BLACK VELVET ROSES

by Marianne Spitzer

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  Kellie and Randy finished their dance, and he held her tight through the next song, but chose to kiss her rather than dance. After several passionate kisses, Kellie took Randy’s hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. Rufus followed.

  Randy continued to kiss Kellie, and his lips worked down to her neck and then her shoulders as he slipped her blouse off and dropped it to the floor. She moaned and moved closer to the bed.

  Hunter’s voice boomed through the room. Rufus began to bark and jump at the sound. Hunter said, “Hey, Kellie. These two-way radios are very sensitive and pick up most sounds. You might want to turn yours off tonight since you won’t be alone. Goodnight.” Taylor’s giggling could be heard before Kellie made it to her nightstand to turn off the radio. She opened the drawer and dropped the radio in and closed the drawer.

  “That should give us privacy,” she said as she dropped to the bed. Burying her face in her pillow to hide her embarrassment and blushing cheeks she hoped Randy hadn’t noticed.

  Randy sat next to her. “I know that was a little embarrassing, but it was also darn funny.” He dropped back on the bed and began to laugh. Rufus began running around the bed howling as Randy laughed.

  Kellie, feeling her face cool, peeked out at Randy. He had rolled onto his stomach and continued to laugh while he petted Rufus trying to get him to settle down. Rufus would drop to the floor and roll over then get back up and bark at Randy. When Randy laughed, Rufus would do it again.

  She scooted next to Randy and asked, “You two having fun?”

  “Yeah, we are.” He grabbed a pillow and hit her. “Wanna play?” She grabbed one and hit him back. The pillow fight was on. Rufus broke one of the rules and leaped onto the bed.

  “Get off the bed.” Rufus looked at Kellie and whined. Then he bit into a pillow and shook his head. Feathers flew all over the room. She couldn’t help but laugh. Randy grabbed the pillow away from Rufus.

  “Sorry, I’ll help clean it up,” Randy smiled and Kellie couldn’t resist him.

  She kissed him and said, “We can do it in the morning. Let’s go to the guest room.” Rufus followed whining. He was ready to play, but Kellie and Randy ignored him.

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  Ted grabbed the candelabra and made his way back to the bedroom. He couldn’t find his phone in his jeans. “Damn, it must be in the car. Hang on Nicki, I’ll be right back.” He took the candelabra and worked his way down the hall toward the staircase. Afraid of falling, he slowly worked his way down the stairs. When he reached the first floor, he tried to hurry to the kitchen and out the back door.

  The cloud cover blanketed any moonlight. The darkness enveloped Ted as he made his way to the car. He couldn’t find his phone where he thought it would be. He searched the car the best he could swearing at the flashlight he found with dead batteries. His dad was right; he was irresponsible. Now, it might cost Nicki her life.

  Nicki thought she had heard Ted’s voice. It sounded far away. Her chest hurt, her hair was wet, and she was on the bathroom floor. Fear flooded back into her when she remembered her ordeal with the water in the bathroom sink. Nicki’s heart pounded in her chest, and her hands were shaking. She didn’t think she could stand and began to crawl out of the bathroom. Her knees hurt, but she didn’t understand why. She had no memory of falling onto the bathroom floor. Calling out Ted’s name she heard nothing back.

  Ted gave up looking for his phone. He thought if he couldn’t find Nicki’s phone he would drive her to the hospital. He had left the candelabra on the kitchen table and picked it up on his way through the kitchen. He yelled, “I’m coming Nicki, hang on.”

  He ran into the hall toward the staircase. Wind blew through the hall extinguishing the candles. “What was that? Maybe Nicki is okay and opened a door or window.” Running faster, touching the wall to keep him steady, he ran unknowingly into an alcove and tripped over a chair leg. He tried to keep his balance, but fell sideways and hit the wall. Falling on his side knocked the breath out of him, but he pushed himself into a sitting position. Ted caught his breath and began to get up. A cracking sound behind him got his attention. He turned and looked up just as a huge painting fell from the wall. The frame hit Ted’s head splitting it open. He dropped to the floor. The painting fell over his body covering all but his feet.

