I think I just talked myself into staying with this adventure until the bitter end.
14
“Good news. The electricity is on and the police have taken down all the yellow tape. We can get into the Hotel Rutherford and start cataloguing the contents,” Carol beamed as she delivered the news along with fresh baked croissants.
I really need to remember to lock that side door. Carol knows I can’t resist baked goods from Moe’s or that little pink box from Cecilia’s Cakes, Carol can bribe me to do anything. Doris breezed in behind her. She set about pouring the coffee and arranging the treats.
I saved the file I was working on and sat down at the table. The girls looked refreshed and I surmised the weekend did a world of good.
“What’s up girls?” I asked as if I didn’t know that a trip to the hotel property was in my immediate future.
“I need your advice,” Carol said. “Should I call Thomas and give him the ‘go ahead’ or would it be better for us to do our own investigation first?”
I couldn’t believe we were having this discussion again. The paranormal group were anxious to get a hefty fee for ‘curing the spirt infestation’ which may or may not be present. I knew that Carol relied on us for guidance and this was new territory for all of us.
“I think we should scope out the rest of the house, start photographing items, and cataloguing what we find. I suppose we should be forewarned that we may find some odd stuff. The skull was probably just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ so to speak. With Elvira and her sister being accused of witchcraft and the taxidermy studio, there’s no telling what we may find.”
“On the other hand, we may discover some family related lore that would give us ideas about all those who lived here and what went on before and after the place was dubbed the Hotel Rutherford. After all it wasn’t always a hotel, it was a residence, a taxidermy office, and possibly a bed and breakfast. The place has quite a history and we should find out what it is.”
I took a breath and buttered my second croissant. Carol seemed to be taking all of what I said into consideration. Doris was happily dunking her doughnut.
I tried to put the skull out of my thinking. It wasn’t real. It was petrified or whatever they do in taxidermy circles. What was important was Carol’s family history.
“Do you want to go today?” Carol asked.
I nodded agreement. “But this time we need to be ready.”
I pointed to my backpack. I wisely filled it with a flashlight, extra batteries, a digital camera, my I-Pad, and pepper spray – just in case. Carol and Doris looked at each other. Then Carol said, “We need to go back home for a few things. Can we meet you at the property around noon?”
“Sure. Giles’s class will be over by then. I will try to persuade him to join us,” I said with confidence. “His expertise will be most helpful; I think just him joining us will make us less nervous. You know just in case something else rolls out of a closet.”
I tried to make this sound like a joke, but it bombed.
“Yeah right,” Carol said. Doris was already at the wheel of their SUV ready to roll. I saw a slight roll under her ‘I love cats’ tee. By the shape of it, I’d wager it was a Taser. She only looked innocent.
The girls arrived first. I came alone armed to photograph and catalogue item. Details such as date, monetary value, and history would have to be filled in by someone more qualified than me.
The creaky floorboards greeted us again. It was comforting to have electricity though the overhead lights were few and far between. I spotted a couple of Tiffany lamps that would be nabbed up in an estate sale. Too bad we didn’t think to bring light bulbs. It would be hard to gauge how long it’d been since someone used it.
Giles arrived and went into the library. That was the adjoining room that held the skeleton closet – as we dubbed it. He began investigating each row of books and recording them on his laptop. Sometimes we could hear his exclamation of ‘what a find’ or ‘first edition.’ I smiled. He was in heaven surrounded by works of science and literature. I wondered what Carol would charge us for the entire library since Giles would be hesitant to part with any of these treasures.
Doris was photographing and cataloguing the ‘antiques’ in the parlor. She appreciated the burgundy velvet décor, the painting in the brass frames, and the tiny little knick-knacks inhabiting the shelves and mantels. Somewhere she found a feather duster and busied herself with taking care of removing years of grime.
