Jameson Clark, Esq.
"Leave..." The voice bellowed for a third time. Each time the command floated through the air, from a disembodied voice, Celine shivered. The third and final utterance was followed by a blinding flash of lightning. The thunder which followed deafened her as she fled for the darkened hallway.
As she ran across the upper landing, Celine could hear the bells of the cathedral in town chime the late hour. By her count eleven distinct tones echoed up through the valley. She reached the topmost stair as the twelfth ring reached her frightened ear. Her sweat-slicked hand gripped the ancient banister. Her foot shot out over the edge and searched for purchase on the next landing.
In no time at all Celine was on the first floor and racing for the front door. By the door stood a small table. The kind that might have held hats and gloves when the gloom enshrined house once received visitors. That was long, long ago now. No one had lived in this sepulcher for ages.
And yet. Celine saw it with her own eyes. A gold watch rested on the dust-covered table. Who had put it there? Had someone followed her inside. Impossible. She had arrived alone, conducted her investigation, and was quite certain the premises was haunted. It was time to go! The mystery of the watch must elude her, and be left to someone else to unravel.
She swung the front door open with all her might. Her left foot touched the crumbling front porch. And she paused. Someone else? Really? She was Clark Counties most celebrated spirit hunter. There was no way she was leaving without that watch!
Leaning backward, she balanced with one foot in the spectral realm and another attempting to escape to the mundane. Her right arm shot out, hovering the cool palm of her right hand above the glistening gold watch. Again she paused.
"Do it, Celine." She steeled herself. "Come on. Just grab it and let's get out of here!"
"LEAVE!" The voice boomed. The floor shook. The small table rocked and teetered.
Celine snatched at the pocket watch chain and sprang out the door and off the porch. Behind her, the front door slammed on its own.
THE END