“I was in the booth behind you yesterday when you and your friend were talking,” Bertie said. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing your story and I was hoping you’d take her advice.”
“Well, it might be a waste of time – both yours and mine – but since I’ve come this far, I suppose there’s nothing to lose by telling you.”
“We don’t judge our clients and, believe me, we’ve heard it all,” Harry said. “What is it that you need help with?”
“A ghost,” Isabel said. “The Blue Moon Ghost, to be precise.”
“The Blue Moon Ghost,” Harry repeated. “That’s a new one. I don’t think we’ve investigated one yet that actually had a name. Tell us about it.”
Isabel repeated the story she had told her friend the day before. “My friend, Sasha… the one who told me to come to you… well, she doesn’t believe in ghosts but she does think I need an explanation.”
“But I sense that you do believe,” Bertie said.
Isabel nodded. “It was a family legend, handed down through generations, as far back as my great-great
-grandmother, the gypsy. She often knew when things were going to happen. It it was something bad, she told people to be prepared. Good things she kept to herself, unless she knew the person needed something to lift his or her spirits. Some believed her and some didn’t.”
“Esp… did she also see this ghost?” Harry asked.
“According to Grandma Morey, she saw the ghost often. Her name was Maryn Stoner and… I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think it started with her. The legend actually says she communicated with it – the ghost, I mean.”
“Wow! You must have some interesting tales in your family history,” Bertie said.
Isabel laughed. “I’ve often thought quirky might be a better description… it’s certainly unusual.”
Harry was rubbing his chin. “Did any other members of the family see this ghost?”
“Grandma saw it but she never mentioned having any real connection to it, not like her grandmother Maryn did. My mother – one of her daughters – never saw it.”
“So your mother had sisters… ”
“Yes, three actually, and one brother. My mother, Daisy, was the oldest of the family.”
“Did either of them see the ghost?” Harry asked.
Isabel shook her head. “Not that I ever heard about, but… Grandma always said that perhaps it skipped a generation… or else they just wouldn’t talk about it.”
“Describe it,” Harry said. “Tell us exactly what it is you see.”
“Well, it’s like a pale blue light among the trees in the backyard… tall, maybe a bit thin. It doesn’t move about much, mostly just hovers there. Sometimes it wavers a little… or sort of fades in and out.”
“Does it have any specific shape? I mean does it resemble the shape of a human?”
“It’s hard to tell because it’s in among the trees. It could be hiding there, I suppose.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s just… out there… watching me.”
“Why do you think it’s watching you?”
