Anna’s face fell. “Uh, no, I guess that doesn’t make sense.”
“No. You really must try to be more disciplined in your reasoning. So you see, May is in no danger from Sherman, and there’s no reason to upset her with your suspicions.” She glanced at her watch. “Look at the time. It’s 10:15. Mass will be starting in fifteen minutes. Shall we be going?”
Anna shook her head. “You go ahead, Erna. I need to do some thinking. Maybe I’ll take Wendy for a walk instead.”
Erna rose to her feet and patted Anna’s shoulder. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You don’t know Sherman as well as May and I do. If you knew what a fine man he was, you wouldn’t suspect him, either.”
Anna climbed to her feet. Despite her friend’s placatory words, she was still perturbed with Erna for suggesting that her thinking was undisciplined.
“I was thinking of dropping by to see May tomorrow night after supper, if that’s all right with you?”
Erna smiled. “Yes, why don’t you do that? I’ll tell May to expect you. We’ll both look forward to it,” she said, picking up her cardigan and purse from the coffee table and ushering Anna to the door. They parted on the sidewalk, Erna walking briskly toward the church, and Anna heading slowly for home.
Chapter Seventeen
The morning had started out with near-freezing temperatures, but it was shaping up to be sunny and warm by the time that Anna retrieved Wendy and was leading her into the countryside. Halloween was only a week and a half away, and many of the leaves had already fallen, making a lovely gold and brown blanket that spread over the fields and drifted onto the road.
She was feeling dejected about her conversation with Erna. Anna had always considered herself to be a practical, no-nonsense kind of person who had worked hard to build a new life for her son and herself after her marriage had broken up. It hurt to hear that Erna saw her as someone who made wild, unfounded assumptions. What kind of a person was she, really? A flake? Paranoid and suspicious, from everything Erna had said. Maybe she spent too much time alone, brooding over problems that didn’t really exist. Was she going to end up as the town’s crazy lady?
She bent to give Wendy a hug. “Thank God I’ve got you, girl. At least I won’t turn into one of those old biddies who lives alone with her twenty-six cats.”
The dog grinned and panted a little in the warm sunshine. Anna patted her head and tossed the stick Wendy had been carrying, and she darted after it. Anna followed, trying to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air while the good weather lasted. Pretty soon it would be November with the possibility of snow and below-freezing temperatures. She rounded a bend in the road and spotted Greg Rae sitting on a stool in the shade of a tree with a sketch pad on his knee. Wendy reached him first, and he looked up in surprise as the dog dropped her stick at his feet.
Anna waved and called, “Hi Greg. Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Greg waved back and rose to his feet. “Anna, what an unexpected pleasure,” he said as she caught up to him. “I was just sketching that house over there.”
Anna looked down at his pad. Greg had done a beautiful job of rendering the ranch house and barn nestled half-way up the tawny hillside across the field from them.
“My landscapes have been selling nicely with the tourists who stop by the store. Do you like it?”
“It’s lovely. You have real talent.”
“It’s yours,” he said, removing a pen from his shirt pocket and signing the drawing.
“Oh, Greg, I can’t accept it. You could make some money selling it in the store.” But he reached inside his leather pouch and pulled out a matte knife, using it to cut the page away from its binding. Rolling the paper into a telescope, he stood up and handed it to her with a short bow.
“Nonsense. Art is good for the soul, and I like to give it away from time to time to remove the dull tarnish of mercantilism. I only wish that the picture were framed.”
“Oh no, I’ll take care of that. Thank you so much,” Anna said, stretching upward to kiss his cheek.
“There, I have my payment,” he replied, cupping his face with his hand and smiling. “Will you walk back with me? I was just getting hungry, and it’s close enough to lunch time to eat.”
“Sure,” Anna said. “Can I carry your stool for you?”