  Nicki heard the noise coming from downstairs and worried about Ted. She pulled herself up using the bannister at the top of the staircase. She began her descent and midway down something grabbed her ankle, and Nicki fell. She tumbled down the rest of the stairs breaking her neck along the way. Her body lay at the foot of the stairs.

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  Morning brought the sunlight and a rejuvenated Rufus. He ran to Randy’s side of the bed and barked in his ear. “What the …” Randy yelled as he bolted upright in bed. Shaking his head, he glanced at Kellie and asked, “Does he do this every morning?”

  “Not to me, but I don’t usually have a stranger in my bed.” She began to laugh, and Rufus barked louder. “I think he’s wondering why you are here. Maybe he forgot we all fell asleep in here last night. This isn’t his usual spot for the night.” Rufus growled, and Kellie laughed.

  “If he attacks me, it’ll be your fault. Last night he attacked a pillow.” He lay back down, rolled onto his side, and looked into her eyes.

  “Sure, blame the dog. You started the pillow fight. That reminds me; we have a room to clean. The feathers should have settled by now.”

  He pulled her close, “They’ll be there a little later.” He kissed her.

  She agreed and kissed him back.

  Rufus dropped to the floor and whined.

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  The morning cleaning crew arrived at the manor house. Amy and Kate, roommates at the local college, worked two hours each morning six days a week vacuuming and dusting the manor house to prepare it for visitors. They pulled in behind Timothy’s truck. Timothy was the groundskeeper, and Kate wanted to flirt with him.

  Amy entered the manor house first. Dropping her coat and purse in a small kitchen closet, she noticed the kitchen appeared clean and walked into the hall leading to the parlor. Seeing Nicki’s nude body at the foot of the stairs brought a blood curdling scream from Amy. Kate and Timothy ran to her aid.

  Kate stopped when she saw Nicki. Timothy checked Nicki for a pulse, looked at the girls, and shook his head. “Call 911.” Kate pulled out her phone, and Amy began to cry. They had all known Nicki. It was more than she could bear to see and turned around only to discover the fallen painting and feet sticking out from under it.

  Amy called to Timothy, “Come here, someone is under this painting, and it’s too heavy for me to lift.”

  The three managed to move the painting only to discover Ted lying in a pool of blood. A quick check told Timothy that Ted was also dead. Amy began to sob again and ran to the parlor to find a spot to sit. Her knees felt as if they would collapse.

  Kate could hear a voice saying, “Ma’am, ma’am, are you still there?”

  She lifted the phone to her ear, “Yes, I’m here. We found a second body. Please help us and send the police to the Gotz Manor.” Assured help was on its way, she slipped her phone back into her pocket. “The police are coming.” She hurried into the parlor to help Amy cope with the morning’s tragic discovery.

  Timothy opened the front doors when he heard the sirens. Then he realized he needed to call his boss and placed a call to the management office that oversees the manor house.

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  Kellie and Randy approached the master bedroom carefully. They made sure Rufus was in the laundry room where he couldn’t get into the room and cause the feathers to take flight. Randy had the vacuum and Kellie a smaller hand held vacuum.

  She said, “You clear a path to the bed, and I’ll try and get them off the bed and then the furniture while you finish the carpet. Go slow. It doesn’t take much to cause them to fly around again.”

  “I’m sorry, honestly I am. I would
never have started the pillow fight if I knew you had feather pillows.” He looked at her and grinned. He took out his phone and snapped three photos before they began to clean. “Memories. You’ll laugh at this one day, too.”

  “I’d laugh now if we were done. Turn on the vacuum.” She nudged his arm.

  No matter how carefully they tried to clean, some of the feathers flew. After thirty minutes, they had cleaned up close to ninety percent of the feathers. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat and maybe we can get the rest of the feathers later.”

  Randy called his crew, told them he might be in later, and gave them their jobs for the day. As he sat in a kitchen chair, he said, “This is the best part of having my own business.”

