The Ghost of Jeopardy Belle

by M. L. Bullock

  If he thought an offhand compliment would melt my heart, he had another thing coming. I thought he was attractive too, but I wasn’t the girl next door. I was a strong woman with my nursing degree, which I’d used to build a successful career. I wasn’t some fawning teenager. I didn’t say anything else for a minute or two. I picked up the book and opened it, carefully flipping through the pages. “I know you love Summerleigh. You have loved it for a long time, haven’t you?”

  He put the box down and examined the lock, which seemed to be rusted shut. “You know I wrote a book about the history of the house, about the Belle and McIntyre families. I hope you don’t believe I’m here looking for material to write a new book. I think I’m done with writing books for a while. I have a few extras if you’d like one,” he joked, but then his voice got serious again. “I mean it. I enjoy working in the house. It makes me feel connected to the people there. You have to admit they were interesting people. And bringing Jeopardy home, that meant something to me.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “I like you, Jerica Poole. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I like you, too. I’m glad you are here.” I studied the book, still confused by the unfamiliar notations. At least I didn’t have to strain to read them, even if I didn’t understand them. The book had been well preserved in Jeopardy’s hiding place.

  “What in the world is this?” Jesse dumped out a bundle of strange braids and stacks of leather-bound books. He flipped open one of the books and whispered, “These are the lost books. These used to belong to John Jeffrey Belle. They’re all about the McIntyre family. I knew it was true!”

  “Get out of here! Really?”

  “Yes, look. Here’s his name. And this, this is all his research. Remember when I told you how obsessed he’d become with this place? Man, the answers we need about the boy might all be right here.”

  Looking at it with wide eyes, I added, “And Jeopardy wanted us to find this. She needed us to know. I think…I think she needs our help, Jesse. We have to help the ghosts of Summerleigh find peace with one another. This boy has to go. At least I know Jeopardy is staying close to Marisol. But where are John Jeffrey Belle and Harper?”

  “They’re at peace now, Jerica. They accomplished what they needed to do. Why would they be here?”

  “But that means Jeopardy isn’t at peace. She hasn’t moved on. What have we missed?”

  Jesse’s face said it all. He knew the answer, and so did I. Jeopardy had been reunited with her father, that’s true, but she didn’t move on with him. Not yet. She wasn’t resting with him. She had someone to look out for, someone to protect. Someone to watch over.

  Marisol! Jeopardy was protecting Marisol!

  Jeopardy Belle hadn’t left Summerleigh because Marisol was here and the boy, the one with the black eyes, was too strong for my daughter. He would keep her away from me forever if he could.

  “Jeopardy!” I gasped as the thoughts came together like puzzle pieces in my mind. “Jeopardy is here for Marisol.” I started to shake. “Oh, Jesse. We have to find out who he is. We have to get the paranormal team back here.”

  Jesse was on his feet as quick as lightning. “We’ll do it, Jerica. We’ll do it, I swear. Let me get you your blanket. Your teeth are chattering.” He raced out of the room to fetch my favorite throw blanket with the pink roses on it.

  And then I saw the boy, reflected in the glass of the china cabinet. I turned around, but he wasn’t there. No, he wasn’t there anymore, but he had been. And he knew what we were trying to do.

  Oh, Marisol. Sweetheart! Stay close to Jeopardy! Mommy is coming soon. I promise.

  Chapter Fifteen—Harper

  As I expected, Addison wouldn’t wake up. “Get up, Addie. It’s going to be light out soon, and we want to get to the river before sunup.”

  “It’s too early, and my stomach hurts.”

  “Your stomach hurts because you need to eat something. You never eat anymore. Please, Addie. I have a basket of food. I baked us some blueberry muffins last night while Momma was at the Ladies Auxiliary. Come with me. Spending time in the sunshine would do you good, Addison. You’ll feel better. I’ll bait all your hooks for you. Don’t make me go by myself, please.”

  It wasn’t that I was afraid to go alone. Ben was nothing to be afraid of, but I didn’t want to be alone with anyone, not if I thought they liked me. And I was pretty sure he did. I didn’t like him like Jeopardy liked Troy. I wasn’t opposed to having a friend who was a boy, but I would rather there be no confusion about my feelings. I had no intention of giving my heart away so easily, and certainly not to a boy who was younger than me.

