Page 27 of Into the Fire

Like the fire salamander and the dark low-level ghosts that are attracted to the fire spirit, Vic thought.

“I don’t claim to have a psychic bone in my body. Never had time for Ouija boards or tarot cards or any of that stuff.” Murphey paused again for another sip.

“But that hotel made my skin crawl. I hated every moment we spent in it, and I’d sure as hell never go back. I didn’t see any white sheets flitting around or hear any disembodied voices. But something unnatural and downright evil was there, I’m sure of it.”

“What did your remaining psychic make of it?” Vic was surer than ever that he wanted to keep Simon far away from the Ocean Visions.

“He told us that there were ghosts of suicides from the Crash of 1929 who never left the hotel, including a stockbroker who had claimed that the spirits gave him hot tips, and then lost everything,” Murphey told him. “He said that compared to other old hotels, there were more restless ghosts than usual, and they weren’t able to move on.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. But it wasn’t just regular ghosts,” Murphey went on. “He said there was a presence, something supernatural and dangerous that was in the building’s bones. I’ve always wondered if it was what caused the fires.

“At the end, we even had a Catholic priest come in to say blessings and do an exorcism, but I’m not sure it changed anything,” Murphey said. “In the years since then, every single one of us who was involved in the project has come to a bad end.” He coughed again. “Me, included.”

“How?”

“Car explosions, house fires, freak accidents where things suddenly blew up,” Murphey replied. “One guy died when his compost pile caught on fire. Some of the others got sick after the project even though they didn’t have any risk factors before, like me. I’m one of the last ones who was directly involved.”

Murphey’s comment made Vic’s heart sink even as it validated his theory. Did the main fire entity cause the ‘bad luck,’ or if we’re right about the fire salamander and the dark ghosts, would they be responsible?

“The presence that made the hotel creepy, did anyone think it was some kind of entity itself? Not a ghost but something ‘other’?” Vic held his breath as Murphey hesitated before answering.

“I’ve wondered about that. Although I’d never go back to that place to find out. In the years since, I’ve read some books and watched some podcasts.” Murphey put down his coffee cup.

“You’ve got to understand that except for the people in charge of the study and those three psychics, the rest of us were just grunt soldiers. We were there to run the equipment and provide security. As far as I know, we weren’t picked because they thought we did or didn’t have any special sensitivity to this stuff. At the time, we all quietly thought it was a bunch of hooey.”

“And now?” Vic watched Murphey closely.

“Now I’m not sure. There are a lot of things I didn’t know back then. Is it possible the brass knew stuff they didn’t tell us? Hell, yes. Might they have put us in danger without giving us all the details? That’s part of being enlisted. Happens all the time,” the older man replied.

“What about the results of the study? Was a report ever made?” Vic asked.

“I don’t know,” Murphey replied. “The project disbanded, and for years we couldn’t even say as much as I’ve told you here. It got mostly declassified along with a whole bunch of other stuff, so I’m not sure the higher-ups even knew it was part of that package.” He paused, as if weighing a decision. “I’ve got a few months to live, they tell me. So, I’m going to speak out of turn. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t post what I’m about to tell you online or spill it to reporters.”

“Of course not,” Vic assured him.

“When the initial efforts to co-opt the ghosts didn’t work out, the people in charge got interested in whatever-the-fuck-it-was that didn’t just haunt the Ocean Visions, it seeped into the bones of the place. I heard tell that they wanted to see if they could harness it, break it loose, and find a way to use it for their own purposes,” Murphey said. “They even brought in outsiders who claimed they could help—real sketchy types.”

Vic’s blood ran cold. “And did they?”

Murphey shook his head. “No. They tried all kinds of things, but whatever locked it into the hotel was strong, and whatever they were doing was making things worse. Since then, I’ve wondered if, given all the bad luck, they cracked the seal just a little and made it angry.”

And if so, over time did the spirit take advantage to break its original bonds? Vic wondered. Maybe all the problems since then belong to the project’s legacy of misery. Or maybe the other, lesser spirits it attracted never left.

“I promise I won’t do anything to get you in trouble. Thank you for telling me,” Vic said. “You’ve been generous with your time, and I appreciate it. I have one more question. After the project ended, were there other interests who might have tried to recruit the people involved for their own purposes?”

Murphey chuckled but ended up coughing. “Oh, yeah. For being a secret project, it seemed like a lot of people already knew about it. I had big tech and pharmaceutical companies wooing me, as well as some much more questionable groups.”

“Was one of those the so-called Dixie Mafia?” Vic asked.

“That’s what I’ve been told,” Murphey said. “They were shifty, the kind to be in one mob or another. I wasn’t interested no matter how much they tried to pay me, and since I didn’t really play an important role or have any special abilities, they let me be.”

Murphey had said all he was going to say, and Vic had run out of questions. Vic paid for their lunches, and thanked Murphey again. He watched the older man drive away and reflexively said a prayer for his safety.

When he got back to the office, Ross was waiting with a grin on his face.

“I might have found something that ties in,” Ross told him. Vic silently hoped Captain Hargrove didn’t bust both of them for getting distracted by Simon’s side project. “Let me show you.”