by J A Whiting
Lin narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Coward.”
Jeff grinned. “In some cases, you bet I am.”
“What will be involved?” Lin asked.
“Tearing out some of the walls, putting in new pipes. The work that needs to be done is going to add to the timeline, that’s for sure.” Jeff shook his head. “I’m sure glad I’m not the project manager.”
“From the few times I’ve seen Mrs. Perkins, it seems that she’s very eager to have the work done so she can move back in.” Lin glanced towards the front door. “I’m done here for the day.” She raised an eyebrow at Jeff. “Maybe it’s a good time to leave.”
“I’ll walk you to your truck.” Jeff helped Lin pack up her tools and carry them to her vehicle which was parked two blocks away towards Main Street. “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“You bet.” Lin slung her canvas bag over her shoulder and the two headed down the sidewalk with the dog trotting behind them. Lin spoke quietly as she told her boyfriend about the previous night’s appearance of the new ghost.
“He just stared at you? He didn’t speak?”
Lin rolled her eyes. “They never speak. I wish they did. It would make things so much easier.”
“How do you know how to help them then?”
Letting out a sigh, Lin shrugged a shoulder. “It can be hard. I’m learning to pay attention to when and where they appear. It’s often a clue. Sometimes it’s very easy to overlook the important subtlety of the appearance. I need to get better at it.”
“Are you afraid of this ghost?” Jeff took hold of Lin’s hand protectively.
“No, I’m never really afraid. I’m uncomfortable, at times, anxious that I’m taking too long to figure things out, but not really afraid. I never feel like I’m in harm’s way or in danger from a ghost.” She let out a nervous chuckle. “Not so far, anyway.”
“I’m glad you told me about your, ah … skill.” Jeff glanced sideways at the brunette walking beside him. “It means a lot to me.”
“I hope you don’t change your mind about that.” Lin smiled up at Jeff and he leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss. Nicky ran a few yards ahead of the couple wagging his little tail.
Lin squeezed Jeff’s hand. “I’m thinking of enlisting you as an assistant ghost investigator.”
As they loaded the tools into the bed of the truck, Jeff winked. “At your service, Ma’am.” He glanced back down the street in the direction of Mrs. Perkins’s house and added, “Just remember what a coward I am when things go wrong.”
6
Lin worked the edging tool around the new flower bed she was creating at the side of the client’s patio and she jumped when Nicky let out a joyful bark. The dog darted to the side of the house to greet Leonard, Lin’s landscaping partner, and when the man bent to give the little dog a pat, the creature started a game of tag by rushing away and then charging back at Leonard. As Leonard’s hearty laugh filled the air, Lin leaned on her tool and stopped to watch the crazy game.
“What’s got into him?” Leonard pretended to grab the animal as he zoomed past.
“He’s happy to see you.” Lin chuckled. “There’s no humidity today so he has lots of energy.”
“He’s about to drain all of my energy.” Leonard was tall, and as a result of years of landscaping work, his shoulders were broad and his arms were strong and muscular. He had a full head of dark hair and despite being in his early sixties, just a few strands of gray showed at his temples.
Nicky stopped his play and pressed against Leonard’s leg while the big man scratched the dog’s back causing one of the canine’s rear legs to lift and pump in reaction to the pleasant itching.
Lin had placed a picnic basket on a blanket under a shade tree. She and Leonard had planned to meet for lunch to finish the landscaping design of the new client’s back lawn and pool area. The two plopped down on the blanket and Lin removed the containers of rice, grilled chicken with mushrooms and onions, and slices of bruschetta from the basket and placed them on the blanket. The dog received a small bowl of plain chicken and he sat at the side of the blanket eagerly chewing the tasty lunch.
While they ate, Lin and Leonard discussed their ideas for the planting design around the pool and talked about some of the new clients who had recently contacted them and which ones they should take on.
“We should think about permanently hiring some help.” Leonard wiped at his mouth with a napkin. “We’re getting more client inquiries than we can handle on our own.”
