The Haunted Bones (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 3)

by J A Whiting

  “I couldn’t see it very well in the dark. It just looked like a dark sedan. Maybe it was an older model? It seemed kind of big. Like a big old Lincoln?”

  “I wish I had paid more attention to it.” Lin started towards the mausoleum. “Let’s go have a look.”

  When the girls and Nicky reached the front door of the tomb, Lin focused her flashlight on the lock. She moved it about and gave it a solid yank. The bolt unfastened. Lin blinked with surprise that the lock came undone. She leaned forward tilting her head so she could inspect the lock more closely. “This is clever work. Someone cut the bolt from behind. It looks fine until you see it from the back. It’s cut so that it looks locked and it requires a good pull on it for it to loosen.” Putting her hand on the large metal handle, she pulled the door open with a loud metallic creak.

  “We’re not going in, are we?” Viv fussed.

  Lin stepped inside, shining her light along the crypts in the walls. Viv stayed in the doorway.

  “There are five crypts. It’s a family entombed here.” Lin moved closer to see if any of the crypts looked to be tampered with.

  Standing outside, Viv pointed her flashlight above the door. “It says ‘Sparrow’ above the doorway. That’s the family name.”

  Lin moved her hand over the large marble squares in the wall that marked each crypt. A small central hole in a plate on the marble seemed to be a lock hole. She pointed the flashlight beam at the holes. “This is odd. There seems to be scratch marks on some of these crypts. I wonder if someone used a piece of metal to pick the locks.” Lin tried to tug on the edges of the marble to see if it would move. “I can’t open it.”

  “Oh!” Viv practically screeched. “Don’t open anything. Lin, don’t open those crypts.”

  “I wouldn’t open it. I just want to see if it moves.” Lin emerged from the mausoleum. “We need to report this. I’ll call the police in the morning.”

  The girls and the dog followed the paths through the cemetery heading back to the trail that would lead to their parked truck.

  “We need to come up with a reason why we were here so late at night.” Viv kept nervously looking about the open space. “Or the police might think we’re involved in stealing bones.”

  “Well,” Lin tried to come up with an idea. “We could say that during the day we were biking on that dirt road that leads to the cemetery and you lost a necklace. We think you lost it when we were sitting in the cemetery resting before our return ride. We came back to look for it.”

  Viv narrowed her eyes. “In the middle of the night?”

  “Maybe we could gloss over that part?”

  “We better come up with something more believable than that,” Viv suggested. “Why not just tell the truth?”

  Lin tilted her head. “That I see ghosts and they want me to figure this out?”

  Viv smiled. “No. Tell them you found those bones and you were reading on the internet about graves being robbed and wondered if this could be the case here. So we decided to come walk around and see if anything looked amiss.”

  “Won’t they be suspicious because we’re here late at night?”

  “It’s the only time we could both do it” Viv said. “We have businesses to run during the day.”

  “Maybe.” Lin thought it over and wondered how the police would handle the information. “I wonder if I should report it to Quinn first? Since he’s the manager, he might want to be involved in the call to the police. I don’t want to jeopardize our professional relationship.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Viv agreed. “Tell him in the morning and then you can make the call together.”

  The girls arrived at the entrance to the trail. “Where’s Nick?”

  Viv spotted the dog walking in the woods to their right. “He’s there.” She pointed. Out of the corner of her eye, Viv saw something and she hooked her arm through Lin’s and pulled her behind the trees at the beginning of the trail.

  “What?” Lin questioned her cousin’s action.

  Viv stared at the office building. “There was a light on in there, in one of the back rooms. Now it’s out.”

  Lin turned slowly towards the cottage that housed the cemetery’s office. “There aren’t any cars parked over there. Could it have been a reflection on the window?”

  Viv raised her eyebrows and made a face. “Isn’t that what Quinn asked you when you told him you saw a light on in there? It was definitely a light.”

  The girls watched the building for ten minutes, but the cottage remained dark and they didn’t see anyone leave the building.

  “The person could have left from the side door.” Lin sighed. “We should have split up so we could each watch an exit.”

