by J A Whiting
Lin sighed. “You know the ghosts never say a word to me. I looked out the window of the dining room and there she was, standing outside in the dark. She made eye contact with me. I knew something must be in the house, but I thought it might be a clue about the bone from the farmhouse.” Lin’s forehead creased in thought. “Maybe this skeleton is a clue.” She looked at her cousin. “How are we going to figure this out? There’s hardly anything to go on.”
“John’s friend at the police station can probably give him some information.” Viv slid to the edge of her seat. “It isn’t much that he hears, but it’s something. Maybe the news stories will have some important information that will help.”
Lin nodded. “Anything can help. I need to think over what we know.”
Viv wrinkled her nose. “From what you’ve told me, that Lloyd guy seems like an odd ball. His wife saw him in the yard of the farmhouse one night. That seems weird, doesn’t it?”
Lin nodded. “He seemed the type who wouldn’t go sneaking around if he thought someone was trespassing at the farmhouse. He’d call the police and let them handle it.” Lin rubbed her shoulder. “I only met him briefly, though, so who knows what he’s really like.”
“And his wife, Olive, she thinks a former renter was in the back of the farmhouse months after he moved out. That’s suspicious, too.”
Lin frowned. “But Lloyd said Olive was mistaken. It was just someone checking on the house.” Lin sat up. “I wonder if John can tell us the name of the person who rented the house, the guy Olive thinks was lurking in the yard. Maybe he’s still on-island and I could go and talk to him. See what he’s like. Ask if he ever noticed anyone in the yard while he was renting.”
“Good idea.”
Lin’s eyes widened. “The Mid-Island Cemetery.”
Viv looked at her cousin. “What about it?”
“Someone was in the office the night we were there. Quinn says he was on the mainland at the time and that no one else has a key to the office.” Lin’s eyes darkened. “Someone was in there.”
“What would be the reason for being in there? There wasn’t anything missing or Quinn would have realized that there was a break-in. Why would anyone want to break into a cemetery office?” Viv huddled back in her chair.
Lin sighed. “I’m going to make more tea. Want some more wine?”
Viv held her glass out. “Or just bring me the whole bottle,” she kidded.
Lin started for the kitchen. “You can probably put that knife down on the side table.”
Viv still clutched the weapon in her hand. She considered, and then reluctantly placed the knife on the small table next to her chair.
Lin smiled. “Like I said, I think we’re safe. It’s just dead people that someone is after.” Lin halted in her tracks. She turned slowly to her cousin and the look on her face gave Viv a start.
“What’s wrong with you?” Viv’s voice shook.
“Dead people. Bones.” Lin’s eyes were like lasers. “Grave robbers.”
11
“Grave robbers?” Viv gave Lin a skeptical look. “What does that even mean? Why would someone rob a grave?”
“I read about this happening on the mainland, in central Massachusetts, not too long ago.” Lin came back into the living room forgetting about getting another cup of tea. “A group of people, well, the story I read about had three people involved, robbed graves and mausoleums to sell the bodies.”
Viv’s jaw dropped. “Sell them to who? How much money could someone get for a body?”
“There are a few different markets.” Lin sat down on the ottoman next to Viv. “The bones get sold to third party marketers and then they distribute the bodies or bones to legitimate sellers.”
“What on earth is a legitimate seller?” Viv had her hand on her throat. “Wait, maybe I don’t want to know.”
Lin leaned forward. “A legitimate seller is a business broker that gets bodies or bones and sells them to universities, medical schools, body farms, or even private buyers.”
Viv looked like she’d tasted something sour. “I know I shouldn’t ask this because I don’t really want to know the answer, but what is a body farm?”
Lin tried to choose her words carefully. “It’s a research lab. Outside. Scientists study decomposition to help understand forensics in order to aid in investigations. It helps in training forensic anthropologists, detectives, medical examiners.”
“Well.” Viv tried not to sound alarmed by this bit of information.