They weighed the pros and cons of hiring the middle-aged couple who often helped them out on big jobs and then Lin told Leonard about starting on Mrs. Perkins’s front yard. After discussion about the perennials that should be included in both the front and side gardens, Lin brought up the story of the men working late in the small lot behind the inn-restaurant near Mrs. Perkins’s house.
“What’s that about?” Leonard lifted a forkful of rice from his container. “Why would they need to be working all night? Has Mrs. Perkins asked the restaurant owner what’s going on over there?”
Lin nodded and took a sip of her seltzer. “The owner said he doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Leonard’s eyes widened. “How does he not know?”
Shrugging a shoulder Lin said, “Maybe he’s doing something illegal?”
“Huh.” Leonard let out a grunt. After thinking for a minute, he came up with an idea. “Did the woman dream the whole thing?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible. I wondered the same thing.”
“Is this woman just looking for attention? Or did she have too much to drink those nights and just think she saw those men out there?”
A look of surprise crossed over Lin’s face. “I didn’t think of that.” Lin had kept her ability to see ghosts a secret from her business partner, but she often wished that he knew about her skill so that she could freely discuss things with him. “I’m inclined to believe what she’s saying though.”
“Why?”
One side of Lin’s mouth formed a frown. “The woman really seems to believe it. She couldn’t get drunk every night and talk herself into seeing those men.”
“Couldn’t she?” Leonard leaned back against the trunk of the tree and the dog contentedly snuggled next to him. “You know how people can get themselves into a tizzy, an idea goes wild and convinces the person into making a big deal out of it.”
Lin’s forehead scrunched up as she considered Leonard’s statement. Did what Mrs. Perkins say about the late-night workers have nothing to do with the ghost she saw on Fairview Street the other night? Lin couldn’t explain why, but she was pretty sure the occurrences were connected. “I don’t think that’s the case here.”
“What do you think it is then?” Leonard took a swig from his water bottle.
“I don’t know. I wanted to hear what you think.”
Adjusting his back against the tree, Leonard closed his eyes. “I told you what I think.”
“Well, suppose for a moment that your idea is wrong.” Lin smiled. “I realize that you being wrong is probably impossible, but what would your second explanation be?”
Leonard opened one eye. “Ghosts?”
Lin almost dropped her can of seltzer and had to grab at it with both hands to keep it from hitting the blanket. With wide eyes, she stared at the man sitting across from her.
Leonard grinned and pushed himself forward to reach for his water bottle. “I’m kidding, Coffin. Maybe it’s something illegal, like you said.”
Lin let out a soft sigh of relief that Leonard was joking about ghosts. “Like what though? The men are moving big containers.”
Leonard shook his head. “Drugs? Booze?”
A little shiver of apprehension buzzed down Lin’s back when she heard the word booze. “Alcohol? It isn’t Prohibition. What could anyone do that was illegal involving alcohol?”
“Just throwing ideas out there.” Leonard scratched the dog’s ears. “How about mone
y laundering?”
“Wouldn’t money laundering be done online?”
Leonard looked across the green lawn to the thicket of trees lining the rear of the property and watched some butterflies moving among the wildflowers. “What about moving valuables? Like antiques or paintings, statues, antiquities?”
Lin sat up. “Huh. That’s a good idea.” She pondered Leonard’s suggestion wondering if the ghost-men had actually used the building long-ago to store valuable stolen art objects and then shipped them out when it was safe. “Interesting.” Lin thought about the other question that plagued her … why are the ghosts showing up now? What’s happened that has the ghost-men showing up now? And what does the ghost who appeared in the street want from her?
Leonard snapped his fingers. “Come back to Earth, Coffin.”
Lin blinked. “I was just thinking about what you said. It’s a definite possibility.”
“The other possibility is that the woman was in a drunken state and worked herself into a fever-pitch over what she thinks she saw and heard. It’s probably just some confusion.” Leonard stretched. “How could a bunch of guys work all night behind that restaurant and this person is the only one who is concerned about it? Wouldn’t other people in that neighborhood be angry about the ruckus the workers are supposedly making?”
