The House of Secrets

by Terry Lynn Thomas

  I recognized her look of desperation. I had experienced it myself when I had seen things that no one wanted to believe.

  ‘Tell me,’ I said. ‘Where have you seen him? If he’s alive, the police should be called.’

  ‘I’ve called the police,’ she said. ‘I filed two reports, but they dismissed me. They had the audacity to tell me I was seeing things and blamed it on the war, if you can believe that. I’m afraid if I call again, they will make good on their threat to have me committed to an asylum. I couldn’t bear that.’

  ‘But where have you seen this man? Has he spoken to you? Has he threatened you?’

  ‘I haven’t seen him directly.’ She shivered. ‘It’s the small things. I catch glimpses of him in a crowd. I saw him in Union Square today. I’m certain of it. I smelled his aftershave on my pillow last night.’ Minna shook her head and stood. ‘I’ve said too much. There’s nothing you can do. I just wanted to apologize.’ She stood up. ‘You’re a good listener, Sarah Bennett.’

  I grabbed my coat and headed downstairs, all the while wondering what I had got myself into.

  * * *

  Dr Geisler drove a black Chevy sedan. His medical licence allowed him unlimited quantities of gasoline, which had become so precious since the outbreak of the war. He and Minna sat in the front. Since I didn’t have a very good vantage point in the back, I leaned back and listened to their small talk.

  We arrived at a large house situated on Russian Hill and fashioned after an Italian villa. There weren’t any places to park, but that didn’t matter, as a man waited for our arrival. When he saw our car, he waved to Dr Geisler, who pulled up to him and rolled down his window.

  ‘Dr Geisler? I’m to take your car for you, sir. I’ll park it around the back of the house.’ He opened the door for Minna. I opened my own door and joined Dr Geisler and Minna on the sidewalk in front of the house. ‘Mrs Wills is waiting for you. You can go on up to the house.’

  As we got close, the shabbiness of the house became more apparent. It had become difficult in this time of war to find maintenance men, which explained why the paint had faded and greyed in spots. Tall weeds grew in the small lawn, giving the house a look of disrepair, as though no one had cared for the exterior in quite some time. As we approached the front door, I noticed two blue stars, and one gold.

  A middle-aged woman dressed in a wool gabardine suit that must have cost the Earth opened the door for us. She wore too much make-up, but had a kind smile that put me at ease. ‘Dr Geisler?’ She spoke in a breathy voice as she extended her hand to him. ‘I’m Virginia Wills. Won’t you come in?’

  We stepped into a world of white – white walls, white window frames, and white ceilings – balanced out by a floor constructed of dark wood. An old sideboard, too massive to move, held an old oil lamp. Bright spots on the walls marked the places where the rest of the furniture used to be. A large window encompassed the entire western-facing wall, filling the room with light.

  When I moved into the beams that shone through the window, the room grew so cold that my breath came out in curlicues of fog.

  Dr Geisler and Minna were busy with Mrs Wills, so they didn’t notice me, shivering and freezing as though I were outside in a snowstorm.

  ‘Most of the furniture’s been moved out already,’ Mrs Wills explained, ‘but I’ve got tea ready in here.’

  The room warmed once again, and I lingered for a moment in a beam of sunlight.

  ‘This way, please.’

  We followed Mrs Wills as she led us down a dark corridor into a sitting room with a bay window that overlooked the street. Two armchairs and two dining chairs had been arranged in a circle, so we would have a place to sit. A tea trolley on rollers held a silver coffee service. Mrs Wills busied herself pouring for the three of us.

  ‘I’m getting a feeling,’ Minna said. She stood in front of the bay window, bathed in the late morning light, and touched the back of her hand to her forehead.

  Mrs Wills gasped.

  Dr Geisler narrowed his eyes as he watched Minna turn in a slow circle.

  He doesn’t believe her.

  ‘Somebody has died in this house,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ Mrs Wills said in awe.

  Minna held her hands out and tipped her head back. Everyone held their breath. Minna dropped her hands to her sides and shook her head.

  ‘It’s no good. It’s gone. I’m sorry.’

