It took a moment for Jin to react, startled as he was. He hurried after Hayato, calling out to him.

“Wait! It’s too early! He might not even be home!”

“Only one way to find out,” growled Hayato over his shoulder. Jin let his head drop a moment in despair, then quickened his pace so that he arrived on the doorstep just as Hayato rang the doorbell. Natalie and Lightning trailed behind. As they reached the step, Lightning slunk off into the bushes, and the door opened just enough to let a voice out.

“Yes?” The voice was male and wary. Also, older sounding. Perhaps someone in retirement.

Hayato drew a breath to speak, but Jin deftly stepped in front of him with a pleasant smile.

“Hello, Mr. Beckett? We’re from the Paranormal Investigation and Pest Control service. We scheduled an appointment for later this afternoon.”

“Oh, yes,” the voice brightened and the door opened to reveal a fit man with thick white hair and an easy smile. “You boys are early. I wasn’t expecting you until five.”

“Yes. Our apologies. Other business concluded more quickly than we had anticipated, so we came right over. We can come back at the scheduled time, if that’s more convenient for you.”

“No, no. Come on in.” Mr. Beckett stepped to one side and waved them in. “No sense in sending you away when you’re already here.”

“Most gracious of you,” said Jin. “Thank you.”

Jin lead the way in, followed by a sullen Hayato. Natalie stepped through the door with a smile for their host. He closed the door behind them and lead them into the living room where he had them all sit down while he bustled about, tidying away magazines and newspapers.

“Excuse the mess,” said Mr. Beckett, smiling. “If I’d known you were bringing such a pretty girl with you, I’d have cleaned up a bit.” He threw Natalie a wink.

“Your house is very nice,” Natalie reassured him, charmed by his manner. Mr. Beckett bowed his head in thanks and sank into a generously upholstered armchair.

“So,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “how is all of this going to work?”

“Well,” began Jin, “first, may I ask if the phenomena you described on the phone have continued since we last spoke?”

Mr. Beckett’s demeanor became more subdued. “Yes, it has. I’m hearing it every night now.”

“Hearing what?” asked Natalie.

“Noises in the walls,” said Mr. Beckett. “I’ve had all kinds of pest control people in. All they can tell me is what it isn’t. No signs of termites, rats, mice, opossums, cockroaches, squirrels, raccoons… You name it, I haven’t got it.” He chuckled, then sobered. “But I keep hearing something in the walls. When I saw your ad in the phone book I figured you’d be perfect for the job.”

Jin nodded understandingly as Mr. Beckett spoke. Hayato sat with his feet firmly planted, his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, listening intently.

“Has there been anything else?” asked Jin. “Objects moving or flying around the room. Strange voices. Music. Odd smells.”

“No. Nothing like that. Just the noises in the walls. I’d swear it was just some kind of vermin, but I’ve had every exterminator within 50 miles in here and no one has been able to do anything about it.”

“That must be really annoying,” said Natalie without thinking.

Mr. Beckett laughed. “Yes, young lady, it certainly is.”

Jin smiled. “Well, I hope we’ll be able to resolve your problem for you.”

“I hope so too,” said Mr. Beckett easily. “Now, tell me what you need.”

“We’ll set up several kinds of recording equipment around the house, and we’ll stay up through the night to monitor any activity.”

“And you’re going to be doing this for three nights, was that right?” asked Mr. Beckett.

“That’s right. You may stay here with us if you wish. It is, after all, your home.”

Mr Beckett smiled. “No. I’ve booked myself into a hotel. You don’t need some old codger cramping your style. Besides, I might throw off your readings or something.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Jin hurried to reassure Mr. Beckett.

Natalie found herself having trouble paying attention to what they were saying. Everything in the house was clamoring for her attention. She could already tell that Mr. Beckett had lived a full life, and his house was full of things he’d had for a long, long time. The fact that everything was so lively told her that he took good care of his possessions.

A piece of information slipped into her mind.

