Gary immediately got up and starting with the first row, handed over the petition and a pen to the person seated at the end. They were instructed to sign it and pass it around. Chloe Dunbar’s name was the lone signature on the petition since Debbie had paid her a special visit that day and explained everything to her. Chloe never submitted her phone number or any other contacts to add to the association’s database. To my surprise and Carla’s, Debbie said her meeting with Chloe went quite well. She tried to assure us that she didn’t seem nearly as miserable as we all knew her to be. Perhaps, the passage of time had humbled her—either that or those ghosts she reportedly saw lurking outside her bedroom window, especially at night.
It all felt surreal, but I held my composure, though inside, I was prancing around with glee. This meeting turned out pretty well in spite of the grumps that had taken off, and I hoped wholeheartedly that our efforts that night, would not prove to be in vain.
“My goodness, Lucille!” Lucy exclaimed. Is this all for real? Is it truly possible that the home Tom and I have lived in for nearly fifty years would be no more?”
“Sadly, the possibility exists, Lucy,” I replied. “But by signing this petition, all of us will be doing what we can to save our homes and our neighborhood.”
“Why must these ghosts be so malicious?” Lucy returned.
“I wouldn’t say they’re being malicious!” Susan Struttle who was sitting a few chairs down from her exclaimed. Susan was of Native American descent and clearly was defensive. “I’d say the people of this town that slaughtered them and stole their land were the malicious ones.”
Susan had obvious support in her response although I would think those who saw it her way were just as afraid of losing their homes like all of us were.
“When are you all taking the petition to the mayor?” Dana Hillsbury asked.
Dana used to be a high school teacher, but had recently been promoted to Principal that same year. She had a lot of children for a woman in her fifties; I believe the total count was around thirteen. She and Stephen must have been keeping extra busy in their younger years.
“We’ll be going to the mayor’s office as early as we can get to see him,” Carla spoke for the first time that evening. I was amazed she’d managed to keep quiet for so long.
Debbie nodded affirmatively. “I will keep you all posted as to how everything went.”
When the meeting ended, Theodore and Anthony came over and expressed that they thought we’d done well, which I sincerely appreciated. Afterwards, they left and went home.
Debbie invited Carla and me inside for a celebratory drink. As we sat in their so-called lounge room, my choice of a cocktail was a mango and guava punch Debbie had made while Carla, Debbie and Gary sipped on a glass of red wine.
Exactly one hundred and ninety-eight out of the two hundred and twenty two residents signed the petition. We were ecstatic by how everything turned out and how we’d gotten it done in such a short space of time. We now had to be prepared to present the petition to Mayor Bradley and I could tell that they, like me, were rather concerned about it. I felt I needed to find out some information unrelated to the situation at hand and at the same time, get everyone’s mind at ease, at least for a while.
“Where’s Judy?” I asked the proud parents of that one girl.
“She’s staying over at a friend’s house tonight,” Debbie said. “In fact, she spent the entire day with her.”
“Why? Are they joined at the hip?” I returned.
Gary grinned and looked at his wife.
“Well, her friend Sonya is leaving town tomorrow to live with her father,” Debbie explained. “Her parents recently divorced and she felt it was best to live with her father since he’s not in the best of health. Since Judy and Sonya are best friends, Judy wanted to spend the day with her.”
“I see,” I replied, stoically.
Gary cleared his throat. “Well, I think another reason she decided to spend the entire day and night with Sonya and her mom is because she hadn’t been getting as much sleep here lately. Actually, it’s been about a week since the activity kind of ramped up around here,” he said.
I loved Gary’s candor. I knew there was more to Debbie’s story than that. Gary might’ve let the cat of the bag, but by no means was this the first time. Debbie had been caught telling fractions of a story to me more than once when Gary, refusing to go along with it would blurt out the whole truth.
“Now, that sounds more like it,” I said. “Debbie, dear, must we always tell half truths?”
Debbie looked quite embarrassed while Gary appeared unmoved.
“Lucille…” she started grinning. “You know I always come clean with you. I was gonna get to that part; Gary just beat me to it.”
Carla chuckled and almost choked on the wine she’d sipped at the same time.
“Are you all right?” Gary asked her.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She nodded quickly while clearing her throat. Guess that taught her not to laugh at other people’s misfortunes.
“Where’s your lovely, little lady, by the way?” I asked Carla.
“She’s home. Said she had a lot of homework to get through.”
I turned her way. “You do know that’s a lie, right?”
“What?” She frowned.
“I can bet Brittany’s been on the phone babbling away with her friend or friends since the moment you walked out the door. Teenagers love their privacy and they’re not going to have the house all to themselves just to sit down doing homework!”
Gary laughed. “You are so right, Lucille. You know these teenagers inside out, don’t ya?”
“Yes, I do. In dog years, Nilla’s a teenager and goodness knows I’ve had years of experience with her shenanigans. She is a super dog though, as you know. She just is so successful at pulling the wool over my eyes sometimes like when we’re out and she’s barking at Tara Barker’s poodles down the street as if they’re archenemies. But deep inside, I think she likes one of them and is just pretending.
