The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run

by Matthew S. Cox

  “Robin, please… I have to go to work. I’m not leaving. If I could stay home, I would, but we need money to pay for this place and food and bills… I promise I’ll be back.”

  The deadbolt gradually opened itself.

  “Thank you.”

  Did she get this possessive with the other people who lived here? Mia exited the house, locked the door, and climbed into the Tahoe. If she wants me to stay, why did she try to scare me off when she appeared by the bed?

  She shrugged, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway. As the back tires hit the street, she looked up at the house…

  And locked eyes with Robin glaring at her from the living room window. Before Mia could open her mouth, the girl faded away.

  Mia worried about the baleful expression on Robin’s face all day at work.

  Despite her anxiety about the ghost, the day went by fast. Cleaning a giant painting absorbed her attention to the point she missed lunch, not even realizing it until the ‘work trance’ faded twenty minutes past four. She decided to just wait for dinner and kept working until quitting time.

  A few minutes after six, she drove up Minstrel Run toward home. A green Jeep Cherokee parked near her house threw her into a bad mood, bracing for an argument. She pulled into the driveway to find Weston trading words with a tall, unfamiliar woman holding a pie. They both stood halfway along the walkpath to the porch, voices raised, but not fully shouting at each other.

  The woman looked older, her long white hair streaked with darker bands of pewter. Her baggy shirt and long multicolored skirt plus all the necklaces and bracelets she wore made her look somewhere between an aging hippie and a fortuneteller. Despite that, Mia’s initial instinct inclined her to take the newcomer’s side of whatever quarrel went on. The woman radiated a sense of genuineness that appealed to her.

  Both stopped barking at each other, turning to watch the Tahoe roll to a stop.

  Mia hopped out and approached them. “Is there a problem here?”

  “I’m merely wondering what she is doing here,” said Weston.

  The woman frowned. “I could ask you the same thing. Have you been invited?”

  Mia’s confusion made Weston smile.

  “Stop with the deceit, woman. Mrs. Gartner clearly has no idea who you even are.”

  “Oh, you must be Wilhelmina Marx.” Mia walked up to her and offered a hand. “Adam did tell me about you. I’d forgotten you’d be joining us for dinner tonight.”

  The woman shot Weston a ‘aha, take that!’ look and accepted her handshake. “Pleasure to meet you, dear.”

  “You shouldn’t be associating with that sort of person.” Weston almost took Mia’s arm to pull her away, but thought better of it. “This house is tainted enough without her influence.”

  “All the screaming you did here with the Vaughans didn’t help, now did it?” asked Wilhelmina. “I could hear the lot of you from my place.”

  “All you did was traumatize a child all over again.” Mia glowered at him. “There’s no demon here. If your god actually cared about children, he would’ve stopped that man from hurting her in the first place.”

  “God works—”

  “In mysterious ways, yeah I know.” Mia folded her arms. “That’s the same thing you people say whenever you have no good explanation for why a supposedly loving god allowed evil to happen to innocent people.”

  “Mia, you must understand what’s going on here,” said Weston.

  “I understand that you have an extremely narrow view that offers no room for anything outside the little book you love so much. Can’t explain something? Must be Satan. Don’t like something, just call it Satan anyway so everyone else doesn’t like what you don’t like.”

  “Weston…” Wilhelmina raised a placating hand. “The greatest problem you have is believing that your way is the only way. I’ve never said your god doesn’t exist, only that he isn’t the be-all-end-all you think he is.”

  “Atheism and paganism are going to be the ruination of this country.” Weston scowled at the house. “Mrs. Gartner, you must listen to reason before it’s too late for you.”

  “One, I’m not an atheist.” Mia pointed at him. “Atheists don’t believe in ghosts either. My opinion on god is that I don’t know. If he’s out there, he can speak for himself. I have a problem with people who use some theoretical deity as a justification to mistreat others. If your god is real, and as powerful as you think he is, then everything that happens is either his doing or happening with his permission. Evil exists because God creates it, allows it, or he’s not powerful enough to stop it. Now, please… if ever I feel the need to seek your help ‘saving my soul,’ I’ll come to you. I’d appreciate it if you stopped pestering us and harassing our guest.”

