Dying to Celebrate

by Lynn Cahoon

  “Hey, why me?” Matt pulled Darla next to him. “I thought we were in this thing together?”

  “Yeah, not when it comes to dark, damp, creepy places. That’s when you’re my white knight and take care of things for me.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Aren’t Esmeralda and Jake eating?”

  “I told her food was here. She seemed distracted.” I sat with my own plate and started eating. I was more nervous than hungry, but I knew if I didn’t eat now, I’d regret it later.

  “What about Jake?” Greg asked.

  “What about me?” Jake strolled into the living room. He glanced at the table. “I’m starving. Where’s Em?”

  “She’s downstairs in the potions room concocting a spell.” I couldn’t believe I said that sentence with a straight face. “I told her there was food.”

  “That woman will work for days without eating if you let her.” He filled his plate and sat on a chair next to Greg. “I’ll take her a plate after I eat. She won’t like it, but she’ll eat.”

  “So you and Esmeralda grew up together? Were you in a children’s home or a foster situation?” Greg didn’t look at Jake; he focused on his plate.

  “Foster. But it was long term. The family who took us in, well, they had a lot of kids. And a lot of adults around to watch us and help raise us. It was more like a family than a placement. I still remember Thanksgiving at the house. Mama Elliott would roast a turkey and we’d have all this food that others had donated. She could make the best meals out of what people gave us. But on the holidays, the donations became more elaborate.”

  “What was Esmeralda like as a kid?” Darla sat her empty plate down and watched Jake. “I’ve known her for years, but I just can’t imagine her as a little girl.”

  “She was bright and fun and adventuresome. One time when we were out on Bourbon Street, s—”

  “They don’t want to hear about my past.” Esmeralda stood at the door, glaring at Jake. “Besides, your stories always seem to favor you as the hero. I don’t remember our lives being that easy.”

  “Hey, Em. Food’s ready.” He flashed her a grin. “I can always count on you coming in to add a little realism to my tall tales. For some reason, she always knows when I’m talking about her.”

  “It’s my gift.” She crossed the room and filled her plate. “I think I found a clue.”

  “Wait, what?” I almost choked on the bite of chicken I’d taken. “Down in the cellar?”

  “I think the key is in the attic. The spell did a cloak but it’s delicate. It couldn’t be somewhere that people would jostle it or the spell would evaporate. The only place that she didn’t use was the attic.” She tore off a piece of chicken. “This is really good.”

  “You learned all that from a spell.” I was impressed.

  “Well, that and the note in her spell book. She really wasn’t having any luck with the spell so she hid the key upstairs behind a picture.” Esmeralda laughed. “What, you think all my information comes from the other side? Sometimes it’s as easy as reading what’s on a page. Or what’s not.”

  “Okay, we finish eating and then go search the attic.” I grinned. Sometimes stating the obvious made me feel more in control. “We have a plan.”

  It took a while for everyone to get ready. Once we were gathered at the stairs, Greg handed the men flashlights. He looked at me and shrugged. “I only brought four.”

  “So the guys get the flashlights?”

  He grinned as we were the first to go up the stairs. “That way you all will stay close. This is a double date, remember? We should have just rented scary movies and stayed at your house.”

  “But we wouldn’t have found a mystery to solve. Face it, we’re, like, living a Sherlock Holmes story.” I squeezed his hand.

  “Honey, we’re more like the Scooby-Doo gang.” But he squeezed back.

  “Scooby-Dooby-Doo,” Justin crowed from behind us. “I guess I’m Shaggy.”

  “As long as I’m not Velma, I’m cool,” Darla called from the back.

  “Sweetheart, you’ll always be Daphne to me,” Matt crooned.

  I was sure I heard a kiss from the bottom of the stairs. At least people were still having fun this weekend. Even with the weird things going on, everyone seemed like they were having a good time and getting along. Even Esmeralda and Jake.

  “Here we go.” Greg put his hand on the attic door. “You ready?”