“I’m sorry about your wife,” she blurted with no regard for the flow of the conversation. Jin and Mr. Beckett stopped mid-sentence. Mr. Beckett gave her a surprised look.

“How did you know about my wife?”

Natalie cast about for a plausible explanation, cursing herself for coming here. This was why she hated new places and new people. A potential lifeline caught her eye. She nodded at a picture on the mantle.

“I’m sorry, I just assumed,” she said. “You look very happy together in that picture, but you haven’t mentioned her once.”

Mr. Beckett turned. His expression softened when his gaze lighted on the picture.

“Very perceptive, young lady. Yes. My wife passed away a little over a year ago. It’s still strange to think I’ll never see her again.” He looked back at Natalie and gave her a sad smile. “She was the love of my life, you know.”

Jin had been watching Natalie closely. His expression showed her that he didn’t quite believe her explanation. Natalie didn’t have the energy to reassure him. She was too busy trying not to fall into one of her visions.

“We’re very sorry to hear of your loss,” said Jin, turning back to Mr. Beckett who waved away his condolences.

“It’s all right. It’s in the past now. She wouldn’t want me to dwell.” Mr. Becket took a deep breath. “Well, I suppose I’ll just get out of your way then.”

Mr. Beckett stood, and Jin, Hayato, and Natalie all rose at the same time. Mr. Beckett gathered his luggage. They all exchanged a few more pleasantries, and within a few more minutes he was gone.

Natalie sat in the living room, still struggling with her ability. She closed her eyes and worked herself through centering exercises her grandmother had taught her. Deep breaths and visualization. In her mind, she shut the door on the clamoring visions. She tucked them away in boxes, and locked them in vaults. Slowly, she regained enough equilibrium that she knew she wouldn’t be taken unawares by a vision as long as she stayed vigilant and no one touched her. She opened her eyes to find Hayato staring at her.

“You going to faint again?” he asked.

Natalie glared at him.

“No, I am not.” She looked around. “Where’s Jin?”

“He went to bring the van around so we can start unloading equipment.”

Natalie’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You guys have a van?”

“Yeah. Why?” Hayato’s expression darkened.

Natalie shrugged. “Just seems a little odd is all. I can’t really picture you guys driving around in a van.”

“No? What do you think we do?”

Natalie looked at him. He seemed incongruous somehow in this ordinary home. It wasn’t just his long hair or his rock star chic or his attitude. There was something else. He took up more space than he should. Or less space. Even relaxed as he was, in a chair opposite her, there was a coiled energy to him, like that of a wild predator. The intensity of his gaze, even through sunglasses, made Natalie uncomfortable. She looked away.

“I don’t know what you guys do. I don’t even know why I’m here.”

Hayato’s brows drew together. He drew a breath to speak, but at that moment Lightning sauntered into the room.

“Where have you been?” he asked the cat irritably. Lightning gave him a smug look and sat in the middle of the room.

“Did you find anything out?”

Lightning began cleaning his face with one large paw. Hayato shot him an exasperated look.

“How did he get in?” asked Natalie, puzzled. “Isn’t the front door closed?”

Hayato shrugged. Jin walked in carrying several heavy looking black bags. Hayato sprang to his feet and left the room. Natalie presumed he was going to unload more equipment from the van. She stood and moved to take one of the bags from Jin. He smiled at her.

“It’s all right. I’ve got these,” he said setting them down in the middle of the floor. “If you could find me an outlet, I’d be grateful.”

“An outlet?”

“Several outlets would be better,” replied Jin nodding. “We have quite a bit of equipment. In fact, if you could go through all the rooms and find at least one outlet in each it would be a great help.”

“Sure,” said Natalie.

“Thank you,” smiled Jin, and he left to go help Hayato unload the van. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the room that Natalie realized how deftly he’d deflected her from participating in the manual labor. Usually, she got upset when guys treated her like a “girl,” like someone too delicate to do any heavy lifting, but Jin had done it so simply she couldn’t help but be impressed. She shook her head, smiling, and started looking through the rooms.