Fatally Haunted

by Rachel Howzell Hall

  “I don’t know about that but…” Kelly took a deep breath and continued, “At first I thought I was being watched, but strange things have been happening all week. I know it’s my sister and—”

  “You think she’s dead,” Fiona interrupted. It was a statement, not a question.

  Kelly nodded slowly. “It does seem otherworldly. I see her reflection everywhere. But no one is ever there.”

  Amber’s eyes widened. “That’s spooky.”

  Fiona seemed excited. “I’ve heard that ghosts appear in mirror images.”

  “Other strange things have been happening, too. Photos of the two of us show up in unexpected places. And when I got in my car to come here, I could swear I smelled my sister’s perfume.”

  “She’s trying to contact you,” Fiona declared. “Twins have that strong connection, no matter how fractured it might seem.” She grabbed Kelly’s hands. “I know someone who can help. Have you heard of the psychic Gabriel Griggs?”

  Kelly shook her head.

  “He’s a new client of mine. I was thrilled when Gabriel sought me out, and not just because he’s a talented psychic. He’s also gorgeous.” Fiona turned to include Amber. “I’ve never seen Amber move that quickly to offer a manicure.”

  Amber grinned. “Gabriel’s so handsome. And generous. He gave me a free reading as part of my tip. And let me tell you, he’s for real. He knew things about me that, well, only a psychic could possibly know.”

  “I’m not sure I believe in all that psychic stuff.”

  “Did you believe in hauntings before this?” asked Fiona.

  “I guess not…But I don’t think it’s a good idea to aggravate the situation. It might make things worse.”

  “Nonsense,” argued Fiona. “The situation is already worse. You need help and, trust me, Gabriel’s the guy.”

  “I’m sure he can help you,” agreed Amber.

  “I’m calling him right now.” Fiona moved to the phone.

  Gabriel Griggs arrived an hour later, and Fiona introduced him to Kelly. The tall, dark-haired psychic was every bit as handsome as Amber had promised. His brown eyes radiated warmth and concern as he took Kelly’s hand.

  “Fiona told me about your situation.” Gabriel continued to hold her hand, and Kelly felt an immediate attraction.

  “I feel a bit silly,” she stammered. “Maybe I’m overreacting. I mean my sister could be fine. I don’t know; maybe she’s hurt. Maybe she’s…I don’t know why I’m babbling.”

  Well, that wasn’t quite true. She did know why. She always babbled when she was nervous about making a good impression.

  “Don’t feel silly.” He gently caressed Kelly’s hand, which made her tingle. “You want to know what’s going on, and I’m here to help find the truth. Wherever that leads us.”

  Fiona’s eyes lit up. “Are you talking about a séance?”

  “Count me in,” Amber added.

  Gabriel smiled at their enthusiasm. “It’s not quite a séance. At least not in the way you ladies are thinking.”

  “What then?” asked Kelly, uncertain.

  “I get psychic impressions. Sometimes spirits come to me, and I’m able to interpret what they’re trying to say. But it’s not like they speak through me; that’s a Hollywood movie thing.”

  “Okay.” Kelly breathed a bit easier. “That sounds—good.”

  “What now?” Fiona was ready for action.

  Gabriel turned his full attention back to Kelly. “We need to go to a place where the connection between you and your sister is strong. And I’ll need to hold something that belonged to your sister. Maybe a photo of her.”

  “We could go to the Los Feliz home. I’m moving out and will probably sell it soon. But she spent a lot of time there.”

  An hour later, Kelly steered her new Mercedes past the For Sale sign and through the gates of the Los Feliz estate. Gabriel followed in his Porsche, and Fiona and Amber pulled up behind him in Fiona’s Honda Civic. The mansion’s gates closed behind them and Kelly led the group inside the stately mansion.

  Amber caught sight of the swimming pool and gardens in the back. “I’d never want to move out of this place, that’s for sure.” She turned to Kelly. “If you’re leaving this, I can only imagine what your new condo must be like.”

  Kelly smiled politely and gestured toward the living room. “Please make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll get us some wine.”