  Kellie looked at him. “That doesn’t mean you get the day off. Come here and help me prepare breakfast.” There was more hugging and kissing than cooking, but they finally put breakfast on the table. Rufus was out running his morning romp and begging Hunter for food before Hunter left for work. He eventually returned to Kellie’s door.

  “Would you let him in and feed him? We let him out late. He might have missed his first breakfast with Hunter and Taylor.”

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  Claudia was on her morning run through the park with her dog, Spirit, when she felt the need to sit on the nearest park bench. She sensed she was being contacted, but wasn’t sure why. Sitting on the bench, she was bombarded with images and sounds. Disembodied voices spoke to her. Claudia listened, asked questions, and received answers. Spirit sat alert at her side guarding her while she was in the trance. When the images and sounds drifted away, Claudia smiled at Spirit and patted her head. Spirit laid her head on Claudia’s leg. “Well, girl, I better make a phone call.”

  Kellie’s cell rang. She looked at Randy. “It’s Claudia. I hope she has info about the shadow.”

  “Hello,” Kellie said.

  “Hi, I was jogging and had a vision.”

  “A vision about the shadow?” Kellie rubbed her neck as she spoke.

  “No, there was a tragedy at the Gotz Manor. I don’t have details, but there were two deaths. Their spirits have gone into the light and will not cause you a problem. However, I believe they were killed because they disrespected the house. I know you’re going back to help the spirits. You must be very careful. Your biggest enemy is the house.”

  “The house, I have to worry about the house. Is it haunted?” She looked at Randy and shrugged.

  “No, not in the usual sense. A spirit doesn’t haunt it. The house appears to be alive, it possesses a life force.”

  “Are you serious?” Kellie rolled her eyes.

  “Deadly serious and you will have to solve the mystery of how it became that way before you release all the spirits. They need your help, and you can help most of them, but the house is connected to one possibly two of the spirits. It will not let them go. Solve the mystery, break the hold, and release the spirits.”

  “Where do I begin?” Kellie rubbed her forehead feeling a headache start.

  “Talk to the spirits, they may know more.”

  “I thought that was your job, Claudia.” Kellie glared at her phone. She held it back to her ear. “I don’t know how to do that.”

  “Yes, you do. Wait for the death investigation to be resolved and go back to the house. Don’t go alone. The more friends with you, the safer you will be. The spirits will speak with you the way they did before. Use your power. It will come to you when you need it.”

  “You mean the glow in my hand? That came from the child.”

  “No, that came from you. Be careful, Kellie. If you need me call.” Kellie heard Claudia break off the call.

  Kellie took several gulps of coffee and explained to Randy about what Claudia said. “Looks like Hunter, Taylor, Cole, and Andrea will have to return with me. I hope they all agree. The last visit was terrifying. I thought all I had to do was go back and help the spirits find the light. Now I have to fight a house.”

  She crossed her arms on the table and laid her head on them.

  Randy said, “Claudia told you the more people with you, the safer you’ll be. I’ll go with you. It can’t be worse than the Peruvian Centipede.”

  Kellie shuddered at the memory and did her best to smile at Randy.

  “I had hoped to go back this weekend and put it all behind me, but now I have to wait until the police allow the manor house to open again. That way we’ll know it’s safe to sneak back inside.” She took in a deep breath, blew it out, and sighed. “Let’s try and forget about this and see if we can get rid of the rest of the feathers.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Timothy watched two sheriff’s vehicles and an ambulance pull up in front of the manor house. Stepping out onto the front steps, he waved at the deputies. He turned and headed back into the manor house. The deputy, sheriff, and two paramedics followed.

  The paramedics entered first and rushed to aid Nicki and Ted. They confirmed Timothy’s worst fear, both were dead.

  “I had hoped I just couldn’t feel a pulse,” Timothy murmured.

  Sheriff Jendler stood in the doorway and surveyed the scene. “If they’re dead, cover ‘em up for Pete’s sake. They’re both naked.” He walked into the parlor to interview Amy and Kate.

  “Can’t sheriff, not until I take all the photos of the crime scene,” the deputy said as he snapped image after image from every angle.