  “What could someone be doing in there?” Viv frowned.

  “Another piece of the puzzle.” Tired and frustrated, Lin led the way down the trail to the truck and drove home to their waiting beds.

  13

  Before meeting Leonard at the farmhouse site, Lin drove to the Mid-Island Cemetery to talk to Quinn. She and Nicky stood on the front stoop and knocked on the door. Quinn’s car was parked in its usual spot so Lin was sure he was inside.

  “Come in.” Quinn called from the front room. “Oh, Lin. Everything okay? I wasn’t expecting you today.”

  “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute.” Lin and the dog went in.

  “Sit down. Please.” Quinn gestured to the earth-toned sofa on one side of the space. A coffee table stood on a rug of muted colors and a caramel-colored leather chair stood on each side of the sofa. A large desk was positioned near the windows with two chairs placed in front of it.

  Quinn took one of the leather chairs. “What’s on your mind? You’re not quitting are you?” His eyebrows pinched together in an expression of worry.

  “No, no, I’m not giving up the contract.” Lin smiled. She held her hands in her lap. “You’ve heard the news about the bones?”

  Quinn nodded.

  “I happened to be the lucky one who found the bones both times.” Lin gave a weak smile.

  “You? How did you happen to make both finds?” Quinn sat upright near the edge of the chair.

  Lin explained about doing the landscaping at the farmhouse and accompanying John to the house showing. “My cousin and I were here last night. We saw something. I wanted to let you know about it before I reported it to the police.”

  Quinn’s eyebrows shot up.

  Lin spoke fast hoping if she spewed out information quickly, then Quinn wouldn’t be able to poke holes in her explanation about why she happened to be at the cemetery late at night. “My cousin lost a watch at the end of the fire road on a bike ride. She works late. She owns the bookstore-café in town. I work late. We came last night because she realized she lost it and was upset about it and didn’t want to wait until morning.” Lin sucked in a breath. “We saw something … near the mausoleums. A man got out of a car, and went into one of them. He looked to be carrying a duffle bag. When he left, Viv and I went to inspect. The lock on the door is cut in the back. That way, it doesn’t look broken, but allows access by moving the bolt. In light of finding the bones, we wondered if they may have been taken from here.”

  Quinn had a look of alarm on his face. “Which mausoleum is it?”

  “It says ‘Sparrow’ above the door. Shall I show you what I mean about the lock?”

  Quinn gave a nod and stood up. He took a set of keys from the desk and when they left the office, he locked the door.

  “When we were leaving last night, my cousin saw a light on in the back room,” Lin told Quinn as they walked across the cemetery on the paths between the gravestones.

  “There has to be some light reflecting off the window that makes it seem that lights are on inside,” Quinn said. “You thought you saw lights there the other night. I wasn’t here late last evening and no one else has a key. Nothing was disturbed in the office this morning. A reflection is the only explanation.”

  They walked up the incline
to the mausoleums with Nicky following behind.

  “It was that one.” Lin pointed and they walked to the door. She lifted the lock up to show Quinn the cut on the back. Lin’s eyes widened and her hand started to shake. “It was cut right here along the edge, but….”

  Quinn leaned forward and craned his neck to get a look at the lock. “But, what?”

  Lin rubbed the back of the metal with her fingers. Her heart pounded and a bit of sweat rolled down her back. She let go of it and it hit the door with a thunk. Lin’s jaw tightened. “Somebody changed the lock.”

  Quinn stared at the young woman.

  Lin’s cheeks flushed and her breathing sped up. “It was cut last night. Somebody must have changed it. Maybe the person saw us here and changed the lock.”

  “Maybe it was a different vault? Let’s check the others.”

  Lin didn’t want to move from the spot. She knew this was the right mausoleum. Viv had read the name above the door. Grabbing the lock again, Lin yanked it like she had last night. She yanked on it again. It wouldn’t budge. Fury rose in her throat. “We were here at this vault last night. The lock on one of the crypts looks like someone had been picking it.”

  Quinn looked at her, his mouth hanging open.

  Lin’s jaw muscles twitched. “Someone changed this lock.”

