The Haunted Past

by J A Whiting

  Heather looked to Leonard. “Are we still on for dinner at my house tomorrow?”

  The man smiled and gave a nod. “I’ll be there. I’ll bring some craft beer and I’m making a cake.”

  “Wonderful. You’re the best baker.” Heather gave a him a big smile.

  “I’ve told him a million times he made the wrong career choice,” Lin teased. “He should have been a pastry chef.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow evening,” Leonard told his new girlfriend.

  Waving their hands goodbye, Heather and her niece drove away down the street.

  “Things are going well I see.” Lin looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye.

  “Mm-hmm.” Leonard heaved one of the bushes into the wheelbarrow.

  “What does that noise mean? It’s going great? It’s okay? I like her?”

  “I’m not discussing my dating life.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, if not for me, you’d be sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself every night,” Lin grumped. “I deserve updates every now and then.”

  Leonard was silent as he pushed the wheelbarrow to the rear yard with Lin jogging after him carrying some tools. “Oh, no, you don’t. You aren’t allowed to ignore my questions.”

  Nicky trotted along behind wagging his tiny tail.

  “You mean I’m not allowed to ignore your nagging.”

  “Call it what you will.” Lin put the shovel on the grass near the new bed of flowering bushes they were creating for the homeowner. “You have to give me something … I care about you. I need to know how things are going.”

  Leonard set the bush down and stretched his back. “I like her. She’s nice. I enjoy her company.”

  Lin’s face was triumphant as she pumped her fist in the air. “I knew it.”

  “You did not.” Leonard pushed the wheelbarrow back to the truck.

  “Yes, I did. I knew she was right for you.” A wide grin spread over Lin’s face. “I knew you’d have fun together.”

  “Now you’re a psychic?” Leonard glanced over his shoulder. “I thought you could only see ghosts.”

  “I have many talents.” Lin lifted another hydrangea into the barrow.

  “Yeah, I know.” Leonard used the back of his hand to wipe at some perspiration on his forehead. “Nagging being one of them.”

  Nicky plopped on the grass in the shade and while Lin and Leonard dug the holes in the new border, the conversation shifted back to the antique table.

  “So do you think the table was bumping around because there’s a spirit trapped in it?” Leonard was still skeptical.

  “There isn’t a ghost trapped in it. A ghost is using it to send a message.” Lin leaned on the shovel.

  “What’s the message?”

  “The name. Ezra Cooper.”

  “Is that the ghost’s name or is it a name that means something to him?”

  Lin stopped working for a second. “I don’t know. My initial thought was that the name was the ghost’s, but maybe that’s wrong. Maybe the name doesn’t belong to the spirit. Maybe he wants me to investigate something about a man named Ezra Cooper.”

  “Keep an open mind.”

  Lin tamped soil around the newly-planted bush. “So you no longer think the table tipping was bunk?”

  “I didn’t say that, but at least, you got a name from your parlor game,” Leonard told her. “See where it all leads. You might want to try the game again. The ghost might give you more than just a name … he might decide to give you the reason for his communication.”

  “I’ve never been that lucky.” Lin sighed. “Viv always asks why the spirits don’t come right out and tell me what they want. Why do they only hint at things?”

  “She’s got a point.”

  “She sure does. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to communicate with ghosts mentally. On the last case we worked on, I received a message from Sebastian without him verbalizing it. I heard it in my mind. Maybe that ability will expand one day.”

  Sebastian Coffin was an early settler of Nantucket and Lin was one of his descendants. He and his wife, Emily, sometimes appeared to Lin in their spirit forms to warn her of something or to hint at what she needed to look for when helping a ghost.

  “Maybe you and I will learn to communicate like that. I’ll send you a sentence that I’m thinking about and you’ll receive it in your head,” Leonard said.

  “That would be cool,” Lin smiled.

  “What’s Tim Pierce like?” Lifting the next plant, Leonard eased it into one of the freshly-dug holes.

  “He’s in his early thirties, personable, bright. He seems nice. He owns an architectural firm so he’ll have to travel to Hyannis and Boston once in a while for meetings.”

  “He inherited the Colonial house?”

  Lin told her partner that Tim inherited the house from his grandfather. “Tim’s dad didn’t want the house so Tim was the lucky recipient.”

  “How far back do his ancestors go on the island?” Leonard asked.

  “Just to the grandfather I think. Tim’s family wasn’t one of the early settlers of Nantucket. The grandfather moved here and purchased the house. He didn’t inherit it from anyone.” Lin cocked her head. “Why do you ask?”

  Leonard gave a shrug. “I was wondering if Tim is related to the ghost who’s sending you messages through a table.”

  “He couldn’t be, could he?”

  “It all depends on where the ghost is from. If he’s from the island, then he’s probably not related to Tim since he’s only the second member of his family to own the Colonial house. If the ghost is from elsewhere, I guess it’s possible for him and Tim to be related somehow.”

  Lin’s forehead creased in thought. “We’ll have to find out who the ghost is, who Ezra Cooper is, and whether or not Tim or Ezra has a connection to the house. My guess is that one of them has some sort of tie to the house.”

