Of Lost and Found (the Kingsborough House): Kingsborough House (Virgil McLendon Thrillers Book 4)

by catt dahman

“Will do.”

  “You and Shari were on a tour and she vanished. Did you stay at the house or was it part of a day tour?”

  Carter waited and then answered, “Day tour.”

  “She was a girlfriend?”

  Pause. “On again and off again, according to reports,” Carter said.

  “For how long?”

  “About a year,” Carter said.

  “Was there an argument proceeding this tour?”

  “No one reported seeing or hearing one,” Carter said.

  “And on the tour? Arguments? Affection? Anything?”

  “No one recalled,” Carter said.

  “Does Mr. Cromer have record?”

  “He doesn’t. She had two priors for public drunkenness.”

  “Maybe this was a perfect chance to get rid of Shari? I think if we look enough we may find her body stuffed somewhere out of the way and then you can be charged, Mr. Cromer. I’m just perplexed as to how you found a hidey-hole for her body and managed to kill her and hide her without anyone noticing, but I bet you didn’t report her missing right away…that gave you time. I’m not sure why I am wasting my time questioning you when the facts are that either her body will be found and you’ll be charged, or she’ll remain one of the missing. We all know you did it….”

  Virgil stopped himself. This was how all interrogations went. Next, if Cromer spoke, he would try to deny the accusations, Virgil would interrupt him, the denial would take on more details, and Virgil would know he was close.

  All of that had been tried.

  Virgil saw that Terry Cromer still looked at him patiently with little interest. This routine was old and falling on deaf ears, so to speak.

  Building camaraderie was also a tactic that had been tried and failed, but Virgil was never good with that tactic anyway. All of this was so fake, it made Virgil feel a little dirty.

  “When you booked the tour, what did you and Shari want to see most?”

  Neither Cromer nor Carter spoke.

  “What was your interest? The creepiness? Or was it the opulence?”

  “Why?” Cromer asked. Occasionally he was known to ask a question of his own, but no one ever answered.

  “It helps me get to know you. Unless I know you, I don’t know if you did anything to Shari or not.”

  “The Sheriff here thinks I did something to her.”

  “If he were sure, he would have arrested you by now. If you thought he was sure, you’d have a lawyer by now. You’re in no rush to make this go away or move on…I do know that much. That interests me.”

  Cromer spoke, “Shari read all about the house and was convinced she could walk in and get a vibe or a message from ghosts…something weird…and she was convinced she could figure it out.”

  “Plenty of people have tried.”

  “Yeah, but Shari was convinced she was reincarnated or something stupid and would know once she saw the house. That’s why we didn’t get along most of the time, because of her weird ideas. She had some way out thoughts, and I am more of the logical sort.”

  Virgil shrugged, “But you agreed to go?” He was pleased the man was talking now. Sometimes it was best to be normal and stop the scripted questions.

  “Yes. I think I felt a little mean and spiteful, and I wanted to see her fail. I wanted to laugh, and kind of leave her in the dust that way. Like I said…I felt mean and fed up.” Cromer was being honest as he looked Virgil in the eyes.

  Virgil nodded. This was when he could suggest that with the mean feelings, maybe Cromer wanted to hurt her, but he waited, “Did she solve it? I mean on the tour, did she have any insights?” He could always return to that train of thought.

  Cromer’s face relaxed for a split second as he almost chuckled, “No.”

  “Do you know what happened to Shari?” Virgil watched Cromer’s eyes. They never shifted, but they went a little guarded. It wasn’t guilt, but something else that Cromer was showing. Virgil’s hand absently tapped at piano keys as he searched the face before him. Cromer didn’t show body language to indicated he was giving up, but he looked helpless.

  “No.”

  “Where was she the last time you saw her?”

  “We had just left the Grey Room and the guide locked it. Shari had a bit of rebelliousness in her and as everyone walked down the hall, she had me stand in the way and block her…she picked the lock.”

  “That will show, Mr. Cromer.” Virgil pressed a little.

  “So check it. You’ll see it’s true. Okay, it could have been me, right? But I’m saying it was her, and that she went right back in there, whispering to give her five minutes.”

