Burned to a Crisp

by K A Miltimore

  “That’s just terrible, Mrs. Wilson.” Hedy was at a loss for what to say to comfort the woman.

  “When Gretchen didn’t arrive to watch the kids, they called her home and found out from her mother that she was missing. It’s just awful. First, the fire at the yoga studio and now this. What in the world is happening around here? Anyway, I have to hurry over to watch the kids so their parents can get to work. Can you just pick out an assortment from the case for me? I’m at my wits’ end.”

  Hedy picked out a mix of favorites for the children, waiving off Mrs. Wilson as she tried to pay. Mrs. Wilson nodded her thanks and picked up the box, leaving without another word; she was clearly upset with the state of the world she found herself in.

  “Another fire, wow that is scary. I wonder if there is a serial arsonist in town?” Mel said as she took out her phone to look up details on the fire. Her older sister had gone to school with Gretchen but she didn’t know her herself.

  Hedy shook her head, “I don’t know what to think. Two late night fires in as many days. It just seems so crazy.” Anahita said nothing but she instinctively grabbed the small vial at her neck again.

  “Maybe this isn’t a place where I should stay after all. I wouldn’t have expected such dangers in a small town like this.” Anahita’s voice had an edge to it that sounded new to Hedy.

  Before the last few days, she would have told the girl that she was silly to worry, but now, Hedy wasn’t so sure.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Perhaps a change of scenery would be of interest to you two. On the second floor, we have a library. I know Mel loves books and I have quite a collection of rare volumes up there. If you’d like to look around, please be my guest. It’s the room at the end of the hall. Anahita can show you.” Hedy wanted to take their minds off the bad news from Mrs. Wilson and for a bookworm like Mel, she expected it would be a welcome idea. She didn’t know Anahita well enough to say whether it would interest her, but it had to be more interesting than sitting in the bakery, watching Hedy roll out dinner rolls, even if they were crescent shaped dragons.

  “I’d love to see it. Anahita, what about you?” Mel said and Anahita nodded.

  “Oh, I should mention that there is a resident spirit who likes to spend her time in that room. Her name is Adelaide. If you see the curtains rustling or feel a change in temperature, it is likely her. Don’t be alarmed. She is a friendly spirit. You have to expect such things in a house this old.” Hedy watched the smiles leech from their faces. Really, why would such a thing distress anyone, Hedy thought.

  “You mean a ghost? As in a haunted house kind of ghost?” Mel’s voice sounded tight to Hedy, like a rubber band about to snap.

  “She’s a spirit, so yes, a ghost, but not in a spooky, horror movie kind of way. I wouldn’t send you up there if there was any danger. I mean, come on girls, surely you aren’t afraid of someone who has been dead for almost a hundred years.” Hedy laughed but she was the only one.

  “Uh, OK. I guess we can check it out.” Mel spoke flatly and she slung her book bag over her shoulder. Anahita said nothing but led her toward the hall.

  “Have fun.” Hedy called out merrily to them both.

  “This house, pretty weird huh?” Mel followed Anahita up the stairs, now on the other side of that strange bramble gate. She noticed a peculiar oil painting of a woman whose eyes seemed to be following her. She looked a little like Hedy, but without the white hair.

  “Yes, this is a strange place, certainly. I’m not altogether sure if I am going to stay on or not. With everything I have learned today, I am re-considering my options.” Anahita’s hair was swaying as she walked the stairs and it caught Mel’s attention; it was almost hypnotic.

  “I suppose that Hedy is a bit…uh…eccentric, what with that hairdo and the retro clothes. But she seems nice and other than the fires, this town is about as sleepy as you can get. I wouldn’t worry about staying here. Although this ghost, that may be another thing.” Mel waited for Anahita to respond but she said nothing, instead leading her down the hallway to the library.

  The door was unlocked and the smell of lavender and candlewax surrounded them. It was a small room, with just one window, but it had wall to wall bookshelves, all filled with books with cloth or leather spines. There was a small table and two wooden chairs with thick velvet cushions pushed against one wall. Mel noticed several candlesticks scattered throughout the room.

