“Drew Harris?”
“His family anyway.” He patted the stones. “Don’t think they ever used it. It was falling apart. Roof was mostly caved in.”
“This isn’t too far from the old Grimmer place,” Robin said. “Did you notice that? It’s on the same creek.”
“Oh yeah.” Val walked around the blackened foundation. “Sully, that’s one of the places we found clues about Robin’s Grandma Helen and Billy Grimmer’s murder.”
“Right.” Sully hadn’t been with Val when all that had happened. He’d only known that Robin’s car went into the lake and came up with the bones of an old skeleton in the back seat.
It hadn’t been an ordinary car accident.
“So all three places that have burned were old and abandoned,” Monica said. “Clearly this isn’t someone who wants to harm people.”
“We can’t say that,” Sully said. “I’ve been talking to people about what a serial arsonist is, what to look for, that kind of thing. It’s usually about power or acting out internal anger.”
Robin looked up from examining a toppled post. “Male or female? I’m guessing male.”
“Yes. By a high margin, serial arsonists tend to be male.”
Monica said, “But the readings Val got from the last scene were of a woman.” She turned her attention to Val, who had her gloves off and was concentrating on the area in front of the stone chimney, which was still standing.
“It was a female,” Val said. “But we don’t know if the person staying in the Alison barn has anything to do with the fires.” She huffed in frustration. “I’m not getting anything from this. It’s dead.”
Sully walked over and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s too damaged, Val. Don’t stress about it. You gave us something to go on with the blankets.”
“Robin, what about you?” Monica looked for her friend. “Robin?”
“Over here!”
Monica spotted Robin across the creek, sitting on a fallen log that leaned over the water. “I’m trying to call Bethany.”
Sully cleared his throat. “Do I need to be here for that?”
“You’ve met Bethany before,” Val said. “Remember? She’s the ghost who found the path for us up at the cabin last year.”
“Right.” Sully still looked uncomfortable. “I’m just saying, isn’t she more comfortable with just you ladies?”
Val smiled. “Sully, are you afraid of the ghost?”
“No.” He shrugged. “Maybe not my favorite thing, that’s all.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Go ahead and wait at the truck. I can’t read anything here, so we’re probably almost done.”
“Okay.” The man departed so fast you’d think something was chasing him.
Monica snorted. “Men.”
“So weird about talking to the dead,” Val said. “Probably a good thing Robin hasn’t told him how many hang around town.”
Robin frowned. “Well, not today. I’m not having much luck calling Bethany.”
Bethany was usually quick to answer Robin’s call when Robin summoned her by drawing her portrait, so Bethany not showing up for Robin was notable.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Monica walked across the creek and over to Robin.
“She came by the shop and hung out for a while last week. She didn’t say anything though. It felt off. Her energy seemed… worried maybe? Cautious? She sat in the children’s area with Clara.”
The ghost of the woman who’d lived in Robin’s antique shop still haunted it, but she was a friendly ghost, a young mother who’d died in childbirth. She was peaceful and was happiest when children came to visit the shop.
“Can Clara and Bethany communicate?” Val asked. “Does it work that way?”
“Bethany seems to be aware of her, and Clara sees her. So they know about each other; they don’t really chat. But Clara was singing to her and it seemed to calm Bethany down.”
Val groaned. “Oh, there is definitely something spooky going on in Glimmer Lake.”
“You mean spookier than normal?” Monica asked.
“I mean we have old cabins burning down, ghosts who usually love Robin avoiding her—”
“Maybe she’s scared,” Robin said. “There was violence here. I mean, it wasn’t a gunfight or an assault, but a fire creates a lot of violent energy. Maybe Bethany is just afraid.”
“Should we try somewhere else?” Monica asked.
“I have to go,” Val said. “Andy and Jack are coming back from their dad’s today, so I need to get home.”
“Go,” Monica said. “I can go with Robin.”
“You’re sure? You don’t have to get back to the hotel?”
They didn’t like letting Robin talk to ghosts alone. If Monica or Val wasn’t available, Mark was usually the one anchoring his wife. It wasn’t that most spirits were angry or violent, but some of them could be, and when Robin was talking to a spirit, she was hardly aware of her surroundings.
“No, you can head home. I’m good. Kara’s been distracted lately, but I think that’s Jake’s fault.” Monica smiled. “She’s still super on top of work.”
“That’s great to hear. Eve really likes her.”
“Everyone loves her. She’s perfect for the position.” Monica nudged Robin. “Hey, hon. Let’s head back.”
“What?” Robin looked up, her eyes slightly unfocused.
“Why don’t we try calling Bethany somewhere else? I think this place is too disturbing.”
“Right. Good idea.”
Monica helped Robin cross the stream and head back to the path that trailed along the creek. “You okay?”
“I’m just worried,” Robin murmured. “You’re right. Something bad is definitely coming.”
Monica and Robin waited by the lakeside, sitting on rounded granite rocks and the exposed roots of giant pines that lined the west side of Glimmer Lake. They had pulled off the road that ran past the dam and headed up to Glimmer Lake Lodge, the same road they’d run off of when Robin had been startled by a ghostly white stag.
