Cursed Romance

by Raven Snow

  ***

  True to her word, Rowen parked a block away from the house Rose and Ben shared. Eric refused to wait in the car. It was with a great deal of reluctance that Rowen let him tag along. “It’s going to be a lot more complicated if both of us sneak in,” she warned him.

  “Don’t worry. I’m just gonna keep a look out.

  Sure he was. Rowen shoved him behind some bushes once they were close enough. She pulled out her phone and called Ben. She could sort of make him out through the bedroom window. It was halfway open, the white curtains undulating gently.

  “What now?” asked Ben, his tone stern and dispassionate.

  Rowen was stunned into silence before she realized that he couldn’t let on it was her he was talking to. His men at the station must be calling him on a semi regular basis. “I’m outside with you know what. You, ah, probably already gathered that when I called, but… I dunno what I’m supposed to say here.”

  “Yes. That’s fine.”

  “So, can I come in?”

  “I’ll call you back.” Ben hung up.

  Rowen hunkered down in the bushes with her husband. From the corner of her eyes, she saw some movement. An elderly lady was sitting on her front porch with a mug of coffee and her newspaper. She was staring at them, newspaper unread and coffee undoubtedly growing cold. They weren’t hiding in her lawn at least. Rowen prayed she didn’t think to call the cops. She raised her hand in a meek little wave. The woman stood and headed back inside. She was almost definitely calling the cops.

  Rowen’s phone buzzed. She looked down and saw that she had a text from Ben. Come now, it read. Hurry.

  Rowen did just that. She jogged across the lawn and launched herself up through the window— or tried to, rather. Launch was probably too generous a word. It was more accurate to say she struggled getting up and over like a child trying to lift themselves from the deep end of a pool. She slowly but quietly lowered herself into an ungraceful heap on the other side.

  “Come on,” whispered Ben.

  Rowen picked herself up off the floor. She shot Ben a look she hoped conveyed how rude he was being. “I’m doing my best here. You might want to call the guys at your station, by the way. I think one of your neighbors might call in about a couple of suspicious people hiding in the bushes.”

  Ben sighed wearily but nodded. He motioned her over, still rushing her with his mannerisms even if he wasn’t saying anything out loud. He was looking better, Rowen decided, looking at him. Maybe he looked a little more restless than usual, but that was to be expected. No doubt, he wanted out of bed. The constant shifting around didn’t look like it hurt him, at least. He held out a hand for the box. Rowen handed it to him with a smile.

  “It’s gorgeous.” She nodded to the box as he tucked it under his pillow. “She’ll love it.”

  A sound down the hallway made them both look up. There were footsteps outside the door. Rowen stood very still, but the footfalls passed them by. They grew distant as they disappeared down the hallway. Rowen heard a door close. “Go on,” whispered Ben, nodding to the window. “Thanks for this. I owe you.”

  Rowen began to turn and head for the window. She paused. “Hey…” She turned back to him, a half-formed question weighing on her.

  Ben sighed heavily. “What?”

  Despite feeling he owed her, it didn’t sound like he was planning on showing her his gratitude just yet.

  “Do you know anything new about what happened to Andrea and… and Rory?”

  Ben’s stern expression softened a little. “I’m sorry about what happened to your stepfather, Rowen.”

  Rowen waved a hand to dismiss his sympathy. “I barely knew him.”

  “Still.”

  “Yeah, it sucks.” That felt like a very strange and awkward understatement, but Rowen’s feelings on the matter were pretty strange and awkward.”

  “You’re not on the case anymore. You don’t have to worry about this.”

  “No one actually told us we were off the case. I mean, I figured it was implied, but we weren’t dismissed in any kind of official capacity. I think there was an oversight somewhere.”

