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feel out the energy around the man.
    “He did look real,” Heath agreed. “And we were running on pure adrenaline up there. It never even occurred to me when we saw him hanging over the edge like that that he might be a ghost, which was why I automatically thought his hand passing through mine had to have been a trick of the light. But then Gopher and I couldn’t find any trace of him anywhere near the base of the cliffs, and at that end of the beach, the tide is still low enough that there’s no way his body could have been carried out to sea. There are at least fifty yards of dry rocky shore between the edge of the water and the cliffs.”
    I inhaled deeply, my tattered emotions already mending themselves back together. “He fell straight down,” I said. “So he should have landed within about ten to twenty feet of the rock face.”
    “Yep,” Heath agreed.
    I switched my attention to Gilley. “Can you do some research for us when we get back to the B&B? I want to know if there is anything in cyberspace about this ghost.”
    “On it,” Gil said.
    “And don’t go back too far in history,” Heath told him. “The guy was wearing a down vest, jeans, and a really nice watch. I think it might even have been a Rolex.”
    “You got a lot of detail in those few seconds,” I told him.
    “I don’t know that I’ll ever get that image out of my head,” Heath replied, looking pained.
    I moved closer to him and squeezed my arm around his waist. “I know exactly how you feel.”
    “So what do we do now?” Kim asked. She’d gotten very quiet after hearing about the man who’d fallen off the cliff.
    “Wait for John,” Gilley said. “He’ll probably bring the cavalry with him and we’ll have some explaining to do.”
    “Maybe whoever he brings with him will know about our spook,” I suggested.
    And it turned out that I hadn’t been far off the mark. John returned about ten minutes later with one winded-looking constable. “Now, what’s this about a man falling to his death from the top o’ the cliff?” he asked us.
    Gopher extended his hand and introduced himself, explaining that our group was here to film an episode for an American ghost-hunting show, and that we had witnessed a man dropping to his death from the top of the cliffs, but were unable to locate his body.
    “Are you the same Americans that alerted the coast guard to this missing Alex person and his companion?” the constable asked.
    “Yes, sir,” said Gopher.
    The constable appeared irritated, and he took his handkerchief out of his trouser pocket to wipe at his brow. “Well, then, you’ve found your first ghost, haven’t you?”
    “We already suspected as much,” I said. “We’re so sorry to have raised a false alarm.”
    The constable softened. “Don’t mind it, miss. Happens at least three or four times a year whenever one of the tourists ignores the signs about not venturing onto the causeway.”
    “We have permission to be here,” Gopher said quickly, and he dug into his coat pocket for the papers to prove it.
    The constable took the paper and inspected it, finally nodding. “Everything looks in order,” he said. “Although I hardly think choosing Dunlow Castle was a wise move given its history.”
    “You mean the phantom?” Gilley asked.
    “Aye,” he said. “This is a dangerous place, mates. And you should know that if you get into trouble here on this rock, there’ll be precious little me or the coast guard will be able to do for you.” The constable then pointed to the right-of-access document he was still holding and said, “As it says in your paper here, Mr. Gophner, you’re assuming all risks while you’re here at Castle Dunlow, and the village of Dunlee will not be held liable for any deaths that may occur nor be required to participate in any rescue of you or your party should something dreadful happen at the top of the rock.”
    Heath and I exchanged a look, and I knew we were both thinking the same