Lake of Secrets

by Shay Lee Giertz

  “My biological mother, she’s the girl who passed away?”

  “It looks like she’s still alive.”

  “She’s not the ghost you keep seeing?”

  I stare at him in surprise.

  He laughs, “What? When enough people tell me that my daughter sees this ghost, and then I watch how you’ve uncovered all this dormant evidence, yeah, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

  “It’s nice to not have to hide that from you anymore.”

  “So, the ghost? I thought that was my mother?”

  “I thought so, too. But Gran showed us these two pictures. One from forty years ago, and one was from a few years back of Bonnie. Only one of the twins has a mole over her right eyebrow. Barbara. The woman alive—who says she is Bonnie Blackstone—has a mole over her right eyebrow, identical to the mole in Barbara’s younger pictures.”

  “Which means Bonnie Blackstone may be Barbara?”

  “Yes.”

  “My biological mother?”

  “It appears that way.”

  Dad stays quiet for several minutes. “Thank you for finding her. Your grandmother will always be my mother, but I can’t explain how I feel knowing that my biological mother isn’t only alive, but I know who she is, and I have the opportunity to thank her for giving me life.”

  A beetle crawls across his hand. He studies it. “Fascinating,” he says. “This type of Coleoptera. Maybe Lucanindae? Martin finally got back with me. These are not classified at all. Want to help me dissect it?”

  “They’ve been bothering me since we arrived. That’s the animal connected with Bonnie Blackstone’s spirit, or at least that’s what Mitch’s book said. What did Martin say when you sent him a picture of it?”

  “Nothing like it. We associated it with the American Carrion beetle, just for classification purposes. It has the most similarities with that one, but it’s obviously different.”

  We’re studying the underside of the beetle when the dock creaks from the weight of another person. I glance up to see Isaac approaching us. I cough in embarrassment and scoot away from my Dad and the beetle.

  “I’ve seen enough of those things,” Isaac says to Dad.

  “Hey there, Isaac, I was just showing Virginia the sex features—”

  “Dad, thanks, don’t you need to go to the house or something?”

  “Okay, okay, okay, how’s Ian recuperating?”

  “He’s recovering nicely. A little too bossy now that he has a broken ankle, but I don’t mind. I’m just glad he was found. Mom wants me to invite you all over for a barbeque tonight. Ian wants to see Ginnie, and Mom and Dad are really grateful for your family’s help.”

  “We’d love to,” Dad says and stands up. “Do we need to bring anything?”

  “Mom said to bring over some steaks. We have chicken and brats.”

  “Oooh,” Dad rubs his stomach. “I’m getting hungry already.” He walks off the dock. “Be good, you two.”

  I pat the dock beside me. “Come and take a seat. It’s a pretty popular spot.”

  Once he sits down and has his feet in the water, he takes my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. “Ginnie…” he starts. “What happened last night—”

  “You were worried and scared. I understand. I’m sorry it happened.”

  “We pushed you though. I could tell you didn’t want to go and talk with the ghost. Shoot, you’re still recovering from a car accident.” He gently touches my forehead. “Ian warned us, too. No, it was easy to blame you, but everything is completely out of your control. Sorry, I messed up.”

  “You’re forgiven.” I take a deep breath, knowing I have to tell him. “I leave tomorrow.”

  “I know. Your father was talking with mine. They both think that you’ve had too much happen and that you need space.”

  I don’t say anything, only continue staring at our intertwined fingers. I finally admit, “This ghost has seriously annoyed me.”

  “Tell me about it. Last night bothered me. Not about the supernatural weirdness going on, but with Ian. I can’t have him involved in this. I have to put aside my feelings until everything gets resolved.”

  “What do you mean?” My gut already knows where this is headed.

  “Maybe going back to London and getting away from here is a good thing right now.”

  The words hurt. Isaac wants you to leave.

  “Please, don’t be angry. My feelings for you haven’t changed. I like you. I really, really like you. But someone tried to kill you the other night. And this ghost, with all her nasty bugs, none of this was around before—“

  “Before me.” I have to force the tears away. It shouldn’t feel like complete rejection. He admitted to liking me, wanting to get to know me, but the rejection is there. And it stings.

