The Haunted Island (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 9)

by J A Whiting

  “Focus on the good, not the bad,” Leonard advised as he turned down a short road off of West Chester Street. “Otherwise, the world will eat you up.”

  Pulling onto the white, crushed-shell driveway of a gray, historic Colonial home with black shutters at the windows, Leonard parked and cut the engine.

  “What a great house,” Lin smiled.

  “It was built in 1782. The original owner was a town merchant.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  The two landscapers and the dog got out of the truck and headed up the walkway to the front door.

  “I’m feeling nervous,” Lin admitted in a soft voice.

  Leonard gave her a look. “Why? About what?”

  “I haven’t met Dr. Mitchell yet.”

  “So? That’s happened before with other clients. He isn’t going to give you the third degree or anything. He knows our reputation. We have the contract.”

  “It isn’t that.” Lin shifted from foot to foot. “When I brought him up with Jeff, and Viv, and John, I got a strange feeling about him.”

  Leonard pushed the doorbell. “Maybe your strange feeling will prove to be a good thing, not a bad one.”

  Lin made eye contact with her partner. “Right.”

  The front door opened to reveal the owner of the house, Dr. Samuel Mitchell, a sandy-haired and blue-eyed man in his seventies, tall and slender, with a slight tan. He wore a t-shirt and blue chino shorts. A smile crossed his face when he saw the landscapers on his steps and he reached out to shake hands. “Nice to see you, Leonard. And this must be Lin Coffin. Very nice to meet you.”

  Dr. Mitchell looked down at Nicky who sat tapping his tail on the brick walkway. “Is this the third landscaping partner?”

  “He’s more of a supervisor.” Lin shook with the man, surprised at his relaxed and friendly manner.

  Mitchell let out a chuckle. “Well, welcome aboard to all three of you. Would you like to see the house before you get to work?”

  “I’d love to.” A lover of historic homes, Lin didn’t need to be asked twice.

  Mitchell walked Leonard and Lin through the house starting at the foyer, and moving to the living room, dining room, sitting room, and into the kitchen. “This is the worst room in the house and the reason I hired your friend to do the renovation work. It was updated in the 1970s and as you can see, it was very poorly done. Jeff will return the room to a more appropriate look, ripping up this awful linoleum and taking down the terrible paneling. There’s an original fireplace on that wall, but for some reason, the owners boarded it up. Mindboggling, really. We’ll update the appliances and countertops, but the room will be more fitting to the period and style of the rest of the house.”

  “It will look great once it’s finished,” Leonard agreed.

  A man hurried into the room carrying a box and when he saw the guests, he stopped short. “Oh, hello.” The medium-height and medium-weight man had brown hair graying at the temples. He looked Lin and Leonard up and down, and when he noticed the dog, his nose crinkled in distaste.

  “This is my assistant and right-hand man, Roger Price,” said Dr. Mitchell. “I’d be lost without him. He does it all … does research for me, edits manuscripts, takes care of household things. He’s helping me unpack. If you need anything while working here and you can’t find me, just look for Roger. He’ll be able to answer any questions.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Lin told him.

  The man gave a nod and scurried away with the box.

  Mitchell led the landscapers out of the kitchen and into a small room at the back of the house that the doctor used as an office. There was a wooden plank table being used as a desk and it had been positioned at an angle to afford whoever worked at the space a nice view of the rear yard. There was a fireplace on one wall, and the two other walls had built-in bookshelves.

  “I have quite a collection of books, but I haven’t yet had time to unpack them,” Mitchell said. “I’ve only been in the house for a few weeks. I travel a good deal, so that will slow the unpacking process, but I’ll get it done.” The man smiled. “Eventually.”

  As they were about to leave the den, Lin glanced at some framed photographs on the wall and abruptly halted, her heart racing. “Is this a photo of Canter Island?”

  Mitchell turned around. “Why yes, it is. You know it?”

  “I was there the day before yesterday,” Lin said. “We walked up the hill to the old road that ran across the island.”

  “It’s a fascinating place,” Mitchell said. “So much history.”

  “Do you know the island well?” Lin took a step closer to the doctor.

  “Not really. I visited several times. I wrote an article for an academic journal about the experiments done there in 1918 and 1919 on the Spanish Flu.”

  Lin’s eyes widened. “Sailors were used for the experiment.”

  Nicky whined and moved closer to Lin’s leg.

  “That’s right.” Mitchell seemed surprised that Lin had heard about the research experiments. “I wrote the article about the ethics of the time. Such a thing would never be allowed today.”

  “What happened there?” Leonard looked from Lin to the doctor.

  “Sailors were used as guinea pigs to test how the flu was passed from person to person,” Lin said with disgust in her voice. “Half of them died from the experiment.”

  The corners of Leonard’s mouth turned down. “When was this?”

  “1918 to 1919,” Mitchell said.

  At a loss for words, Leonard just shook his head.

  “Have you been to Canter recently?” Lin asked.

  “No. The last time was over five years ago. I visited with another doctor. We were co-authors of the article.”

  “Are there still buildings standing on the island?” Leonard questioned.

