Madison Johns - Agnes Barton 02 - Grannies, Guns and Ghosts

by Madison Johns

  “The waves were certainly coming in fast,” I told Eleanor. “I’m sorry for being an unbeliever.”

  “Did you smell the smoke, Aggie?”

  “I must admit I did. I think the whole town did.”

  “Who would have thunk it—a real ghost ship right here in Tawas.”

  “Not me that’s for sure.” I paused. “But you know how my mind works overtime, I just wonder if this could be a farce. How many sightings have there been lately?”

  “Well, since you were busy, the ship has been sighted five times.”

  “Well now that there’s a pair of ghost hunters in town, this might just prove to be an exciting summer.”

  I read the initials on the back of the ghost hunter’s black shirts, G.A.S.P. I started laughing out loud.

  “What’s so dang funny, Aggie?”

  “Did you read the initials on the back of their shirts, G.A.S.P. Gasp.”

  El craned her neck and smirked. “I wonder what it stands for?”

  I motioned to one of the ghosty hunters and he came over. “I’m sorry, but can you tell me what G.A.S.P. means?”

  “Certainly,” he cleared his throat at our all black apparel. “Ghost Association Special Police.”

  I laughed out loud at that. “You do know it spells gasp, right?”

  “Certainly ma’am.” He leaned in, “Are you a couple of cat burglars?”

  “Nope,” El said. “I haven’t stolen a cat yet.”

  “Something wrong with how we’re dressed, young man?” I asked with a serious voice.

  “N-No o-of course not. It’s just that you’re all dressed in dark clothing and sitting practically in the dark.”

  “Good, now I won’t have to tell you that your hair looks like it has grown wings.” It was true though, the sides of his black hair stuck out.

  He patted his head. “It’s supposed to look that way.”

  “Really, exactly just what kind of hairdo is that?”

  “It doesn’t really have a name.”

  “I’d call it a mess,” El snickered. “Would you like to borrow my brush?”

  “Excuse my friend,” I changed the subject. “Do you have a card? I mean in case we run into a ghost.”

  He handed me a card with the words G.A.S.P. and a picture of a ghost. How unoriginal.

  My eyes widened. “Do you currently have an APB out for any ghosts in particular or just one?”

  He stared in silence.

  El shook her head. “Ghost police indeed.”

  “Seriously, will there also be a photo of the ghosts on the most wanted board at the post office.”

  “Good one, Aggie, call 1-800-Gasp if you see this orb.”

  “Very funny, even for a couple of old broads.”

  Eleanor rummaged in her purse.

  I shook my head. “Oh great, she’s going for her gun.”

  The young ghost hunter darted away, in his haste he tripped on a chair, and landed on top of a table full of drinks. As he slid to the floor, a group of girls began to beat him about the head with their purses. “Look what you did to my dress?” one shouted. “You clumsy fool!”

  The crowd backed away from El and I. “I was only looking for a tissue!” El declared.

  I shrugged. “False alarm, sorry folks,” I reassured the crowd.

  Sheriff Peterson strode toward us with Stacey chasing after him. “Sorry, Agnes,” she said.

  Peterson gave her a hard stare. “Friend of yours?” He gestured in Stacey’s direction. “Could you call her off, please,” he said between gritted teeth.

  “Depends,” El twiddled her fingers. “You plannin’ to harass us?”

  “Not if you call off your friend. You know I’m married. If my wife hears about this one I’m in deep shit.”

  I smiled. “I’d hate be causing you any grief, Peterson. I’m just trying to do my job same as you.”

  “Oh, who hired you?”

  El raised her index finger in the air. “See that’s the thing. We were never actually hired by anyone.”

  “We did receive a phone call from a concerned citizen who informed us about Herman falling to his death.” I smiled. It shouldn’t be a mystery why I was investigating a murder in my own town, it should be expected.

  “Concerned citizens should be calling the police, not you two.”

  “So who locked the place up?” I asked. “I mean I couldn’t help but hear that the Butler Mansion was locked up.”

