by J A Whiting
Viv and Lin both wondered why Linda McQueen couldn’t speak for herself and why she would ever have chosen such an overbearing friend.
Viv walked past Mrs. Perkins brusquely and spoke directly to Linda. “What do you enjoy reading?” The two walked away towards the fiction section of the bookstore.
Mrs. Perkins looked after them for a moment and deciding not to follow, turned to Lin and spoke with a demanding tone to her voice. “How are my front and side gardens coming along?”
Lin didn’t care to be looked down on by the woman so she stood up in order to be at eye level with Mrs. Perkins. “They’re looking very nice. I should be done in two days.”
Mrs. Perkins huffed. “Such small spaces. I’d thought you’d be finished by now.”
“Often the smallest spaces need the most attention,” Lin countered.
“Hmm. Is that so?” The woman glanced around with a bored expression. “I’ll go see what’s keeping Linda. I need to get home.”
Sitting back in her chair, Lin could feel the anger percolating inside of her and she wished she didn’t have to deal with such self-absorbed people. Waiting for Viv to return, she tried to shake off her annoyance.
A sudden sense of exhaustion pushed down on Lin from the combination of the afternoon’s sunning and swimming, being overcome at Mrs. Perkins’s house with alarming feelings, and now having to listen to the tyrannical woman’s unpleasant yammering. She felt like rushing home and falling asleep on the sofa with her sweet little dog.
Lin yawned and as she was about to push up from the table, a shaft of freezing air engulfed her with such speed that her breath caught in her throat. She lifted her eyes to the aisle between the bookshelves and saw the shimmering form of her ghost staring at her. The spirit’s body seemed to brighten and fade as if he was having trouble making his appearance. Worried that he might evaporate, Lin tried to push everything out of her mind so that she was open to whatever might float on the air to her from the ghost.
The spirit’s eyes seemed to fill with tears and his form showed signs of losing its luster. Lin was sure he would disappear before giving her a clue to what he needed, but just as some of his atoms seemed to spark and flare, he turned and looked up at the higher shelf. As he reached his hand out to Lin, the particles of his body popped and sizzled, and then he was gone.
The cold air surrounding Lin was sucked away in an instant and her body began to warm. She felt almost like all of her energy had been sucked away with the freezing air and she stood blinking at the spot where the ghost had stood.
Viv buzzed around the corner. “Those two are gone, thank heavens. What a weird relationship, one is a bossy witch and the other is a passive wimp. I’d be happy if I never ran into either one of them ever again.” Viv noticed the weird way her cousin was standing and hurried over to her. “What happened? Did he show up?”
Lin nodded. Her pale face turned to Viv. “He pointed to the upper shelf.”
Viv took Lin by the arm and steered her to the bookshelf where they both peered up at the books on the next-to-top shelf. “There.” Viv stood on tip-toes and took a book down. “Someone misfiled this book.” She handed it to Lin. “Let’s have a look.”
Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, the two slowly turned the pages scanning each one for any pertinent information.
“Look.” Viv’s voice was excited. “Here are some details on the watch-dog groups.”
They read the passages together and then turned the page.
What she saw in the book caused Lin to jerk backwards and suck in a breath. “Look, Viv. There he is.” She placed her index finger under one of the black and white photographs showing several men standing together.
Viv read the caption. “The men’s names are listed.” She ran her finger over the words. “Here it is. His name is here.” Her voice bubbled with excitement. “His name is William Weston.” Viv turned her eyes to Lin and smiled. “That’s your man.”
14
Lin, Viv, and Jeff sat under the stars sipping Jeff’s homemade sangria on the deck of John’s boat docked in Nantucket town’s harbor. The heat and humidity of the day had been swept away by a soft lovely breeze off the ocean. Jeff had made a variety of appetizers and set them on the table in the center of the chairs so everyone could reach. Lin put a few mini pizzas on a small plate and dug into them. Viv reached for the small squares of spanakopita while Jeff chose a couple of quiche rounds and slices of grilled sausage. John sat next to Viv and he filled his plate with some of everything.