  Ben swore, saying something even quieter than all the whispering they were doing. It sounded like he was angry about how police business was being handled in his absence. He would probably be coming down hard on some people once he got back. “They haven’t found much. That area’s so large, they can’t really search it thoroughly. There’s no way to shut the entire surrounding forest down. Of course, the site near the bonfire is useless for collecting evidence. So many people in and out. They didn’t find anything at the cabin either.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Rowen. “It had to be worse than the bonfire. That place is tiny, and I know Jeff has had… geez, who even knows how many women in there.”

  Ben’s brow furrowed. He regarded Rowen for a moment, like he wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about. “It’s not tiny,” he began. “It’s a rather large cabin actually.”

  “It’s a shack,” Rowen corrected, thinking back to every time she had been at the bonfire. “It’s tiny. It’s… Wait. Are you telling me there’s a cabin out there?”

  Ben didn’t answer her at first. He seemed hesitant to continue. No doubt he regretted saying anything about a cabin now. “Yes,” he said with a sigh. “There’s a cabin. You didn’t think Jeff lived just in that little shack, did you?”

  “Sort of,” Rowen admitted. She had always thought of Jeff as the kind of guy to live with as little as possible. She had imagined him as a more stationary version of her mother.

  “There’s a cabin further out in the woods. That’s the long and short of it. Now, get going before Rose comes back.”

  Rowen was thinking about that cabin now. It was hard not to. She should go to it, she decided. Maybe Andrea was there. Maybe she could speak with her spirit. Sounds of a door closing down the hallway and footsteps stirred Rowen from her contemplating.

  “Hurry up,” hissed Ben.

  Rowen did just that. She went back to the window. Getting out was easier than getting in, but wiggling through the open window was still very awkward. Her blouse caught on the frame and started riding up around her neck. The last thing she needed was Rose to come in here in time for her to see Rowen flashing Ben a glimpse of the bright pink bra she was wearing.

  “Don’t go up there alone and get yourself into any trouble,” Ben warned, not distracted in the least by her undergarments.

  Rowen dropped to the ground—just in time, too. She heard the door to the bedroom crack open. Rowen kept low and hurried across the lawn, back to where Eric was waiting for her in the bushes.

  “That took forever,” Eric commented, raising an eyebrow at his wife. “I was wondering if you had gotten caught and decided to stay for lunch. I was wondering if I should go around and knock on the front door.”

  “Shut up.” Rowen punched her husband in the arm. She motioned in the direction of the car. “Come on. I have something new for us to check out.”

  “Please don’t tell me we’re going back to Jeff’s place.” Ben groaned. “It’s such a long drive from here.”

  “Fine,” said Rowen, beginning the walk to their car. “I won’t say we’re going to his place… But that’s totally where we’re going.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  There were fewer people at the bonfire than usual. Rowen counted just two. With the police loitering around the place, it wasn’t quite party central as of late. Rowen kept near the tree line. She didn’t want to be noticed if she could help it. She wasn’t there to talk to anyone. First and foremost, she wanted to locate this cabin she had just learned about.

  “Where’s it supposed to be?” asked Eric as they pushed into the woods.

  “I’m not sure,” Rowen admitted. She probably should have asked, though she wasn’t sure that would have done her much good. There clearly wasn’t a trail out to it or anything. The only directions Ben could have given her would have been vagu
e at best and incorrect at worst. He didn’t want her going here, after all. He didn’t think she and her husband needed to be on this case anymore. “Just remember where we came out.”

  Eric glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll do my best. Remember we don’t get any reception out here, though. I don’t want to die in these woods. Exposure is, like, third on my list of least favorite ways to go.”

  “You have a list?”

  “It’s right after being eaten alive.”

  “That’s specific.”

  “Not really. There are a lot of things that can eat you alive.”

  “Fair enough, I guess.” Rowen found herself thinking of all the things that could eat them alive in these woods if they got lost. Surely it wouldn’t come to that.

  Fancy seeing you here!

  Rowen jumped, making Eric jump as well. It took her a moment to realize that the voice she had heard had not been one spoken aloud. “Natalie.” She let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and pressed a hand over her chest. It felt like her heart might rip right out of her chest, it was pounding so hard. “What are you still doing out here?”

