Keeper of the Lambs

by Sue Clifton

  One, two, three! Cayce lip-synced while gesturing with her fingers. On three, they both rammed their shoulders against the door, but the door was no longer there. It opened before Cayce turned the knob, and Harri and Cayce fell into the room in a heap. The rocking chair scooted slightly as it continued to rock as if someone had jumped out of it in a hurry.

  “Ouch!” Harri rubbed her arm where Cayce fell on it.

  “Ditto!” Cayce rubbed her upper right arm. “Did you see anything?” She nodded toward the rocker now slowing down.

  “All I saw was you landing on top of me. You’re a lot heavier than you look.”

  “Sorry about that. I guess maybe the door was ajar.” Cayce stood and gave her sister a hand.

  “Or not.” Harri stood and crossed her arms, staring at the rocker as it creaked to an abrupt halt as if someone had put a hand on it to stop it.

  Cayce moved to a large, ornate wardrobe and threw open both its doors, jumping back, expecting another surprise. Nothing happened.

  “This is a beautiful room, even with the ghost.”

  Cayce turned and saw Harri on all fours looking under the antique bed that stood tall and gave plenty of room for anything to hide under it.

  “See anything?”

  “Nope. But just to block any future argument, this room is yours, not mine. Should it be a choice, that is.” Harri walked to the other side of the room and stared at a door for a moment. She started to open it but then stopped. “Since it’s your room, Cayce, you do the honors and see what’s in your closet.”

  “You are such a sissy. You must get that from Mother’s side of the family. And yes, I know, you are about to remind me of crawling under the house when we were kids during snake season to drag out the stray dog’s puppies. Honestly, Harri…” Cayce jerked the door open, still talking and looking back at her sister while shaking her head.

  Harri screamed and took off for the other door, almost giving Cayce a heart attack. She ran after Harri without turning to see what frightening thing lurked behind Door Number Two.

  Chapter Six

  When they reached the stairs, they both stopped, hearing a man’s deep voice behind them.

  “Whoa, you two! I ain’t no spook!”

  The sisters turned at the same time and saw a tall man with long white hair tied back in a low ponytail. His hair matched a white beard. The man stood staring at them from the doorway of the room they had just left. He wore overalls and a black-and-white-striped railroad cap.

  “I’m Steve, the caretaker Joshua Devaux hired to watch over this place.” The man held out his hand as he walked toward them. Cayce shook his hand with apprehension, and Harri followed suit, giving a half-hearted wimpy shake, not her usual.

  “So you two must be the fearless sisters, Cayce and Harri. Joshua told me you were coming to sort out our ghost problem.” Steve chuckled as he combed his beard with his hand. When he saw the sisters not laughing, he cleared his throat and started over.

  “Sorry about scaring you. I thought sure you heard me call when I came in the front door. I thought I heard you in the other room ’til I got in there. Guess I’m a little spooky-looking, if you’re not expecting me to be standing behind the door you’re opening.”

  “So the door goes to the next bedroom and not to a closet?” Cayce asked, trying to cover her embarrassment and lack of bravery.

  “Yep. No closets here,” he answered and then added, “but lots of skeletons.” He cocked his head at Harri and smiled, and then winked at Cayce. “Just kiddin’, ladies.”

  “You’re a real funny guy, Steve. Just don’t do it again, or you might find yourself being beaten over the head by Louis Vuitton.” Harri smiled, but Cayce knew her sister was serious. Harri was petite but could be really dangerous when carrying her big, heavy purse—especially when she packed her Glock, which she always did when they traveled.

  “Louie who?” Steve cocked his head again. “Is that your boyfriend?”

  “Just ignore my sister, Steve. By the way, I’m Cayce McCallister, and this is my fearless sister, Harri Wellington.”

  “Pleasure to meet you both. Now, let’s get your luggage to your rooms, and I’ll make us a pot of coffee.” Steve passed the two and headed down the stairs past them. “Guess I owe you for scarin’ you like that.”

