Blooms Bones and Stones Box Set

by Olivia Swift

  “So, we could easily knock it through?” Carlo asked and Dex said that it would be a simple job. They looked at Jez who had a faraway look on his face.

  “What is it?” Marla asked her brother.

  “The feeling of something is very strong in here, and I am being reminded of a story.” He came back to reality and looked at his sister. “What was the story about the woman and the stones?”

  “Oh,” she said after a moment’s thought. “How could I forget that?” She clutched at Corby’s arm. “Dad always said the story was that a woman descendant would solve the mystery of the stones.”

  “What stones?” Corby asked, but no one had an answer. The two friends with Jez had been bringing equipment from the van while this was going on, and he introduced them as Mike and Magoo.

  “Magoo because he is always forgetting stuff.” He laughed, and Magoo himself agreed that he did. “Let’s start in here because we are here,” Jez added, and Mike went away to monitor the screens he had set up in the kitchen. The meters for picking up sound and heat were explained, and he asked them all to be quiet.

  “If there is anyone here,” Jez said out loud, “please come forward. We have recorders that will hear what you say. We are here to help. Please make a sound or do something to let us know you are listening.” Everyone held his or her breath, and suddenly there was a tap. There was a squeak from Corby and a gasp from Becks.

  “Please do that again,” Jez asked ,and to their amazement, the tap came again.

  “It is from that wall that divides the cellar,” Magoo said with the sound equipment in his hand.

  “I’ll go and make sure there is nothing on the other side,” Dex added and went away into the house.

  9

  “Nobody around and nothing to be seen,” Dex reported back, and Jez checked his equipment with Magoo.

  “If there is a spirit person in here, can you answer me, please? Two taps for yes and one for no.” They all waited, and he asked again. This time everyone could hear two distinct taps. “Are you a woman?” They waited again, and there were calls of excitement from everyone as the two taps came again. Magoo held up the voice recorder.

  “Can you speak to us, please? This machine will record it.” Jez asked, and there was a lot of what they call white noise, but no voice could be heard. Jez looked at the rest of them. “We will play it back later and see if there is anything there. Let’s go to the other part of the cellar. As they filed out of the small doorway and into the house, Corby pulled at Carlo’s sleeve and whispered that the pendant was warm when Jez was getting the tapping sounds.

  “Let’s see what happens in the other half of the room,” Carlo replied and held her hand as they went down the stairs into the cellar. It was easy to see with the lights on, but they switched them off when everyone was safely at the bottom. Jez started again, and once more received responses.

  “This is very exciting,” he said as Magoo fixed the light meter that responded to charges in electricity.

  “Can I ask something?” Becks asked, and he said that she was very welcome to.

  “Is there only one spirit person here?” Becks asked aloud, and after a short pause, two taps came in response. “Are you female?” she added, and again there were two taps.

  “That is wonderful,” Jez told her. “Thanks.” And then out loud he asked if the spirit person could come closer. There was another brief pause, and the light meter on the floor started to blink over and over very fast. “Thank you,” Jez added. He moved to the point on the wall where the pendant had heated the most and asked Corby to join him. Before she reached the place, Corby could feel the warmth of the necklace.

  “It’s warm now,” she told him. “And it was warm when you got the tapping replies.”

  “Can you tell us if this turquoise pendant is being affected by your spirit?” Jez asked out loud, and there was no reply. “You ask something,” he said to Corby.

  “But what?” Corby answered, and Becks came to stand beside her.

  “Ask if the name Santana is connected to the necklace,” she whispered. Corby hesitated. It was a strange thing to have to do, but she cleared her throat and felt Carlo take her hand.

  “Hello, spirit lady. Does the name Santana mean anything to you, please?” There were two very loud taps in immediate response. “Is the necklace connected with you?” Corby added and again, two very loud and insistent taps that were now really loud bangs. Corby said the pendant was very hot, and Kim came over to touch it.

  “My goodness, it surely is,” she said and then joined in to ask out loud if the spirit person was named Santana. Another two taps answered this question, and the light meter was blinking so much that it was almost one long and continuous light. Magoo gave Jez the infrared camera and told him to point it at Corby. He gave a low whistle, and the others looked over his shoulder.

  “See, the red is heat,” he explained. “Obviously Corby and Kim have body heat, but there is another energy alongside theirs. See it?”

  “Oh!” Corby exclaimed. “Am I okay?” And Carlo put an arm around her. The others all saw his heat frame go and surround Corby’s and the less-red heat anomaly moved above their heads.

  “Cannot wait to see this played back on the bigger screen,” Magoo said

  “Do you need help?” Jez asked out loud, and there were two faint taps as the heat that floated above their heads faded and disappeared. “She’s gone,” he said. “Let’s go upstairs.” Rob switched on the lights and admitted to himself that it was good to see normality again.

  There was much excited discussion in the kitchen as they all talked at once about what they had heard.

