Blackthorn Manor Haunting

by Cheryl Bradshaw

  “Answer the question.”

  “Whatever witch hunt you’re on, I’m not the answer. Joseph wasn’t the only one who had one of those necklaces. We both had one. Our father gave them to us. So how about you untie me and get the hell out of my house!”

  Addison looked at Cora.

  Cora shook her head.

  Raymond was lying.

  But she needed to be sure, needed to see for herself the rest of what happened the day Joseph disappeared.

  CHAPTER 39

  Addison closed her eyes and tipped the pot on its side, allowing the necklace to slide into her hand. When her eyes reopened, she was back at the wreckage site. Raymond’s voice howled through the air, calling out to Joseph. Upon discovering Joseph’s boat, he killed the motor, his boat sputtering to a stop. Raymond took out a pair of binoculars and scoured the water for his brother. Minutes passed, and then finally, he saw what he was looking for—Joseph, tired and worn, clinging to a piece of debris.

  Raymond pulled alongside him and reached out, fishing him out the water. Once his brother was in the boat, he raced toward a bin and flipped it open, yanking out a blanket. He threw it around Joseph and pulled it tight. “Here, brother. It’s okay. Get warm.”

  Raymond sat down next to him, waiting.

  Several minutes passed in silence, and then Joseph said, “I didn’t think you’d come.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe I didn’t think you’d still be alive.”

  “A few more minutes, and I wouldn’t have been. Disappointed?”

  “You shouldn’t have taken off like you did. It was stupid. You knew a storm was coming.”

  “I needed to clear my head,” Joseph said.

  “You mean you needed to go somewhere I wasn’t ... when you didn’t get your way after we talked, right?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Yeah, well, I can’t give you what you want.”

  “You can,” Joseph said. “You just won’t.”

  Raymond sighed, reached inside a cooler, flicked the tab off a bottle of beer, and offered it to Joseph. “Want one?”

  Joseph shook his head. “You kidding?”

  Raymond shrugged and tipped the can toward his mouth, guzzling back a few swigs. “You’re being unreasonable and paranoid. Cora picked you, not me.”

  “And yet you never miss an opportunity to put your hands on her.”

  “I’m her brother-in-law, and we’ve all been friends for a long time. Nothing has happened between us, Joseph. She loves you.”

  “And you love her. I meant what I said this morning. I don’t want you coming around anymore.”

  “It’s not your decision to make. It’s Cora’s. What do you think she’s going to say when you tell her we can’t see each other? You may be her husband, but I’m still her friend.”

  Joseph leaned back, closed his eyes. “She’ll understand.”

  “If you believe that, you don’t know your wife.”

  “I know she’d do anything to make me happy.”

  Raymond shook his head. “It’s never enough with you, is it? You and your need to have everything go your way. I was with Cora first until you swooped in, or have you forgotten?”

  “You were thirteen. It’s not the same thing.”

  “Oh, so you being two years older made a big difference?” Raymond chugged the rest of the beer and reached for a second. “My feelings were every bit as real as yours, and I still stepped aside when her affection changed from me to you. I thought it would be enough for you, but it wasn’t. You’re hell-bent on cutting me out permanently.”

  “You disrespected me, Ray.”

  “How?”

  “I see the way you look at her, the way you watch her walk across a room,” Joseph said. “Everyone does.”

  “You’re paranoid, little brother.”

  “I’m right,” Joseph said.

  “I won’t walk out of her life.”

  “I’ve had time to run through it while I’ve been out here, thinking what would happen if I died today. You’re toxic, Ray, just like Dad was. She acts like a different person when she’s around you. You don’t want to budge? Fine. I’ll budge for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m putting our place up for sale when we get back,” Joseph said, “We’re moving.”

  “Where?”

  “I haven’t decided. Somewhere far from you.”

  “You wouldn’t take her away from all of us.”

  “You mean I wouldn’t take her away from you.”

  “Don’t go ape, Joseph. We’re her family. We’re all she has.”

  “I’m wiped out, and I want to get back. Let’s go.”

  “Not until we work this out.”

  Joseph stood. “Let’s ... go.”

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  Joseph headed to the front of the boat. “We’re leaving.”

  Raymond jerked on the blanket, reeling Joseph back. The blanket caught on Joseph’s necklace, tearing it off.

  Joseph glared at it, then slugged a weak fist toward Raymond’s jaw, narrowly missing him.

  “You know something, Joseph? You’re right,” Raymond said. “You’re an arrogant prick. I shouldn’t have come looking for you.”

  Raymond slammed the beer bottle into Joseph’s head, splitting it open. As blood spilled out, Raymond realized the irreparable damage he’d done, and he did the only thing he could think to do—he grabbed his brother and heaved him back into the water.

  CHAPTER 40

  “Hey,” Raymond said. “What’s the matter with you? You on drugs or something?”

  Addison’s eyes opened, and for a moment, she stood in a haze, stunned. In her previous vision, Joseph had slipped beneath the water, leaving her to assume he was dead. But she had been wrong.

  So wrong.