  Harri’s mouth flew open when she saw the kitchen in the hotel. The modern appliances were either camouflaged by wooden doors or were reproductions of the early 1900s but with modern mechanisms. A huge walk-in freezer and a pantry were stocked with everything imaginable for the gourmet chef. Harri found packages of frozen huckleberries as well as dried and canned ones in the pantry.

  “Oh, boy! Your interest in these huckleberries must mean you’re going to figure out Janie’s huckleberry fudge recipe.” Cayce rubbed her hands together as she reached for a package of gourmet coffee. “Here you go, Steve. You do owe us for scaring the bajiggers out of us, so you make the coffee.” Cayce handed the coffee to their bearded host.

  Harri came out of the pantry holding flour, baking powder, and a can of huckleberries.

  “I’ve got something else in mind. Huckleberry scones. My own recipe, but I’ll replace raspberries, my used-to-be favorite, with huckleberries. It will take a few minutes, so save some coffee.”

  A short time later, the three were munching away on scones.

  “Well, here’s the first item for your cookbook. Reckon you can make these in a Dutch oven over a campfire?” Cayce looked at Harri and cocked her head sideways like Steve had done earlier.

  “Don’t remind me of the camping thing. I’m still wondering where I’ll take a bath and find a potty.” Harri put her last bite back on her plate. “That’s it. I’m stuffed. By the way, Cayce, that was dinner.”

  “You don’t have to worry about a restroom, Harri. Joshua has taken care of all of that. In fact, most of the workers have been on the wagon trail for the last few days, building outhouses and doing some special landscaping around the hot springs. I hope you brought your swimming suits. Don’t reckon you’ll want to skinny dip like the locals.” Steve did not give one little glance at the sisters as he left the table. “More coffee?” He filled his cup and then topped off Cayce’s, with Harri declining.

  “Hot springs?” Cayce and Harri asked in unison.

  “That must be the reason Joshua told me to bring a swimsuit. The stinker. I guess he wanted to surprise me. He knows how I love Chico Hot Springs in Montana.” Cayce smiled over her coffee cup, remembering the last trip she’d made to Chico with Joshua. She also remembered the encounter with the resident ghost, Percy, at the old hotel there.

  “You didn’t know ’bout the springs?” Steve looked at Cayce. “Well, there are mineral springs all in these mountains. Some of ’em are red, but the ones on the land Joshua bought are all crystal clear.”

  “You mean mineral springs like the ones famous for their medicinal benefits?” Harri asked.

  “I bet you’re thinking about our favorite Victorian inn in Tennessee, the Thomas House, aren’t you?” Cayce directed her question to Harri and then turned back toward Steve to explain further. “The original hotel, named the Cloyd Hotel, was built in 1890 at Red Boiling Springs for clients seeking the healing powers of the red mineral springs’ water. The Thomas House also has paranormal activity.” Not waiting for Steve to comment, Cayce asked, “So how far to these mineral springs? I might want to check them out before we go on the trail with Joshua.” She looked at Harri to gauge her interest.

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t mind taking a dip…wearing my swimming suit, mind you. I’ve read that mineral springs are like a fountain of youth for the aging.” Harri rubbed the crows’ feet around her eyes, and Cayce remembered Harri had mentioned working on those little lines with some extremely expensive creams.

  “Oh, you don’t have to go that far. There’s a bathhouse right out back. The mineral springs at Bar None are called Cole Springs, after the old pioneer who found ’em. That’s where Belle got the na
me for the hotel. She was businesswoman enough to know not to name a hotel after herself, since she was hopin’ to establish a different kind of clientele from the cat house. Cole Springs backs right up to the hotel and supplies water for the bathhouse. The mineral springs were a real drawing card before and after the mine shut down. Bartholomew Cole, the old trapper that discovered ’em, claimed the hot water cured him of the Arthur-i-tis, as he called it.” Steve chuckled.

  “And yes, it’s clean and safe, so don’t worry about that. The crew updated it, and the health department for the county checked it when they inspected the rest of the water before any construction started. Joshua Devaux’s a good businessman. Can’t wait to meet him. I was gone when he came here not long ago. Only talked to him on the phone.” Steve took his dishes to the sink, rinsed them off, and put them in the oversized commercial dishwasher before heading to the door.