I suggested to Carol that we head upstairs and just give it a once over for valuables to be sold at the estate sale. One room was very dainty. We surmised it might have been Elvira’s bedroom. Of course, we had no way of knowing if those who converted it to a hotel redecorated or if it was the original pristine room of a female inhabitant.
The second room was used for storage. There were a few pieces of furniture, but it was mostly boxes, trunks, and a chest of drawers that we could explore later. If we could find photographs, costume jewelry, diaries, or even a family Bible we could trace some more of Carol’s ancestors. She might decide to hang onto some of them or to place them in the estate sale.
I was still roaming around in the storage room and had just opened a closet when I heard a scream. It was Carol. She wasn’t beside me any longer but had gone into another upstairs room.
Giles and Doris bolted up the stairs and we reached the 3rd bedroom at the same time. Carol was still screaming and staring into what looked like a master closet.
“Carol, what is it?” I shouted.
She kept screaming and I took her into my arms. Only then did I see what upset her -- a man hanging in the closet.
15
I began to think we needed a full-time medical person to accompany us. Every time we ventured out, someone either screamed themselves into a coma or fainted. At least fainting was quiet.
Giles managed to get Carol downstairs and onto the burgundy velvet divan. Doris called 911 and asked for the police and an ambulance. I’m not sure if the ambulance was for Carol or the victim. If it was the latter, it was a little too late.
While we waited on the ambulance, Detective Grimes showed up. He must tap into our GPS on slow crime days. Whatever he uses, he has a knack for showing up pronto whenever we run into a snag – which has been much too often.
“Do you know the victim?” Detective Grimes asked Carol.
“No. I mean I don’t know. I didn’t look at his face. It is a man, isn’t it?” Carol was still dazed. Nothing she said would be worth a diddly-squat, but still he persisted.
“Was anyone else with you when you discovered the body?”
Carol looked at me as though I had the answer on my forehead. Her pupils were dilated. For the first time since I’ve known her, my friend was speechless.
The paramedics arrived and pushed us out of the way. They clamped a blood pressure cup on Carol and stuck a thermometer in her mouth. I wanted to say ‘the woman isn’t running a fever, she’s in shock’ but what do I know? At least it put Detective Grimes off for a bit.
Giles took the detective upstairs to the closet where Carol discovered the man hanging from a length of rope. The CSI squad dusted for prints, made photographs, and took samples. Good luck with that. The house hasn’t been occupied in a long time. Even if they found something, did they have a way of putting an age on it? There I go, sticking my nose into forensics. I don’t write hard crime just petty domestic malice.
Doris was talking with one of the men who was photographing the hotel. He was measuring footprints and taking samples of the dust. A clip of their conversation included the words “Georgia Paranormal Institute” and “poltergeist.” I knew we were in big trouble if Grimes got hold of that bit of news. He’d have all of us tested for a padded suite in La-La Land.
Carol was sedated but Doris wasn’t. I wonder if they had any more of those little while pills left. Doris was chanting and rubbing the finish off her pearls. At least she wasn’t singing Kum Ba Yah like the time she w
as kidnapped. I try to find the bright side to everything, but this situation was taxing my inner positivity.
When the paramedics finished with Carol, Giles loaded her up and took her home. I had doubts about depositing Doris at her apartment, but she insisted. I promised to check in with her later.
It fell to me to oversee the residence with the authorities. The officers found a sleeping bag and some other items that indicated a squatter on the property. Was he the one dangling in the closet? Only time and DNA would tell. With the hotel cordoned off as a crime scene, there wasn’t any more to be done.
The entire property was considered a crime scene, even the outdoor acreage. Giles talked with Detective Grimes. He indicated that the property would remain a crime scene until the lab reports, autopsy findings, and other paperwork was complete. In the meantime, there was a suicide or maybe even a murder dropped into our lab. Just who was this person and what were they doing in a supposedly haunted hotel?
