Haunted Hideout: Paranormal Suspense (The Haunted Ones Book 1)

by Dorey, Michelle

  “Pleased to meet you, Keira.” I followed him and then paused, seeing Gwen hanging back near the door.

  “Maybe I’ll go now. I mean, this is private... your grandmother’s financial affairs and all.”

  I reached for her hand. “Lawrence wanted you to stay beside me. I want you to stay. If we’re going to be in this together, I want to be transparent. There isn’t room for secrets, between us. Hell, you shared my last night with my grandmother. Who else would ever believe that?”

  She nodded and squeezed my hand.

  When we took our place at the table, Mr. Thompson had his large case open and was reaching inside. He brought out two marble urns, one a rose hued one and the other gray, and set them on the sideboard. “Mrs. York’s ashes are in the lighter one, while Mr. Brady’s are in the gray.”

  My lips fell apart and an ache so real, it felt like my heart was breaking all over again washed through me. Seeing the evidence was hard. I gazed at my mother and noticed her eyes welling again.

  Mr. Thompson reached in his case for a file and took a seat. He opened it and then looked over at my mother and me. “It was your mother and grandmother’s wishes that her ashes be spread in the rose garden at the front of the property.” He cleared his throat. “The will is very straightforward but I will summarize it before we start. Basically, your trust is to be continued Susan—enough to keep you comfortable for the rest of your life, I’m sure.”

  I looked over at my parents. So that explained a lot of things. I knew the diner they ran didn’t support them in the lifestyle they led. Nana had been providing for them all these years. The old Keira might have been miffed, considering all the lectures she’d been given about getting a career. But now it made sense. Nana’s work had placed her daughter in danger, so of course she’d look out for her financially.

  The lawyer’s voice captured my attention again. “The rest of Mrs. York’s estate is bequeathed to you, Keira. It is yours to do with as you will but Mrs. York’s wishes were that you would continue with the financial arrangements she put in place, given that the rate of return has been fortuitous and steady.”

  I knew about the house but I was curious. “How much is that?”

  He took a deep breath and his voice was low. “After taxes, it’s eight hundred and forty three million, give or take a few thousand.” He tapped the paperwork. “All quite liquid—cash, a blue chip stock portfolio, government bonds, and gold bullion.”

  Oh my God! I just about fell off my chair and Gwen reached out to steady me. I’d known she was wealthy but this was crazy rich. Wow! That amount was intimidating. I couldn’t count that high!

  The rest of the will, all legalese went by in an officious drone. My head was still spinning as I signed papers of ownership but under that, my heart was hollow. Sure I was rich, but my grandmother was dead. It had all happened way too fast. There was so much I wanted to know, to learn from her as we lived together. I missed her already.

  When my mother and father rose from their chairs, I looked over at the lawyer.

  “As I was saying, this next part is for your ears only. Yours and...”His eyes narrowed looking at Gwen. “I’m sorry. You are?”

  She froze and gaped at him. “I’m Gwen. Gwen Jones.”

  He shook his head and his eyebrows arched high. “Mrs. York specified that this next item was to be given only to her granddaughter and ‘The Guardian?’” He looked over at me.

  “That’s her. When she’s not delivering mail, that is.” I bit my cheeks to keep the chuckle inside. The look on his face was priceless, totally confused. Nana would have loved it!

  Mr. Thompson plucked an envelope from the file and handed it to me. “I’m sorry. I am to see that you read it but the contents are for your eyes only.”

  My parents left the room, closing the door behind them.

  I took the envelope and glanced at Gwen as she shifted her chair closer to mine. What the heck was Nana up to now?

  THIRTY THREE

  Dearest Keira,

  Charles Thompson has been a trusted intermediary since I moved to Kingston. The assignments which I have undertaken have come to me from his office. It is one way that I have managed to insulate myself from media and more importantly my adversary. He’ll be able to explain to you in greater detail his part in all of this, but please understand he does not know the full details other than I am fascinated with things paranormal.

  For this reason, I must stipulate that you continue this arrangement and also that you maintain contact with him, checking in once a week. Often, assignments are related or even occur in the same proximity geographically. It’s been an efficient as well as a further control in monitoring my well-being.

  I would advise that you start out with simple, singular hauntings as opposed to jumping into the fray of multiple entities which are often present in institutional settings such as prisons or hospitals. I have also found that assignments seem to occur in clusters. You may go for weeks or even months with no occurrences and then be bombarded with a few right in a row. Be prepared for these occurrences to happen on, or about the equinox periods. It seems that when the seasons change, The Veil becomes diminished. I don’t know why.

