A Haunted Murder (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 1)

by J A Whiting

  A shadow stepped from a dark yard onto the sidewalk in front of Lin causing her to pull to a halt.

  Leonard.

  Fear gripped her throat and her body felt like rubber. She wanted to whirl and run, but she didn’t want to incite him. She forced herself to take slow breaths.

  The man’s face was bruised and cut. His hair hung in long strings around his cheeks. Leonard’s lip was twice its usual size.

  He must have been one of the two men fighting at the side of Viv’s yard the other night.

  “I been lookin’ for you.” Leonard shuffled to the side so that he wasn’t directly under the streetlamp.

  Lin glanced around, but there was no one walking in the area. She took a tiny step back. She swallowed hard, but her constricted throat only allowed her voice to come out as a squeak. “What do you want?”

  “I need to tell you something.” Leonard flicked his eyes side to side and up the street.

  “I need to get home.” Lin’s heart pounded so hard she was sure that her chest would burst open. She took a step to her left, but Leonard moved to block her way.

  Even in the thin light of the streetlamp, Lin could make out Leonard’s yellow, chipped teeth.

  “I’m in trouble,” Leonard mumbled.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Leonard’s face screwed up. “How would you know?”

  Lin wished she was a foot further back from the man. If she tried to run, he would just reach for her arm and grab her. She waited for an opportunity.

  “People talk.” Lin forced her shoulders back.

  “Nobody knows this.” Leonard stepped closer.

  Lin gently slid both of her feet an inch out of her flip flops so that when she got the chance she could more easily step out of them and run as fast as she could.

  A car came up the small hill of the street and caught the two people standing on the sidewalk in the headlights. Lin would rather be hit by a car than dragged away and killed by Leonard.

  Lin bolted into the road in front of the vehicle hoping they would see her and stop in time to avoid hitting her. She grimaced and closed her eyes waiting for the hit.

  Leonard ran into the yard of the house to his left and disappeared into the trees.

  The car screeched to a stop. The driver jumped out and hurried to the side of the shaking young woman standing in front of him in the dark.

  * * *

  When the police arrived, Lin was still shaken. She explained why she had run into the road. “I think a guy who works for Hammond Landscaping is responsible for killing Greg Hammond. The guy’s name is Leonard. I don’t know his last name.”

  The two officers exchanged a look. One of the men said, “We know who you mean. It’s not him though.”

  Lin’s eyes flashed. “Why isn’t it him?”

  The other officer spoke. “We know where Leonard was the morning Mr. Hammond was killed.”

  A questioning expression spread over Lin’s face and she tilted her head to the side. “You do?”

  The first officer nodded. “He got into some mischief the night before. He was a guest at the police station until after the murder took place.”

  Lin’s shoulders drooped. She felt foolish for making the accusation.

  “Did he threaten you this evening? Do you want to make a formal complaint against Mr. Reed? Leonard Reed.”

  Lin blinked. “No.” She shook her head. She wanted to get away from the police officers and get to Viv’s house where she could forget the whole evening. The officers offered to give her a lift, but she declined and instead, walked the remaining few blocks to her cousin’s place.

  The house was dark when she arrived. She unlocked the front door and flicked on the lights. The dog greeted her with sleepy eyes and Queenie arched her back and yawned from her place on the sofa.

  “I made a fool of myself tonight,” Lin told the animals. She let out a long groan. She kicked off her flip flops and climbed the staircase to the spare room where she pulled off her dress and put on a T-shirt and a pair of long pajama pants. She picked up one of her crossword puzzle books, went downstairs and into the kitchen.

  Nicky woofed to be let outside. Following the dog to the back door, Lin texted her cousin. A moment later, Viv replied that when she was on her way home after the power outage at the club, she had to stop at the bookstore because an employee was sick and couldn’t finish her shift. She’d just finished locking up and would be home in a few minutes.

  Lin opened the back door, let the dog out, and stepped onto the deck. Cloud cover hid the moon and stars making the yard unusually dark. She sucked in a long deep breath and sat in one of the chairs.

