by J A Whiting
“I know the neighborhood, but not the house. She works part time at one of the specialty shops in town. We could walk over there and see if she’s working. Dinner won’t be ready for an hour. Want to go now?” Viv looked like she hoped Lin would say they should visit the shop another time.
“Okay.” Lin drained her glass. “We also need to check out the attic. We can’t keep putting that off. We need to find out what the key from the cupboard opens.”
Viv turned the oven temperature down in case she and Lin were out longer than an hour. “Whatever that key opened is probably long gone by now.”
The girls left the house and headed down the brick sidewalks into the center of town where they branched off to one of the side streets. Passing a clothing shop and a bakery, they approached a specialty home décor store.
“I didn’t know this place was here.” Lin looked in the display windows on the way to the front door.
“It’s just as well. We can’t afford anything in here anyway.” Viv stepped inside with Lin following and the two pretended to browse the aisles and shelves.
A voice spoke behind them. “Hello, girls. You found the store, I see.” Libby folded some expensive linen pillow cases and placed them on a shelf.
Lin’s throat tightened. Was Libby expecting us?
“We’re out walking around town until our dinner is ready.” Viv smiled. She waited for Lin to handle the questioning.
“Did you keep those papers safe?” Libby made eye contact with Lin as she reached for another pillow case.
“I did.” Lin nodded. Her insides fluttered with unease. “This is a lovely store.” She tried to make small talk, but thought her voice sounded overly enthusiastic.
“Oh, yes. They carry beautiful things here. I think most people love to surround themselves with luxurious items and here it’s possible to pick up a few pretty things as a treat.” Libby finished stocking the shelf. “Is there something in particular you’re looking for?”
Lin wanted to say “Hammond’s killer,” but she just shook her head. “We’re just looking around.”
The three chatted for several minutes, and then Lin asked as innocently as she could, “Have you heard any news about the murder at the docks?”
Libby frowned. “There hasn’t been much in the news.”
“Are the townspeople talking about it? Does anyone have a guess as to what might have happened?” Lin was working up the courage to ask Libby why she was at the docks that morning.
“People are just making idle speculation, but no one knows anything.” Libby moved to a wooden case that displayed blue and white pottery.
Lin followed the woman. “Anton Wilson told me he was at the docks with you that morning.”
“Did he? And what did he say we were doing?” Libby arranged the display of pottery pieces that had been moved around by some of the customers.
“Visiting someone.”
The corners of Libby’s mouth turned up slightly. “Who did he say we were visiting?”
“He didn’t mention a name.” Lin thought that the older woman was toying with her. “Did you happen to hear anything when you were near Hammond’s boat that morning?”
“Just the sound of the cool breeze rushing past.” Libby smiled sweetly.
Those words are similar to how Anton Wilson answered that question. Now Lin was sure that Libby was toying with her and her blood started to boil. “I don’t think a murder is something to joke about.”
Viv’s eyebrows went up wondering why her cousin seemed so annoyed.
“Neither do I.” Libby’s face was serious. “I certainly wouldn’t joke about someone’s death.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Things aren’t always as they seem, Carolin.”
Lin’s mind was racing. Why did Wilson and Libby give the same answer when she asked them what they heard on the morning of the murder? Did they plan their responses? If they did, why did they? Lin was so confused that she didn’t know what to ask. “I need some air.” She turned quickly and strode to the door. Once outside, she sucked in a deep breath.
A man’s voice spoke behind her and Lin jumped.
“Hey there, Missy.” Creepy Leonard from Hammond Landscaping stood a foot away from her. An unpleasant odor like he hadn’t showered in days emanated from the man. His greasy hair hung over his dark, beady eyes. Lin’s breath caught in her throat and she had to steel herself to keep from recoiling.
Leonard took a step closer. “I been lookin’….”
Just then, Viv stepped out from the store’s front door. Leonard flicked his eyes to her, hesitated, and shuffled away without finishing his sentence. “Have a nice night,” he mumbled.