  “Happened to hear?” He snorted. “That’s rich. Please tell me how two old coots like you can hear so dang well? Why can’t you have hearing issues like the rest of the old folks?”

  Eleanor with one hand on her hip took to tapping her foot. “Oh, but she does have hearing problems, she hears what she wants.”

  “I what?”

  “Tell me something I didn’t know.” He yawned. “I can’t tell you who might have locked up the Butler Mansion, but there is a court hearing about it tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff.”

  He nodded and seemed a little too cocky, but whatever the case was, at least he shared some info with us. He strode away and I stopped Stacey from following.

  “Aww, I was just starting to enjoy myself,” Stacey frowned.

  “He’s a married man didn’t you just hear,” El huffed. “But Trooper Sales on the other hand is quite available.”

  I frowned when I noticed Sales across the room with a slim brunette. My granddaughter! “Why that snake in the grass!”

  El stopped me from racing right over there. “Aggie, calm down. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  I jerked my arm away and approached the couple. Sales eyes widened as did Sophia’s.

  She laughed nervously. “Gramms.” She held a beer bottle tightly in her right hand.

  I stared at her startled expression. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes, we just came from a run on the beach.”

  They both wore sweaty tees, shorts, and sneakers. “Since when do you drink beer?”

  From between gritted teeth, “Gramms, you’re embarrassing me.”

  “Aggie, let’s leave the kids alone. I’m tired,” El whined.

  “She’s a kid, he’s far from one.” I muttered as I walked through the bar and outside. When we made the turn toward El’s place, “I can’t believe they were there, together.”

  “Aggie, she’s over twenty-five, let it go. Plus, after all she’s been through.”

  I glared at her, tears running down my face. “I’m not talking about that, ever you hear.”

  “I’m not asking you to, dear, but she needs a friend and at least Sales is an honorable man. He’s not gonna cut out of line.”

  “And what if he does,” I sniffled.

  “I’m sure Sophia can handle herself, you need to cut the apron strings.”

  “It would be so much easier if only my daughter Martha was here.”

  El frowned. “Where is she anyhow? I mean ever since that whole business with Sophia, she hasn’t been in contact with you.”

  “I tried numerous times to contact her, but it’s like she just doesn’t want anything to do with me. If Sophia has been in contact with her, it’s beyond me. She didn’t answer when I asked her at the hospital.”

  “True, Aggie, but I wonder if she just can’t bring herself to talk about it.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. When Martha was a child we were so close and now I don’t even know where my baby is,” I cried.

  “So you’re saying the great investigator hasn’t figured out how to find her missing daughter?”

  “She’s not missing, she just chooses to stay away. I’m not sure if she even knows that Sophia is safe and sound.” How could Martha have stayed away from her own daughter? I could deal with my own pain, well, sort of.

  I made the turn into the driveway, followed El into her house, and passed out on her lumpy couch with one thought in my mind, I’m gonna kill Sales if he lays one hand on my granddaughte
r!

  Chapter Eleven

  When I woke up Eleanor was in the kitchen singing to Hank Williams, coffee mug in one hand and tongs in the other as she made breakfast. I enjoyed the fragrance of bacon and eggs as it lingered in the air. I made my way into the bathroom and when I came out, El had a cup of coffee poured into my favorite Hello Kitty mug.

  I poured in vanilla creamer and swung my hips a little at the music.

  “I know you’re not dancing to Hank Williams. You hate him, Aggie.”

  “Sure do, but I need to get my body moving after sleeping on your lumpy couch all night.”

  Thump.

  “What is that?” I asked as I walked to the patio door. The sky was grey with a few rays of sunlight peeking out, and the lake was calm.

  El sipped her coffee, “That’s Rattail.”

  There was a squirrel scratching at the door. “Seriously, didn’t squirrels get you into enough trouble last year?”

  “He’s a good squirrel and my pet.”

