“Yeah.” Mike reached across the table and gave Laura’s hand a brief squeeze. “Anyway, those are the facts we know for sure. Why Bert Wellman joined the children is still unknown. We’re speculating that he wasn’t involved in the actual kidnappings or murders. He might have just found the bodies and confronted his wife. We do know that his skull was crushed with a blunt, heavy object – probably a shovel.”
“Why did she do it? Not just Bert, but all of it?”
“Unfortunately, we’ll never know for sure. And she’s not talking.”
I’m not so sure about that. Laura kept her thoughts about the possible presence of a ghost or ghosts in her house to herself. She loved Mike dearly, but realized that he was one-hundred percent skeptical on the subject of the supernatural—just as she had once been…
“I meant to ask you, babe. Did you want me to get someone to come in and cement that wall over again? With the investigation closed, the room doesn’t need to remain open. The house would definitely be easier to sell as a result.”
“Sell? Do you really think, after all the news and media coverage, anyone in their right mind would want to buy it?”
“Well, you’re the expert, so probably not. But it might be worth a try.”
“In a year or two, maybe. But right now? Trust me – they won’t be buying. Regardless of that, let’s definitely do the wall. I’ll have to go back there sooner or later, and it’ll make it easier for me. I still carry the picture of those poor children in my mind and I don’t need anything else to remind me.”
“You’re going back? Leaving me so soon?”
Laura smiled. “I’d hoped you come with me. We can’t all stay in this teeny apartment for much longer.”
Mike nodded. “I’m off tomorrow, I’ll make arrangements for the wall. We can probably move back in after the weekend. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Tears gathered in Laura’s eyes. “Pretty sure.” Her voice trembled, so she cleared her throat. “There’s no reason to expect that anything else bad will happen. Yes, the whole event is tragic and I wish it never had happened – especially not in my house. But five years is a long time and life goes on, right?”
“True.”
“Do I sound heartless?”
“Laura, I’ve heard you crying at night over this. I lie next to you in bed while you thrash about in nightmares. This has affected you deeply and you are anything but heartless. So you don’t have to worry about that. I think everything will be fine.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Walking back into the house on Monday seemed odd to Laura. She’d been to work; a late afternoon fog had rolled in on her walk home leaving her feeling disoriented and detached. Her first step over the threshold was tentative; in spite of her previous career in real estate, empty houses always unnerved her, and this particular one made her more nervous than most. She took a deep breath, said a small quiet prayer and plunged in.
So far so good. No negative feelings flooded over her. The house seemed quiet – and unlike previous times it wasn’t an uneasy, watchful quiet, but rather a peaceful calm. Laura exhaled.
She could see Mike had been busy on his day off. Although she didn’t go down the stairs to see the wall – plenty of time for that after he arrived home – she saw the washer and dryer had been moved upstairs and installed in the small room off the kitchen. He’d also set up an area for the cat with food and water bowls and, back in the corner, a litter box. Tears welled up in her eyes she was so pleased. Perfect, she thought, I never need to go down those stairs again.
She listened to the messages on her machine, all of which she’d covered earlier when Mike told her who’d called. Her dad had called to say he wasn’t going to be home over Thanksgiving. Tony had called to make sure she was okay after having seen her house on the news and invited her to spend Thanksgiving with them. As much as she’d like to see the girls, she had to turn him down, due to her and Mike’s work schedules. Then Carolyn, after seeing all the official vehicles parked outside, expressed concern. A second call came from her after she’d watched the news – she offered her condolences, and then her apologies for the argument they’d had the night of the sleep over. She too was going to be away over the next weekend; in fact most of the families in the neighborhood were headed out of town, to celebrate the holiday at parents’ or grandparents’ homes. “It’ll be a ghost town around here,” Carolyn said.
“Thanks a lot,” Laura said to the answering machine. “I didn’t really need to hear that.”
The final message was one Mike hadn’t told her about, since it had come in earlier in the day. “Laura? This is Dennis Maxwell. We met at Cassie’s funeral, remember? I saw this story on the news about the house where they found those missing children. That’s your house, right? I might be able to help. Call me.”
She picked up the phone, cycled through the last calls and redialed his number. “Dennis,” she said when he answered. “This is Laura Wagner.”
“Laura, I hoped you’d call. That is your house, right?”
She sighed. “Yeah.”
“You know, that whole situation explains so much of what Cassie talked about. I’d really like to come over and check it out.”
Laura thought for a moment. Would his visit make things worse? Everything is quiet now, maybe I should just let sleeping dogs lie. “Well,” she hesitated, “I really don’t know.”
“You have nothing to lose. I suspect that after the bodies were discovered, the souls were released. And that your house is perfectly fine now. How does it feel?”
“Calm,” Laura admitted with surprise, “and peaceful. Could it be that simple?”
“Hope so,” Dennis said. “And how do you feel?”
“Also fairly calm and peaceful. I don’t have an entire soundtrack of negative thoughts running through my brain. Of course, a lot of that has to do with being sober.”
