His Lovely Garden

by M. L. Bullock

  “No chance. It is the real deal. What you see is what happened. And to support that, we know that Jessica told Summer what happened in the garden, that she had already walked through. I guess that means there may be more than one of those portals here at Sugar Hill, but she went looking for this one. On purpose.”

  “Why would Jessica do that?”

  “You saw the look on her face. She was happy about going back. She knew what she was doing, or she believed she did. I saw the other video, the one she made in the attic. Jessica fell in love with Dominick Dufresne. She had a connection to him and wanted to be with him. But more than that, she wanted to save him.”

  Mike shook his head in disbelief. I wasn’t getting through to this guy. Not at all. He wasn’t going to accept the truth no matter how many videos I showed him. Reed was right. Bringing Mike here had been a mistake. Hope vanished like a wisp of smoke on a windy day.

  At least Becker asked a pertinent question. “Save him from what?”

  “Death. Dominick and his brother Champion fought a duel. Dominick was supposed to come out the loser, but Jessica intervened.”

  “Is she…is she dead now?”

  “Beck, shut up. You can’t believe this. You really believe Jessica went back in time to save a dead guy? This is bull!” Mike suddenly jumped up and paced the patio.

  “I do believe it, Mike. No way that video was doctored. I can spot a fake a mile away, you know that. Jessica must have slipped back; it has happened before. We’ve heard the stories on investigations. People walk into a room, and the whole place is changed, down to the gas lamps and wallpaper.”

  “Momentary glitches in the fabric of time. People don’t go back and stay, Becker. Things usually come into this dimension from other portals, not the other way around.”

  “How do you know that? What if some people do?” Becker’s voice broke slightly. “All I’m saying is we can’t rule anything out. Isn’t that what you have always taught me? I think we should keep an open mind to all the possibilities. Look, man, you can’t let your guilt get in the way here. Yeah, you should have told her how you felt. Yeah, you should have been together, but get over it. You’re married, for crying out loud. And Jessica needs us now. Right now.”

  I spoke up. “If you still care about her, Mike, you will help me bring her home. If we made her go away, why would we be looking for her now?”

  Mike shot Becker a look but didn’t say anything else. This was a surprising turn of events. Out of nowhere, a mighty breeze blew across the yard. The magnolia tree to the right of the patio creaked under its own weight, and a shower of leaves pelted the ground and us. With the falling leaves came a blast of sweet fragrance, but the scent didn’t last long, a sad reminder that my friend with the sad eyes didn’t have long either. We didn’t have time to sit here and share theories. We needed to find Jessica, but I was apparently the only person left in this world, in this time, who believed that was important. That thought made me want to cry.

  “You should listen to Aunt Avery.” I turned around to see Dolly Jane lingering in the doorway. The teenager’s tanned arms were crossed, her thin legs looking even thinner in her bright green tights and oversized garage band t-shirt. This one read RAGE across the front. “Jessica is back there. I saw her myself. They thought I was a witch.”

  “You mean you saw her the night of the ball?” Mike asked with an unbelieving smile on his face.

  “No…” she began as if he were a slow-witted dullard. “I know what I mean. I saw her last night. Here. I went back. In the ballroom. It’s taken me all day to recover, and it nearly killed my great-uncle Danforth. But between us, we were able to do it. Jessica is back there, and she’s going to die.”

  Unable to control himself, Mike asked, “What do you mean she’s going to die?”

  “She took a bullet for Dominick Dufresne. Someone dug it out of her back, but it was a crude job. I don’t know if she’ll ever walk again, even if she survives, and she’s lost a lot of blood. I mean, a lot.”

  “If you saw her, why isn’t she here?” he demanded angrily.

  “Like I said, she didn’t want to come. Jessica knew who I was, but she didn’t want to come back with me. And I did try.”

  I wiped tears from my eyes and squeezed Reed’s hand. “We have to hurry. I think we can do it again, open the portal, I mean. I can help Dolly Jane since Danforth is too weak now.”

  Becker leaned forward and said, “What is it you want Mike and me to do?”

