About half an hour later, the spiritualists John had summoned arrived. They circled the charred remains of the old house and began their work. When the lead practitioner let out a final, commanding shout, a wave of cold swept across my back like a draft from somewhere that shouldn't exist.
It was as if my father-in-law's cries for help were spiraling right beside my ear.
It was the dead of summer, sweltering heat pressing down on everything, yet cold sweat crawled across my skin in an instant. I hugged my shoulders and shrank back without thinking.
The lead spiritualist stepped past me and clasped John's hand.
"All done. Rest easy. The one who died in there is condemned to never find peace. Not in this life, not in any life after."
"Good, good. Thank you. What do I do next?"
"Pull the body out. Do whatever you want with it. Then renovate the house. It'll be perfectly fine to live in again." The man paused. "When I was performing the rite, that spirit was fighting back something fierce. Seemed like it wanted to say something, plead some kind of grievance. But you already told me the whole story, so I forced it down all the same."
"Good. Good. Thank you..."
John walked the spiritualists out with a smile on his face, chatting and laughing the entire way.
Old Mr. Harmon, who had been standing nearby the whole time, tugged gently at my sleeve.
"Miss, that young man is your husband, isn't he? He treats your father like this, and you still won't divorce him?"
"It's not time yet."
I turned to the old man and smiled.
"Sir, the one who died in there wasn't my father."
His eyes widened. "You mean... the one inside was his..."
I nodded.
Old Mr. Harmon slapped his thigh so hard the sound cracked through the air.
"Lord have mercy! A son condemning his own father to never rest in peace. What kind of sin is that..."
"What are you two whispering about?!"
John stormed over and seized the old man by the shoulder.
"What do you mean, sin?! What happens in my family is none of your damn business!"
I shot Old Mr. Harmon a look.
He shook off John's hand and shook his head with a weary sigh. "Ah, it's nothing, nothing..."
"That's right, what's it got to do with me anyway..."
"Such a shame, though. That old fellow was a good man..."
His words stirred a fresh wave of bitterness in my chest.
He was right. My father-in-law had been a good man.