped his hands cuffs on his wrists. 

The lady ghost faded out of sight as all three men stared at the spot 
she had been.

"Let's get out of here before anything else happens." Darien helped 
Bobby
walk their prisoner back down the stairs. 

"I told you she was trying to help before. That proved it." Bobby 
told his 
Partner. 

"Yeah, I guess she was." Darien nodded, "But I still don't like this 
house."

"You take him out to the van. I'll lock up." Bobby turned Mills over 
to Darien.
He draped the man's jacket over his shoulders and handed the umbrella 
to
his partner. 

Darien gave Mills a look like he was in no mood for any trouble and 
escorted him
out the door. 

Bobby checked for the correct key, then before he closed the door, he 
shown
his flash light up the stairs towards the landing. 
"Thanks for your help." He said into the darkness, hoping she was 
still around to hear
him.

He closed and locked the door.

He loped out to the van and joined Darien inside. 
" I'm glad that's over with." Bobby wiped the rain out of his eyes 
and turned 
on the ignition. 

"You can say that again." Darien exhaled and turned up the heat on 
the dashboard.

"Still aside from that wolf thing none of the ghosts meant us harm." 

"What do you think that wolf thing was anyway, I don't remember you 
saying anything
about a wolf in the history of the house." Darien asked rubbing his 
hands together
over the heating vent.

"Don't know my friend and I don't think we ever will." Bobby put 
Golda into drive 
and headed for the Agency. 

end