  “Ginnie…”

  “It’s fine. I understand.” I go to get up, but he grabs my arm. “Isaac, please don’t make this worse for me, okay? I do understand. Since I’ve been here, life’s been complicated. It doesn’t mean I like your decision. It just means I understand why you made it. So, please leave me be.”

  “I want to visit. I want us to keep in contact. I want us to be us.”

  “Please. I need to go.” I can’t look at him.

  He releases me. I hear him say something more, but I’ve already run off the dock and up to the house. I run through the kitchen and up the stairs to the bedroom. Cassie sits on her bed, her laptop open. “I’ve been researching,” she says. She takes one look at me, then sets down the computer. “What happened?”

  “Isaac,” I press my hands against my eyes, but I can’t help it. This is twice in one day! “He broke up with me. I’m not sure we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but whatever we were is over.”

  She hugs me. “I will exact vengeance upon him in your honor.”

  “Ugh! It’s because of the stupid ghost. He said he likes me, but he thinks I should go back to London.”

  “Oh,” Cassie releases me. “That’s not as bad as I thought. He likes you, Ginnie. Sheesh, why are you crying?”

  “Because he’s still dumping me!”

  “Take it from a girl who knows how to dump a guy. He’s probably genuinely worried about you and Ian and this whole situation.”

  “If it wasn’t for that stupid ghost, he wouldn’t have to step back!”

  “Well then, it looks like we need put an end to Bonnie Blackstone.”

  “And how do we do that? She’s already dead.”

  “Mitch wants us up at the police station. His mother wants to talk to us. I told him we would leave after you’ve rested. Are you rested?”

  “As rested as I’m going to be.”

  As we’re going downstairs, Cassie asks, “Are you still going home tomorrow?”

  “It looks like it.” Dad is at Gran’s computer. “I’m going to the police station.”

  “To talk with Barbara?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll come with.” He scoots the chair back and stands up. “I’d like to officially meet her.”

  Cassie and I glance at each other. “Okay.”

  We go to leave but are stopped by Gran. “Where are you all headed?”

  “We’re going to the police station,” Dad tells her.

  “To see Barbara Blackstone?” she asks. I hold my breath, hoping Gran doesn’t get offended or angry or hurt. She simply says, “I’m going, too. Let me grab my purse.”

  “Shoot, maybe I should ask my mom if she wants to go,” Cassie jokes.

  “You want me to go where?” Aunt Sue comes out of the kitchen where she must have been with Gran.

  “We’re going to the police station,” Cassie says with extra exuberance. “Want to go?”

  “I’m getting ready to go fishing with your Dad. Unless, Sam, do you want me to go?”

  “Go fishing,” Dad tells her. “I’ll be all right.”

  Aunt Sue nods. “Oh, and don’t let either of the girls drive.”

  “Not a chance.”
/>
  “For the record, the truck attacked me. I was driving just fine.”

  “Oh hush,” Gran says, as she walks out of her bedroom. “You two girls together are like two sticks of dynamite ready to detonate wherever you land.”

  Cassie shrugs, “That’s because we’re hot.”

  “Oh Lord,” Aunt Sue says with a grin. “Look at this youthful arrogance.”

  “She has to get it from somewhere,” Dad teases.

  “Ha, ha, get out of here, guys, before I start insulting my brother.”

  The ride to the police station is anything but ordinary. Gran couldn’t be any feistier, and Dad won’t stop picking at us, jerking the wheel this way and that, and saying, “Whoa! Hold On!”

  It may be because the heaviness of the situation demands we enjoy any moment that doesn’t have to be serious, but the car ride makes us feel as if it’s all going to work out somehow. At least it does to me.

  I wonder how awkward it will be with all of us there to see Barbara. Will she feel outnumbered? I don’t sense that Gran wants to make the woman uncomfortable. On the contrary, Gran seems to want to put everyone at ease. In her own snappish way, of course.

  Dad puts his arm around my shoulder as we get out of the car and walk to the front doors of the police station. “I bet this American adventure beats anything you would have done with Alisa.”

