Ghostly Fears

by Lily Harper Hart

  He had a point, Harper mused. “Maybe he’s the one having the affair with Madeline.” It was an off-the-cuff remark but it caught Jared’s full attention. “Maybe they joined forces to get all the money.”

  “You know ... .” Jared rubbed his chin.

  “You’re going to say that’s a good idea, aren’t you?” Harper scowled before he answered. “That’s a gross idea.”

  “It’s a gross idea, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. I think it’s feasible that you’re right. Richard would be the more appropriate age. Maybe they joined together back when they were kids and launched a plan to get all of Byron’s money, including Jennifer’s half. Maybe they killed her, but something went wrong and nobody found the body. Maybe seducing Byron was always part of it and they really did think they could get him to back down on the pre-nup.”

  Harper was chilled by the notion. “I don’t know. That’s really out there.”

  “It is,” Jared agreed. “It makes as much sense as anything else we’ve come up with, though.”

  “Yeah, well ... .” She shook her head. She couldn’t dwell on it. “I need your help on something before you start digging on that theory.”

  He adopted an innocent expression. “What makes you think I’m going to start digging on that theory?”

  “Because your eyes light up when you have a new angle to work. I know because the same thing happens to me. We’re very similar that way.”

  “We are,” he agreed, squeezing her hand. “You said you had a favor you wanted me to do for you before I chase my angle, though. You need me to do something so you can chase your angle.”

  “I definitely do. You might not like it, though.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay ... but it’s going to involve breaking the law.”

  His smile widened. “That sounds intriguing. What do you have in mind?”

  JARED WAS SURPRISINGLY FINE helping Harper break into the attic room. He didn’t put up more than a token fight. He even had the proper tools on him for the job, which made Harper wonder if he knew she would ask before she did.

  “You’re awfully prepared,” she noted as she kept a lookout in the hallway.

  He laughed at her impish expression. “I’m a Boy Scout. That’s the motto, right?”

  “You’re … something.” The sound of the lock clicking caused her heart to skip a beat. “Are we in?”

  He nodded without hesitation. “We’re in. Hold up.” He grabbed her arm before she could push past him. “Just … let me go first, huh?”

  She furrowed her brow. “What do you think is in there?”

  “Probably nothing but old sewing stuff … like needles and … yarn … or stuff. What do people sew with?”

  She grinned. “You’re such a man.”

  “Luckily that works out well because you’re such a woman.” He gave her a quick kiss and then turned back to the door. “Stay behind me, okay?”

  “Nothing is going to jump out at you,” Harper promised. “No one has been in there for fifty years.”

  “So they say.”

  She stilled. She hadn’t really considered that they’d been lying, not even deep down. “You don’t think there’s a body or two in there, do you?” She swallowed hard at the notion.

  He hated the way her excitement diminished. “I think that’s unlikely. Still, you are the love of my life. I want to make sure the room is safe for you to be in.”

  “Fair enough.”

  There were stairs on the other side of the door. There was no light in the stairwell, though, which Jared found frustrating. He used his cell phone for a bit of light and started up the stairs. He could hear Harper behind him but remained focused on the path ahead. When they reached the top, he was relieved to find a light fixture. He wasn’t certain a lightbulb had survived in the attic for fifty years and would remain usable, but he was happy to find that some things were made to last … including, apparently, lightbulbs.

  The room was cozy, which he found surprising. It was dusty, signifying it had been empty for a very long time. Before being closed up, though, it was obvious someone had loved the space … and spent a lot of time hanging out in the room.

  “What is this?” He moved closer to an antique table that had an odd piece of machinery perched on it.

  “Oh, look at that.” Harper wasn’t the domestic sort but she recognized an antique sewing machine. “It doesn’t even run on electricity. It’s one of the old pump pedal kinds. This is probably worth some money.”

  Jared arched an eyebrow. “You still haven’t told me what it is.”

  “It’s a sewing machine.”

  He cocked his head sideways. “Get out.”

  “No, it’s true.” Harper ran her hands over a faded settee. “Obviously Beatrice loved it up here. This must’ve been her favorite place in the house.”

  “It was,” a new voice called out, catching both Jared and Harper by surprise.

  Jared, protective as always, swung out a hand to keep Harper behind him in case some sort of attack was imminent. Since Evangeline was the only one standing at the top of the steps, though, he allowed himself to relax … although only marginally.

  “How did you get in here?” she asked, her eyes on the shelf resting against the wall. There were framed photographs all over it.

  “Jared is very good with locks,” Harper replied automatically.

  “I picked the lock,” he corrected, shooting her a quelling look when it appeared she might argue. “Harper was determined to get up here. She’s convinced she’ll be able to find your mother in this room.”

  “I see.” Evangeline looked lost as she glanced around the dusty setting. “When I was a little girl, I was only allowed in here if I knocked and promised to be quiet. My mother insisted on those two rules … but she let me play up here as much as I wanted because she knew the rest of the house bothered me.”

