Keeper of the Castle: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery

by Juliet Blackwell

  On the other hand, construction also attracted a lot of people with criminal records. Perhaps that was no coincidence.

  “Heck of a nice thing to meet you, Mel,” Pete said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the ghost gal, right?”

  “I’m . . . uh . . . Sure. Yep,” I stumbled. “That’s what they call me, the ‘ghost gal.’”

  Graham winced.

  “Here’s the situation,” said Pete with a nod. “A lot of folks in this business, well, I don’t gotta tell you that they don’t care much for woo-woo talk. And I don’t either, to tell the truth. But what can I say? I can’t deny something’s going on, and it’s interfering with getting this building done.”

  “And what might that be?”

  “There’s a . . . a something. An apparition, I guess it’s called. At the back of the sacristy. He’s got a, uh—What’s that really big sword called? Real broad?”

  “A broadsword?”

  “That’s right! He’s chased out more than one crew, swingin’ that thing. These are good men, Mel. They don’t scare easy. Also, the folks up at the house have seen lights on down here at night when there shouldn’t be, and sometimes there’s music.”

  “Speaking as a professional . . . ,” I said. “That sounds like ghostly behavior to me. It surely does.”

  Graham gave me a dirty look.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  “Well, there is that, uh, red thing.”

  “There’s something red?”

  “It’s . . . well . . .” Pete’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Some of the guys think they’ve heard a woman in there somewhere. They go in to look around, and . . . they end up staggering out of there, crying.”

  “Crying?”

  “I swear, they come out, sit down right on the ground, and sob like their dog died. I tell you what: That’s a little, whaddayacallit, disconcerting.”

  “How do they describe it?”

  “Like I said, it’s . . . red.”

  “What else?” I knew from experience that folks who’d had an encounter of the ghostly kind were often unwilling to relate all the details, for fear of sounding foolish. I had learned to be patient.

  Pete shrugged.

  “Just to clarify—they haven’t seen any fireballs, have they? I mean, we’re not talking dragons here, right?”

  I didn’t have to look to know they were both gaping at me. People come to me begging for help, but when I ask a few simple clarifying questions, they act like I’m making it all up.

  “Dragons are a stretch, it’s true, but you were talking about a man with a broadsword. According to ancient lore, that could be a knight out to slay a dragon. Dragons breathe red fire.” I shrugged. “Just a thought.”

  “Maybe we should get back to the construction issues.” Graham turned to address Pete. “Mel was wondering how you’re getting around the local codes.”

  “I’m surprised to see unreinforced masonry in earthquake country,” I clarified.

  “Ah, but it’s not unreinforced,” said Pete. “That’s one of the reasons it’s taking so long. We’re drilling through each stone to insert rebar. Let me show you.”

  We walked over to a pile of stones near some heavy equipment, including a massive drill.

  “Clever,” I said as I inspected the process. “But it seems a shame to alter the ancient stones at all.”

  “I hear you. Ellis—uh, Mr. Elrich—has been adamant on this point: We’re to do the least damage possible, even if it takes extra time and money. We’ve got an army of stonecutters on-site—from Mexico and Europe, mostly. There aren’t enough locals with this kind of specialized knowledge of masonry. The master stonemason is from Poland.”

  I nodded. It was common in historic restoration to employ master artisans from Latin America or Europe. Most construction in the United States was of recent origin and utilized new materials and new methods. Proper historic renovation construction required traditional skills and techniques.

  “And the rebar reinforcement will pass code?”

  I noticed Pete and Graham exchange a glance. Finally, Graham spoke.

  “The county inspectors—all except one—have been cooperative. Wakefield will be a pilot project for the inclusion of green techniques in building. The county commissioners figure if the techniques can be folded into such an ambitious project gracefully, they will be able to convince other builders to follow suit.”

  “Makes sense,” I said. “It would be great to make this sort of thing a priority—good for the local guys for supporting it.”

  “As for the rest . . . ,” Pete said. “Well, I don’t ask too many questions. Elrich seems to have a way of getting things done.”