  Minna floated with a dancer’s grace over to one of the chairs. Mrs Wills offered her a cup of coffee, but Minna waved her off, opting to tip her head back and close her eyes in quiet repose.

  Mrs Wills set the cup she had offered Minna on the tray. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. Dr Geisler waited, sipping his coffee, as though we had all the time in the world. When he spoke, his gentle voice echoed off the walls.

  ‘Would you like to tell us what’s happened, Mrs Wills?’

  ‘You’re a psychiatrist, correct?’

  ‘Yes, madam. I am a licensed medical doctor, whose specialty is psychiatry.’

  ‘I think I’m going mad, Dr Geisler.’ The hand that held the cup started to tremble. Mrs Wills set it down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  ‘My great-grandfather built this home, and my family has lived in it ever since. My mother was born in this house, and so was I. My children and I are going to move into the housing at Hamilton Air Force Base. My husband’s a pilot.’ Fresh tears welled in her eyes. ‘That’s not important. We are going to put beds in here and make a place for servicemen to live before they ship out. I’ve seen the pictures in the newspaper, with the poor men sleeping in hotel lobbies. I want to do my part, and this house is empty, so I don’t know why this is so hard for me.’ She paused and smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle in her skirt. ‘Things have been moving.’ Her gaze met Dr Geisler’s, as if to gauge his reaction to the words she found so shocking.

  ‘There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Mrs Wills.’

  ‘Silverware started going missing. At first, I thought the workmen were stealing, but I discovered the missing items tucked into the old sideboard. Last week, I came to let the painters in. I turned my back for just a minute, not even that. My purse and car keys disappeared. I found them in the sideboard as well. I didn’t put them there, of that I am certain. Why would I?’

  ‘How did you come to look in the sideboard to find the items?’

  ‘It’s the only piece of furniture in the house. It’s too big to move, and it doesn’t fit anywhere in my new home. The painters worked all morning and went to lunch. When they came back, all of their paintbrushes had been cleaned and dried, as though they were brand new. We found them in the sideboard.’

  Dr Geisler spoke, but his voice faded away. I gulped the weak coffee, but my throat tightened as I swallowed it.

  ‘Excuse me,’ I heard myself say as I stood up.

  The walls had started to undulate. When I giggled out loud, Dr Geisler put his coffee cup down and turned to face me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Minna try to stand up, but Dr Geisler shook his head, and she sat back down. All eyes were upon me as I clung to the back of my chair, gasping for breath. Why couldn’t I get enough air? The floor moved beneath my feet, and then everything went still and quiet.

  I floated in blissful peace, in a tunnel of pure love. It was warm here, warm to heart, warm to soul. The shape of a man formed near me. As he got close, I could make out his thinning grey hair. He wore a tweed suit, complete with vest and watch fob, reminiscent of the early twentieth century. He stood before me, surveying the room. I couldn’t see Dr Geisler anymore. The light in the tunnel blinded me to everyone but the man. I didn’t fear him. I didn’t fear anything. I had never experienced such perfect bliss.

  He surveyed the room. His gaze lit on Mrs Wills. His love for her radiated off his body and enshrouded her in the same white light that encircled me now. So that’s what love looks like. When the man turned his attention to me, the white light
around Mrs Wills vanished.

  ‘Can you see me?’ the man bellowed, frustrated, begging to be heard.

  I nodded, not daring to try to speak.

  ‘By God, you can.’ He moved towards me. ‘Tell her I didn’t mean to scare anyone. It’s my gold watch. It fell behind the sideboard. I don’t want her to lose it. Do you understand me?’

  I stood, mute, unable to move.

  ‘Young lady, do you understand me? Please.’

  I nodded.

  ‘Tell my granddaughter I am with her all the time, watching over her. Tell her I will love her as long as the sky is blue.’

  And, just like that, he vanished, taking the white light with him.

  I gasped for breath, as though I had been under water. When I raised my head, Dr Geisler and Mrs Wills sat on the front of their chairs, concern etched into their inquiring faces. Minna leaned back. She clutched the arm of the chair on which she sat, a sardonic look on her face.

  Dr Geisler moved towards me, his eyes ablaze with excitement, his cheeks flushed. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said.