  “I don’t think anything’s going to jump out at us, do you?” I pushed through the doorway and screamed. Lifting my hands to brush the offending object away, I realized a huge cobweb had come loose from the ceiling and landed on my face.

  “Jill, are you okay?” Amy rushed into the room and put her hand on my back.

  “Ugh, ugh, ugh. I hate spiders or anything to do with spiders. I told you I needed a flashlight.” My gaze darted over my arms, torso, and legs. “You don’t see a spider on me, do you?”

  “No spider.” Amy brushed something off my shoulder. When she saw me looking doubtful at her, she repeated, “You don’t have a spider on you. There was a cobweb, but it’s gone.”

  “Let’s divide and conquer. Four couples, four walls. First one to find the key gets a dinner out at Lille’s paid for by the other three couples.” Greg pointed to the first wall. “Jill and I will take this one. You all divide up the rest.”

  “We are so going to win that dinner.” Justin shined a light on the wall facing the door. He pulled Amy toward the pool of light. “We claim this area.”

  After everyone got settled, I whispered to Greg, “That was not fair. You know I hate spiders.”

  “I didn’t ask you to go into the attic first. Besides, the cobwebs were there yesterday when we came up here. What did you think you’d find?” He moved boxes away from the wall. “Why don’t you go through those and I’ll see what else is back here?”

  I moved the crib toward the wall and opened the first box. It was filled with antique kitchen items. Bowls, cups, silverware, and cooking utensils I’d never seen before. I pulled a pen out of my back pocket and folded the box back closed. I wrote Kitchen on the top and went on to the next one. This one had more of the same. This must have been the stuff left behind when Maryanne inherited the house. “Darla,” I called across the attic. “You should have Josh appraise some of this stuff. You might get some money out of it rather than just donating it.”

  Darla wiped her forearm over her forehead. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks, Jill. I might just be able to add a second charity to share in the sales proceeds.”

  Leave it to Darla to think of the positive. I would have kept the money to myself. Okay, so I wouldn’t have, but Darla was just so pro charity work sometimes it made me feel guilty for not doing much in that area of my life. The store sponsored a lot of events like books for kids at Christmas, but maybe I should be doing something like serving at the soup kitchen. Or volunteering at the dog shelter. Emma would like that. Of course, then I’d come home smelling like other dogs, and that part, she wouldn’t like at all.

  I decided to check out a few options, maybe around Christmastime. I pulled open another box and hit pay dirt.

  A hand-knit blanket was on the top and when I lifted it off; a pair of old fashion baby shoes were there along with a faded picture and a bottle of baby lotion. I picked up the picture. On the front the writing was faded but I could see Baby Girl Demerit. The baby looked brand new and was in one of those bins at the hospital I’d seen in old movies. I turned the picture over and in darker writing and a different handwriting, it said Ariel Marie Demerit and a date: August 7, 1961. I’d found proof that Ariel not only existed but she had to be Maryanne’s daughter. Glancing at the crib, I wondered what had happened that had made her store the baby items out of sight.

  Chapter 7

  “I found something.” I shook out the blanket and then ran my hand along the bo
ttom of the box. There was only one more thing in the box, a placard that announced the sex, height, and weight of the baby. The card had probably been pink at some time, but age and handling had turned it a dull color. “Something, but no key.”

  The others all gathered round, shining their flashlights to illuminate the few items that had come out of the box. As the evening had worn on, the dim light coming from the few dirt-encased windows was getting dimmer.

  “That looks like a hospital picture. I wonder if it’s the only picture she had of Ariel.” Amy picked up the picture from the edge of the box where I’d sat it. “She had long dark hair for a newborn. And I can’t tell, but her eyes look dark as well.”

  “The little girl in my dream had red, curly hair and green eyes.” I didn’t know if that was what I thought the baby should look like or Maryanne’s dream.

  “It was just a dream, Jill,” Greg said.