  Pete’s smiling, easygoing facade fell away. I followed his gaze to a red-faced man hurrying toward us, huffing from the effort. Dressed in a three-piece suit, a white shirt, and shiny black shoes, the man was overweight and jowly. He carried a clipboard in one hand and a black computer case in the other, and he did not look happy.

  “Who’s that?” I whispered.

  “Larry McCall,” said Graham. “County building inspector.”

  “Damned thorn in my side, is what he is,” grumbled Pete.

  “Mr. Nolan,” shouted McCall. “A word with you, if I may.”

  “You’re not supposed to drop in unannounced, Mr. McCall,” Pete replied.

  “I’ll drop in anytime I see fit,” McCall retorted, scowling. “Just because Mr. Elrich considers himself above the law doesn’t mean I’m willing to go along with it. I’ll sign off on the preliminary inspection when I think it appropriate, and not one moment sooner. This project is not adequately reinforced, as you know very well.”

  “As you know very well,” Pete said, “we’ve experienced some setbacks. We’re addressing them as fast as we can. It just so happens we’ve brought in a new consultant, someone experienced in this sort of building.”

  Three sets of male eyes turned to me. Only then did I realize Pete was talking about me.

  “I . . . uh, yes. Yes, indeed. I’m here to make sure things are done right and proper. Wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s me.”

  There’s an informal code among builders that says inspectors are the enemy. We know full well that a good building inspector can improve public health and safety, foresee problems down the line, and even save lives. I, for one, follow building codes with a religious devotion. Still, when it comes to dealing with inspectors while on the job, builders maintain a united front. If we agree something is wrong, we’ll fix it just as soon as Mr. Snoopy leaves the jobsite.

  “Who might you be, may I ask?” Larry McCall demanded.

  “This is Mel Turner, the general director of Turner Construction,” Graham said. “She has years of experience with historic renovations in the Bay Area. You’ve no doubt heard of her.”

  “Can’t say that I have,” McCall said sourly.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.

  After a moment’s hesitation, McCall shook it. His hand was cold and clammy, and he appeared so agitated I feared his blood pressure might be spiking.

  I couldn’t decide whether to talk about my ghost- hunting credentials or to spout some bullpuckey about my (virtually nonexistent) experience with ancient structures. Happily for me, McCall turned his attention back to Pete Nolan.

  “I ordered this project shut down,” McCall said to Pete. “You might as well send those men home.”

  “It was my understanding Mr. Elrich had that stop-work order lifted,” said Pete.

  The tension between the two men flared like a spark held to dry timber, and within seconds they were chest to chest, like a baseball player arguing with the umpire.

  “I’m the one with the authority here,” said McCall. “Not Ellis Elrich. If you continue building while the project is under review, I will have you arrested for interfering with—”

  “You will do no such thing! You will get off this property or I’ll—,” Pete yelled in rep
ly.

  “Everybody simmer down,” Graham said, his tone quiet but firm. Stepping between them, he placed a hand on each man’s chest and pushed them apart. “We’re all professionals here. Surely we can work something out.”

  “You listen to me, McCall,” said Pete, jabbing a finger at the inspector. “I need this job. You hear me? I got a mortgage to pay and kids to feed. You screw this up for me, and by God, you’ll be sorry.”

  Dog started barking. I held his collar tight and hushed him.

  McCall stared daggers at the foreman, but to his credit appeared to be trying to rein himself in. “I’m going to check out the mortar mix. If you’re still leaving out the latex admix, I’m shutting this site down. I’ve found some remarkable inconsistencies. . . .” He waved his clipboard full of papers. “Let’s just say I don’t care how rich and powerful Ellis Elrich is.”

  McCall nodded to Graham and me and, after straightening his tie, stalked down the hill toward the arched mouth of the monastery. After a moment, Pete followed, flyaway hair streaming behind him.

  Dog let out another yelp, and Graham quieted him by stroking his silky head.