“Of course, that’s not what we’re dealing with in this case. We just have bones. Someone might be selling them to brokers.” Lin reached for Viv’s nearly empty wine glass and took a sip. “Some people rob graves looking for valuables like rings, bracelets, necklaces to sell off. I’ve read that some graves have been robbed to hold the body until the family pays a ransom to get it back.”
“How awful.” Viv leaned back in her chair. “Are you making this up?”
“You can look it all up on the internet. That’s where I read about it.”
“I can’t believe this.” Viv shook her head not wanting to accept that something so ghoulish was happening on her island.
“Who knows the reason someone would be doing this here?” Lin looked at her cousin. “But it’s a possibility. Why would a skeleton be in the basement of that house? Why would the bone be in the ground behind the farmhouse? Grave robbing makes sense. The bones have been found at houses that are unoccupied. It would be easy to hide a body or some bones on the property of an empty house. Hide them until it’s safe or convenient to move them or take them off the island to the mainland.”
Viv groaned. “It’s gruesome.” She shook her head. “It’s possible, I guess.”
Lin’s eyes widened. “Oh. Remember that feeling I got when I was at Mid-Island cemetery? I felt it twice. Maybe that feeling was trying to tell me that some graves have been tampered with there.”
“Is it the same feeling as when a ghost is about to appear?” Viv asked.
“No. It’s not the same sensation I get when ghosts are about to show themselves. When ghosts come, I feel chilly and the hairs on my arms stand up. When I’m near the bones, I get the feeling that someone is watching me. When I touched the bone, my fingers felt like electricity was zapping me.” Lin remembered that she felt the zings on her fingers when she touched the metal locker where the skeleton was found. “And I get sort of dizzy. The feeling makes me think that someone is asking me for help.”
Nicky was sitting up on the sofa, listening. He let out a small woof.
“I had that dizzy feeling at the cemetery when we were there. I felt like someone was watching me.” Lin’s voice was excited. “I wonder if someone has been tampering with graves there. Maybe that’s why I’m getting those sensations.” She stood up with an eager expression on her face. “Maybe some ghosts are trying to tell me they need help.”
Viv frowned. “No. I am not going to that cemetery now.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Absolutely not.”
“You work all day. So do I. There are people around the cemetery during the day. This is the perfect time to go.”
“No. This whole thing creeps me out.” Viv got up and went into the kitchen. “What if the grave robber sees us? He might decide to kill us to keep us quiet.”
Lin grinned. “You could bring the boning knife.”
Viv ignored her cousin and busied herself making a cup of coffee.
Lin said in a sad voice. “I guess I’ll just have to go by myself.”
Viv whirled around. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
“I’m not trying to be a pain.” Lin leaned against the kitchen counter. “Emily Coffin shows up whenever I’m close to the bones. She needs me to figure this out. The ghosts of those bones want me to help. I have to do it, Viv. It’s an obligation.”
Viv moaned. “I’m not letting you go alone. Just let me drink this coffee.” She added milk and sugar to her mug. “Why can’t our lives be normal? Why can
’t we just do normal things?” Viv took a gulp of her coffee.
Lin shrugged a shoulder. “Then I guess life would be boring.”
* * *
Viv peered through the windshield from the passenger side of Lin’s truck. Even though she knew the answer, she groaned, “Why does everything have to be done at night?”
Lin started to explain the reasons again, but Viv waved her hand in the air. “Oh, I know why it has to be done at night. My question was more of a lament. I’m whining about the situation.”
The truck was parked in the small pull-out area near the entrance to the trail.
“Let’s go.” Lin, Viv, and the dog left the truck and started up the path through the woods. Lin flicked on the flashlight she’d brought along. After a few minutes of walking, Lin said, “It was right around here that I started to feel dizzy.” She stopped and turned in a small circle.
“Anything?” Viv held her flashlight gripped in her hand like a weapon.