  “Did you and your cousin…?” Quinn hesitated. “Did you have a few drinks with dinner last night or maybe…?”

  “We weren’t drunk, Quinn.” Lin folded her arms over her chest.

  Quinn lifted his hands up in a helpless gesture. “Well, things seem fine now.” Shrugging a shoulder, he said, “I’ll have one of the caretakers check all of the mausoleum locks just to be sure they’re functional.” He nodded reassuringly. “Let’s go back to the office. I’ll talk to the caretaker right now.”

  Walking back to the front of the cemetery, Lin and Quinn remained silent. Lin knew he was questioning her judgment and she felt like a fool. Her mind was racing. The only answer was that someone saw her and Viv in the mausoleum last night and changed the lock. “I think I should tell the police what I saw last night.”

  “Oh?” Quinn said cautiously. “I’d really rather not have any bad publicity.”

  Lin shot him a look.

  Quinn backtracked. “Well, if you feel like it’s necessary.”

  When they reached the office cottage, Lin said, “Sorry for the confusion. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hurried to her truck, let the dog in, and drove away.

  Turning onto the street that would take her to the farmhouse, Lin drove along with her mind going a mile a minute. She pulled to the side of the road and reached for her phone to call Viv to let her know what had happened at the cemetery. Before she pushed the numbers, a thought popped into her head. She tossed her phone into her bag and started the truck, turning in the opposite direction from where she should be headed.

  After driving a few miles, Lin took a left onto the fire road that led to the cemetery. She stopped the truck a few yards from where the car with the person carrying the duffel bag had been parked last night. She and Nicky got out and walked to the end of the road.

  Lin saw the tire tracks of the making-out couple’s car and then looked to the other side of the road. A smile crept over her face.

  There was the second set of tire impressions in the dirt road right where the person’s car had parked. Lin returned to the truck and took out her phone. She walked back to where the tire tracks were and photographed them.

  We’re not crazy, Quinn. We weren’t drunk. And we aren’t mistaken.

  Lin walked to the end of the road and looked down the slight hill to the mausoleums. She stepped onto the grass and shuffled along keeping her eyes on the ground, moving them side to side. Reaching the Sparrow mausoleum, Lin kicked at the ground trying to find anything that might indicate that the lock had been changed.

  She sighed. Leonard was waiting for her at the farmhouse. She had to give up her search.

  Heading back to the truck, she was almost at the top of the hill when she saw something glint in the grass. At the same time she spotted the thing, Nicky found it in the grass and woofed. Lin rushed over, bent down, and picked up a curved piece of metal. It looked just like a section of a padlock shackle.

  She winked at the dog and reached down to pat his head. “I think we found what we were looking for.”

  Sliding the piece of metal into her back pocket, a wide smile spread over Lin’s face. Someone changed that lock.

  14

  Lin jumped down from the small front loader and wiped her hands on her shorts. “It’s looking great.” She grinned at Leonard. “If I do say so myself.”

  “I agree, Coffin. Good work.” Leonard was marking out where the new plant beds would go. The piles of dirt in the backyard of the farmhouse had been spread out and smoothed to prepare a nice level lawn area. Grass seed would be put down when the beds were edged, planted, and mulched. There was plenty of work to do, but with the mounds of dirt gone and spread, the yard appeared to be taking shape.

  “The plants will be delivered tomorrow and Dave and Remy will be here to work with us.” Leonard wiped his forehead with his arm. “Things should move pretty fast now.”

  The two joined the dog in the shade of a tree and Leonard placed his shovel on the ground. They both took long pulls from their water bottles. Leonard poured some water over his face and Nicky lazily raised his head to watch. The dog had been snoozing in the grass to avoid the afternoon heat.

  Lin told Leonard about the cemetery adventure of the previous evening and her early morning visit to see Quinn at the cemetery. She explained about the person with the duffel bag who went inside one of the tombs, the lock on the mausoleum that had been cleverly cut, and the new lock that was on the door this morning.

  Leonard rubbed his chin. “I don’t like the idea of you and Viv sneaking around over there late at night.”