  Keeping that Rory fellow company. What are you doing?

  “Still trying to figure out who killed him. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a cabin out here?”

  Sure I have! Want me to lead you to it?

  “Yes, please,” Rowen said slowly. She wasn’t used to Natalie being so positive and eager to help. Having company must have improved her mood greatly. “Is Rory nearby?”

  This way. Natalie’s energy had moved to the right.

  He’s… okay. He’s still getting used to this being dead stuff. You know how it is.

  Rowen didn’t know how it was exactly, but she got the gist. She followed Natalie’s energy. “Natalie is showing us to the cabin,” she told Eric.

  “Yeah,” Eric said with a nod. “I got that.”

  “Has he remembered anything that could help us figure out who killed him?” asked Rowen.

  I don’t think so. If he has, he hasn’t told me about it.

  “Have you seen another ghost around? A young woman? Her name is Andrea.”

  I remember you looking for her. Natalie sounded slightly annoyed, like it bothered her that Rowen thought she would have forgotten the most recent case they were looking into so soon.

  I haven’t seen anyone but Rory hanging around.

  That was discouraging. It meant they weren’t likely to run into anyone at the cabin. Still, they had come this far. It felt like it was worth checking out. Surely, there would be some sort of emotional impression there.

  The cabin in question was a good ways out. It took a solid ten minutes worth of walking to get there. It was indeed larger than the shack. Rowen felt a bit stupid for thinking Jeff must have lived in that cramped little thing. Still, it was difficult to picture Jeff living here. The cabin was nice. It wasn’t some ancient, ramshackle building put together by generations past. It was two stories, with the kind of polish that suggested a professional construction job. Rowen wasn’t quite sure how any sort of construction crew could get all the way out here considering there were no direct roads but, all the same, that was how it looked.

  “What now?” asked Eric.

  “Is anyone inside?” Rowen asked Natalie.

  I’ll check. Natalie’s energy dissipated.

  “She’s checking,” Rowen relayed to Eric. She rocked back on her heels as they waited, taking in their surroundings. It was nice out here, peaceful. Birds were singing and the sun filtered in through the trees just right, not too bright, not too dark. The only signs that anything bad might have happened around here were the remains of yellow police tape.

  The coast is clear, said Natalie.

  “Thanks.” Rowen approached the cabin. “We’re the only ones here.” She tried the front door first.

  “You’re trying to break in?”

  The front door swung open. Rowen flashed a smile back at her husband. “It’s not breaking in if you’re just… gently opening a door that’s already unlocked.”

  “It’s trespassing then.”

  “Whatever. We’re doing it. We need to figure this thing out. Come on.”

  Eric followed Rowen inside. He hadn’t really put up an argument. Most likely, he wanted to look around in this place as badly as she did.

  The cabin was as nice inside as it looked outside. Rowen didn’t try any light switches. There was enough daylight coming in through the windows to see by. There were overhead lights, though. Rowen imagined that the place must have some sort of generator.

  All the furniture looked quite nice, well maintained and fashionable. As Rowen walked further in, she caught sight of a Jacuzzi on the back porch. There was a glass sliding door that led out to it. She heard her husband give a low whistle.

  “Jeff is really living it up out here, huh?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “What’s his day job again?”

  “Getting people high and partying around bonfires?” Rowen ventured. She headed for the staircase against a wall. Something was pulling her up there. It didn’t feel like a spirit. It was a less organized type of energy. It was a kind of emotional residue, the sort of thing traumatic events tended to leave behind. She heard the stairs creaking behind her as Eric followed her up. He didn’t say anything. He knew better, no doubt. He had been with Rowen long enough to know when he needed to just let her do her thing.

  Upstairs was similar to the downstairs. The furniture was nice. There was a long rug with ornate spiral patterns rolled out across the hardwood in the hall. Pictures lined the walls. Rowen passed black and white photos and paintings of landscapes as she walked toward the place where the most energy was emanating from. She found herself in a bedroom.