Lin nodded. “Yes.” She took some steps off the path into the woods.
“Don’t go any further.” Viv looked over her shoulder to be sure no one was near them.
“I feel it again. Some dizziness, a feeling that I’m being watched.” Lin came back onto the trail. “Let’s keep going.”
Nicky ran about with his nose close to the ground.
The wind seemed to be kicking up causing the leaves to rustle and tree branches to sway. The hoot of an owl could be heard off in the distance. The girls walked close together, their shoulders touching as they moved.
“I still feel it.” Lin shut off her flashlight so as not to call attention to their presence should anyone be lurking around.
Viv glanced around the cemetery. “How do you want to do this?”
“I doubt anyone would be so bold to dig up a grave so close to the entrance to the cemetery or so close to the office. I think we should walk to the section that’s more secluded.” Lin pointed across to the small hill. “Let’s hug the periphery so we can duck into the trees if we need to.”
They walked slowly around the edge of the cemetery for about ten minutes. Viv said, “I didn’t realize this was going to turn into a hike.”
Lin grinned at her cousin. Viv wasn’t eager for physical exertion so late in the day. They walked for a few more minutes and halted when they saw lights flickering between some trees.
Viv grabbed Lin’s arm. “What’s that?” she whispered.
Lin tugged on Viv’s arm pulling her down into a squatting position. “Let’s stay low so we can’t be seen.” She squinted trying to make out any movement up ahead in the woods. Nicky stood next to the girls, staring towards the lights.
“Is there a road over there?” Viv kept her voice soft. “Are the lights just headlights passing by?”
“There’s a trail there. It’s wide. I think it’s used as a fire lane in case of a fire in the woods. It leads to a main road.”
As they watched, the headlights went out.
Lin watched for movement. “There are a number of mausoleums over there. Someone could be robbing the crypts and carrying the bones to the car. Maybe they’re doing it right now. Let’s get closer.”
Viv touched Lin’s shoulder. “We’re not going to confront them, are we?”
“No, if things look amiss we can call the police.” Lin led the way to the tree line and they approached slowly and as quietly as they could.
“I don’t see anything,” Viv said. “I don’t see anyone moving around near the mausoleums.”
“I don’t either.” Lin stepped behind a large tree trunk and peered around it. “The car is still there though. Let’s get closer to it.”
Shielded by some trees, the girls stopped just a few yards from the vehicle. Someone was moving around inside. Viv gripped her cousin’s arm as they tried to see what the person was doing. Suddenly Viv let out a yip and slid to the ground. Lin wheeled and knelt to see what was wrong with her cousin.
Viv had her hand over her mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Lin asked with concern, but then realized that Viv was giggling.
Viv gestured towards the car. “It’s a couple. They’re making out in the car.” She couldn’t hold in her laughter. Gales of giggles danced on the air and were so contagious that Lin started to laugh at the situation. Nicky joined in with several loud woofs.
The car’s engine started up and the car screeched into reverse and hurtled away.
Between guffaws, Viv managed to say, “Guess we ruined their night.”
12
After Lin and Viv recovered from their laughing fit, they sat on the ground beneath the trees with Nicky resting on the grass in front of them. The night air was warm and pleasant and the cloud cover was breaking up allowing some light from the stars and moon to filter down between the branches.
“Those poor teenagers.” Viv still had a huge smile on her face. “We must have frightened them.”
The tension and worry of the past few days drained away as the girls chatted about things unrelated to bones and graves and unoccupied houses. The strong wind was dying down to just a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves overhead. The night sounds of insects calling to one another filled the air with chirps and clicks and buzzing.
Viv leaned back against the tree trunk and yawned. “What a beautiful evening. I could fall asleep sitting right here on the grass.”
Lin took in a long relaxing breath and looked out over the dark cemetery.
“Shall we head home before I doze off?” Viv yawned again.
When the girls stood up, Lin shivered in the cool night air. She rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them.
