Nearly Departed, Max Schlienger [the gingerbread man read aloud txt] 📗

forward, “you’re always free to stop working for me. I certainly don’t want you to feel trapped in a situation that causes you any amount of worry.”

“Thanks,” answered Dennis. “Really, I mean that. It doesn’t solve the problem of right now, though.”

“Right now,” Harding repeated, “I would recommend that you avoid doing anything to call attention to yourself. Perhaps it would also be a good idea to stay in a hotel for some time, until Spinner loses interest in you.”

Dennis’ face twisted into a show of skepticism. “How am I supposed to explain that to Alena? She might notice if I stop coming home.”

“It’s only one idea, Dennis. I’m confident in your abilities to think of something.” Harding shifted his position on the couch, and apparently shifted gears in his head at the same time. “Incidentally, how is your friend Luke doing? I hear he wound up in some sort of trouble.”

“Yeah,” Dennis said. “He said you were going to help him out, though.”

“Oh, absolutely,” confirmed Harding with a nod. “As I mentioned to him, I should have the money in a couple of days. Really, I could stand to offer it to him now, but I’d prefer to wait until a few things come through.”

“I’m sure he understands, and I know he’ll pay you back as soon as he can.”

Harding shook his head. “Not necessary, really. If all goes well, I’ll be coming into a significant sum of money before too long.” He switched gears again, apparently ending the topic before it could be questioned further. “Now, perhaps you can tell me about this latest job of yours?”

Dennis said nothing, struggling to find a believable way of recounting his experiences from the past few days. “Well,” he said, hoping to fill the air with some semblance of an explanation, “as I said, she has a haunted chair.”

“A unique delusion, but not unheard of,” Harding replied, nodding.

Dennis kept his face as expressionless as he could. “She wants to find a way of getting her sister to leave, and my advertisement gave her the idea that I could help.”

“I was unaware that you were selling yourself as an exorcist nowadays,” Harding said with a smile. “Her sister haunts a chair, then. What do you think of the situation thus far?”

Again, Dennis tried to think of a way to continue the conversation without coming across as outright insane. “Why do you think so many people believe in ghosts, Sam?”

“Oh, more reasons than I could hope to name,” Harding replied with a warm laugh. “I suppose it’s comforting to think that our existence goes on after death, even if only as a shadow of our former selves.” He gestured across at his desk, pointing to where a framed picture stood. “The loss of a loved one can be a fairly devastating event, as well, and many people find themselves wishing for a way to keep their dearly departed in their lives.”

“What about in this case?” Dennis asked.

“Why does your client want to eliminate her sister’s ghost, you mean?” Dennis nodded. “It could be any number of things. A fantasy that has gone on too long to simply be dismissed, even as it becomes a reminder of her own mortality. A means of asserting dominance over the memory of someone perceived as a superior. Without meeting her, I’d have no way of knowing for sure.”

Dennis wondered if the older man’s last comment had been an underhanded suggestion of sorts. If it was, he chose to ignore it. “Humor me for a minute here, Sam,” he said as casually as he could. “I mean, I’m sure you’re right about one of those things. Just…” he stopped, taking a moment to choose his next words. “Well, what if there was such a thing as ghosts? How would they exist, do you think?”

Harding’s grandfatherly smile was touched by both amusement and slight concern. “I hope you’re not letting your act go to your head, Dennis.” He folded his arms and looked towards the ceiling for a moment. “Well, assuming that ghosts did exist, I suppose they’d need a source of energy to continue doing so.”

“Like what?” Dennis pressed.

“I’ve really not given it that much thought,” Harding laughed. “Perhaps the life essence of the people around them is enough to keep them sustained. Or it could be that there is some sort of ethereal energy that we, as living beings, cannot perceive or utilize.”

“So, in order to kill a ghost, so to speak,” reasoned Dennis, “you’d have to find a way of cutting off their access to that energy.”

“Looking for ideas to fuel your exorcism?”

“Something like that,” Dennis replied.

“Of course,” Harding continued, “there’s the classic assumption that a ghost remains because it has some sort of unfinished business to attend to. Perhaps the obsession in life is enough to foster a presence in death.”

Something about that statement made sense, Dennis thought, although he couldn’t think of a reason for Evy to be obsessed with an antique chair. “I guess the best way of dismissing a ghost would be to help it with that unfinished business, then.”

“A rather clichéd solution, if you ask me,” Harding replied. “However, I suppose it might be a useful avenue for you. Perhaps, after her sister is ‘dismissed,’ she might be open to the idea of talking with me.”

“Maybe,” said Dennis skeptically.

“Well, regardless, I’d like you to keep me in the loop with this, Dennis. You’re in a sensitive position, and I’d hate for you to cause this woman any emotional damage.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Also, a little applied psychology would probably work wonders for your exorcism, no?”

The statement raised an interesting idea. “Do you think that ghosts have the same psychology as humans?” Dennis considered Evy’s nonexistent memory, and wondered if the trait could be a clue.

“I’d say that they must,” replied Harding. “After all, they are the imaginings of human minds. If they weren’t...” He trailed off and shrugged. “Well, the point is moot, since ghosts are a physical impossibility.”

Dennis smiled