  Remember our lessons in managing fear. Trust in yourself and your guardian. There are patterns in the universe that you will become more finely attuned to as you delve deeper into transitioning souls. You already know, there is no such thing as coincidence. It is up to you to discover with your gifts and intuition the why of events.

  You are in my thoughts and prayers, always.

  With Eternal Love,

  Nana

  I looked over at Gwen. “What do you think?”

  Her head dipped to the side. “I don’t know. It’s still pretty vague to me. I kind of wish she had spelled out how long these assignments take. I mean, we may be all over the world.”

  She was worried about her dad. Even though she could ensure his well-being with her aunt living with him, she’d still be away for periods of time, when now she spent every day with him. I looked over at Mr. Thompson who was watching us closely. “Do you know, when you gave these... assignments to my grandmother, how long she would be away?”

  His eyebrows rose and he sat back. “I take it, we are to continue with the arrangement that your grandmother and I had?”

  This was it. I was formally agreeing to take on her role. Now if I could just figure out how it could work out for Gwen. “Yes. But I need more information.”

  “It varied. She could be gone as little as a few days but at other times, she was gone for a month. She always checked in with me regularly though, whether it was Europe, Asia or Iceland... anywhere in the world.”

  Well that was not helpful.

  “Do I have to do anything to get her estate transferred to me... bank accounts, her investment portfolio and such?”

  He shook his head and smiled. “Most of it was done here today. That’s what you pay me for. I will have any final paperwork prepared for your signature in a few days. Until then... well, I’m sure you need some time to adjust to all this.” He put the folder back into his case and stood up. When he reached to shake my hand, his eyes were solemn behind the round spectacles. “I’ll miss your grandmother. Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  When I went to stand, he shuss’ed me back to my seat. “I can see myself out. I’m sure you and... Gwen, have a lot to talk about.”

  When the door closed behind him, I turned to Gwen. My heart was in my mouth. If she didn’t agree to do this with me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to on my own. “Will you do it? I’ll pay you lots of money so you—”

  “It’s not the money! You know that. It’s my dad... and even my mother—in a weird way. I don’t think I can be away from him for long periods. A few days, sure—but a month at a time?” Her hand covered mine. “Look I want to but I don’t see how it’s possible. You know I took this job delivering mail to have more time with him, rather than working long hours in a lab doing research
.”

  “But this is important Gwen. Your dad’s important too, don’t get me wrong, but wouldn’t he want you to be happy, doing something like this? Can’t you even give it a try before you out-and-out say no? If my grandmother thought this was a big deal—transitioning in order to protect the order of things—then I don’t know how you can turn your back.”

  “I’m skeptical about all that, Keira.”

  “What?!” Before I could say another word about The Veil, she held up her hand.

  “Look, I can accept helping spirits move on, okay? But I really don’t want to be responsible for protecting the universe.” She dropped her hand. “I can’t get my head around something like that.” She sighed. “Look, I’ll think about it, okay? That’s as much as I can agree to at this stage.”

  I sat there dumbfounded. “But... but...”

  “That’s all I can say, Keira.” She sighed. “I’d better get going. You’ll be okay with your parents. It’ll give you guys a chance to talk.”

  She got to her feet and I walked with her to the door of the dining room. She turned and gave me a big hug, running her hand softly over my back. “I’m really sorry, Keira, about your grandmother. I wish I could be more definite, but I need time to digest all this. I’m not the type to jump in feet first.”

  I pulled back and nodded. “Are you going to talk to your dad about all this?” Since it would affect him, he needed to know.

  She looked at the ceiling and then shook her head. “There’s a good question! I can’t tell him everything, now can I? He’d think I lost my mind... having dinner here and the hosts were actually ghosts!” She squeezed my arms. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

  The truth was certainly stranger than fiction. It had been, ever since I’d been summoned to my grandmother’s house. “You’re right. You’ll have to figure something out. Just let me know what you come up with before I see him again.”

  I opened the door and as we walked to the entry, my parents appeared from the living room.

  “You’re leaving, Gwen?” My mother walked over and gave Gwen a warm hug. “Thanks for being here for Keira.”

  Gwen’s eyes shot to me and then away quickly. She felt guilty after the conversation we’d just had. “I’m here for her as much as I can be. But I’ve got to get going to check on my dad.”

  When the door closed, my father turned to me. “She’s a nice girl. I’m glad you had her to turn to, today.”

