The sun set at 8:36 pm, and the moon rose shortly thereafter.  The night was warm and still and Lana and I met at the doughnut shop at Archer and 75^th Street.  Lana had a duffle bag full of her equipment and I showed her the glove I had found.  I had also found a sizable hole in the rear fence near the cemetery’s service entrance that we could use to sneak in.

Lana and I got through the fence and she followed me to the area near John Bowers’ grave.  In between listening for any staff or security that might be on patrol, I told her about my wild trip back from the auto pound; as well as my numerous sightings of Mary this afternoon.

“There is a good chance we will encounter Mary tonight, Carl” Lana suggested, “She may not be happy with our presence near John’s grave.”

“I tried to tell Mary earlier that I was hoping to help her and she left me alone once I got to the cemetery. I think she was more curious than confrontational.” I replied.

We found John’s grave and Lana started unpacking her duffle. The first item she set up was a battery-powered lantern with screens on the top and sides that directed the light forward and down so it wouldn’t be noticeable from a distance.

“I take it you’ve done this type of thing before.” I said.

“My calling as a spiritualist has put me in many strange situations. This is not my first time in a cemetery after dark.” she smiled.

Lana next brought out a colorful scarf, which she laid on the grave near the marker.  She then set up two small white candles and lit them.  She extinguished the lantern and asked me for the driving glove which she then laid upon the scarf.

Next Lana started a low murmuring in a foreign language.  I couldn’t hear enough of it to identify which language it might be.  Lana told me later it was a gypsy dialect that mingled many eastern European tongues.  I was crouching alongside Lana and she was kneeling beside the grave.  I saw the candles flicker and the wind kicked up.  The various insect sounds around us fell silent and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

I now heard Lana whisper John’s name very quietly a few times along with her other mutterings.  The wind blew harder and started to whistle and moan occasionally.  the moaning of the wind soon started to sound distinctly like a male voice.

I noticed that Lana would stop muttering just before the moaning could be heard.  I suddenly realized that she was conversing with the voice in the wind.  The voice seemed to be saying “Nooooooo, Nooooooo”, but Lana pressed on.  She kept her voice low but the wind’s voice grew louder and louder.

I could now distinctly hear the male voice shouting, ”No! No!”

This kept up for several minutes until the voice rose to a shriek and the candles blew out.

I fumbled for the lantern and got it lit in time to see a dark figure running away from us.  I picked up my flashlight to get a better look and the figure stopped and turned to look at me.  He was in his 20’s and dressed in a dark suit and tie. His eyes were filled with fury as he looked back on Lana and I, then he turned away and kept on running.

I turned at Lana, who had a shocked look on her face.

“Who was that? Was that John? John Bowers? Did you bring him back?” I asked her.

“No…I mean yes. I think that was John. Oh, my God, what have I done? How could that have happened?” Lana stammered in reply.

“What happened Lana, I could tell you were conversing with him and he kept saying “No” over and over. How did he come back?” I asked again.

“I don’t know how it happened. I’ve never done anything like that before. Oh Carl, forgive me. I thought I could help him and Mary. What have I done?” she answered, collapsing on the ground.

I had seen a bottle of water in her bag and got it out quickly, uncapped it and brought it to her.  She held onto my hand as she drank from it.  It seemed to steady her nerve and we started to discuss what had just happened.  We also gathered up Lana’s belongings and started heading for the fence.

“I was able to establish communication with John right away. It was as if his spirit was not that far off, as if it was already nearby and waiting for me.  Perhaps because of the influence of Mary, or the amount of spiritual activity in the area and at this time.” Lana started to explain.  I was trying not to interrupt her, she seemed to be trying to work out this surprising event as we walked and talked.

“I was using a centuries old method of summoning the dead. I was speaking to John about his life here on earth and asking him for details about his last moments. He was resisting my inquiries right from the start. The more I tried to explain myself, let him know I was not a threat, the more agitated he became.  I felt him drifting away, so I started using more forceful means to compel him to stay. I asked for help from the spirits surrounding him and John was suddenly fighting us all.  His anger continued to build until something gave way, a barrier seemed to snap and propel John’s spirit back to this time and place.”

