by Kathi Daley
“We can tell ghost stories,” Trevor offered.
“Or not,” Mac countered. “When do we start?”
“I thought we’d do our sweeps at random intervals. Not that the ghosts will care, but if there are human visitors we don’t want to be too predictable. Let’s do the first in about ten minutes.”
The first sweep didn’t turn up anything, but twenty minutes after we completed it we heard movement on the floor below us. We’d decided to set up our base in one of the empty bedrooms on the second floor so we would hear any movement coming from either the first floor or the attic.
“Those are definitely human footsteps,” I whispered.
“Should we confront whoever it is?” Mac asked, scooting just a bit closer to Trevor.
“No. We don’t have weapons and because we were going to be late, I didn’t go all the way home for Tucker. I think we should quietly check it out. We’ll stay in the shadows until we know what we’re dealing with. We can always call the cops if we need to.”
“Maybe we should call the cops now,” Mac suggested.
“It’s probably just kids,” I countered. “It sounds like they’re making their way up the stairs. We found footprints in the attic that looked like children’s, so they may have supplies hidden up there. Let’s separate. Trevor and I will check that out. Mac, you head outside. If we get into trouble you can call for help.”
“Okay,” Mac agreed. “But I want to go on record as saying I don’t like this one little bit.”
Trevor and I slowly crept up the stairs with him in the lead. Moving slowly allowed us not to make any noise that would alert the intruders of our presence. I could hear voices in the attic as we neared the top of the stairs, which confirmed in my mind that we were indeed dealing with kids.
Once we arrived I cracked the door open. Sure enough, there were three young boys— around ten, I thought—moving boxes to the side to get to the ones at the bottom. I watched as they opened one and took out cans of spray paint, a big hammer, and a much smaller ax.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Trevor demanded as he flung the door fully open.
The kids were obviously startled and immediately fell into a defensive position. I could see they wanted to run, but Trevor was blocking the only door.
I moved around Trevor’s massive body and stepped inside the room. “It looks like we’ve found our vandals.”
“We’re not vandals,” one of the boys, the tallest and thinnest, argued.
“According to my friend Caleb, he’s found damaged props and graffiti on the walls the past few days. Based on the things in your hands, I’d say the three of you have been behind the problems he’s been having.”
“Maybe we should call the cops and let them sort it out,” Trevor said.
“No, please,” pleaded a short, chubby boy with blond hair that fell over his eyes. “My parents will kill me.”
“You should have thought of that before you damaged property that wasn’t yours,” Trevor countered.
“But it is ours. This house. It is ours,” the third boy, a redhead with a face full of freckles, claimed.
“The house is yours?” I asked. “You own it?”
The redhead glanced at his tall, skinny friend, who answered. “No, but Mr. Weston said we could have our hangout here. He let us use the whole second floor. I know he’s dead, but no one has been in here since, so we figured we were in the clear to keep using it. Then those teenagers showed up and ruined everything. This is our hangout.”
“Yeah,” the redhead added. “We were here first, and everyone knows possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
Trevor chuckled. “You know that for a fact, do you?”
“My big brother says it all the time,” the boy insisted.
“Does your brother tend to steal things?” Trevor guessed.
The boy bowed his head and didn’t answer.
“Okay, say you’re right,” I jumped in. “Say you’d been using the house for a long time and then Caleb and his crew showed up and ruined it for you. They’ll only be here for another week. It would have been smarter to wait until they were gone rather than destroy things.”
“They deserved to have their stuff destroyed,” the chubby blond said, a hint of anger in his voice. “We had a lot of good stuff in the big room on the second floor and they took it all away. I heard someone say it ended up in the dump.”
“Did Caleb know you’d been using the house for a fort?”
“It’s not a fort; it’s a hangout,” the boy argued.
I glanced at Trevor, who just shrugged. I turned back to the boys. “Did the teenagers who showed up and took your stuff know you’d been using the house as a hangout and the things in that room were yours?”
The tall, thin boy admitted they probably had no idea.
I glanced once again at Trevor, who was still standing in the doorway. “Text Mac and tell her to come on up.” I turned back to the boys. “I understand why you’re mad that Caleb and the others got rid of your stuff and messed up your clubhouse.”
“Hangout,” all three boys said in unison.
“Oh, right. But even if they wrecked your hangout you need to understand that they didn’t know the stuff was yours. They have permission from Mr. Weston’s nephew to use the house for a Haunted Hayride next weekend. After that they’ll be done with the place. If I find a way to compensate you for the loss of your belongings will you stop vandalizing the place and allow the high school to use your hangout for another week and a half?”
“What’s compensate?” the chubby blond asked.
“It means I’ll help you get some stuff to replace what you lost. What did Caleb take to the dump?”
“A perfectly good couch we found on the curb, a couple of tables my mom was getting rid of, a big chest Mr. Weston gave us that we used to hide our treasures, a two-way radio; all sorts of stuff,” the tall kid answered.
“I’ll take you to the secondhand store when the Haunted Hayride is over and you can pick out some new stuff if you agree to leave things alone until Caleb is done with the house.”