  It was a large bedroom, probably the master bedroom. There was a big sleigh bed with a frame made of varnished brown wood. The mattress was bare. That struck Rowen as odd at first, but then she remembered that the cops had searched this place. Some things being missing really wasn’t all that unusual.

  “What do you feel?” asked Eric. Rowen had been standing in place for a little too long, most likely. “Was she killed here?”

  “I don’t know,” Rowen admitted. She turned in a slow circle. This didn’t quite feel right. The energy wasn’t coming from the bedroom. Rowen spotted a door as she turned. She went to it, opened it. Behind the door was a bathroom. It was a large bathroom with lots of counter space and a fancy, claw foot tub. “Here,” said Rowen.

  “Andrea was killed here?” Eric asked.

  Rowen hesitated. Something had happened here. She wasn’t sure it was murder. “She was here.” Of that much, Rowen was sure. She could feel the same energy here that she had felt in Andrea’s bedroom. It was more erratic here, more frenzied and desperate… or was it? Rowen was getting mixed messages. What in the world had happened here?

  Hey, said Natalie.

  “Not right now.” Rowen waved a hand at Natalie’s energy like she was swatting away a bug. “I’m trying to figure this out.”

  Well, huffed Natalie. Don’t mind me then. I was just going to warn you that you’re not alone in the house anymore, but whatever. I’ll leave you alone.

  “What?” That snapped Rowen out of investigative mode. “Who is it, Natalie? Natalie? I’m sorry!” Natalie didn’t come back though. Rowen figured she probably deserved that.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Eric.

  “We’re not alone anymore.” Rowen left the bathroom. She was careful to step lightly. She didn’t want whoever had just entered the cabin to hear them walking around upstairs.

  “Who is it?” asked Eric.

  “Natalie didn’t say.” Rowen slowly moved into the hallway. She didn’t hear anything. She pushed on down the hallway and to the stairs. She paused there, pressing herself up against the wall so that no one downstairs would spot her if they walked by. Rowen listened. Sure enough, she could hear footsteps. There was some shifting about like
someone was going about the mundane tasks of daily living.

  Rowen weighed her options. They could try escaping from a second story window. Rowen instinctively didn’t like that idea. She’d had enough of climbing through windows today. She didn’t think she would get much better at it if she added height into the mix. She might even seriously injure herself that way.

  Sneaking downstairs was another option. Of course, Rowen wasn’t much good at sneaking even when windows weren’t involved. She didn’t know the layout of the house that well either. She wasn’t sure how she would get around anyone who happened to be downstairs. That left one final option. She could always just announce her presence and accept whatever consequences came with it. No, she decided. She would rather try and sneak to the door. She turned to tell Eric as much.

  “Who’s up there!” called a man’s voice from downstairs.

  Oh, well. So much for sneaking. She saw Eric shrug and motion her on. It sounded like there was only one person down there, at least. They weren’t in any danger. Unless you counted potentially being arrested as danger… This might have been a mistake.

  “Come down here!” shouted the same voice.

  Rowen took a deep breath and rounded the corner. She started down the stairs, Eric close behind her again.

  It was Jeff. He was standing at the base of the stairs, one of his hands on the bannister, gripping it tightly. He visibly relaxed when he saw who it was. His shoulders sagged. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. What are you doing all the way out here?”

  “Got led here by a ghost,” said Rowen, being honest. Jeff was probably one of the few people she felt would understand that sort of thing.

  “Who of?” he asked, his brow furrowing. He looked around. “Is this place haunted?”

  “Would that bother you?”

  “God, no.” Jeff put on a smile. “I’ve always wanted to live in a haunted house. Childhood dream, ya know?”

  “It’s… just a ghost I know. She doesn’t haunt this place or anything. She was just in the area.”

  Jeff shook his head, still smiling. “I’m going to have to sit down with your family someday. I should take up Tif’s offer and go get a reading from her at that shop you guys own. You’re such an interesting family.”