  “No, Harper. Now let me sleep.”

  I sighed in exasperation. I hated leaving her here by herself. What if Momma’s mood took a turn? There would be no one to help Addison fend her off. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it, and a promise was a promise. I had told Ben I would go fishing, and I tried to keep my word. He was my friend, after all.

  To avoid any misunderstanding, I left a note for Momma on the kitchen table explaining where I was going and who I would be with. If she wanted to, she could ride down to Dog River and find me. We planned on fishing off the bank near the road. I’d be able to see her coming because there were no trees there.

  I’d managed to rig Daddy’s old fishing pole, and I did a pretty good job if I did say so myself. I’d left it by the potting shed along with the tackle box. I’d been willing to share all my goodies with Addison, but since she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty this morning, she’d just miss out on the fun. I snapped my fingers when I remembered I’d left my fishing hat in my bedroom. It was one of Daddy’s that I’d found in a chest in Jeopardy’s castle room. I’d raced up there yesterday to get it and saw nary a ghost. I couldn’t believe my luck. I tiptoed back down the hall to my bedroom.

  I heard Momma giggling and then a man’s voice. There was a man in Momma’s room, and he would be coming out soon. I could hear them both laughing, and he was saying things no man should say to a respectable lady. I pulled my hat down on my head to cover my ears and hurried out of the house. I was tempted to linger outside to see who Momma was entertaining, but I needn’t have bothered. Dewey Landry had never been that smart. His parked truck was halfway hidden in the wild woods next to our house.

  She was disgusting! Right here in our own house? What would Mr. Daughdrill say about that? I had a mind to tell Aunt Dot right this minute if I could get her on the phone. Maybe I’d steal Dewey’s truck and drive it over to her house.

  Feeling sick to my stomach now, I munched an apple to save the muffin for Ben. I walked down the gravel pathway and made a quick stop by the potting shed to retrieve my fishing pole and tackle box. Then I continued on to Dog River, relieved that I wouldn’t have to hear Momma pretending to be a lady this morning. I expected to see Ben there when I got there, but he wasn’t.

  This had been his idea; he better not cut out on me. I have better things to do with my Saturdays, I lied to myself like I was someone important.

  He was supposed to bring the worms, but after an hour I realized he wasn’t coming. I used my apple core as bait but didn’t catch a thing and succeeded only in losing the core. I had no shovel for digging up worms and no idea where to look for them anyway. I mean, I knew they were in the dirt, but according to Ben, worms liked certain types of soil. He should know—his older brother ran a bait business down at the Escatawpa. About ten o’clock, I decided to go home. Ben had stood me up, and we hadn’t even been on a date. I put Daddy’s pole and tackle box back in the potting shed. I’d try again later, even if I had to get my own bait.

  I’d better go check on Addie.

  I went inside and was amazed to find that Addison and Momma both were still in bed. Now Momma, I could understand. She’d been carousing all night; that’s what Daddy accused her of once. I didn’t know the exact definition of “carousing,” but I was pretty sure it meant acting like a floozy. Momma used to call Jeopardy a
floozy all the time.

  I wasn’t home ten minutes when George County’s youngest deputy, Andrew Hayes, arrived at our doorstep. I touched my hair to make sure my bob was in place, but I could tell that this would be no pleasant visit. Sheriff Passeau—I remembered to call him Sheriff and not Deputy, since he’d just been promoted—was here too, and both men were holding their hats in their hands.

  That was always a bad sign.

  I opened the door and waited to hear the news. Had they actually found Jeopardy? Or had something happened to Aunt Dot and Loxley? Last I heard, Loxley had the chicken pox and had been out of school for nearly two weeks. Momma called daily, but Aunt Dot refused to bring her home. I was forbidden to call, but I’d already made up my mind to disobey Momma in this.

  Now it might be too late. “May I help you, Deputy? Sheriff?”

  Deputy Hayes’ expression saddened. “I’m afraid we have some bad news, Miss Belle. We need to speak to your mother.”