  She opened the door and I stared when the little bugger ran into the house and climbed on the counter. El pulled a dish from the cupboard and filled it with peanuts.

  “You’re crazy. You can’t let a squirrel in the house.”

  “Why not? I’ve had far worse in this house before, like Mr. Wilson.” Her eyes twinkled.

  “So you two really called it quits?”

  “We were never a couple, Aggie. More of an arrangement really. He could make one hell of a tuna casserole.”

  “And now he’s making it for the retired school teacher.”

  “Just like your Andrew is doing whatever with that woman that we don’t know if he is or isn’t married to.”

  Ouch. “Things change.”

  El laughed at that. “I wouldn’t give up on that man just yet old girl. He still has eyes for you.”

  I sipped my coffee. “Maybe.” I told myself to quit thinking about him, but so far no go. “He’s up to something though. He almost seemed as concerned about Betty Lou as we are. I wonder why?”

  “It might be worth checking out,” El pointed out as she moved to wash the dishes in the sink.

  I took a shower and changed into sweats that I had left at El’s in case I spent the night here, or drank too much to drive home.

  When El had changed into a green crop pants and matching tee with a dragonfly in sequins, we left for my Winnebago.

  When I arrived home, Duchess attacked me on sight, and I made coffee out of habit. “Poor baby missed Mommy?” She dove out the door as Eleanor walked in. “Eleanor, you let her out.”

  “She let her own self out, slipped right through the door.” She stared at Duchess’ empty dish. “She might have to catch her own dinner, it looks like her food is all gone.”

  I frowned and ran out the door in search of Duchess just as a paneled station wagon drove in.

  “Oh my,” Eleanor said. “Were you expecting company?”

  “Maybe they are in the wrong place.” I shifted my eyes over to the gypsy’s campsite, but not a soul was there.

  “Hi, Mom,” a woman said as she walked toward me.

  “Oh my,” I slumped to the ground.

  “Oh no!” Are you okay, Aggie?” El asked.

  I nodded, too shocked for words. Of all the dumb coincidences… “Martha?” My mouth hung open not just at her being here, but at her attire.

  She wore a skin-tight jungle print ensemble that looked like it was stripped from the seventies, just like her station wagon. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and red sunglasses covered her eyes.

  Eleanor belly laughed. “I could almost guess you were Agnes’ daughter. I bet you shop at the same stores.”

  “Where have you been?” I asked. “I have tried calling you. Does Sophia know you’re here?” Tears filled my eyes.

  That took the steam out of Martha’s sails. “Well no, I mean, I did get some messages, but I never stayed in one place too long and I seem to get everything so messed up.” She panted. “I thought it best to just show on up and see what gives.”

  I shook my head and struggled to my feet with El’s help. “How did you find me?”

  “I was pulled over for speeding and when I told the sheriff who I was, he gave me an escort.”

  “Really? That was kind of him.” I looked over Martha’s shoulder and sure enough the sheriff was taking in the scene with much amusement. I nodded and ignored him.

  “Well what you waiting for, come on in,” El suggested.

  I rolled my eyes at this point. I wasn’t so sure I wanted Martha in my trailer. It looked like she had all her stuff packed into her wagon as it was.

  “No sense staying out here and being gawked at.” I gave the sheriff a quick wave of the hand and led the way inside.

  Martha’s eyes widened as she walked inside. “Mom, I had no idea we had such similar tastes.”

  El snorted. “Really? Purple is your favorite color too?”

  Martha swung her hips. “What can I say, I like it wild and loud.”

  I about swallowed my tongue and changed the subject. “What happened to your husband?”

  “Mom, that is a long story and I don’t think you wanna hear all the messy details.” Her eyes darted toward Eleanor.

  “I do,” El said. “I love juicy details.” She rubbed her hands together.

  I rolled my eyes at that. “If Martha doesn’t care to tell me she doesn’t have to.”

  “Don’t listen to her. Get it off your chest, Martha.” El proceeded to pour coffee into a cup and offered it to Martha. “Don’t spare any details. As you might imagine, it would be quite hard to shock me.”