  “But—”

  She ignored Weston’s rambling about dire consequences and walked with Wilhelmina up onto the porch. The front door clicked on its own before she could even stick her hand in her purse to hunt for the keys.

  “Thank you, Robin.” Mia pulled the door open, held it for Wilhelmina, then entered, closing it on Weston’s continued shouting about trafficking with the minions of Satan. “Ugh, that man.”

  Wilhelmina looked around the living room. “The place has changed so much. I don’t even recognize it anymore. Though, it has been quite a few years since I’ve been inside this house.” She faced Mia. “There’s definitely energy here.”

  “Yes. Robin is here, though I’m still not sure if her parents are, too, or if I’ve only been catching glimpses of emotional imprints. Would you care for some tea or coffee?”

  “Tea would be lovely, thank you. And, here.” She offered the pie. “Blueberry.”

  “Thank you! It smells wonderful.” Mia headed to the kitchen, set the pie on the counter, then put on a kettle of water. Wilhelmina trailed after her in no great hurry, gazing around at the walls. She reached the kitchen as Mia set two mugs on the countertop.

  “Plain tea? Or we have a few different herbal ones.”

  “Plain is fine, dear.” Wilhelmina took a seat at the table. “So, you’re certain the girl is here?”

  “Yes.” Mia explained seeing her in the bedroom for a few brief minutes before Adam spooked her.

  Wilhelmina’s eyebrows notched upward. “That’s most curious. I find it intriguing that rather than being chased off by such an apparition, you’re inclined to help her. And I do think you’re right about her being frightened of men.”

  The kettle whistled. Mia got up to pour the water, then returned to the table with both cups. “Cream? Sugar?”

  “Just a little sugar, please.”

  Mia retrieved the sugar dispenser and sat again. “I kinda grew up around ghosts, though that didn’t stop me from being afraid of them. After the experience I had the other night, seeing Robin appear didn’t rattle me all that much. Poor kid looked furious though. Not sure if I annoyed her by putting some furniture in her room or why she’d throw off such rage if she’s lonely. Adam’s still not convinced we don’t have a demon pretending to be a child.”

  “That’s a valid worry. There is negative energy in here. It could be coming from Vic. As far as I am aware, nothing dark was ever summoned in this area, though who knows what any of the former residents might’ve done. Weston might have attracted something else with all his screaming about the Lord.”

  Mia rolled her eyes.

  “You appear to have more of an issue with him than I do.” Wilhelmina poured a teaspoon of sugar into her tea and stirred. “Mostly, I try to avoid him.”

  “It’s not him personally. Pushy religious people all have that effect on me. It’s because of my brother.”

  Wilhelmina sipped tea, nodding.

  “My brother, Tim, is gay. Our parents are like Weston, maybe even worse. They used to say such awful things to their own son after he came out of the closet. I caught him once with a bottle of sleeping pills… he was only fourteen then.”

  Wilhelmina cringed.

 
; “I had Timmy’s back, though. No idea where I got the nerve to get in my dad’s face, but I did. As a little girl, I’d been so afraid of him I could barely talk over a whisper around him. But, after finding Tim with those pills… I dunno, it just set off a fire inside me. We left home when my brother was seventeen. He lived in the dorm with me when I went to college, against regs. The whole floor basically adopted him. He’s okay now, but I haven’t spoken two words to my mother or father in about eight years.”

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

  “Nothing you need to apologize for. But, yeah… my issue isn’t with that man, but his beliefs. Maybe I should see what he thinks of LGBT people before I lump him in with my parents, but the preachy stuff just gets me irritated so fast. Sounds exactly like my father.”

  “Oh, Weston’s no shortage of preachy. He and his people used to pester me and mine, but they eventually gave up.”

  “Your people?” asked Mia.

