Cara Anderson

Overview
Cara Elizabeth Anderson is an ectomancer. As a young child she discovered she had a minor talent to see and communicate with ghosts. She later developed these talents and became a focused practitioner. She runs an investigative firm helping lost souls find closure and pass on to their next lives. Officially, she works as a medium out the top floor of the Divine Goddess.

Aspects

 * Some of my best friends are dead. (High concept)
 * Most people don't take my seriously. (Trouble)
 * Discretion is the better part of valor.
 * God helps those who help themselves.
 * Do the right thing.
 * Friends in many places.
 * Great timing.

Early Years
Carady "Cara" Elizabeth Anderson was born June 21, 1987 to Standford and Lizzie Anderson, a well-to-do and well respected couple from Saskatoon. Stanford was a successful businessman and Lizzie was a socialite with many favorite charities she supported and ran.

Cara had a fairly normal, if somewhat privileged, upbringing, but was taught from a young age not to be vain about the family's wealth, but to share it with others who were not as fortunate. Her mother believed that the family's fortune was a blessing from god (which one, she wasn't sure), and that if it was squandered on wasteful things, it would be taken away.

When Cara was 8, she encountered a ghost for the first time at the funeral of a distant aunt. The ghost of this aunt asked her to pass on a final message so she could have closure. Cara, not thinking anything much out of the ordinary about this pale, old woman, dutifully sought out her great uncle and passed the message along.

The old man was confused at first when she told him the pale lady in the corner wanted him to know something, but she had to tell him because the lady couldn't come over there - probably because she had no legs. Upon hearing the last message from his dearly departed wife which Cara conveyed, he accompanied his young niece to where his wife's ghost was and was able to speak with her briefly, through Cara, before the ghost moved on.

Cara's family never really talked about this, but a small part of the supernatural community in Saskatoon took note of her. When they began coming to her for help to pass on messages to loved ones, Cara's parents started to worry at her behaviour and the things she'd blurt out to passing strangers. While her mother was probably more mortified at what strangers would think of her and her strange daughter; Cara's parents sought help. They took her took see several psychiatrists, and even a priest to explain this strange behaviour. It was Father Bob HIllbauer, a visiting parishioner from the Fellowship of St. Giles, who figured out the truth and met with Cara and her parents. He explained to them that the supernatural world was very real, and that Cara had been given a gift. Cara's religious mother accepted this truth from Father Bob, but endeavored to teach her daughter to be discrete about helping others in "her way."

When Cara was 15, she had a falling out in the Christian community in Saskatoon for outing a prominent minister who was taking financial advantage of a local widow by playing on her fear that her husband may be burning in hell. It was after this incident that she learned that discretion is the better part of valor, and that her mother may have had a point. The religious community still looks on Cara's chosen career with disdain because of this.

Career
Cara choose to embrace her minor talent to communicate with ghosts and found a mentors in the supernatural community who taught her how to become more focused in her abilities. Over time, she discovered that she has the sight, although she doesn't like to use it much.

Officially, Cara set up shop at the Divine Goddess (formerly Witches Brew) as a medium. Being one of the few honest ones out there, she has a great reputation amongst those inclined to indulge in such things. Unofficially, Cara is an investigator for the ghost community in the Saskatoon area. Ghosts seek her out for help and closure and she does what she can to help them.

James Tyveck sought her out to join with the Spook Squad after she was able to help solve a murder using her contacts in the spiritual world. She worked with them for a time, but finding that her life was often put in danger by working directly with the Spooks, she decided to retire from active duty. Cara occasionally helps out the Spook Squad by gathering information from her ghostly contacts when they ask for help.

"Words in the Dark"
Cara was approached by the ghost of a young, Aboriginal teenager (Jeffrey Shiwak) who had been murdered on the East Side by some rich kids for "not belonging here." Because the teenagers involved in the murder had parents of influence, and because he was just a "poor Indian" found dead in the "good part of town," this case was a very low priority for investigation. Cara was joined in her search for justice by Mark Manners, the young man's Judo instructor, and James Tyveck of the Saskatoon Police. Evidence incriminating the murderers was found and they were brought to trial.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10652189/1/Words-in-the-Dark

"A Step to Far"
Cara was contacted by a murdered student of Mark's who needed to get a message onto him about a kidnapped member of the Order of St. Giles. After to passing along the message to him, she used her contracts in the supernatural community to find out what the defenses were around where he was being held. Cara was not directly involved in the freeing of this man, but later on when Mark let her know about the successful rescue, she was happily surprised to be reunited with Father Bob, who had been the kidnapee. This was also the occasion that Cara found out that Mark was a red court infected, but it didn't matter to her because Mark he is a good person.

"Young Blood"
Cara came across a group of terrified young children - all ghosts who desperately needed help. Her investigations led her to James Tyveck who was investigating a group of missing children. They eventually came to a house where a sorcerer was sacrificing children with magical potential to gain power. Cara asked a young ghost named Kevin to help her distract the sorcerer, which he did buy gleefully throwing a brick through a window. James was able to take the shot and kill the sorcerer while he was distracted.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10607594/1/Blood-of-Youth-Blood-of-Power

Time with the Saskatoon Spook Squad
Cara spent some time with the original Spook Squad, mostly in a supportive role. She used her contacts among the ghost community of Saskatoon to help investigate various cases for the squad, at one time channeling the spirit of a dead man using his finger bone.

When the Squad got involved in dealings between the Hell's Angels and the Indian Posse, Cara tried to help out, but learned she was not useful in direct physical combat. After hiding out in the Squad's van during a raid on some safehouses where squad members were shooting and throwing grenades, she ended up helping her team out by running someone over with the van. This sickened her, and, combined with the way Ed K. Danvers dealt with a problem (by lighting himself on fire and sitting on the victim's bed), she decided that she could not actively participate in Squad's activities. While Cara recognized these tactics as necessary evils to protect "the greater good," she decided that she needed to help others in a different way. She retired from the Squad and went back to her former job.

Cara's true calling is to help lost souls find a way to move on, or, if that is not possible, get them in contact with other ghosts in the community and set up a support network for them so they can acclimatize to their new "life." One of her main contacts is Suzie Fryingpan, a social worker who didn't let death stop her from doing her job.

Cara is still a consultant with the Saskatoon Police Service and the new Spook Squad. She mostly helps them out when they are searching for missing persons.