  “You sure those two should be left alone together?” I asked, watching as the men disappeared into the darkness beyond the monastery’s entrance. “Maybe you should go with them.”

  Graham shook his head. “It’s not like I’m running things here; I’m just the green consultant. I’ve done a couple of presentations for the building department so they understand the new techniques we’re using, but it’s Pete’s show. He’s got to learn to work with the county inspectors or McCall’s right: The site will be shut down until he or Elrich can find a way to accommodate the code.”

  This was the way construction worked: You dealt with the personalities and laws of the city or county in which the jobsite was located. Some permit offices were notoriously difficult to work with, others more easygoing. It depended on individual temperaments as well as on whether the town or county wanted to promote a bigger tax base, or was concerned for the environment, or if the mayor had significant ties to real estate developers.

  “So what now?” I said.

  “I’ll let Elrich know McCall’s back. Maybe he can intervene before those two kill each other. Do me a favor? Do a quick walk-through of the building. Let me know if you see or hear anything that could help us get a handle on whatever’s going on, spirits-wise.”

  I smiled. “You really do think I’m a ghost whisperer, don’t you? I hate to disillusion you, but I don’t actually know what I’m doing where ghosts are concerned. I mean, they find me sometimes, but I’m really just flying by the seat of my pants.”

  “What about that ghost-busting class you took?”

  “I learned a lot, but . . . it was more focused on proving the existence of ghosts than figuring out how to get rid of them. Or how to keep them from killing you, which is what I wanted to know.”

  “You always insist ghosts can’t hurt us.”

  “That’s true. Probably.”

  As we spoke, I watched burly men moving in and out of the building. At the moment, the day was bright and sunny, and the suspicious activity was mostly a problem after sunset. And there was no denying that I yearned to take a look around the monastery, run my hands along the stones, soak in the atmosphere of the ancient corridors and chambers through which so many souls had passed over the centuries. “All right. I’ll go see if I pick up any vibrations. Maybe see a ghost about a broadsword.”

  My phone started ringing. Because I’m a contractor, my phone is a lifeline, allowing me to run simultaneous projects from afar. I answered a plumber’s question about the modifications we’d made to the century-old piping in a Castro neighborhood bed-and-breakfast and then returned an earlier query from my foreman on a small greenhouse we were finishing up in Piedmont.

  The second I hung up, the phone beeped again, and I confirmed an order for lumber for a project in the Mission. While I was answering a text message about blown insulation, Dog started barking and wagging his tail in ecstatic ferocity.

  This wasn’t a simple yelp. This was the semihysterical bark Dog let out whenever . . .

  I looked up to see men running from the cloister, shouting, white-faced with fear. When one slowed to look behind him, two others plowed into him, and all three flailed their arms to keep from falling.

  It would have been comical, had they not been clearly terrified.

  “What happened?” I called out to the fleeing men. “What is it?”

  I had grown up on my father’s construction sites and learned at an early age how many things could go dangerously wrong on a job. Slippery surfaces, wobbly ladders, power tools, heavy materials—they could maim or kill in seconds, without warning. “What happened?” I repeated. Now that they were safe in the open air, they shrugged, chagrined. The men glanced at one another, and a couple of them quite literally kicked at the dirt with their boots.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of red. It had crossed in front of the arched doorway that led into the cloister. By the time I realized what I had seen, it was gone.

  Dog yanked free of my grasp and ran into the building.

  I took off after him.

  “Hey, lady! Don’t . . . Lady, don’t go in there!” I heard someone yell as I paused in the doorway.

  I ignored the warning. I wanted my dog. Besides, I knew the biggest impediment to dealing with ghosts was getting freaked-out by the very thought of them. My ghost-busting mentor, Olivier Galopin, had taught me ghosts retained their essential human characteristics. They might be sad, or angry, or tormented. Dead, I’ll grant you; confused, most certainly. But fundamentally human. And as fallible as ever.

  I reached up to rub the gold wedding ring that hung on a chain around my neck. My mother had given it to me; she had inherited it from her own mother. It was the closest thing I had to a talisman, and touching it helped keep me centered and focused, connecting me to two generations of strong women.