  “Only foundations,” Lin reported.

  After the tour, Lin and Leonard removed tools from the truck bed and carried everything to the rear yard with the dog trotting after. Leonard took out the plans and he and Lin walked around the garden discussing the new designs.

  Taking shovels and the wheelbarrows, the two started to dig a new bed near the back of the house while Nicky rested in the shade of a tree to watch them.

  “Experimenting on people is barbaric,” Leonard said as he pushed the spade into the earth. “How in the world was that allowed? It’s disgusting.”

  “I completely agree, but times were different back then. Supposedly, they thought the volunteers were helping the greater good.”

  “How noble,” Leonard muttered.

  Lin explained how the sailors’ prison sentences would be forgiven if they took part in the experiments.

  “The sailors had to survive the darned experiments in order to receive their rewards,” Leonard’s tone was angry. “It was manipulation of powerless people by people in authority who then cloaked the horror of what was being done by using grand and righteous language.”

  Lin stopped digging and looked at her partner with a smile of admiration. “Quite a while ago, I accused you of being a philosopher. I might have to make that statement again.”

  “Bah,” Leonard grumbled. “Anyone can see what I see.”

  “No,” Lin said. “Not everyone can. It takes a kind and caring heart and an intelligent mind to see it.”

  Nicky sat up straight and yipped in agreement.

  “I’m glad you’re my partner,” Lin told the man. “And my friend.”

  Leonard made a grumbling sound and picked up his shovel to start digging again, but Lin could see that his cheeks had flushed a little from her compliments.

  Lin told Leonard what she’d learned from Anton about Canter and what it had been used for over the decades.

  “A Civil War discharge station, a quarantine station, smallpox, the Spanish Flu, experiments, a radio school, pirate’s treasure. What’s your ghost got to do with that island?” Leonard lifted a rock from the soil and tossed it into one of the wheelbarrows.

>   “I wish I knew,” Lin said as she picked up a shovel. “It was quite a coincidence that Dr. Mitchell had a photograph of Canter on his wall and had even written an article about the experiments.”

  “Is there such a thing as coincidence?” Leonard turned and made eye contact with his partner. “Or were you meant to meet him?”

  Lin’s eyes widened and her heart began to race.

  5

  It was late afternoon when Lin and Viv walked up the granite steps, entered the stately historical museum, and headed for the library section. The historical museum’s librarian, Felix Harper, greeted the young women warmly.

  “How can I help you today?” Felix asked. “What are the two history sleuths looking for?” The man knew almost as much as Anton did about Nantucket history. Felix was tall and thin, had salt and pepper hair and blue eyes, and was always tastefully, yet fashionably dressed with a bit of Nantucket style. Wearing well-tailored tan slacks, and a fitted navy blazer, his crisp white shirt was accented with a yellow bowtie.

  “We’d like to find some information about Canter Island,” Lin told him.

  “Canter Island. What a place.” Felix’s hand moved to straighten his tie. “Someone should make a movie about that island. Real life is stranger than fiction.”

  “Does the library have any information about Canter?” Viv asked.

  “It’s mentioned in a few books we have.” Felix led the young women through the library stacks until he found what he wanted and handed three historical volumes to them. “Not a lot of detail, but some interesting facts.”

  “Is there any information about the people who died on the island?” Lin questioned.

  “Records weren’t well-kept back then or they were lost or misplaced,” Felix said. “Which deaths are you interested in? The smallpox? Spanish Flu? The experiments?”

  “All of those things,” Lin told the librarian.

  Felix cocked his head to the side. “May I ask why?”

  Viv spoke up with a bit of a fib because they certainly couldn’t tell the man Lin could see ghosts and was trying to find out the identity of the latest spirit who’d paid her a visit. “Lin heard a story about a man who died on the island. We can’t remember his name. We’re not sure of the cause of death. I think we’d recall the man’s name if we saw or heard it again so we’re looking for information that might lead us to him.”

  Lin raised an eyebrow at the tale Viv told, but she stayed quiet.

  “We don’t have lists of the people who died on the island,” Felix said. “I don’t know if there are lists elsewhere. I’d be surprised really if there were. There are news articles that mention some deaths. I can point you in the right direction, but it will take some digging on your part to find anything of value.”

  “Is there a list of names of the sailors who volunteered for the experiments done on the island?” Lin asked.

  “I’m sure the researchers kept those lists private and confidential. Come along and I’ll set you up in the library’s news database.” Felix led the way to the bank of computer terminals, turned two of them on, and tapped at the keyboard for a few moments. “Here you are. This is a good place to start. News articles from 1885.”

  Before Lin sat down, she asked, “Have you ever heard of anyone finding treasure on Canter?”

  “Treasure? Like pirate’s buried treasure?” Felix asked with a grin.

  “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  The smile fell from the man’s lips. “Seriously? There are rumors and legends that pirates buried money and jewelry on some of the small area islands, but nothing has ever been found. If there was anything, I’m sure it’s long gone. Discovered, dug up, and silently carried away. I wouldn’t broadcast what I’d found, would you? There would be taxes to pay and besides, I’d want to keep exploring the place in case there was more to be had. I wouldn’t announce my findings. That would only bring other treasure hunters to compete with me.”