The room erupted in laughter.
“Sounds like you’d better get ready for the wedding bells!” Debbie said.
“I think I’d better.” I smiled. “Well, I guess I managed to make you all chuckle a bit, but I’d like to say thanks to all of you for believing me and taking the bull by the horn to get this most stressful and urgent project underway. I do hope we’re successful tomorrow in our endeavor with that idiot with a suit and tie.”
“I’m praying we will be,” Carla replied.
All faces in the room were serious now.
“I’m rooting for you girls,” Gary said. “I believe if Bradley’s a sensible guy, he wouldn’t be dismissive like before after seeing so many signatures on the petition.”
“I tend to agree,” Debbie chimed in. “Let’s just be confident and positive about it. It can’t hurt. Can it?”
I didn’t want to answer that it could hurt like hell if our unscheduled meeting with him didn’t turn out the right way. I seriously didn’t know what I would do or how I might react if Bradley didn’t grant our request.
I sometimes surprised myself.
6
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Carla had finally gotten rid of that old car and had recently purchased a brand, new Suburban. She needed a Suburban because she was a big lady and that little car had her squeezed between the seat and the steering wheel. I always wondered how she managed to drive around like that; must’ve been so uncomfortable. If she was, I couldn’t tell because she was always jolly and smiling. Very rarely did I see Carla having a bad day. Perhaps, she was just that good at pretending. As a matter a fact, I knew for sure it was one of her talents. I used to be concerned about her driving that car mainly because if she would’ve ever gotten into an accident, there was a chance they’d have to pry her out.
The Chevy Suburban was big and white, and Carla looked good in it when she pulled up in front of my house where Debbie was waiting with me the next mo
rning. Mayor Bradley’s secretary had told me about forty-five minutes earlier, in no uncertain terms that the mayor would not be able to see me anytime for the next four weeks as his schedule was full.
“Well, lady, I don’t have four weeks,” I said. “I must see him today.”
She politely told me she couldn’t assist, wished me a good day and then I heard the dial tone.
The nerve of her to treat a senior citizen that way! She’d better hope I didn’t see her when I got there.
Debbie was holding a manila envelope inside of which was the petition and a formal letter from her as a leading member of the Harriet’s Cove Neighborhood Association. She assisted me as I climbed up into the front passenger seat of the vehicle, then opened the door behind mine and got in herself.
“We’re all set?” Carla glanced at us.
“I’m as ready as I can be,” I said.
“So am I.” Debbie sighed.
“We can do this, girls. Cheer up!” Carla smiled as we drove off.
She was just what we needed. I was feeling quite anxious and the conversation that morning with Bradley’s secretary didn’t help. Only time would tell if Bradley would agree to see us when we arrived there or if we’d be tossed out on the front lawn.
“Let’s sing The Wheels on The Bus!” Carla said, cheerfully.
“Are you kidding?” Debbie asked her.
“No. She’s not,” I answered.
“What’s the matter, girls? We all know this isn’t a bus, but it’s a fun song to sing, nonetheless. Come on! It’ll make us all feel a lot better.”
“I’m not singing,” Debbie said. “I’m in no mood for that.”
“The song will put you in the mood you should be in,” Carla rebutted. “That’s the whole point! Trust me, girls. I know it seems sort of juvenile, but it’s worked for me every time I started to feel worried about something.”
“So… you’re saying you sing that song often?” I asked. “Even when you’re not in a car, per se?”
“Right! Doesn’t matter where I am; the song serves its purpose.”
“Ridiculous!” Debbie snarled.
“Come on. Let’s do it at the count of three.” Carla was unmoved by Debbie’s lack of enthusiasm.
“One...two...three!” She said.
And could you believe we actually sang that over and over again—all the way to the parking lot of the mayor’s office? I imagined we looked really stupid, but Carla was right—I felt better by the time we arrived at our destination. Debbie even admitted she felt a little better too. Leave it to Carla to find unconventional ways to cope. It made me understand more how she’s able to keep that smile on her face most of the time. She was good at replacing bad thoughts with good ones and overcoming the resistance to do what she needed to do.
We got out of the vehicle and Debbie took it upon herself to be my guide as we headed for the main doors of the building. Little did either of them know I didn’t need a guide as I was able to see everything around us, just without any use of my eyes. I was so grateful that I hadn’t experienced any blackouts pertaining to my inner sight for a long time. Sir Clement had been kind to me. I hadn’t seen him for a couple of days, but felt that he was close by even though he was no longer trapped at my house. I had a feeling that he’d be around for a while longer and that was fine with me, but those angry ghosts had to go and the sooner, the better. Unbeknownst to him, Mayor Bradley would play a key role in making that happen.
The same police officers I’d seen in the foyer with the receptionist previously were there that day. The girls and I said a general good morning and stopped at the desk.
“Hi. My name is Debbie Andersen. We’re here to see Mayor Bradley,” Debbie took the lead. “It’s very urgent.”
“Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked, simultaneously glancing down at her register.