  “That much is true, El, but I barely survived your stories.” I nudged El to hush, I really didn’t want to know and something told me it was going to be more information than I cared to know.

  Martha hunkered down on the hot pink couch, feeling the fabric for Lord knows what reason. “Well my husband, Johnny West, was what you’d call pretty straight-laced, preacher of a Baptist church if you can believe that.”

  “I recall that much,” I said.

  Martha poured creamer into her coffee while under the watchful eye of both El and I.

  “Yup, she’s your daughter all right.”

  “I’ve never known Mom to even drink coffee.”

  “You also haven’t seen me in ten years. When you dropped Sophia off for the summer, you hightailed it out of here so quick I would have thought the Devil was chasing you.”

  “I’m awful sorry about that, but my life was pretty chaotic back then.”

  “Unlike now I suppose.”

  Ignoring the barb. “Like I was saying, after I married Johnny, I got pregnant with Sophia real quick-like and he wasn’t too happy about that one. For all appearances-sake he was a model husband.”

  “Aren’t they all,” El laughed.

  “You got that one right, old girl. Preacher man had roaming hands.”

  “There seems to be a lot of that going around. So what did you do?” El asked, obviously trying to extract every seedy detail.

  “Not much I could do,” She sighed. “I tried my best to act the part of dutiful wife and mother. I focused myself on raising Sophia the best I could, but truth be known, I hated all that fire and brimstone preaching.”

  “Plus, it was based on a lie,” I added.

  “Yes, one of the reasons I sent Sophia to spend the summers with you. I knew you’d be a good influence on her.”

  “Thanks, I really enjoyed those summers with Sophia.” I wiped a tear away thinking about all the days with Sophia on the beach, gardening, and fishing.

  El leaned forward. “Are you still married to the no good son of a—”

  “El!” I shouted. “That’s none of our business.”

  “When Sophia left for college, the whole cheating business hit the airwaves. We divorced not long afterward, and I just hightailed it out of there.” She frowned. “I knew I should have told you what was going on, but I was in my o
wn private hell. I went down to South America and did some missionary work for awhile, but I met another roaming hand man down there that had a mind to put me into the missionary position, so I left back to the states.”

  “Some men,” El gasped. “So what did you do then, for money I mean?”

  I gritted my teeth. “El, please leave this alone.”

  “Aggie, it’s not like I was asking her if she was a hooker!” El laughed. “Nothing wrong with being a hooker, why back in the day—”

  “You’re so incorrigible, El.” I turned to Martha. “She’s just kidding.”

  Martha continued on, “I just roamed from town to town, most resorts will hire you and give you room and board.” She paused. “I got back in touch with a few friends and they told me about Sophia and that you left numerous messages.”

  “So you weren’t aware that your daughter was even missing for a whole year?” El asked in astonishment.

  “No, well, I-I left right after she went off to college.”

  I narrowed my eyes. It was not the reaction I was expecting. “I’m not sure what to make of this story.”

  “So I’m not the best mom on the planet, you have me there, but it’s not all been on my end you know. Sophia was quite upset when her father and I divorced you see.”

  I folded my arms across my chest and took the role of a disappointed mother. “I wish I could see, truth is that Sophia never mentioned anything about the divorce, if there was one that is.”

  “Think what you like. Do you know how I can find her. I think it’s time I reconnected with my little girl.”

  “She’s no girl anymore, she’s a woman and I’ll have to run this by her before I give you any info.”

  She gasped. “Thanks a lot!”

  “You just can’t show up on someone’s door after all these years and expect to be welcomed with open arms.”

  I opened the door just then as Duchess came up to the door. When the door closed, I saw that Duchess had something in her mouth. Another dang mouse! “Duchess, don’t you dare let that thing lose in here.” She looked up at me, defiance in her eyes and promptly placed it on the floor. I watched the mouse dart away and practically groaned. “I have half a mind to take you to the animal shelter.” I shook a fist.