  “You see ghosts, don’t you?” Harper was convinced it was true. There was something about Evangeline that felt familiar to her … like she was looking at herself.

  “It would probably be easier for you if I said yes, huh?” Evangeline’s gaze was sympathetic. “I don’t, though. I do, occasionally, hear things. That’s what happened when I was a child. I heard Belle and Dorothy after they died and my father was convinced I should be locked up.”

  Harper stilled. “Who are Belle and Dorothy?”

  Jared felt as if he was intruding on what should be a private conversation but he didn’t make a move to leave. He wasn’t comfortable abandoning Harper in the long-forgotten room with a woman who seemed to be struggling. For now, he was content sitting back and allowing Harper to run the show.

  “Belle and Dorothy were my mother’s servants, for lack of a better word.” Evangeline was rueful. “They were more than that, though. They did things for her, cleaned and cooked. They were her confidants, too. My father wasn’t the easiest man to get along with.”

  Harper was alarmed at the way she said it. “Abusive?”

  “Verbally, yes. He wasn’t physically abusive unless he took to drinking. Thankfully, out on an island like this, it’s not as if you can just run to the corner store for a bottle. My mother became clever about making sure there was no alcohol in the house. My father would bring some home with him occasionally – and some of the male staff members supplied him with bottles – but that usually meant only one night of him being … horrible … and then he was back on the wagon for a few weeks. It wasn’t perfect, but it was tolerable.”

  “I’m sorry you had to live like that.” Harper opted for sincerity. “What happened to Belle and Dorothy?”

  “There was a fire in the storage shed around back. I still don’t know how it happened. It wasn’t a very big shed. They were somehow trapped when they went back to get something … and they never got out. My mother was devastated and she never got over it. I loved them, too. They were always kind to me, and after they passed, I kept thinking I heard them talking. My fa
ther thought I was crazy and my mother admonished me about what I said in front of him. The house frightened me after that, though.”

  Harper thought back to the spirits she saw with Beatrice. “Can I describe two women to you?”

  Evangeline nodded.

  “One looks to be in her fifties, hair that was probably blond but could’ve been the early signs of gray, too. Very friendly green eyes. She wore a fitted brown dress that probably required a corset.”

  Evangeline made a strangled choking sound. “That sounds just like Dorothy. My mother always made fun of her for the corsets, but she was determined a proper lady always wore a corset. Thankfully my mother disagreed. How did you know?”

  “I saw her with your mother in the library. The other woman, she was smaller. She had very long, very black hair and blue eyes. She was striking, but tiny. She also had two fingers on her right hand that jutted out at an odd angle.”

  Evangeline took a purposeful step toward Harper. “That’s Belle. Are you saying you’ve seen them?”

  Harper nodded. “They’re still here. They’re with your mother. I tried talking to your mother when I saw her down at the cemetery, but she was afraid. She didn’t say much.”

  “You actually talked to her?” Evangeline’s expression turned to marvel. “I can’t believe you really saw her.”

  “I did. The thing is, most souls don’t stay behind unless they had a traumatic death. I can see why Belle and Dorothy stayed behind. They died in a fire … that kind of sounds suspicious.”

  Evangeline jerked up her head. “What do you mean?”

  “It was a storage building,” Jared interjected. “How could they die in a small building like that and not be able to escape? It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

  “You think someone killed them?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. That would be my guess. It was a long time ago. Even if someone did kill them, there’s probably no one left to punish. Did anyone dislike them?”

  “Just my father.” Evangeline clenched her jaw. “I’m sure he arranged it. He didn’t like that my mother was so close with them.”

  “What about your mother?” Harper prodded. “Are you sure she died peacefully in her bed?”

  “I … .” Evangeline tilted her head to the side. “I’m not certain about anything right now. This is all so much.”

  “I’m sure it is.” Harper slid her eyes to the left when she caught a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye. Sure enough, Beatrice and her ghostly friends had joined the party and were listening intently. “Your mother is here now. So are Dorothy and Belle. Maybe … maybe you should try talking to them.”

  Evangeline was clearly taken aback by the suggestion. “Talk to them? But … how?”

  “They can hear you. They’re listening right now. Maybe you can hear them again, like you could when you were a kid, if you spend some time with them. I’m not telling you what to do with your gift, but it seems a shame not to at least try to communicate.”

  Evangeline remained uncertain. “But … what if I’m crazy and they’re not really there?”

  “Then we’ll be crazy together.” Harper made up her mind on the spot and sat in the middle of the floor. She motioned for the ghosts to move closer, which they did. Jared looked at the spot she indicated but could see nothing. He had faith that she was the most gifted person he’d ever met, though, so he sat on the floor next to her and grabbed her hand.

  “Come on, Evangeline,” he prodded. “I think we should do this as a group.”

  Evangeline, quite simply, looked amazed. “Why do you want to help me?”

  “Because Harper does,” he replied simply. “She doesn’t do anything without having a good reason. She’s giving of her time and heart and if she feels this is important, I’m right there with her.”