“What if we don’t agree?” the redhead asked.
“Then I’ll have no choice but to call the police.”
The three boys huddled together to discuss the situation. After a bit they turned around.
“Okay,” the tall, skinny kid said. “We’ll let them use our hangout for their hayride if you replace our stuff and let us keep that big skeleton by the front door.”
I stuck out my hand. “Deal.”
The boys looked at one another. Finally, the redhead asked if they could leave.
“Before you do, I have to ask how you’ve been getting in and out. The house is locked up tight every night.”
“There’s a secret passage that starts off in the forest and ends up in the basement,” the redhead said.
“Can you show me where it is?”
“You asking to take our tour?” the boy asked.
I smiled. “Sure, I’d love to take the tour.”
“That’ll be ten bucks,” he informed me.
“Okay. I have money in my backpack downstairs. If you follow us I’ll get it.”
The tall, thin kid looked toward the door, where Trevor was still waiting, and Mac had just joined him. “That’s ten bucks each,” he added.
******
The doorway in the cellar was hidden behind a large wooden cabinet that had been pulled out from the wall. The passage itself was dark and narrow, but the boys had flashlights and Trevor, Mac, and I had grabbed our own as well. The passage had a damp feel to it and I wondered if groundwater seeped through when it rained. I could hear the echo of waves crashing in the distance, so I suspected the passage opened up even closer to the water than the house.
No one spoke as we walked in single file. About halfway along the passage we came to a fork, with a second passage heading off in another direction.
“What does that lead to?” I stopped walking, cau
sing Mac and Trevor, who were behind me, to stop as well.
“Another door,” the redhead answered. “But it’s locked.”
“Have you ever tried to open it?” I wondered.
All three said they hadn’t.
“Mr. Weston said not to ever go down that passage and especially not to touch the door,” the dark-haired boy explained. “It was one of the rules he gave us when he agreed to let us use the second floor as a hangout. We did sneak down there once, and we touched the door, but then we all had pains in our hearts. We were curious, but Mr. Weston was a nice man who was doing a nice thing for us, so we never tried to open it.”
“Did he ever say what was on the other side of the door?” Mac asked.
“No,” the blond answered. “He didn’t, but I think it must be something with magical powers. Maybe something like an evil spirit or a dimension monster. Can’t think of no other reason touching a door would make you hurt inside.”
I turned and looked at Mac and Trevor. I could see the question on their faces but didn’t comment further. “Okay. Thanks for the information. How far to the end?”
“Not too far,” the tall, thin kid answered. “Stay real close. The passage gets steep at the end, so you have to walk real slow, but it isn’t too bad because it hasn’t rained for a while.”
“It’s bad when it rains?”
The boy nodded. “When it rains the water runs down and you can’t get through that way.”
“Have you ever been trapped in here?” I asked.
“No,” the redhead answered. “If it’s raining we just use the front door.”
Once we’d made our way out of the tunnel and into the forest, which couldn’t be more than a hundred yards from the sea, I gave the boys my cell number and asked them to call me the day after Halloween. I figured Caleb would have his stuff cleared out by then and I would take the boys shopping to replace the things they’d lost. I reminded them that part of the deal was their cooperation and they all agreed to stay away from the house until after Caleb and the volunteers had cleared out.
“You realize they could say they lost anything,” Mac said as we started back through the tunnel to the house. “This may end up being a very expensive shopping trip.”
“I know, but I can afford to buy them some things and I do feel bad their stuff was hauled away. I bet Caleb will too when he finds out what happened.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Mac agreed. “I won’t be a bit surprised, though, if the boys tell you they had the newest gaming system hidden in that room.”
I shrugged. I didn’t care. As it turned out, the boys had given us some valuable information I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. I paused when we came to the fork in the passage and made a quick decision, heading down the other route to the secret room.
“Are you planning to open the door?” Trevor asked. “Because I’ve been dying to ever since the kids mentioned it.”
“Maybe,” I answered. “I definitely intend to check it out.”
As the boys had described, there was a sturdy door with a heavy lock at the end of the second passage. We didn’t have anything with us that would open the door, but the minute I put my hand on it I sensed a deep longing that tore at my soul. I gasped as fear and sadness gripped my heart so deeply that it created a physical pain.
“What is it?” Mac asked.
I lowered my hand and took a step back. “I’m not sure, but I know we need to open this door. Whatever’s on the other side seems to be the source of a deep sorrow, just like the boys suggested. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt such a strong presence. The lock is sturdy, but I’m sure we have something in our tool kit back at home that will cut it.”
“You want to go now?” Trevor asked.
I felt my breath catch as I considered the depth of the pain I’d just experienced. “I have to go now. I’ll grab Shadow while I’m there. He seems to have a sense about these things.”
Chapter 5
Mom was out when Trevor, Mac, and I arrived at my house, but both Tucker and Shadow were happy to see us. I texted my mom to tell her what we were doing before going out to the shed to see what I could find that would handle the lock on the door. I selected a large bolt cutter, as well as a prying tool, a screwdriver, and a hammer. I wasn’t sure we’d need all that, but it made sense to be prepared.
