Author's Note: This is where the real mystery begins! It will get better, but the scene will start to be laid out here. Stay on your toes, because things probably will not be as they seem…. ::evil laugh::

An hour after leaving the store, Mel was stepping out of the shower with big plans for ghostly research on her agenda for the evening. She slipped on a pair of black cotton capri pants embellished with a silver peace sign on the right hip, and pulled a snug-fitting charcoal gray camisole over her head. She then sprayed some gel into her long dark brown hair and finger-teased some waves into it before she skipped downstairs to the living room.

She could hear Jim cooking in the kitchen as she sat down at the coffee table with her laptop.

"What's for dinner?" Mel called.

"It's a surprise!" Jim shouted back.

Melinda smiled. She brought up the search engine once she was logged in, and typed in: "Lakeview County + March fire + Arson". She sifted through the results until she found something that seemed to be a match. It was a video of a somewhat recent newscast from Lakeview County. She clicked on it and sat back to watch.

A middle-aged blonde newswoman stood in front of what was left of the house that had burned down. "It's May 9th; Two months since the horrific fire broke out on 816 Conrad Boulevard, killing Carrie Hart and her young son, Tommy." The newswoman announced, "Thomas Hart Senior is still being held in county jail, awaiting sufficient evidence to begin trial. Here we have arson investigator Ryan O'Bryan to tell us a little about the case."

"Thank you, Paula." Ryan O'Bryan said. "Well, it seems like a pretty cut-and-dry case. It looks like some accelerant was laid down, starting at the back door in the kitchen. From there, it continued in a trail all the way up the stairs toward the bedrooms. It's clear that whoever did it knew someone would be in those rooms."

"And does the evidence point to Thomas Hart?" The newscaster asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't comment on anything of that nature at this time." Ryan O'Bryan said.

Melinda heard Jim approaching behind her, and she hit pause on the video before turning to face him.

"Hey!" Jim said, looking at the computer screen, "That's Ryan O'Bryan. Is he the investigator on this case?"

"You know him?" Mel asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah," Jim said as he sat down beside Melinda. "O'Bryan and I used to be on FDNY together before he got promoted to Lakeview County Arson Investigator. He's a great guy. We played poker together back in the day. That guy could drink more whiskey than anyone I knew. I mean more than me, even." Jim laughed nostalgically.

"Okay…" Melinda said, faking irritation. "Didn't need to know that."

"Sorry, babe." Jim replied, still grinning.

"Do you still talk to him?" Mel hinted.

"Yeah, occasionally…" Jim started. "Wait a minute. You want me to dig up some dirt on this case, don't you?"

Mel smiled broadly, "You know, that would be so great of you."

"Alright, alright." Jim said. "I'll see what I can do."

Jim then noticed a sudden look of panic flash across Mel's face.

"Hey," He asked, edging closer to her side, "What's wrong?"

"I think it's happening again." Mel said worriedly. "I smell smoke…"

Jim paused for a moment, before his face took on the same look of panic for an instant. "The tacos!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running to the kitchen. Mel followed. Sure enough, the kitchen was filling with smoke, which originated from a large skillet on the stovetop that was now in flames.

Jim ran to the sink and turned it on all the way before pulling the sprayer out all the way and directing it towards the fire. Within seconds, it was put out, and only a small amount of smoke continued to sizzle up from the charred mess. Jim breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. Behind him, he heard uncontrollable laughter, and turned to see Mel leaning against the kitchen table, wiping tears from her face as she continued to giggle.

"You think that's funny?" Jim asked.

"I'm sorry." Mel chortled. "That was just…. HA!" She continued.

Jim pulled the sprayer out once again, and turned it on. Except this time, he pointed it at Melinda. She shrieked and ran to the other room.

"JIM!" He heard once she was out of sight, "That was so not fair!"

Jim laughed to himself. And then he turned toward the destruction that was going to be their dinner, and sighed again.

The next morning after Melinda had left for work, Jim dialed O'Bryan on his cell phone. The call was answered after three rings.

"O'Bryan." The arson investigator answered.

"Hey, O'Bryan! It's Clancy."

"Jim Clancy! What's up, man? How you been?"

"Oh, you know, busy…" Jim said. "Still working for the department out here in Grandview. It's nothing like NYC, but it keeps me on my toes."

"I bet." O'Bryan said. "I heard about that plane crash that happened last month. That was rough. We sent some of our guys over there to help out."

"Yeah…" Jim answered solemnly. "Thanks for that. We definitely needed the extra hands."

Hearing the sadness in Jim's voice, O'Bryan quickly changed the subject. "How's Melinda doing? You guys are hitched now, right?"

"That we are. One year, and we couldn't be happier."

"Alright, don't get sweet on me, Clancy."

"Sorry, boss." Jim replied, smiling. "So, hey! I heard about that investigation you're on right now. The guy who supposedly burned down his own house with his wife and kid in it. How's that going?"

"Well… I'm not really supposed to discuss it…" O'Bryan trailed off.

"Right. Of course. I understand." Jim said, waiting for O'Bryan to take the bait. As long as Jim had known Ryan O'Bryan, he knew that he loved to gossip to his buddies about cases he was on. Ethical? No. Beneficial and entertaining for anyone who listened? Yes.

"Okay," O'Bryan relinquished excitedly, "Now you didn't hear this from me, alright?"

"Not from you. Got it." Jim grinned.

"So the guy they're holding in county jail, Tom Hart… His wife was supposedly having an affair with his brother. And now his brother is missing… So we're thinking Tom found out, and in a fit of jealous insanity, killed his brother and torched his own house with his wife and son inside. We just need to put the pieces together, and we've got our case."

"And nobody knows where the brother could be?" Jim asked.

"Hell no." O'Bryan scoffed. "Probably thrown in the lake. It's still too soon to comb the water without probable cause. We're getting there though."

"Wow." Jim said. "Unbelievable. Killing your own family…"

"No kidding." O'Bryan agreed. "But, hey… What's your interest in the case?"

"Oh, uh… Melinda's kind of writing a book." Jim lied.

"A book?"

"Yeah. A mystery novel centered around arson. She was kind of interested in the case for ideas."

"Oh." O'Bryan said. "Well sweet! Tell her to give me a call if she wants to hear any crazy stories. I've got tons."

"I'll let her know." Jim laughed.

"Well, Clancy, it's great talking to you, but I gotta run. We should really get together though! Poker night, maybe?"

"Yeah, boss!" Jim said. "Gimme a call."

"Sure thing, Clancy. Later!"

"Bye." Jim finished, hanging up the phone. He then picked it up again to fill Melinda in on all the juicy details.

A/N 2: Sorry if it was a bit slow and uneventful, but this chapter was necessary to give some background information on the ghost(s) that we'll see from now on. As always, PLEASE review and let me know what you honestly think. If you guys still like it, I will continue writing. Next chapter is gonna have more drama :)