  How could she have been so wrong about the killer? Everything seemed to fit. A wave of guilt washed over her. It had been easy to suspect Leonard. The way he looked and his poor social skills made Lin uncomfortable and she always wanted to get away from him, but those things didn’t make him a murderer. She’d been too quick to jump to conclusions.

  Lin looked out over the yard. “Nick?” She stood and walked down onto the grass where she called the dog’s name again.

  Bits and pieces of information flashed in Lin’s mind like tiny sparks. Leonard had said that he wanted to tell her something, he’d said he was in trouble. He looked like he’d been in a fight. Other thoughts sparked in her brain and her mouth dropped open in realization.

  Just about every time the ghost had appeared, one particular person was present. Lin closed her eyes. Everything aligned and pointed to one person. My God. How did I miss it? I know who killed Greg Hammond.

  Nicky’s insistent whine from behind the shed shook Lin to attention. A man’s moan floated on the air. Flickers of anxiety pulsed down her back as Lin rushed to where the sounds were coming from. Rounding the corner of the shed, Lin saw Nicky standing over a man who lay on the ground face-up.

  Lin moved closer. She could see blood on the man’s face and chest. Leonard. She reached wildly for her phone, but when she shoved her hand into her pajama pocket, it was empty. She let out a curse.

  Lin leaned closer to the man and whispered his name. As she reached her hand towards Leonard, cold air surrounded her and something caught her eye to the left.

  The ghost. His eyes were wide. With a swoop of his arm, he pointed behind her.

  Lin sensed movement. She hit the ground and rolled to the side narrowly missing being struck from behind. Leaping to her feet, she faced Bill Ward. He held a knife in his hand.

  “You.” Lin sucked in a breath. “You greedy monster.”

  “Save it.” Bill spat out the words and slowly circled preparing to lunge.

  Having just arrived home, Viv stepped from the back door of the house and scanned the yard looking for her cousin. “Lin?”

  Lin yelled, never taking her eyes from Bill Ward and his silver knife. “Stay inside, Viv. Call the police. Lock the door.”

  Bill rushed at Lin holding the knife in his right hand like a spear. Lin side-stepped to her left which made the force of the man’s swing less effective, the thrust of the knife less powerful. She brought her right forearm up like a shield. The knife grazed her arm. Lin spun around and using the whole sole of her foot, she kicked Bill in the back of his leg.

  Just as the man’s knee buckled, Nicky jumped up and chomped into Bill’s leg. At the same moment, the dark gray cat leaped through the air from the top of the shed. The snarling feline sank her claws into the man’s shoulders and her fangs bit into his neck. Her back legs ripped through the assailant’s shirt and into his skin.

  Bill screamed and lost his balance. The knife fell from his hand and hit the ground with a thud. While the cat and dog continued their attack, Lin kicked out and the blade scuttled across the lawn out of Bill’s reach.

  Viv rushed off the deck and into the yard, wielding the fireplace poker like a spear. Her chest heaving, Lin saw her cousin running towards Bill like a banshee. She couldn’t help a tiny smile from spreading over her lips.

  The letdown
from the sudden release of adrenaline in her body caused an enormous flood of fatigue to wash over Lin. Then she burst into tears.

  23

  Lin, Jeff, Viv, and John sat in beach chairs overlooking the ocean. Lin pushed her toes under the warm, soft white sand and rested her head against the chair back. The four had spent an hour body-surfing and floating on the waves and were now warming themselves under the late June sun. Viv had packed the cooler with roasted chicken, pasta salad, crusty Italian bread, and yogurt and fruit parfaits layered in little plastic cups. It was a chance for everyone to relax and enjoy the warm, summer day after the strange events of the past few weeks.

  “So, fill in the details for us.” Jeff sipped from a can of seltzer.

  Viv groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m just glad it’s over and things can get back to normal.”

  Lin sat up in her chair and adjusted her sunglasses. “I’ll tell you about it. Where should I start?”