  “I am not really sure, to be honest. Just do your stuff. No offense, Becker, I’m glad you’re here, but I had such a strong compulsion to get Mike to Sugar Hill that I really didn’t think it through. I thought because you guys work in the paranormal field, you would know more than us.”

  “We don’t usually work with time travelers,” Mike snapped.

  Dolly Jane didn’t give him an inch. If she hadn’t spoken up when she did, I was pretty sure Reed would have booted Mike out right then and there. “Whatever you know how to do, you better do it soon or it won’t matter. Champion, the guy who shot Jessica, came back to Sugar Hill right before I left. The family spirit—you know who I’m talking about, Aunt Avery—is driving him crazy, and he’s convinced that Dominick is the source of all his trouble. He’s going to try to kill him again.”

  Becker glanced at Mike. The older investigator sat in the chair beside him and clapped his hands as if to signal his surrender. “We’ll start with the digital thermometer to monitor fluctuations in temperature, which might occur if there is a portal opening. At least that’s the common belief. We’ll also break out the parabolic dish. Did you hear any strange sounds before the door opened?”

  “Yes, kind of like a boom. It shook the chandelier,” Reed said quickly.

  “We’ll monitor the noise levels too. But if we’re to recreate this event, we need to pick the right time and place. Obviously, the ballroom is a hotspot.”

  “Both events happened right around seven o’clock, as near as we can tell,” I offered.

  Mike glanced at Becker. “That gives us a couple hours to set up equipment. I’d also like to monitor that place in the garden, the first place she went through. Is the house going to be empty? I mean, besides us? If we could cut down on the number of people here, that would be helpful.”

  “I can make that happen,” Reed offered.

  “I need to know how this works,” Mike said. “Can you explain it to me so I can get some idea of what to prepare for?”

  Dolly Jane stepped closer, her arms still folded. “It is hard to explain to someone like you.”

  “You mean a non-Dufresne?”

  “No, I mean a nonbeliever.” She pursed her lips at him to show her disapproval. Oh, the irony. The ghost hunter who didn’t really believe in ghosts. “It’s like meditating, only you don’t empty your mind. You fill it with what you want to see. I’d never opened a portal before last night, so I’m not an expert or anything. But that’s my limited experience. One more thing, though, Aunt Avery.”

  “What’s that?”

  “All this is useless unless Jessica wants to come back. I’m not strong enough to drag her with me when the portal opens again. And in the condition she’s in, I wouldn’t advise it, so there’s that.”

  “We’ll have to compel her to return. I can do it.”

  Reed found his voice and said, “No.”

  “Yes, Reed. Dolly Jane is right. She can’t do it by herself.”

  “Have you forgotten about your leg, Avery?”

  I had, actually. “Dolly Jane said things changed for her when she stepped through the portal. She wasn’t herself but this Madlen person. That’s probably what will happen to me. I am sure I will be fine. I’ll reason with Jessica. She will listen to me. I know she will.”

  “What if you’re not okay, Aunt Avery, and I’m stuck with you and Jessica?”

  And then suddenly it dawned on me. I knew why Mike was here. And from the look on his face, he knew too. Without hesita
tion, he said, “I’ll go. If you can get me there, I’ll bring Jessica back.”

  “I’ll go call and check on Danforth. Having him here might help us,” Reed said as he excused himself. His face was flushed pink, and I could see that I’d lost his support, at least for the moment. Dolly Jane dogged his heels, and I was left alone with the two paranormal investigators. Nope. Make that one. Becker had left, apparently eager to get started setting up.

  Mike didn’t look me in the eye at first, but when he did, I could see they were wet with tears. He didn’t bother hiding them. He said softly, “I don’t like this house, Avery, but Jessica did. Even after she found the bodies. She always liked this place and you. She liked you a lot.”

  “I liked her too. That’s why I’m not giving up.” We sat in silence for another minute.

  “Thanks for that. I better go help Becker get everything together. He’s brilliant with software but not so great with camera angles.”