  I opened the door and invited them into the Great Room. “I’ll get her for you. I think she’s lying down. She and Addison have been under the weather. Please excuse me.”

  “Thank you, Miss Belle,” the deputy whispered to me as my face flushed. I nodded once and left the room and hurried to Momma’s side.

  “Momma, you have to get up. The sheriff and the deputy are here to see you. I think something bad has happened.”

  To my surprise, Momma wasn’t sleeping. She was just lying there staring off into space. “What did you do, Jeopardy?” I could barely hear her whisper.

  “I’m Harper, Momma. Please get dressed and come see the sheriff. Let me help you. You can’t go in there in your slip.”

  “Get out, Harper. I’ll dress myself, if you please,” she snapped as she crawled out of her tangled sheets.

  “I’ll tell them you are coming.”

  I raced to Addison’s room and woke her up. She immediately got up and got dressed. Apparently, she too believed there was big news. Had to be. Why else would they be here?

  A few minutes later, Momma strutted into the Great Room with a lit skinny cigarette in her hand. These past few weeks had taken a toll on her elegance, but she was still a pretty woman. And even though she’d been misbehaving just a few hours ago, she was acting as polite as the Queen of England now.

  “Would you like something to drink? Maybe some iced tea or coffee? Harper, where are your manners? Please, gentlemen, come sit in the parlor.” They obeyed, but I made no move to put coffee on.

  “Ma’am, we are here at the coroner’s request,” Sheriff Passeau said.

  Momma’s hand flew to her throat, and she gasped. I knew immediately that something was wrong. Momma could pose as pretty as any catalog model, but she was a horrible actor. I was convinced that whatever she was about to hear would come as no surprise to her.

  “Ma’am, your father is dead. He was found this morning at his home in Barton. His housekeeper discovered him in his bed.”

  “What?” Momma said quietly. So this wasn’t what she expected to hear after all. She thought they were going to tell her something else.

  Like what? What did she expect to hear? My stomach soured, and Addison sank down onto the couch beside Momma. Of all the people in the world, Addison may have been the only one who cared about Mr. Daughdrill.

  “I’m sorry to say he did not die of natural causes,” Deputy Hayes said discreetly, “but you don’t have to see him. The housekeeper gave a positive identification when we arrived. I think that’s good enough for us, and we all know Mr. Daughdrill.”

  “How?” I asked, uncaring if I sounded morbid or not.

  “He was stabbed multiple times in the chest,” Sheriff Passeau said, placing his steely gaze on me. “With a pair of shears, presumably while he slept since there was no sign of a struggle. While nothing appears to be missing, we thought maybe you could come and check his property, Mrs. Belle. We may have missed something.”

  Momma rubbed her face with her pale hands. She looked very confused. “You say my father? My father is dead? He has been murdered?”

  Passeau answered, “Yes, ma’am. He’s dead.” He glanced at the deputy as if to say something in their secret police language. I wished I knew it.

  Momma stood to her feet slowly, and I thought she would fall over. Maybe she would faint. To my horror, she began to scream and sob, which made Addison do the same. And Momma didn’t scream once but over and over again. No amount of talking to her would make her stop sobbing. And when she was done sobbing, she began to laugh and talk to herself.

  Deputy Hayes said, “I’ll send for a doctor, Miss Belle. She’s going to need a sedative. You should call your aunt and ask her to come help with her.”

  The deputy had a point, but I didn’t think Aunt Dot would pick up the phone. And then it occurred to me. Momma did expect something to happen. She’d prepared for it, daydreamed about it all morning. But this wasn’t it. What, then? Suddenly, I worried for Aunt Dot. It was no secret that the Daughdrill sisters had tied up over Loxley and that Momma was furious that Aunt Dot hadn’t brought her baby home. There were things going on that I didn’t understand. To top it all off, Momma had been entertaining Dewey Landry. No, I couldn’t fathom any of this.

  “Deputy Hayes, I think my aunt’s phone is out of order. Once the doctor arrives and I get Momma settled, would you mind taking me over there? I would like her to hear the news from one of us, if you please.”

  “Of course I will. Always happy to help a lady.”