  “Um, yeah, probably. I’m not sure how Alisa would handle ghosts and beetles and car accidents.”

  Ted Fulton sees us come in and motions for us to come around the desk. “Do you think it’s true?” he asks Dad as we approach.

  “It all fits together.”

  “Crazy.” Mr. Fulton shakes his head. “I’m not sure what I can disclose right now, but she wants to see the girls.” We walk down a long hallway to a closed-up room. “She’s in here.” He knocks then peeks his head in. “Ms. Blackstone, Sam Paxton, and Rose Paxton came with the girls.” He nods at us, “Okay, go in.”

  Mitch sits next to his mother at the long table in the room. A police officer brings in some folding chairs and places them around the table. Mr. Fulton stands off to the side. Once the police officer leaves, Mr. Fulton shuts the door and leans against it.

  Dad seems to look at Barbara Blackstone for the first time. She glances up at him now and then but keeps her gaze mostly fixed on her hands, clasped on the table. I sit down first and the others follow.

  “How are you holding up?” I ask.

  “There’s a weight that gets lifted once the truth is revealed,” she says in hushed tones. “But it doesn’t make it any easier. Mitch?”

  He nods at his mother. “She asked me to explain the situation, this being so difficult. About forty-one years ago, my mother fell in love with a young man named Mitchell Hunt. He was betrothed to her sister, Bonnie, but he asked for the hand of Barbara instead. This made Bonnie insanely jealous and angry. She refused to live under the same roof as Barbara.”

  Ms. Blackstone wipes at her eyes but nods at her son to keep going.

  “Bonnie’s taunting only became worse and worse. Barbara would come home with cuts and bruises. One time Bonnie sprained Barbara’s wrist by dragging her across the street. Her behavior to Mitchell was only worse. She would spit at him, she keyed his car, even drained his brakes. When Barbara found out she was pregnant with Mitchell’s baby, she became desperate. She had already made friends with a beautiful white woman by the name of Rose Paxton.”

  I look over at Gran and see her staring at Barbara with tears running down her face.

  “Bonnie became suspicious of Barbara’s weight gain and baggy clothing. She tricked Barbara to come out to the ledge at Pigeon Forest where they used to go as little girls.”

  “Back then,” she interrupts Mitch. Her voice is quiet, but she continues. “Back then, we use to have a rope that dangled from the tallest, thickest tree. We would fly out over the water with that rope and drop into the water. The lake levels were much higher then, but it was still scary and fun.” She seems to realize she’s talking. “I’m sorry. Continue, Mitch.”

  “Are you sure?” he asks. When she nods, he goes on, “Bonnie tricked Barbara to come to that ledge, telling her she wanted to make up and put the betrayal behind them. Instead, she beat Barbara senseless out there, demanding she abort the baby. Barbara, of course, lied and said she wasn’t pregnant. For added measure, Bonnie kicked Barbara’s belly just to make sure. It’s a miracle that kick didn’t kill the baby.” He glances up at Dad.

  It’s now I notice Dad is crying, too. I grab his hand and hold it. Cassie grabs my other hand, and grabs Gran’s available hand, too.

  “Barbara went straight to Rose’s house. Rose took care of her, promised her a safe haven. Barbara wasn’t sure if the baby was okay, but she couldn’t risk going to a hospital. If Bonnie knew the truth, Barbara was scared for her life, and that of the child’s. The baby was born at Rose Paxton’s house.”

  “On June 21st,” Barbara says between sobs.

  “At 2:37 in the morning,” Gran adds.

  The two women look at each other with a smile.

  “I vowed I would not interfere with your raising of him.”

  “And I vowed to keep your secret safe. I was going to take that secret with me to the grave.”

  Now Barbara turns to Dad. “It was the most difficult decision I have ever made. But I knew the Paxton’s would be the best parents for you. I walked away and never interfered, just like I promised. But I watched. I watched you grow up. I watched you play in the woods. I watched you collect bugs. And I was happy because I saw that you were. I may have given you life, but you had quite a fine woman giving you a warm home and lots of love.”

  Dad looks over at Gran and winks at her. “Yes, she did. She’s a pretty magnificent lady. You both are.”