  In truth, my knees had turned to rubber. The experience had drained my energy. I could have lain on the floor and slept like Rip Van Winkle.

  ‘What happened? Tell me.’ Dr Geisler put an arm around me. ‘If you ladies will excuse us for just a moment.’ Minna and Mrs Wills watched in silence as Dr Geisler ushered me from the room. We came to a stop in the hallway. ‘Tell me what you saw.’

  ‘I saw him. He spoke to me from a tunnel of light.’ I shook my head to clear the cobwebs that gathered there.

  ‘He spoke to you?’ Unbeknownst to us, Mrs Wills had followed behind and had overheard our conversation. At the sound of her shrill voice, Dr Geisler let go of my elbow and moved over to her.

  ‘Mrs Wills, everything is going to be all right. Sarah may have had an experience.’

  ‘I’ll thank you not to mollify me,’ Mrs Wills said. ‘I demand to know what is going on. I called you here, and I want to know what that young woman saw.’

  Dr Geisler turned back to me, worry lines etched on his face.

  I smiled at him. ‘This is all new to me, Mrs Wills. I’ll tell you everything, but do you mind if we sit down first. I’m a bit shaky.’

  Mrs Wills was at my side in an instant. She led me back into the room where the chairs had been arranged. When I sat in one of the armchairs, Mrs Wills pulled one of the dining chairs close to mine. She took my hand, her gaze intent, never leaving my face.

  ‘Please,’ she said, ‘tell me about Grandpa. What did he say? How come you were able to see him, and she wasn’t?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said. ‘Last October, I fell off the second-storey landing of my family home.’

  Dr Geisler and Minna had followed us into the room.

  ‘Since that time, I have been plagued with visions and noises that I cannot explain. Today your grandfather came to me. He apologized for his methods. He didn’t mean to frighten you. But his gold watch is behind that heavy sideboard. He doesn’t want you to lose it.’

  Dr Geisler sat next to Mrs Wills on the seat, using every bit of his bedside manner to offer her comfort in this time of distress.

  ‘Where do we go when we die?’ she asked. ‘I thought we went to heaven, to live with Christ. Are you saying everything that I’ve been taught is a lie?’

  ‘You mustn’t assume that,’ Dr Geisler said. ‘We don’t know enough to make any assumptions.’

  ‘I’m not sure I believe you. I should never have called.’ She touched her forehead, as if the touch could stave off a headache.

  ‘He said he’s with you all the time,’ I said.

  ‘You could be making all this up,’ Mrs Wills said. She had collected herself now. She stood up and started stacking our dirty coffee mugs onto the tray. ‘Although why you would try to make up a story is beyond me.’ Her voice sharpened with anger now, as the realization of my words sank in.

  ‘He said that he’ll love you as long as the sky is blue.’

  Her gaze met mine, full of wonder and hope. The unshed tears glimmered like diamonds against the sapphire blue of her eyes. Her face softened, and I knew I had convinced her that I spoke the truth.

  We all followed her to the old sideboard. Between the four of us we managed to wrest the giant piece of furniture away from the wall. Just as we pulled it away from the place it had rested for years, we heard the sound of something falling.

  Mrs Wills reached back and pulled out a watch covered in the dust of decades.

  ‘I have been looking for this watch for years. I cannot believe this. How can I ever thank you? I’m happy to pay you—’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to be paid, really. I’m glad I could help.’

  ‘And we should be getting along,’ Dr Geisler said.

  ‘Sarah, you are amazing. Really. I am in your debt. If there’s anything I can do for you.’

  ‘There is. Please keep what happened here today to yourself. If you could see your way to do that, I would be grateful. I don’t like people to know—’

  Realization dawned on Mrs Wills’s face. ‘You’re Jack Bennett’s daughter. Oh, you poor girl. Of course. I won’t tell a soul.’ She hugged me, thanked me again. ‘What an unusual woman you are, Miss Bennett. I’m so very glad that you came today.’

  We bid our farewells. Outside, the man who had taken the car when we arrived waited for us. Minna, who hadn’t spoken a word to me, took her place in the front seat. No one spoke the entire way home.