Relief washed over Lin as she watched the man move away from them.
Viv frowned. “Who was that? What did he want?”
Lin told her where she’d met Leonard. “He makes my skin crawl.” She linked her arm through her cousin’s and they walked along the streets heading back to Viv’s house. Forgetting about running into Leonard, Lin ranted about what was going on. “Wilson and Libby both used the very same phrase when I asked them about that morning on the docks … ‘just the sound of the cool breeze.’ What does that even mean? Did they conspire to use the same sentence? If they did, why would they do that? Did they have something to do with Hammond’s death? They say things, but I feel like their words mean something else.”
Lin stopped short.
“What?” Viv asked, cocking her head.
“Something flickered in my mind.” Lin blinked. “But I lost it.”
Viv sighed. “I hate when you do that.” She looked over her shoulder worried that creepy Leonard might be following them. “Let’s go.” She tugged on her cousin’s arm.
The girls hurriedly walked the final three blocks to Viv’s house.
17
Viv and Lin ate their dinner on the deck. The full moon created a silvery patch of light on the backyard lawn. Nicky darted around the property line sniffing and running under bushes enjoying the pleasantly cool evening air.
“That dog is nuts.” Viv sipped from her glass of lemonade.
“The heat knocks him out so when the temperature drops he gets a burst of energy.” Lin raised a forkful of chicken marsala to her mouth. “This is delicious, by the way.”
When the main dish was finished, the girls nibbled on cookies dusted with confectioner’s sugar and spread on top with dark chocolate.
“I can’t get Libby and Anton Wilson out of my head.” Lin sighed. “Not being able to understand them and how they’re connected to the murder, or not, is driving me crazy.”
“Give it a rest. You’ve been thinking too hard. You need to give your brain a break.” Viv reached for another cookie. “I’m worried that no one has been arrested. I’m afraid the police will talk to me again and suspect me of the murder.”
Lin’s heart fluttered with worry. It wasn’t possible that the police could arrest Viv. Could they? “Let’s get these dishes cleaned up. We need to try and find out what the antique key from the cupboard opens.” She leveled her eyes at her cousin. “We’re going up to the attic. If you don’t want to go, then I’ll go by myself.”
After cleaning the pans and loading the dishwasher, the girls climbed the staircase to the second floor and entered the larger of the two bedrooms. “That’s the door to the attic.” Viv pointed to a small door on one of the walls. “The ceiling is slanted so you have to hunch over.”
“You mean we have to hunch over.” Lin reached for the latch and pulled the door open. She knelt down and peered inside. Queenie and Nicky sat beside her eager to see what would happen. “Is there a light?”
“There’s a bulb hanging from the ceiling. There’s a long string. It’s just inside the door on the left.”
Lin leaned in and flapped her hand around until she felt the thin string. “I’ve got it.” The light flicked on. “There’s a lot of stuff. Do you know what’s up here?”
“No.” Viv had her arms wrap
ped around herself. “And I don’t want to know.”
“I’m going in.” Lin scooted into the attic space waddling like a duck. She moved forward and stood up as much as the ceiling would allow.
“I’m waiting out here.” Viv sat down on the bed.
“I don’t know what you’re afraid of.” Lin called from inside the cramped space.
“For one thing, I dislike small spaces. Number two, it’s full of cobwebs. Three.” Viv paused. “I can’t remember the third reason.”
Lin ignored her. “There’s some old furniture. A rocker. A dresser.” Lin tried the drawers to see if any had keyholes in them. “These don’t lock though.” She shuffled further into the attic calling out the items she came across. “Nothing has a keyhole.” Lin’s tone was exasperated.
She continued to edge around the attic space checking the items that had been stored trying to find something that required a key to open it, but she came up empty. Her lower back ached from the hunched position she had to maintain. “I’m coming out.” She scooted to the door and edged into the bedroom being careful not to hit her head on the low doorframe.
