I backed out of the room and turned the light off, leaving only the lamp on the bedside table lit. It had been a day from hell and they deserved to rest.
TWENTY NINE
GWEN AND I HAD SPENT MOST OF THAT EVENING chatting and getting to know each other better. When she left, I locked up and got caught up, sending emails to my mother and replying to one from Cerise, who was anxious for me to return home. She missed our nights partying at the clubs. It was funny. The thought of going back to that held no appeal. I drummed my fingers on my desktop. Cerise was the only one of the group of friends I had in New York who contacted me; the others couldn’t care less if I fell off the face of the earth.
But then... I felt pretty much the same about them. I had never really fit in with a group of friends. I was always the one standing right at the edge of being an outsider.
***
When I woke up, the day was overcast and threatening rain again. I was about to roll over and catch forty more winks but a feeling of dread settled in my gut. It could have been some sort of hangover from yesterday, but I didn’t think so. I lay there for a couple of minutes until I couldn’t stand it anymore.
Something was wrong.
I threw my robe on and hustled over to the stairwell. As I passed Lawrence’s room, seeing the door closed, I wondered if he had managed to get up to bed or if he’d spent the night with my grandmother. They’d been out cold when Gwen and I went in there, which considering the attack on both of them, was understandable.
The kitchen was empty with no sign of Lawrence. No smell of coffee and the pot was still off. Shaking my head, I stepped over to it and got it going. After flipping the switch I strode out to the sunroom. That’s where she normally had breakfast. But again, it was empty, with the first splatters of rain hitting the glass dome overhead.
Well, this was going to be awkward... going into my grandmother’s room to get them up! I knocked on the door. “Nana? Lawrence?” Silence was the only answer.
The feeling of dread sank lower in my gut. I turned the handle and opened the door wide enough to peek inside. The bedcovers were rumpled from the night they’d spent there but otherwise it was empty. Where were they?
I raced to the front door. Maybe they were more seriously hurt than we’d thought and Lawrence had taken Nana to the hospital or something. But wouldn’t they have told me? When I spied the black Cadillac next to my rental car, it was like a punch to the stomach. I spun around, looking up the staircase to the upper floors. “Nana?” This time, my voice yelled loudly. “Lawrence?”
The living room. I darted through the door and peered around. Again, no sign of them. I was running by this time, going from the dining room, to the downstairs bath, up the stairs and calling out to them all the while. My voice echoed in the hallway and I jerked the door of Lawrence’s room wide. His bed was made and everything was in order, exactly as I would have thought for someone like him, even if I’d never been in there before.
My heart raced along with my feet as I ran down the hallway, throwing every door open and peering inside the rooms. They weren’t here! I raced across to the window, and scanned the yard. There was no sign of them.
Had they called a taxi and gone off somewhere? Maybe there was a note which I’d overlooked. I raced back downstairs, glancing at the table near the door and striding through the dining room. Nothing there. I burst through the door to the kitchen, my gaze darting from the counter to the fridge where a grocery list hung. Nothing. The table was clear as well.
I turned quickly at the gurgling of the coffeepot as the last of the water seeped through. This was weird. I took a deep breath and forced myself to pour a mug. There had to be some explanation for them not being there. They wouldn’t just up and leave me, would they? I couldn’t see Nana doing that. Did it have something to do with what happened last night? That somehow her enemy had kidnapped them or something? But I would have heard if there’d been any kind of commotion.
I set the mug down and once more my feet were flying to my grandmother’s room. It was a total shot in the dark, but I barged into the bathroom adjoining her room. The room was pristine from the neatly arranged towels to the gleaming porcelain tub.
Back in my grandmother’s bedroom, I looked around, searching for any clue as to why both she and Lawrence were gone. It was then I noticed the envelope on her dressing table, propped up against the mirror. I sprinted over and picked it up. It was my grandmother’s writing, with my name on the front.
My fingers trembled tearing the flap open, tugging the letter out and the smell of roses wafted up.
DEAR KEIRA,
LET ME BEGIN BY TELLING YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU AND HOW PROUD OF YOU, I AM. THE FACT THAT YOU ARE READING THIS LETTER, MEANS THAT I AM GONE.
I SHALL MISS OUR DAILY CHATS AND WATCHING YOU BLOSSOM, DELIGHTING IN DISCOVERING THE GIFTS WHICH ARE MY LEGACY TO YOU. IT WAS MUCH TOO SHORT A TIME TOGETHER, A FACT THAT NOW, I DEEPLY REGRET. THERE ARE PHOTO ALBUMS IN MY NIGHT-STAND. THEY’RE FILLED WITH PICTURES OF YOU—FROM WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO JUST EARLIER THIS YEAR. THEY DON’T DO YOU JUSTICE, KEIRA. THEY DON’T REVEAL THE JEWEL INSIDE THAT YOU TRULY ARE. OH, TO HAVE KNOWN YOU WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP!