  Dr Geisler fidgeted, drummed a staccato on the steering wheel, and tried over and over again to catch my eye in the rear-view mirror. I avoided looking at him. He had questions, but I didn’t want to be interrogated. Not today.

  ‘Sarah, I have many questions, but I can see you’re tired. Would you like to take the rest of the day off? You and I will speak tomorrow. The typing can wait.’

  I nodded at him as I got out of the back seat. He and Minna let themselves in the house through the door that led to the mud room off the kitchen. I opted to go through the front door. As I hurried out of the garage and into the blustery spring afternoon, I knew that if I were to turn around, I would find Minna staring at me, and the look on her face would not be a happy one. I had upstaged her. At some point in the future, she would exact her revenge.

  Chapter Four

  Desperate for privacy, I locked the door to my room and took one drop of morphine – just enough to quiet the weeping sounds – to a tall glass of water. My legs wobbled beneath me, and I’d swear my eyelids had sand under them. Sleep. I wonder why seeing ghosts is such an exhausting endeavour? I laughed out loud when my mind formed the sentence, a hideous laugh, devoid of humour.

  I imagined the look on Zeke’s face when I uttered those words to him. Would I lose Zeke over this strange ability I had? Worse yet, would I lose myself? For as I recalled the events at the Wills’s house, one truth ran through my mind: the asylum. This time they would throw away the key. I had found Mrs Wills’s missing watch, and the idea that I could use this madness that threatened to ruin my life to the benefit of another gave me hope. I just didn’t know what any of it meant. I didn’t care. I pulled the curtains against the afternoon sun and got under the eiderdown. Images of Zeke floated through my mind.

  I love you, I whispered into the darkness, just as I drifted away.

  A soft rapping on my door pulled me out of a deep sleep. The sun had set, and the clock by the side of my bed said seven-thirty.

  ‘Miss, it’s me, Alice. I’ve brought a tray.’

  I belted my robe, and opened the door for Alice, who carried in a tray laden with a steaming bowl of vegetable soup, accompanied by a thick slice of bread that smelled as though it had just come out of the oven.

  ‘Is that—’

  ‘Yes, miss. It’s real butter. Mrs McDougal had the grocer put some back for her specially. I think he’s sweet on her.’ She set the tray on my dresser, and in the light I no
ticed the dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her complexion.

  ‘Alice, are you all right?’

  ‘Just a little tired,’ she said. ‘I’ll be back for the tray.’

  ‘Oh, don’t bother. I’ll bring it down when I’m finished.’

  I took the soup and bread and sat down at my writing desk. I had skipped lunch and dinner. The soup went down well. I mopped up the leftover broth with the bread. Wide awake now, I ran the bath. As the tub filled, I pulled fresh clothes out of the wardrobe and laid them across my bed. Back in the bathroom, I took out the pins that held my hair out of my face and shook my long curls loose. I needed a haircut. Thinking that I would ask Cynthia for a recommendation to a decent hairdresser, I moved back into the bedroom and stopped short.

  The skirt and sweater that I had laid out now lay in a wrinkled heap on the floor. A sketchbook now sat on the bed in their place. My heart pounded in my ears as I moved towards it. I stood for a moment, staring at the dog-eared book. Across the front of the book were the words, ‘Private Property of Alysse Geisler!’ With a shaking hand I reached out and opened the book. Sketches of people on the street, automobiles, flowers, and animals covered the pages, but those drawings are not what Alysse wanted me to find. The last picture, a charcoal rendering of a bottle of digitalis, caught my eye.

  When Alysse’s gentle breath brushed cold on the back of my neck, I resisted the urge to turn around and confront her. She wanted me to see this bottle. Why? I knew physicians used digitalis to treat heart trouble, but what did this have to do with anything?

  ‘Alysse, what does this mean?’

  I jumped at the rap on my door.

  ‘Sarah?’

  And just like that, Alysse vanished, and by some miracle, my skirt and sweater wound up back on my bed, as though they had never been moved at all.

  I opened the door to Bethany, who peered around behind me, as if I had someone hidden away in the room with me. ‘Were you speaking to someone?’