  “Let me help,” offered Fiona as she followed Kelly into the gourmet kitchen.

  Kelly opened a bottle of wine for them and Fiona carried the tray of glasses into the living room. Kelly chose a framed photo from the collection on the grand piano in the music room, and then joined the others. She handed the photo to Gabriel and sat nervously next to him on the sofa.

  Gabriel took in the surroundings, “Beautiful home. I can feel there’s been a lot of love here.” He paused and closed his eyes. “Hmmm…there’s also been great resentment…a lot of anger.”

  Kelly nodded, sadly. “I’m sorry to say that my sister and I never really got along. And her drug problem…”

  Gabriel, eyes still closed, held up his hand to stop her. “Drugs aren’t the issue I’m picking up on.”

  He moved his hands back and forth across the twins’ photo and breathed deeply. The women watched in rapt silence as he entered a trance-like state. His hand began to move rapidly across the photo. “So much anger. Something terrible…” His hand moved faster, back and forth across the photo. “Hidden. Dead—”

  Kelly stood up abruptly. “Stop. Please.”

  But Gabriel’s hand kept moving back and forth across the picture. “Unhallowed ground…”

  “Stop! She’s dead!” Kelly cried. “I don’t want to know anymore.”

  A loud crash echoed through the room and Amber screamed. Gabriel snapped out of his trance, slightly disoriented. Kelly rushed toward the sound, and the others followed her into the music room. A portrait of the twins had fallen from its place above the mantel. A ragged tear slit Jill’s face in half, even though nothing appeared to have pierced the canvas during the fall.

  Amber was so frightened she could barely manage a whisper. “It’s your sister.”

  “It can’t be…” Kelly’s eyes were wide as she pulled her gaze from the portrait and turned toward Gabriel.

  The psychic quickly moved to investigate. He closed his eyes and gently ran his hand across the tear. After a moment he turned to the women. “She’s gone.” Gabriel looked directly at Kelly. “I don’t feel her presence anymore.”

  Kelly nodded as Gabriel carefully leaned the portrait against the wall. Fiona and Amber wanted to stay and keep Kelly company, but she insisted they leave. The other women reluctantly departed, and Kelly rejoined Gabriel.

  The psychic appeared troubled. “Your sister is dead, but she’s not at peace. As I said, I don’t ‘talk’ to spirits; I get impressions. And I kept getting the image of unhallowed ground.” Gabriel gently touched Kelly’s arm. “I doubt she’ll come back to me. I sense she only wants to talk to you. I don’t think your sister can rest until you find her and bury her properly.”

  Kelly walked Gabriel outside to his car and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”

  “I don’t think I did much.”

  “You helped me find the truth. Now I understand that I’ve got to find my sister somehow and help her rest in peace.”

  “Good luck with your search.” He slid into his car. “I hope you find peace, too.”

  “Thanks.” As soon as Gabriel was out of sight, Kelly ran inside, grabbed a water bottle and emptied it into the sink. Fifteen minutes later, she snuck into Incarnation Catholic Church in Glendale, filled the bottle with holy water, and headed for the Angeles National Forest.

  High in the mountains, on one of the lonelier roads shooting off the highway, Kelly pulled to a stop beside a steep overlook. Halfway down the hill, almost completely hidden by the trees, s
he saw the small glint of metal visible from the remains of her sister’s crashed car.

  “Hey, sis,” she called out to the silent mountain. “I need you to leave me alone once and for all. Not sure I believe in God, but apparently you do.” She held up the bottle. “This is holy water, so it should do the trick. I’m not coming down there, so you’ll have to make do with my sprinkling it on the hillside.” She opened the bottle and started to pour holy water over the edge. “I’m sure a drop or two will hit you.”

  “That’s your problem. You always were too lazy to do things right.”

  “Kelly?!” The twin dropped the bottle of holy water and spun around to find her sister pointing a gun at her. A cascade of brown curls gently blew in the mountain breeze.

  “Hi, Jill. Surprised I’m not dead?”

  “This isn’t possible.” Jill pulled nervously at her short blonde hair. “How…?”

