Granger looked at his son, and Robert nodded. “Sure, that’d be great,” Granger replied. “Some country air would do me good.”
“I would have thought you had your fill of country air in Waverly,” Robert said.
“Nah, the air up there wasn’t to my liking,” Granger replied. “Too full of problems.”
“Well, the air at my place is pretty good, except for a ghost in my barn,” Eliza said. “Aside from that, it’s nice and clean. And I have one day of a vacation left before I have to go back to work.”
“We’d be happy to,” Granger said. “And thank you for the invitation.”
Eliza sat back in her chair, the plate of pasta before her now just a slick of sauce, awaiting cleanup with bread. Robert anticipated her need and passed the bowl; she took a piece, still warm, and mopped up the remaining gravy.
It’s going to be alright, she thought, examining how the food was settling within her, looking for any sign of remaining pain. There was none. She was OK.
The sound of wine hitting glass reached her ears. She raised her head to see Robert refilling hers.
Things are fine, she thought.
They laughed and chatted the rest of the evening, sharing histories and stories with each other, until the hour grew very late and Kai took his leave.
Granger and Robert made a quick job of packing, and soon they were on the road to Spring Green.
“You know, I’ve never been to House on the Rock,” Granger said as they travelled.
“I’ll give you a complete tour,” Eliza said. “I’m back to work the day after tomorrow.”
“That sounds like fun,” Granger replied. “I brought a few projects to work on, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Don’t mind at all,” Eliza replied.
“How long to get a legend shelf?” Robert asked.
“Next week at the earliest,” Eliza replied.
“Is that lead time?” Robert asked. “Or up and running by then?”
“No, she’s out of town,” Eliza said, and immediately raised her hands to cover her mouth. “Oh, I did not say that, did I? Please promise me you’ll not tell her I said that.”
“Don’t know who you’re talking about,” Robert replied, smiling.
“I’m looking forward to being away for a week,” Granger said. “It’s almost like a vacation. How long has it been since either of us took a vacation, son?”
“I don’t remember ever taking one,” Robert replied.
“Well, good,” Granger said. “This will be one then.”
“He’ll be bored after the first day,” Robert muttered to Eliza. “I hope you can put up with him.”
“I can give him chores,” she replied.
“I like the idea of that,” Robert replied, smiling.
The car rumbled down the road, and for the first time in days, Eliza felt as though things were back to normal. Soon she’d be back in her home, her family and friends protected behind the legend shelf, and everything would be right with the world.
I still need to help Kai get Black Creek situated correctly, she thought, becoming excited at the possibility of helping them out.
Soon enough, she thought, and relaxed, feeling her muscles release tension and her mind begin to calm.
Postscript
Eliza led Robert and Granger into the house. They followed her, carrying bags.
“Oh, it’s you!” Shane said as he came in from the kitchen to join them in the living room. “You’ve been gone a while.”
“Just had some stuff to do,” Eliza replied. “You OK?”
“Of course,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Robert’s going to be staying with us for a few days,” Eliza said. “This is his father, Granger.”
“Hi,” Shane nodded.
“Nice to meet you,” Granger replied.
“They’ll be up in Dad’s old room,” Eliza said.
“Fine,” Shane replied. “Oh…there’s a letter for you. Some man brought it by.”
“Where?” Eliza asked.
“On the table in the kitchen,” Shane replied.
Eliza walked to the kitchen. The envelope had her name written on it. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was a hastily scratched letter, written on paper from a yellow legal pad. She glanced quickly to the signature at the bottom.
Rachel.
“You said a man brought this?” Eliza asked.
“Yeah,” Shane replied.
She turned to Granger and Robert. “It’s from Rachel.”
Robert walked to her side, trying to see the letter over her shoulder.
“How long ago?” Granger asked Shane.
“An hour,” Shane replied.
“What did he look like, exactly?” Eliza asked.
“Tall,” Shane replied, removing food from the refrigerator. “Kinda thin. Lots of dark clothing. He spoke very clearly, which seemed weird.”
“Akal,” Eliza whispered.
Shane gathered the items together and added a bag of chips. “I’m going upstairs to watch an MMA fight,” he said, and was out of the room a moment later.
“What’s it say?” Robert asked.
Eliza could feel her heart rate increasing as she prepared to read the letter. She turned to see if Shane had left the room, and once she was satisfied that he was out of hearing range, she began to read.
Dear Eliza,
I realize what I did was shitty, and you’re probably pissed. I’d be.
I have to hand it to you — I never imagined you’d shake off Scray like that. Seeing you take him out made me feel a little better about what happened. At least you’re not stuck feeding them forever, like Gloria. I think a part of me knew you’d find a way to escape things. You’re a strong person.