Lin was feeling much better than she had when she’d visited Mrs. Perkins’s mansion in the late afternoon. After learning the name of her ghost at Viv’s bookstore, she went home for a nap and a shower and felt rejuvenated and eager to join her cousin and friends on the boat, despite the late hour. Candles flickered in little jars set around the boat deck illuminating the shadows and creating a pretty atmosphere.
Balancing her plate on her lap, Lin leaned back in her chair for a moment and let out a contented sigh. “This is just what I needed.”
“I agree.” Viv sipped her fruity drink and watched the tourists strolling by on the docks. “We should do this every night … especially after such a weird day.”
“What happened? Why was it weird?” John asked as he reached for more appetizers.
Viv told her boyfriend about their visit to Mrs. Perkins’s mansion and how Lin felt very uncomfortable there and seemed to have an allergic reaction to something in the house. John didn’t know about Lin’s “gifts” so Viv had to attribute her cousin’s feelings of discomfort and alarm to something other than ghosts. Viv also relayed the tale of Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. McQueen’s shopping trip to the bookstore and she did not mince words about what a hag Mrs. Perkins was. “Honestly, that woman. She’s a self-absorbed, overbearing witch. Why Mrs. McQueen puts up with that pompous windbag, I have no idea.”
John popped a mini quiche round into his mouth and mumbled, “Tell us what you really think about her.”
Viv shook her head. “I’m not saying anything that any person who has ever met that woman wouldn’t say.”
Lin was dying to tell Jeff that they’d discovered the name of her ghost, but the news would have to wait until the next day since Jeff had to leave the boat in order to give his sister a lift from town to her house about fifteen minutes away. He gave Lin a kiss and a hug and wished everyone a good night as he headed off the deck and walked away down the docks to his truck.
The conversation turned to the upcoming town festival and Viv talked about running a sidewalk sale at the bookstore the weekend of the festival like she’d done early in the summer. “It was a big success when I did it a couple of months ago.” She smiled sweetly at John. “I just need someone with strong arms to help us move the books outside.”
“I wonder where you’ll find someone like that,” John teased.
Just as the girls were finishing their drinks and preparing to head to their homes, John’s phone buzzed with a text and he reached for it and looked at the screen. “Huh.”
Viv asked what the message was about.
John leaned forward. “It’s my buddy at the police station. He says that the pompous windbag, as she’s known to you,” he glanced at Viv, “has just called the station with a complaint and wants a cruiser sent over to her street.”
“What’s the complaint?” Lin questioned.
“The usual.” John placed his phone on the table. “Noise and commotion behind the Founders Inn and Restaurant.”
Lin and Viv shared a quick look.
“Interesting.” Viv looked at her watch. “Well, I guess we should call it a night. Tomorrow is another early day.”
“As always.” Lin stood up and helped gather the dishes and glasses to take below. When she returned to the deck, Lin thanked John for the nice evening and Viv and John shared a kiss before the girls left the boat for the walk home.
“Care to make a detour?” Viv raised an eyebrow.
“You bet I would.”
; Viv and Lin quickened their pace and weaved around late-night restaurant and bar goers as they made their way up the brick sidewalks of Main Street under the shining streetlamps and took the second turn onto Fairview Street.
“Do you think you’ll see anything?” Viv asked.
Lin’s heart beat sped up the closer they got to their destination. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Let’s hug the shadows.” Viv edged closer to the side of the walkway so as not to be directly under the streetlights.
The cousins slowed as they approached the back of the restaurant building.
“I don’t hear anything.” Viv stopped and listened.
“Let’s get closer.” Lin maneuvered nearer to the lot and when she had a good line of sight, she shrugged. “It’s empty. No one’s here.”
Viv groaned. “Is that woman just dreaming the noise and movement and then calling the police?”
“I don’t think so.” Lin eyed the area, afraid of what she might see.