“Yep. But I can still come over. And maybe give you a clean bill of health.” Dennis chuckled a bit. “Or whatever it is. A clean supernatural slate, perhaps.”
“I’m still not sure I believe in any of this.”
“You don’t need to believe for it to be real. But if you’re at all uneasy, I think I can help.”
Laura sighed again. “Okay. When did you want to come over?”
Dennis laughed. “I can come now, if you’d like. My overburdened social schedule seems to have hit a clear patch.”
“Do you know where it is?”
He hesitated. “I’m sort of afraid to admit, in case you think I’m some sort of paranormal stalker, but I’ve driven past your house several times since the news hit. I know exactly where you are.”
Laura looked at the clock. Provided Mike didn’t have to work overtime, he’d be home in about an hour. And while she didn’t want him to think she’d gone off the deep end about the house, she also wanted him present. Just in case. “Come by in about an hour and a half. Maybe we’ll order some pizza.”
Laura tried to call Mike, but his cell phone didn’t seem to be working. And since both he and Dennis arrived at the house at the same time, she hadn’t a chance to warn him. Mike surprised her, though, by not finding her invitation to Dennis completely off base. “Better safe than sorry,” he said. “Plus, if it helps you sleep better at night, babe, then I’m all for it.”
Dennis chuckled a bit. “But you don’t believe in any of it, do you?”
Mike shook his head. “I don’t. I see enough real life horror in my line of work that I don’t need to attribute any of it to supernatural sources. Shit happens and when it does, you can usually find a logical explanation or a person to blame.”
Dennis’ mouth twisted into a dry smile. “I can tell you’re a skeptic. No problem.” He shifted his briefcase from one hand to another, zipped it open and pulled out a few hand-held, high-tech-looking items. Mike showed an interest now that gadgetry was involved. Unlike the materials Cassie worked with – cards, astrological charts, incense and candles – these
tools supposedly measured “scientifically” with no room for interpretation.
Laura smiled to herself. “Shall I order some pizza while you two are setting up?”
As much as they’d been on opposite sides of the supernatural fence before, they apparently both agreed that electronic devices were the answer. “Sure,” Mike said. “I’ll help Dennis get started.”
“Cassie said most of the incidents revolved around the cellar?” Dennis adjusted his glasses, pushing them back to the bridge of his nose. “And that’s where the remains were found, right?”
Mike nodded. Laura looked up from the phone – the pizza place had put her on hold. “That’s right.”
Dennis studied the door, the many locks on it, and the duct-taped cat door. “Where’s your cat?”
“Oh, no.” Mike headed for the front door. “I forgot about him, he’s in his crate out in the car. I’ll be right back.”
“Poor thing,” Laura said, not really all that concerned.
Dennis looked over at her. “He’ll be okay. Your boyfriend is a cop, right? Seems a decent sort, if somewhat skeptical.”
“Yeah. He’s a great guy.”
“Cassie never said one way or the other. Just that he was around.”
Mike walked back into the house, carrying Anubis in his plastic crate and started to open it up.
“Might be better to keep him inside there for a while,” Dennis said, “that way I can be sure he doesn’t set anything off.”
Laura hung up the phone. “Pizza’ll be about twenty minutes. We can’t leave him in there, he hates the cage.” She took the cat from Mike and cradled him in her arms. “I’ll put him in the bedroom. We’re not doing anything back there, are we?”
Dennis looked up at her. “Anything unusual happen there?”
Laura suppressed a giggle; she’d seen that movie. “Not really. You guys set up – I’m going to spend a little time with this poor mistreated kitty.” When she said that, Anubis gave a pitiful little mew and Laura laughed. “Yeah, complain all you want, Bonehead. We all know you’re spoiled rotten.”
“I’m glad I’m here,” she heard Mike say before she went into the girls’ bedroom. “Laura hates going down to that cellar.”
No kidding.
All in all, it had been an enjoyable evening. They spent some time talking about Cassie, but that felt natural and right. She’d touched all of their lives in some way and now she was gone. But they shared as much laughter as tears. Dennis finally went on his way, with their promise to call him, should any of the alarms go off. “I don’t actually expect that to happen,” he’d said as they saw him out. “If there was ever any sort of supernatural presence in this house, it’s gone now. As far as I can tell.”
“Just the same,” Laura said to Mike as she locked the door. “If I hear one suspicious sound from the cellar, I’m out of here.”
The following morning, Laura woke up completely enveloped with warmth. Mike had fallen asleep, cradled into her back, his one arm still draped around her waist. Anubis lay in front of her, snuggled up against the blankets at her stomach level. She gave a contented sigh. She’d had a good night’s sleep.
That she could be this happy, that she could apparently lead a relatively normal life, despite her addictions, despite the sadness and death that had visited this house, amazed Laura. Never in a million years would she have imagined on that bleak day back in June her life would change so much. Nor would she have imagined that for the most part, the changes were good.
