Ed drove the eight-seat SUV along the highway while Father Anderson opened the case file. The vehicle moved smoothly and the clear road allowed everyone to remain comfortable. Lorraine slept beside Anderson with the consecrated crucifix resting against her chest while Drew sat in the front passenger seat.
The case involved the Hodgson family in Jersey City, New Jersey. Their home stood less than twenty miles from New York City. Unlike most paranormal incidents, this one had already drawn public attention after a local television station reported it.
The station first learned about the case through a police report involving Peggy Hodgson and her four children. Rumors had also spread through the neighborhood and caught the interest of a reporter.
According to the police report, strange events had plagued the Hodgson home for several weeks. Heavy footsteps sounded after dark while lights turned on without anyone touching the switches. The television sometimes activated in the middle of the night and displayed distorted images or unexplained static.
The most convincing incident occurred after Peggy called the police.
Two patrol officers entered the house and initially suspected that the family had staged everything. While they questioned Peggy, a wooden chair moved across the kitchen floor and struck the doorway. Neither officer saw anyone touch it.
They searched the room and examined the chair but found no wires or hidden mechanism. Before they left, another piece of furniture shifted behind them and nearly caused both officers to draw their weapons.
The officers admitted that the situation was beyond their understanding.
Anderson showed little reaction as he continued reading. Moving furniture and unexplained sounds were common tricks used by spirits. Such displays terrified ordinary people but revealed little about the entity's true strength.
He skipped the remaining police interviews and studied the information about the Hodgson family.
"Another single mother."
Peggy Hodgson lived with her children Margaret, Janet, Billy, and Johnny. Remembering Morse's complaints about the exhausted mother living near his apartment, Anderson shook his head and turned the page.
After the television report aired, the station contacted a paranormal investigator named Maurice Grosse. He visited the Hodgson home and began examining the disturbances.
His investigation soon focused on eleven-year-old Janet Hodgson.
Janet shared a bedroom with her older sister Margaret. According to both girls, Janet sometimes woke in the living room without remembering how she had gotten there. She also spoke in a deep male voice and held conversations with someone no one else could see.
Other events were even harder to explain.
Janet had reportedly risen from her bed and floated above the mattress. Toys and pieces of furniture moved through the bedroom without being touched. Several photographs showed the girl suspended in the air with her arms and legs bent at unnatural angles.
Anderson raised an eyebrow.
An ordinary spirit should not have been able to display that much power so quickly unless the house provided a strong supernatural anchor. There was another possibility.
"Janet may have psychic abilities."
He placed the written interviews aside and looked at Lorraine. Her breathing was calm and the darkness beneath her eyes had already begun to fade. The crucifix appeared to be protecting her from the nun even while she slept.
Ed noticed Anderson's gaze through the rearview mirror.
"Do you need to ask Lorraine something?"
"No. I think Janet has the same natural sensitivity that Lorraine possesses."
Ed kept his eyes on the road.
"I reached the same conclusion. Watch the video the station sent us."
Anderson picked up the tablet and opened the attached recording. The screen showed Janet and Margaret sitting together on a sofa. A television reporter and Maurice Grosse faced them from nearby chairs while recording equipment surrounded the room.
Once everyone was ready, the reporter began the interview.
"What is it like living in a haunted house?"
Margaret took a moment before answering.
"It's difficult to explain. You never get used to it. Before this started, we were just a normal family."
The reporter turned toward Janet.
"When did the activity become worse?"
Janet lowered her eyes.
"After I started talking to Bill Wilkins."
The reporter and Maurice exchanged a glance. Anderson immediately understood what that answer suggested.
Janet could communicate with the dead.
A natural barrier separated living people from spirits. Most ordinary humans could hear unexplained sounds or witness objects moving but could not speak directly with the entity responsible. Rituals and supernatural tools were often required to bridge that distance.
Psychics such as Lorraine could cross the barrier without assistance. Janet appeared to possess the same ability without understanding how to control it.
Maurice leaned forward in the recording.
"What do you mean when you say you talk to him?"
"He asks me questions. He says I should nod twice for yes and once for no."
Anderson narrowed his eyes.
Bill Wilkins might not have been an ordinary evil spirit. He could have been a dead man who remained attached to the house because of regret or resentment.
That created another problem.
"What does the nun want from this family? Is this bait?"
The video continued as the reporter encouraged Maurice to attempt contact. Janet shifted uneasily on the sofa while Margaret watched her.
"What would happen if we tried speaking with him now?" the reporter asked.
Janet shook her head.
"I don't know if he'll answer you."
Maurice remained focused.
"Let's try."
He looked toward the empty room.
"Bill, are you here?"
No response came.
"Does anyone want to speak with us?"
Janet's posture changed. Her shoulders tightened while her fingers dug into the fabric of the sofa.
Maurice noticed her discomfort but continued.
"Bill, can you hear me?"
The lights flickered.
A faint electronic hum filled the room and created lines of static across the camera footage. Janet began twisting in her seat as though something inside her body was forcing her into a different position.
Everyone stared at her.
Maurice maintained more composure than the others and leaned closer.
"Janet? Are you all right?"
A harsh sound escaped the girl's throat. It resembled the warning growl of an animal rather than the voice of a child.
Her head lifted.
"Don't call me Janet!"
The voice that came from her mouth belonged to an elderly man.
Anderson watched the screen with his lips pressed into a thin line. At that moment the spirit had crossed the final barrier and taken control of Janet Hodgson's body.