The cousins walked through the lot to peek into the small ditch that ran along the side of the space where Mrs. Perkins claimed the workers had hidden from the police on previous nights. The ditch was as empty as the lot.
A shaft of bright light shined on the girls and they both jumped and wheeled around. An officer called to them. Lin shaded her eyes from the flashlight and spotted a police cruiser parked at the curb.
“What are you doing there?” the officer called.
“We’re cutting through the lot on our way home.” Viv took a few steps towards the man.
Another officer came up behind the first and the girls were questioned briefly. “You didn’t see any guys around here making a bunch of noise?”
“Nothing. No one was here.” Lin gestured to the street that ran off of Fairview. “We were at the docks earlier and now we’re heading home. We didn’t see anyone here in the lot when we came through.”
The first officer let out a grunt. “Another false alarm. Sorry to bother you.” The men returned to the cruiser and drove away.
Lin and Viv shook their heads and walked out of the lot on their way to the side street that they would follow to get to their homes. As they passed by the house where Mrs. Perkins was staying during renovations on her mansion, a voice called from the upper floor window. “Is that you, Lin Coffin?”
Lin’s heart rate doubled. Looking up, she saw Mrs. Perkins, the woman’s hair a bit askew, leaning out of the window wearing a fluffy robe.
“Did you see the men working in that lot?” Mrs. Perkins demanded.
“No.” Lin stared up at the woman. “We’re just walking home. We’ve only been in the area for a minute.”
They heard Mrs. Perkins let out a few choice curses. “Where did those men run off to?” She pulled her head back inside and stepped further into the room. The girls could see the woman walking away from the window.
Lin stared at the upper floor for a few seconds and then she shrugged. “I guess Mrs. Perkins is done questioning us.”
Viv took hold of Lin’s arm. “Let’s get out of here before she decides to continue the interrogation.” The two scurried away and turned at the corner. “She thinks she sees men working back there.” Viv puffed a bit as they walked up the slight hill. “Why on earth can she see the ghosts, but no one else can?”
An odd sensation of being watched came over Lin as a wave of familiar cool air surrounded her. She stopped short and slowly turned around to look back down the road.
Several blocks away, Lin’s translucent ghost stood at the corner under the golden glow of a streetlamp. He made eye contact with the young woman and bits and pieces of ideas and thoughts swirled in Lin’s head and nearly came together to supply the answers she needed, but then they cart-wheeled away before she could grasp them.
The ghost seemed to weaken from his attempt at silent communication with Lin and she watched with regret as his form grew fainter and fainter and then disappeared.
“It was William Weston.” Hoping he would reappear, Lin gazed at the spot where the ghost had stood. “He was standing down there watching us. He’s gone now.”
“Did he tell you something?” Peering down the road, Viv moved a little closer to Lin.
“I think he did.” Lin gave her cousin a puzzled look. “I just don’t know what it was.”
15
Toweling off her hair from the shower, Lin crossed the kitchen barefoot to remove a can of seltzer from the refrigerator. Pulling the tab on the top of the can, a little whoosh of air was released. The front doorbell rang as Lin took a long sip of the cold liquid. While Nicky woofed and took off for the door to see who had come for a visit, Lin peeked out the front window to see Leonard’s truck parked at the curb.
When she opened the door, the little brown dog performed his welcoming dance around the big man until Leonard laughed and bent to scratch the animal’s chin. Tucked under his right arm, Lin’s business partner carried a rectangular brown box tied up with string.
“Here are those old newspaper articles that Marguerite saved about her ancestors.” Leonard walked through the living room into the kitchen and placed the box on the island. “It smells good in here.”
“There’s a shepherd’s pie in the oven. Viv’s coming for dinner. Want to stay and join us?” Lin offered Leonard a seltzer.
“Naw. I’d have to listen to too much jabbering.” Leonard took a long swallow of the seltzer. “It was way too humid today. I thought I might faint earlier when I was working on the latest client’s yard clearing out the brush.”
