Case 28: The Haunting of Elm Manor

Both detectives were pleased for a few days of quiet with just a few court cases to pass the time. They spent most of it in bed or watching the TV occasionally putting the sofa to a more adventurous use.

It was long dark as they curled up on the sofa, David asleep against the others strong chest and JJ watching final episode of American Horror Story: Asylum, ready to slip away himself. Of course after so many peaceful days there had to be a spanner in the works.

JJ answered his phone immediately, already in the process of waking the brunette.

"Jensen."

"Apologies for calling so late." The Lieutenant could hear the weariness in King's voice with the late hour. "At Elm manor a body has been called in, a chandelier fell on the owner and I would like for you to investigate."

David rolled over snuggling into the others strong chest, starting to register what was going on.

"Of course sir, well be there soon." They hung up and David managed to drag himself into the land of the living, shuffling himself up stairs to change while JJ went into the kitchen, turning the coffee machine on for his lover and downing a can of Redbull.

They then swapped places and JJ changed into day clothes and they drove to the house.

Elm Manor was an extremely grand house that was typical of the late seventeen hundreds to the mid eighteen hundreds. It was a beautiful place but incredibly dark, like there was sadness seeping through the walls and something cold curling around its visitors.

JJ could feel the ghosts here in the air but they weren't malevolent, just sad. He wondered what had happened to make them so.

David helped Ramirez deal with the victims wife as JJ looked around the hall way where the man had been killed.

He soon found out how the chandelier had fallen, a trap mechanism that would release the heavy object onto the victim, certainly not the ghosts the wife was raving about.

The red-head also looked through an out of place basket that contained a family photo.

The victim, his wife, and a baby.

JJ sighed deeply, eyes sad and dark. "That's why she's wearing black, they had a child."

"Indeed." JJ turned to see a severe looking woman with an intricate braided wrapped around her head, for some reason JJ thought she was Russian by origin. "The spirits of the house killed him in this very wing."

"You would be ma'am?"

"The house keeper, Camilla Brown." She answered primly while the detective led her into the kitchen. "The spirits of the house were angered by foreign blood." She raised her head, looking haughty and JJ had to snort.

"If ya think the spirits here are angry, ya need to check again, you're the one that doesn't like them being here, no one else."

She stepped back, looking shocked at the man before her, like she couldn't believe his words and that the red-head thought she was wrong.

"Now who led ya to believe that it was ghosts that killed the boy?"

"Hector, my former employer."

JJ paled, he knew who was responsible for the boys death and that told him who the killer probably was without even meeting her.

"Thank you ma'am"

And they went their separate ways.

The two detectives met outside at the impala, Dorian was asleep at home.

"Margaret lives here doesn't she?" He then brushed the crumbs of cookies off his lovers shirt.

"Yes and she seems to believe that the victim needed salvation from the local church and that the ghosts are responsible." David explained. "And Mrs Gloria Fernandez is hysteric over her husband and the ghost but, I'm sure she's faking it."

"Because they had a baby." JJ interrupted. "The ghosts here aren't angry, they're sad and my guess is Hector, our victim is the reason the babe died and the wife found out and this is her revenge." He called an officer over and had him take the mechanism to Alex while they went to the church.

A broken and soon repaired Geiger counter and a note threatening the Father.

First they found the death certificate for Aurelio Fernandez showing that the death was undetermined and that the baby had been found at the bottom of the stairs, where his father now lay.

Looking further they found more unusual things.

Von Pratt.

"Father." The catholic was the one to speak, calling the man over.

"Yes." They could both hear the false kindness and concern.

"Lieutenant James Jensen and Lead Inspector David Jones. We're here about the murder of Hector Fernandez."

"Hector." The man almost recoiled in shock. "I failed to save him!"

"So that explains the failed exorcism that you made him pay for." Green eyes bored through the man and he recoiled.

"I admit it did not work, I took advantage of a desperate face." The father looked stricken and only paled when JJ smirked, a wolf like look that made him feel like the already fallen prey.

"I suggest father you turn in your collar, because you certainly ain't worthy of wearing it, and if you don't, someone higher up may just here of this." The man shook, backing away and almost running down the aisle.

They left, David snickering to himself, loving to see JJ like that, the predator made his blood simmer and heart race in all the best ways.

Back at the station they told the Chief that they'd pick it back up in the morning and talk with Mrs Fernandez and everyone was happy to turn in for the night and get the sleep.


In the morning they split up and JJ went to the station while David went to talk with the wife and JJ had to say that the adjustments to the mechanism to make the chandelier capable of crushing the victim.

He also had to grudgingly admire their plan, it was the perfect revenge to make the victim think that the house was haunted, that he had been telling the truth all this time but it lead them to the greenhouses where no doubt they'd find more evidence.

JJ texted his lover and met him at Charles Parkers Greenhouse and they shared their findings and all it did was make them believe more that this was a woman, a mother, scorned.

Through it all it had been amazingly simple, as usual, to find all the evidence they needed, though JJ had ended up furious at Ramirez for not handing over evidence and the officer ended up rocking back and forth in his chair.

When they finally had Gloria Fernandez for the crime JJ truly didn't want to arrest her.

Who wouldn't kill the man who was responsible for your child's death?

The dark vengeful side howled in a savage glee, thinking that the man got exactly what he deserved and to be perfectly honest, even the entirely human sighed agreed.

He knew that on this he was one of the only people in the department who thought that but he had never been as black and white in the way he saw the world and most people would say he walked to close to the black.