  He stepped into the house, and I was left alone on the patio. I listened but heard nothing except the sound of the tree creaking.

  “Handsome Cheever, if you can hear me, please watch over us. I need your help! Help me keep everyone safe!” I whispered. I did not hear Handsome’s voice…not that I expected to, but the silence still made me sad.

  I fumbled with the wheelchair brake, turned the chair around and went back inside.

  Chapter Sixteen – Lucas

  “Arnold Lee, remember, you can’t tell your mother about any of this. Nothing about Jessica, or last night at all. Promise me.” I glanced up as I saw Alice Marie’s shiny car pull into the grocery store parking lot. She wasn’t all smiles, but then again neither was I. I didn’t want to let him go back, but my attorney said I had no choice, not until we got everything done legally. But one day soon, he’d get to stay with me. He wouldn’t have to endure her fear and judgmental attitude every day. And maybe she’d learn what I had—Arnold Lee was different, but God made him that way for a reason. I knew that for certain now. I’d seen him yesterday drawing with all his might, determined to save his friend.

  Even now he was humming. Just like my Dad. Always humming a tune. I knew that one. I’d heard Dad sing it so many times.

  Ooh, what a little

  Moonlight can do.

  Wait awhile,

  Till a little moonbeam

  Comes peepin’ through.

  With tears in my eyes, I hugged my son. “Son, you’ve got the phone I gave you, right?”

  “Yes, sir, right here in my pocket. But I didn’t bring my hat. I don’t want her to take it away from me.”

  “It’s only for two days, and your hat will be right where you left it when you come home, I promise.”

  “Daddy…” He hugged me hard as Alice Marie honked the horn.

  “If you need me, you call me. I love you, son. Don’t forget that.”

  I raised a hand to Alice Marie, who gave me a disapproving look. Arnold Lee said, “I made this for you. Daddy, you have to buy some boots, the kind Grandpa used to wear. You have to take the salt to the house. For Jessie. She’s in a bad place.”

  “Arnold Lee, we can’t talk about this right now, remember?” I glanced nervously at Alice Marie’s car.

  “Daddy, please. You have to believe me. You can wear the hat too. Take the salt to the big house and spread it around or there will be trouble.”

  He left the folded paper on the seat behind him, got out and walked to his mother’s car. She had her new friend with her, that preacher from the Bay Shore Baptist Church. I gave him a warning look and waved at Arnold Lee as they drove away.

  God, I hate this. Why does she have to treat him like this?

  I closed my eyes, a sad attempt at keeping the tears from falling. Who knew fatherhood would break your heart so much? My hand touched the drawing on the seat, and I reached for it as I flicked away the moisture seeping from my eyes. Arnold Lee had folded it like an accordion, his favorite way to fold long pictures. As the picture became clearer, I felt a sense of peace. What a strange thing. It was my father and me, both holding bags of salt over our shoulders, both wearing boots to keep the mud and salt off our feet. Waving at us from a black car was Arnold Lee, and in the front seat were two people who were obviously his mother and the preacher. How did he know the preacher would be there? I was sure he didn’t.

  I studied the picture some more, and my eyes went to the large house he’d drawn in white crayon. In one of the windows was a person with large sad eyes like Jessica Chesterfield’s. On the window were black bars wrapped with snakes. Arnold Lee had drawn a cartoon text box that said, “Help me!” It was dark in this picture, and there was a big bright moon at the top with a sad face in it. There were also some trees, like the trees in the backyard garden, and hidden among them was a woman in a chair. A wheelchair! That must be Avery. She also had a cartoon text cloud issuing from her open mouth: “Help me!”

  Are they both in trouble?

  Suddenly, I heard a song, just like someone had flipped on a radio. But the radio was off, and there was no one close to me in this parking lot. I rolled down the window just to check, but there wasn’t any music to be heard. Was I losing my mind? Once in a while, I did hear the odd tune, but not regularly like my father or my son did. I looked at the picture again. Yes, there he was. My father, holding his bag of salt and smiling at me.