She slid out from underneath Mike’s arm and gave the cat a nudge, then padded out to the kitchen to start the coffee. Looking at the calendar while the water dripped, she realized Thanksgiving was in two days. “I should take that turkey out of the freezer now.” She and Mike had decided to just stay at home for the day. They’d had numerous invitations; in addition to Tony’s invite, Renee had asked them, along with several of Mike’s coworkers, but, with all the recent excitement, they’d opted instead for a low-key stay-at-home holiday. Most of the houses to which they’d been asked would be serving varying amounts of alcohol and Laura wasn’t sure she was up to that challenge just yet.
“Better to stay here, where I won’t be as tempted. To say nothing of not wanting to answer everyone’s questions about the discovery of the children.” Even the best-intentioned of people seemed to have an almost ghoulish fascination with the story and Laura did not want to talk about it. Not yet. The fear and sadness were still too new.
“Besides,” she bent down to scratch Anubis, who’d followed her out to the kitchen, “the weather looks like it might be nasty. Just what we need, huh? More snow.”
Laura heard a ring sound and she jumped, unable to identify the ring at first and worried for a few seconds that it might be an alarm from the cellar. Another ring and she identified the source – Mike’s cell phone. “I’m not used to that yet.” She picked up the phone and carried it back to the bedroom. Mike sat up in bed. “For you,” she said, handing him the phone and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got the coffee brewing, so come on out when you’re done.”
When Mike came out, she knew something was wrong by his expression. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“My Aunt Betty died. We’ll need to go to the funeral in Ohio.”
“Oh, Mike, I’m so sorry.” More death. “When?”
“She died last night. They didn’t want to wake me in the middle of the night. The funeral is on Friday, so I’ll need to leave here either today or tomorrow. I’ve got some leave left, so work won’t be a problem.”
Laura did a little pouting face. “I don’t get leave. And with all the days I’ve been missing lately, I’m lucky I still have a job.”
“So you can’t come with me?”
Laura shook her head. “Probably not. Do you mind?”
“Yes, I do mind. I don’t want to leave you here all alone. I can manage fine but is there someone you can stay with? Or maybe you can just go over to my apartment.”
“Mike, my love, contrary to popular opinion, I can take care of myself.” Her irritation showed in her voice. She’d been on her own for a fairly long time and it was difficult to have to relinquish some of that independence.
Fortunately he seemed to understand her feelings. “I know, Laura. But you’re so important to me that I worry when I’m not with you.”
“You shouldn’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ll miss you, of course. But it’ll only be for a few days, right? It’s a shame you’re leaving on our first holiday together, but we’ll celebrate when you get back. The turkey’s not going anywhere. And neither am I.”
“Good.”
“Maybe you can call one night and read me a bedtime story.” Laura smiled. “You know, I think I fell in love with you that night.”
Mike chuckled. “Yeah, that book gets them every time.”
Mike knew that Laura was attempting to be braver than she felt. He also knew that she valued her independence; otherwise he might have been a bit more forceful in asking her to come with him. On the other hand, he didn’t really think she needed to go to another funeral, so soon after Cassie’s, so soon after they found the room in the cellar. She seemed to be holding up remarkably well; he didn’t see one good reason to insist she come along with him. At least not one good unselfish reason.
“Promise me,” he said to her as he got ready to leave, “that if you need help, of any sort, you’ll get it. I don’t care how small the problem is, call someone. Renee or the neighbors or some other friend of yours. Call Tony if you have to. Or Dennis, and he can pick up his equipment while he’s at it.”
“I promise.”
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, rocking her slightly. “I’m going to miss you, babe.”
Laura smiled up at him. He loved the look in her eyes when she was happy. “I’m going to miss you too. Hurry back.”
Laura stood in the doorway and waved to him as he drove away. He honked the horn and waved back, thinking how beautiful s
he looked, standing there. I hope she’ll be okay, he thought, and that if she gets into trouble, she’ll keep her promise and call someone. He knew the extent of her stubbornness, though; it was a quality both of them shared. “She’ll do fine,” he said the words out loud, almost as if to convince himself of their truth.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tuesday dragged for Laura. Due to the upcoming holiday, the biggest food day of the year, the day’s work had been exhausting. By the time she arrived home, she felt drained. “I never want to see another turkey for as long as I live,” she said to Anubis while she scooped out his cat food.
She’d initially intended to attend a meeting with Renee, but a message on her answering machine told her that her sponsor had gone out of town for the weekend. “You and everyone else,” Laura said. “I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one around.”
Which is not bad, really, she thought. At least I don’t have that paranoid feeling like someone is watching me. She assumed that had been related to the detox from her Valium.
Laura sighed. It would be wonderful if she could just take a few pills and zone out for the rest of the evening.
Why don’t you? You deserve a break – you’ve had a rough time of it lately.
She shook her head. No sense thinking of that, even if she wanted to go down that path again, she had no pills. Instead, she made herself a cup of peppermint tea, spread a piece of bread with some peanut butter and settled in front of the television.
The phone woke her some time later. She rushed to pick it up, not sure how long it had been ringing.
“Laura?” Mike’s voice on the other end of the line sounded like heaven to her.
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