Blackthorn Manor Haunting

by Cheryl Bradshaw

  Luke shook his head. “How?”

  “The book is divided into two parts. The first half contains verses that, when read aloud, call on the spirits of our female ancestors. The second part is a guidebook, containing warnings and detailing things relevant to us. I planned on telling Addison, but she’s been troubled over Cora, so I chose to show her the power within the book instead.”

  “How much time do you have, Marjorie?”

  “I don’t know. Eight days after I received the book, my mother died, so I assume I don’t have long.”

  “What happened to her?”

  Marjorie closed her eyes, replaying the events in her mind as if they had happened only yesterday. Even now she could smell the flowery aroma of her mother’s perfume wafting through the air just like she had when she’d discovered her mother’s lifeless body.

  “Marjorie,” Luke asked. “Are you okay? We don’t have to talk about it, you know.”

  “No, no, it’s all right. It’s good for you to know these things. One morning my father went outside to get the newspaper. He passed my mother in the garden. She was watering her flowers just like she did each day. He gave her a little squeeze. The paperboy had done a poor job of tossing the paper into the driveway, and it had landed in the street. My father bent down to grab it. At the same time, one of their neighbors was driving in his direction. Her son was sitting in the back seat. He had taken the sucker he was eating out of his mouth and stuck it to the back of her hair. She turned to scold him and wasn’t watching the road.”

  “Did she hit your father?”

  “She would have, except my mother pushed him out of the way. The car hit her instead, and she died instantly.”

  “It would have happened in a matter of seconds though. How did she get to the street so fast unless she knew what was going to happen beforehand.”

  Marjorie offered a slight nod. “You’re right. She did know. The night she passed, she visited me. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen her since her death. When my father touched her in the garden that morning, she had a vision. She saw my father bending down in the street. She saw the distracted neighbor in her car. And she saw two possible outcomes. She had a choice to make—spare his life or spare hers. I believe when my time comes, something similar may occur. I’m ready, and I’ve made my peace.”

  “Addison has never had contact with her mother. Why were you visited, and she hasn’t been?”

  “Nancy refused her gift as you know—refused to engage with the spirits around her. It made her, well, mortal, like you. I suppose she isn’t able to visit Addison.”

  Luke stood, faced Marjorie. “I knew about Nancy’s rejection. But I guess it never occurred to me that after Addison started seeing spirits, she could stop seeing them if she wanted to. Are you saying she doesn’t have to live this life?”

  “Addison had a choice, Luke, and she made it, which is why I’m here talking to you now. I need you to watch over her for me. I know how hard it is for you to accept, but it’s her birthright, just like it will be your daughter’s one day.”

  “If she gives it up, she can have a normal life. Why wouldn’t I want that for her? Why can’t all of this stop—right here, right now?”

  “Then who will help all the lost souls trapped here with nowhere to go?”

  “I don’t know, but Addison shouldn’t have to take it on herself. Why is it her job to help them?”

  “It’s much more than a job, Luke. It is her destiny, and neither you nor I have the right to deny her of it.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Addison had been left alone, providing her a small window of opportunity. And she had something in mind—scouting the possible locations of the address Gene had given her. A quick search on her computer pulled up a few possibilities for 380 Mulberry Road, the closest being one in Bay Shore, which was less than an hour away. Luke wouldn’t appreciate returning and not finding her there, but there were too many what-ifs to consider:

  What if he was still angry after talking to Marjorie?

  What if he asked her not to go?

  What if he tried to stop her from going?

  Lancaster and Lia would return at any time.

  If she was going to slip out, she had to do it now.

  She walked to Colin and Whitney’s house and knocked on the door.

  “Door’s open,” Whitney shouted. “Come on in.”

  Whitney and Colin were snuggled up together on the couch, watching a movie.

  “Hey, guys,” Addison said. “Sorry to bother you.”

  Colin craned his head toward Addison and smiled. “It’s fine. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I was just wondering if you had a piece of paper and a pen?”

  Colin grabbed the television remote, paused the movie, and sat up. “Sure. Should be in the top drawer in the kitchen. Let’s see here ...”

  He walked to the kitchen, opened the drawer, and gave Addison what she needed.

  “Thanks.”

  “We thought a funny movie would help get our mind off ... you know,” Colin said, “everything going on around here. After it’s over, we’re making a cocktail, if you’re interested. We have enough for everyone.”

  “I have to run out for a bit.”

  He glanced at the time. “This late?”

  “Just a quick errand. But Marjorie and Luke would probably want to join you when they get back.”

  Addison returned to the other guesthouse. Now came the hard part, trying to decide what to say. She considered telling Luke and Marjorie the same thing she’d just told Colin and Whitney, but changed her mind, realizing it didn’t feel right keeping the truth from them.

