by Rose Pressey
My phone dinged, so I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the text. Of course I already knew who it was from since I could see her waiting for us at the end of the hall. Apparently, Annie had been listening to our conversation.
You shouldn’t mess around with that house.
“I will be fine,” I said.
“What did Annie say?” Tammy asked.
“She’s just worried about that house.”
“Maybe you should listen to her,” Tammy said.
As we walked toward the front of the library, I said, “You know, I’ve been thinking.”
“Well, it’s about time.” Tammy chuckled.
I frowned. “That’s not funny.”
She waved her hand. “You know what I mean.”
“Seriously though, I could find out more about the haunting of this house if I did a little research.”
“Do you mean by going back there? Are you sure that’s what you’re trying to find out? Is it about the hex?”
“There is no hex.”
Annie sent another message. Do not go back to that house.
“What will Brannon say?” Tammy asked.
“He’ll probably be excited if I find out more about the house,” I said.
Jane Austen jumped up onto the desk and meowed.
Tammy rubbed the cat’s head. “You’re in luck, ’cause it just so happens I know where you can find out the story. I know a woman who might be able to shed more light.”
I leaned against the counter. “Okay… who is this person?”
“She lives down the road from here. She lived by the house when she was a child. Her name is Mrs. Marie Fredrickson.”
“How old is she now?” I asked.
Tammy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think her Social Security number is one.”
I shook my head and chuckled.
I wondered if Mrs. Fredrickson would remember the woman whose ghost I’d met. I had to find out because apparently the ghost wasn’t leaving my house anytime soon. The strange feeling was increasing by the day. So I was kind of in a hurry to get rid of her.
I had a while before the tour. I supposed I could pop by for a visit.
After feeding the cat, I said, “Okay, I’ll go over and see if she’ll talk to me.”
“I bet she will give you lots of information. She doesn’t get out much so she’ll probably love having a guest.”
“You’re probably right. Now I’m looking forward to it. Would you mind dropping me off there before you pick up your sister?” I asked.
“We were going shopping for cleaning supplies for her new apartment. You’re going to miss out on all the fun, but if you really want to go…”
“I’ll take a rain check.”
My phone dinged again.
Just be careful. Since you’re obviously not going to listen to my advice and stay away from that cursed house.
“I promise I will be careful.”
After wrapping up everything at the library, we made the quick drive to the woman’s house. We pulled up in front of the house and Tammy shoved the gear into park. “Here we are.”
I stared at the house. “I remember this place. I heard it was abandoned too.”
Tammy opened her door and got out. “Nope, it’s not abandoned.”
I climbed out of the car. “Did you change your mind and decide to go with me?”
Tammy and I stood on the sidewalk looking at the house. “No, I have to go, remember?”
“Oh, yeah, right. Well, I can handle this myself. Good luck, Tammy.”
She didn’t say anything else as she turned around and got back in her car.
Halfway up the sidewalk, I turned and looked out at the road. Tammy waved as she pulled away from the curb. I looked up at the house again. If I could do haunted tours then surely I could talk to this woman.
I’d barely finished knocking when the large wooden door swung open. The woman poked an umbrella at me. I jumped back.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
So much for her wanting guests.
“Mrs. Fredrickson, I just had some questions for you,” I said breathlessly.
“I don’t want to talk to anyone and I don’t want to answer your questions.”
“I have questions about the house on Potter Road.” I rushed my words.
She lowered the umbrella and stared at me. The woman had gray hair pulled up in a disheveled bun and wore a yellow floral dress. “What do you want to know?”
“Can I come in and ask a few questions?” Did I really want to go inside?
I stepped into the dark space. There was no sound other than my footsteps against the hardwood floor. Now I really wished that Tammy had come inside with me.
“We can sit in the living room if you’d like.”
I was having second thoughts. I’d just as soon stand out on the front porch, but that would probably seem rude. “The living room is fine,” I said.
“Sorry if I scared you, but you never know what kind of crazy might be at your front door,” she said.
“No, I agree. I should have called first.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
Well, this was going nowhere. I might as well just get right to the point.
She patted the sofa. “Sit down.”
I did as I was told and sat on the edge of the sofa, as if that would help me spring up faster in case I needed to run. There was about a fifty-fifty shot that I would have to bolt out of there. This house was almost as spooky as the abandoned one. The wallpaper was peeling from the walls and some of the plaster needed work. I knew how to do some repairs. I wondered if she needed my help.
“You wanted to ask a question?” she said while staring at me.
I cleared my throat. “My friend told me that you know a lot about the old house on Potter Road. The Helmwood place.”
She placed her hands on her lap. “Yes, but that was many years ago. I was just a little girl back then. The woman who owned the place had two small children I played with.”
“That sounds nice.” Nothing spooky about that. “Is there anything else?”
“She didn’t like anyone to come around. She would run the children away.”
“Is that how she got a reputation as a scary witch?” I chuckled.
