Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #3)(7)

She gave me a small smile of relief. "Excellent. Research in the library. You and George are very good at that."

"You, Emily Chambers, are devious." Jacob shook his head and chuckled. My heart flooded. I wanted to see him laugh more often. I suspected cheerfulness was his natural state, or at least it had been when he was alive, but his death had darkened his soul.

Being murdered can do that to a person.

Finding his murderer had been one of the few things to keep me occupied in his absence these last two weeks, but it had been a frustrating endeavor. Lady Preston had informed me just prior to our séance earlier that the only boy named Frederick in Jacob's year at Oxford to have died was a Frederick Seymour, and that he had indeed killed himself. It merely confirmed what we'd already learned and it left us no closer to discovering the truth behind Jacob's murder. Jacob remembered his murderer blaming him for Frederick's death, but how could he be responsible? They may have fought, but Jacob hadn't killed him. Frederick had got up and run away afterward. And Jacob could hardly be held responsible for the suicide of someone he barely knew.

Discovering the truth had become as important to me as discovering the identity of my own father. He and his family needed closure, to move on. Once we found his killer, we would find Jacob's body. Lord and Lady Preston would be able to finally bury their son and see justice served. I suspected it would also allow Jacob's spirit to crossover and be at peace. It's what I wanted second most in all the world. Foremost, I wanted to be with him...someday.

Although it seemed crossing over to the Otherworld was looking increasingly doubtful for all ghosts, not just Jacob.

"I think you need to tell me more," I said to him. "So that George and I know what to look for," I added for Celia's benefit.

"And that nice Mr. Hyde too," she said. "I'm sure he'll enjoy researching alongside you both in the library.

Jacob stiffened and stared hard at the fireplace.

"Theo is very busy," I said. "He has his legal studies and is working in a law office three afternoons a week." Theo might be a gentleman, but he was as poor as me. Well, perhaps not quite that poor, but he wasn't well-to-do like his rich and titled relatives. He needed to work for a living. Celia thought a lawyer was a decidedly good prospect for me, and I had to agree that a girl in my position couldn't hope for better.

"That may be so," she said, "but he seems to find the time to visit us often." The triumphant lift of her chin was most certainly for Jacob's benefit. She didn't dislike him. She just didn't think he was a good influence on me. Looking at it from her perspective, I could see why. Being in love with a ghost was not something I would wish on anyone. Our future together depended upon my death.

But I had no choice in the matter. The heart will feel what the heart will feel.

"Go on, Jacob," I urged him. "Tell me what to look for."

He collapsed into the armchair once again. "The Administrators believe the Waiting Area is being sabotaged."

"Sabotaged! By whom?"

"And why?" asked Celia.

"And how?"

"I cannot tell you how," he said. "The Administrators haven't discovered the method. They've been too busy trying to keep the weakest spirits within the Waiting Area. As to the whom and the why..." His exhausted gaze locked with mine. "We think it's the same person who brought the demon to this realm and summoned the spirit of Mortlock." Mortlock was the vicious ghost who'd possessed Adelaide and then George.

"Your killer," I said on a breath.

Jacob nodded. "He was trying to hurt me through you and my family, but I think he has a new tactic—destroy me directly. I can't pretend I'm not glad," he said quietly. "All I ever wanted was for my loved ones to be safe."

My insides melted. To be classed alongside his family was an honor. To be called a loved one was a dream come true. "Perhaps he somehow knows you haven't been here and thought you no longer cared for me."

"Or perhaps he saw Hyde visiting frequently and decided you no longer cared for me." His voice was dark but gave no indication of what he thought of the matter. Considering he was the one pushing me in Theo's direction, I would think he was happy with this unexpected benefit.

"Your scenario does seem more likely since he cannot see you," I said.

"His murderer is doing this?" Celia frowned. I could see she was trying very hard to keep up with the conversation despite only hearing half of it. "It does seem likely after all the trouble he's caused so far."

"Or she," I said. "The murderer may be a woman."

"True. Whomever it is, they have a great deal of knowledge about the supernatural."

"Someone from the Society for Supernatural Activity perhaps."

"You're thinking of Price?" He shook his head. "I'm not sure if anyone in the Society is that knowledgeable. They're mostly a group of men and women with an interest in demons, ghosts, and inexplicable phenomena. The knowledge required to do this is obscure and beyond a little dabbling in the supernatural."

"Price might have gained that knowledge from another source."

"So might anyone else."

"Not that you are going to confront this Mr. Price," Celia said. "I absolutely forbid you to go anywhere near him. Do you understand me, Emily?"