  And I knew he really was with me and wanted me to do this. I had no other choice. I wept for real now. When I was done, I said, “Okay, Dad. You win. I’m going, but you have to go with me.”

  I put my seat belt back on, rolled the picture back up accordion style and put the car in drive. I didn’t bother to turn the radio on. There was already a song playing in my head. And she was singing loud too.

  You’ll get bored.

  You can’t resist him.

  And all you’ll say

  When you have kissed him is,

  Ooh, what a little

  Moonlight can do.

  Ooh, what a little

  Moonlight can do.

  Ooh, what a little moonlight

  Can do to you.

  “What a little moonlight can do,” I sang along with her. I knew without a doubt that I would hear her clearly now. Now that I wanted to. I didn’t have to please Alice Marie anymore. I didn’t have to pretend. I could be myself. Dad was gone, and Arnold Lee needed me to be who I was supposed to be. Whatever or whoever that was. As I turned the car onto Jackson, I felt peace. Peace like I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  And I sang with all my might.

  Chapter Seventeen – Avery

  By the time we got started, there were cameras, cords and more cords all over the bottom floor of the house, even in rooms where nothing paranormal had happened…at least not recently. The door that led from the ballroom to the patio garden was open, and there were cords leading out there too. Well, one thing was for sure, Mike and Becker were prepared for whatever was going to happen.

  “Almost seven o’clock, Avery. Let me show you what we’ve got.” Mike ran through the equipment, explaining how everything worked. “Becker, what’s up with this K2? It’s dead. We need fresh batteries.”

  Becker stalked over to take a look. “Shoot. I swear I just put batteries in it. This one is crapping out too. You know, that could be a good thing.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, kind of interested.

  Becker continued, “It might mean that an entity is drawing energy from the batteries.”

  Mike elbowed him and said, “But it might also mean we got a bad batch of batteries.”

  While all that was impressive, I was having a hard time focusing. Reed had left a few hours ago and hadn’t returned. He wasn’t answering my phone calls either. That wasn’t unusual when he was working on a case; he wasn’t, as far as I knew, but he was anxious to help Lucas with his custody case. Maybe that was it.

  As if he knew I was thinking about him, Reed walked into the ballroom wearing his movie-star smile. Apparently, all
was forgiven now. Despite my nerves and the horrible situation, I couldn’t help but smile back. I loved him so much. Behind him was Danforth and also Pepper’s son, Alexander James, and my fellow matrone, Summer.

  “Summer? Reed! How did you manage this?” I practically cried at seeing them all. Summer and I didn’t even get a chance to hug before Dolly Jane screamed for joy and ran to her.

  “Aunt Summer!” She was in her arms, and Summer held on to her like she might never let her go. I had no idea those two were so connected. I felt like a heel now for being jealous before.

  “Danforth, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, Avery. Just eager to get this over with. You remember Alexander James?”

  “How have you been, Alexander? We all miss Pepper so much.”

  “Yes, she was one of a kind.” He didn’t say much else, and I didn’t push him. He didn’t really know me from Adam’s house cat, as my grandmother Vertie used to say. She was full of funny witticisms like that. How I missed her tonight. What would she think about all this? I had a feeling she wouldn’t like it much, but at least she’d be glad that the Lovely Man had been defeated.

  In the past, … the Lovely Man is still in power. He is still tending his Lovely Garden.

  I shook off Danforth’s words as he greeted Summer politely. He treated her with respect, which was good, but I wasn’t worried about Summer. She could handle herself in every situation.

  “I’m only here for a few nights. After that, I’m headed back to Georgia, so don’t get used to me.” Dolly Jane pouted beside her as Summer leaned down to hug me. “You be careful, Avery,” she whispered. “Please be careful.”

  “I knew you couldn’t stay away,” I said as I grinned up at her.

  “All right, five minutes until seven o’clock. So how does this work?” Becker unrolled yet another cord and froze in his tracks when he saw Summer. All the color went out of his face, but he quickly regained his composure. “Oh, hey, Summer. Good to see you.” He reached out his hand, and she accepted it.