“No, we don’t,” Debbie replied. “As it’s a matter of urgency and I understand the mayor’s appointment schedule is booked up for about a month, we decided to come down here to hopefully speak with him for just a few minutes.”
The lady adjusted her eyeglasses above her nose. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way,” she said. “Every one must have an appointment to see Mayor Bradley regardless of the urgency of the matter, as you put it. I’m afraid, you can’t see him today. Should I schedule an appointment for you now?”
“Lady, you don’t seem to understand how serious the situation is,” Carla leaned forward against the desk. She was clearly becoming aggravated.
“It doesn’t matter, ma’am,” the woman replied. “The rules are the rules.”
“Excuse me…” I started. “Are they paying you enough around here?”
“Pardon me?” She grimaced.
“I’m just asking because I have a few hundred dollars to spare.”
“Are you trying to bribe me, Miss?”
“Do I look like a Miss to you?” I replied. “I am woman who has been married for decades—way before you were even born.”
Honestly, I didn’t mind people I liked calling me Miss, but that term was off limits to everyone else.
“Who’s bribing you?” I asked, as I noticed one of the police officers approaching us. “I was simply wondering how much you made for keeping a blind, old lady from seeing the mayor when she really needed to.”
“You were just here the other day, ma’am. I’d imagined you would’ve taken care of whatever business you had at the same time.”
“Look, Miss…” Carla interjected. “This situation is a matter of life and death! Please tell the mayor there are three women in the foyer that need to see him urgently for just a few minutes.”
“And while you’re at it, let him know that if anyone dies in the fires, it will be the end of his political career,” I added.
“Fires?” the receptionist replied.
“That’s all we can say here,” I told her. “The rest is for the ears of the mayor.”
“Is everything all right here?” the blonde and rather burly officer asked.
“Ah, yes! Everything’s fine,” the lady replied.
She then picked up the handset, dialed an extension, and the officer walked off.
“There are three ladies here to see Mayor Bradley,” she said. “They don’t have an appointment, but said it’s urgent and has something to do with fires.” She sat quietly for about a minute with the phone at her ear, glancing at us a couple of times, then said, “Okay. Will do.”
She then turned to us. “You have exactly five minutes with the mayor. Do you understand?”
“Five minutes will do!” I replied, gratefully.
She summoned the same tall guy who’d accompanied me up to the mayor’s office the first time and shortly thereafter, he was there leading Carla, Debbie and me toward the office. For some reason, I didn’t see Bradley’s secretary and wondered if she ever showed her face to the public.
With a single knock, the gentleman opened the door and Mayor Bradley, seated at his desk, made eye contact with us, but didn’t bother to get up.
“Please have a seat ladies.” He gestured with his hand and continued writing on a pad in front of him.
As we all took a seat, the man left, closing the door behind him.
Moments later, Bradley stopped what he was doing, put his pen down and gave us his full attention.
“So, you’re back, Mrs. Pfiffer!” he said.
“Yes, sir. I am.”
“Who are these beautiful ladies with you today?”
Carla was smiling and blushing while Debbie was clearly unmoved.
“These are my neighbors, Debbie Andersen and Carla Walkes.”
“So, why are you here? I heard it’s a matter of urgency. Even so, I have no more than a few minutes to spare, so please get to the point.”
“You recall the conversation we had the other day, sir?” I asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“Very well. Debbie has brought something for you.”
>
On that cue, Debbie opened the envelope and handed its contents to Bradley.
“Sir, our neighborhood is in jeopardy,” Debbie said as he was perusing the documents. “Ninety percent of the residents have been experiencing some odd activity around our homes that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, are linked to an Indian tribe that once owned the land in our subdivision. Those Indians were robbed of their land and killed, and now we stand the chance of losing our homes if you don’t agree to make a public apology to them and have a monument erected as a memorial to them.”
We realized we had to come clean about what was really going on although we stood the risk of being ridiculed and dismissed.
“So, this is about ghosts?” He scoffed, awaiting a response. “You three have got to be kidding me.”
“We’re not,” Carla said. “It’s all true. Think about, sir. Why would all those people in Harriet’s Cove sign that petition agreeing to these demands if we all weren’t experiencing these things and didn’t believe that our homes are in jeopardy?”
“It’s crazy, for sure!” He laughed, shaking his head. “Well, I don’t believe in ghosts, so meeting any demands from them is out of the question. You ladies should get your heads checked; I dare say—your entire neighborhood should!”
“So, you’re not gonna help us?” Debbie asked, in disbelief.
“I’d say you’ve arrived at the right conclusion.”
“So, you’re just going to let our homes be destroyed because you don’t believe in ghosts?” Carla confronted him.
“Nothing will happen to your homes. You people are delusional.”
The room was silent.
“Would it have made any difference if we handed you the petition and didn’t make any reference to the activity going on in our homes?” I asked, feeling like the wind got knocked out of me again.
“Not one bit of difference because I told you the first time we couldn’t afford a monument.”
“And I told you members of this community would take care of it—specifically the residents of Harriet’s Cove. All you need to do is make a public apology,” I asserted.
Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series (Books 4 - 6) Page 11