So, I know you’re probably angry. I figure you’re looking for a way to get back at me. I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn’t try. Marc and I are more than prepared to defend ourselves. We’ve been following you for days, and we did some poking around at Black Creek. We met Dark Arm; she is very pissed with you for lying to her. She’s kept a list of names of everyone who screwed her over, and she’s weirdly obsessive about it, wanting revenge.
Marc and I killed Jack for her, and she was extremely grateful for it, so she owes us one. We’d hate to have to give her your address if you decide to pursue us. So, let this be a warning. Don’t come after us. You’ll regret it if you do.
Besides, you probably need to worry more about Akal. I’m sure he’s pissed as hell.
Love,
Rachel
###
Michael Richan lives in Seattle, Washington.
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●
The adventure continues!
The sequel to The Haunting of Waverly Hall is:
A HAUNTING IN WISCONSIN
Join Eliza in this exciting new haunted mystery! A sample has been included at the end of this book for you to enjoy!
●
The River series:
The Bank of the River
Residual
A Haunting in Oregon
Ghosts of Our Fathers
Eximere
The Suicide Forest
Devil’s Throat
The Diablo Horror
The Haunting at Grays Harbor
It Walks At Night
The Cycle of the Shen
A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point
The Port of Missing Souls
The Downwinders series:
Blood Oath, Blood River
The Impossible Coin
The Graves of Plague Canyon
The Blackham Mansion Haunting
The Massacre Mechanism
The Nightmares of Quiet Grove
The Dark River series:
A
The Blood Gardener
Other
titles:
The Haunting of Pitmon House
The Haunting of Waverly Hall
A Haunting In Wisconsin
The School of Revenge
All series are part of The River Universe, and there is crossover of some characters and plots. For a suggested reading order, see the Author’s Website.
●
Patron Thank You!
Michael would like to thank his Patron,
Carol Tilson
How to become a Patron and receive titles before they’re released on Amazon!
●
Complimentary Sample from A Haunting In Wisconsin
Chapter One
March 1999
Eliza and Robert gently pushed open the door as quietly as they could, slipped inside, and closed it behind them. The house was dark, except for a small lamp sitting on a table just inside the door. Eliza looked down a hallway ahead, seeing only darkness. Robert lowered the suitcase he was carrying to the floor and reached for a small envelope on the table that bore his name.
He opened it and read in a whisper: “Room 7, down the hallway. Last room before the stairs. See you for breakfast in the morning, 8:30 AM.”
“Lead the way,” Eliza replied.
Robert picked up the suitcase and began walking down the dark hall. Eliza followed, moving slowly so her eyes would adjust as they went. She was aware that they were passing numbered doors, and she wanted to be as silent as they could. There had been no way to reach the B&B during its normal check-in hours; the entire trip had been a surprise, a kind of last-minute getaway, so she hadn’t been able to make arrangements to leave work early. They started the long drive from Spring Green well after six, and now it was just past midnight. Not knowing how full the place might be, she didn’t want to wake any of them by bumbling a bag into a wall, so she took each step carefully.
As with any hotel, she wanted to see how it looked, to make a visual inspection that would inform her of its suitability and cleanliness. That would have to wait; the hallway was far too dark to see details. The façade and entryway seemed nice enough; simple, with antique furniture. Now, walking down the hallway, trying to be as silent as possible as they slowly progressed, she really couldn’t see anything other than the shadow of Robert ahead of her. She used her other senses to pick up what she could of the place. It didn’t have much of a smell, and the only sound was of the two of them padding down the carpeted hallway, breathing heavy as they lugged their suitcases.
“This is it,” Robert whispered, coming to a stop at a door on the right. He fumbled with the key, trying to locate the lock in the darkness. After a few seconds he had it open, and they shuffled inside, closing the door quietly.
A small table lamp had been left on in the room, allowing Eliza enough light to find a switch on the wall. An overhead fixture illuminated. Eliza saw that the drapes had already been drawn, and the covers on a large bed in the center of the room had been turned down.
“Looks like he had the room all ready for us,” she said.
Robert lugged the suitcases into a spot by the window and opened them.
Eliza performed her inspection now that there was enough light to do it properly. Bed? Nice and firm. Bathroom? Clean. Dust bunnies in corners? None.
“Does it pass?” Robert asked.
“It does,” she replied, falling on the bed.
Robert fell next to her. “I’m glad you came. It’s nice to get away for a weekend. You work too hard.”
“Yeah,” she replied, turning to face him. “If you say so.”
“I do. This is the first real getaway we’ve had, not for lack of trying.”
It was true. Robert had planned a number of trips over the past several months, all of which Eliza had cancelled for one reason or another. Most of the time it was work scheduling issues. When Robert informed her, just nine hours earlier, that they had been invited to a B&B run by a friend of his uncle, the suddenness of it seemed to make it viable in a way that the planned vacations had not. The fact that he was extending a generous family discount didn’t hurt either. Eliza agreed to go because of how impromptu it felt; no planning, no extensive packing, nothing to arrange at work. Just get in the car and go, and be back by Tuesday.