ALL MY WORLDLY GOODS ARE NOW YOURS, ALONG WITH MY UNDYING LOVE. USE THEM WISELY, AS WELL AS YOUR TALENTS IN FOLLOWING MY LIFE’S WORK. IT IS GOOD WORK. IT’S IMPORTANT WORK AND I’VE NEVER REGRETTED IT FOR ONE MINUTE. YOU WILL DO ME PROUD, WHEN YOU CONTINUE WITH IT, I AM SURE!
TAKE CARE, MY DEAR AND KNOW THAT I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!
ALL MY LOVE, FOR ALL TIME,
YOUR NANA.
She’d left? Where would she have gone? There was no clue in anything she’d written.
I walked over to her closet and opened the sliding door. Dresses and tops hung from hangers and the shoe rack was jammed to bordering an overflow. If she’d taken off traveling, she was traveling light.
My eyes popped open wide. Mom! Maybe she knew where Nana was. I raced up the stairs and into my bedroom. I grabbed my cell phone when I saw a waiting text message from my father. It had just come in.
WE JUST HEARD AND WE’RE ON OUR WAY. WE’LL BE IN KINGSTON AS SOON AS WE CAN. STAY PUT. WE’LL TAKE A CAB FROM THE AIRPORT.
Heard what? My heart did a nosedive into my belly. Whatever they’d heard, the fact that both my parents were coming to Kingston was not good. I tried calling them, only to be told on both their cells phones that the call could not be completed. My fingers flew replying to Dad’s text. I watched the small screen for a few minutes but no reply came through.
The feeling of dread I’d awoken with was now alarm. There was something wrong. Nana was gone and I had no idea where.
I started crying. That letter was a goodbye.
THIRTY
I MOVED LIKE A ZOMBIE going through the motions of showering and getting dressed. I glanced outside before trudging down the stairs. It was a steady rain, from a dull gray sky. The house was so quiet, the storm was a white noise against the roof and windows.
As I was about to pass through the foyer to get a cup of coffee, there was a pounding at the front door. My heart skipped a beat as I raced over to answer it. They were back!
When I opened the door and saw Gwen, my shoulders fell. “Oh. Hi. Come in.”
She didn’t smile as she stepped inside, already unzipping the yellow slicker and throwing the hood back. It only just then occurred to me. Why wasn’t she at work? The mail must go through and all that. She reached in her pocket and withdrew an envelope.
“I’m sorry. I would have come sooner but I had to get someone to cover my route.” She withdrew a letter and handed it to me. “This was in my truck this morning. It’s from Lawrence.”
I read it.
DEAR GWEN,
I WAS WRONG ABOUT MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS THAT YOU WERE NOT SUITABLE TO TAKE UP THE MANTLE OF GUARDIAN. THAT’S WHAT I HAVE BEEN TO PAMELA FOR THESE MANY YEARS AND NOW, AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT, I SEE THAT YOU ARE TRUE AND ABLE TO CONTINUE IN THAT ROLE WITH KE
IRA.
IF I HAD ANY WORDS OF WISDOM TO DEPART TO YOU, IT IS THIS, TRUST YOUR INTUITION. THAT SILENT INNER VOICE HAS PROVED ITSELF MANY TIMES, SAVING PAMELA AND I ON MANY OCCASIONS. EVEN IF KEIRA, WHO CAN BE HEADSTRONG AND IMPULSIVE, WANTS TO RUSH HEADFIRST INTO A SITUATION, IF YOUR GUT IS TELLING YOU OTHERWISE, TRUST IT.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU! I KNOW YOU WILL DO WELL WITH KEIRA. EVEN THOUGH PAMELA AND I ARE GONE, OUR HEARTS AND BEST WISHES ARE WITH YOU. PLEASE, WHEN YOU READ THIS LETTER, GO TO KEIRA. SHE WILL BE RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS LATER THIS DAY. IT’S IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE THERE FOR HER.
WITH WARMEST REGARDS,
LAWRENCE
I stared at Gwen. “This is like the letter Nana left for me! And my parents are on their way here! What do you make of all this?”
She shook her head. “I got a bad feeling when I read his letter. Let me see what your grandmother wrote.”
We hurried into the bedroom and I handed her the letter, watching her as she read it. The bad feeling I’d had before just got worse.
She looked up and her eyes were wide staring at me when she finished reading. “They are definitely gone.” She stared at me until her gaze faltered. “I hate to even say this, but do you think something bad happened to them? That maybe they’re...”
Oh God. My knees turned to rubber and I gripped the table to keep from falling over. It was the thing I didn’t want to even think about... but I already had. Hearing her almost say the word was still a punch in the gut. “I don’t know. But the fact that my parents....” I couldn’t finish. My chin quivered and hot tears sprang to my eyes.
Gwen stepped forward and took me in her arms. We stood holding each other while I cried. “It can’t be, Gwen. There’s got to be an explanation. She’s gone away on a trip somewhere.” I pulled back and my heart took a leap of faith. “Maybe the airport. We could contact them to see if they took a flight somewhere?”
She sighed. “Yeah. We could do that. But first let’s go to the kitchen. We’ll have a coffee and figure this out.” As we walked from the bedroom, her arm still around my shoulders, she continued. “It doesn’t sound like your grandmother, though. To just up and leave in the middle of the night? She hardly left this house... ever.”