“She did a lot of strange things. When people went around her, if she didn’t like them, bad things would happen.”
I wondered if this was the ghost that I had seen. Was she still around the house haunting it? That was the only logical explanation for what I’d seen.
“Was her name Helmwood?” I asked.
Mrs. Fredrickson shook her head. “I believe that was her name before she married. Her married name I can’t recall now. You’ll have to forgive me, my memory isn’t what it used to be.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
A frown turned down the corners of her mouth. “There are stories about the house. I was just a child when the woman who lived there died. Anyone who went to the house had bad things happen to them.”
Did she know that she’d just repeated her words? I wouldn’t remind her. She’d already said her memory wasn’t what it used to be.
“I guess that isn’t the case now,” I said. “Bad things don’t happen to people who go to the house.”
She stared at me. “I wouldn’t know about that.”
I didn’t bother to tell her that I had been at the house and nothing had happened to me. Brannon had been to the house too. As far as I knew nothing had happened to him either. Of course we couldn’t say the same about Hank. What was different? That was when it hit me. Hank had been attacked by the spirit. But spirits couldn’t kill people. It was just a coincidence.
“Can you give me an example of some of the things that happened to people?” I asked.
She tapped her fingers against her leg. “Keith Bender went missing.”
That was an interesting story, but it still was just a story that would scare the kids. I’d never heard o
f this man. I’d have to look into it. “Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.
“I don’t think there is anything else. I would advise you not to go to the house, if that’s what you’re planning on.” She scowled.
“Thank you for the warning, but I think it would be fine.”
She glared at me. “You’ll find out the hard way then.”
I didn’t want to find out the hard way or the easy way. I needed to find out if there was any truth to any of this story. “Do you believe in this? That bad things happen to people who go to the house?” I asked.
She shrugged her tiny shoulders. “It’s not for me to decide. I stay away from there, so I don’t have to worry if the story is real. You’d be well advised to do the same.”
She wasn’t going to let that part go. “Okay, I’ll stay away.”
I supposed I didn’t have any reason to go again. Other than getting rid of the ghost that had followed me on my return home. I guessed I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t go back there. Maybe if I went back to the house the ghost would follow me back.
I pushed to my feet. “I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.”
Mrs. Fredrickson shuffled over toward me and I continued out of the room into the foyer. I reached the door and hurried out onto the porch before she could stop me. I turned around to face her. “Thank you again.”
I would have to mention to Tammy about offering to help fix up Mrs. Fredrickson’s home. She couldn’t do it herself and the house needed some repairs. I made a mental note to ask.
“Just stay away. The place isn’t safe,” she said.
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll do that.”
I stepped off the porch and down the pathway toward the sidewalk. I had hoped to see Tammy waiting for me. I still didn’t believe what the woman had said. But it did give me some idea who the ghost might be.
Tammy wasn’t anywhere in sight, but then again I had told her that I would call her if I needed a ride. I wasn’t going to do that though. I could walk home. I carried my purse in front of me and hurried my steps. It wasn’t a short walk home, but I would make the most of it.
I took off down the sidewalk. The more I thought about how Sandra had followed me, the more I thought maybe I should call Tammy for that ride. I tried to relax and not worry about it. My mind was playing games with me now. If it wasn’t the ghosts it was that weird woman. I could handle the ghosts much better. They weren’t nearly as scary as Sandra.
Did the police really suspect her as the murderer? Why else would they tell her not to leave town? I supposed it was just a precaution. Same as with Cady.
Chapter 13
Thank goodness I’d made it to the graveyard without any trouble. I’d picked up my flashlights and headed over to wait for the tourgoers. Darkness had already settled over Devil’s Moon. I stood near the gates, avoiding looking for where Hank had been found.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Glancing back once again, I noticed a yellow glow at the far edge of the cemetery. Within seconds that glow had turned into a ghost. I had seen this ghost many times and even talked with her. Mrs. Clatterbuck wore a brown dress and even carried a matching brown pocketbook. It was the first time I’d ever seen a ghost carrying a purse.
She even had ghostly items in her purse. I had no idea how that worked, but I suppose there were things in life I would never be able to explain. I knew this because she’d dropped the contents once. There were normal things like scrap pieces of paper and pennies.
Mrs. Clatterbuck had a glow around her at first, but then it disappeared and now she looked like any living person. That was how she had fooled me into thinking she was a living person for so long. It was only when Brannon had told me that she was a ghost that I’d discovered the truth. Brannon had talked to her as well. He’d thought I’d known about her paranormal status, but she’d had me fooled.
Mrs. Clatterbuck had lived behind the graveyard in a little yellow clapboard house. She had complained a lot about my tour. She hadn’t wanted me to disturb the dead. I hadn’t known for quite some time that she was really a ghost. I’d seen her watching me from the window of that house on many occasions. Needless to say, it had shocked me when I discovered that house was vacant.
