by R A Wallace
Bella had been thrilled about her first two days of classes and had wanted to tell Ava all about them at dinner both nights. Ava hadn’t wanted to miss out on her daughter’s excitement, so she’d lingered over dinner a little longer than usual each night, but that meant that she arrived later at her evening jobs. She had gotten everything else completed but was now sitting in the parking lot of the old elementary school again.
The building had seemed different last night, Ava thought. It wasn’t just that there had been more to clean. It was almost as if the atmosphere had changed a little because there’d been more people in the building during the day. Almost like the building was happy to have children in it again. Or something. Ava didn’t know what the difference was, but she knew that the building had seemed different.
Of course, she also hadn’t heard voices again either. That had been a relief. Ava glanced at the time on her phone. She needed to get this last job done for the night so that she could go home. She secured her notepad under her seat and then trudged to the building. They were stocking the building with cleaning supplies and other things like toilet paper and paper towels now.
Everything she needed was ordered for her and kept in a storage closet, one on each floor. There were also things like a cart to move a lot of supplies from one area of the building to another and buckets on wheels with mops. Ava had been grateful that she no longer had to deal with bringing her own supplies to such a large job. The mayor’s office had been meticulous about reimbursing her for the supplies she had originally used.
Ava took out the supplies from the supply closet on the first floor that she needed and began methodically working her way through the building. She didn’t notice when it grew dark outside as the hours went past. Finally, she finished the last of the classrooms and moved to one of the restrooms on the second floor at the end of the hall. Pulling off her rubber gloves, she gratefully tossed them onto the cart she’d been using.
Taking one last look around the room, she turned off the switch on her way out the door and froze. The hallway filled with voices. Ava panicked. Looking frantically down the hall, she realized that her quickest route from the building was similar to the one she’d taken the first time she’d heard voices. She was at the farthest possible point in the building from the front doors. Her heart pounded in her chest.
She wanted to bolt but remembered the look of disbelief on the policeman’s face when she’d called him before. Yanking her phone from her pocket, she tried to find the record app, but she was all thumbs. Finally, she found it and pressed play. At once, the voices stopped.
Ava looked down at her phone. She didn’t know if she’d gotten any of the sounds, but she knew she was getting out of there. Taking several quick steps down the hall, she was focused on reaching the door to the stairs when she stopped and looked back at her cart.
She couldn’t afford to lose this job. Bella was so excited about her classes. If she left the cart in the hallway and bolted from the building, they’d see it in the morning and someone might question her work ethic. Ava went back to the cart and raised her hands to grab on to it. She realized they were shaking but she grabbed the cart and pushed it back to the closet, fumbling with the door but finally succeeding. Then she bolted to the door at the end of the hall, ran down the steps, and through the first floor to the entrance door.
She didn’t stop until she was in her car and had the doors locked. She held onto the steering wheel and rested her forehead on her hands trying to get her breath back and stop her hands from shaking. She debated calling the police, but she doubted they would believe her any more than they had the last time. Maybe if she’d gotten a good recording on her phone, they’d believe her.
Ava took her phone out and found the recording app again. She pushed play and heard a fraction of a second of the voices. The words were indistinguishable, just as they had been when she’d heard them inside the building both times. But she’d hoped there would be enough on the tape to prove that they existed. Her heart sank. She knew it wasn’t enough. It was now dark outside, but there were lights in the parking lot. Leaning back in her seat, she stared at the building. She knew she’d have to go back in there tomorrow night and that was bad enough. But were Bella and the other children safe there during the day?
Ava had no idea. But she did know that she needed to find out. She couldn’t ask the police to help her. She’d already tried that. Maybe it was time to ask someone else for help. Feeling a little better now that she had a plan, Ava put on her seatbelt and headed home to her daughter.
Chapter Eleven
Megan spent her early Wednesday morning digging up her potatoes. She would need to wash them, slice them, blanch them in boiling water, and then freeze them in zippered bags. She’d seen several different suggested recommendations for the blanching times but had been using five minutes because it worked for her based on how she typically used the frozen potatoes.
Once she was done digging with her pitchfork, she used her water hose to spray the first layer of dirt off. Then, with all of the fans in her kitchen running, she spent the rest of the morning processing them starting with a good cleaning in the kitchen sink. She was happy with the amount she ended up with. One quart-sized bag of frozen sliced potatoes was usually a skillet pan of fried potatoes. Throughout the year, she added some frozen diced onions, peppers, and sliced zucchini from her garden when she made the fried potatoes.
Each of the different vegetables were kept in their own separate bags in the freezer. Freezing those vegetables had been much easier since she didn’t blanch them first. She just diced or sliced as needed and froze them in zippered bags. That way, she could take out as little or as much as she wanted for whatever recipe she was making at the time.
She was taking a lunch break on her back porch when she heard a car in the drive. Not certain who it might be, she got up and walked around the corner of her wraparound porch so she could see the driveway. She was surprised to find Ava Prescott headed toward her front door.