  She jotted down a quick explanation:

  Luke and Gran,

  I couldn’t stop thinking about the address Gene gave me earlier. (Luke, Gran will fill you in on the details). I did a search and noticed there’s a Mulberry Road in Bay Shore. It’s probably nothing, but since it’s not a long drive, it’s worth checking it out, and I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to do it. I apologize for not waiting and taking one of you with me. I have my cell, and I’ll check in once I’m there and when I’m headed back.

  xo Addison

  CHAPTER 35

  The house at 380 Mulberry Road was dark when Addison arrived. There were no lights on inside—nothing to indicate whether anyone was home. A single, dim streetlamp flickered off and on in three-second intervals, like the light bulb had a short in it. Addison checked the time on her cell phone. It was a few minutes past eight—still a bit early for people to head to bed.

  On the drive over, she’d missed three calls—two from Luke and one from Marjorie. She texted them both saying she had arrived at the address Gene gave her, and she’d check in again in a few minutes. She’d left the note on the pillow in Marjorie’s room. By now, Marjorie would have shared the information with Luke. She assumed they’d come after her, which meant she didn’t have long.

  She pressed on the doorbell. It chirped like a nightingale. Footsteps followed, someone drawing near. The porch light flickered on overhead, and the door opened just wide enough for the elderly man on the opposite side to stick his head out so he could get a good look at his visitor.

  The man was dressed in a thick, maroon bathrobe and tennis shoes with no socks, which seemed like an odd combination both in dress and for the time of night. He was taller than most men, towering at least a foot over Addison, and his oval-shaped head was smooth, without a wisp of hair on it. He looked very average with the exception of one thing—his eyes.

  “You’re Raymond, aren’t you?” Addison asked. “Raymond Blackthorn.”

  He pulled a pair of glasses from the robe’s pocket, pressed them onto the ridge of his nose, and opened the door a bit wider. “It seems you know who I am, but I can’t say the same for you.”

  “My name is Addison Lockhart. I mean ... Addison Flynn.”

  He eyed her curiously. “Which is it then, Lockhart or Flynn?”

  “Flynn.
Sorry. I just got married. We’ve been staying at Blackthorn Manor.”

  He sneered. “Well, now, that’s a shame.”

  “Why?”

  “I pity anyone who has to put up with my sister.”

  “Do the two of you have a bad relationship?”

  “Sweetie, we don’t have a relationship at all. Now, why don’t we skip the pleasantries and cut to the part where you tell me what you’re doing here? Did Catherine send you?”

  Raymond talked about his sister in the present tense, as if he had not yet heard what had happened to her. “Gene sent me.”

  “Huh. I wasn’t aware Catherine told him. She said she wouldn’t. Never could trust her to keep anything from him, though.”

  “Told him what?” Addison asked.

  “About me staying here.”

  “Isn’t this your house?”

  “In a manner of speaking. It once belonged to my brother, Joseph. He bought it as a surprise for Cora on their wedding day. Paid cash for it.”

  “Why would he buy this house when the manor was partially left to Cora in your father’s will?”

  He raised a brow. “Look at you, Little Miss Information. Catherine been squawking in your ear?”

  She shook her head. “Actually, no. Lancaster told me.”

  “Lyle Lancaster?”

  “Detective Aaron Lancaster. You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Joseph didn’t want to live on the estate. He wanted to start a life with Cora somewhere else, so he bought this place. They lived here and usually visited the manor on the weekends. Now you’re all caught up.”

  Not even close.

  “Did you and Cora live here when you were married?” Addison asked.

  “What are you getting at, showing up here on my doorstep, dragging up the past, like you have a right to make my family business your own?”

  Since Raymond behaved like he was in the dark about Catherine, Addison decided to keep the details of Catherine’s murder to herself. For the moment, at least. “Your sister has been talking to me about buying the estate, and I’m interested in its history.”

  He didn’t speak for several seconds. It made Addison nervous, wondering if the lie she’d just told was an obvious one.

  “I don’t know why you care so much,” he said. “What’s in it for me?”

  The first lie worked.

  Why not test another?

  “Catherine’s been talking about including you in the sale of the house, providing you with a monetary settlement once the deal goes through.”

  “And why would she do that?”

  “She knows it was rightfully yours when your father died.”

  “Catherine never cared before, and she certainly didn’t care this morning. Why the sudden change of heart?”

  “She’s had all day to think about it.”

  He laughed. “Huh. She told me she had a buyer, and the deal had been made. Never thought it was some youngster like you, though.”

  “Have you lived here all these years?”

  He shook his head. “I tried living here after Cora’s death. Thought this place would do me good. I couldn’t handle it. Too many memories of Joseph and Cora, I guess. So I left, and this place has sat here like a time capsule ever since.”

  “When did you return?”

  “A few months ago.”

  “Why?” Addison asked.

  “My daughter Brittany became engaged recently, and she asked about taking over the house. I came back to get it all cleaned out for her so she can move in.”

  “Brittany. Catherine never mentioned her.”

  “Why would she? They don’t have a relationship. Catherine wouldn’t even recognize her if she saw her. The last time they were in the same room together, Brittany was only around four years old.”

  “I saw you at the manor today, arguing with Catherine in her room.”