I sniffed and then looked up at her. “And her clothes. It doesn’t look like she packed anything. You don’t suppose my grandfather has something to do with this do you?”
She steered me to the table. “Sit down. I’ll get the coffee.” As she poured it, she glanced over at me. “I don’t know why, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. And your grandmother said that whatever that thing was, it needed time to regroup... get its strength back.”
I had to agree with her. My instincts were that this had nothing to do with him. The letters were too nice; I didn’t pick up any hint of coercion from them. And the fact Lawrence’s letter asked Gwen to come over to be with me...
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Gwen, they planned this!”
“What? How?”
“I don’t know! But my dad ‘heard!’” I held up my cell phone for her to read the message. I tried calling him again, with no luck, and he hadn’t replied to my text from earlier.
We had no choice but to sit tight and wait.
***
“Hello?” It was my mother’s voice at the front door. I got up from the chair in the greenhouse, leaving Gwen still poring over the photo album. I raced to the foyer, where Dad was setting their bags on the floor. Mom looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and her nose was pink, set against a pale blotchy complexion. She’d been crying. At the sight, tears sprang to my eyes too and I let myself be pulled into her embrace.
When Dad’s arms encircled both of us, I knew that whatever happened with Nana, I’d never see her again.
The thought just made me cry harder. I felt so empty without her. It was unfair that I’d just gotten to know my grandmother and she was gone. Feeling my mother’s sobs, I could only imagine how devastated she had to be feeling. We stood like that for a while, each of us trying to comfort each other.
My dad’s voice broke through. “Who are you?”
I pulled back from Mom and looked to where he was staring. Gwen stood there in her postie uniform with her hands clasped together above her tummy. Her eyes were wide and also full of tears. She wiped her cheek with her hand and strode forward, squaring her shoulders. “Hi, Mr. Swanson, Mrs. Swanson. I’m Gwen, a friend of Keira’s.”
My father broke away and took her hand, shaking it and then covering both their hands with his other one. “Please, it’s Richard. Nice to meet you, Gwen.”
Mom stretched out her hand. “I’m Susan. Pleased to meet you. I’m glad you’ve kept Keira company while she waited here for us.” She folded Gwen into a hug and patted her back. Stepping back, she held Gwen by her shoulders. “Are you Keira’s guardian?”
Gwen didn’t hesitate a second. “Yes,” she said, nodding.
Mom and Dad glanced at one another. “What’s going on, Dad? What did you hear about Nana’s disappearance? Where is she?” I could barely get the words out. My lips quivered and my throat was taut fighting back the tears.
He sighed. “Oh Keira. My poor baby girl.” He put his arm around me and hugged me.
Mom’s hand lifted to rub my back. “She’s gone, Keira. She has been for a couple of weeks. Both she and Lawrence—”
“No! She was here!” I spun around to face her.”What are you talking about? She was here last night! I’ve spent the week with her!”
“Honey, no.” Dad spoke up. “She died two weeks ago. As did Lawrence.”
What the hell were they talking about? My head swiveled to Gwen. “Tell them Gwen! You were here. Nana and Lawrence are alive. They were here!”
“She’s right, Richard. The four of us were together last night!” Her eyes were so big they threatened to pop right out onto her cheeks.
“Keira. It’s time you found out the truth. It’s a long story. Mr. Thompson will be here shortly and I’ve no wish for him to witness our family secrets. Let’s go in the kitchen and have a coffee while I explain.” My mother’s eyes were still welling but her chin lifted and she started across the foyer.
My knees were like spaghetti noodles and it was hard to breathe. What the hell was my mother talking about? A family secret? She was wrong! Nana and Lawrence had just gone away. They’d been there... had dinner with us... even fought the demon thing last night. What was happening with my parents? Had they lost their minds?
Dad forced a small smile at Gwen. “You too, Gwen.”
She stepped over to me and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “It’s okay, Keira. I’m with you. We know what we saw, right?” Her eyes looked straight into mine and I felt a little better. This was probably the reason Lawrence had asked her to be with me. To stand up to the insanity which was happening right now with my parents.
THIRTY ONE
I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN, as Mom was setting up a fresh pot of coffee. How could she be so... casual at a time like this? She’d just laid a bombshell—a crazy one—and now she was just going about putting on fresh coffee? She hadn’t even taken her raincoat off.
“So who’s this Mr. Thompson? What does he want?”
Her face was impassive when she turned to me. “He’s your grandmother’s lawyer. She left instructions with him, to be hand-delivered.”
I looked over to Dad. “What the hell do we need a lawyer for?”
“Because you grandmother left instructions.”
I huffed. “Oh. Thanks for clearing that up, Dad.” So he knew all about this as well. I wandered over to the kitchen table and had a seat. Gwen was right on my heels, her hand resting on my arm. As odd as it sounds, something about a lawyer showing up added a sense of normalcy to all this.
The Haunting of Crawley House (The Hauntings Of Kingston Book 1) Page 48