  Raymond wriggled around in the chair, searching for a means to escape, but the rope was secured at the end with a tight, unrelenting knot, one her father had taught her when she was a teen. Raymond wasn’t going anywhere.

  Addison exchanged glances with Cora. “I saw him. I saw everything. I know what you need me to do now.”

  Cora nodded.

  Raymond shouted expletives and cranked his head to the side, staring where Addison had just been talking. “What is this? There’s no one there. Who are you talking to?”

  Addison glared at him. “Do you really want to know? Because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Uhh, try me,” he snorted.

  “Was it an accident, or were you trying to kill your brother, just like you killed Catherine?”

  “Enough!”

  “Joseph planned on moving to get Cora away from you, so you killed him. I can prove it. I’ll tell you something no one else knows.”

  “You don’t know anything.”

  “You rescued your brother the day of the storm, but then the two of you fought over Cora. He tried to punch you, and you sliced his head open with a beer bottle before pushing him into the ocean.”

  Raymond sat there, blinking at Addison, shocked.

  “It’s not ... it’s not possible,” he said. “There’s no way you could know about our argument. No one else was there.”

  “I’m right, though. It’s true, isn’t it? How long did you get away with it before Cora found the necklace?”

  “What’s your plan? You tie me up, call the police, and tell them about a cold case no one cares about anymore? Go ahead ... call ‘em. Say whatever you want. I’ll be sure to let them know about you breaking into my house and holding me against my will.”

  She dangled the necklace in front of him. “It won’t matter once I show them this.”

  “What, a piece of jewelry you allege my brother was wearing the day he disappeared?” he said. “No one can back up your story. Joseph’s dead, and yeah, I killed him. And you wanna know the best part? No one will ever believe a word you say.”

  Lancaster stepped into the room, dipping
his head toward Raymond. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Raymond. I might.”

  CHAPTER 41

  Raymond was cuffed and placed in the back of a Bay Shore squad car. Lancaster discussed the case with local police, and they made some calls, ordering a complete search of the house. Raymond had confessed to Joseph’s murder, but not Catherine’s. To convict him, they still needed to prove he was the one who did it.

  “You mind telling me how you knew he murdered his brother?” Lancaster asked.

  “I ... umm ... Catherine told me.”

  “Catherine?”

  His expression indicated he didn’t believe her, but it didn’t matter. Catherine was dead. There was no way he could disprove her comment. “I think Catherine suspected Raymond killed Joseph for years, but she never confronted him about it.”

  “Maybe that’s why Raymond left after Cora died. Maybe she found out, and he took off. Something brought him back here, though.”

  She told Lancaster about Raymond’s daughter’s plans for the house. “My guess is Catherine and Raymond had a disagreement today about the sale of the estate, and he killed her.”

  “Still doesn’t explain why you came here tonight, or how you knew about this place.” When Addison didn’t respond, he added, “Let me guess. Catherine gave you the address.”

  Addison nodded.

  “And you decided it was better to check it out all by yourself than tell me or anyone else about it,” he said.

  “It was a bad idea. I know. It’s just ... when I was at the guesthouse tonight thinking about what happened to Catherine, I couldn’t help it. I needed to know for myself.”

  “Well, I have to say, that’s just about the stupidest reason I’ve ever heard. A better reason would have been because you and your family are all suspects in Catherine’s murder and you were trying to clear your names.”

  He was right.

  It was a better reason.

  And she wished she’d thought of it.

  CHAPTER 42

  Addison sat on a chair on the porch the next morning, watching the sun’s glorious rays pepper light across the horizon. She’d been worried to see Luke when she returned the night before, and though he was angry, he was relieved to know she was safe. It wasn’t the way Addison had pictured their first week of marriage, and sometimes she wondered whether it was fair to hitch him to her wagon, dragging him along for an unpredictable ride.

  With the truth of Joseph’s disappearance coming to light, Addison thought Cora would feel resolved, anxious to reunite with Joseph after all this time. But Addison hadn’t seen Cora since leaving Raymond’s house the night before. In the past, she’d always helped spirits reunite and move on, but maybe this time was different. Maybe Cora had found her own way.

  Marjorie stepped outside. “Mind if I join you?”

  Addison smiled, “Sure.”

  “I’ve wanted to talk to you for a few days now, but the timing never seemed right.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “It will be. I want you to know how proud I am of you. You’re strong, Addison. Much stronger than you give yourself credit for, and I’ve seen your strength increase a great deal over the last few years. It’s one reason why I gave you the book.”

  One reason?

  Is there another?

  Marjorie pulled the book out of her handbag. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing it one last time. I want to show you something, to explain something to you before you discover it for yourself.”

  She felt uneasy, wondering what Marjorie would say.

  Marjorie flipped to the back of the book, stopping three quarters of the way through. “Would you read this for me?”

  “Aloud?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Read it to yourself, if you like.”

  Marjorie placed the book into Addison’s lap, and Addison picked it up, poring over the words on the page. She snapped it closed when she finished. “I’m not sure what to make of it. Why did you want me to read this?”