Lin frowned. “Stop being so logical.” She gave the man a playful bop on his leg, but then thought to ask, “Do you know any history of that neighborhood?”
“Not much.” Leonard ran his hand through his hair. “Fairview Street and Tangerine Street are some of the oldest in Nantucket town. When the economy started to boom on the island from whaling, those two streets became the place to be for the newly wealthy. Larger, fancier houses were built for the prosperous merchants and the sea captains and the ship owners.” Leonard eyed Lin. “You know, Coffin, there are supposed to be a lot of ghosts down that way.”
Lin chuckled trying not to seem flustered by the man’s talk of ghosts. “The whole island is supposed to have a lot of ghosts on it.” She looked directly at her landscaping partner. “Is that what you think is going on behind the restaurant? A bunch of ghosts are moving objects around?”
“You never know.” Leonard reached for his backpack, removed a lunchbox sized cooler bag, unzipped it, and took out a plastic container. Popping the top off, he rested the container on the blanket between them. “Since you made the lunch today, I made brownies for dessert. There’s some caramel swirl in the middle of them.”
Lin’s eyes went wide as she lifted one of the brownies from the box and took a bite. “Ohhh.” She moaned at the combined deliciousness of the chocolate and caramel flavors. “I think I’ve gone to Heaven.”
Leonard took a bite of a brownie and rolled his eyes at Lin’s comment. “It’s just a brownie.”
“Oh, no, it isn’t.” Lin was shaking her head. “This is so much more than a brownie.” Reaching into the box for a second one, Lin said, “I told you this before, but I think you’ve made a career mistake. You should open a bakery.”
Leonard pushed himself up off the blanket. “And I’ve told you before, I like being outside.” He scooped his things off the blanket and gave the dog another scratch behind the ears.
“Maybe you could open a food cart. You know, drive around the island selling your bakery goods.” Lin folded the blanket.
Leonard scowled. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Lin laughed. “No, but maybe we could expand from landscaping into baked goods.”
The big man ignored his partner’s jabbering. “I’m heading over to the Millard’s place. They’re having a wedding there next weekend. They want more flowers planted.”
“Tonight, I’ll finish up the design sketches for the garden we’re putting in around the pool.” Lin pointed to the grassy portion of the yard to the left of the in-ground swimming pool.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Leonard started for the front of the house with Nicky walking him to his truck when the man stopped suddenly and turned back to Lin with an expression of concern on his face. He hesitated for a moment.
“What?” Lin asked.
“I don’t know.” Leonard shrugged. “Never mind.”
“What is it?” Lin insisted.
Leonard gave another shrug, but then he blurted out, “It’s nothing. I don’t know, I…. Just be careful down on Fairview Street.”
As her partner wheeled and walked quickly around the corner of the house, a cold chill traveled down Lin’s spine.
7
“And then he told me to be careful on Fairview Street.” Lin walked beside Viv, the two wheeling their bicycles down Viv’s driveway to the shed. The cousins had ridden a ten-mile loop on the island bike paths before returning home to make dinner.
Her hands on the handlebars of the bike, Viv used her arm to wipe some sweat from her forehead. There was a quiver in her voice when she commented on Lin’s statement. “He did? But, why? Why did Leonard warn you to be careful?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think Leonard even knows why he said it.” Lin leaned her bike against the side of the wood shed. Leonard had some unexplainable sixth sense that alerted him whenever Lin was in danger and several times his premonition had kept her from harm.
“Oh, gosh.” Viv kicked off her bike shoes and leaned down to pick them up. “Do you think that ghost you saw down on Fairview Street the other night is dangerous?”
Lin removed her water bottle from the metal holder on the bicycle frame. “I feel uneasy when I think about being down there on the street, but I can’t tell whether it’s the ghost or something else that’s the reason for the feeling.”