The bedroom light was off. Viv was still sitting on the bed, but her straight posture seemed slightly stiff. Her head was turned away from the attic door towards the open window. Queenie was perched on the sill and Nicky sat next to Viv on the bed, his head facing the window.
“Viv?” Lin stood up.
Viv wagged her hand in the air gesturing for her cousin to stay back. “Don’t come close unless you scrunch down,” she whispered. “I turned off the bedroom light so I could see better.”
“What’s going on?” Lin kept her voice down. She slowly advanced to where Viv sat on the bed in the dark.
“I glanced out the window and some movement caught my eye. I think someone is down there slinking along the bushes.”
Lin’s throat tightened. “Could it be your neighbor?”
“It’s definitely not my neighbor.”
“Where is he? Can you still see him?” Lin attempted to move nearer to the window but was impeded by her cousin grabbing the back of her T-shirt.
“Whoever it is will see you if you get too close,” Viv warned.
“If one of us doesn’t get closer, we won’t get a good look at whoever is out there.” Lin slid across the wide pine floorboards on her hands and knees. Slowly she rose up so her head was next to the side of the window. She squinted. “I see him. At least, I think it’s a him. He’s walking around the shed.”
Nicky whined and Queenie gave a low growl.
Lin could hear her cousin suck in a breath. Viv asked, “Should we call the police? Is he going to steal my bike?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t call the police since they’ve questioned you about the murder. You don’t need their attention on you. Anyway, I don’t get the sense this guy is here to steal your bike.”
“What sense do you get from him?”
Lin’s eyes widened and she straightened.
“Scrunch down. He’ll see you,” Viv warned.
“He’s behind the shed now. I can’t see him and he can’t see me. But I do see something else.”
Lin’s words caused Viv to freeze in her sitting position. She stopped breathing for a few seconds. “Is it a.…”
Lin didn’t answer.
The eighteenth century ghost stood near the property line staring up at the window at Lin’s small oval face peering down at him. His usual translucent appearance was enhanced by the shimmer of moonlight through his body. The thought that the man looked ghostly popped into Lin’s head and she rolled her eyes at herself. He looks ghostly because he’s a ghost.
“It’s the ghost, isn’t it?” Viv’s voice was weak. She sounded like she was going to pass out. “Why is he prowling around my yard?”
“He’s not. He’s just standing there.”
“Well, he was prowling around by the bushes.”
Lin made a face at her cousin. “Viv, you can’t see ghosts. You saw a human out there skulking around. A live human.”
The ghost turned and looked towards the shed. A scuffling sound could be heard. Lin craned her neck to see. A man, his face shrouded in shadow, emerged from the back of the shed, bent, and pushed through the bushes on the property line where he slipped into the next yard.
Lin made eye contact with the ghost as he faded away. She sat back on the floor. What was that all about?
The girls spent ten minutes speculating about the intruder. Lin was about to get up from the floor when the doorbell rang and both girls jumped.
“Who can this be so late at night?” Viv’s voice shook as she stood and hurried to where Lin sat on the floor.
Lin looked up at her cousin. “Can you see the front door from any of these upstairs windows?” She stood.
Viv shook her head. “You can’t see the front door from up here.”
Lin glanced out of the side window to see if the ghost might have reappeared. “Then let’s not answer.”
The bell rang again. The dog whined.
Viv clutched at her cousin’s arm with a trembling hand.
“We don’t need to answer.” Lin tried to calm Viv. “When we don’t respond, the person will leave.”
The whites of Viv’s eyes were bright in the darkness of the room. Her lip quivered. “What if they’re trying to see if anyone is at home and if no one answers, they’ll break in?”
Lin let out a long breath. “Then we’ll block the bedroom door and call the police.” She moved to the threshold of the room so that she could better hear if the front door was being forced open. “Go to the window and watch in case the person moves around to the back of the house.”