  Carter spoke, “The lock was picked. It’s here in the report.”

  “Okay, let’s say it was Shari who picked it,” Virgil said, “Then?”

  “I figured we were going to be in a ton of trouble and still, I gave her ten minutes. I opened the door and she wasn’t there.”

  “But you didn’t call for help?” Virgil found it interesting that Cromer didn’t fill in a lot of useless details.

  “No. Hey, Shari was a mess. I figured she was getting back at me and hiding. I searched every part of that room. I sat there in the room for a good half hour, waiting her out, because I didn’t think she vanished…I mean, what were the chances?”

  Virgil leaned in as Cromer did. The suspect still looked guarded but not defensive.

  “Okay,” Virgil said.

  “That’s all, I guess. I’ve been questioned a lot like I did something to her, but all I did was hold off telling the guides about her going missing, because I could hardly believe it myself. As for why I am still here in town? Because there’s something wrong with that house. As soon as I save enough, I’m going back for another tour…because I’ve gone on five since then and can’t find a trace of her, and Sheriff, people don’t just vanish. There’s an answer there.”

  “You’ve been on five tours since then?” Virgil was shocked.

  “I know. It’s crazy, but look, there’s an answer and it’s there. Maybe I’m as crazy as she was but I keep thinking that if I keep seeing the house and all, I will figure it all out.”

  “That’s what Shari said,” Carter said.

  Cromer nodded.

  “You know Sheriff Thomas is watching and listening to us, and I’m going to lay it all open here. You aren’t defensive, cocky, guilt-ridden, angry…. You act a little confused, but there’s something else here. I would say it’s fear, but it doesn’t read like fear exactly. You’re spooked,” Virgil announced calmly. He knew Cromer might stop talking again, but he had to press because something felt very wrong about this interview. Cromer was holding something back, but it didn’t feel like guilt.

  “You’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “I just worked a case in an institute for the criminally insane. I doubt you could ever come close to being nearly as insane as some I met there. I may doubt some parts, but try me.”

  Comer groaned; for weeks this had been his alone to deal with and although he didn’t expect to be believed, he needed to share his worries or he’d be eaten alive by the stress. “When I looked for Shari, I crawled around on the floor and looked everywhere and there was this point that I was down on my hands and knees next to the fireplace and it was all quiet. At first, I thought I heard Shari kind of chuckling at me…making a sort of chittering, guttural, moaning noise, trying to scare me.”

  “Show me.”

  Cromer made a strange sound that was like a mixture of sounds various creatures would make: insects, baboons, rats, and insane people. It was chilling. “I don’t spook easy but it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard. I thought I was losing my mind because then I thought I heard Shari crying and some snapping noises and slobbery noises and then …maybe screams from far away. That’s why I didn’t report anything at first. I was scared, I admit it now. That house is haunted by something.”

  In relating the story, Terry Cromer’s face went pale.

  “What do
you think it was?”

  Cromer shrugged, “I’ve asked myself the same thing a million times. I can’t sleep right. I can’t think right. I keep remembering that noise is all. People have claimed to hear strange and scary sounds in the house and everyone claims the place is haunted, but there’s no such thing as ghosts, Sheriff. I think ghosts would scare me far less.”

  Virgil took in the information but couldn’t think of more questions.

  Carter tilted his head, “I wonder if you’d be interested in helping us with our searches of the Kingsborough House, Terry? We could use the help and we have a common goal. I’m sure we could get a roll-out bed brought in for you.”

  Cromer went paler, “I’d be glad to help and can be there any time I’m not working, but I need the job to afford my room.”

  “You’d be staying at the house, so you wouldn’t need a room,” Fin Carter pressed.

  Cromer gulped, “You don’t get it. As scared as I am, I’ll search and look for Shari in the daytime, but there is nothing on earth that would convince me to spend one second in that house after dark…not after what I heard.”

  Chapter Five:

  Sheriff Thomas was a flabbergasted as Virgil and Fin Carter were, but expressed gratitude and told them to let him know how he could help. “How did you know? Give an old man a break here…what tipped you off?”

