Ghostly Fears

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Not everything you read in the paper is true,” Harper cautioned.

  “I’ve been following your work for a very long time, my dear. I’m confident you’re exactly the one I’ve been looking for. You’ll find the answers I need.”

  Harper could only hope his faith wasn’t misplaced.

  11

  Eleven

  Part of Harper was put out that Jared wanted to leave her at the main house to check the woods. The other part was glad because she had a hunt of her own she wanted to participate in … and she felt it was better to conduct it away from his watchful gaze.

  Unfortunately for her, Zander wasn’t the type to entertain himself and he followed her out of the parlor when she tried to slip out unnoticed.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he questioned her back, causing her to cringe.

  “I didn’t think you were watching,” she grumbled.

  “I’m always watching. I’m the Great Zander … or Zandini. What do you think sounds better?”

  Harper wasn’t expecting the question. “I have no idea. Whichever one floats your boat is fine with me.”

  “I’m going with Zandini. I think it’s more festive. Anyway, I’m the Great Zandini and I know all and see all. You can’t put one over on me no matter how hard you try. I knew you were going to sneak out before Shawn and Jared left. By the way, you’re not fooling anyone with that ‘stiff upper lip’ thing you’re trying to pull off. You’re going to give Jared grief about treating you like a girl before the night is out.”

  Harper thought she should argue – she was a feminist at heart, after all – but she didn’t have the energy. “I’m heading upstairs.”

  “Why?”

  “Because … I just am.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to work on me. I need more of an explanation than that.”

  Harper let loose a sigh, the sound long and drawn out. “Fine.” She held up her hands. “If you must know, I want to look around the house … and I want to do it at a time when no one is looking over my shoulder.”

  Zander was fine breaking the rules. He’d been that way since he was three and his mother told him his face would freeze that way if he wasn’t careful. He risked it all the same because he figured it was worth it. He had no problem searching the Jessup house without invitation. He simply wanted to know why first.

  “Harp, I think it would be better for both of us if you just told me what you were looking for. You’re not good at the subterfuge. You never have been. Can’t you just tell me? We’re wasting time.”

  He was right. Harper hated to admit it, but she had no choice. “I have a feeling,” she started, searching for the right words. “I’ve had it since we arrived. I feel like someone is watching me.”

  Zander didn’t as much as blink. “I’m sure half the people here are watching you. Some think you’re a kook because you can see ghosts and others think you’re awesome because you can see ghosts. It’s pretty much a mixed crowd.”

  “Not a human someone.”

  “Oh.” Realization dawned on him. “You think a ghost is here. Have you seen it? Is it Jennifer?”

  “I haven’t seen it. I’ve just felt eyes a few times. The first was when we arrived, but I brushed it off because I figured there were people watching outside. The second was at dinner last night. It was really foggy out. Do you remember?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It’s because the air is getting warmer and the ground is still cold. It creates nonstop fog. You used to think it was romantic when we were kids.”

  “Yes, well, now when I’m staying at a huge house on an isolated island I think it’s a little creepy. That’s neither here nor there, though.”

  “Okay. Fair enough. Are you saying you saw a ghost in the fog?”

  “It’s more something I felt. I don’t know how to explain it.” She heaved out a sigh. “Then I felt it again when we were searching the third floor today. There was that door Richard said didn’t open, the old attic door. I swear I could feel someone on the other side. It was as if … I don’t know … someone was beckoning to me.”

  All traces of mirth were gone from Zander’s face. “Do you think it was Jennifer?”

  “I don’t know.” That was the truth. Harper was honestly at a loss. “I don’t know if it’s even a thing. I just know that I have to look. You don’t have to go with me, though. I’m not making you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Zander let loose an exaggerated eye roll. “The mistress of the house went missing last night. Whether she’s really missing or took the day off to drink and garner attention, I can’t say. It doesn’t matter, though. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  Despite herself, Harper laughed. She didn’t want to encourage him, but she couldn’t help herself. “Then let’s head up and see what we can find, shall we?”

  Zander held out his arm so she could take it. “It would be my pleasure.”

  “YOU SEEM AGITATED.”

  Shawn waited until he and Jared were far away from the house to start talking. While he didn’t know Jared as well as he did Zander and Harper, the two men were quickly forging a bond that no one else could replicate. Because Zander and Harper’s relationship was so strong – and, frankly, co-dependent – they needed strong partners. That’s where Shawn and Jared came in … and seemingly excelled more than anyone who came before them. Shawn recognized fairly quickly once it was just the two of them that Jared was struggling.

  “I don’t like this place,” Jared admitted, not missing a beat. “Not even a little. It feels … off. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “I get what you’re saying.” Shawn was the easygoing sort so he fell into step with Jared and let the detective’s wave of unease break against him without flinching. “This place should be welcoming and awesome, but it feels overstuffed and uncomfortable. The people who live here – with the possible exception of Richard, who doesn’t seem like such a bad guy – aren’t good people. It’s hard to feel they’ve earned this utopia.”