  “We weren’t sneaking.” Lin made a face. “Well, maybe we were.”

  Leonard gave her the eye. “If someone is up to no good, you could be putting yourselves at risk. It could be dangerous.”

  “We had our guard dog with us.” Lin nodded at Nicky.

  “He might not be enough.” Leonard glanced at the dog. Nicky almost seemed to have a scowl on his face from hearing the man’s words about him not being enough.

  Lin pulled the elastic out of her hair and re-did her ponytail. “I wish we paid attention to that car. It was so dark, we couldn’t make out much. The person was dressed in dark clothes, had on a hoodie. It was impossible to see what he looked like.”

  “Did you get the idea he was a young guy?”

  Lin thought for a moment. “He didn’t move like an old man. His movements seemed kind of quick. He walked fast. He didn’t seem stiff or anything. It seemed like he was in shape. Maybe young?”

  Leonard’s forehead creased in thought. “Did he hold the duffel bag different when he came out? Did it seem lighter going in or when the person was coming out? Could you tell by how he held it if there’d been a weight change in the bag?”

  “Huh.” Lin tried to recall the images of last night. She rubbed her temple. “I don’t remember.” She let out a groan. “I wish I had been more alert to the subtleties. Maybe Viv noticed.”

  A rustling in the bushes caused Lin and Leonard to turn towards the noise. Nicky gave a low woof. Olive from next door pushed through the foliage and emerged into the yard. “Hello!” she called. A plate of something covered with plastic wrap was in her hands.

  The dog wagged its tail. Lin stood up from her sitting position under the tree and greeted the woman. She introduced Leonard.

  “Things are taking shape, I see.” Olive looked about the yard and then turned her eyes on Lin. “I heard on the news that a skeleton was found. I immediately thought of you since you were the one who found the bone here in the yard. Dreadful.”

  When reporting the finding of the skeleton, the news stories didn’t mention the names of Li
n and John so Olive was unaware that Lin had been the one who made the discovery. Lin didn’t feel like sharing that fact with anyone. She didn’t want people to start speculating that she was actually involved in hiding the bones.

  Lin nodded. “It’s very strange.”

  “What in the world does someone want with those bones?” Olive’s voice was mixed with equal parts curiosity and indignation. “It’s quite unnerving, isn’t it?”

  “It’s a mystery, that’s for sure,” Lin agreed.

  “Oh, I forgot.” Olive pulled the plastic wrap back from part of the plate. “I made some brownies. Lloyd isn’t one for sweets, but I love to bake and thought you might like some.” She extended the plate to Lin and Leonard.

  They each took a treat and thanked the woman.

  “So what do you think is going on with those bones?” Olive’s lips turned down as she looked from Lin to Leonard.

  “Could just be kids up to nasty mischief. Summer vacation with not a lot to do can lead to trouble.” Leonard devoured the brownie and Olive offered him another one which he gladly took.

  “Kids? I didn’t think of that. Well, they will be in loads of trouble if they get caught.” Olive shook her head.

  Lin didn’t want to bring up her notion that the bones were being stolen in order to broker them for sale. “When I was here before, you mentioned that there had been a renter that you didn’t like, the guy who rented the farmhouse in April and May a year ago. Do you recall his name?”

  Olive stiffened. “That guy.” Her shoulders seemed to shudder. “He gave me a bad feeling.” Olive’s upper lip curled. “Jonas Bradley. I hope I don’t see him again.”

  “What did he look like?”

  The woman’s upper lip was still in its curled position. “He was average height, kind of stocky. Dark hair, cut very short, which didn’t flatter him, let me tell you. He had a big, wide nose and deep-set eyes. I thought he looked like a serial killer.” Olive blew out a sigh. “When I told Lloyd my impression, he said ‘how would you know if he was a serial killer since you’ve never seen one before.’” She rolled her eyes. “I think people can tell things about others. You get a feeling, an intuition.” She moved the plate she was holding around for emphasis. “So maybe he wasn’t a serial killer, but he wasn’t a good person, not at all. Nuh-uh. I didn’t like him living next door.”