16
It’s hard to pick up your daily routine when you’ve just discovered a body. I kept a close eye on my two friends. The next day Harry invited us all for lunch. For all his curious habits, Harry is a terrific chef. He made his famous Beef Wellington and even managed Cherries Jubilee for dessert.
“Thank you, Harry. Lunch was fabulous. It reminded me of our time in Baton Rouge. Do you remember that, Carol?” Doris was attempting small talk. Carol nodded. She had been very quiet most of the meal. I wondered how many white pills she took before I picked her up.
“I appreciate the compliment, Doris. I love to cook but it isn’t any fun to cook for one person. Elspeth and I are signed up for a French cooking class next month. I’m looking forward to it,” Harry said.
“Elspeth?” Carol blinked. The name seemed to jolt her out of her stupor.
“She’s a relative of mine, I think. Are you dating her?”
“Not exactly, but we are seeing each other. I like her but I’m gun shy after the fiasco with Stephanie’s ex-agent. Guess I’m not as on my toes as I used to be. Pamela really pulled the wool over my eyes.”
“She fooled us all, Harry. Don’t beat yourself up. We just have to be prudent about new people who enter our lives,” I said.
“I guess you’re right. But the saying ‘there’s no fool like an old fool’ has merit. When you get to my stage in life, you look at relationships differently. Pamela knew which buttons to push, I suppose,” Harry looked down at his shoes.
“I will always look out for you. If you like Elspeth, I will make a special effort to get acquainted with her. But know this, I won’t allow anyone to break your heart again.” I pecked him on the cheek.
“I don’t mean to spoil the mood, but are you going to bring the GPI squad back?” Giles asked Carol.
He caught her mid bite. She gulped her iced tea and blotted her lips with a napkin. “I was going to ask everyone’s opinion on that. Have they identified the person we um . . . found?”
I wondered if this was a good time to bring everyone up to speed. Goodness knows we didn’t need a repeat of fainting or screaming.
“My friend, Natalie, who works in the coroner’s office is going to send over a copy of the report and any other identification they discover. Meanwhile, Detective Grimes is keeping me in the loop as to when we can get back into the house and inventory the property. I volunteered to be the go-between. I hope you don’t mind, Carol,” I said with as much tact as I could muster.
“No of course not. I appreciate it,” Carol muttered.
The entrée course was silent. Giles excused himself and returned to the university for his course in symbology. Doris and I were making plans to peruse the library archives for further information on her inherited property.
My phone rang. It was Thomas of the Georgia Paranormal Investigators.
“Hello Thomas,” I gave an eyeroll to the girls and got up from the table. I headed to the porch for a little more privacy.
“Mrs. Hart. I have the reports back from our initial visit to the Hotel Rutherford. I’ve tried to reach Ms. Carol but she doesn’t seem to be around. Can we meet so that I can explain our findings?”
I held my hand over the phone and returned to the dining room. I whispered to Harry and the girls what Thomas just related.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“It can’t hurt to see what they’ve found, if anything at all. It may even be amusing,” Harry remarked and drained his wine glass.
“That’s my thinking. Who wants to be included when I meet with Thomas?”
The response was underwhelming.
I set a time that afternoon.
Only Harry was chipper and that had a lot to do with the wine and the sugary dessert.
“Did I tell you that I am turning the back room into a greenhouse?”
“More poisonous plants, Uncle Harry?” I asked.
“No. I thought I might try some herbs, spices, and maybe bonsai. I have a knack for growing things as you know. But I don’t want to risk the poisonous ones interbreeding with the others, so I’m converting the sleeping porch. I just need to open it up,” Harry sipped his Merlot.
“A good idea,” I mused. “Maybe I can work some of your more exotic breeds into one of my novels.”
“Sure. Just bear in mind that even if a plant isn’t poisonous, it still can be a threat,” Harry remarked.
Carol was finally taking an interest. It seems that her gardening knowledge had not included this new information.
“How is that possible?” she asked.