  “The other day when we were at the lookout point, you suspected I couldn’t see Cora, and you were right. I can’t see spirits at all anymore. I’d always thought it would feel like a blessing in the end, a relief for all the years I labored on their behalf, but you know something? It doesn’t. It feels like a piece of my heart has been hollowed out.”

  The passage Addison had just read talked about a rite of passage, an event occurring just before the loss of life. “Are you telling me you ... you’re going to—”

  Marjorie nodded. “I don’t know when, and it’s nothing I want you to fret over, all right?”

  “There must be something we can do, something to stop it from happening.”

  Marjorie grabbed Addison’s hand, folding it between hers. “We all go sometime. With us, at least we get a bit of a warning beforehand. Fate chooses its time, and it isn’t open for a bargain. Part of me wanted to keep it to myself, but I knew it wouldn’t be right. So there it is, and here we are. Let’s make the most of it, shall we?”

  Tears pooled in Addison’s eyes. She bit her lip, fighting to contain them. She understood, she just didn’t accept. Marjorie was advancing in age, and she knew time was precious. She just assumed her gran still had years—not months or weeks or ... days.

  “I’ve lived a long life, dearest,” Marjorie said. “A wonderful life. And after all these years I’m finally part of yours again, which is what I have always wanted.”

  “I know. It’s just ... you and Dad are the only family I have left.”

  “Not true. Luke is your family now, and the child you’ll bear together is your family.” Marjorie pressed a finger to the book. “And the wonderful thing is, you can use this to call on me when needed. Even if you don’t see me, I’ll be with you, watching over you, protecting you.”

  “I don’t know how I’ll do this without you.”

  “Of course you do. You’re doing it now. Have faith in yourself, Addison. Remember the woman you became when you inherited the manor. She’s the same woman sitting next to me today, only stronger.”

  Through blurry eyes, Addison watched Lancaster’s squad car roll to a stop. She wiped her cheeks, doing her best to regain her composure. Lancaster exited first and headed straight to the guesthouse, asking to see Lia. Addison informed him she was inside. He nodded and went in.

  Gene stepped out of the car next, looking tired and worn, much worse today than the day before. Addison and Marjorie walked over to meet him. He removed the house key from his jacket and stumbled up the porch stairs.

  Catching Addison’s eye, he stopped. “Well, I guess it’s all over.”

  “What’s all over?” Addison asked. “Did Raymond confess?”

  Gene shook his head. “Well, no, but the police have found a knife inside a golf bag in his closet. I heard a deputy talking to Lancaster about it. There’s dried blood on the knife. Guess O’Shea is running tests. He’s the medical examiner for all of Suffolk County.”

  “I can’t believe Raymond killed his own sister because she wanted to sell this place,” Addison said.

  “It was a waste, you know. He didn’t stop anything from happening.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Catherine didn’t just want to sell it,” Gene said. “It’s already sold.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Prior to her death, Catherine had called a man named Harvey Caplan and given him the go ahead to purchase the estate. Caplan had been a guest of the manor and had told Catherine he liked the area so much he’d be willing to pay a substantial amount of money to purchase it if Catherine ever decided to sell. In recent weeks, papers had been drawn up and signed by both parties. In forty-five days he was to take ownership.

  When Addison had overheard Raymond and Catherine arguing the day before, she assumed Catherine had told her brother of her deal with Caplan. Infuriated, he had killed her. Gene believed this to be true, but admitted to Addison that the night before when Raymond spoke to police, Raymond had a different story.


  Raymond had admitted to seeing Catherine the day she died, but said he did so only to stop her from selling the estate. He believed after Cora’s death, Cora’s part of the estate went to him and that it was illegal for Catherine to sell it without his signature. Catherine produced a document to prove he was wrong, a letter Cora had written prior to her suicide. In the letter, Cora stated her part of the estate was to go to Catherine. An argument ensued when Raymond accused Catherine of fabricating the letter and writing it herself, something Gene denied.

  It was plausible to believe Raymond had killed his sister when she refused to stop the sale of the estate. But Raymond was old. Perhaps he plotted the crime but didn’t commit the murder himself. It was possible he conspired with his daughter, and his daughter had dealt the fatal blow, later stashing the knife inside the golf bag. This theory was disproved when Lancaster said Raymond’s daughter had an alibi. She had been at lunch with her fiancé over an hour away. Video surveillance provided by the restaurant confirmed it.

  With the new evidence pointing to Raymond, Luke persuaded Lancaster to allow them to return to Rhinebeck. The decision left Addison with mixed feelings. There had been no closure with Cora, nothing to suggest she’d moved on, but there was nothing to suggest she still remained, either.

  Bags were packed and loaded, and Addison watched Lia and Lancaster say goodbye, making plans to see each other again on the weekend.

  Luke walked up, sliding his hand inside Addison’s.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have been more straightforward with you last night.”

  He leaned in, kissing her cheek. “You didn’t tell me because you knew what I would say. If you thought I would have been more supportive, you would have told me. I had a good talk with Marjorie yesterday. I’ll try and do a better job of being there for you.”

  “I can do better too. And I will.”

  He smiled. “Ready to get out of here?”

  Addison nodded. “I’d just like to say goodbye to Gene first.”