“I’m glad,” she said. “It’s fun to be away for a while. And…” she paused. “What we decided in the car still stands?”
“Sex, multiple times a day?” Robert replied.
“No,” she answered. “That we’d stay out of the River for the whole trip? No jumping in, even if we really want to?”
“Sure,” Robert replied. “I’m all for a break.”
Someone overhearing their conversation might be confused; there was no river anywhere near the B&B. Eliza was referring to the ability she shared with Robert, a “gift” that allowed her to sense and see things that ordinary people could not, an ability she inherited from her father. Robert could do it too; their shared skill had been how they’d met months ago. Their gift allowed them to enter a place called The River, where they could see things hidden from normal view — such as ghosts. On the car ride up from Spring Green, where she lived and worked, they’d discussed how refreshing it might be to go a whole weekend without entering the River; staying out and just experiencing life like normal people. They agreed to give it a try.
Eliza felt her eyes close as the comfort of the bed relaxed her. It had been a full day of work, and the drive had been long; they’d done it as a straight shot, with only a single stop. Now she was ready to sleep, but she felt Robert’s hands on her, and with them, an excitement that reminded her sleep was still a half hour away.
●
In the dream she was dragging her suitcase down the dark hall, trying to be quiet, but unable to stop one edge of it from scraping along the wall. It was making a horribly loud sound that she was sure would wake the other people in the B&B. The floor was littered with crumpled up paper, making it impossible to step anywhere without creating a crunching sound. She cringed, afraid she was rousing the entire establishment despite her efforts to be silent.
She forced herself awake and propped herself on one elbow, relieved that it had been just a dream.
The scraping sound, however, did not stop.
Turning, she saw Robert asleep on the bed next to her. Quietly she slipped from the covers, feeling the cool of the room on her skin. After a couple of steps, she stopped and listened.
It was something metal, scraping against the wood of her door. She walked to it; looking down, she saw a faint blue mist creeping in under the crack. She stepped back.
Then she heard a crunching sound, and turned to see the wallpaper along one wall slowly crinkling as it pressed outward, into the room. The bulge split with a loud rip, and a chill raced down her spine as she saw a dark face appear inside the wall, its eyes turning slowly to look her way.
She felt the hair on her arms stand at attention as the ghostly image emerged from the wall. Darkness spilled into the room around it, like long, black hair falling through the crack.
She closed her eyes and found herself sitting up in bed. Robert was still asleep next to her, although in a different position.
Dreaming, she thought. I was dreaming.
She lowered back down to the pillow, her eyes resting on the ceiling above. Slowly they dropped to the spot on the wall where, moments before in her dream, she’d seen the face emerge.
Nothing there, she thought. No sound from the hallway. Nothing under the wallpaper. Just a dream. Go back to sleep.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of anything other than the dark face that had emerged from the wall, waiting for sleep to come.
Chapter Two
“You’d better get up,” she heard Robert say, as he gently rocked her back and forth. She opened her eyes; he had opened the drapes, and light was streaming into the room. “It’s 8:10. We’ll miss breakfast.”
She pulled the cover over her head. “Fine,” she muttered. “Let’s miss breakfast.”
> “Oh, come on,” Robert replied. “I want to meet Milton.”
“It means we have to meet all the other people staying here too,” she said from under the blanket. “I hate that.”
“Don’t be anti-social,” he replied. “Just turn on your natural charm. We only have to meet the ones who bother to come to breakfast, which won’t be all of them.”
Eliza threw off the covers and swung her feet to the floor, then stumbled to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she felt presentable enough to interact with other guests, and they left the room.
Now, with the light of day, she observed the little details of the hallway that she couldn’t see the night before. Molding in the corners, carpet edged an inch from the baseboards. A beautiful green wallpaper on the walls.
At the end of the hallway they found the entryway they’d used the night before. Turning in the opposite direction, they walked through a door and found themselves in the middle of a kitchen. A woman with a large apron wrapped around her midsection turned to look at them.
“Oh!” Eliza said. “I thought this might be the breakfast room.”
“All meals are served in the room at the end of the hall,” the woman replied, returning quickly to her work at a large metal stove. “Back down the hallway, on the left. I asked him to put up a sign, but he won’t.”
Eliza and Robert backed out of the kitchen and returned down the hallway, passing their room. On the right a set of stairs ascended, and to the left was an open archway. They could hear the sound of utensils and plates inside.
“How did we miss this?” Eliza asked. “Just ten feet from our room!”
“I guess we just assumed it was at the front,” Robert replied. “And as the woman said, there’s no sign.”
They entered the room. It had six round tables, two of which were occupied. At one sat a young boy of ten, with his father. At another were two older ladies, dressed in flowery tops, their hair stacked nicely on their heads. One of the ladies looked up and saw them.
The Haunting of Waverly Hall Page 17