  Addison was sitting with Momma now. Momma had her head on Addison’s shoulder, looking at something none of us could see. Sheriff Passeau spoke kindly to her, which was something of a rarity for him. She continued to sob, her face a mess now with streaking black mascara and tear-stained powder. Soon, Dr. Leland arrived at the house with his black bag. With his encouragement, Momma went to bed and took a tranquilizer that would help her sleep. He left me a bottle of about ten more and warned me not to let her have the bottle.

  “People experiencing grief do the unpredictable, young lady. See that you give her only one at a time, and only twice a day. I’ll come back if you need me.” He patted my shoulder kindly and left Summerleigh. He’d always been our biggest peach customer.

  “I’ll be right back, Addie. I promise.” I kissed her cheek and noticed that she had stopped crying and hadn’t said much at all. I worried about leaving her, but Momma couldn’t be by herself right now.

  Deputy Hayes pulled out all the stops for me. He used his siren and horn to get us to Aunt Dot’s in no time. To my surprise, we weren’t the first people there. A repairman was cutting out wood for a broken window. Aunt Dot ran to me and hugged me.

  “What happened?” the deputy and I asked at the same time.

  “Someone tried to break into the house this morning, not that long ago. I guess that’s what he was trying to do. He shot my bedroom window all up.” Her hands were shaking when she held mine. “Your sister slept through the whole thing.”

  “That sounds like Loxley,” I said with a small smile. “I am sorry to come here like this, but I have more bad news to tell you.”

  “What is it, Harper? Is it Jeopardy?”

  “No, ma’am. It’s Mr. Daughdrill. He died sometime this morning. Someone killed him, Aunt Dot. In his own bed.”

  She sank slowly into her cane-back kitchen chair. “Any suspects, Deputy?”

  “No, ma’am. We’re just beginning our investigation, and with what happened to you, I’m even more concerned. Do you know anyone who might want to harm you? Someone who might want to kill you?”

  Aunt Dot looked at me; her heart-shaped face was sad and kind of broken. “I never think about those things, Deputy. I wouldn’t want to make a list like that.”

  “Well, I think you should come with us. Your sister is beside herself with grief.”

  Aunt Dot stood up and put her glass in the sink. “No, I don’t think I will. And believe me, sir, my sister has all the comfort she needs now. H
arper, tell Addison I will come see y’all soon.”

  “Ma’am, I don’t think you understand. Mrs. Belle had to be given a sedative, and these young ladies are by themselves.”

  Aunt Dot brushed away a tear but shook her head stubbornly. “I’m sorry. I have to think about Loxley.”

  I looked at the deputy. “May I have one more minute? In private, Deputy Hayes.”

  “Yes, but I have to get back to the precinct after I take you home. We’ve got a lot going on today, Miss Belle.” He shot Aunt Dot one last look of disapproval and walked out on the porch.

  I turned to Aunt Dot. “May I see Loxley a minute? Is she feeling better?”

  She smiled and accepted the tissue I offered her. “She’s not contagious now. Of course you can see her. Her scabs are healing, and the doctor says she won’t have any scars at all.”

  Just then, my sister walked into the kitchen, looking confused at all the hubbub going on around her. Aunt Dot said sweetly, “Loxley, look who’s here.”

  “Harper!” She raced toward me with her black and white stuffed pony in her hands. We hugged, and I cried; I was so happy to see my baby sister. “Guess what?”

  “What?” I asked.

  She whispered in my ear, “I don’t wet the bed anymore. There aren’t any ghosts here.”

  “That is wonderful, Loxley. That means you’re all grown up now. You’ll be driving a car soon and getting a job as the world’s stuffed animal zookeeper.”

  She laughed and said, “Do they have that?”

  “No, silly. They don’t.”

  “Then I’ll be the first.”

  I hugged her again. “I have to go home now, but I’ll come back to see you again soon. I promise.”

  She poked her lip out but didn’t complain. She wanted to show me her room and all her dresses, but I had to leave. I couldn’t stay another moment or I’d never want to return to Summerleigh. Aunt Dot’s small cottage was so peaceful and quiet. You could feel the love in this place. I kissed them both and ran out of the house crying. This was what love felt like.