  “Is anybody going to mention what happened to Bonnie?”

  We all turn our attention to Cassie.

  “I’m just curious. We do have a ghost that won’t leave Ginnie alone…It’d be nice to know…” Cassie stops talking.

  “What happened?” Gran asks Barbara. “Why did you go all these years pretending to be Bonnie?”

  “After I left your house, it was my goal to leave town and never look back. But I wanted to see Mitchell one last time. To tell him that I was okay. I hoped he would come with me, but I wouldn’t make him. When he saw me, he was thrilled. I told him that I would have to leave town, and then I told him why. I stopped at the part where Bonnie kicked me. I thought it would be better if he thought the baby died.” Barbara takes a deep breath. “He became so angry. He decided to lure Bonnie to the ledge, make her think he wanted to marry her, then I would be there with him, and she would see that it had been a trick. Stupid, I know, but what happened after that was a complete accident. She charged at me. I truly believe she wanted to kill me. Mitchell threw her off of me, but he threw her so hard that she gashed her head against a rock. That was it. She was gone.” Barbara covers her face.

  Mitch puts his arm around her shoulders. “They thought since Barbara was already considered missing, it would be easier for her to be the one that died. Mitchell had to dump Bonnie in the lake, hoping that that’s where their secret would stay buried. They tied the rock around Bonnie’s foot, since it had bloodstains on it, and let the lake swallow her up.”

  “From that day forth, I was Bonnie.”

  “What happened between you and Mitchell?” I ask, thinking of the man I met in the woods.

  “The guilt became too much for both of us. Plus with everyone thinking I was Bonnie, it kept bringing up the fact that the real Bonnie was gone. He lost himself in the bottle, and then eventually left town.”

  “Other than twenty years ago,” Mitch says to her.

  Barbara looks at her son and smiles. “That’s right. He knocked at my door that day. Our love was right there. It had never left. Unfortunately, by that point, Mitchell had a lot of demons he was dealing with. He’d have night terrors. Screaming Bonnie’s name. I told
him he could come back when he sobered up, even though I knew it wasn’t the alcohol. I didn’t want to lose another son, so I kept my pregnancy a secret from him. I’m sorry, Mitch.”

  “So, wait,” Cassie’s grinning from ear to ear. “You’re telling me that my Uncle Sam and Mitch are not just half-brothers, but they’re whole brothers?”

  No one says anything. Mitch and Dad act awkwardly, looking over at each other periodically.

  “So,” I say to Mitch. “We’re not cousins?”

  “Technically, I’d be your uncle.”

  “I hope you don’t expect her to call you ‘Uncle Mitch.’ That’d be too weird,” Cassie says.

  The tension is broken, but we become quiet again, each of us contemplating the truth.

  “What do we do about the ghost?” Cassie asks.

  I appreciate her efforts in trying to keep the conversation going.

  “Leave the ghost alone,” Gran says. “Now that the body is found and gone, she probably has gone to the great beyond.”

  “I don’t think so, Gran. I’ve seen her. Recently.”

  “Her spirit and soul are no longer in her body,” Barbara says.

  “Then her spirit is stuck in the woods?” Cassie asks. “As in forever. Poor Gran has to live in haunted woods.”

  “I’ve lived in these woods for over forty years. The ghost has never bothered me.”

  “Because you’re not blood,” Mitch explains to Gran, and then turns to me. “But the ghost is bothering Ginnie because she is blood.”

  “Blood for blood,” Barbara adds. “She won’t go away because her spirit lives on.”

  “It’s those beetles.” As I say the words, it starts to make sense. “She lives on through those bugs.”

  “For forty years, I have lived in these woods, and everything has been fine.” Gran shakes her head. “Until this summer.”

  No one says anything. I think of Isaac’s words. He agrees with Gran. I should go back to London. “Well, I’m leaving tomorrow, so hopefully the ghost and her bugs will go back to being dormant. Since it’s obvious I’m the reason she’s bothering everyone, I’ll take myself out of the equation.”

  Once again, no one says anything.

  A police officer enters and says that we need to leave. As everyone rises to leave, Barbara asks, “May I speak with Ginnie for one moment longer?”