The Haunted Past

by J A Whiting

  After enjoying a chocolate mousse pie for dessert along with cups of tea, the cousins cleaned up and Viv, complaining about the need to get up early for work the next morning, lifted Queenie into her arms and headed for home.

  Lin and Nicky sat in the living room with the gas stove going to ward off the night chill. After completing some anagrams and a difficult crossword puzzle, Lin placed the puzzle books on the coffee table and then yawned, stretched out on the sofa, and rested her head on a throw pillow. “I’m just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes,” she told the dog. “Then I’ll take care of some bills before we turn in for the night.”

  In a few minutes, the young woman was sound asleep.

  Nicky let out a soft yip causing Lin to stir. Lying on her stomach and feeling disoriented, she rubbed at her eyes and glanced around the dark room realizing she’d fallen asleep on the couch.

  “I thought I left the lamp on.” Lin reached down to pat the dog just as freezing air swirled against her back. She sat bolt upright, scrambling to sit straight, her heart pounding fiercely and her eyes scanning the room looking for the source of the cold.

  “Ezra?”

  Lin startled when she saw a ghost sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, but it wasn’t Ezra. It was a woman with dark blond hair wearing a long, light blue dress with a high collar. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, with soft tendrils falling around her face and she looked to be in her mid-twenties. The woman rocked gently in the chair with her hands clasped together on her lap.

  Nicky stared at the spirit, his tail thumping against the floor.

  “Abigail?” Lin whispered.

  The ghost made eye contact with Lin, her facial expression soft and kind.

  “Can you hear what I’m saying?” Lin asked.

  The edges of Abigail’s mouth turned up in the slightest smile.

  “Do you know where Ezra is?”

  The smile vanished.

  “I saw him a few days ago.”

  The ghost’s eyes widened.

  “I asked him what he needed. He told me love.”

  A glistening tear formed in the corner of the ghost’s eye and the moon’s light shined on it as it spilled over and slipped down Abigail’s cheek.

  Lin was afraid the spirit would leave so she started to talk. “You and Ezra were married for about two years. You lived in the big Colonial on Old Lane at the top of Main Street.”

  Abigail brushed at her cheek.

  Lin said softly, “You fell … in town.”

  The ghost moved forward slightly, reached around, and touched her back. Then she moved her hand and touched the back of her neck.

  Lin’s neck and back where the only places on her body that felt the icy cold. “You hurt your back? And your neck?”

  Abigail turned away and looked out the window into the darkness of the night.

  After a few moments passed, Nicky glanced up at Lin and then he turned his gaze back to the ghost.

  “Were you behind me when I was walking home the other night?” Lin questioned. “Is that why I felt the cold against my back?”

  Abigail slowly turned her head away from the window and looked at Lin, her eyes blinking slowly.

  Lin asked the question she’d asked earlier. “Do you know where Ezra is?”

  The ghost’s lower lip trembled.

  A terrible thought entered Lin’s mind. “Do you know that Ezra died a year after you did?”

  Abigail looked alarmed.

  “It seems he couldn’t live without you. Ezra took his own life.”

  The ghost leaned back against the rocker, a look of horror on her face.

  “I’m sorry, Abigail. I think Ezra is looking for you. I think he’s trying to find you.”

  Abigail’s face crumpled. The atoms that made up her body flashed bright red, black, and then red again. The light she gave off was so bright that Lin almost had to look away.

  Nicky whined. He seemed to want to rush to the spirit, but he held back.

  Lin’s heart contracted. She could almost feel the ghost’s misery and loss, and her own eyes welled up. “Look for Ezra. Maybe you can find him.”

  Tears poured down Abigail’s face and her atoms begin to spin so fast that they became a blur, then they sparked and flared … and she was gone.

  Lin slipped off the sofa onto the floor next to her dog and she wrapped her arms around him as her own tears tumbled from her eyes.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about Ezra. Did I do the wrong thing, Nick?”