  “Let us just go over this scientifically.” Jez calmed them all down. “Put the video of the infrared onto the monitor, please,” he asked Mike, and they all crowded around. Corby had not seen any of the film because she had been the focus of the camera. Jez pointed out to Corby which figure was hers, and then to the heat source of some sort beside her. “That is not Carlo because here he comes now and puts his arm around you, but the other anomaly is still there and actually moves above your head.”

  “And then disappears,” Corby added and gave a bit of a shiver. “I couldn’t feel anything other than the pendant was very warm.”

  “What did you sense, Jez?” Marla asked her brother, and he said that he felt a female presence was there.

  “But the taps confirmed that.” Meanwhile, Mike had been playing back the sound, wearing headphones and watching the screen. He moved the earpieces and looked at Jez.

  “Listen,” he said and played the soundtrack back. The line on the screen moved around and then suddenly spiked.

  At the same time, a hissing sort of voice which sounded undoubtedly female, said "Complete it."

  He played it again and looked at them. “What did it say?”

  “Complete,” Becks answered, and Marla agreed.

  “Complete it,” Magoo put in, and the others nodded when they heard it again.

  “What does it mean?” Corby asked, but nobody ventured any answers.

  “It was very successful,” Jez told her. “Thanks so much. We should check the rest of the house, but I think we have found everything for the time being.” They followed him from room to room, but no further activity occurred.

  “That was wonderful,” Becks told them and thanked Corby for letting her come and join in. “I would like to do that sort of stuff all of the time.” Magoo nudged Jez, and he told her that they had another one to go to the next week if she would like to give it a try. Her face lit up, and she actually did a little dance. Marla laughed and said it would be good to have female company. They all helped collect the equipment and said their goodbyes. Carly, Dex, Rob, Kim, Carlo, and Corby were left in the kitchen.

  “That was amazing,” Carly admitted. “Whatever the ‘complete it’ meant will show itself in time.”

  “So, shall I get Rob to dig up all of the floors?” Corby wondered, and they all agreed that would be
good to satisfy any curiosity and prove there was no buried treasure.

  “Can you bring a sledgehammer and we’ll knock a doorway through the wall? It will be much easier to bring in the drills and things,” Dex asked Rob. “If that is all right with you.” Rob said it was no problem, and Corby added that it would be good to have an entrance from the outside.

  They locked up and went to their cars.

  “Do you really think that was my great-great-great-great-grandmother?” Corby asked Carlo as they drove away.

  “Stranger things have happened. My mama would know if she were here. She would say that it was meant to be,” he answered and reached across to squeeze her hand. The house has been in the family a very long time.” He glanced across. “If it worries you, we could just put it up for sale and forget the whole thing.”

  She shook her head. “I have to face up to things. I’ve made a new life for myself and proved I can stand on my own two feet. The house was left to me as the descendant. I guess I owe it to Uncle Bill to at least find out what I am supposed to do.” She thought for a while and then asked if he thought it would be best sold once the mystery was solved.

  “I think that if we solve the mystery and give the house a makeover, there are two choices because it is too far away from work to use as a house.” He paused. “You could rent it out or sell. Renting is a lot of work, and there are loads of rules and regulations. Selling would give you a nest egg, and if you’ve done what your uncle wanted, maybe that would be the easiest thing to do.”

  “Thanks,” she answered and reached across to kiss his cheek. “I was thinking the same, but it’s good to hear that you feel the same way.” He went inside to check the house with her and when everything was normal, he drew her toward him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. It had suddenly become the most natural thing in the world to respond to his touch with easy affection.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow to find out when Rob can dig up the floor,” he told her and reluctantly took his leave. “Maybe when the house is finished, we can plan some time together.”

  “That would be lovely,” she answered and then he came back.

  “If you have any auctions planned, I would be happy to tag along.” He took the opportunity of another farewell kiss, and she smiled and told him that she had an auction in mind on her next day off.

  “It’s a date,” he told her.

  She laughed. “I haven’t been on a date since I was a teenager.” She watched him walk to the car, and he waved and waited until she was safely inside before driving away.

  “Maybe there is a life out there somewhere with happiness and a future,” she pondered out loud and fingered the turquoise pendant at her throat. It warmed as if in answer to her thoughts, and on an impulse she asked, “Are you really my great-great-great-great-grandmother?” She smiled at her own silliness for even asking the question and was amazed when there was a sudden flare of heat from the necklace. “Oh my. I don’t even know your name, but I will try and solve the problem of the stones—whatever that might be.” The pendant in her hand warmed again, and the feel of a cobweb brushed against her face. “I love the turquoise-and-silver design. We’ll dig up the floor and see if there are any answers there, and then I’ll make the house look pretty again.” Corby felt the stone against her skin as she locked up the house and settled into her bed.

  10

  Carlo called early in the morning to tell her that Joe had served a notice on the Maddon man, but the special courier found the place empty. It looked like he had taken flight when there was nothing more to gain from staying.

  “Your uncle had been paying him for looking after the place and that would have stopped. I guess he just moved on to greener pastures.”

  “Well, I’m glad he’s gone. That is one less thing to worry about,” Corby answered and said she would call him back when she had spoken to Rob.” At work, she settled her craft area and made sure everything was spick-and-span before going to find Kim.