  The real Kelly shook her head. “You just couldn’t wait around to see if I actually died after you drugged me and sent the car over the edge.” Kelly raised the gun. “Trust me, I won’t make the same mistake.”

  Unexpectedly, a Porsche pulled up behind them and Jill was relieved to see Gabriel get out.

  “Gabriel!” She ran to him. “Thank God. I never believed that psychic stuff before but now…”

  “Are you kidding?” Gabriel laughed and shook his head.

  Jill’s brain scrambled to process the situation as he stepped away from her and walked over to Kelly.

  “Think about it. If your sister’s actually alive, I never connected with her ‘spirit,’ did I?”

  “When I came to after the crash,” Kelly explained, “I spent hours crawling my way up the hillside. Gabriel was hiking that day. He heard my cries and rescued me.”

  Gabriel kissed Kelly and put his arm around her waist. “We’ve been together ever since.”

  “And when I set up your ‘haunting,’” added Kelly, “I was curious to see if you regretted killing me. You didn’t.”

  “Why would I?” Jill was defensive. “I asked for your help and—”

  “I gave it to you. Over and over.”

  “Rehab,” Jill spat out. “That’s what you gave me over and over. I didn’t need another rehab. I had things under control. I needed money, and you wouldn’t give that to me.”

  “So you stole my life and everything in it?”

  “You gave me no choice.” Jill raised her chin, defiant. “And let’s face it, I live your life better than you. I look better.” She pointed to her short hair. “You’ll never pull this off.”

  “Unlike you, my dear Jill, I pay attention to details.” Kelly pulled off the dark wig, revealing an identical blonde pixie cut. “It’s time to reclaim my life.”

  “Now what?” The tremor in Jill’s voice belied her bravado. “I know you’re not capable of doing it. You can’t kill your own sister.”

  “Didn’t you hear? Jill’s already dead.” Kelly took a step forward and pushed her twin off the cliff.

  Back to TOC

  Palimpsest

  Micheal Kelly

  Kate Elliott fished a thirty-dollar bottle of pinot grigio from her refrigerator. “I earned this.” It had taken hours to schlep inventory from her cargo van into the studio, and now, she filled a coffee mug with wine and walked through the house, turning off lights, locking doors, heading for the back bathroom.

  LAPD helicopters thrummed overhead.

  The neighbor’s chihuahua yapped.

  Kate said, “Get in the house, Rupert. It’s coyote time.”

  She started the hot water and dumped bath beads into the tub. Glamorous antique dealer? Really? A façade that concealed hours of packing, loading and unloading.

  Kate cut the lights and closed the bathroom window against the Silver Lake soundtrack. She peeled sweaty clothes from sticky skin, then stepped into the hot water.

  Droplets formed and dripped down forest green tiles. Lavender steam blanketed the sourness emanating from the pile of clothes she’d left on the floor.

  “Bubble bath should be a business expense.” She draped a hot washcloth over her face and reviewed the weekend. Her receipts from three days’ antique sales totaled just over nineteen thousand dollars. Most of it was promised as partial payment for the estate of a former client.

  Exhaustion and wine wove a cocoon of drowsiness.

  Her eyelids drooped. The pause between breaths lengthened.

  Outside her bathroom window, gravel crunched.

  She startled, found herself in the bath. Fallen asleep. Again.

  The bath water was cool, and—

  There it was again…the crunch of gravel.

  She froze, straining to hear the faintest sound, hoping to hear silence.

  Gravel crunching. Closer now.

  Her heart raced.

  Slowly…cautiously…she lifted herself out of the tub. She yanked a ratty black bathrobe from the door hook. Pushed wet arms into the sleeves. Ran to her bedroom. She peeked past the curtains.

  Someone in dark clothes—a man?—was kneeling beside her van.

  Lightheaded, Kate dropped to the carpet, crawled to the bureau and grabbed her cell phone.

  She tapped nine-one-one.

  “You have reached the Los Angeles Police Department,” an automated voice announced. “An operator will be with you shortly.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” Kate peeked out the window again. Her throat constricted.