  “At the beginning.” John smiled. “I leave the island for a week and everything is solved when I get back.”

  Lin stretched her legs out over the sand. “Bill Ward was stealing from Hammond Landscaping for years. His wife was the bookkeeper and she doctored the stats to make it seem that, over a few years time, the company was sliding into financial trouble.”

  “How convenient that Bill Ward’s wife was a bookkeeper.” John shook his head.

  Lin continued. “Recently the speed of the embezzling picked up. Hammond was frantic about the rapid loss of money. He’d been reading histories of the island for years and he believed the stories that said Sebastian Coffin had hidden valuables on his property. If Greg could get his hands on those valuables then his financial troubles would have been over.”

  Viv sighed. “That’s when he started his pursuit of my house.”

  “Leonard told the police that Greg talked to him about his concern that someone in the company was stealing from him,” Lin said. “Greg always talked about the island stories and history with Leonard. Leonard thought that looking for pirate’s treasure at Viv’s house was folly, but he humored Greg.”

  Even though Viv had said she didn’t want to talk about the whole mess, she was drawn into the telling of the story. “Greg told Leonard that he suspected Bill of embezzling. Bill revealed to the police that he’d overheard Greg making accusations against him and that he had no choice but to kill Greg in order to silence him. Bill used his scuba equipment to approach Greg’s boat in the water early that morning. That way no one saw him on the docks.”

  “I’m ashamed that I jumped to the idea that Leonard was the killer.” Lin frowned. “He came into town twice to tell me that Bill was stealing and that he’d probably killed Greg. Leonard was trying to do the right thing and I just thought he was harassing me.”

  Jeff reached over and took Lin’s hand.

  Viv put on a sun hat. “The night we heard noises outside and saw a man in the bushes, it was Leonard and Bill having a fight. Leonard followed us home from town that evening. He came to the house to try to tell Lin what he knew, but he saw Bill in the yard. Bill was trying to break into the shed to hunt for the valuables Greg claimed were hidden there, but Leonard confronted him about the embezzling and the fight broke out.”

  “Leonard pulled out a switchblade and Bill took off. Leonard rang the doorbell, but we didn’t answer. Turns out, he had a concussion from the fight. He ended up collapsing in the bushes on the edge of Viv’s yard.”

  “Leonard had been hiding out after the fight. He knew Bill would try to kill him. That last evening, Leonard returned to Viv’s house after trying to talk to me on the sidewalk.” Lin rubbed her forehead. “Bill had been hunting for Leonard since they fought the day before. Bill tailed him to Viv’s and attacked him in the yard. That’s when I went outside with the dog and found Leonard hurt behind the shed.”

  “Lucky the animals were so determined to protect you. They were a big help.” Jeff squeezed Lin’s hand. “But I think all the bending and squatting you’ve been doing in the gardens has strengthened your legs and made you quick and that helped you take Bill down.”

  Lin nodded and then she chuckled thinking of Viv rushing out of the house with the fireplace poker. “Well, if Nicky and Queenie hadn’t helped me, Viv would have taken care of Bill Ward single-handedly.”

  “You bet I would have.” Viv flexed her arm to show a muscle.

  “Oh, and unfortunately, there was no treasure in the shed,” John told Jeff.

  “We searched for hours.” Viv removed the lunch items from the cooler. “We didn’t even find a single coin.” Viv served the chicken and pasta on paper plates and passed them around. Everyone dug into the tasty meal and showered Viv with praise for the delicious lunch.

  Lin balanced the plate on her lap and sipped from her water bottle. She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that they just hadn’t searched in the right place.

  * * *

  After returning from the beach, the guys said their goodbyes and headed off. The girls showered and changed into comfortable clothes, made tea, and sat down in the living room. Queenie and Nicky slept peacefully on cushions in the corner of the room.

  The bulge in the wall near the fireplace had been repaired and repainted. “The wall looks great,” Lin said.

  Viv put her legs up on the ottoman. “I’m happy with it. I’d hire that guy again. Hopefully I won’t need his skills any time soon.”

