by Rose Pressey
“Did Gordon fight with anyone else like that?” I pushed.
“I told you that I don’t know.”
“Have you heard anything about the plantation? This may sound crazy, but do you know why a man might be in the woods watching us?”
She looked at me swiftly. “There’s a man in the woods?” Her face blanched.
I had a feeling there was something she wasn’t telling me and I intended on getting to the bottom of it.
Chapter Twelve
That night we’d sat in silence around the cabin’s fireplace for hours, shocked by what had happened. When we finally did collapse into bed, we held each other tighter than ever. If we’d arrived at Millerton Used Cars moments earlier, we might have been murdered along with Gordon.
But we finally pulled ourselves together though because we knew life had to go on. Despite what had happened the evening before, we had to get started on the house. Time was money and right now Reed and I hadn’t even had a serious conversation about what we’d do with the house. It had been a spur-of-the-moment impulse buy—something I was all too good at doing. That wasn’t usually in Reed’s character though. Was I rubbing off on him? I hoped he didn’t hold that against me. We definitely needed to have that talk though. Some kind of plan was needed. I liked to fly by the seat of my pants as much as the next girl, but there was a time to get serious in every situation.
We’d decided to start with the major things around the house, of course. The columns needed to be repaired on the porch and the floors stabilized in places. Electrical work, plumbing, and plaster had to be addressed as well.
I looked at my watch. “What time is that guy supposed to be here anyway?”
Reed sat on the wide step. “Alabama, you know how these guys are. They’re never on time.”
Despite my gut feelings, I’d agreed to hire Stan to do work around the house. Reed said he was good and he’d known him from when they were teenagers, so maybe he wouldn’t screw us over. Still, he gave off a bad vibe and I had a hard time shaking it. Not to mention now I suspected him of murder. Okay, it was ridiculous to be suspicious of him, right? Reed wouldn’t be friends with him if he was capable of something like that.
I sat down beside Reed. “Yeah, I know better, but I guess I have the wishful thought that one of them will actually show up on time. Are you sure it was such a good idea to hire this guy? Will he be fighting with us like he was with Gordon?”
“Nah, I’ve known him for a long time. I’ve never had a problem with him.”
“You need to ask him exactly what all that was about anyway. He had been fighting with Gordon and then…” My words trailed off, hoping that Reed would finish my thought for me.
“You’re not suggesting that he had something to do with Gordon’s death?” Reed’s expression let me know that he had at least a tiny bit of doubt about Stan too.
I picked at a thread on my jeans. “Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’ll be thinking that. The police will want to know everyone who had a bone to pick with Gordon.”
“You didn’t tell the police about Stan, did you?” he asked with a nervous edge.
I didn’t look at him for a couple seconds, then Reed touched my hand, forcing my attention back to him. I glanced over at him. “Of course I told them. I mean, they needed to know. If he had nothing to do with it, then everything will be fine.”
Reed ran his hand through his thick hair and let out a deep breath. “Why did you let me hire him if you thought he could potentially be a killer?”
I shrugged. “I figured you know what you’re doing. If you say he’s fine, then he’s fine.”
Reed stared at me. Had I planted a seed in his mind? Surely Stan had crossed his mind before now.
The sound of gravel under tires caught our attention and we looked up. Speak of the devil seemed like a scary thing to say. Stan was driving toward the house. He pulled up right in the middle of the circle drive and hopped out. Stan had his long hair pulled back into a ponytail and he wore jeans and a gray T-shirt. His cocky attitude was noticeable from across the drive.
After grabbing his tool belt from the truck’s seat, he walked toward us. “Wow, did I interrupt something serious, or what?” Stan looked from me to Reed and flashed a smile.
Reed stood. “Did you hear about Gordon Millerton?”
Stan studied us, then replied, “I did.” His jaw tightened. “He pissed off a lot of people in town, so I can’t say that I’m surprised.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard,” Reed said.
If he wasn’t going to ask, I sure would.
“So what exactly were you arguing with Gordon about?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
Stan glared at me. If he thought he could intimidate me I’d show him that he was dead wrong. Okay, that was a bad expression, but I was not going to show fear of this bully. This guy was doing work for us. We could easily find someone else. I didn’t really care for him all that much anyway. That bad vibe I had felt was even stronger now. I’d only agreed to hire him because Reed seemed to think he was good at his job.
“He owed me money for jobs. I’d put off asking him for a long time. Gordon gave me every excuse under the sun. I got tired of his excuses. I have a family to support, you know.” He looked off into the distance, avoiding my eye contact.
“I hear you,” Reed said.
I guessed that was a plausible reason for his fighting, but that was also a plausible reason for him to murder Gordon. I’d definitely keep my eye on this guy. Not to mention make sure he had his money on time.
“So, I’ll take a look at the columns now if you don’t mind.” Stan frowned.
“I have cleaning to do,” I said as I took off for the front door.
