Treasured Legacies - a Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery

by Terri Reid

“Where did you hear that?” he asked.

  “Oh, well, I read things and watch documentaries,” she replied. “And let me tell you, I would hate to be someone a ghost is after.”

  “Why?” he stammered. “Why is that?”

  “Well, if they don’t drive you mad,” Mary said, lowering her voice dramatically. “They find some way to get even.”

  Sawyer swallowed. “Good thing,” he began, but his voice squeaked and then he cleared it several times. “Good thing he wasn’t murdered.”

  Mary nodded. “Yes, because he doesn’t seem like the kind of man I’d want to mess with,” she said.

  Suddenly a loud crash came from the back of his house. Sawyer looked at her with fear and panic in his eyes.

  “Oh, well, I don’t need to take up any more of your time,” she said, grasping the door and pulling it open. “Thanks for the information.”

  “Don’t you want to stay,” he offered urgently. “I can make refreshments.”

  “No, sorry, gotta go,” Mary said, stepping back out of the house. “Have a nice day.”

  She pulled the door closed on Sawyer’s face and swallowed to keep down the laughter that wanted to bubble to the surface. Sawyer Gartner was going to get his just deserts and she was happy to be part of the group that was giving it to him.

  Chapter Forty-two

  “So, how did it go?” Bradley asked as Mary walked into the house.

  “Well, if I had any doubts that Sawyer is our murderer,” she said, “his behavior this morning swept them all away. He was very nervous and when Dale knocked over something in his living room, I thought he was going to have a heart attack right there on the spot.”

  Dale appeared in the room and Mary walked over and put her hand on Bradley’s shoulder.

  “I dropped his good citizenship award off the mantel,” Dale said. “It was given to him the same year he killed me. Just my little way of saying I disagree with the judges.”

  “Are we all set for tonight?” Mary asked.

  “Yes, we’re trading the Brennans, they get Clarissa all day today and overnight and we get the whole crew next Friday for pizza and a movie, so they can actually go on a date.”

  “That sounds like a fair deal,” she said. “But the girls get to pick the movie this time.”

  Bradley nodded. “Okay, but nothing too violent or scary,” he said. “The last one you picked even gave me nightmares.”

  She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Wimp,” she teased.

  “I also picked up all of the recording equipment at the station,” Bradley said. “Once Josh is wired, all we have to do is get Sawyer to confess.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Dale asked.

  “I want you to watch Mary,” Bradley said.

  “What?” they both asked in unison.

  “Wait, this is my case,” she said.

  “Yep, and you are carrying my baby,” he replied. “Besides, having extra people near the house will only be a disadvantage. Sawyer could see you.”

  “But, I’m a ghost,” Dale said. “I should be in on kill. Um, excuse the pun.”

  “We need you next to Mary,” Bradley explained. “She’ll be wired in too and she’ll be able to hear everything Sawyer is saying. She can feed Josh information from you. If he asks a question that only you could answer, you have to be there.”

  Mary and Dale both frowned. “Fine,” they grumbled.

  Bradley grinned. “Nice to see that both of you are being such grown-ups about this,” he teased.

  “Okay, so what do we do until then?” Dale asked.

  “Well, you could go back and drive Sawyer a little more crazy,” Mary suggested. “But don’t do too much; we don’t want him leaving his house. And I’m going cruising for a ghost.”

  “Cruising?” Bradley asked.

  Mary nodded. “Yeah, wanna come?”

  “Sure,” he replied. “I haven’t gone cruising…come to think of it, I’ve never gone cruising.”

  “Me either,” she said. “Should be fun.”

  “Well, while you two go waste gasoline, I’m going to get some real work done,” Dale muttered and faded away.

  “I like him,” Mary said.

  “Kind of reminds me of Stanley,” Bradley added with a nod. “A lot like Stanley.”

  Because the weather was so nice, they used the Roadster and Mary let Bradley drive. With the top down and the warm breeze blowing through her hair, Mary relaxed as they headed towards Highway 75 on the north side of town.

