Ghost Tales of Seattle

Ghost Chase Part 15

He peered down at us, scratched his head, and shrugged. He went back into the room we'd come through and returned with a trowel to solve our dilemma. He jumped down into the pool and came to study the loose tile.

"That wasn't there last time I was in here. Has the ghost been messing with things?" Bill asked. "Can they do that?"

I glanced at Addie, who just smirked. "Some of them can."

"I think it'd be better if I dig the hole," Bill said. "I can say I needed to test the structural integrity of the pool." He glanced at Robert. "You can edit that out, right?"

Robert was on Beth's other side. "Certainly, I would want to do anything to get your reprimanded or fired."

"I've always wanted to do this." Bill pulled the tile up and dug underneath. "I keep telling everyone we need to do something with this room. It's a hazard. It'd be cool to restore the pool, but I don't think that's going to happen."

Bill didn't have to dig very deep before he hit metal on metal and pulled a box out of the dirt. It was covered in rust and it took a bit of effort from the custodian to pry it open. He held it out to Beth and she took a yellowed piece of paper out.

She read it out loud. "'The heart of the city where both goods and information congregate.' This one seems a lot more obscure. Anyone else have an idea?"

We were silent for a long moment when Bill said, "I think it has something to do with the railroad. Back in the 1880s, the only way Seattle got information from other parts of the country was the telegraph. Most telegraph offices were part of the train depot. And of course, most goods were brought in by train."

"Where was the Seattle Depot back in 1899?" Robert asked.

"The Columbia Street Depot," Beth said. "It was burnt in the great fire."

"So you're saying we have to go dig up a piece of Columbia Street?" Robert asked.

Addie said, "It's already being dug up. Haven't you all noticed how much construction there is in the city? It's worse than when I was haunting where I died right after the fire."

This ghost kept surprising me. It was almost as if she had found some way to orchestrate this whole treasure hunt. I felt she had picked the perfect time to have me help track down her relative. I had to hand it to her, all she had needed was someone to communicate with Beth.

"You want to come with us?" Robert asked Bill.

"Really? Yeah, I want to see what happens. I'm off shift in about 10 minutes. I'll just put my stuff away and meet you at your van."