Chapter 2
"Poltergeist?"
Emily stared at her laptop screen, confused. She'd just received an email from Nolan asking her to take a look at a blog about the Graysons that was going viral.
Hey Ems,
It seems you might have a new bff in disguise... check out this blogger. He goes by the name of P0ltergie5t and he's been getting quite a few hits recently. Turns out you and he might have a thing or two in common. He even mentions your name quite a few times - just make sure that you don't get caught in his crossfire...
Nolan had pasted a link below. Emily clicked on it and it took her directly to a blog named "Poison and Pearls". Underneath the title was a large, colour photograph taken of the Grayson family several years ago. She had never seen this picture, which was unusual considering the amount of time she had spent in Grayson manor over the past two years. Victoria and Conrad were a lot younger in the picture, they seemed happy - he had his arm around her shoulders, and she was leaning in to his torso, looking up at him and laughing. Emily had never seen them look this relaxed together in real-life. Daniel looked about 14 and he was grinning at his kid-sister Charlotte, who must have been about seven. Young Charlotte had two long plaits either side of her ears and she was sticking her tongue out at whoever was holding the camera. It was strange, Emily thought, seeing proof that the Graysons had once been a happy family, even if it was in the distant past. She clicked on the photograph.
Suddenly virtual blood began to pour down the photograph, covering the smiling faces of the family. The image dissolved and in its place emerged a black and white picture of the Graysons that had been taken at Emily and Daniel's wedding. There were two distinct differences between the two photographs. Emily featured in the second picture, stood right in the centre of the family wearing her wedding dress. As for the second difference... Well, they were all smiling, but none of them, Emily included, looked remotely happy.
Emily scrolled down to discover a long list of articles making all sorts of allegations about the Graysons, most of them true. The details, the dates - they were all there. There were several pages of information about Flight 197 - all perfectly formed theories lacking nothing but hard evidence. This Poltergeist was no conspiracy theorist, he knew his facts.
But did he know too much?
She read the rest of Nolan's email.
I did a bit of digging to see if I could find out more about our little Poltergeist - I figured you, or one of your many aliases, might want to pay him a visit? You know what they say, "keep your friends close, but your fellow revengers closer"...
So far, my cyber-Sherlocking has been unsuccessful. His online presence begins and ends with his Poison and Pearls site and the information stored there is heavily encrypted. His tech knowledge is impressive and I'm almost certain he's a hacker - which might explain how he knows so much. I can't pin down a location YET... but i'm working on it. Come see me when you can and we'll talk.
N.
Emily closed the laptop and went out onto her veranda to think. It had been raining in heavy, icy sheets all night and the high wind from the ocean rattled the windows of her beach hut. Why was this person out to get the Graysons? Had they done something to him too? It wasn't unlikely. The Graysons seemed to have no trouble in collecting enemies. But how did he know so much about them...?
This Poltergeist could only be one of two things:
an ally,
or a threat.
Either way, if he was at risk of compromising her mission then he had to be eliminated. Fast. For that she needed help.
It was late, but she needed to talk this through with Nolan, it couldn't wait until the morning. She stared up at the imposing Grayson manor silhouetted like a dark scar against the charcoal skyline. The house was in darkness, all except one room on the ground floor. Emily squinted through the rain - the light looked like it was coming from Conrad's office. As far as she knew, Conrad was still staying at the South Fork Inn. Was Victoria in there? If so, what was she doing in there this late in to the night?
Emily went inside and grabbed her car keys from the sideboard. If the Grayson's already knew about Poltergeist, it wouldn't be long before they started looking for him themselves. She'd been careful, but there was a chance that this Poltergeist had discovered something about her true identity and she couldn't risk the Graysons getting hold of that information. She had to get to Poltergeist, before they did.
She took out her phone. Nolan picked up after two rings.
"I thought I might be hearing from you tonight."
"I read your message," she said.
"And?"
"I'm coming over."
"Mi Casa es su Casa, I'll see you in ten. Oh and Ems? Don't forget to bring your red sharpie - I've got a plan."