  “This is really nice,” she said. “It’s almost like a date.”

  He looked over at her. “Yeah, but the last time we had a date your mom ended up barricading herself and Clarissa in the basement,” he said.

  “You sure know how to show a girl a good time,” she chuckled. “Well, there was our honeymoon. That was sort of like a date.”

  Bradley grinned. “If that’s what you consider a date, we need to go on a lot more of those,” he said and then he paused. “Hey, how many boys did you date before you married me?”

  She giggled. “No one, remember, I’m the girl with the big brothers.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a contented sigh. “I really like your brothers.”

  “So, do you want to go on a date tonight?” she asked. “You know, after we solve a murder and all.”

  “Sure, where do you want to go?” he asked.

  “I know this cute little ice cream parlor,” she said. “It’s got a jukebox.”

  “Sold,” he said. “And I’m figuring that we are going after hours.”

  She turned in her seat and smiled at him. “Did you notice that I’m developing a habit of going to places after they’re closed?”

  “I just figured you were really shy,” he replied.

  She nodded and sighed. “Yeah, that must be it.”

  Bradley took the curve on Highway 75 slowly, while Mary scanned the area for any signs of Adam. “Oh, wait,” she said, pointing back towards a steep ditch that rolled into a steeper gully. “I think I see him in there.”

  “Okay, let me turn around and I’ll park on the shoulder.”

  Bradley drove a little further until he found a driveway, turned the Roadster around and then pulled back to the place Mary had spotted the ghost.

  “Come on,” Mary said, sliding out of the car. “I think I saw him down here.”

  Bradley hurried around to Mary’s side of the car and grabbed her hand. “It’s pretty steep here,” he said, “Let me help you so you don’t fall.”

  “Bradley, I’ve been scampering down hills all of my life,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

  He stepped in front of her, one foot on level ground, the other secured on the grassy incline a few inches below. “Mary, I’m here to take care of …”

  Before he could finish, the foot he thought he’d secured slipped out from under him. Arms windmilling, he started to fall backward. “Oh, no!” he yelled.

  Mary jumped forward and grabbed his jacket, pulling on it with all of her might. For a moment she thought he might end of pulling them both down, but finally, she was able to pull him up onto the level surface.

  Without another word, Mary walked around him, placed herself on the incline and held out her hand. “You were saying?”

  Exhaling loudly, he placed his hand in hers. “I was saying, Mary you’ve been scampering down hills all of your life,” he said.

  She grinned. “Exactly.”

  They were able to climb down the gully without further incident and soon they were walking along the forested banks of a small creek. “He couldn’t have gone that far,” Mary said. “The trees would have stopped them.”

  “Well, if you go back more than fifty years ago, a lot of these trees wouldn’t have been here,” Bradley said.

  “Oh, yeah, good point,” she agreed.

  Mary looked around. It was really a beautiful spot. The creek was shallow and gurgled over and around brown, grey and black river stones that had long since be
en made smooth by the constant movement of water. The edges of the creek were just beginning to burst with green, as jack-in-the-pulpits, plantain and cattails were pushing out of the brown soil and up towards the sunlight. The air smelled wonderful, a combination of moist clay soil, spring breezes and fresh water. She wished she could bottle it up and bring it home. “We should have brought a picnic lunch,” she said.

  Bradley dug into his jacket pocket. “I have some lifesavers,” he offered.

  Mary reached over and chose the green one on top and popped it into her mouth. “Perfect,” she said.

  Suddenly she heard a noise behind her and turned. Her audible gasp had Bradley reaching for her hand and his exclamation echoed hers. The young man, wearing a letter-sweater from Aquin High School with the year 58 on it, was pushing his way through the vegetation towards them. His head was crushed on one side and mottled blood covered most of his face. “I’m sorry to bother you,” he said politely. “But I can’t seem to find my girlfriend. My car flipped off the road and I’ve been searching for her, but I can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Is your girlfriend Erika?” Mary asked. “Erika Arnold?”