I left Reed and Stan to discuss the columns while I went inside to start with some of the clean-up. The house still had insane amounts of trash that needed to be cleared out. I stepped into the dining room and placed my hands on my hips. Where did I even begin to start? It all seemed a little overwhelming. But this was what I had wanted and no one ever said it would be easy. As I grabbed the broom and began to sweep, I couldn’t help but feel that someone watched me as I stood in the middle of the room. I was all alone in there as far as I knew, but there was a presence that I couldn’t see with my eyes.
Had the ghost returned? I’d had experiences with ghosts before. Was it the spirit of a former owner? With the house’s rundown appearance, it looked haunted. After hearing the steps and the whispers, I knew it had to be haunted. The cold air swirled around me again. This time the footsteps hadn’t approached. It was as if the spirit had been there when I entered the room.
Across the space, a voice whispered, “Help me.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Had I really just heard a voice? How would I find out who was haunting the place? I propped the broom against the wall and left the room. I needed fresh air and time to think about what had just happened. It was as if there was nowhere I could go around here though. If I was inside the house weird things happened and if I went outside I risked seeing the man in the woods.
After taking some time to gather my thoughts, I went back to work. I spent the rest of the day working around the house and trying to avoid Stan. Doors banged continually throughout the day and I gathered that the ghost was unhappy about something. Was the ghost upset about our remodeling, or unhappy with something else?
I was in the foyer when Stan came down the stairs. He flashed his creepy grin and my skin crawled. Just as he reached the bottom steps, the chandelier crashed to the floor, missing him by inches. I jumped back and let out a gasp.
Reed ran down the stairs. “Is everyone okay? Alabama, are you all right?”
I clutched my chest. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
The color had drained from Stan’s face. He looked up at the ceiling. “That was close,” he said nervously.
“Sorry about that, man, I thought the thing was secure,” Reed said as he gazed up at the ceiling.
“If I didn’t know better I’d think something doesn’t want me here.” Stan had a pained grin on his face.
What an astute observation on his part; I sure didn’t want him there.
Chapter Thirteen
That night Reed and I went out for a late dinner. It was a clear night with a million stars in the sky and I prayed we could attempt to relax after the day’s events.
As we entered the little Italian restaurant, the aroma of garlic permeated the air. We settled at a small table near the front window. A red-checkered cloth and small red candle adorned the table. We ordered and the food came quickly, but neither of us really ate. It was understandable though considering what we’d been through. The stress and then finding Gordon’s body would make anyone lose their appetite. Normally, the dim lighting and the flickering candle on the table would’ve made this a romantic evening, but not tonight though.
I’d just stuffed a piece of ravioli into my mouth when I sensed a presence next to us. When I looked up, a woman with long dark hair and sparkling green eyes was staring at us. Why was she standing so close? Was she the waitress? Did she want something?
“Hi, Amanda,” Reed said, looking up at her.
Well, apparently Reed knew her. And by the smile and gleam in her eyes, I figured that she knew Reed too. As they stared at each other, I wondered if he was even going to bother to introduce me. I cleared my throat to catch his attention away from this beautiful woman.
Finally Reed looked at me. “Oh, Alabama, this is Amanda Porter.”
He failed to mention the little detail about me being his girlfriend, not that I was jealous or anything.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I gave my best attempt at a smile.
Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought the tension between them floated around our table. I looked between Reed and Amanda and he finally offered up more than the woman’s name.
“Amanda and I are old friends.” He ended the sentence with a smile.
Funny, I hadn’t heard anything about Amanda until now. I grinned and tried to be the perfect non-jealous girlfriend.
“Nice to meet you,” she said in her sweet Southern accent. “Reed, I saw your uncle and he said you were in town. You didn’t stop in and visit me.” She stuck out her plumped-up bottom lip.
“No, we’ve been busy with the house and all.” He stared at his plate.
“Oh yes, I heard you bought the McKeeley Planation. You always were a sucker for things like that.”
I was trying not to turn into a green-eyed monster, but it was hard. She acted as if she knew Reed so well.
Reed chuckled.
“I’d better let you all get back to the dinner. It was good seeing you.” She touched Reed’s hand and her fingers lingered a little too long over his skin.
I wanted to rip her hand away. I watched her sashay away.
When she was out of earshot, I asked, “A friend of yours?”
“Yeah, just a friend from a long time ago.” He waved his fork through the air.
I knew there was a little more to it than that. Plus, she had been speaking to his uncle as if she was some part of the family. I couldn’t believe how jealous I was feeling. I needed to get a hold of myself.
“So what does she do?” I asked.
Too bad Lacey wasn’t there. We would get to the bottom of the matter.
Movement caught my eye out the window on the sidewalk. I could’ve sworn I saw my mother’s face staring back at me. I really needed a break from stress.
The stress had finally gotten to me. Now I was imagining things. My mother was in Kentucky, not walking up and down the sidewalk in Bay Point. I took a big gulp of water and closed my eyes for a second. When I opened my eyelids again and looked out the window, I saw Lacey and my mother. Either I was losing it or my mother and my best friend were staring in at me.
Reed noticed my face and asked, “What’s wrong? If it’s Amanda, you have nothing to worry about. I haven’t seen her in years.”
That was a topic for another time. Right now I had more important things to worry about. “Am I losing my mind or is that my mother and Lacey standing out there on the sidewalk?”