“Ava, I’m over here,” Megan called.
Ava turned and smiled as she joined Megan. “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”
Megan returned Ava’s smile and led her back to where she’d been sitting. She gestured for Ava to take a seat. “Not a problem, I was actually just taking a break. Can I get you something cold to drink?”
Ava glanced at Megan’s glass. She was using her lunch time to see Megan so that it didn’t interfere with her cleaning schedule. “Some lemonade sounds great, thanks.”
Megan returned quickly with the glass and took her own seat, curious about Ava’s visit. “What brings you by?”
Ava held the glass of lemonade in her lap with both hands and looked down at it. She’d been thinking about what to say since last night, but she was concerned Megan was going to think she was crazy. Taking a deep breath, she blurted it out before she lost her courage. “I’d like your help.” Ava raised her eyes to look at Megan. “I think there’s something going on in the old elementary building.”
Megan watched Ava carefully. Ross had mentioned that Ava had been frightened by something in the building. Ava certainly looked frightened now. “What makes you say that?”
Ava looked disappointed with her response. Megan sat back in her seat. “Let me try that again. Mr. McMann mentioned that something was frightening you. Can you tell me what happened?”
Ava looked away first, collecting her thoughts. She idly wiped the condensation from her glass, before looking back at Megan. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m hearing voices. There have been two times now. The first time was last week. That’s when I first began cleaning there.” Ava paused to make sure Megan was following her.
Megan nodded encouragement but didn’t interrupt.
“I know I’ve heard stories over the years about voices in the building. I don’t know that I believed them.” Ava shrugged. “I mean I don’t know that I didn’t. The stories were just common knowledge, right? Everyone
in town knows the building is haunted.”
“We’ve grown up with the stories,” Megan murmured.
“Exactly.” Ava flashed a relieved smile that Megan understood. “I never thought whether or not they were really true or if I believed in ghosts. I mean, I wondered about it when I first started cleaning, but I can’t say that I actually expected to encounter a ghost in the hallway. Part of me worried. I just didn’t know, I guess.”
Megan wondered how many people in town who had grown up with the stories would agree to going into the building alone at night as Ava had been doing. “That’s understandable.”
“But I’ve heard them twice now. So, they must be real. Right?” Ava asked Megan as though she were seeking approval to believe in ghosts.
Megan wasn’t sure she was ready to agree just yet. “Tell me what you heard. What do the voices say?”
Ava shook her head. “I can’t tell. They’re just more like voices. Wait!”
Ava pulled her phone out. “The first time it happened I called the police. The officer that came went through the building but didn’t hear anything so he brushed me off, like I was just being stupid. This time, I tried to get a recording.” Ava pushed the play button on the record app of her phone.
The sounds Megan heard were so short and unintelligible, she wasn’t sure what she was hearing. “Play it again.”
Ava ran it again and watched Megan’s response. “I know it’s short. The voices stopped just as I pushed the button to record. I should have thought of recording it quicker, but I was too scared.”
“I can understand that.” Megan thought that most people she knew wouldn’t have gotten as much as Ava had. They never would have returned a second time after hearing the voices. “What were you doing when you heard the voices?”
Ava drew her brows together in confusion. “Cleaning.”
Megan smiled. “I know. I mean, what exactly were you doing each time. Were you in the same part of the building?”
The confusion cleared and was replaced by understanding and excitement that Megan had pinpointed something that quickly. “Yes. Yes, I was. That was the worst part. I was at the farthest point in the building that I could be to get out both times.”
Megan watched Ava with eyes filled with compassion and nodded.
“The first time, I had just entered a room and flipped the switch for the lights. The second time, I had just finished the restroom and flipped the switch before leaving the room.”
Megan filed the information away. “Okay, so you’re hoping that I can help you figure out where the voices are coming from?”
Ava looked uncertain. “I don’t know. If it’s possible. Do you think it has anything to do with the death of the janitor? Maybe he doesn’t like me cleaning the building? I mean, what if the kids aren’t safe there?”
Megan thought about her recent discussions with others about the janitor. They were hoping she could learn more about it to remove their concerns about the safety of their children. Ava was now asking the same thing. Maybe she could do something? And, since it wasn’t an active case for the police, Erica shouldn’t mind. Well, not too much, anyway. Megan asked Ava more questions before Ava had to leave for her afternoon cleaning jobs. Ava wasn’t able to tell her much more. She didn’t know any specific details about the janitor or his death either.
Megan knew that she needed to learn more about the janitor before she could begin to make sense of anything. His death had been before Megan was born. She needed to speak with people who had been there at the time. Doing the math, she realized that the age group of the children who had been in school at the time of the janitor’s death were people who were now in their mid-fifties. She ran a list of names through her mind of people in that age range.