  A smile wreathed his face. “Yeah, that’s her,” he said. “Have you seen her?”

  Mary nodded. “Yes, I have, she’s been looking for you too,” she said. “Can you meet her tonight at about ten-thirty at Union Dairy?”

  “I sure can,” he said, trying to run his hand through his hair, the dirt and dried blood making it impossible to smooth. “I guess I gotta clean up a little if I’m going to see her.”

  “She will be happy to see you no matter what you look like,” Mary said. “She’s been waiting for you for a long time.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he replied eagerly. “Gosh, it seems like I’ve been searching for her for forever.”

  “We’ll see you at ten-thirty, right,” Mary said. “If for some reason you can’t find it, just think of me and you’ll find it right away.”

  “Are you some kind of genie?” he asked.

  Mary smiled. “Yeah, something like that,” she said. “See you then.”

  Chapter Forty-three

  Mary was silent as they maneuvered their way up the side of the gully and back to the car. Before he opened her door, Bradley pulled her into his arms and held her tenderly.

  “He was so young,” she cried softly.

  “And now he gets the girl and gets to cross over,” Bradley reminded her. “You did your magic again, Mary the genie.”

  She snuggled into his embrace and leaned against his chest, enjoying the warmth and security of his arms. “Don’t you ever wish for a happy ending, just once?” she asked.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Darling, they are all happy endings,” he said. “We just happen to be sitting on the wrong side of the curtain.”

  She smiled up at him. “That was the perfect thing to say,” she replied. “Thank you.”

  He opened the car door and she was about to get in when she noticed a small patch of dandelions in a sunny spot near the road. “Oh, would you mind helping me fulfill another promise I made?” she asked.

  “Then will you feed me?” he begged.

  She laughed out loud. “Yes, I promise.”

  The house Dr. Springler lived in was a small modest home located in the Willow Lake subdivision just north of Freeport. Bradley drove down the streets named after familiar birds, Robin, Mallard, Swan and Finch, until he finally reached Eagle.

  “The house is just down here,” Mary said. “In the middle of the block.”

  Bradley pulled the Roadster into the driveway and Mary hopped out, the small bouquet of dandelions in her hand. “I’ll just be a minute,” she promised.

  She hurried across the lawn and knocked on the front door. A moment later the door was opened and Dr. Springler stood on the other side. “Oh, Mrs. Alden,” she said.

  “Mary, please,” Mary invited. “I’m sorry to bother you at your home, but there was one more thing I needed to do.”

  Dr. Springler shook her head. “No, you don’t have to convince me any longer,” she said. “I don’t know how you do it, but I believe you have a unique ability to communicate with those who have passed on.”

  “Dr. Springler,” Mary began.

  “Karen, please,” the other woman offered.

  “Karen,” Mary said with a smile. “I’m so glad you believe in what happened yesterday. Not for my sake, but for your own. What Brandon was able to do was very unusual and I know he must love you a great deal in order to come back and find you.”

  Karen nodded and wiped away a tear. “He was right,” she said. “I’d hidden away and hardened my heart. His death was so hard on me; I didn’t think I could ever survive loving and losing again.”

  “It is very hard,” Mary said. “And no one can understand the pain of losing a child, unless they’ve had it happen to them. But I know those same loved ones would want us to live our lives to the fullest until the time we can be with them again.”

  “Well, I’m going to try,” Karen said. “I’m going to live and laugh, the way Brandon would expect so if he ever comes looking for me again, I’ll be in those places we used to love.”

  “Speaking of Brandon,” Mary said, holding up her bouquet of flowers. “He asked me to deliver these as a favor. He said they were your favorite flower.”

  Karen took the wilted bouquet and held them to her heart. “We used to pick them all the time,” she said, “especially when he got too weak to play in the park. I would push him to a sunny spot and we would sit together and make flower chains with dandelions. He said he liked dandelions because they were brave enough to be flowers where people walked and ran.”