Viv threaded her arm through her cousin’s and led her to the deck off the rear of her Cape-style house. “You need to be careful. Don’t go there alone. Ever. Bring one of us with you. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night.”
Lin groaned. “Nothing will happen to me.”
“Humor me.” Viv opened the back door and Lin followed her to the kitchen. Nicky ran to greet the cousins as they entered the house, and Queenie, stretching her back as she woke from a nap, padded over and rubbed against the girls’ legs.
“You wouldn’t be afraid to go down there with me?” Lin raised an eyebrow at Viv as she patted the dog and cat.
“Well, I might be cautious about it.” Viv opened the refrigerator door. “You could take Jeff with you, or maybe, Anton. You can call on me last.”
“Thanks.” Lin chuckled. “I was thinking of going back down there tonight.”
Holding a long loaf of French bread, Viv turned around and gave Lin the eye. “Really? Why?”
“To figure things out.” Lin removed a container of soup from the fridge. “The ghost-men didn’t show themselves when we were there last. Why didn’t they? Why allow Mrs. Perkins to see them, but not me?”
“Do you think you aren’t supposed to see them? I mean, I never see them, but I thought maybe I might because Mrs. Perkins could see them.” Viv’s eyes widened. “Oh. Does Mrs. Perkins have the same ability to see ghosts that you do? If she does, then why do they show themselves to her, but not to you?” Viv cocked her head. “Nobody else in that neighborhood seems to be bothered by the noise the workers make late at night.” She placed the bread loaf on the cutting board and started to slice it. “Is that because the ghosts don’t show themselves to any other people on that street?”
Lin removed lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots from the refrigerator’s vegetable bin. “Those are interesting observations. What could be the reason they would hide from everyone but Mrs. Perkins? Why would only Mrs. Perkins be able to see them?”
Viv sprinkled olive oil into a frying pan and placed the slices of bread into the pan to brown them. “It has to be a clue. Is the ghost you saw the other night part of the group of those workmen or is he a lone spirit?”
“I get the feeling that he’s not part of the group, but is related somehow. I feel like he’s separate from them, but that t
hose ghost-men have something to do with his appearance.”
“Okay, so if he isn’t part of the group, then the theory that the workmen are only seen by Mrs. Perkins holds true.” Viv used tongs to turn the bread slices. “It’s not very clear is it? These ghosts need to speak up, not just stand there staring at you. It’s so annoying.”
Lin chuckled as she stood next to the stove using a wooden spoon to stir corn chowder in a pot. “It’s not how ghosts operate. At least, not my ghosts.”
Viv spun around. “Your ghosts. Those ghost-workmen may not operate the same way as your ghosts. Your ghosts have never tried to hurt you. Your ghosts want help with something. What do these workmen want?”
Lin realized that she had been assuming that all ghosts behaved in the same way. Her cousin’s observations sent a flicker of nervousness through her body. Maybe all ghosts weren’t benevolent. Maybe all ghosts didn’t just want someone’s help. The thought chilled Lin.
Viv used the tongs like a baton to emphasize her words by poking the air with them. “That’s a reason you need to be careful with these new ghosts. Who knows what they want? Who knows what they’re up to? Who knows what they might do?”
Lin swallowed hard. “You’re right. We need to figure out what’s going on.”
Viv straightened up. “You agree with me?”
“Yes. The pattern is different this time. I don’t see the ghosts that Mrs. Perkins can see.”
“Claims to see.” Viv removed the slices of French bread and added mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and olive oil to the pan. “Maybe she’s making it up. Maybe she’s hallucinating… or she might be drunk and thinks she sees men working.”
Lin used a ladle to pour the chowder into two bowls. “If Mrs. Perkins is making this whole thing up, then why did a ghost show himself to me right near the restaurant lot? It would be too much of a coincidence.”
“That’s true.” Viv added a bit of cream to the pan and stirred. When the mixture was warmed through, she spooned some onto each slice of bread and placed the slices on a platter. “More research needs to be done.”