  Evangeline still wasn’t convinced. “Why do you think this is important? I really want to know.”

  “Because I think this is a family with a lot of secrets,” Harper replied simply. “I think something happened to your mother … and I think something happened to Jennifer. Quite frankly, I’m not sure something didn’t happen to Madeline either, despite what everyone keeps saying. One of those mysteries is important to me because I can’t help feeling I failed Jennifer in school. I think all those mysteries are important to you.”

  “Not all,” Evangeline countered, lowering herself to the ground. “I honestly don’t care what happened to Madeline. I mean … I don’t want her dead or anything, but if she were to take off and never return it would be better for this family.”

  Harper was intrigued by the statement, but she knew better than pushing Evangeline. The woman had information to share. She simply needed a push from beyond the grave to get her to the place she needed to be to share it.

  Harper had decided on patience. She could only hope things would work out how she envisioned, because otherwise, they were right back where they started.

  17

  Seventeen

  Jared had never participated in something quite as extraordinary as the reunion of a mother and daughter decades after they were separated. He marveled at Harper’s poise as she helped Evangeline open herself up and communicate.

  And then, out of nowhere, he silently acquiesced when Harper grabbed his hand and dragged him from the center of the room. He opened his mouth to argue, but Harper very firmly shook her head, not speaking until she was at the top of the stairs and then addressing the room in an airy fashion.

  “I’m going to leave you to it for a bit, Evangeline. I’m sure you and your mother want some privacy.”

  Evangeline seemed surprised when she realized Harper and Jared were no longer sitting next to her. “Oh, um ... thank you.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she seemed so happy that Jared felt a tug on his exposed heartstrings.

  “I’ll talk to you at dinner,” Harper offered, keeping a firm hold on Jared’s hand. “Have a good reunion with your mother.” She tugged him until they were halfway down the stairs and then slowed. “I know you’re confused,” she started.

  “I am confused,” he confirmed. “I thought you wanted to talk to her about Jennifer ... although I’m not convinced she can help on that front.”

  “She can help.” Harper was certain of that. “I think she’s always been the answer to that question.”

  Jared cocked a dubious eyebrow. “You think she killed Jennifer.”

  Harper shook her head. “No. I think she knows what happened to her granddaughter, though.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  That was a good question and Harper didn’t know how to answer. “I don’t know. It’s just ... I saw something in her that’s hard to explain. It’s honestly not important right now. The most important thing right now is that Evangeline feels comfortable giving me the answers.”

  “Because you’re absolutely certain she has them.”

  “I feel quite confident she has them,” Harper clarified. “I don’t know anything. I feel many things. This house ... when Evangeline said this house was haunted, she was right. It’s more than just ghosts, though. It’s haunted by a family that lost its way. Evangeline is the only one who sees that. She’s the one who gave up the house. The rest of them consider it a status symbol.”

  Jared furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

  “That’s because you’ve been watching from a different perspective than me. I’ve been watching the family. You’ve been looking for clues.”

  “And you think that was wrong?”

  “I think that clarification comes best when watching the players,” she countered. “The people in this house aren’t even playing the same game.”

  Jared held her gaze for a long time. “You’re not going to tell me what you suspect, are you?”

  Harper shook her head. “Not yet. I’m not ready. We need to check some things when we get back to the guesthouse.”

  “What things?”

  “I’ll tell you when we
get there. As for Evangeline, she’s going to be more open to helping in a few hours. I guarantee it.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “How would you feel if we were separated for fifty years and then suddenly we got to spend a few hours talking?”

  She was smiling, but he couldn’t match her expression. “Heart, it would be best if you didn’t say things like that. The idea of living without you for fifty years ... .”

  “Okay. Maybe that was the wrong comparison.” She held her hands up in capitulation. “We’re planning a life together. I’m not supposed to die a significant amount of time before you.”

  “You’re not,” he agreed. “In fact, I demand that I either go first or we go together.”

  “Like The Notebook?”

  He grinned. “Maybe. I don’t care if you think it’s schmaltzy.”

  “I’m fine with the schmaltz. The thing is, you need to stop thinking of death as an ending. Just because we die, that doesn’t mean we don’t go on. I’ve told you about what I see when I use the dreamcatcher, right?”

  “Yeah.” His fingers were a gentle kiss against her cheek. He felt the need to touch her. Talk of separation gave him anxiety he didn’t even know he was capable of before they met. “You said it’s a beautiful place, warm and inviting. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to go there for a long time ... and I want us to be together when it happens.”

  “I want that, too.” Harper wrapped her fingers around his wrist to reassure him. “There are no guarantees in life, though. At least ... not the sort you want. I can guarantee that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can guarantee I see wonderful things for our future.

  “I can also guarantee that, if something terrible happens and we’re separated, I’ll be waiting for you on the other side,” she continued. “I’ll want you to be happy, even if it’s without me. When we reunite, it will be like no time has passed ... just like with Evangeline and her mother.”

  He frowned. “No. I don’t want that.”