  Unsure of his reaction, she’d taken a step back.

  Raymond tightened the tie on his robe. The sleeve slid up, revealing a thick layer of gauze wrapped around his left arm. He noticed Addison sizing it up and shoved the sleeve back down. “I have to say, after all this time, I can’t believe Catherine’s selling the estate. Whether she wants to cut me in on the deal isn’t the point. It should remain in the family. If you’re in a hurry to purchase, you’ll want to rethink your decision. I won’t let it go without a fight.”

  “Are you saying you’d do anything to stop the sale?”

  His stare was cold and calculating, eyes like a wolf sizing up his prey. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Is that why you killed her?”

  He stepped back, tipped his head to the side. “Killed her? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know about what happened to Catherine today. She’s dead, Raymond, and you’re the one who killed her.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Raymond hit the floor like his body was a giant brick, his head smacking against the wall as he went down. Addison stood, hovering over him, thinking. At his age, he was far too old to scale Catherine’s rooftop after her murder. Addison considered a secondary option. What if the open window had served another purpose? What if Raymond had opened it as a distraction? There was one hiding place Addison hadn’t considered until now—the closet. It was possible Raymond had hidden behind a row of Catherine’s clothes, waited for Gene to enter through the secret passageway and then used it as his escape route. And then there was the question of his bandaged arm. What if it hadn’t been injured some other way, but because Catherine had defended herself against the knife?

  She rushed to the car, skidding to a stop when she saw Cora’s luminous apparition floating in front of the driver’s-side door, shaking her head.

  “You don’t want me to leave?” Addison asked. “Why? What do you need me to do here?”

  Addison thought back to the words Cora spoke in the garden: Bring him to me.

  Had she meant Raymond, and not Joseph?

  Cora floated past Addison, flicking her wrist, beckoning her to follow.

  “He’s dangerous, Cora. It’s not safe for me to be here.”

  Cora drifted over Raymond, her head tilting toward a dresser in the foyer. Addison stood, fighting the urge to get in the car and speed away. Cora was agitated, desperate.

  There was something Cora needed her to do here, which meant she couldn’t leave. Not yet.

  “All right, Cora. Hang on.”

  If she was going to stay, she needed to make a call first.

  “Where are you?” Lancaster barked.

  “In Bay Shore at 380 Mulberry Road. I found him.”

  “Slow down. Whom did you find?”

  “Raymond. I think he killed Catherine.”

  “What makes you think ... did he tell you he killed her? And what in the hell are you doing there by yourself?”

  “He hasn’t said he murdered her, not yet.”

  “What do you mean, not yet? Where is he now?”

  “Passed out, I think, in the entryway. I asked him about Catherine’s death, and he fainted.”

  Lancaster breathed a heavy sigh. “Addison, listen to me. If he is responsible, you need to get out of there. You need to get out of there right now.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Addison stepped over Raymond and opened the dresser drawer. Inside she found a variety of tools, tape, a box of nails, and something useful—rope.

  She scooped Raymond off the ground, struggling to lift him onto a chair. Still groggy, his eyes fluttered open and closed. He was coming around. She had to work fast. She wound the rope around him several times, knotting it behind him.

  Cora floated to the side, watching.

  Addison thought back to the moment at the police station when Gene had offered the address she was at now. His voice had been muffled and strained, and it hadn’t sounded like him.

  “Gene didn’t give me the address to this place, did he?” Addison said. “You did. You spoke through him.”

>   Cora nodded.

  Addison secured the knot. “All right, Cora. Now what?”

  Cora drifted down the hall, slipping into a bedroom. Addison followed. Everything was caked in a layer of dust like it hadn’t been touched in decades, making Raymond’s story of the house being vacant plausible. The bed was covered in a multi-colored patchwork quilt, which was edged in lace, and from the small, circular-shape indentation on the pillow, it appeared that this was indeed where Raymond had been staying.

  The décor was simple. A pair of framed scenic ocean prints adorned the wall, and a group of candles were on the dresser next to a trio of small artificial plants in clay pots. Cora pointed at the plant in the center.

  Addison picked it up. “I’m not sure what you want me to do with this.”

  Cora stared at the pot in Addison’s hand until the inside began to glow. Addison pulled the plant out, hacking when dust spread through the air like pollen in the wind. She looked inside and saw an object at the bottom, an item preserved for many decades. A necklace.

  Joseph’s necklace.

  CHAPTER 38

  Addison slapped Raymond’s face, jolting him awake. He glanced down, noticing the rope. “What’s going on here? What are you doing? Why am I tied up like this?”

  Addison bent the pot to the side, allowing him to see inside. “Recognize this?”

  Raymond stared into the pot. “How did you know that was in there?”

  “You told Cora you didn’t find Joseph when you went out looking for him. You said all you found were pieces of the boat.”

  “What about it?”

  “You lied.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did. Joseph was wearing this necklace when he died. If you never found him, how do you have it?”

  Raymond considered the question. “Who are you, really? A cop? A private investigator? You’re wasting your time digging up the past.”