I put the tools in the Jeep, then went back for Shadow and Tucker. I wasn’t sure we needed Tucker, but there was no way I was taking Shadow and leaving him home. I grabbed a couple of extra flashlights just in case we needed them, and then the three of us, along with Tucker and Shadow, returned to the haunted house.
Upon arriving, we immediately went down into the basement, through the doorway, and into the passage. When we came to the locked door Trevor used the bolt cutters. The door was heavy, so it took all three of us to work it open. Inside, we used our flashlights to illuminate the small room. There were two wooden boxes, handmade, one large and one small, both nailed shut and both shaped suspiciously like coffins.
“Are you sure we should open them?” Trevor asked.
“I’m sure,” I said.
“What if there are vampires inside?” Trevor added, taking a step back.
“There are no such things as vampires,” I informed him.
“This coming from the girl who sees ghosts?”
I grabbed the hammer Mac was holding and began to pry at the nails. “Ghosts and vampires are completely different things. Now grab that screwdriver and help me pry the lid open once I loosen the nails.”
It took a few minutes, but eventually, I opened the first box. I gasped when I realized I was looking at the skeleton of a child. I could feel fear and grief overtake me as I stood looking down at the remains, but I hadn’t seen the ghost I was expecting to find.
“It’s just a kid,” Mac said softly.
“Yeah.” I let out a long breath. I glanced at Trevor, who had turned pale. “Help me get the lid off the other box.”
The second box also contained the remains of a person, this one an adult.
“So who are they?” Trevor asked.
“I have no idea,” I said.
“Can you see them?” Mac asked. “I mean the ghosts of them, of course.”
I shook my head. “No. But I can feel them. I sense pain and sorrow but also fear. And there’s something else.”
“Like what?” Mac asked.
“I’m not sure exactly.” I shone my light around the room, which was empty except for a cabinet that was pushed against the back wall. “I really want to look around, but I think we should call the police. Maybe if they can find out who the skeletons belong to we can find out why they’re here.”
I walked over to the cabinet and opened the door. Inside were blankets, clothing, toys, and books. It looked like these were things that could have belonged to both skeletons.
“This is just too disturbing,” Mac said.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “It really is.” I paused. “Do you feel a draft?”
Mac stopped, then shook her head.
“Maybe you feel the fresh air coming into the room from the passageway,” Trevor suggested.
“I suppose.” I continued to look around the room but didn’t see a source other than the door where fresh air may have entered.
“I wonder what happened to them,” Mac whispered.
“The old man who lived here must have killed them,” Trevor stated. “He must have kept them locked down here and then, when he was tired of them, he must have killed them.”
Mac looked at me. “Do you think that’s what happened?”
“Maybe. It seems like a good theory, but until we figure it out for sure I don’t think these two souls will be able to move on. Let’s get back upstairs and call this in.”
“We should let Caleb know what’s going on,” Mac added.
“Yeah. I’ll call him after I call the cops.”
Mac, Trevor, and I discussed what to tell the police and what to ke
ep to ourselves. We all agreed we didn’t want to get the three kids in trouble for breaking into the house, so we decided we’d say we were checking on the props that had been left in the house and had discovered the passage when we were looking around. Then, during our exploration of the passage, we’d found the room. We called Caleb and told him the same thing. He was coming to meet us at the house as soon as he could get there.
A short time later, two police officers arrived. One, a veteran officer named Dick Wharton, complained that he was less than two weeks from retirement and didn’t need such a complicated case so late in his career, and the other, a brand-new officer named Woody Baker, who’d joined the force after completing a two-year tour of duty with the Marines. While Officer Wharton was irritated to be bothered with the mystery, Officer Baker was eager to dig in and get his hands dirty. I wondered how these very different men had ended up as partners. Maybe the older man had been assigned to break in the younger one, who barely looked old enough to have been in the armed forces before becoming a cop, but from Baker’s eager grin and genuine enthusiasm, I was willing to bet he was driving Wharton crazy with all his questions.
“The medical examiner is on his way,” Wharton informed us. “I need to take a statement from each of you. I prefer to do the interviews individually. Officer Baker will escort Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Johnson to the main floor of the house while I speak to Ms. Prescott. We’ll use one of the rooms on the second floor for our interviews.”
I offered Mac and Trevor encouraging smiles. “That’s fine,” I said to Wharton. “I’m happy to tell you everything I know, which, I’ll warn you, isn’t a lot.”
I followed the officer up the stairs. There was a long table along one wall that Caleb had been using to draw diagrams of the setup for the props. There weren’t any chairs, so I pulled over a sturdy box and sat on it. Wharton did the same.
“Please state your full name and address,” he said after taking a small notepad and pen out of his shirt pocket.
“Alyson Prescott,” I said, following up with my address. My heart was pounding. So far, I hadn’t had to subject my new identity to police scrutiny. I hadn’t had a problem using my new ID to register for school or to get a driver’s license, but I was afraid the police might take a closer look at what was in reality an illusion.