  “I don’t know that I exactly feel that,” Jared hedged. “It’s more that … this place is what so many people would dream about. I mean it’s a castle. That’s what Zander called it and he was right. It’s a castle and it should be full of princesses … and jesters … and magic. Instead we have a family that is rudderless, a girl who went missing and no one did a thing about it for ten years, and a father who seems to have lost all reason for living when his wife died, leaving his children to basically fend for themselves.”

  Despite the serious conversational topic, Shawn grinned. “That’s basically what I said.”

  Jared barked out a laugh, amused. “I’m being a little dramatic. I get it. It’s just … I’m bothered by the fact that Jennifer Jessup went missing ten years ago and nobody did a thing to find her. And, yes, I’m including my own partner in that when I say it.”

  Understanding bloomed in the back of Shawn’s mind. “Have you considered calling him to ask why?”

  “I kind of did ask why and he hemmed and hawed around. He didn’t give me a real answer. I think that’s because he feels guilty.”

  “Odds are she’s dead, right?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” Jared held out his gloved hands and shrugged. “I think there are arguments to be made on both sides.”

  “What sort of arguments?”

  “It sounds to me like Jennifer was a very unhappy young woman. She was eighteen when she disappeared. That very well could be because she was finally an adult and made a plan for escape. If she did run, I’m not sure we should find her.”

  “You’re bothered by the notion that she didn’t run, though,” Shawn surmised. “You’re afraid she’s been dead or in trouble all this time and no one raced to her rescue. You can’t blame that on yourself. You weren’t here. You were a kid back then and you didn’t even live on this side of the state.”

  “All of that is true. That doesn’t change the fact that this situation feels … wrong. As f
or trouble, I don’t think that’s a possibility. She either willingly went missing or was killed back then and no one discovered her body.”

  “Do you think someone in her family did it?”

  “I can’t rule them out. I don’t know what to think. I’m simply bothered by the whole thing.”

  “Fair enough. Why did you really want me to head out here with you? Is it because you didn’t want to listen to Zander whine about how cold it is, or is it because you’re afraid we’re going to find something?”

  Jared had to give the other man credit. It was an insightful question. “Would you think less of me if it’s a little of both?”

  Shawn barked out a laugh. “No. I’m right there with you. I’m a little afraid of what we might find, too.”

  “It’s not that I’m afraid what we might find,” Jared corrected. “It’s more that I’m afraid there might be more going on here than we realize. I don’t know what that ‘more’ is yet, but I’m determined to find out.”

  “So, let’s find out.”

  Jared mustered a smile. “I just hope Zander and Harper are staying out of trouble at the main house. I’m worried they’re going to stumble into mayhem.”

  “It will hardly be the first time.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  FINDING THEIR WAY BACK TO THE third floor was more difficult than Harper and Zander imagined. It took them a full fifteen minutes to plot the correct course thanks to the house’s winding hallways and muted decorations. Every corner of the house seemed to look exactly the same as the next corner. Harper found it disconcerting.

  “You know, we used to make jokes as kids about living in a castle, but I don’t think it sounds nearly as much fun as it used to.”

  Zander made a face. “Bite your tongue. Our castle would look nothing like this. We would have some color in our world … some spark … some pizzazz.” He wrinkled his nose and glared at a dull painting of a woman standing in front of a fence. “We would definitely have some decent art.”

  Harper snickered as she stared at the woman in question. “Is that supposed to be a famous painting or something?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “It’s pretty ugly.”

  “It definitely is.”

  They continued staring for a long beat, only shifting their attention when a distinctive sound bubbled at their backs. Harper recognized the noise as coming from a man. Someone – and she had a pretty good idea who – had cleared his throat to get their attention.

  “Oh, bugger it,” Zander muttered.

  “You need to stop watching the BBC,” Harper complained. “Americans don’t use the word ‘bugger’ and you know it.”

  “The cool ones do.” Zander lifted his chin and met Bates’ serious gaze as he turned. “Good afternoon, kind sir. Is it tea time? I’m always up for a spot of tea.”

  Instead of yelling, or demanding answers about what they were doing, Bates made a tsking sound and shook his head. “Listen to your friend. You watch too much television. I’m not like the Bates character on Downton Abbey.”

  “You could be like him,” Zander argued. “All you have to do is give it a try … and master a British accent. You would be so much cooler with a British accent.”

  “I would prefer not walking around the house with a fake accent,” Bates countered. “It’s a personal choice but one I’ve become comfortable with.”

  “See!” Zander jabbed a finger in the finicky butler’s direction. “That was a very Bates-like thing to say.”

  It took everything Harper had to swallow her laughter. Thankfully Bates looked more amused than annoyed.

  “Yes, well, we’ll have to table that particular conversation for when I’m dead.” Bates turned his attention to Harper. “May I ask what you’re doing up here? I wasn’t aware that any group activities were scheduled in this part of the house this afternoon.”

  Zander lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “That’s snooty butler for ‘how dare you wander throughout my castle,’” he offered helpfully.