  “Why is there suddenly activity around the house?” Leonard questioned. “What’s happened to set the ghost off?”

  “Robert Snow told me that there’s always been some activity with the antique table around the time the daffodils bloom, but that it’s been some minor jiggling and shaking. This year was different.”

  “Is it because the grandfather passed away and now there’s a new owner?”

  “The grandfather’s will stipulated that either his son or his grandson could inherit the house.”

  “But maybe this ghost, whoever he is, isn’t happy about Tim being the owner.”

  “That could be.” Lin lifted the shovel. “I guess I have some digging to do.”

  “That’s right, Coffin.” Leonard chuckled. “Both here in the garden, and in the library.”

  5

  It was late afternoon when Lin and Viv entered the stately historical museum and headed for the library section at the back of the building. The museum’s librarian, Felix Harper, greeted Lin and Viv.

  “Planning on doing some research today?” Felix, an expert on Nantucket history, was tall and thin, with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. The man took fashion seriously and was always dressed in stylish, tailored clothes. He wore gray slacks, a crisp black and white striped shirt, and a fitted black suit jacket.

  “We’re trying to find some information on a man named Ezra Cooper. He lived on-island in the 1700s,” Lin told the librarian. “We don’t have any other details about him.”

  “Follow me and I’ll set you up on the computers. I’ll roll over a fiche machine in case you need older records than what’s been uploaded online.” Felix led the way to the long tables with a bank of computers lined up on one of them.

  The cousins settled in for what they expected to be a long session of searching for any material that mentioned Ezra Cooper.

  “Where should we start?” Viv asked. “We don’t have a specific date. We’re only guessing the ghost is from the 1700s.”

  “Let’s do a search on the man’s name and include the word, Nantucket.” Lin’s fingers
flew over the keyboard, and they waited for the search results to display. When Lin clicked on one of the entries, her face lit up. “Look. Here’s something.”

  “An obituary?” Viv was shocked to see results so quickly in their search. “What does it say?”

  Lin summarized. “The date of the entry is May 27, 1781. Ezra Cooper, a mason, passed away last week at the age of twenty-eight. His wife, Abigail, died the year before at the age of twenty-four on April 25. That’s all that’s written.” Lin sat straight. “April 25. That’s daffodil time.”

  Viv’s face showed understanding. “That must be why the table shakes around the time of the Daffodil Festival. Does the entry state the causes of the couple’s deaths?”

  Lin glanced back to the screen. “No. Just the names, dates, and ages. That’s it.”

  “Is there a way to find out more?” Viv asked.

  “We can ask Felix,” Lin suggested.

  Felix bustled over and took a look at what Lin had found. He leaned against the table and began to type. “There are some ledgers that have been put online recently. We might find a bit more detail.” In a few seconds, Felix said, “Here we are. Let’s see.”

  Lin tried to look over his shoulder.

  “Abigail Cooper died as a result of a fall,” Felix said.

  Viv asked, “A fall? What kind of a fall?”

  “It doesn’t say.”

  “What about Ezra?” Lin asked.

  Felix sighed. “Suicide.”

  “What?” Lin’s voice expressed shock.

  “I translated what’s written here,” Felix told them. “It’s says self-imposed which implies the man died by his own hand.”

  “Gosh.” Viv’s hand went to her neck.

  “Ezra died a year after Abigail passed away,” Lin noted in a soft tone. “He must have been in a state of grief. He probably didn’t want to live without her.”

  “How terrible,” Viv whispered.

  “Is there an address listed?” Lin asked.

  “No, but we can search land records.” Felix tapped away in a manner that made Lin think of the table tipping episode.

  “Ezra purchased a house on Old Lane in 1777.” Felix read the description of the place.

  “Okay. Good,” Lin said. “That’s the house we thought he lived in.”

  Felix had to return to the front room to help another patron so Lin and Viv searched through records to find the date Ezra and Abigail were married. It took them an hour, but finally they found what they were looking for.

  “They were married on May 1, 1778,” Viv said. “Abigail died two years later.”

  Lin shook her head. “And then Ezra passed away a year after his wife.”

  “Is Ezra your ghost?” Viv asked in a soft voice checking that no one was standing nearby.

  “I think so.”

  “I can understand why the ghost makes the table shake around the time the daffodils are in bloom,” Viv said. “But what’s different this year? Why is the ghost so insistent? Why is he making the table rattle so much?”

  “I don’t think the table will shake anymore.” Lin’s eyes narrowed in thought. “At least, not as much. I think the ghost was trying to get a point across.”

  “What’s the point he’s trying to make?” Viv asked carefully, not sure she really wanted to hear the answer.

  “I think he wants someone to know who he was. I think he wants someone to know what happened to them.”

  “Why now though?” Viv asked.

  “We have more digging to do,” Lin said.

  Lin and Viv took the chance that Tim Pierce would be at home. When they knocked, it took a few minutes, but when the man opened the door, he looked surprised to see them on his front steps.

  “Is everything okay?” Tim asked.

  “Yes. We’ve been doing some research on your house and the prior occupants,” Lin said. “Do you have a few minutes to talk? We can come back another time if you’re in the middle of something.”