  “What’s with all the candles, I wonder. Seems like a weird idea with all the paper in here.” Mel picked one up and gave it a sniff. It was unscented. Wonder where the lavender scent is coming from, she thought.

  “Maybe the ghost doesn’t like electricity.” Anahita walked toward the table and began leafing through a book of nineteenth century recipes that Hedy must have left there. She shuddered at the description of potted meat.

  Mel shrugged, though Anahita wasn’t looking at her. She turned her attention to the shelves and tried to get a fix on whether things were in any particular order. It seemed like Hedy had things grouped in a general fashion, with cookbooks occupying one area, travel guides in another, history books loosely grouped by geography, and novels shelved according to height, not title or author. Squatting down, she found what looked like a scrapbook that was too tall to be placed on its edge.

  She picked it up and brought it over to the table where Anahita was still wincing at the recipes, clucking in disgust at the various concoctions for gizzards and head cheese. Mel placed the book on the table, wiping away the dust from the cover as she did so. Apparently, the scrapbook wasn’t something getting much use.

  She opened the brown leather cover and found an old photo of a girl. Mel would have guessed she was about her own age, maybe a bit older, though it was hard to tell. The girl had pincurls around her face and she was wearing one of those hats that flappers always wore in the movies. It would be hard to know for sure, but Mel guessed that her hair was blonde. There was no way to tell the color of her wide eyes but she had a large bouquet of carnations and small white roses pressed to her chest, with the petals hitting just under her chin. She had a soft smile but there was something mischievous in her expression. The photo was held to the page with one piece of yellowing tape, clearly added later. Mel was able to lift up the bottom and read the spidery script on the back. Adelaide, aged 19.

  “Check this out. I think I found the ghost. Or the girl who became a ghost.” Mel held up the book slightly for Anahita to see.

  “She was pretty.” Anahita turned her attention to the small clipping from a newspaper that was glued to the same page, yellowed and a bit smeared. “Cherry Blossom Dance Troupe performed at the Women’s Club benefit last Friday, performing an elaborate programme with costumes created and piano music played by Mrs. Olson.” She squinted slightly as she read, trying to make out the aging type.

  “Adelaide must have performed there. I wonder if her mother made this scrapbook for her or if she made it herself?” Mel leaned in to try to read the clipping and her arm brushed lightly against Anahita.

  “What else do you see in there?” Anahita reached out with her slim brown fingers and lightly turned the page. There was a program from somewhere called The Cornish School in Seattle, which looked to be an old arts college. Next to that were more black and white photos of people in starched collars and stiff faces, none of which contained Adelaide’s free-spirited face.

  “This makes me too sad to look at.” Mel let go of the edge of the book and turned away from the table slightly. “It feels creepy to be looking through a dead girl’s memory book.”

  “I understand. We don’t have to look at it. We don’t have to stay up here either, if you don’t want to. I think Hedy was just trying to give us a distraction. Have you met the other person staying here?” Mel turned back around to face Anahita and answer her question.

  “Yes, I saw him yesterday. His name is Bren, I think. He looks a little like an actor or somebody famous. He’s kind of handsome. Seemed OK to me. Wh
at about you? What did you think of him?”

  “I met him as well. He’s definitely different from anyone else I have ever met. There is something about him that seems…off. I can’t explain it really, but have you ever met someone and just had a strong feeling about them from the start? He seems like he is hiding something. I suppose I shouldn’t say that. I have no reason to suspect him of anything.” Anahita looked at Mel for any sign of agreement on her face but there was none.

  “I don’t know him well enough or for long enough to have an opinion, I guess. I know what you mean about a gut feeling though, a ‘spidey sense’ about people my brother would call it. I usually trust my gut on that kind of thing. If I notice anything, I’ll let you know.” Mel was trying to be helpful and Anahita gave her a slight nod of thanks.