Reed whipped around and my mother began waving frantically. I’d rather have been losing my mind than face the reality. It really was her.
“What are they doing here?” Reed asked.
His guess was as good as mine. Before I had a chance to answer, my mother and Lacey had entered the restaurant and were headed my way.
My mother had a tendency to be a bold dresser. She liked to make a statement. What that statement was, I wasn’t sure. Her red blouse had feathers covering most of the front, but her top half wasn’t to be outdone by the lower portion—her pants were black with multi-colored hearts. At least she was festive. She wobbled on her sky-high heels as she crossed the floor. Her blond hair was teased as high as it would possibly go.
Lacey grinned and gave a little wave. I knew that was her way of silently apologizing. I wasn’t sure what my mother had done to Lacey to convince her to come all the way down here. Lacey had cut her hair to shoulder length, I noticed. With that observation, I realized how much I missed seeing her every day. Her hair was a beautiful shade of brown with caramel highlights. Her long legs looked longer with her skinny jeans and the deep chocolate shirt matched the color of her eyes.
Needless to say a few heads turned our way. Okay, everyone in the place was staring at us. Hadn’t they ever seen a woman reuniting with her mother before? Mama rushed over and draped her arms around me, smashing my face in her ample bosom. With her heels, she was now taller than me.
“What are you doing here?” I mumbled around the smothering flesh.
When she finally released me, she said, “We came to help. I tried to tell you on the phone that we were on our way.”
Oh dear heavens. Lacey grimaced and I shrugged. What could I say? She was only trying to help, right?
“Surprise.” Lacey gave a pained grin.
“Hello, ladies,” Reed said.
My mother ran over and squeezed Reed. Lucky for him he was taller and didn’t get a face full of my mother’s cleavage.
“I just know how tough it is for you sometimes. You tend to make mistakes a lot and I figured I could be here when you make a mistake this time.”
I narrowed my eyes and gritted my teeth. And I thought she believed in me now. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her about the murder. After all, I’d already had one murder investigation to deal with, what would she say about another?
“So nice of you to assume I will make a mistake.” She didn’t catch my sarcasm.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, sugar. We’re not going to interrupt your dinner.” She wiggled her fire-engine red-tipped finger at me.
I was almost afraid to ask this question about where she intended to stay. The next thing I knew my mother would be sleeping between Reed and me in that tiny full-size bed at the cabin.
“We got a couple of rooms over at the hotel on the edge of town,” Lacey offered.
Well, thank heavens for small favors.
“You can go back home now, Mama. I’m doing fine.”
Her face drooped and she sniffled. I knew I wasn’t going to win this battle. Just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, in had walked my mother. No one said a word. Everyone just watched her sniffle. Even the patrons surrounding us took notice of her blubbering.
I sighed. “Fine. You can stay. Thank you for the help,” I mumbled.
The tears instantly dried. “Good. Now we’ll be out of your hair.”
“How in the world did you know we were here?” I asked.
“Reed’s uncle told us. He’s a sweet man.”
I’d have to apologize to Lou later.
Mama grabbed a breadstick from the table and took a bite. She waved it at me and said, “We’ll go get a good night’s sleep and be ready in the morning to work.”
Before she walked away, I
knew I had to tell her about the murder. She’d never forgive me if she read about it in the paper instead of hearing it from me first.
“There is one thing you should know, mama,” I said.
“What is it? What have you done?”
I bit my tongue. “The man who sold us the house was murdered.”
She swayed and her eyes fluttered. Reed jumped and grabbed her. If the patrons in the restaurant hadn’t been watching us before, they sure as heck were now after my mother’s theatrics.
“Mama, are you all right? I asked as I fanned her with a menu.
Reed eased her onto a chair and handed her a glass of water.
She took a big gulp of water, then grabbed the menu from my hand and began waving in up in down in front of her face. “Please tell me you weren’t the one who found this person.”
I chuckled. “Of course not. Reed found him.”
She took another big gulp of water. I looked at Lacey and she just stood there with her mouth gaping open. A lot of help she’d turned out to be.
“Don’t worry, Mama, everything is fine,” I said.
After explaining exactly what had happened, my mother bounced up from the table, adjusted her flamboyant outfit, then proceeded to act as if we hadn’t told her the shocking news. That was her way. If she ignored something, it would go away. It was my experience that the more you ignored something the bigger it got. Like the more I ignored not eating healthy foods, the bigger my thighs grew. It was the same rules with everything in life.
“Well, like I said. We’ll be ready in the morning to help with the house,” she said.
“I can’t wait.” I flashed the biggest smile I could muster.
“Come on, Lacey.” My mother grabbed Lacey’s hand.
Lacey gave me a look that said, Help me. Hey, she was all on her own. She was the one who brought her down here. My mother would have never driven by herself.
I waved and smiled widely. “Have a good evening.”
My mother grabbed Lacey and dragged her out of the restaurant.
“I can’t believe they came here.”
Reed laughed. “Are you serious? I’m not surprised in the least that she came. I’m just surprised that it took her this long.”