Robin was sitting cross-legged on a rock, her eyes closed as she let her fingers move over the page where she was drawing. The afternoon was waning, and gold light shone across the water.
A chill touched the air, causing Monica to shiver. “Anything?”
“She’s here.” Robin opened her eyes a little and focused on a stand of trees. “She’s near, but she’s keeping her distance.”
Monica kept her voice low. “That’s unusual, right?”
“Bethany?” Robin spoke softly. “Bethany, we’re looking for help.”
Long silence followed the gentle request.
“She’s thinking,” Robin said. “She’s moved a little closer, but she’s still not talking.”
“She’s worried?”
“I think so.”
What made a ghost afraid? “Is she avoiding me?” Monica asked. “Should I wait by the car?”
“She knows you. She knows all of us. She’s not too sure about Sully, but he’s not here.”
Silence stretched over them, lapping at the edges of the clearing like the water lapped at the pebbled beach.
“I know you’re scared,” Robin said. “What can we do to make you feel better?” Robin frowned at something in the distance. “Make him go away? Make who go away?”
More silence. “Bethany, can you tell us about the fires? Did you see any— No! Don’t leave.”
Monica almost started at the urgency in Robin’s voice.
“I can tell something is scaring you. Does it have something to do with the fires?” She listened longer. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Robin’s voice fell to a soft whisper. “Is someone hurting you?”
Monica felt the pain in Robin’s voice to her toes. All three of them were mothers, and the idea of someone hurting a child, even a ghost child, filled Monica with a fierce kind of rage. “Who?”
“She won’t say,” Robin murmured. “B
ethany’s being very elusive, which is unlike her. She’s usually very direct.”
“Okay. Just… focus on whatever she can give us. Try to pick up anything you can from what she’s—”
“She?” Robin asked. “Is the person starting the fires a woman?” She frowned. “Not a woman.”
A girl? Monica had been doing her research, and the number of arsonists under eighteen was truly astonishing. Arson seemed to be a way that young people acted out, especially if they were abused or traumatized.
“Could the arsonist be a ghost?” Monica whispered.
“No.” Robin said it firmly. “Sully said Gabe was sure accelerant was being used. Ghosts can’t manipulate physical objects without expending an incredible amount of energy, like Billy getting us out of the car. This person has used physical things only a few days apart. A ghost wouldn’t be able to do that.”
“Is Bethany still here?”
“Yes.” Robin’s hand was still moving over her sketch. “I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s practically sulking. She’s not happy I called her. She wants to leave.”
“Should you let her go?” Monica asked. “We don’t want to piss off the friendliest spirit we know.”
“There’s something here. She knows something more.”
“Maybe she—”
“What was that?” Robin nearly shouted it. “Bethany, I need to know…” Her eyes went wide. “Who didn’t mean for it to happen, Bethany?” Robin leaned forward, her body poised to charge off the tree roots if necessary. “Bethany?” Her body relaxed. “She’s gone.”
“She gave you something though.”
Robin smoothed her hand over Bethany’s sketch. This time she’d drawn Bethany in her usual nightgown, but the girl was curled into a protective ball, her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them. She was on the edge of the bank, her back leaning against a knotted pine tree. She didn’t look at the artist—her eyes were narrowed, concentrating on something just out of the frame.
“Is this how she looked just now?”
“Yeah.”
“She looks… angry.”
“She is. She’s angry and sad. I think she knows what’s going on. She might even know who’s starting the fires.”
“How?”
“First she said: I can’t talk about the fire.”
“So clearly she knows nothing about what happened.” Monica rolled her eyes. “What else?”
“After she said that, she hummed a song. What was it?” Robin frowned. “Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly… You know that old song?”
“Only a little. I think it was in a movie?”
“It’s an old, old folk song.”
Monica felt a shiver trail down her back. “That’s not creepy at all.”
“And then… right before she disappeared, she turned to me and said, ‘It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t mean for it to happen.’”
“She didn’t mean for the fire to happen?” Monica took a deep breath. “So we’re looking for a woman again. Sully’s profile said a man. Is that out the window?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s talking about something else. Someone else. Maybe what she’s scared of doesn’t have anything to do with the fires happening now. Like I said, a ghost can’t do these things. Lighting a fire is too physical.”
Monica walked over to Robin and held out her hand. “Let’s head back. You can tell me more in the car, but the sun’s going down and it’s getting cold.”
Monica could already feel the nip of fall in the air. But while people in the low country thought about pretty fall colors and pumpkins getting ripe, in the mountains the cold dry nights of autumn meant fire. Risk of fire was there in the summer, but the risk of fire was at its highest just as nights were getting colder and people craved a nice cozy fire to warm up.
Campfires could quickly turn into accidental fires. Was that what had happened at the Alison cabin? Had it all started as an accident? Did seeing that fire unlock something in their arsonist? Had they gotten a taste of release? A taste of chaos?
Who was lighting fires in Glimmer Lake? Where was this anger coming from? And what did the ghosts know?
