Chapter 15
Henry was still working part-time at Ari's Pizza and while he only earned minimum wage, he managed to scrape enough money together for a small digital recorder. It was certainly nothing like the highly sensitive recorders of professional investigators, but it would do the job. Going through his bedroom closet, he found the camcorder his parents had given him. All it needed was a new digital video tape. Samantha made her own contribution - a digital camera and probably the most valuable piece of equipment – information. She organized everything – the book she discovered at the bookstore, the research she dug up at the library, and the notes she had produced from her previous visit to the house. Not being sure who she saw in the tower that night, Samantha assumed it was Cora, the woman who shot herself in the house's library. She believed that the pain of her grief may be acting as a tether, holding her from finding peace and moving on. While it was doubtful that this restless spirit could be coaxed into finding its way to a place of solace, Samantha hoped that it could be prompted to make an appearance, in whatever form it chose.
The next day, Samantha and Henry met at the library to talk about how they would conduct their investigation. Each was under the impression that in order to carry out a productive inquiry, a plan would have to be devised. Samantha had created drawings of the first and second floors from memory. They may not have been accurate, but they were a good start. They also reviewed the houses' history, focusing on the likelihood that what Samantha had seen was the troubled spirit of Cora. Every detail had been worked out, with the previously boarded up window serving as both entrance and exit. Samantha had gone so far as to map out a route on the drawing, representing how they would move through the house. Every room would be examined in a planned order, starting with the first floor and lastly, the tower. There was only one issue. They would be against the clock and wanted to be thorough but also realized that their parents may not appreciate how long they'd be out, especially at night.