The girls waited for fifteen minutes. There were no more rings of the bell. They ventured down the staircase and Viv slowly opened the front door with Lin standing right behind her with the fireplace poker held like a baseball bat ready to strike. The dog and cat perched on the staircase ready to spring.
No one was there. The quartet went from room to room looking outside from the windows. They stepped onto the deck to check the rear yard.
Lin lowered the poker. “Maybe it was some drunk leaving town. He got disoriented and thought he knew who lived here. It was probably a mistake that he rang your bell, realized his error, and went on his way.”
Viv looked skeptical. “Was that a drunk messing around in the bushes near the shed, too?”
Lin didn’t have an answer. She hoped it was the same guy. Just someone who wandered into the yard, confused about where he was due to having too many drinks at a bar in town.
The girls stood quietly for a minute.
“You want to sleep here tonight?” Viv had a hopeful expression on her face.
“Yup.” Feeling too jumpy to go home, Lin was grateful for the invitation.
As the girls were about to walk upstairs to make up the bed for Lin, Queenie and Nicky turned around on the staircase and headed back up.
“Our helpers.” Lin looked at the animals and smiled.
Exhausted and worried, Lin followed Viv up the stairs, not believing for one second that the prowler was just a drunk from town who stumbled into the wrong yard.
18
Lin tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep so she reached for one of her puzzle books. She tried to work on a crossword, but she couldn’t concentrate so she closed the book and returned it to the side table. Moonlight filtered in through the open window and pooled on the floorboards. The sheer curtain rode a puff of night air, floated away from the sill, fluttered, and then rested back against the edge of the window. Lin ran her hand over the sleeping dog’s fur. Nicky, stretched out on the double bed, snuggled comfortably next to his owner.
The simple furnishings and the peacefulness of the room soothed Lin’s frayed nerves. The events of the past weeks bubbled up in a disorganized and unrelated sequence as she tried to put order to the mess.
She pushed back the sheet, slipped her bare feet over the edge of the bed, and padd
ed to the window. The yard was quiet and still, no one rustled through the bushes at the edge of the property or shuffled around the shed. Lin stared at the old structure at the end of the driveway. She wondered if it was built at the same time the house went up.
After staring at the shed for several minutes, Lin straightened and turned for the bedroom door. The dog lifted its head from its comfortable spot and watched his owner leave the bedroom. He stood up, stretched, and jumped off the bed. Nicky followed Lin down the stairs, through the dark house to the kitchen, and out the back door to the deck.
In her long T-shirt, Lin walked barefoot down the steps and around to the shed. She hopped on one foot when she stepped on a large stone and let out a mild curse. Nicky sniffed around the wooden outbuilding and then headed off to the edge of the lawn.
With just the light of the moon to brighten the backyard, Lin made a careful circle around the shed stopping at the locked door. She lifted the metal padlock and gave it a yank, but it remained in place, solid and strong. There was nothing to indicate that it had been tampered with by the nighttime intruder.
Lin stepped back and eyed the roofline and the construction of the walls. As the dog returned from the far end of the yard, Lin moved forward and placed her palm against the shed door.
A few seconds passed and the skin of her hand began to tingle, but instead of pulling away, she pressed harder on the rough wood. Zings of electricity danced through her hand and up inside her forearm. She dropped her arm just as a whoosh of cold air blew around her like a blast of winter wind.
Lin could see that the dog was looking behind her. His wagging tail pulsed against the worn grass causing puffs of dirt to rise in the air. Slowly, she turned around fully aware of what she would see.
The ghost stood about ten feet from her, the closest he had ever been. His face was solemn. Lin could see that his long bony nose had a bump near the bridge. “Hello, Sebastian.”
The translucent specter lifted his eyes to the young woman’s face. As little zaps of energy passed between them, Lin realized that she wasn’t uncomfortable anymore and she tried to open her mind to the message the ghost seemed to be trying to send her.
