XIX: In Which We Meet Zachary

He was rather young, considering the surroundings, appearing to be in his early thirties.  He had short, brown hair, combed back and parted to the side, with one small curl hanging down on his forehead.  His eyes were a piercing brown behind horn-rimmed tortoise-shell glasses. Black slacks showed beneath his black-trimmed gold smoking jacket.

The faint smell of unburned tobacco drifted through the air from the bent apple pipe he held in his left hand. He gestured with it for them all to come in.

“Ah, do come in and take a seat, all of you.  It has been so very long since I had company.”

“I take it you’re our host?” Ron asked. “Well, I am Ronaldo Whispertongue.  I thank you for the invitation.” He said, bowing slightly.

“Welcome to you, Ronaldo; to you and all of your friends.  I do hope I have enough seats, I was unsure of how big your society was, or if everyone would come.  Please, though, have a seat.” The man gestured again.

Colin was the first to leave the doorway and chose a wingback chair.  It was very comfortable and not the slightest bit dusty. The rest of the group followed suit, taking the other chairs, couch and loveseat. There were exactly enough seats.

“Well, since Ronaldo beat me to it, I’ll introduce myself.  I’m Colin Park. I’m sort of the de facto leader of the Society.”  One by one they introduced themselves, going around the circle.

“And that leaves myself.”  Their enigmatic host said after they had all finished.  “My name is Zachary Knight and I need your help.” He shifted in his chair slightly, crossing his legs. “But before we get to that, I’m sure you have questions for me.”

“Yes we do.” Colin spoke up.  “First of all, how did you hear about the Society?  You said you weren’t sure how many members we have so you obviously haven’t been watching us.”

“Let’s just say a little birdie told me.”  Zachary said.

“You mean Jake?” Steve stood up.  “Well, that’s what I call the crow that comes to my window.”

“I don’t know  of this crow, Jake.  My friend is a magpie, similar birds to be sure, but I can assure you, Arsene has never visited your window.  He rides the currents of Aether, stealing snippets of conversation and bits of knowledge for me.”

Colin nodded.  “Well, if Steve can have a bird that brings him stuff, I suppose I can believe that you have one that tells you secrets.  Though I do find that very uncomfortable.”

“Ah yes, well certain species of bird are highly intelligent and many cross the border into the paranormal on occasion.  I fully believe that Poe had an encounter with one such, leading to the creation of the poem.” He paused for a second. “And I do apologise for making you uncomfortable, I was not trying to spy.  I have no control over what Arsene tells me. I feel a bit of the voyeur at times, but he is my only connection to the world outside this room.”

“You live in this room?”  Alex asked.

“Oh, darling, I’m afraid not.  Not anymore, that is.” Zachary laughed.  “I lived in this house once, but that was long ago and after I killed myself, I’ve been stuck here ever since.  Semantics aside, though, you are right. Shall we say I ‘haunt’ this room?”

“So, you’re a ghost?”  Alex asked. Zachary nodded.

“Spoopy.”  Steve said sarcastically.

“I’m sorry? I don’t understand.”  Zachary looked quizzingly at Steve.

“It’s okay, just ignore Steve.” Jane said.  “We all try to.”

“So what do you need us for?” Asked Colin, trying to get the conversation back under control.

“Well, as I’m sure you can imagine, something like seventy years in this room has been a little boring.  It took me many years just to learn to manifest and move things, and once I did, I read every book in the library there.  I’ve read them all so many times I have them memorized. I’d like to move on. To wherever it is I can move to.” He said tiredly.

“How do we help you move on?”  Ronaldo asked.

“Well, that’s the sticky part, you see.”  Zachary said. “I’ve tried everything I can to be at peace, but one thing keeps disrupting my thoughts.  It’s very near an obsession for me. Before I can go, I need to know the fate of a particular man. He was very close to me and I don’t know what became of him.”

“So, if we find out what happened to your friend, you can move on?”  Ron asked.

“Probably.”

“And what do we get if we help you move on?”  Sam asked. “I’m taking a big risk even being here right now, much less doing anything else.”

“If you bring me the information I desire, I will tell you the location and combination of a safe within this room.  There should be more than enough compensation in there for you.”

Several people’s eyes brightened.

“So where would we start?”  Selena asked.

“Well, his name was Nathan MacDunnel and the last I knew he was a patient at Kanetown State Mental Hospital.”