  16

  “You didn’t do the wrong thing,” Libby tried to reassure Lin.

  The women sat at the desktop computers and microfiche machines in the library of the historical museum looking up the former owners of Tim’s Colonial. Although she had planned to join Libby and Lin, Viv had two employees call out sick so she had to stay at the store and was unable to help with the task.

  Lin’s thumb and forefinger rubbed at her horseshoe necklace. “Abigail looked so grief-stricken when I told her Ezra had died so soon after she had. I felt terrible. I don’t think I should have told her. But why didn’t she know?”

  Libby said quietly, “We know quite a lot about paranormal activity and we have many skills that prove to us that the spirit lives on, but much remains a mystery and we will probably never know the answers to our questions until we pass ourselves. Somehow, Abigail didn’t know what became of her husband. Perhaps, because you told her, she’ll be able to locate Ezra now and the two will be together again.”

  “I hope so.” Despite her statement, Lin didn’t think it would work out that way and her heart ached for the ghosts who had lost each other. “Why can’t they find one another? Why is everything so hard?”

  “Don’t give up on them, Carolin.” Libby gave the young woman a gentle pat on the back. “Let’s focus on our work.”

  While Lin looked up the land records associated with Tim’s house, Libby searched for the owners’ names in the news or online looking for any misfortune that might have befallen them.

  They were able to go back through one-hundred-twenty-five years of ownership, and despite finding two early deaths due to disease, a death from a car accident, and another death due to a plane crash, they found no evidence that the occupants or owners of the antique Colonial experienced more misfortune than the general population.

  “It was a good theory Viv had,” Libby acknowledged. “And it deserved to be looked into, but there isn’t any proof to back it up.”

  “So there’s no bad spirit living in the Colonial wreaking havoc with the people who live there,” Lin said.

  “It doesn’t seem so.” Libby turned to Lin. “What do you make of these ghosts? Is Ezra trying to get your help so he can find Abigail? Is that why he’s made an appearance?”

  “It makes sense. I guess when he discovered I was here on the island and could see ghosts, he caused trouble with that table to try and get me to the house,” Lin speculated. “It worked. But what else can I do? Ezra showed up when Abigail wasn’t around, and Abigail showed up when Ezra wasn’t around. Will me telling Abigail about her husband’s death be enough for them to find each other?”

  “Is it that simple?” Libby questioned.

  The women made eye contact and could tell they both shared the same feelings on the subject.

  “I didn’t think so,” Libby sighed.

  “What are we going to do?” Lin’s voice held a tone of hopelessness.

  “You’ve never failed a ghost yet.” Libby spoke encouragingly. “And you won’t now. It’s just going to take more time, that’s all. You’ll figure it out. Be patient.”

  Lin went for a run later in the day to try and clear her head, but all she could think about was Ezra and Abigail and the predicament they were in. Images of Abigail and the look of misery on her face kept popping into her mind making Lin feel awful and sluggish.

  Why can’t I understand how to help?

  Lin returned home, took Nicky for a wal
k, then showered and changed, all the while wishing one, or both, of the ghosts would make an appearance, but neither showed up.

  When it was time to go to the restaurant, Lin walked into town to meet Jeff, Viv, and John for dinner on Centre Street.

  Jeff was waiting outside and when he saw his fiancée, he hurried to greet her, wrapping her in a hug. Noticing her expression, he asked what was wrong and she gave him the condensed version of what had happened the previous night.

  “I agree with Libby. You didn’t do anything wrong. You had to tell Abigail.”

  “I guess so.”

  They walked inside to get a table for four, and in a few minutes, Viv joined them at the table by the windows.

  “What a day. I’m exhausted. John’s running late, but he’ll be here soon. What’s wrong with you?” she asked her cousin.

  When she heard the tale, Viv’s face nearly paled. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. I would have passed out.” Her expression changed to confusion. “How can one ghost not know someone is dead? Don’t they communicate with each other?”