  “Babies’ eyes are typically light when they’re born.” Darla ignored the dream discussion. Then as people turned to look at her, she blushed. “That’s what I heard anyway. So we know more about Maryanne. She inherited the house in 1960, moved here, and then got pregnant soon after the move. The baby, Ariel, came the next year, and from the dream, Maryanne gave her up for adoption.”

  “Then why didn’t we find adoption records?” Esmeralda shook her head. “I think it must have been a family adoption, no legal work involved. If that’s true, where did Maryanne come from? The line of her family here had all passed or she wouldn’t have inherited the house.”

  “Another question we can’t answer.” I packed the blanket back in the box and put the other items on top. “Let’s see if we can find that key or anything like a family bible or scrapbook. Maybe that will answer some of these questions.”

  “Better yet would be a diary. Why didn’t she just marry the father? Why hide the baby with family? She apparently wanted to keep it or she wouldn’t have held on to these mementos.” Amy turned back to her search area. “Come on, Justin, let’s see what else we can find.”

  I returned to my search, but with each box filled with kitchen stuff, my hopes dimmed for us to find anything. Maryanne’s secrets were too well hidden and would be torn down with the house in less than a month. I closed the last box and put a note on top for Darla’s use later. Then I stood and brushed off the dust and cobwebs. Greg closed up a box and stacked it near mine. “Nothing?”

  He shook his head. “Just a lot of kitchen stuff I wouldn’t know how to use. Thank God for microwaves. That’s my main tool of choice.”

  “I think that’s every bachelor’s go-to cooking utensil.” Amy came back and stood by me. “Nothing over there. Just a lot of blankets and linens. No baby items in the bunch. But there are some quilts there I would buy in a heartbeat.”

  “Yep, our section was a bust. Great choice, Amy.” Justin came and pulled up a box to use as a chair.

  “Wait, I didn’t choose the wall, you did,” Amy shot back, then saw the gleam in Justin’s eyes. She slapped him on the arm. “You jerk, stop teasing me.”

  “It’s just so easy.” He glanced over to where Matt and Darla had just finished up and were coming over to join the group. “Another one bites the dust?”

  “Literally. I can’t believe how much dust is on everything up here. And it feels gritty, like sand.” Matt shook his head like a dog and Darla took a step away. When he flipped his head back upward, he grinned. “That’s better.”

  “For you maybe. The rest of us have your cooties all over us.” Darla pulled a stool over to sit next to Justin.

  “I don’t have cooties. And what, are we in fifth grade?” Matt leaned down and kissed her, then took his tongue and ran it up the side of Darla’s cheek. “Now you have my cooties.”

  She wiped her face but she was grinning when she gave out a faked cry of disgust. “Do men ever grow up?”

  “I haven’t seen any indications that they do.” I rolled my shoulders. “I guess it’s time to give up and see if Esmeralda can reach the spirit world this evening. I’d like to know what’s in that box.”

  “We could force it open.” Matt’s face brightened. “I have a screwdriver in my car.”

  “We’re locked in, remember?” Jake walked over with a large framed picture of a group of people. “Besides, I found the Demerits. And the key.”

  A large bang sounded from downstairs. We all looked at each other. “If we’re all up here, who’s making noises downstairs?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Greg took a step toward the door. “You all stay here.”

  Jake pushed the frame into Esmeralda’s hands. “I’ll go with you.” He pulled a revolver out from behind his back.

  Greg froze. “I told you to leave that in your car.”

  “Sorry, man. I don’t go anywhere without protection. It’s just not safe.” Jake’s stance tightened and he locked his gaze with Greg. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone.”

  “We’ll talk about this later.” Greg broke eye contact, then stepped toward the door. “Right now, just don’t shoot anyone.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Jake joked, then nodded when Greg turned back to stare at him. “Okay, okay. I get it. Not funny. I’m just here to back you up. If you go down, I’ll be there. Otherwise, I’m just the tag-along.”

  “Fine.” The men left the attic.

  I took a step to follow but Justin grabbed my arm. I tried to struggle out of his grip. “Let go.”