Lin chuckled. “I’d like to see you faint.”
“I’m serious.” Leonard took a seat on one of the stools next to the island. “I can’t stand the humidity. I’ve lost my tolerance for it.”
“Must be your advanced age,” Lin teased.
“What’s your excuse then? I heard you complaining about it the other day.”
Lin winked. “You must have heard wrong.” She untied the string that was wrapped around the box. “Have you looked at the articles in here?”
“Only to check the dates and make sure they had some stories about the watch-dog groups.” Leonard drained his can. “I didn’t read them, just scanned them.”
“Any mention of Marguerite’s ancestor, Minister Mullins?”
“I’m sure that story is in the pile.” Leonard went to the fridge for another drink.
Lin lifted the lid and gently removed some of the yellowed newspapers. “Marguerite must have loved island history since she kept all of these articles.”
“That’s only one box of the stuff she kept.” Leonard sat down next to Lin. “I think partly she loved the history and partly she was too guilty to throw out the things that were so carefully handed down to her.” Leonard popped his can open. “The attic is like an old museum. Now I’d feel guilty tossing anything she kept.”
Lin looked at her friend with soft eyes. Leonard could seem gruff and off-putting, but in reality, he was a kind and gentle man with a heart of gold. When her grandfather died and left her the Nantucket cottage, Lin boxed most of his things and put them in storage, and like Leonard with his wife’s belongings, she just couldn’t part with any of her grandfather’s possessions.
“Want to look through this one?” Lin carefully slid one of the old newspapers across the island to Leonard and then began to read over the one on the counter in front of her. “It seems that most of the island population didn’t get involved one way or the other when Prohibition took effect.”
“Most people bought what they wanted quietly and minded their own business.” Leonard turned a page. “As long as groups ran their “businesses” peacefully, folks didn’t want to get involved.” Leonard made air quotations with his fingers when he said the word ‘businesses.’
“That’s understandable.” Lin nodded. “It did seem to divide some of the islanders, though. Police and authorities tried to uphold the law and religious individuals spoke out against the illegal activity. The citizens who formed th
e watch-dog groups must have had similar reasons for getting involved.”
After an hour of poring over the newspapers without finding what she wanted, Lin leaned back and stretched. “Viv will be here soon. Stay and eat dinner with us.”
“I’m meeting a friend in town later.” Leonard closed the paper he was reading and pushed it to the side. “Besides, if I stay, you’ll make me read these articles all night long.”
Lin smiled and stood to check on the pie in the oven. As she got up from her stool, her elbow caught one of the papers and it fluttered to the floor. Picking it up, Lin spotted something at the bottom of the page and her eyes went wide with excitement. “Look at this.” She placed the newspaper on the island counter between her and Leonard. “Look here.” Lin put her finger on one of the black ink sentences in the article.
Leonard squinted at the small type. “William Weston? Who’s he?”
In her delight at finding her ghost’s name in the story, she’d momentarily forgotten that Leonard didn’t know about the ghost. “He was active in the citizens’ groups. I saw a picture of him in one of Anton’s history books.”
“What’s it say about him?”
Lin read quickly, eager to find any tidbit of information about the man. “Oh, listen to this.” She looked up. “William Weston had a different reason for going after the smugglers. His daughter had fallen in love with a member of a smuggling ring and she ran off with him.”
Leonard grunted. “The ole’ man probably had someone better in mind for his daughter than a randy, bad boy smuggler. I guess that was reason enough to join the cause.”
“The article says that some young women were intrigued by the adventure of the smuggling gangs … much to the dismay of their parents.”
“No doubt about that.” Leonard chuckled.
“William Weston told the interviewer that he wanted to find his daughter and curtail the illegal activity around the island.” Something picked at Lin’s skin when she read the words.
“Time for me to head out.” Leonard leaned over to pat Nicky who had pushed up sleepy-eyed from his blanket in the corner when he heard the man preparing to leave. “Keep the papers as long as you want, Coffin. I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early.”