“No need, it’s collapsible.” He flattened the stool and inserted it into his pouch. Slinging the strap over his shoulder, he crooked his arm at Anna, who smiled and slipped her hand into his arm. Together they turned and retraced their steps toward town, Wendy following behind them.
“So, Greg, I don’t know very much about you. Do you make a living selling your sketches?”
“No, that’s just one of my many sidelines. Most of my income comes from being a freelance graphic artist. I love it ‒ I’m my own boss, and I can work anywhere with a wireless connection. But working with pen and ink is more tactile, and gets me away from the computer.”
“Where do you hail from? Tiernay told me that she’s French-Canadian, so I take it that you’re not originally from Alberta?”
“No, we’re from Montreal, although we haven’t lived there for years. I moved to BC, and Tiernay followed to get her massage therapy licence. We opened the first Healing Hands store in Vancouver, as a matter of fact, and lived there for a couple of years before Tiernay decided she wanted to live somewhere with more wide-open spaces. I’m afraid we both have a highly-advanced case of wanderlust. That’s how we came to live in Alberta.”
“Have the two of you always lived together?”
“Not for years, not before Vancouver. She had had a nasty break-up with a member of her coven, so I came to lend my moral support. Then she wanted to open the store, so I stayed on to help. Like I said, I can work anywhere.”
“Oh,” Anna said, her eyes widening. She hadn’t realized that Tiernay was a lesbian. “I noticed that Steve is interested in Tiernay ‒ romantically, I mean. I wonder if he knows?”
“Knows what? Not everyone in a coven is a woman,” he said as if reading her mind, “but in this case, her ex was a female. Tiernay has some pretty liberal ideas about her sexuality, however, so Constable Walker doesn’t have anything to worry about. Besides, I’m sure he knows all he needs to by now. They’ve been holed up in his house for the last three days.” He smiled, and Anna felt her cheeks colour.
“Okey-dokey then,” she said.
“Now me, I’m more of an old-fashioned guy in the romance department,” he added, sliding his arm around her shoulders.
But Anna felt uncomfortable with the gesture and pulled away. “Have you ever been married?” she asked to cover her emotions.
“Not since I was sixteen.”
“What?” she sputtered, half-laughing. “You were married at sixteen?”
“And that was only because my girlfriend’s parents insisted that the baby have my name. Don’t know why they’d want to burden their own grandchild with it. It’s not like my family’s reputation was any good, what with my mother being in jail at the time.”
Anna stopped to stare at him. “I don’t know what to say.”
Greg grinned. “But that marriage hardly counts since it lasted less than a year.”
Anna grinned back. “Are you telling me the truth, Gregory Rae?”
He raised two fingers. “Scout’s honour.”
Anna shook her head at him. “You were never a scout.”
He laughed. “You got me there. But I was an altar boy, once.”
Wendy ran past them, chasing a butterfly. They followed behind walking in companionable silence, Anna keeping an eye on Wendy since they were close to the town limits, and Greg admiring the view.
“You know, there is a favour you can do for me in exchange for the picture, Anna.”
“What’s that?” she replied, patting her leg so that Wendy would heel beside her.
“Join me at home for a bite of lunch, and let me sketch you this afternoon.”
“Oh, not the sketching thing again.
”
He paused, forcing her to stop by placing his hands on her shoulders. Wendy sat at her feet as Greg stared straight into Anna’s eyes.
“I have only the most honourable of attentions, Anna. I really must draw you. Why are you being so shy about it?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, Greg, I’m a middle-aged mother, not a beautiful young thing like your sister. I just can’t imagine my picture hanging side-by-side in the store with Tiernay’s.”
Greg wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Anna froze, and then he released her and was grinning down into her eyes.
“Oddly enough, I’m not usually moved to do that by your average, middle-aged mother.”
He bent to pick up his pouch, which had slipped off his shoulder and fallen onto the road, drew her hand back into his arm, and continued with their walk as if nothing had happened. Anna looked away, her cheeks blazing.