Viv eyed her cousin. “Are you cold?”
“A little.” Lin’s eyes went wide and she slowly shifted her gaze from side to side.
“Do you see something?” Viv moved a step closer and took quick glances over her shoulders.
The dog whined and wagged his little tail. Lin followed the direction the dog was facing. Something shimmered by some gravestones and a form took shape. Emily Coffin stood transparent in her long dress with the high collar, her hair up in a loose bun. She raised her arm and pointed.
“You see something, don’t you?” Viv whispered. She huddled close to Lin.
Lin gave a nod, keeping her eyes on Emily. The ghost remained with her arm outstretched for several seconds and then the shining particles of her form began to swirl, faster and faster until she disappeared.
“Is it Emily?” Viv’s voice shook.
“She’s gone.” Lin looked in the direction that the ghost had pointed. “The mausoleums.” She tugged on Viv’s arm as she moved towards them. “We need to check them out.”
Viv groaned, but followed Lin as she made her way towards one of the small stone buildings built partially into the hill. She flicked on the flashlight and moved the light up and down and from side to side over the stonework. “Everything looks intact.” She adjusted the light so it shined on the lock. “It doesn’t seem disturbed.”
The girls moved to the next one and repeated the process while the dog hurried about with his nose to the ground. After checking all five mausoleums built into the hillside, Lin walked along a path that ran between graves and led to another small stone building. The girls inspected the outside stones and then went to the front to see if anyone had tampered with the door or the window. Lin pulled on the heavy lock attached to the door. It didn’t budge.
“Maybe Emily was pointing to something else,” Viv offered.
“She was definitely pointing to the mausoleums.” Lin looked back at the group of crypts near the hill. “She pointed to those.” Lin gestured back to where they had started. “Let’s go back there.”
“It’s late, you know.” Viv had her flashlight beam pointed at the ground. “We both have to get up early. Let’s come back another time.”
Lin had to agree that she was feeling fatigued and wouldn’t mind crawling into her soft, comfy bed. She stopped and stretched. “Oka
y. We’ll come back another time. I’m beat.”
Viv clasped her hands together and looked skyward. “Thank heavens.”
Lin chuckled and slipped her arm through her cousin’s. “Come on, Nick.”
The dog wasn’t with them. The girls stopped and turned to see the dog staring back at the road where the young couple had been parked earlier in the night. Lin called to him again, but he didn’t budge.
“Now what?” Lin sighed and walked towards the dog. A few feet from the animal, she came to a dead stop. Coming from the dirt road, the sound of a car’s engine floated on the air. It was getting closer. Lin scrambled back to her cousin, grabbed her arm, and pulled her across the grass to the tree line. “Get down.”
The girls squatted.
“Nicky.” Lin kept her voice down.
The dog dashed to Lin’s side and sat next to the crouched young women.
“Is this spot lover’s lane, or what?” Viv asked softly. “Is it just another couple arriving to make out?”
The girls stared through the branches and saw the car come to a stop where the dirt road met the cemetery boundary. The engine quit and someone stepped out. The person was wearing a hoodie. The face was hidden by the hood and the darkness. Reaching into the back seat, the person took something from the back seat.
“A duffel bag?” Viv whispered.
Lin raised her index finger to her lips to urge quiet.
The man headed down to the second stone building where he fiddled with the lock. The door opened and he disappeared into the mausoleum.
The girls exchanged wide-eyed looks. After about five minutes, the person reemerged, closed the heavy door, and carried the bag up the short hill to the car, where he got in, turned the vehicle around, and drove away.
“What was that all about?” Viv practically leapt to her feet. “What did he do? Who is he?” One hand was on her hip while the other hand flew about gesturing wildly.
Lin slowly rose from her crouched position. “It can’t be anything above-board that he just did. It’s nearly midnight.” She let out a long sigh. “Did you notice what kind of car he was driving?”