  “There are a few of us who follow the old ways. All that man needed to hear was the word ‘coven,’ and you’d think we sacrificed infants for Samhain. If I hadn’t been thirteen—and quite secretive about my interest in witchcraft back then—I’m sure he would have blamed me for affecting Victor’s mind. The five of us meet every so often. Weston used to show up with some people from his church and wave signs on my lawn. Lovely folks, mind you. They were all so happy to tell us how we’d burn in hell.”

  Mia sighed. “Sorry. Well, I suppose I should get started on dinner then.”

  “Want some help, dear?”

  “You’re a guest. It’s okay.”

  Wilhelmina stood. “Nonsense. I don’t mind, and cooking together is the best way to welcome a new friend into your home.”

  While they prepared a pot roast with onions and sliced carrots, Mia chatted about the paranormal events that had occurred thus far, and what she’d experienced. She’d only known the woman for an hour or so, but already, Wilhelmina felt like the friendly, supportive mother she’d always resented other people having. Discussing the moment she’d felt Evelyn Kurtis’ grief proved difficult and emotional. Mia struggled to keep her voice from breaking up as she relayed the words she’d seen written on the wall.

  Adam walked in. “Sorry I’m a bit late. Got ambushed by a student who needed help.” He shook hands with Wilhelmina. “Thanks for coming. What did I miss?”

  “I’ve been filling her in on everything that’s happened… oh and Weston decided to warn us away from talking to her.” Mia shook her head. “Please tell me he’s not still out there.”

  “No, I didn’t see him.” Adam held up his briefcase. “Be right back, gonna drop this upstairs and change.”

  Mia resumed her explanation while cleaning green beans for a side.

  Wilhelmina whipped up a batch of mashed potatoes. At the mention of Mia watching the cop give Evelyn the revolver, she gasped in shock. “Everyone suspected as much, but no one said anything. I heard the judge fainted at the gunshots in his courtroom. Guess he wasn’t expecting it. Now, I’m no police officer, but I thought it unusual Evelyn had the time to fire all six shots before any of the cops managed to get to her. Way I heard it described, it sounded like a movie. She walked up behind him, emptied the gun, dropped it, and raised her hands. The police walked her out, didn’t even cuff her.” She grinned. “I also heard the defense attorney soiled himself.”

  Mia paused nipping the ends off the beans and stared at the knife in her hand. “I think I might be jealous a little. My mother wouldn’t have avenged me—or Timothy—like that. Robin was Evelyn’s whole world. That woman had a lot of guilt, too.”

  “I’d imagine. She’d been trying to leave Vic for a while, but kept losing her nerve. The man slapped her around all the time. Can’t say if she blamed herself for not leaving sooner or because she thought trying to leave made him do it.”

  Mia set the knife down and scooped the beans into a steamer. “Maybe both. No matter what she chose to do, something bad would’ve come of it.”

  “Smells good,” said Adam on the way back into the kitchen.

  “We’ve called in professional help.” Mia smiled.

  “Hah,” said Wilhelmina.

  They sat around the table talking about ghosts for a while. When the pot roast neared done, Adam opened a tube of biscuit dough, arranged them on a tray, and threw them in the oven. Mia’s dream experience and visions lined up with what Wilhelmina remembered, causing Adam to declare her a genuine psychic. He grabbed his laptop and showed Wilhelmina the light orbs he’d captured plus the EVPs he’d recorded. The woman fidgeted at her bracelets the entire time, occasionally gazing up at the ceiling. Once the food finished cooking and they proceeded to eat, their conversation shifted to how she might be able to help.

  “My friends and I follow a belief system based on a combination of ancient Celtic druidy with aspects of witchcraft and a smattering of pagan lore. And before you ask,” said Wilhelmina with a smile, “as far as I am concerned, the druids did not conduct human sacrifice. The Romans often accused them of it as a propaganda maneuver. They frequently ascribed barbaric traits to any outside groups or foreigners—including Christians—as a means by which to feel superior.”

  “So you can help?” asked Mia.

  “Perhaps. It depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Are you attempting to exorcise the spirits and drive them away?”

  An odd sense of apprehension filled the air.

  Mia shook her head. “No. Not at all. Well, maybe Vic… He can go straight to hell.”