“Cat got your tongue?”
“Uh . . .”
“At least you didn’t do anything as clichéd as slapping me.”
“Give me time, I’m thinking about it.”
“Come on, I was just making a point. You’ve got to get over this modesty about your appearance. You’re a real beauty. I’d have thought your sergeant would have convinced you of that by now.”
Anna cringed, suddenly remembering Charlie. What would he say if he knew about the kiss?
As if reading her thoughts again, Greg said, “Don’t be so middle-class, Anna. It was a kiss, not an affair. You’ve done nothing to be ashamed of, so don’t give it a second thought. You should be thinking about how you want to pose for me instead.”
“With my clothes on!”
“Are you so sure?” he asked, one eyebrow arching. “Think what a lovely gift a ravishing portrait of you ‘au naturel’ would make for your boyfriend this Christmas.”
“Greg!” she wailed, becoming more and more flustered.
He laughed and patted her hand. “I’m just toying with you, darling. I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable, but what else have you got to do this afternoon? A load of laundry? Make a casserole? Come on, do me this one great favour and pose for me.”
Anna glanced at him sideways. He was right, she has been planning to make a pot of chili so that she’d have leftovers for later in the week. But Greg was a lot of fun to be with, and the prospect of spending a beautiful Sunday afternoon without him suddenly seemed rather dull.
“What about Wendy?”
“Bring her along, if you like.”
“Okay, but let me duck into the house to drop off your drawing and grab Wendy’s leash first,” she said as they drew near her cottage.
Greg nodded and waited outside while Anna rushed into the house, taking a moment to brush her hair and apply some powder and lipstick before hurrying back out with her dog. She found Greg chatting with Betty Hiller. Betty turned to greet her, the dimples flashing in her face.
“Hi, Anna. Greg was just showing me some of his sketches. You’re a lucky girl to be drawn by him!”
Anna frowned. Betty was a sweet lady and a good neighbour, but it would have been better to keep the portrait private. Betty was bound to say something about it at The Diner, and soon or later everyone in town would hear about it. And with the nude drawings of Tiernay on display at her store, Anna was sure to get plenty of ribbing. She decided to put a brave face on it, however, and smiled brightly.
“I know! I’m thrilled that Greg wants to sketch me.” She turned to include him in the conversation. “Maybe this could be a new sideline for you, Greg. All the ladies in town would line up to have you draw them.”
“Not me,” Betty was quick to say. “I’m too old and fat.” She pointed to the open page in Greg’s pad, and Anna sighed as her eyes were drawn to another nude portrait of Tiernay.
“I don’t draw every lady in the nude,” Greg said. “With my sister, it’s impossible not to. There’s something so primal in her spirit. I like to reveal both the inner and outer woman.”
“There you go,” Anna said, shooting him a grateful smile. “Greg’s not going to sketch me in the buff. Of course not. That would be silly.”
“We’ll see,” Greg said with a wicked smile that made her want to kick him.
“Well, I mustn’t keep you,” Betty said. “Greg said he wanted to pose you outdoors in this gorgeous sunlight, so you probably want to get going.”
“Just chomping at the bit,” Greg replied, closing his sketch pad and dropping it into his bag. He took Betty’s hand and raised it to his lips. “Lovely to meet you, Betty.”
She giggled and dropped him a short curtsy. “Have a fun afternoon, Anna,” she said with a wink before turning and trotting up the road to her driveway. Probably in a hurry to tell her husband all about it, Anna thought.
“Shall we?” Greg said, offering her his arm as they began to walk again. “I’m glad we’re spending the afternoon together ‒ there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh? What’s that?” Anna asked, suddenly wary.
“Tiernay told me about the conversation you and your friends had with her earlier this week. She was pretty disappointed when you didn’t want to hold another séance, and she’s been feeling anxious about Evelyn ever since, especially after May’s accident. Or was it an accident? A little birdie told me that May thought she saw a ghost on her apartment stairs just before she fell.”