  “You mean you have a phone, or a cell phone that works here? Mine is as dead as road kill.” Cayce was anxious to talk to Joshua and give him a report.

  “No. Cell phones don’t work here, but Hank Coulter gave me a satellite phone so Joshua could contact me. You’re welcome to use it.” Steve stopped at the door. “’Preciate the vittles. Them scones was mighty good, Miss Harri. Anything else I can do for you ladies?”

  “No, we’re good. And thank you for bringing up our luggage. So your cabin is right out back in case we need anything?” Harri pushed back the curtain and looked out the window at the fast-approaching dark.

  “It’s actually a little farther than that…over at the edge of the woods. Don’t worry. There ain’t nothin’ here that’ll hurt you.” He opened the door to walk out but then stopped. “But they might make you hurt yourself.” Steve laughed loudly as he closed the door behind him.

  “I can’t decide if I like him or not. Just when I think he’s okay, he makes a smartass comment and laughs. The audacity!” Harri took the rest of the dishes to the sink and rinsed them before putting them in the dishwasher. “I guarantee you we’ve had many more experiences than he has. Hurt yourselves! Indeed!” She rubbed her bruised arm.

  “And just to prove we’re not scared, let’s get our swimsuits on, get our flashlights, soap, and towels, and check out the bathhouse. Okay, Harri?” Cayce got up from the table, but waited for her sister’s reaction.

  “You bet. Let’s hit it.” Harri left the kitchen and headed up the stairs without hesitation.

  Chapter Seven

  “You think rattlesnakes are out?” As they stepped off the porch, Harri tiptoed, hurrying to catch up with Cacye, and felt more at ease when Cayce slowed to allow her to catch up.

  Cayce noticed her sister’s recurring fear as they headed around the hotel into the alley. It was pitch-black dark, but the full moon helped to light their way. Cayce kept her flashlight on for backup and saw the bathhouse just ahead, camouflaged on the outside with logs but with a big carved bear holding a sign to identify it. The door was unlocked, and Cayce found the light switch just inside the door.

  “Holy Tallahatchie! That man of yours does not miss a trick! Would you look at this? I may never leave.” Harri must have retrieved her bravery as she walked to the huge bath, which looked like a small pool, outlined and lined inside with river rocks. She stuck her fingertips into the steaming water. “Perfect!”

  Cayce zeroed in on the furniture made from logs with comfortable-looking, fat leather cushions on oversized lounge chairs—way too inviting not to pounce on.

  “I knew it. Filled with kapok just like at his house in Mississippi. You just sink right into it.” She put her head back and closed her eyes. “Heavenly!” Hearing Harri splash into the steamy bath, she opened her eyes and left her spot.

  “No. This is heavenly. I can feel my crows’ feet tightening already. I hope these minerals will lift everything that’s sagging.” Harri used both hands to push up her breasts as she looked down at them. “All we need is background music.”

  As if on cue, surround sound music began to play and the lights dimmed, making it twilight in the magical bathhouse. Cayce loved the easy listening music; it was like what she always carried when away from her own mountains. She always said music helped her “envision mountain streams cascading over giant river rocks, all beneath snowcapped mountains.” But Bar None was the reality of now. Native flute accompanied the orchestra, giving the music a surreal, almost eerie resonance.

  “Nice!” Harri waltzed herself over to the edge where Cayce stood. “You found the right switch.”

  “Actually, I didn’t. Joshua must have the lights and music on some kind of a timer. I didn’t touch anything.”

  Cayce added her sweats to Harri’s pile and slipped into the bath.

  “Oh, you are so right. This is heaven.” Cayce looked around and noticed a big sign they had missed when first entering the bathhouse.

  “Uh-oh! We were supposed to shower before we got in. See the open showers over in the corner? Right now, they look like little trickles coming out of a stone cave wall. How beautiful!”

  “I’ll shower before we leave. I’m not moving for at least an hour. My body is still aching from the ride here in Hawk.” Harri laid her head back on the towel she had rolled up on the edge of the river rock ledge.