  Finally, I breathed fresh early-morning air deep into my lungs, released it slowly, then walked through the antechamber and into the chapel.

  The chapel’s walls were still being built, the space covered by a temporary roof of corrugated metal held up by tall steel beams. Daylight shone through the gap at the top of the walls. Stone pillars supported nothing, arched niches sat empty, and several carved portions of what I imagined were ceiling vaults remained on the ground, in groupings scattered throughout the cavernous space.

  Following the sound of Dog’s bark, I crossed the chapel to the rear of the sacristy and ducked into a passageway that led to a series of tiny, cramped chambers. The doorways were low, the walls the beefy thickness of the stones. While the main chapel featured the graceful arches of Gothic style, the farther I went into the heart of the reconstruction, the cruder the structure became.

  I stepped into a large antechamber.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man.

  Larry McCall sat in a stone niche, looking as unpleasant as he had a few minutes ago. But this time he was still. Silent.

  “Mr. McCall?”

  When I looked straight at him, he was gone.

  Uh-oh.

  Chapter Two

  I searched my peripheral vision.

  McCall sat hunched over. Unmoving, silent—just staring.

  Standing perfectly still, I listened for sounds of breathing but heard only the harsh rasp of my own accelerated panting.

  My breath hung in the air in foggy puffs. The temperature had plummeted.

  And then I heard a woman crying. Weeping. Sobbing as though her heart were breaking. An overwhelming sadness washed over me.

  I took another deep breath, clasped the ring at my neck, and walked in the direction of the sobs. Passing through a carved vestibule, I emerged into a round room, reminiscent of a turret but only a single story tall. It was made of golden stones that retained bits and pieces of colored plaster and stood out from the dark gray of the rest of the
building. To one side was a huge stack of bags of mortar, and on the floor were several mixing troughs, trowels, and knives.

  Dog cowered against the far wall.

  A body lay on the ground. Three-piece suit, white shirt, shiny black shoes.

  I could see from where I stood that Larry McCall’s head had been crushed by a sixty-pound bag of mortar, and blood was pooling on the stone floor.

  I recoiled in horror, hardly believing that a man I had been speaking to just moments before was now dead. Murdered.

  I reached for my phone, dialed 911, but there was no reception.

  Something moved. Spooked, I jumped, plastering my back to the wall.

  When I looked straight at it, it disappeared. But in my peripheral vision I could see a woman in a long red dress. An old-fashioned gown, festooned with lace and trim. I’m no fashion expert, but I was thinking seventeenth or eighteenth century. She held a long string of beads in her hands.

  She was crying. With each sob, I could feel myself sharing in her despair and emptiness. I felt famished, nauseated with a deep, gut-wrenching hunger.

  I tried to fight off the sensations, but it was no use. They were overwhelming. I felt wetness on my cheeks, only realizing then that I was crying.

  I doubled over, then sank to the floor and sobbed.

  It seemed an eternity before Graham found me and led me out of the cloister.

  * * *

  The only positive thing I could say about finding Larry McCall’s body was that we were in Marin County.

  That’s not saying much, I know, but at least I didn’t have to contend with the one-raised-eyebrow, I-think-you-must-somehow-be-involved-in-this stare of Homicide Inspector Annette Crawford, of the San Francisco Police Department. Sooner or later, she would no doubt find out I was involved, and I would have some ’splaining to do, but for the moment, I could pretend to be the kind of person who didn’t stumble over dead bodies with alarming frequency.

  It wasn’t hard acting rattled, though, because I wasn’t acting. Besides the visual of the body on the floor, I kept remembering the powerful feelings stirred up by the Lady in Red’s weeping. Even as Graham led me past Larry McCall’s glowering ghost and through the stone chambers, our work boots ringing loudly on the stone and cement floors, I felt a near-debilitating sense of grief and a deep, gnawing hunger. I was famished, sick with hunger and hopelessness.