  Frustrated that he didn’t learn anything informative from the girls, the sheriff walked to the window and tapped his foot waiting for the deputy to finish his work. Mumbling under his breath, “I hate this job when I have to deal with dead bodies and naked on top of it. What happened here?” When the deputy finished, he covered both bodies and the sheriff returned to the foyer area.

  The paramedics left and their van passed the coroner’s van on its way up the drive.

  The coroner walked in and uncovered Ted’s body to give the initial examination. The sheriff threw his hand to his forehead and groaned. “What’s wrong, Jendler?” asked the coroner. “Never seen a nude body before?”

  “Yeah, I have, but I don’t want this image in my mind when I notify their parents. Families always ask a lot of questions. They’ll be better off not knowing we found the kids naked.”

  He strolled back into the parlor. He asked the young women, “Are there back stairs in this place?”

  “Yes and a single person elevator for heavy objects.” Kate pointed to the back of the house.

  “Show me the elevator,” the sheriff said heading away from the bodies and into the library. Kate showed him the small elevator and he rode it to the second floor. A quick walk through the upstairs brought him to the master bedroom. “Hmm,” he mumbled. “The bed’s a mess, water all over the bathroom floor, and clothes strewn over the floor. Yup, this is where they spent the night.” He glanced down the hall and saw the front staircase.

  Walking to the top of the staircase, he called down. “Parker?”

  “Yes, sheriff,” the deputy answered.

  “When you are through taking pictures of the bodies, I’ll need you to take shots of the staircase from edge to edge of each step, the master bedroom, and the adjoining bathroom.” The sheriff didn’t wait for an answer. He spun around, and hurried back to the elevator, and left the investigation to the deputy and coroner’s office.

  He rushed back to the parlor. Looking at the terrified faces of Amy and Kate made him uncomfortable. “Since you weren’t here and only found the bodies you can go home. I know where you two live so if I need you, I’ll call. You can come to the station later to give your statements.”

  “Thank you, sheriff,” said Kate. Amy nodded still wiping tears from her face. The girls left via the front door to avoid seeing the bodies again. They were hurrying around the back to their car when they saw their boss’s car pull in. “I’m glad we’re leaving before Mr. Hobart got here. He gives me the creeps.” Amy only nodded as Kate drove out of the drive onto the highway headed back to town.

 
; Mr. Hobart stormed in the front doors. His booming voice matched his portly size. “What has been going on here? Is it true that Nicki and some guy are dead?” He doubled his fists and placed them on his hips as his figure filled the doorway.

  The sheriff looked his way and said, “Yes, Nicki’s dead. She fell down the stairs. Coroner said her neck is broken. I know the kid, he’s her boyfriend. Appears one of your paintings fell and hit his head. Killed him.”

  “Oh no, oh no, we’ll be sued. Maybe not, they weren’t supposed to be here. Trespassing, yup they were trespassing. I don’t think we’re liable.”

  “What is wrong with you,” the sheriff yelled. “We have two young people dead here and you are worried about being sued. The coroner’s initial determination is accidental, but that could change. If he determines they were murdered no one will ever set foot in the house again.” He smiled to himself as he watched Hobart’s face turn red.

  “What, what, murdered are you insane?” Mr. Hobart’s face was turning an odd shade of purple. The sheriff made him sit down and considered calling the paramedics again. After Mr. Hobart drank the glass of water the deputy brought him, his face began returning to its normal color.

  The bodies were removed and the coroner had his men take the painting along in case he needed to examine it more closely.

  “You can’t take that,” yelled Mr. Hobart. “It’s expensive.”

  “I can and I will,” the doctor retorted. “Sheriff, keep the house off limits until I’m sure I won’t need to come back.”

  “Sure thing,” the sheriff said. He thought Mr. Hobart was going to pass out when he saw the deputy wrapping yellow police tape around a tree and walking across the front of the property.

  Mr. Hobart locked the front door. The spirits were sad and the house was happy everyone had left.

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  Kellie and Randy did their best to finish removing all the left over feathers, but a few proved elusive. “I think I’ll be cleaning these up for months,” Kellie said.