  Lin shrugged. “I have no explanation.”

  “This is a puzzle,” Viv reached for her wine glass. “And I thought I had a tough day.”

  “Let’s have an evening free from ghost talk,” Lin suggested. “I could use a break.”

  They ordered some appetizers to share until John arrived.

  Jeff told them about a project he was working on with his friend, Kurt. “The house is about two hundred years old. It’s in town. Someone recently purchased the place for just under three million dollars and the new owner is pumping tons of money into the renovation. The place is going to be beautiful when it’s done. All the best finishes are being used. It’s being restored to its former glory.”

  “I’d love to see it,” Lin told him.

  “Where do these people get their money?” Viv sighed. “And why don’t they adopt me?”

  Lin and Jeff chuckled just as John hurried over to the table, gave Viv a kiss, and took a seat.

  “What a crazy day. I got three new listings and two possible ones, and I sold a house in Madaket.” A wide smile crossed the young man’s face. “I love my job.”

  “I hope you sell the new listings fast. We have to pay for the wedding,” Viv said.

  “No worries,” John told her. “Maybe we should buy a new car.”

  “Really?” Viv looked surprised.

  “I should have a nice car to impress my clients, show them how successful I am, inspire confidence in them that I can sell their houses. It’s marketing.” The waiter brought John a beer and after he took a swallow of it, his eyes widened. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have a possibility of another listing. Someone came into the office today looking for me. The man might be interested in selling his house.” John paused for effect as he moved his eyes from Viv to Lin. “You know him. Guess who?”

  The cousins looked blank.

  John shook his head in mock disappointment at their inability to come up with the answer. “Tim Pierce.”

  Lin leaned forward with wide eyes. “Tim Pierce?”

  “He’s selling his house?” Viv was incredulous, then she gave John a look of distrust. “No way. You’re kidding us.”

  John held up his hand like he was taking an oath. “I swear.”

  “What did he say to you?” Lin was shocked by the news.

  “He said he had a house he’d recently inherited. He thought he’d be able to work remotely, but it wasn’t working out the way he hoped. He might return to the mainland to live in Boston. He hasn’t made up his mind yet, but he might want me to come by and see the house someday so I can give him an idea of what the place would sell for.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Viv was almost fuming. “Tim is being rash. He needs time to see if living here will work out for him. He loves Nantucket. A house like that comes along once in a lifetime … and that’s if you’re very, very fortunate. I think Tim’s making a huge mistake.”

  “Well, don’t tell him that,” John said reaching for his beer glass. “I want the listing.”

  “I agree with Viv,” Lin said. “I think he needs to give himself some time. He’s being hasty and impulsive.”

  “When are you working at Tim’s again?” Viv asked her cousin.

  “Tomorrow. Leonard’s meeting me there bright and early.”

  “Then talk to Tim when you’re there,” Viv urged. “Ask him what the heck he’s doing. Talk some sense into him.”

  “Wait, no,” John told them. “Let the man make his own decision. He’s free to sell if he wants to. Don’t badger him.”

  Viv replied, “Tim has been feeling lonely and out-of-sorts. I worry that he’s in a fragile mental and emotional state and could end up making the wrong choice. Lin and I don’t want him to make a decision that he’ll deeply regret in the future.”

  “I think it would be okay if you talk to Tim about it,” Jeff said. “Ultimately, it’s his house and he should sell it if he wants to, but it doesn’t hurt to discuss it with him to make sure he’s thought the whole thing through and won’t be sorry about his decision.”

  “How did he seem when he talked to you today?” Lin asked John.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Did he seem nervous? Hurried? Depressed? Low energy?”

  “I don’t know him. I don’t know what he’s usually like.”

  “If you had to describe Tim and his interaction with you, what would you say about him?” Viv asked.