  “No way. Greg would have my hide if I let you go down there before they checked it out. Just let them deal with this for a minute.” Justin let go when we heard Greg’s muffled curse then silence. “Maybe we should go help. Any ready tools around here?”

  “There are kitchen knives in that box.” I pointed to the top box on the pile I’d just finished going through. We each grabbed a small knife and gathered near the door. “Someone has to get out to go get help. Esmeralda, you and Amy aim for the front door. Break the glass if you need to.”

  “I have a spare key on the right fender on my SUV. Amy’s always locking the keys inside.” Justin kissed her quickly on the top of the head. “Be careful and get out of here as fast as possible.”

  “So we have a plan?” I looked at Justin, Matt, and Darla. “We’ll go help Greg and Jake. You guys get help and maybe an EMT. I don’t know if Greg’s hurt or not.”

  As we headed down the stairs, knives at the ready in our hands, we found Greg starting to come upstairs.

  “What in the heck are you doing? Put those knives down. Someone’s going to cut themselves.” He held out a hand. “Give them to me and come down to the living room. We have a visitor.”

  I handed him my knife and, holding him out, looked to see if there were any bloody holes in my boyfriend. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, I’m not hurt, but I am a little annoyed. And I was right, by the way.” He held up the knife. “I can’t believe I’m locked in the house with a bunch of Rambos trying to save the day.”

  “I thought you were hurt.” Relief filled my gut as I felt Justin step behind me.

  “Hold on, lovebirds. No happy reunion yet.” Justin handed Greg his knife. “I take it someone was in the house with us?”

  “Oh, yeah. And you won’t believe who it is.” Greg moved me out of the way and as everyone came down, he collected the knives. He pointed people toward the living room. When it was just the two of us at the bottom of the stairs, he put the knives in a drawer in a hall table and put his hand in mine. “Now, if I could just get that gun from Jake. I mean, it came in handy, I’ll admit, but it still makes me nervous.”

  “Who’s here?” I didn’t even have a guess. Some detective I was.

  He glanced down at me. “I would have figured you had this in the bag, Nancy Drew.”

  I have to admit, it bothered me that I didn’t. Of course, I
still wasn’t sure we were being led around by a ghost of a woman who’d disappeared ten years ago. When I got to the living room, I joined the group standing around Jake, who was holding a gun on an elderly man tied to a chair. He wore a baseball cap over thin curly hair, gray mixed with a faded red.

  “She must have gotten the curl from her father,” I whispered more to myself than anyone else.

  “It wasn’t right, her hiding my child from me. I should have had the right to raise her. I owned her for God’s sake and that witch took her away before I could even see her.” The man stared at me and I realized it was the caretaker. “Just because she pretended she didn’t like me coming over and being friendly. She wanted me, I could tell.”

  “So you raped her and then got mad when she gave the baby up for adoption?” Esmeralda’s voice was cold and hard.

  “Wasn’t no rape. I don’t have to rape women. They throw themselves at me all the time.” With this he made a bucking gesture with his hips. “Come sit on my lap, little girl.”

  “Disgusting.” Darla held up the key and the box. “Should we open this in here or go back into the library where Mr. Awful can’t see what she had hidden?”

  “My fatherly right. You can’t hide stuff from me. I’ve been looking for years for that key. It’s my right.” He jerked in his chair. “That witch wouldn’t tell me when she was alive. And when I pushed her, she kept coming back and moving things around. It’s not fair. Let me see where she hid her.”

  I glanced at Greg and Jake. “You two okay watching him for a few minutes?”

  “Yeah, Toby’s on his way to pick him up and take him to the station. I’d like to have some of this wrapped up so I can get the right charges before I call the district attorney.”

  The man spat on the floor. “You don’t got nothing on me.”

  “You attacked a police officer. You broke into the house. For now, I can hold you for at least a couple of days.” He nodded to the other room. “You all go and find what I believe will keep this guy in jail for the rest of his life.”