As Lana was explaining, we were hearing sounds of a traffic disturbance coming from the area of the main gate on Archer Avenue.  We heard several car horns, some tires squealing and finally police sirens.

We got back to my car and I quickly turned on my police scanner.

“…Subject now on foot southbound Archer Avenue approaching 75^th…” came the voice of the police dispatcher.

“Justice J-19, dispatch, I’ve got him…running on the median…male, white, about 25, medium build, dark blue or black business suit and tie.  He just crossed over northbound lanes and is running along the curb.” a patrolman’s voice broke in.

Another voice broke in, sounding out of breath, “Justice, I’m on foot on the east side of Archer…he’s coming towards…”

“Last unit, identify yourself.” the dispatcher said.

“Justice, J-19, that was J-12 on foot. The subject knocked J-12 down and kept going southbound. Justice, we have an officer down at Archer, just south of 75^th. I’ll be out of the car checking on him.”

“Copy, J-19. Officer down…Archer south of 75^th.  Subject now wanted for battery.” repeated the dispatcher.

Lana and I had pulled out from 75^th and onto Archer southbound.  I quickly had to curb my car to allow 3 more Justice squads to fly by.

“J-19, Justice! Dispatch an ambulance to my location. Mike’s not breathin’!” shouted officer J-19 over the radio.

“Copy J-19, already enroute.  Any unit have the subject in sight?” asked the dispatcher.

“Justice, J-11. Subject crossing back onto the median, Archer and 86^th.  Paul, pull your squad up…block him!” shouted another voice on the radio.

“Justice, J-19. I need a supervisor to respond with the ambulance.” Officer J-19 spoke to the dispatcher in a hushed voice.

“10-4, J-19. J-02, did you copy that?” asked the dispatcher.

“10-4, Justice. I’m enroute.” answered a voice I took to be the sergeant’s.

I had pulled back into traffic although mine was the only vehicle on the southbound side of the road without emergency lights.  The northbound traffic was bumper to bumper. The ambulance had arrived a block north of us to treat the wounded officer and several squads were south of us with the subject, who I had guessed was the fleeing John Bowers.  Lana and I got within a few car lengths of the action and saw several cops grappling with Bowers.  He had a lot of strength but didn’t seem to know how to use it. He would scramble to his feet and immediately get knocked down again by the 4 or 5 officers he was battling.

Lana and I jumped from my car as I furiously started taking photographs.

The cops were able to stand Bowers up against the wall of the store they were fighting in front of.  Two officers had hold of each of John’s arms. He was pinned against the wall and they were trying to use their combined leverage to turn him around. As the officers were bracing themselves against John’s arms I saw the cops suddenly crumple against the storefront as if John had pulled his arms out of their grasp. He hadn’t, his arms had just disappeared. They just blinked out of existence. I saw the officers back off to get a fresh grip and their startled expressions as they realized that John’s torso had shoulders, but no arms. John was apparently learning to use his newly acquired supernatural powers.  Bowers grinned at the officers and suddenly his arms reappeared. In the blink of an eye, he shifted position to about fifteen feet away. The cops scrambled to set up a perimeter around him, and started to move in.

Bowers turned his back on Lana and I and ran through and over the cops surrounding him. He continued running south on Archer away from us.  The Justice police officers were regaining their feet, some in worse shape than others, and were rushing to their parked squads as another figure swept by Lana and I.

At some point in the skirmish, the ghost of Resurrection Mary had arrived in our area and had probably been watching the action from nearby. We felt a definite chill as she glided past us and followed John down the street. 

Police cars blocked the road and I tried arguing with the cops to let me follow the action south. The patrol sergeant arrived and introduced me to the detective in charge who quickly snatched my camera and film. I was assigned my very own police escort north and out of town.

After the scuffle with John and the brief sighting of Mary, I could tell that several of the Justice officers had arrived at the same conclusion I had…our ghost problem had doubled. Instead of one violent ghost in town, we now had two.