  Harper couldn’t contain her laughter. “I figured out what he was really saying myself.”

  “I don’t care that you’re up here,” Bates corrected quickly. He seemed much more at ease than he had been the previous day when greeting them, which Harper found interesting. “Mr. Jessup told me to give you free rein in the house. He’s convinced you’re the one who is going to come up with the answers he needs. It’s just … no one else is wandering around up here.”

  “Oh, well … .” Harper felt caught. Ultimately, she wouldn’t lower herself to lying. “There’s a door up here. It’s down at the end of the hall. I saw it when we were searching with Richard. He said there was no key to the lock but … I feel the need to get in that room.”

  Bates’ expression was hard to read. “May I ask what you expect to find in there?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I simply feel I need to look.”

  “In that room there?” He pointed toward the end of the hallway, to the doorway that called to Harper. When she nodded, he let loose a sigh. “Well, the reason Richard didn’t allow you to enter that room is because we no longer have a key to it. He’s not the only one shut out of that room. I am as well.”

  “Oh.” Harper struggled to swallow her disappointment. “It’s just the attic, right? How come you haven’t had the door replaced? I would think there’s stuff stored up there that you need.”

  “Not really. It’s a big house. We have more than enough storage space without having to climb the old stairs that lead to the attic room.”

  There was something about his tone that set Harper’s teeth on edge. “What’s up there?”

  “What makes you think anything is up there?”

  “Because I know something is. You’re being purposely evasive and I felt something from that room earlier. There’s something there.”

  “Oh, geez.” Zander made a horrified face. “You don’t think Jennifer has been locked up there for ten years, do you? That is like … too horrific to consider.”

  “I don’t think it’s Jennifer,” Harper supplied. “I do think there’s something up there, though, and I would really like to see what it is.”

  Bates let loose a long-suffering sigh, as if he was under duress and no one in the entire world had ever suffered as much as him. He was being overly dramatic as far as Harper was concerned, but she had no intention of letting up. “We really don’t have a key.”

  Harper regarded him for a long beat. “You know what’s up there, though, don’t you?”

  “I’ve seen photos of the room once before. I’ve never actually been inside. There honestly is nothing of consequence in that room.”

  “Then tell me what’s in there.”

  “You’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” Bates insisted. “That is a room that fell into disuse a long time ago. It belonged to the first mistress of the house, Mrs. Coltraine. Her first name was Beatrice.”

  Harper didn’t recognize the name. “I think she was before my time.”

  “She most certainly was,” Bates agreed. “She was long before my time, too. She was Mr. Jessup’s grandmother on his mother’s side. They’re the ones who built this house.”

  “I vaguely remember hearing that when I was a kid,” Harper volunteered. “They were essentially the richest people in the area. They bought the island for very little and then employed a bunch of people to build the house. It was a big deal at the time, right?”

  “It was. It was during a down economic time and the people in the area were grateful for the work that was being thrown their way.”

  “And that was her room?” Harper queried. She was legitimately confused. “Why was she kept in the attic? Was there something wrong with her? Wait … I don’t want to know. She wasn’t some horrible monster or anything, was she?”

  “Harper watches too many horror movies,” Zander volunteered when Bates shot a questioning look in his direction.
“Her imagination runs wild at the worst possible times. She can’t help it.”

  “Ah.” Bates smiled. “Well, in this particular case, it’s unnecessary. Miss Jennifer was never in that room either. It’s been locked for at least fifty years.”

  “But what’s up there?” Harper pressed.

  “It’s a sewing room. Mrs. Coltraine liked to sew and she wanted a place where no one could bug her. She picked that room herself. She was the only one who had a key. Her husband doted on her some and he made sure she had her privacy … and when she died, no one ever found the key. Her husband was so distraught he ordered everyone to leave the room as it was, a memorial to her, and over the years the key was lost.”

  Harper thought that was a ridiculous way to waste a room, but it was sort of romantic, too. “You’re sure nobody has been up there, right?”

  “I guarantee it. I shudder to think how that room looks now. It’s probably a big dust ball. No one has set foot up there in at least fifty years. I believe Mr. Jessup was born after his grandmother died and I’m fairly certain he has never seen the inside of that room either. I guarantee Miss Jennifer isn’t up there.”

  It made sense in a weird way and yet Harper couldn’t tear her eyes from the door. “I guess it’s nothing then.” She wasn’t convinced, but Bates clearly couldn’t help her. Jared, however, was another story. She would hit him up for his lock-picking skills if it became necessary. “It was just a feeling, after all.”

  12

  Twelve

  Harper couldn’t get the sewing room out of her mind. It bothered her. Sure, Bates was friendlier than he had been on the day of their arrival, but there was something about the man’s demeanor that made her leery.

  He was stuffy, of course. She would expect nothing less from a man in his station. He was expected to represent Byron, be the face of the house. That meant jocularity was probably frowned upon.

  “You know what?” Harper asked Zander as they made their way back to the guesthouse. “If we ever get that castle we dreamed about when we were kids, we’re having a funny butler.”