  The sound of a car’s engine could be heard in Viv’s driveway and a few minutes later the doorbell rang. Libby Hartnett, carrying a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates, and Anton Wilson holding a bouquet of flowers, stood on the front stoop and called greetings to the two young women through the screen door.

  “We brought some things to help you recover from the ordeal.” Libby placed the wine and sweets on the coffee table in front of Lin.

  “And some flowers to brighten the day.” Anton placed the vase of blooms on the side table.

  Lin thanked them both for their thoughtfulness.

  “Please sit.” Viv invited Libby and Anton to join them in having a mug of tea and they accepted.

  When everyone was settled, the tale of Greg, and Bill, and Leonard was recounted once again.

  “How are you feeling?” Libby asked.

  “I’m fine, really.” Lin lifted her mug.

  “We’re thankful that the killer is behind bars and things can go back to normal.” Viv pushed her hair behind her ears.

  Libby eyed the young woman with skepticism and then looked to Lin.

  “You can speak freely,” Lin said. “Viv knows everything.”

  “And many things I wish I didn’t know.” Viv frowned.

  Libby adjusted in her seat. “What about Sebastian Coffin?”

  “I haven’t seen him since the night Bill attacked me.” A twinge of sorrow grabbed at Lin’s heart. She wanted to thank the ghost for alerting her to Bill’s attempt to attack from behind. She wondered why he’d disappeared without saying goodbye, or at least a wave of his hand, since he never spoke.

  Libby looked crestfallen that the ghost was gone.

  “We’d hoped that Coffin might stay around and that perhaps you could learn to communicate with him.” Anton stroked his chin.

  Lin gave a tiny shrug of her shoulder. She had no idea why ghosts came and went as they did. She glanced across the room to the fireplace. She guessed she wouldn’t see Sebastian again and it made her sad. “I guess we’ll never figure out what that old key from the leather pouch opens.” Lin’s voice was tinged with disappointment.

  “A key was in the pouch?” Libby asked leaning forward.

  “What pouch?” Anton looked confused so Lin relayed the information about the hidden cupboard, the words written under the shelf, and the leather pouch that was found containing a key.

  “May I see it?” Libby asked.

  Viv went to the kitchen to retrieve the pouch and when she returned to the living room, she handed it to Lib
by. Libby gently removed the key and turned it over in her hand.

  “Can you sense something from holding it?” Lin’s tone was hushed.

  Libby let out a sigh. “I’d hoped I would.” She shrugged and placed the items on the table. “But, nothing.”

  “Ours to thee.” Anton pondered the words. “Certainly seems like whoever left the pouch in the cabinet intended that the key and whatever it opened should go to the person who found it.”

  Lin told the historian that the “t” on the word “to” looked almost like a fancy “s”.

  “Ours so thee?” Anton frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  Viv chuckled. “Maybe it’s a puzzle. Lin’s always doing word puzzles.”

  Nicky and Queenie sat at attention staring at Lin. Nicky whined.

  An idea flashed in Lin’s mind. She jumped from her seat. “I need a piece of paper and a pencil.”

  24

  Everyone in the room watched the young woman with interest as she hurried to the small desk in the corner where she pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the drawer. She wrote the words from the cupboard on the paper.

  “What are you doing?” Viv walked to her cousin’s side to look over her shoulder.

  Lin was breathless. “Ours to Thee. Is it an anagram?” She flipped the letters in her head and wrote new words down. She crossed things out and then let out a yip. “If I change the fancy letter on the word “to” and make it an “s” I can get the word “storehouse.” She straightened and grabbed Viv’s shoulder. “The storehouse.”

  Viv blinked.

  “Gram called the ell at the back of the house the storehouse.”

  Viv still looked blank.

  “The ell on the back of the house. The ‘storehouse.’” Lin’s voice shook with excitement. “The ell is original to the house. Sebastian must have hidden something in there. It’s in the ell, not in the shed.” She took off with the dog and cat chasing her.