  “I will make an effort to finish another quilt,” she told the garden center owner. “The patchwork is done. I need to fill and back it.” They talked about other stock, and then she asked when Rob could dig up the cellar floors. “I will pay for it,” she added. “Uncle Bill left money to pay for looking after the house.”

  “You will do no such thing,” Kim told her. “We are all enjoying finding out what is down there. It’s exciting, but we need Dex, Evan, and Jules all there as well to carry away the concrete.” Rob answered his phone and said that the following Monday would work for him.

  “We should all be there late in the afternoon,” he decided, and Corby passed the message on to Carlo. Then he suggested having a meal out later, but she said that she had to work on the quilt but would make a meal if he wanted to come over. She could almost feel his smile over the phone, and they hung up. She sailed through the day with a smile on her face for every customer. After the clearing up was done and the doors locked, Kim came over to say goodbye.

  “You look like the cat that got the cream,” she said with a smile, “and I’m guessing that it’s not the work.” Corby gave her a smile that lit up her whole being and told Kim she was cooking a meal for Carlo and then would try to finish the quilt. Kim laughed.

  “Don’t worry if you don’t have time to do the quilt.” She laughed and was still smiling as she waved at the other staff as well. Corby rushed to the supermarket to buy ingredients to make a decent meal and she bought a ready-made Pavlova for dessert. She raced around the house and changed into jeans and a soft sweater. Carlo arrived with a huge bouquet of flowers and kissed her as he handed them over.

  “Oh my,” she said and felt a tear well up in her eyes. “I cannot remember having beautiful flowers bought for me before.”

  “Not as beautiful as the lady holding them,” he answered gallantly and slipped an arm around her waist as they went inside. She felt her heart flutter as she felt his warmth and heard the tone of his voice. He waited until she put the flowers in water and then took her in his arms. There was no denying the chemistry between them, and when they finally sat down to eat, he smiled across the table. “You are beautiful, Corby,” he told her and saw a slight cloud cross her face. “I know you had a bad time,” he said quickly and reached across for her hand. “Just tell me if anything bothers you.”

  She shook her head. “Nothing you can say or do bothers me,” she answered seriously. “I never knew that things could feel so good.”

  “But?” he prompted and gained a smile.

  “I keep thinking that things are so good that they cannot last. I know it’s silly, but it creeps in sometimes.”

  “Bring the dessert and sit beside me on the sofa. We’ll enjoy it more,” he suggested and that did the trick. She settled beside him with the Pavlova balanced on a knee and leaned against him.

  “I had to stand on my own feet after Deills left and then went to jail. It was hard, but I won, and then the job with Kim, and the surprise inheritance is all so unexpected.” She turned and kissed his cheek. She stretched forward to put the dish on the coffee table, and the soft sweater pulled away from her shoulder. The scar showed before she sat up and the sweater went back into place. Carlo moved the top of it back to show the mark and covered the horror he felt.

  “How did you get the scar?” he asked gently. “Tell me.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he spoke. Corby turned her face, and he saw the tears behind the eyes and the pain that she kept under cover.

  “He hit me with a folded baby buggy when he was drunk,” she answered with a calmness that was firmly held in place. He pulled her close against his chest and spoke into her hair with a whisper.

  “I always thought he was violent but never knew if he hurt you or not.” He kissed her as he spoke. “He will never, ever get to touch you again, believe me. I will always be there.” He uncovered the scar and kissed it gently. The tears did flow down her cheeks at that point, and she let them run. He wiped them away, and they ta
lked about what they would do together until she was over the memories and the fear.

  “I’m glad I told you,” she said, “but it is in the past. He is in jail where he belongs.” The little niggle that he might get out and find her again was pushed away, and she told Carlo about the auction later in the week. They made plans to go and look at what was on offer, and he decided that he would call her on a regular basis to check if everything was well. She did actually make the padding and the backing for the quilt, and with the experience he had with his mom, Carlo helped her stretch and pin the pieces. They held it out between them.

  “Need to finish the overstitch and press it and then it’s done,” Corby said. “I can do that tomorrow.”

  “Love those colors,” Carlo told her. “The golds, browns, and creams are just so good together.” They parted with a plan to meet up for the auction, and he waited until the door was safely locked and she was inside before he drove away and cursed Deills Malvez to the high heavens when no one could hear him swear.

  The next day passed with work, phone calls, and arrangements to meet to take up the floor. Carlo called or texted when she was out of his sight, and they both enjoyed their little conversations. He picked her up after work to go and view the auction and was amazed at the number of things on offer. Corby laughed at him.

  “I go for the little boxes of leftovers,” she said. “They go for a few dollars at the end and often produce little treasures.” She made a note of one or two items that would be worth a bid, and they looked at the large items. There was a coffee table that Carlo had spotted.

  “I really like this. Come and see what you think,” he said, and they viewed the round mahogany, ornate piece of furniture. As she came near the table the pendant at her throat heated up, and her hand reached for it. She stopped and Carlo asked what was the matter.

  “The table is lovely, but as soon as I came near it, the pendant become warm.”