  Mary smiled. “I never thought of them that way,” she said. “But he’s right. They don’t stay safely in the flower beds; they venture out to lawns and roadsides.”

  “And they bring joy to others because they’re accessible,” she said. “You don’t think I should plant the whole front yard in dandelions, do you?”

  “Well, your neighbors might not be very happy when they all go to seed,” Mary laughed. “But I’d make sure there are at least a couple of patches in there, just for a reminder.”

  Karen stepped down from her doorway and gave Mary a hug, surprising Mary to no end. “Thank you,” Karen said, stepping back and taking a deep breath. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. I feel light and…,” she closed her eyes for a moment. “Happy. I feel happy.”

  “Well, actually, it was all Brandon,” Mary said. “And since you raised him to be the brilliant young man he is…actually, it’s you you should be thanking.”

  Karen laughed. “Well, before we get even more confused, I’m going to stop while I’m ahead,” she said. “I think. Thank you, Mary. I look forward to getting to know you and your family even better.”

  Mary nodded. “And you still owe me a lunch date at Union Dairy,” she said. “Brandon told me about your ice cream tasting combinations and I think you and I have a lot in common.”

  “That’s sounds perfect,” she said. “Perhaps next week?”

  “That would be great,” Mary agreed. “Have a great weekend Karen.”

  Mary turned and hurried across the lawn to Bradley. “So, how did that go?” he asked.

  “Great,” she said. “Actually, better than great.”

  “Well, good,” he replied, putting the car in gear and backing out of the driveway.

  “So, Bradley,” Mary asked. “What would you think about a patch of dandelions in our flower garden?”

  Chapter Forty-four

  Sawyer Gartner pulled on his chore jacket and grabbed the flashlight from the hook next to the door. Even though the days had started to get longer, it was still dark in the chicken coop and he needed to make sure they were locked in for the night and the coop doors were securely closed against predators. He stepped out onto his back porch and jumped when the door slammed behind him. Turning he stared at the door. “Must have
been a draft,” he muttered slowly, still eyeing it.

  Dale Johnson grinned and glided along Sawyer. “Am I getting to you yet?” he asked.

  Sawyer stopped and looked around, but saw nothing and no one. “Who’s there?” he called out, sure he had heard someone’s voice.

  “No one here but us chickens,” Dale taunted. “Oh, and the guy you murdered.”

  The word “murder” hung on the wind and wrapped its way around Sawyer a number of times. “Murder. Murder. Murder,” the breeze whispered into his ear.

  Sweat broke out over his body and his heart began to race. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

  He stomped down the porch stairs and, with a determined gait, walked to the corn crib that also housed the chicken coop. He unlatched the long crossbar that secured the door, turned on his flashlight and pulled the door open. Once open, he secured it to another latch attached to the side of the corncrib that held it ajar. Lifting his booted foot, he stepped carefully over the tall threshold and entered the outbuilding.

  He had gone no further than five feet with the wooden door slammed shut behind him. Startled, he dropped his flashlight and was plunged into darkness.

  “How does is feel?” Dale asked him, whispering into his ear, “To be locked in, all by yourself, in the dark?”

  Grabbing a handful of corn, Dale levitated above Sawyer and dropped the pieces of grain on his head. “Remind you of anyone?” he asked.

  Shaking his head in terror, Sawyer stumbled back against a wall. “Who the hell is doing this?”

  Dale chuckled softly and then opened the corncrib door once again, allowing light to pour inside the building. “Can’t get you too worked up,” he said softly.

  Pulling a red and white kerchief out of his pocket, Sawyer mopped the sweat from his brow and took a couple deep breaths. “Get a hold of yourself,” he grumbled. “No such thing as ghosts. Damn girl just got you thinking about it, that’s all. Just a loose latch on the door.”

  He bent over to pick up his flashlight and saw the pieces of corn scattered all around him. Several tiny pieces of dried corn lay on the flashlight case. Staring at the grain, he pulled his hand back, unable to touch them.