With her recent sleuthing, she’d actually come across several. One that came to mind quickly was Irlene Lasinski, the owner of the Teaberry Salon. Megan frowned at the thought. She was certain Irlene would be a fountain of information, but she also knew it was going to cost her a haircut to get the information. Megan hoped Irlene wasn’t in a creative mood as she quickly cleaned up and headed for town.
Although Irlene already had one customer in her chair, Megan didn’t have to wait long before Irlene was ready for her. The other woman was put under a dryer with tin foil on her hair. Megan tried to talk Irlene out of a haircut. It didn’t work.
“Now you just sit yourself down here,” Irlene said as she expertly unfolded a nylon cape with the swish of a hand. “I’ll just spritz those ends and trim them up for you. You haven’t had them cut since the competition at the farmers market.”
Megan noted that Irlene didn’t mention the death of the other hairdresser that had also occurred at the same time. She decided not to bring it up either. She didn’t know how long the other woman needed to sit under the dryer and she wanted to get some information and get out before Irlene had any more ideas about her hair.
“I was hoping you could give me some information,” Megan said.
Irlene raised her eyebrows at Megan. Of all the people in town, Megan certainly knew that Irlene did not spread gossip about Teaberry’s occupants.
“This is about something that happened when you were in grade school,” Megan said quickly.
Irlene was surprised. “Honey, that was a very long time ago.” She ran a comb through Megan’s hair and then spritzed the ends with the water bottle that she kept on her station.
“I know. That’s the problem. I’m not sure anyone remembers what really happened. Do you remember the janitor that died?” Megan asked as she watched Irlene’s scissor’s carefully in the mirrors. The walls were lined with them and it was hard to tell which mirror she was looking at, but she could see Irlene’s hands.
“Well, now. It’s been forever since I’ve thought of that. Jonah Simms was his name.” Irlene continued snipping as she spoke. “His sister resembles him somewhat but more so when she was younger of course.”
“His sister? Is she still alive?” Megan asked. She hadn’t known the janitor’s name, so it was no surprise she didn’t know he had family in the area.
“Of course,” Irlene said with an indulgent smile. The young thought anyone past forty was ancient. “I do her hair regularly. She gets around just fine.”
“She lives here in Teaberry?” Megan said, totally surprised. “That poor woman. She’s listened to the stories about her brother haunting the old elementary school all these years?” She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. Megan now felt ashamed for any time she may have mentioned the ghost at the elementary school when she’d been a child.
Irlene met Megan’s eyes in the mirror and nodded. She knew exactly how Megan felt. “Her name is Liz. It was Liz Simms, of course, but now it’s Hamilton. You might want to talk with her. Liz Hamilton never did believe that her brother’s death was an accident.”
Chapter Twelve
Bev waved to the last student as they filed from her classroom and let out a loud sigh of relief. The children had been great, they weren’t the reason for her sigh. It was the odd things happening in her classroom that had her stressed. Her classroom hadn’t been as disorganized today when she’d come in for classes, but she did find more of the white flakes everywhere. She’d finally figured out they were from the ceiling and that she wasn’t imagining it. It appeared as though someone had accessed the ceiling from her classroom. She couldn’t think of any reason why Ava might have done so and no one else should have been in the building.
She decided to ask the other teachers if they were having similar problems in their classrooms. She caught up with some of them in the gymnasium as they waited for the parents to pick up the rest of the children. She saw a cluster of teachers and began walking over to join them. She could see that Heather was talking and she was really animated about something.
As Bev reached the group, she heard Heather say, “Why would anyone do that?”
“Do what?” Bev asked. The group of teachers shifted so that
Bev could join their circle.
“Someone keeps unplugging the computer cart in my classroom,” Heather said. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I’m going to have to say something. I just don’t understand it. I put a note on the cart after the first time. I thought that would take care of it.”
“Who do you think is doing it?” Bev asked, curious.
Heather shrugged. “It must be the cleaning crew, I guess.”
Bev shook her head. “It can’t be. There’s a cleaning crew of one and Ava Prescott wouldn’t do that. Especially not if you specifically left a note asking her not to.”
“The note was gone this morning,” Heather pulled her eyebrows together in a frown. “I honestly don’t know what to think but I can’t have my classes interrupted like this.”
“I had an issue too,” Andrea looked around the group. “I didn’t want to say anything either. I left my lesson plan book on my desk. I know we didn’t have to turn one in for the Kids Camp, but I’m just used to working from one.” Andrea shrugged. “At my age, I don’t feel self-conscious about my teaching style. If I want to use lesson plans, I’m going to do it.”
“What happened?” Carlos asked.
“It looked like someone had stepped on it,” Andrea said.
“I’m not sure we can call the police about any of this,” Bryan said. “Especially not if everything isn’t just mistakes made by a cleaning person.”
“It all seems pretty odd though,” Allison said. “It feels like something is going on and it’s a little scary.”
Erin nodded in agreement. “I think we need to do something. There have been too many odd things happening in the last three days. They can’t all be a coincidence or one cleaning person. That wouldn’t make sense.”