  “I didn’t know or not know any more than you. But you knew as well as I did that he was more afraid than guilty, but you couldn’t decide why you felt that way. I’m pretty sure you’re just tired of dealing with the house and the vanishings just like the former sheriff was and the one before him,” Virgil said.

  “It gets old.”

  “I think Mr. Cromer knows that as well. He reacted favorably to me only because he sees me as having fresh eyes on the situation.”

  Virgil and Fin Carter drove away, seeing the sheriff release Cromer and shake his hand in the parking lot, in the rear view mirror. Virgil mulled over everything he heard. He had no theories yet and was sure that people went missing in the honeycombs of the house, but what Cromer said made him rethink everything. There was no faking the fear in Cromer’s eyes.

  “Do you believe in the supernatural?”

  Virgil shrugged, “I don’t believe or disbelieve. Do I think ghosts are grabbing people? No. But there is something bad about the house and people do go missing, and I think it’s more logical and scarier than ghosts.”

  Vivian was excited when Virgil arrived, dragging him into the make-shift office to see what she had been working on. With tracing paper, she used the books to see supposed floor plans, had gathered all the pamphlets from the tours, and walked around with the rest, checking areas. Painstakingly, she drew possible floor plans, comparing the present layout with what the books showed.

  Books covered the desk and table, chairs, and the floor. They had pages marked with strips of paper and most were opened up to a section pertaining to the rooms. Vivian and Fairalee had managed to find books and files that no one had seen in decades.

  Edith left a few rough sketches, but for the most part, she and Moreau built and then moved on, never keeping copies of the floor plans, nor did they have a real interest in the rooms. It was if they had wanted to cover the land with a house, build to the skies, and never look back.

  “Look at this,” Vivian pointed. “Yes, I am amazing!”

  Virgil and Fin looked over the drawings. It was as Virgil thought, honey combed rooms that were cut into new parts with tiny portions left hidden away. If there were openings, one could theoretically walk from one side of the house to the other and all around without ever being seen.

  “Someone lost in here could wander for days…it’s huge and if they go floor to floor…”

  Fairalee jumped in, “You can’t imagine the trap doors and false doors in this place. Half the time, you’d think you had a doorway and the door would open to a blank wall. There are stairways to nothing, winding hallways and all kinds of things. Virgil, I think people must be getting lost in the honeycombs.”

  Virgil agreed but he brought up that hundreds had vanished and that man bodies would cause a strong odor. They had to explain that part because it ruined their theory. He told them about his interrogation of Terry Cromer.

  “And you believe him?”

  “Yes, I do. He was ready to talk to someone. He is really scared.”

  “Any ideas what is causing the noise?”

  “I guess it could be old pipes or anything. Maybe wind in the chimney? I don’t know what to think but I do know it’s important.”

  Virgil glance at the tour itinerary.

  Kingsborough House

  Check out: next day noon

  NO refunds

  Wednesday ($75 pp)

  Day: Grounds Tour 1 (1 hour) Home Tour 1 (1 hour) Tricks and Treats

  Evening spa or gaming hall

  Thursday ($100 pp)

  Day: Home Tour 2 (1 hour) Family Life

  Grounds tour 1 (1 hour)

  Evening: spa or séance

  Friday ($200 PP)

  Day: Home Tour 3 (2 hours) Opulent Rooms

  Evening: Midnight Tour 1 (2 hours) or spa

  Saturday ($125 pp)

  Day: Grounds tour 2 (2 hours) cook-out

  Evening: Spa or gaming hall

  Sunday ($100 pp)

  Day: Grounds Tour 3 (2 hours) with metal detectors, spa, or fruit picking or swimming

  Evening: Home tour 4 (1 hour) Mysteries

  Monday ($200 pp)

  Day: Home Tour 5 (2 hours) Oddities and Expense

  Grounds tour 4 (1/12 hours)

  Evening: Titanic Formal Dinner

  Tuesday ( $200 pp)

  Day: Spa, formal tea, game rooms, swimming

  Evening: Grande Masquerade Ball

  Wednesday ($250 pp)