  The ambient worry faded.

  “As far as Robin is concerned, I’m not really sure how to help her. What are spirits supposed to do in order to be happy? Is she trapped here and unable to move on? Or does she want to stay? I only want her not to suffer.”

  “We’re still not entirely sure the entity is a real child,” said Adam in a low voice. “Maybe it’s a bit Judeo-Christian centric of me to think this, but why wouldn’t an innocent be able to move on?”

  “That is rather western of you.” Wilhelmina chuckled. “However, I’m afraid I cannot offer much in terms of concrete answers for why she may still be here. Evelyn left here one morning to attend Vic’s trial knowing she would never return to the house. She hadn’t been eating much. They found the fridge full of spoiled food.”

  “She’d lost the will to live,” said Adam.

  Mia stared into her plate. “I’m sure she only lasted as long as she did because she hadn’t killed Vic yet.”

  “Perhaps the girl is still here, somehow waiting for her mother to come home?” asked Wilhelmina.

  Adam sighed. “Truly a wonderfully happy subject for dinner conversation.”

  “I guess I’ll try talking to her and see if she knows what we should do.” Mia had lost most of her appetite, but forced herself to eat. “Could there have been something else here before the murder that got into Vic and made him do that? The look in his eyes when he went upstairs didn’t seem human at all.”

  “There is a definite darkness in this house, but I can’t say for sure if it’s the type of entity you are thinking of or merely an aftereffect of what happened.” Wilhelmina grasped her tree amulet, rubbing her thumb back and forth over it.

  “Of the prior residents,” said Adam, “only the women had been seriously hurt. Do you think that’s Vic’s work?”

  “It could be. That man definitely had issues with us.” Wilhelmina rubbed her arm. “He pushed me into a wall once when I’d been here to watch Robin for them. Accused me of moving one of his tools in a shed that used to be out back. No idea why he’d have even thought I’d have gone out there, but he didn’t believe me when I told him I hadn’t touched it.”

  Adam scowled. “What kind of sad excuse for a man gets physical with a young girl over a missing tool? What were you, twelve or thirteen?”

  “Around that age, yes. And he was a real piece of work. Not many people stood up to him due to his size. Thought he could do whatever he
wanted.” Wilhelmina frowned. “I probably should have stayed away, but I—and I know this sounds stupid considering how young I was at the time—but I didn’t want to leave that little girl alone with him. As if my not babysitting for them anymore might’ve put her in danger.”

  “She likes pancakes,” said Mia, trying to brighten the mood.

  “Oh, that she did.” Wilhelmina grinned. “Every time I watched her, she’d ask for them.”

  “Does. Not ‘did.’” Mia stabbed a bit of pot roast. “I promised her I’d make some tomorrow morning.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “That should be interesting to watch a ghost consume pancakes.”

  “She’ll probably inhabit one of you, likely Mia, while you eat.”

  “Should we be concerned?” asked Adam.

  “That all depends on if the spirit is really who she appears to be.” Wilhelmina winked.

  From there, conversation took a turn toward the mundane, with Adam and Wilhelmina discussing the university while Mia played spectator. Though she felt like an outsider to the topic, her husband sounding so comfortable with his new job reassured her.

  After dinner, they all had a piece of blueberry pie with coffee. That done, Mia brought Wilhelmina upstairs to Robin’s bedroom. Adam followed with the video camera. The elder wrapped her arms around herself and shivered upon walking in. Her gaze went straight to the spot of floor where Mia suspected the body had been.

  “You poor child,” whispered Wilhelmina. “Yes, it happened in here. The energy of this room is scarred. Perhaps I can help change that.”

  “Would that have any effect on Robin?” asked Mia, a little defensiveness rising in her voice.

  “If she is what she appears to be, it may do nothing or it may set her free. Assuming, of course, she is trapped here and not merely staying by choice. Now, if as Adam suspects, the entity is only pretending to be a child… it could have unforeseen results.”

  “I don’t want anything to hurt her… more than she’s already suffered.” Mia folded her arms.