  “Come on, we can go back downstairs. I’m not really in the mood for reading and if there is a ghost in here, she might not appreciate the company.” The girls left the room, closing the door on the scents and leaving the scrapbook on the table. Neither of them noticed the curtain by the window fluttering slightly.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was late afternoon before Hedy saw Bren, though she was busy enough with customers all day that perhaps he had been down earlier in the kitchen and she just didn’t notice him. Much to Hedy’s delight, Anahita and Mel had decided to go for a walk around town and they weren’t back yet. To Hedy’s mind, Mel seemed like a girl who could use more friends outside of a book and she hoped they were hitting it off. When Hedy finally saw Bren, he looked tired to her, and she suspected his late night activity was to blame. She felt that wiggle of doubt in the back of her brain creep out.

  “I heard you were out and about last night. Anything interesting going on?” Hedy inquired as Bren sipped his coffee as he leaned against the counter.

  “I’ve always been a night person but last night I was out because there is something going on in this town. Something bad.”

  “Are you talking about the fires?” Hedy asked. Bren nodded his head; clearly, he knew there had been a second one.

  “Yes, it’s that but there is more to it than that. Something just feels wrong. I’m not a psychic but I have been feeling a presence ever since I came to town. Last night, I went looking.” He took another sip of coffee.

  “What did you find?” Hedy studied his face as he spoke and she could see him searching for the words.

  “I walked to the scene of the first fire, it wasn’t hard to find. I tried to find anything that would give me some hints as to the source. Fire smells different to a salamander - we can tell what causes it, if it is natural or man-made, things that are hard to put into words. The fire at the studio was definitely arson but the rapture of arson was missing, if that makes sense.” He saw Hedy’s confusion on her face.

  “The rapture of arson? What does that mean?” Hedy had never heard such an expression.

  “It’s hard to explain. Arson, as awful as it is, brings a perverse joy to the arsonist and I can smell that joy, that rapture, the verzückung in the fire. This fire had none of that - it was set on purpose but it wasn’t for the joy of the arsonist, it was for another reason. As I said, it is hard to explain.”

  “Well, that makes sense I guess, as the owner is missing, so perhaps the fire was set to hide her disappearance, not for the sake of the fire itself.” Hedy had never considered that arson could be a form of joy and the thought made her shiver.

  “That may be true but I think there is more to it than that. I think the fire was also meant to cleanse, like some kind of purging.”

  “Did you see the second fire? I heard it was at a coffee stand just outside of town.” Hedy watched him take another sip before he answered, his eyes lingering on the lip of the cup, avoiding her gaze.

  “I saw the fire and smoke, I even smelled the spark as it was lit, but on foot I was too far away to make it there before it was all over. Again, the fire smelled of hate and purging, no arsonist’s joy.”

  “Well, I must say you look exhausted. I expect you would be with running all over town on foot in the dead of night. You could have borrowed my car, you know. Rest up - your visit with us is supposed to be restorative for your journey and you look like ten miles of bumpy road right now.” Bren laughed and nodded his head.

  “Yes, no doubt I’ve looked better. I thought I would get a book from the library, if Adelaide wouldn’t mind, and just relax in my room for a bit. I know I haven’t been the ideal guest…”

  “Nonsense, your time is your own. Feel free to do just as you planned.” The front door bell tinkled again. “As you can see, today is quite busy with customers so I will stay busy.” Bren nodded and retreated back toward the kitchen and the back stairway.

  “Isn’t it perfect? It’s exactly what we were looking for.” The woman was gesturing broadly to the two other women who were with her. All three were dressed in various black layers and silver jewelry pieces.

  “Good afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?” The woman who had spoken seemed to be in charge of the group and she stepped up toward the counter.

  “We were wondering if you ever rent out your shop for small groups?” The woman had an intensity about her that Hedy found intriguing. She must be the leader, Hedy thought.

  “Well, yes, I informally let groups such as a local knitting club or garden group hold monthly meetings, but the shop stays open during their visits. Are you talking about closing things up for a private meeting?” The three women nodded in unison. “Well, I haven’t done that before but I suppose if the time were right, I would be willing. What were you thinking?”