  “Me too.” I just hoped some kind of miracle would happen that she’d accept the offer I’d made.

  “I know you probably don’t feel like eating but you should, Keira. I’ll see what’s in the freezer and rustle up something for dinner.” Mom put her arm over my shoulder and walked me back into the kitchen. She was right about one thing. Even though I hadn’t eaten all day, food was the last thing on my mind.

  When I took a seat, watching my parents rummaging through the fridge, it hit me. This was a big house and once they left, I’d be pretty lonely. The tears once more welled in my eyes. How could I continue here on my own? The place was too empty without Nana and Lawrence.

  I took a deep breath trying to shake off the tears. “How long are you staying?”

  THIRTY FOUR

  IT TOOK TWO DAYS BEFORE WE FELT UP TO THE TASK of honoring Nana’s last wishes. We took the two urns from the sideboard and went out to the front yard, to the rose which always bloomed. Gwen had taken a sick day to be with us. It was the first that I’d seen her since we’d learned the news about Nana and Lawrence.

  Now here we were on a brilliant summer day, the four of us standing in a circle around the flower bed. That red rose bush was covered with flowers in various stages, from buds to spent blooms which drifted down to the dark earth.

  Mom stepped close to the brick wall and lifted the top from Lawrence’s gray urn. As she poured his ashes to the base of the plant, a tear rolled down her cheek. “Goodbye Lawrence, old friend. I know you’re with Pamela, your one true love.” She sobbed and added, “My mother. May you find peace and happiness for all time.”

  She turned to me. I held my grandmother’s urn close to my chest. Even though it was her wish to join with the rose, I clung to her essence. A monarch butterfly landed on the wall, its orange wings completely still. The last time I’d noticed a butterfly was the day I was expelled from the acting school. I’d taken it as a harbinger of goodwill at that time. Was it a sign from Nana, now?

  I stepped forward and my vision was blurry as I removed the top of the urn and set it on the wall. “Goodbye Nana. I’m glad I spent the time with you. I love you.” My shoulders wracked as I tipped the urn.

  My father stepped over between my mother and I and his arms went over our shoulders.

  “Goodbye Pamela and Lawrence,” he said.

  “Farewell, Mrs. York, Lawrence,” said Gwen.

  I sniffed and then we dispersed, turning to go back into the house. Mom and Dad went into the kitchen while I led Gwen to the sunroom. It seemed a fitting place to talk about serious matters.

  She wandered around the room, touching and sniffing the plants which lined the shelves. “This really is a beautiful spot.”

  “Yeah. It was her favorite place, that’s for sure.” I could almost see her sitting in the wicker chair across the table, when I took my usual spot. I took a deep breath. “So, have you come to any decision?” I realized how cold that was and quickly added. “I’m sorry; how is your dad?”

  “He’s great.” She took a seat next to me, leaning close. “I told him your grandmother and Lawrence died. He knows there was a private ceremony today and sends his condolences. He just doesn’t know it was weeks ago.”

  It was hard to sit so patiently when my future was so dependent on what she would say next.

  “I told him your grandmother was really rich. That she has business interests all over the world and that she often traveled to them.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. “I hate lying. I don’t think I’m all that good at it. I also told him you are going to continue doing that... checking up on your grandmother’s businesses.”

  “Do you think he bought it?”

  “I’m not sure but he didn’t ask too many questions. It was only when I told him you wanted me to go with you that he surprised me. He insisted I take you up on it. He’s always wanted to travel and he told me I was a fool to walk away from it. He even came up with the same idea that I had—for Aunt Elizabeth to retire in Kingston and live with him.”

  As she spoke, I stopped breathing in case I’d jinx this. Devon was totally on side with this! This was going to work!

  She saw the excitement on my face and her smile dropped. “I arranged for a six-month leave of absence from work. I’ll try this but I need to know if it’s too hard on me not seeing Dad as much, that I’ve got a job to go back to.”

  I grasped her arm barely able to keep from popping out of my chair. “It’ll work! I just know it. But I respect that it’s on a trial basis. You know, if your aunt comes to live with your dad and you don’t get along with her, there’s plenty of room in this house for you!” The house was way too big even for two people.

  Her hand rose. “Hold on! One step at a time. I’ll call Aunt Elizabeth tonight. I’m not even sure she’ll do it!”

  “Does she know about the household allowance? That will tempt her.” My mind was working overtime.

  “What allowance? There’s Dad’s disability and my earnings, that’s about all.”