It was as though Jane were moving in slow motion. Or underwater. She motioned to the others, and they all turned to Tess, who could see them but could not communicate. She could not break whatever spell had fallen around her, captured her, ensnared her.
And then, the singing became louder. As though it were the only thing in the world, coming from inside Tess and outside of her and all around her. She dropped the devices she was carrying and put her hands over her ears. Wyatt grabbed both of her arms—Tess couldn’t feel that, either.
And then the next verse came, which she did not know and had never heard. It had confirmed what she had always thought about that threatening, terrible song.
I’ll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me and love another
You’ll regret it all someday
Tess was overcome with an intense feeling of being trapped, as though she were in a box. Clawing to get out. She felt herself dropping to the floor. And then everything went black.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The next thing Tess knew, she was opening her eyes. She was flat on her back on the floor of the studio. Jane had knelt down beside her and was dabbing at her forehead with a cool cloth. Wyatt was on the other side, holding her hand.
“That’s right,” Jane said. “That’s the way. Come back to us now.”
Tess moaned. The back of her head was aching. “Did I faint?” she asked.
“Yeah, honey, you did,” Jane said, taking her hands and pulling her up to a sitting position. Tess’s head swam with vertigo.
“Whoa,” she murmured.
It was then she noticed all the lights were on in the room. Grant was blowing out the candles, and everyone had taken their headlamps off.
“Are we done?” Tess asked.
“Hell yes, we’re done,” Wyatt said.
“For today,” Jane added. “The ghost-hunting part, at least. Let’s regroup, hook the recorders up to the laptops, and see what we’ve got. But first, Tess, let’s talk about what happened to you.”
Tess looked at Wyatt. “My head hurts,” she said.
“Can you stand up?” he asked.
“I think so,” she said.
Wyatt put his arms around her waist and helped her up. She was shaken, but okay.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go downstairs.”
Tess let him lead her out of the room and down the back stairway to her familiar, welcoming kitchen, where a fire burned softly in the fireplace, the AGA was warm, and Tess’s favorite armchair was waiting. She sank into it with a groan as the rest of the crew filed in.
Grant and Hunter took seats at the table and assembled all the devices, pulling out two laptops from the case Grant had brought and turning them on. Hunter retrieved a snarl of cords.
Meanwhile Jane checked the kettle on the AGA. “How about some tea, everyone?” she asked, looking around the room. “The kettle’s still hot.”
“Tea, my arse,” Hunter said.
Despite everything, Tess couldn’t help but smile. “I have a good single malt if you’re interested,” she said, her voice wavering a bit.
“Now you’re talking,” Hunter said. “I thought you might. You others can ferret out ghosts all you like, but I can sense a single malt a mile away. I think that skill is more useful.”
Tess caught Wyatt’s eye. He couldn’t help but grin, either. “Bottom left cabinet,” she said.
Wyatt opened it and pulled out the Scotch. “Who wants one? Other than Hunter.”
Grant raised his hand. Wyatt raised his.
“I’ll take some wine,” Tess said. “Jane?”
“Why not?”
Wyatt acted as bartender, pouring drinks for everyone. Tess took hers with shaking hands. But the cold wine felt good slipping down her throat. She tried to breathe in and out to quiet her racing pulse.
“While they’re fiddling with the electronics, let’s talk about what happened up there,” Jane said, pulling out a chair from the table and setting it close to Tess’s armchair as Wyatt perched on its footstool.
Tess took another sip. “I don’t really know,” she said. “I started to hear . . .” But she just shook her head. How could she explain what she heard?
“I know,” Jane said. “Sometimes there aren’t words for it. What did it feel like?”
Tess thought back. “It felt like I was somewhere else, but also in the room at the same time,” she said. “I could see all of you, but it was like I was looking at you from . . . elsewhere.”