  The intense woman looked rapturous as she spoke. “The new moon is tonight and it would be the perfect night for our group to practice our connection to the spirit world. Your house has a reputation for being haunted, did you know that?”

  Hedy smiled broadly and nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard that.”

  “I know it is short notice, but we were hoping you wouldn’t mind closing shop early tonight and allowing us to rent out your space for a bit. It would mean a great deal to our group if you would.” The woman looked at Hedy as if her life depended on the answer.

  “Well, I suppose that would be alright. Normally, I close up later in the evening, depending on whether there are customers coming by, but I could close up by eight o’clock, would that work for you?”

  “Oh yes, that would be perfect. There will be six of us and we would pay you for your time. We won’t be any trouble, I assure you. We are hardly a rowdy bunch.” The other two women chuckled lightly at the suggestion.

  “It sounds like a plan then. I’ll see you back here around eight.” The women were visibly pleased and they swept out the door in a flurry of black. They were hardly through the doorway when Anahita and Mel came back in, their faces flushed.

  “Well, looks like you two had a brisk walk, your faces are ruddy.” Hedy filled two glasses with ice water from the carafe and placed them on the counter.

  “Yes, we practically ran back. We have some news.” Mel paused for a moment to take a sip of water before continuing. “We walked over to where the coffee stand used to be, to see what was happening there. We met up with one of the girls who used to work there, the one that worked last night just as Gretchen was coming on shift. Jenny is her name.” Mel paused again and took another sip. It had been a while since she had trained in track and her cardio had suffered for it.

  “Jenny remembers a man who bought a coffee right as Gretchen started working. She remembered him because he had a German accent and reddish brown hair. Who does that sound like?” Anahita said, giving Hedy a look.

  “The man was asking questions, wanting to know how late the stand was open, did the girls work alone there, were there any surveillance cameras, things like that. Jenny also noticed he was on foot, which is odd for the coffee stand, since it is on the outskirts of town and all the customers normally drive up.” Anahita reported.

  “Jenny said she told all this to the police
earlier.” Mel chimed back in now that she had her breath back.

  “And you both think that this man was Bren?” Hedy looked at the girls and Anahita gave a small nod for both of them.

  “I will talk to him about this, although I can tell you that earlier he said the reason he was out so late was he was trying to learn more about the fire at the yoga studio. Mel, I should explain that Bren has a way about him when it comes to fire, he has special knowledge, like an investigator you might say, so he says he thought he could be of some help.” Hedy thought they both looked skeptical, especially Anahita.

  “Well, that all may be true but it certainly seems strange that he happened to be at the coffee stand just a short while before the second fire started, I mean what are the odds of that?” Mel speculated over the staggeringly small odds.

  “As I said, I will speak with him, but for now, perhaps you two might be willing to help me out in the kitchen. We’re having pasta in a pumpkin béchamel sauce for dinner and the roasted pumpkin is ready to be peeled and mashed. Mel, you are welcome to stay for dinner if you like.” Hedy thought her voice sounded a bit sharp and she realized she was irritated. She had a nagging feeling that Bren had lied to her and the one thing she hated the most was a liar.

  “Oh, that is very nice, Hedy, but I need to get home and check in with my mom. I’ll give Anahita a hand in the kitchen though before I go.” Mel smiled at Anahita, who looked disappointed that Mel wouldn’t be staying.

  “Not to worry, Anahita - I have a feeling we will be seeing Mel again tomorrow morning. You two can continue your amateur sleuthing then.” The girls headed back to the kitchen, leaving Hedy alone with her thoughts.

  It seemed significant that Bren hadn’t mentioned his visit to the coffee stand; he clearly had the opportunity to tell her and he didn’t. The yoga studio and the coffee stand were quite a distance apart, not easy on foot. What would have drawn him that far out of town before the fire started? Hedy had more questions than answers, and she wasn’t quite sure how to ask her guest without accusing him of something awful. The unease in her gut sat there heavy.