  John’s face screwed up in thought. “He was business-like, but friendly. He was well-spoken. He asked good questions about the selling process. He made it clear he was only thinking about selling the house and wasn’t sure if he’d pursue it. He seemed like a nice guy.”

  “When are you supposed to go see the house?” Lin asked.

  John said, “Tim hasn’t made a decision yet. He said he wanted to think about it more, but that it wouldn’t hurt to get an estimate from me. He said he’d call me in a couple of days.”

  Oh, no. Lin’s heart sank.

  17

  The newly landscaped beds were taking shape behind Tim’s house. The weeds had been pulled, the brush removed, the beds were marked out and edged, and soil had been added to build them up and provide a good foundation for the new plants.

  Lin and Leonard had been doing the heavy work all morning and they were ready for a break so they headed to sit in the shade next to Nicky who was dozing in the grass under a tall Maple.

  Lin had knocked on the front and back doors of the house hoping to be able to talk to Tim about his plans for the Colonial, but no one answered. She hoped he wasn’t giving up on living on the island, but if he was determined to move back to the mainland, she would wish him well.

  “Some people don’t care for island living.” Leonard drank from his water bottle. “It’s too isolating for them. Tim must be one of them.”

  “You’re right. A lot of people would never choose to have a home on an island. If the reason for Tim wanting to move is loneliness, I wish he’d stay for a few months and socialize with us. He could meet our friends and make more friends through them. In a little while, he’ll have a group he can enjoy being with and can count on for help if he needs it.” Lin poured some water from her bottle into a bowl for Nicky.

  When Lin first saw Leonard that morning, she told him all about the visit from Abigail Cooper so when the man said, “I wonder why those two can’t find each other?” she knew what he was talking about.

  “Libby says we can’t really know about the other side. We do know some things, but ninety-nine percent is hidden from us. She said we can offer help when it’s something we’re capable of, but otherwise we have to let things go. Libby said someday we’ll all know about the spirit world, but not while we’re here living on the earthly plane.”

  Leonard huffed at that. “Hopefully, someday doesn’t come too soon.”

  Nicky walked over and climbed onto Leonard’s lap and the man gently ran
his hand over the dog’s fur. “I guess Nick thinks he’s a cat.”

  Reaching into her lunchbox, Lin removed a dog treat for Nicky and some homemade granola for her and her partner.

  “So what are you going to do about Ezra and Abigail?”

  Lin shrugged. “I have to wait and see what happens, and if I can do something to help them, I will. It’s not a very good answer, but it’s all I have.”

  “It’s the right answer. Time will tell if you can be of help.” Leonard moved the dog to the side and stood up. “I’ll head off to the other clients now. Text me if you need anything, Coffin.”

  “I will. I might doze off here against the tree for a few minutes before I start putting in the plants.”

  Leonard said, “Just don’t sit there until nightfall. You want me to call you when it gets dark to make sure you’re not still here?”

  Lin chuckled. “Nicky will wake me up if I sleep too long.”

  “Keep an eye on her,” Leonard told the dog before leaving the yard for his truck and heading off down the street to the next job.

  The sun was shining and the air temperature was pleasingly warm. Lin’s muscles felt achy from all the heavy work she’d done that morning, so she closed her eyes to rest for a few minutes with Nicky on the grass beside her.

  The image of a small, outside wedding on a perfect spring day drifted into her mind. A group of about forty guests sat in chairs on both sides of an aisle down which a minister led the bride and groom, dressed in their best clothes, followed by the couple’s parents, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

  The father of the bride hugged his daughter and shook hands with the groom, vows were exchanged as the happy couple held hands and beamed at one another, a ring was placed on the bride’s finger, and the new husband and wife shared a brief, sweet kiss to the applause of the guests. After the ceremony and before leaving for the reception at the bride’s father’s home, the guests mingled and chatted and hugged the smiling couple, offering them heart-felt wishes.

  Someone spoke Lin’s name and her eyes opened and she scrambled to her feet. “Oh, hi. I was taking a rest.”