He looked at her, waiting for a response, but Wendy was stalking a cat, and Anna used the diversion to stall. Pulling sharply on the leash, she called, “Wendy! Leave that cat alone.” The dog dropped back to heel beside her, and the cat continued washing its face from the end of its driveway.
“Cats! They have so much more attitude than dogs,” Anna said with a smile. “Do you have any pets, Greg?”
“Not at the moment,” he replied, an expectant expression still on his face. Anna could see that she would not be able to evade his question, and took a moment to grope for a politic response. She shrugged.
“You heard right ‒ May thought she saw a ghost on her apartment stairs. She tripped trying to get away from it.”
Greg nodded. “Just as Tiernay suspected. Evelyn’s unhappy that her death still hasn’t been avenged, so she’s beginning to take it out on the people who held the séance. The question is, what are you ladies going to do about it?”
Anna shook her head. “Be reasonable. What can we do about it? Even if Evelyn were murdered, how are we supposed to find out who killed her?”
“By holding another séance and asking Evelyn.”
“And if Evelyn, speaking through Tiernay, told us who her murderer was, what then? Are we supposed to kill for her?”
“Of course not. Evelyn would probably want you to go to the police.”
“As if that would get us anywhere!” Anna replied, throwing up her hands. They were walking down Main Street, and Anna nodded to someone she knew exiting the post office.
She turned back to Greg. “I’m sorry to say this, but I’m still not convinced that there is a ghost. I don’t mean any disrespect to your sister, but there’s absolutely no proof that Evelyn was murdered, or that her ghost is haunting the town. May thought she saw something on her stairs that night, but it was pitch black, and she fell and hit her head. We can’t put much weight in what she thinks she saw.”
“What about what Sherman heard in the cemetery?” Greg asked as they crossed the street toward Healing Hands. Tiernay was inside, and they waved at her. The young woman’s eyes followed them as they continued their walk past the store and up the street.
“That’s the crux of it, isn’t it, Greg? It all started with Sherman hearing someone calling to him in the cemetery.”
“Yes. What’s your point?”
“Look, try to listen to me without any bias, okay?”
“I’ll try. Go ahead.”
“First of all, Sherman might have been drunk and imagined the whole thing.”
; Greg shrugged. “That’s always been a possibility, if you discount what Tiernay felt at the séance. Anything else?”
Anna spoke slowly, trying to sort through her thoughts as she talked. “Maybe there was something going on in the cemetery that night, and Sherman interrupted it. Everyone knows Sherman, so calling his name and pretending to be a ghost to scare him away wouldn’t have been so difficult.”
Greg glanced at her sideways. “What do you think might have been going on?”
“Well, maybe some kids were smoking pot and didn’t want to get caught. The cemetery’s just down the street from the school, so it would be a pretty convenient place for them to meet. Heaven knows, kids get up to stuff, even in small towns. Maybe especially in small towns. Or, someone might be using the cemetery to sell drugs. It’s nice and private in there, especially at night.”
Greg was silent beside her, pondering what she had said. “That’s interesting,” he said after a moment. “I wonder if the police check the cemetery at night. Maybe I should ask Tiernay to talk to Steve about it.”
“Good idea. That would be one less thing for me to worry about.”
“I should hope so,” Greg said, grabbing her elbow. “Don’t go getting any daft notions about visiting the cemetery alone at night. If there is something going on in there, I don’t want you getting hurt and ending up in the hospital, too.” They were on the sidewalk outside his house, and Greg waited for her response as Wendy stuck her nose between them.
“Of course not,” Anna said, smiling to reassure him. “Even I wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“All right,” Greg said, calming down. “Sorry about that, Wendy,” he added, looking down and patting her head.
Anna looked away and noticed a man sitting on the front porch. The stranger rose from his chair as they made eye contact.
Town Haunts Page 11
