Crimson Snow Angel: Wow it's been a long time! Sorry. School got hectic and then my computer crashed, taking all my writing with it. Got a new computer out of the deal though, so it's not all that bad. I apologize to anyone who actually waited all this time for an update, I really do feel awful.

Well, enough stalling, on with the story!!!

Free, But Never Alone

Chapter3: The Black Pearl.

Re-Cap

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Or more to the point, the Ghost of Captain Jack Sparrow," he said merrily, while I just looked on in disbelief.

"Right then, well I'm just going to call the police now," I said giving 'Captain Sparrow' the 'you're crazy' smile.

"How's that? None of the electronics work in this house," he replied smiling.

"The Lighthouse-"

"One of the last man-operated ones left."

"And the water?"

"The only exception."

"Well then," I sighed, "I'm just going to have to ask you to leave."

"You really don't believe me when I tell you I'm dead, do you?" He asked eying me amusedly.

I was getting agitated and beginning to think I had made a mistake in taking the job. Whoever this man was he was certainly trying my patients. "Look Mister," I huffed angrily, "I really don't have time for your shenanigans, and I would greatly appreciate it if you left. Now preferably." I made a reach for his hand to yank him towards the door, and received a shock when my hand went straight through his. A cold shiver ran up my spine at the feeling of nothing but air where his solid body should have been. "You really are a ghost," I said, teeth chattering slightly from shock and cold.

"Told you, didn't I?" He replied with a smug look.

"But- but how?" Truly and honestly I did not want to believe it. I was never superstitious, I didn't hold with such nonsensical things as wandering ghosts and vengeful spirits. This new development was like getting slapped in the face.

"It's a bit of a long story," he shrugged, while managing to look thoughtful at the same time.

"Well, you've got the time, and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," I said waving my hand through his chest experimentally, and feeling shivers race up my spine when it went straight through him and stuck out his back.

"D'you mind?" He asked amusedly.

"Oh, sorry," I replied embarrassedly. "The name's Deirdre, by the way."

"Well then, Deirdre, you might want to pull up a seat, this may take a while." Quickly I sat down at one of the small tables and watched him sashay about the room before going into full-blown story mode.

"As I said my name's Jack Sparrow, Captain of the Black Pearl-" I briefly remembered that the door had said something about the Black Pearl, "-greatest pirate ship in all of the Caribbean," he said, gesturing wildly and looking pleased with himself. He glanced at me quickly and looked slightly put out when I didn't look all that impressed. "Anyway there comes a time in every pirate's career that they've made a bit of a name for themselves, and believe you me, I had quite an infamous name going for myself." Here he smiled. "The only problem with that is sooner or later some sort of law enforcing ninny begins to track all the routs that you generally sail on, and that gets to be a bit problematic. No one wants to sail into a port, just to be clapped in irons. Freedom is a very important thing to a pirate."

"Understandable," I nodded.

"Well it just so happens that I had the biggest law enforcing ninny after my hide; Commodore Norrington. After talking to the crew of my Pearl for a while we decided that the best plan of action was to avoid the Commodore by expanding our market northward. It didn't work for very long however. He seemed hell-bent on trying hanging me again."

"Again?"

"That's a story for another day, lass. Anyway after a few months he was pretty much breathing down our necks. That's when we sailed here. We thought we could hide the Pearl in one of the cliff alcoves and wait for the Commodore to pass right by us so that we could head back to the Caribbean unnoticed." He gestured wildly again and stopped his sashaying/pacing to take the seat opposite me. "The day we pulled in was a lot like today, thick fog everywhere. Back then there wasn't any lighthouse on the cliff, so we couldn't rightly judge where the rocks were until we ran into them."

"Surely your ship didn't sink so fast that you couldn't get off in time?" I asked stunned.

"No, problem was Norrington had expected our move and was right behind us, until we hit the cliff, then he was on top of us. The ships broke under the pressure and a lot of the different crews got trapped under the wreckage, myself and the Commodore included."

"And those that made it off safely?"

"Most of them never made it to the shore alive. While liberating it must be said that the sea is not a very forgiving Mistress." Jack stood up and resumed his odd swagger-step around the room. "After the wreck those of us that emerged as ghosts came here, taking everything we could off the ships."

"So you can lift stuff?" I asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Aye," he said, picking up a few coins to prove his point.

"But not people?" I ventured.

Jacked sighed. "That's a tough one to explain. Normally I can't touch people without passing through them, but sometimes I can. I haven't quite figured out how it all works yet."

"Ok, so why don't any of the electronics work in the house?"

"I guess ghosts and technology don't mix, and don't even bother asking about why the water still works, not even Norrington has figured that out yet," He answered picking some none existent lint off of the flag-canvas wall hanging thing.

"What is that?" I asked gesturing to the thing.

"This? Well the black canvas is one of the smaller sails from the Pearl, and the flags are from the ships of ghosts who decided to make a little alliance against any of the law enforcing ninnies that I mentioned before."

"So why do you stay here? Other than passing right through other people, you could pass off as a perfectly normal man," I stated somewhat thinking in the back of my mind that even in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt there would be nothing normal about the way that Jack Sparrow talked, swaggered, and gestured.

"Don't think we haven't tried, many times actually. We just can't leave, probably has something to do with the fact that we died in this general area, and this is where our ships' remains' are."

"I guess that makes sense," I nodded.

"So, now that I've told you my story, why don't you tell me yours? What brings you to this abandoned and beat up place?" He asked finally turning back to look at me.

"I'm a private investigator, and lately I've been down on my luck. Then this old lady called me and said that she wanted me to find out the real history of some old house. Free room and board and a heft sum of money. This really isn't my kinda thing, I'm more into crime investigation than history, but I needed the cash." I shrugged.

"Crime Investigation?" Jack asked giving me a weird look.

"I don't do any law enforcement, that's the polices' job. I just find out what happened, nothing more, nothing less," I offered.

It looked as though Jack was about to say something but stopped short when a loud crash came from outside on the rooftop balcony, followed immediately by an indignant, "Get back here with that, you miniature scallywag!"

CSA: Longer than last chapter I think. Anyway I hope you like liked it. Review Please!!