CHAPTER EIGHT

"What happened to your arm?" Derek asked. He and Isabel were at the dinner table. Moira had "gone home" an hour ago, but Isabel knew better now. She half expected to see the maid pass through the halls at any moment though she knew that if Moira didn't want to be seen, she wouldn't be.

Isabel glanced to her arm. How had he been able to tell that something happened? She wore a long sleeved sweatshirt to cover the bandage that Patrick had put on her.

As if reading her mind, Derek offered a small smile. "It looks stiff." The trouble with an author as a dad: small details never went amiss. "Did you bang it or something?"

"Yeah," Isabel answered, glad that Derek had provided an excuse for her.

It had taken a lot of debating on whether or not she should tell her father the truth about this house. There had been major arguing between her, Chad, and Patrick. Moira had expressed her opinion as well. No one wanted to be revealed yet. The last thing the dead wanted was for someone like the Ghostbusters to come in.

Isabel supposed she could respect that. But that also meant keeping quiet about that thing that had attacked her. And if the unseen residents of the Murder House were not going to let her bring in outside help, that meant she needed to handle things on her own for the most part.

"So Halloween is coming up soon," Isabel remarked. This actually worried her. There was some freaky-ass creature in the basement and Leah expected to her to host a party.

Derek nodded as he put a forkful of dinner into his mouth. "Yup," he said with his mouth full. "Any particular reason you're bringing that up?"

She wanted to say no. How could she though? Leah would hate her if she came to school saying the party was no-go. And she would have no good excuse. "Can I have a party? Like a whole Halloween-themed kind of thing?"

Normally, Isabel would have given Derek her most pleading look (which included the raised eyebrows, wide eyes, and pouting lower lip) however, this time around she didn't even look at him when she asked.

"Sure," her father answered.

So that settled it. She was going to have to take care of whatever was in the basement before the party. Three days. How hard could it be?

"'''"""""'""""''"""

Isabel lay awake that night, unable to sleep at all. She kept thinking about that creature in the basement. What had she been told it had been? Nora Montgomery's child? No, that couldn't be possible. It wasn't a child. It was a monster and it was in her basement.

She felt the weight on the bed shift. Sitting up, Isabel reached over to turn on the lamp that rested on her bedside table. With the light on, she saw that it was Moira who was sitting on the edge of her bed now.

"I can't sleep," Isabel said dumbly. Obviously she couldn't sleep otherwise she wouldn't be awake.

"So I see." Moira took Isabel's hand to extend the girl's injured arm. "You're thinking about Thaddeus, aren't you?"

Isabel nodded, finding it so strange that such a beast had such a human name. "I'm supposed to have a party on Halloween," she explained to the maid, who probably already knew this. "There's gotta be something we can do about Thaddeus before that." How to get rid of such a demon though?

Moira pursed her lips in thought. She hated to even consider it. But she also liked Isabel and did want to help her. "I do believe I know of someone who can be of assistance." Isabel eagerly awaited Moira to tell her who. "Years ago, Constance lived in this house as well. When she learned it was haunted, she brought someone in to address the situation. A woman named Billie Dean Howard."

"'''""""'"""""

The next morning was Saturday. Isabel woke up before Derek did and wasted no time in getting ready for what she was about to do. After putting on her skater skirt and crop top with a cardigan, Isabel ran a hairbrush through her long mousy brown hair. After checking her appearance in the mirror, she headed out and went next door.

Isabel knocked a few times on Constance's door and waited for an answer.

The knock disrupted Constance from her sleep. Now who could that possibly be at seven in the morning on a Saturday? She looked to Travis who was still asleep beside her in the bed. She got up and tied a floral housecoat around her before going to answer the door with a huff of annoyance.

Her attitude quickly changed when she saw that it was Isabel at the door. "Isabel… what is it?"

"It's about the house."

That gave enough away. Isabel knew about the ghosts. Constance stepped aside. "Come on in."

Tea was made, chamomile of course to help soothe Isabel if the conversation took a turn for the word. Constance would occasionally glance at the ceiling, expecting Travis or Adelaide to wake up any second.

Isabel sat at the kitchen table and Constance placed a cup of tea in front of her. Isabel thanked her and took a sip as Constance sat down across from her with her own cup of tea. The house was quiet, which didn't surprise Isabel as it was still fairly early for a Saturday morning. She wasn't sorry for having woken up Constance. This was rather urgent.

It was wonderfully strange to see her daughter sitting across from her in the morning. For a split second, Constance daydreamed that Isabel lived with her and this was mother-daughter quality time. A special little thing they would do on Saturday mornings: waking up before everyone else and have breakfast together.

But that was only wishful thinking.

Constance broke the silence. "So you know about the house," she stated, reiterating what had been said before.

Isabel nodded. "Yeah, and I need your help. There's something in that house. It's not human and it's not a ghost."

"Thaddeus Montgomery."

"Uh-huh. And that little shit attacked me." Isabel shed her cardigan and showed Constance her bandaged arm. "I need Thaddeus gone in two days at the latest. Moira says you know someone who can help. Someone named Billie Dean?"

Clasping her cup of tea in two hands, Constance nodded. "Yes, Billie Dean Howard is a medium and an old friend. I'm sure that if there is anyone who knows how to get rid of something like Thaddeus, it would be her."

It had never been an issue to Constance before so she never considered bringing in Billie Dean to get rid of the demon child. But her daughter got hurt, giving Constance a very good reason to get this issue resolved.

"Good. I want him gone before Thaddeus can hurt anyone else."

"I'll go and call her now."