  “Come in. I just finished up for the day.” Tim stepped back so they could enter. “I’m never really finished for the day. I’ll work a few hours more later in the evening.” The young man led the way to the conservatory.

  Lin explained what they’d found in the historical museum library.

  “He killed himself?” Tim’s eyes were wide. “It’s so sad.”

  “Do you have any information about some of the early owners of your house?” Viv asked the man.

  “I don’t have anything. I can ask my father if he has anything. Maybe he heard some things from my grandfather about the house.”

  “That would be really helpful,” Lin said.

  Tim shifted around in his chair and his voice was tentative when he asked, “Do these people’s deaths have something to do with the antique table?”

  “It’s possible.”

  Tim exhaled and looked at Lin. “Robert told me you can see ghosts.”

  Lin’s heart began to race. “Did he?”

  “Robert and Lila believe there’s a ghost living in their house,” Tim said.

  Lin nodded. Several months ago, although she never saw him, she’d had interactions with the Snows’ ghost.

  “I have a hard time with this stuff,” Tim said. “Maybe it’s because I studied science and math, and things in the abstract throw me for a loop.”

  Lin smiled. “Math and science require abstract thinking. Being an architect, you need spatial-relation thinking skills. You need to think in the abstract to see a design in your mind.”

  Tim rubbed at his face. “Maybe abstract isn’t the right word.”

  “There are things that exist in space and time, even if we can’t comprehend them,” Lin explained.

  “You’ve really seen ghosts?”

  Lin gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

  “Wow.” Tim leaned forward and clasped his hands between his legs. “I want to ask questions, but I don’t even know how to start.”

  Viv smiled. “Welcome to my life.”

  Tim looked at Viv. “You two are related. Can you see ghosts, too?”

  Viv swallowed. “Only once. That was enough for me. Ghosts are Lin’s territory, not mine.”

  “Does my table shake because of Ezra and Abigail Cooper?” Tim asked warily.

  “Maybe. We aren’t certain yet,” Lin said.

  “Did they own the table?”

  Lin held her hands up in a gesture of helplessness. “Maybe?”

  “There must be something going on right now that caused the table to act up. Is that right?”

  “That’s what we’re thinking,” Viv said.

  “Would it be okay if I walked around the house for a few minutes?” Lin asked.

  Tim’s eyes went wide. “Sure. Of course.”

  “You and Viv can walk with me,” Lin said.

  The three of them got up and Lin started moving through the house with Viv and Tim following behind her. As she moved down the hall, into the kitchen, dining room, and sitting rooms, she tried to pick up on anything a ghost might be trying to tell her. She waited for an icy chill to surround her, but it never happened.

  “I’m not sensing anything,” Lin said disappointedly.

  “What happens when you see spirits?” Tim asked with genuine interest. “Why do they show themselves to you?”

  “They need something. They need me to help them with something. And when I manage to help, they end up crossing over.”

  Tim sucked in a long breath and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.”

  Lin nodded. “It’s not an easy thing to talk about, even for me.”

  Viv explained, “Lin doesn’t have a choice. The ghosts show up even though she’d rather just be normal.”

  Lin gave her cousin the eye. “I am normal.”

  Viv ignored the comment. “They show up because Lin can help them. When they need her, she can’t not help them.”

  “All of this sort of blows my mind,” Tim told th
e young women. “But I can tell you’re both good people. If there’s something I can do to help, well, just tell me what to do.”

  Walking to the front door, Lin asked, “Are you settling in to your new home?”

  “Yeah, I am. I love this house. I feel more at home here than I’ve ever felt anywhere else.”

  Lin and Viv said goodnight to Tim and headed down the front walkway to the dark street.

  “I guess our visit didn’t help much,” Viv said with a sigh.

  “Well at least, Tim is opening up to the idea of spirits.”

  When they reached the sidewalk, Lin suddenly stopped walking, and when Viv noticed, she spun around. “What’s wrong?”

  A wave of icy air surrounded Lin and she glanced across the cobblestoned street to the opposite sidewalk.

  A man wearing 18th century clothes stood staring at her. The atoms of his body shimmered and he appeared almost see-through. He made eye contact with Lin, gave a slight nod, and then his form flared and his atoms spun wildly until they sparked and disappeared.

  “Lin.” Viv rushed to her cousin’s side.

  Lin blinked at the empty spot on the sidewalk. “Our visit here was helpful. I just met Ezra Cooper.”

  6

  Lin, Jeff, Viv, and John walked into town for the evening team scavenger hunt and they joined a crowd of people gathering in front of the historical museum for the instructions and list of questions.

  John went to the registration table to sign up their team and he came back with questions in a sealed envelope and stickers for them to wear indicating they were taking part in the game. When everyone was ready, the organizers would ring a bell and then the teams would open the envelopes and begin the hunt. There was a time limit of one hour to complete the task.

  “I’m excited,” Viv rubbed her hands together. “We almost won last year. We only got one question wrong.”

  Lin nodded. “And we have to be quick. The team who answers the most questions correctly and gets back here the fastest will be the winner.”

  “Everyone put their game faces on,” Jeff advised. “It’s almost time for the bell.”