  “We read that Captain Kidd left treasure on Canter Island,” Viv said.

  “Well, if he did, it has made someone else a very wealthy person,” Felix told them. “It’s not a big island. The place must have been fully searched by now. There are no records of treasure being discovered there. All you’ll find are minor references to places where pirates may have left some of their bounty.”

  “Do you know if any natives of Nantucket died on Canter Island?” Lin asked.

  “I don’t know off the top of my head.” Felix tapped his index finger to his chin. “Let me check a few databases while you search the old news articles. If I find anything, I’ll bring it to your attention.”

  Lin and Viv thanked the librarian and sat down to work. An hour passed and all they’d found were general references to the Canter Island immigration station, the number of immigrants who were detained there, the number of new monthly smallpox cases, the number of people who had been observed, found not to be infected, and released.

  Lin let out a groan of frustration. “I haven’t found the single name of anyone who was allowed to leave Canter or the name of anyone who was detained. The records must be kept with U.S. Customs and Immigration or the U.S. Health Department, but I doubt they’d release names to a nobody. You must need to be a researcher or a medical doctor to receive information.”

  Viv stared at her computer screen. “I’m reading that in 1886, the number of immigrants processed on Canter Island dramatically increased. That year alone, over fifty-thousand immigrants passed through the station. The boat passage from Europe to the United States took less time than the incubation period for smallpox. That’s one of the reasons people needed to be detained for observation if they came from a port with smallpox. The detention prevented the disease from spreading in Boston and New York, and beyond.”

  “What else do you see?” Lin asked.

  Viv said, “There were three hospitals on Canter and they included observation rooms, fumigating rooms, and bath houses.”

  “It must have been awful to be stuck in those hospitals waiting to see if you had the disease or being afraid you might catch smallpox from the sick patients.” Lin gave an involuntary shiver.

  “Another article mentions that over two-hundred-and-fifty people were buried on Canter. The cemetery is on the east side of the island.”

  “Interesting.” Lin looked lost in thought.

  Viv narrowed her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking about the island cemetery. Maybe we should go there. Look at the graves. See if the ghost shows up there.”

  “No,” Viv said.

  “Why not?”

  “After hearing about all the things that went on in that place, well, it gives me the creeps.”

  “It’s all in the past,” Lin pointed out. “And anyway, good things happened on Canter, too.”

  “Name some.” Viv folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair.

  “Some Civil War soldiers were trained there. After the war, Union soldiers were discharged from there.”

  “Is that all?”

  “The was a radio school there,” Lin grasped for anything positive.

  “That isn’t enough to offset the bad stuff.”

  “If we help this ghost, that would be another point in the column of good things,” Lin said.

  “Let me think about it,” Viv said. “What will we tell John when we ask him to bring us back to the island? What will be our reason for returning? Lin needs to look at the cemetery so she can help a ghost?”

  Lin held her antique horseshoe necklace between her thumb and index finger. “Maybe we should have a talk with John. Tell him about ghosts.”

  Viv almost tipped from her seat. “Really?”

  “Jeff took the unusual news just fine,” Lin said.

  “John isn’t Jeff. John is pragmatic, black and white, he doesn’t believe in things like ghosts. He isn’t open to things he can’t understand.”

  “He just needs to be believe that I can see them,”
Lin said.

  “I don’t think it will go well,” Viv frowned. “I don’t think this is the right time to talk to him.”

  Lin said gently, “When will be the right time?”

  Viv sputtered a few words, and then stopped. She held up her hands in a helpless gesture.

  For the time being, Lin left the subject of telling John about her skills. “We could hire someone to take us to Canter. There are a number of charter boats at the docks.”

  “That’s an idea,” Viv said slowly. “Should we try to find out more before we go? To have more background, to better understand what we see.”

  “Shall we keep digging?” Lin asked.

  When the cousins turned back to the computers to scroll through more articles, Felix came around the stacks wearing a grin.

  “I found the names of two Nantucket natives who died on Canter Island.”

  Lin and Viv whipped around in their seats to face the librarian.

  Felix pulled up a chair in between the young women. “The first one is Jebediah Wallins. He came down with a fever and red spots on his skin and was whisked away to Canter. He died shortly after being sent there.”

  Felix flipped the page of his notebook. “The second was Thomas Ingram. He had fever and body aches and was sent to Canter for observation. A week later he came down with the full-blown disease. He died about two weeks after arriving on the island.”

  “Do you know how old the men were?” Lin hoped one of them was her ghost.

  “Mr. Wallins was sixty-six and Mr. Ingram was fifty-two.”

  Lin’s face fell in disappointment, but thanked the librarian for his efforts.

  “Was smallpox prevalent here on Nantucket during the late 1800s?” Viv asked.

  “With the quarantine station not far away, there weren’t that many cases here, thankfully,” Felix said. “When someone had symptoms, they were taken away to Canter.”

  “Gosh,” Viv said, “that must have felt like a death sentence to the poor person who was hauled off … away to a hospital without your family or friends to help see you through.”