Chapter 13
Three days passed in Glimmer Lake, but Monica could feel the tension. While the out-of-towners seemed unaware of the increased stress in town, everyone Monica ran into mentioned the three fires. More of her neighbors were cutting back their trees and bushes, cleaning off the roof they’d meant to clean after the snow melted.
She saw more than one plastic tub go into a garage. They were go bags for wildfires. Emergency supplies, nonperishable food, medicine, documents, and other things that couldn’t be replaced. The baby pictures would go in there. Grandmother’s quilt. Memories.
Monica had lived in the mountains her whole life, and living in the mountains meant living with the threat of fire. But she’d never felt anything as close as the fear she felt in Glimmer Lake now. She had her own go bag packed in her trunk, and she took it back and forth to Russell House every day.
She pulled up to the kitchen parking area a few minutes before eight on Sunday morning. They had five rooms checking out today and seven parties checking in, families sneaking in one last week of vacation before school started.
Visitors didn’t seem to be worried. Because the fires had been taken care of quickly by the local company and their branch of state services, the incidents hadn’t hit the national or statewide news.
She parked and grabbed her purse before heading in. She had a lot on her plate that morning, getting ready for the coming week, and she also needed to call Sam and Caleb to see if they were available for building the gazebo after the trees behind Russell House were cleared.
Nevertheless, she wasn’t too busy to notice the quiet conversation between Kara and Jake when she walked in. They were both leaning against the counter, coffee in hand, looking very cozy.
“Good morning.” Monica put her purse down and pretended she didn’t notice how Jake and Kara darted apart.
“Hey, Mom.” Jake walked over and gave her a one-armed hug. “How’s your morning been?”
How’s yours been? Monica didn’t say it. She didn’t really want to know. He might be twenty-nine, but he was still her first baby. “Good. You?”
“Good. Great weather today. The, uh, the campfire cocktail thing Kara organized went really well last night.”
“Great.”
“Yeah.” Kara cleared her throat and stepped forward. “I think that’s something we can start implementing every night, or at least weekend nights. Complimentary cocktails were snapped up, but we got really good reorders too. And Eve sold a ton of hot chocolate for the kids.”
“Nice.” Monica smiled at Kara. “Great idea.”
“Thanks, Monica.” She smothered a yawn. “Sorry.”
Monica glanced between Jake and the young woman. “Late night?”
Kara’s cheeks went pink. “Just busy with cocktail night. Lots on my mind.”
Monica took out her calendar as they joined her at the table. “What’s on the agenda for today? We’ve got five out and seven in. Will our rooms be ready? Is Jacqueline working this weekend?”
“She’s coming over after noon. She has church in the morning.”
Monica hadn’t been to Mass in weeks. Eek. She should go to evening mass for sure. “Make sure Jacqueline and all the ladies know we’re continuing the bonus program going forward. It’s not just a summer thing anymore.”
“Will do.”
Monica looked at her son. “How about you? All our equipment ready to go?”
“I’ll probably be working my butt off today and tonight. One of the families wanted a fishing trip this afternoon, but other than that, I’m clear until tomorrow. But I’ve got to get all the waterskiing equipment organized and do some patches on our tubes.”
“The kids’ equipment?”
Jake nodded. “Just end-of-season stuff. Need to restring some badminton rackets, patch a couple of nets,
replace some blankets from the boathouse, things like that.”
“Roughly the same as last year?”
“A little more upkeep, but this season was busier than last, so I’m not surprised.”
“You should have time during the fall lull.” Monica was looking forward. How would they keep guests coming in once school started again? What did Glimmer Lake have to offer in the fall between summer lake season and winter snow?
Was it irresponsible to tempt people to Glimmer Lake when a serial arsonist was on the loose?
No, she couldn’t think that way. That’s why she was spending all her spare time with Robin and Val, trying to figure out what was happening. None of this was written in stone. She refused to accept that.
Monica looked at the third item on her list. “Jake, have you contacted the wineries about crush season promo?”
Jake sighed and jotted a note down on his legal pad. “I’ll add it to the list.”
“We gotta plan ahead,” Monica said. “Always.”
“Got it.”
The three of them quickly ran through the rest of the schedule for the day before they went their separate ways, Monica to her office to call the tree company about clearing the back of Russell House, Kara to the front desk, and Jake to the boathouse.
Eve brought her a coffee midmorning. “I didn’t see you this morning.”
“I was behind on my schedule, but I’m feeling more caught up now.” Monica reached for the caffe latte. “Bless you.”
“No problem. It’ll be quiet at my stand until the families start taking off and getting drinks for the road.”
“Good.” She tasted the delicious caffeinated goodness. “So you have time to gossip.”
Eve sat in the chair and settled in with a smile. “Oooh, what are we gossiping about?”
“I happened to notice that my son and my manager were quite… cozy this morning.”
Eve looked like a deer in the headlights. “Uh…”
“Jake already talked to me,” she quickly added. “Neither of their jobs is at risk here. Unless it ends badly and Jake acts like a jerk. I told him he’s more expendable than Kara is.”
Psychic Dreams: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Glimmer Lake Book 3) Page 9