Apparently, she had been appearing around the area for many years. As far as I knew, Brannon and I were the only ones she talked to and knew she was not of the living. Brannon thought it was because we spent more time in the graveyard than anyone else… well, any living people. I thought there was probably more to it than that.
Mrs. Clatterbuck’s appearance tonight wasn’t a surprise. I had expected her to pay me another visit soon. She kept guard over the place, I supposed to make sure I did the job right, and so that I wouldn’t disturb the dead. Little had I known when I’d first encountered her that she was buried in the older section. As a matter of fact, it was close to where Hank had been found.
Mrs. Clatterbuck was headed my way. More than likely she had another urgent message for me. Probably to tell me to get out of the graveyard yet again. She didn’t like that I brought a bunch of people around. She felt like I was disturbing the dead. That was the last thing I wanted to do. She didn’t believe me though.
She marched over to me. Her presence was so commanding that I almost turned to run away. Her scowl made me feel as if I’d committed a crime. In her eyes, I had.
She stopped in front of me. “I see that you’re back.”
“Yes, Mrs. Clatterbuck. I’m not disturbing the dead though,” I said in my politest tone.
Ghost or not, there was no need to be rude. Even if she was a little snippy with me.
She raised a bushy eyebrow. “See to it that you don’t. I will be watching you.”
Yes, I knew that she would. The owl hooted from the treetop as if in agreement with her. He would help keep an eye on me as well. She stared at me. I shifted from one foot to the other. Her stare was unsettling.
“Is there anything else, Mrs. Clatterbuck?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact there is,” she said in her crackly voice.
That was what I was afraid of. What could she possibly have to say to me? She’d already made it known that she didn’t want me there, so what else was there? I braced myself for her next comment. She shifted her pocketbook from her left arm to her right, all the while keeping her stare focused on my face. I inched back a step, but she moved with me.
“It’s more of a warning, I suppose.” She eyed me up and down.
Oh, great. That was even worse. How many more ways could she want me to stay out of the graveyard? And I’d thought I was making progress with her. I’d thought she was getting used to me bringing the groups here for a tour. I always helped keep the graveyard clean and I’d never let anything happen to any of the graves. That should count for something in her eyes.
I stood a little straighter, ready to face whatever she had to say. “What is it, Mrs. Clatterbuck?”
She shook her head. “The other ghosts probably won’t be as patient as me.”
I cringed. That wasn’t good. She was already impatient. I couldn’t imagine the other ghosts being worse than her.
Wait. “What other ghosts?” I asked.
She waved her hand for emphasis. “The ghosts that occupy this graveyard,” she said as if I should have already known.
The ghosts that had surrounded me one time while I’d been in the graveyard? That night had been particularly terrifying and I didn’t want to relive it again. I’d seen them before, but I hadn’t thought they’d return. How was I supposed to know there were ghosts that stayed around all the time and that they were unhappy with me?
“They will let their presence be known soon if you keep this up.”
I didn’t know what to say. Maybe the ghosts wouldn’t be as impatient as her. “I’ll make sure to watch out for them,” I said.
She shook her head as if that was impossible. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
<
br /> Mrs. Clatterbuck turned and walked away, leaving me to think about her warning and what it truly meant. As she crossed the graveyard, the glow returned. The light surrounded her as if consuming her figure. Soon she was transparent and then she was nothing more than the yellow glow again.
I stood there for a moment wondering if she would return. She probably wouldn’t come back now though. I knew she would return soon though.
Now I had to seriously consider what she’d warned me about. Were there really other ghosts in the cemetery that were unhappy with me? I had seen them that one time, but none of them had ever talked to me like Mrs. Clatterbuck had. She didn’t need electrical devices to talk to me. I wondered why that was. Would Annie someday be able to talk with me like Mrs. Clatterbuck did?
I shone my flashlight out across the graveyard. Yes, I was looking for more ghosts. I didn’t want them to sneak up on me in case they didn’t have the same glow as Mrs. Clatterbuck. So far I didn’t see anything. I hoped that I wouldn’t spot any new ghosts tonight. One was enough for the evening. But then again, I also had the ghost following me and the one at home. Those didn’t count, right? I figured it was time for me to get out of there.
Just as I was about to leave, I felt a presence. I shone my flashlight around the graveyard again and spotted them. The ghosts had surrounded me. They were everywhere. This had happened before. But I had thought it was a one-time occurrence. I didn’t know that they were watching me all the time. I was frozen on the spot.
The ghosts moved closer and I wondered how close they would get before I would run. I wasn’t going to let them get much closer. Of course, I hoped that I would actually be able to move. Right now I wasn’t even sure my legs would work. What were they going to do to me?
Just as I was ready to run, they stopped. They were close, but not so close that I still didn’t think I couldn’t get away. They appeared to me just as Mrs. Clatterbuck did, as clear as any living person. An older man with gray hair and a gray suit stepped closer to me. I suppose he was the spokesman for the group.