Harry was now in his pontificating element. “Take for instance, asparagus. We can eat the stalks but the berries they produce are poison. Just like rhubarb, the stalks are edible although I don’t know why you would voluntarily eat them. However, the leaves are not edible. Poke salad, I’m told, is delicious made from the pokeberry leaves. And again, the berries are poisonous.”
Doris chimes in. “Is it true that apples, cherries, and apricots have seeds that are poisonous?”
“Yes, very true. Fortunately, mother nature has covered the seeds in a hull that is hard to penetrate. We can eat the flesh of the fruit without any danger, but the seeds not so much. In fact, the seeds when ingested becomes arsenic when it contacts human digestive juices,” Harry was loving this attention. I was thankful that something jolted Carol from her reverie and changed the conversation although the topic was gruesome.
“I won’t be putting the dangerous ones in the new greenhouse. But you must use some common sense with any plant. Tomatoes are wonderful, but their leaves are not to be consumed. Dieffenbachia isn’t called “dumb cane” for no reason. Chew on it a bit and your tongue will swell. I plan on growing parsley, rosemary, basil, and thyme. If it goes well, I’ll add tomatoes and peppers for use in cooking. Heck, if I have space maybe we can have our own tiny vineyard.”
“Shall we move into the living room for coffee?” our host offered.
“I’ll help clear and bring the coffee,” I said.
Harry and I moved into the kitchen with stacks of plates and silverware.
“Thanks for perking up the conversation,” I said.
“No problem. Carol has suffered enough with this property. She needs to get rid of it whatever it takes. I’ll call a few of my contacts and put the rush on getting the I.D. of this person and ridding the house of negativity.”
Sipping coffee in Harry’s front room was relaxing. For the first time since the girls announced the inheritance, I could breathe easy. Harry was in charge until he wasn’t.
17
“Uncle Harry. Come quick. The police just phoned and requested that I come to Hotel Rutherford immediately,” I pleaded over the phone.
It was a crisp April day with all the earmarks of being beautiful. Frost warnings were over. Gardeners could now plant with confidence.
I was having my second cup of coffee when the call came. My contact information was the first on the list. I didn’t dare call Carol until I knew what the current
crisis was about.
“Do you know what this is about?” Uncle Harry responded.
“No. Police Chief only said they ‘found something’ on the grounds next door which directly affects the Hotel Rutherford property. The adjacent property is readying for a building – another hotel, I think. He mentioned skeletal remains.”
“On my way,” Harry said and hung up.
Me too. My husband had sealed himself in his home office. I didn’t dare disturb him. Sometimes I could hear him muttering about spreadsheets, sales, book inventory, and expenses. He refused to get help doing income taxes. My book sales were an unknown entity until recently. Could I help it if I was a writing success? Besides who made him wait until the last minute to file income tax?
When we married, I made a full disclosure at my inability to do bookkeeping, so I felt I was off the hook. Still, he was grumpy. I took him a refill of coffee and a bagel.
On my way to the property, I entertained all kinds of demonic thoughts. What if the claim to witchcraft was true? What about Satanic worship? Giles had said it was going on in graveyards especially around Halloween. But this was spring. Sumer solstice? Was that another time for them to gather?
My brain was on overdrive. I needed more coffee. How did skeletal remains figure into what we already knew about Elvira Mooney Smith, Erastus Philemon Smith, and Elspeth Smith? He didn’t say human so maybe it was a pet cemetery. Just the thought of that conjured up Stephen King and a million chills up my spine.
Harry’s jeep pulled in behind me and I spotted Thomas in his GPI van in the distance. Meanwhile my two darlings, Carol and Doris, had no idea of what was transpiring. This inheritance was becoming a giant nightmare spinning out of control.
18
When I pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised at the number of vehicles in it. Some were marked with county identifications from the pathologists’ office, the coroner’s office, the police, and the mayor’s office. There was an ambulance and a backhoe which was currently in motion.
Murder in the Classic City Page 12
