A week later, Tom and his wife Linda have joined George and Sandy for a Sunday barbecue. While the ladies are chatting about recipes and other things, George and Tom are watching the barbecue.
"Have you contacted Hogan yet?" Tom asked quietly.
Shaking his head, George said, "No, but I have to do something, because the lights and shadows are still out there." He looked at Tom. "What if something illegal is going on out there?"
"What do you mean... illegal? What have you seen?"
"Keep your voice down," George cautioned. "I don't want anyone else knowing about this - not yet."
Tom nodded. "Okay, I get it."
"I saw it several times this week, but it doesn't seem to be IN the swamp, just sort of floating above it."
"Floating?" Tom repeated. "Could it be a drone?"
"Don't think so, looks too big. I tried taking a picture with my phone, but it's too fuzzy to make any sense of it."
Tom grinned and shook his head. "I see only one way to deal with this, my friend. You need to call Hogan."
George shook his head. "I don't know, he'd probably just laugh or think I was high on something."
"Why would he think that?"
"Because that's what I'd do if someone came to me with a tale like this."
Tom frowned. "Really? Why?"
"Because, logically, I know that ghosts and other such things don't exist. In most cases it's just a figment of someone's imagination." He sighed. "But I have seen things... on multiple occasions."
"And you can't explain it," Tom said.
"I suppose the lights could be caused by Swamp Gas, but I can find no explanation for the strange, dark shadows." George sighed. "If it continues much longer, I'm afraid I'll end up with a nervous breakdown."
"I still think Hogan is the answer," Tom said. "You need someone who thinks logically, and knows what he's doing. You can't just blunder around in the dark, especially in a swamp. It would be a foolish thing to do, and if you try it, someone will have to go looking for you." Tom shook his head. "You need Hogan to solve this."
"Why him specifically?"
"He's a retired police detective, well known for solving strange and unusual things."
"I can't afford a private detective," George said quietly.
"No worries. Apparently, he works cheap. It's like a hobby for him since he retired. He also does a lot of investigating things from the past, for the Historical Society. You really should talk to him."
"Probably still too expensive for me."
Tom shook his head. "Mostly gas money."
George laughed. "Smart man! Gas doesn't come cheap these days."
"You got that right. It must be hard for you, going back and forth to the city every day."
There was a minute of silence. "If things work out, I may not be doing that much longer."
Tom raised his eyebrows. "Thinking of changing jobs?"
"No." George said. "I'm considering working from home more." He looked over at the women. "Steaks are done!" They got up and came towards him with the plates.
Much later in the evening, George lay awake, thinking. Maybe Tom was right. He decided to call Hogan in the morning, then turned over and went to sleep.
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