  He?—yes, it has to be a he—was working the lock on the van’s side door. It didn’t take long—the burglar slid the van’s door open and raked a penlight across the interior.

  Empty.

  He—definitely a he, wide shoulders, narrow hips—slid the door closed and crept toward the back of the house.

  Where is Rupert? Why isn’t he barking? Did he hurt Rupert?

  Phone to her ear, Kate crawled to the far side of her bed and reached for the baseball bat she kept there. One of those eighteen-inch souvenir bats from a Dodger game. She froze in dismay at her foolishness. Oh Lord, this is no weapon. She crouched in the corner, hoping to hear a human on the phone, dreading the sound of the man outside.

  “Nine-one-one operator, what is your emergency?”

  Mind racing, Kate whispered, “There’s a man outside my house. 1882 Silver Lake Boulevard. Please hurry.”

  “A unit’s on the way. Is anyone with you?”

  “I’m—”

  Glass shattered.

  Kate froze but managed to say, “Alone. I’m alone.”

  Glass crunched against wood floor in the studio. “Oh God, he’s inside!”

  “Get to a room where you can lock the door. Turn on the lights. I’m staying with you until officers arrive.”

  Eventually, the creak of footsteps and slamming of cupboard doors receded as wailing sirens screamed up Silver Lake Boulevard. Moments later, a police cruiser’s red and blue lights raked her bedroom through the curtains. Kate remained frozen in the corner between the bed and the wall. What if they shoot at him? Can bullets go through walls?

  Heavy footsteps pulverized glass. “LAPD!”

  Rupert was back on the job, barking viciously on the other side of the fence.

  The bedroom door knob rattled. “LAPD!”

  A woman’s voice came from the phone. “Ma’am? Ma’am! Officers are in your house. Tell me where you are.”

  Kate was asleep on the living room sofa when the doorbell rang. She bolted upright. Her baseball bat and butcher knife fell to the floor. She crept to the front door and peered through the peephole.

  The man on the other side held up a badge.

  She straightened her T-shirt, combed her hair with her fingers and opened the door.

  He stood two feet from the locked screen door, hands at his sides. “My name is David Gonzalez. I’m a detective with the LAPD.” He looked like retired football player dressed in a Men’s Wearhouse suit.


  Kate waved him into her living room, a mid-century modern space with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with a view of the reservoir. She stepped back to let the detective pass, and snuck a look at her watch. Already noon. Twelve hours since the uniformed officers left.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.” He sat in one of the black leather armchairs and pushed a stack of magazines to the edge of her coffee table. After opening a leather portfolio, he removed a copy of the police report she’d signed last night and placed both on the table.

  Nervous, Kate still stood by the door. “Would you like water or…?”

  He nodded. “Thanks. It’s another hot one.”

  Kate walked through the dining room toward the kitchen and froze. The burglar’s smell lingered in the back of the house. Cigarette smoke, unwashed clothes and sweat. She opened the window.

  Hands shaking, ice cubes rattling, she carried two glasses of water to the living room.

  Detective Gonzalez accepted one of the glasses, then opened his notebook. “Now, according to the report, the intruder first tried to burglarize your vehicle. Is that right?”

  She nodded. “He was next to my van. But about fifteen minutes before that, the neighbor’s dog started barking.”

  “He—it was a man, then?”

  Narrow hips. Wide shoulders. The odor of his sweat. She said, “Yes.”

  “Describe him?”

  “He was taller than me. The top of his head came to the van’s roof.” She stood and put her hand over her head. “Thin. Wide shoulders. Dark pants, dark long-sleeved T-shirt, dark baseball cap…” She dropped back into the chair and picked up her glass. She tried to drink and nearly gagged.

  Detective Gonzalez scribbled in his notebook. “Says here he broke into the van. Did he take anything?”

  “Not from the van. I emptied it yesterday…”

  “So, a dog barked. You looked out the window…”

  “No. I was taking a bath.” She hugged her waist and crossed her legs. “I fell asleep and something woke me and then I heard footsteps. I ran to the window and saw him at the van and then…he came toward the house…”