  Day: Grounds Tour 5 ( 2 hours)

  Evening: Home Tour 6 (3 hours) Wine cellar

  with wine tasting and hidden rooms

  Thursday ($100 pp)

  Day: Museum of Moreau Tour

  Evening: Formal Dinner: and séance

  Friday ($200 PP)_

  Day: Grounds Tour 1 (1 hour), Home Tour 2

  (1 hour) Tricks and Treats

  Evening: Midnight Tour 2 ($50 pp) (2 hours)

  or spa

  Saturday ($200 pp)

  Day: Greenhouse Tour and spa

  Evening: séance and 1920s dance music

  ***Book a few days or all eleven days of a Season and save $250! ***

  Children 10-16 half price

  Children under 10 not admitted

  Amenities:

  Breakfast, Lunch, tea, snacks, and dinner are served al’a carte unless otherwise designated. All rooms are elegant and feature double beds. Each adult guest receives on spa voucher for each day booked. The gaming hall, library, swimming pool, tennis courts, min-golf course, nature walks, lounge, and gymnasium are always available.

  Fruit, vegetables, and nuts, gathered on tours, are allowed to be taken home as our gift to you! Check out our gift shop as well. The Museum of Moreau, featuring the brilliant man’s inventions may be scheduled another day if at least ten people sign up and pay $10 pp. Group limited to 35.

  Room service is not available.

  A physician can be called at your own expense if an illness or injury occurs.

  No disorderly guests will be tolerated.

  Liability releases must be signed before a room may be booked. The Kingsborough House and staff assume no responsibilities for vanishings.

  Dress code is lax except for:

  Titanic Formal Dinner (formal gowns and suits /tuxedoes required)

  Formal Dinner (party wear please)

  séance and 1920s dance music (party wear)

  Grande Masquerade Ball: (ball gowns and tuxedoes)

  “After dinner, as requested, Gina is going to give us a private tour of the rooms we saw today.”

  “Thanks, Tina. I’d like you and Fin to go with me. Bring fl
ashlights. It may be that without light, we can see a crack of a doorway or something to help us. I want to look at Edith’s bedroom and the blue room in particular and let’s get Gina to show us the Grey Room so we can look it over.”

  Vivian asked, “What should the rest of us do?”

  “What’s your gut feeling here, Viv? Do we have the background?”

  She shook her head, “No. That bugs me. It’s all one neat and tidy package of information, but there is absolutely no flavor to the story, is there? Why did John become so obsessed with Edith? Why did she become obsessed over the house? Why did Moreau go along with it? Nothing makes sense that they would go crazy over building this place.”

  They ate in the banquet room with other guests and spoke quietly. Virgil speared rare steak and chewed it as he thought, “Maybe find out the connection of those who first went missing with the family. We know of the workman and we know that was covered up, although Edith wrote about it later. Why would there be just one connection? Also. See if you can find land maps of this area.”

  Vivian grinned, “I see…I will be spending my evening in the library.”

  “Do you like Fairalee? I know she’s young and still learning….”

  “I do like her. She’s smart and curious, like you said. I think she would make an amazing FBI agent one day.”

  Gina, Fin, Virgil, and Tina went on their search while the rest went to dig in the library, that Josie had left them a key for, among the lesser viewed books. Within old books, a proper picture began to emerge as they compared dates, events, and asked questions. With every new discovery, they were surprised.

  The story of Kingsborough House was incorrect

  Chapter Six: Truths

  Edith Roundtree’s father, Michael Roundtree, was more than ready to have her married off and out of his hair and was over joyed when John Kingsborough began to court her. She was always involved in some kind of trouble and at times, she frightened him. While he tried to cover events up and ignore Edith’s part in some unsavory situations, in his heart he knew she was harboring many wicked secrets.

  It was no coincidence that Edith was the last person to be around their neighbor, arguing with her over a collie pup, before the poor old woman fell into a dried up well and died screaming for help. Edith mysteriously raised all the collies in the barn, somehow ending up with the litter. People talked but no one did anything more than whisper.