  “The sign also recommends you not stay over twenty minutes or risk shriveling away to nothing.” Cayce rolled her towel like her sister’s and laid her head back. “Shriveling off five pounds would be pretty nice, though.”

  The sisters lay quiet. Harri’s eyes were closed, but Cayce enjoyed looking up at the skylight. The lights dimmed even more, allowing the moon and the stars shining through the skylight to take over as the cabin’s main sources of light. Within minutes, Harri was snoring softly.

  Just as Cayce was reminded again of why she always demanded her own room when they traveled, a shadow drifted across the water, bringing her to full alert.

  Must have been a limb moving with the breeze in the moonlight.

  Cayce laid her head back again, but did not close her eyes. Thinking she heard a noise, she glanced toward the window without moving her head. Again she saw the silhouette of the mountain in the moonlight, but a shadow moved outside the window, distorting the silhouette. She slid closer to her sister and poked Harri until she gave another loud snort and opened her eyes.

  “Harri. Keep looking at me, and don’t panic.”

  “What?” Harri jerked her head off the towel, flailing the water as she tried to stand without leaning.

  “I said, don’t panic. Now just pretend we’re having a cozy conversation. Someone is outside the window watching us. I see his silhouette with the moonlight behind him.”

  “Has to be that weirdo Steve. I told you I didn’t like him.” Harri moved to get out, but Cayce grabbed her arm.

  “No, I want you to stay here as though nothing is happening,” Cayce whispered. “I’m going to slip out of the water on the other side where it’s darker and go out the back door. I’m not letting some creep put a damper on our trip. What I see is a Peeping Tom, not a ghost.” She left the bath as quietly as possible.

  “Wait! I’m coming with you…” But before Harri could get out of the water, Cayce was gingerly sneaking out the back door.

  Harri sat back against the river rock, frozen in place, her eyes locked on the shadow at the window.

  “Where are Louie and Glock when I need them?” she whispered.

  Cayce flattened her body against the outside log wall and inched toward the side where she had seen the Peeping Tom. She stopped to pick up a short piece of two-by-four left by the construction crew, and when she got to the corner, stuck her head around the wall just enough to see if the intruder was still at his post. He stood there with his hands shielding his eyes against the window, obviously trying to get a better look. The silhouette appeared no taller than Cayce and looked like a male, dressed in dark clothes with the brim of his hat pulled down tight on his head.

  Cayce dodged around the corner of the log buildin
g yelling at the top of her lungs, holding the board up and ready to swing. “Hey, you! What the heck do you think you’re doing?”

  The figure got one quick glance at her, gave a clipped yelp, and fled toward the woods like a grizzly was chasing him.

  Cayce ran after him but was no match with bare feet. She stopped at the edge of the woods and bent over to remove pine needles stuck to her foot.

  Harri ran to her side. “Did you get a good look at him? Was it Steve?”

  “I didn’t see his face, but he did not have a long, white beard and hair.” Cayce held her side as she panted. “I would have seen a beard and long hair for sure. And he was short. That leaves out Steve.” Cayce finished catching her breath.

  “I say bath time is over. Let’s get our stuff and go back to the hotel. We can look for tracks in the morning.”

  As they re-entered the bathhouse, Cayce looked around for the switches that dimmed the lights and turned on the music. “Here are both switches, if you can call them that.” Cayce was on the opposite side of the room from the main light switch where they’d entered. She put her fingers on the buttons that were lit up and pushed on each, causing the lights to dim and the music to turn on and off. “These big buttons are so sensitive, you just barely touch them, and they turn lights and music on and off.”

  “I see what you mean.” Harri touched the buttons, copying Cayce’s moves. “Question is, who pressed the buttons, if it wasn’t you? I don’t think Boo Radley could have sneaked in here without us seeing him.”

  “Good question. If the lights hadn’t dimmed, I wouldn’t have known anyone was outside the window. Since they don’t seem to be on a timer, then someone…or something…wanted to help us. Let’s hope all the spirits here are this protective.”

  Chapter Eight

  Before they had coffee the next morning, Cayce and Harri practiced sleuthing outside the bathhouse, looking for tracks under the window.