The Deadly Jellybean Affair
Page 23
Laura smiled. “It can't be that bad, Jay..? Can we go and have a look?”
“Sure,” Janet agreed. “And maybe now that it's all set up things will get easier. Come and see.”
They walked across the garden to where a newly built cottage stood. It was recently thatched and Laura could still smell the fresh hay smell of the thatch grass. A sign above the door announced: “Melrose Place Bed and Breakfast”.
Laura noted the look of pride on her friend's face. It was the culmination of a dream she and Ben had shared – to run their own bed and breakfast. Laura was so glad that they had started.
“I know it's going to be a success,” she said encouragingly.
Janet bit her lip. “Thanks, L.” she chuckled weakly. “I am just so glad that we got it done before the wedding preparations! We can open next week and have it all set up before I have to start worrying about those...”
Laura laughed. “I know how excited you are really, Jay...” she ruffled Janet's hair playfully.
Janet pulled a face. “Okay, I admit it. I'm really excited. I'm just stressed right now.”
“Whenever you need any help, you just call me,” Laura said kindly. “You know I'll always be here.”
“Thanks, Laura.” She put an arm around her fondly. “Which reminds me...while you’re here, perhaps you can look through the bridesmaid dresses in the catalog?”
Laura laughed delightedly. She was immensely touched Janet had chosen her for bridesmaid, and, if she was truthful, was really excited too. “I hope Howard will find a new suit, too,” she said wistfully.
“Yes!” Janet laughed. “He has to escort my bridesmaid onto the dance floor, so he had better look truly fabulous!”
Laura giggled. She and Howard had moved in together months ago, and the wonderful realization that he would be there always was still slightly unreal. She loved Howard and had loved him since she first met him, the remote village doctor, all those years ago. Now, she turned to Janet and together they walked into the house.
“I can't wait to have a look at this catalog,” she said.
Janet reached into her bag and took out a glossy book. “Here we are – straight down from Amersley's in town,” she said proudly.
Laura opened the booklet and began perusing the dresses. “Your theme color is green, yes?”
“Green and pink,” Janet said, going over to sit opposite her on the seat by the window. “My favorite colors!”
“Good,” Laura enthused. “So. I want something with a narrow skirt. And it has to come in green. Let's see...” she stuck her tongue between her teeth as she paged through the glossy catalog. She had just found something that looked right to her – a dress with a high waist and a tube skirt, available in emerald, when she heard Janet draw in a horrified breath.
“...Laura? What is that?”
Janet pointed out of the window, rigid with shock.
Laura stood and looked out of the window, staring where she was shown. She felt her hair rise.
No! It can't be. However, to all intent and purpose, it was. A ghost. An eerie, shrouded shape wreathed in mist, drifting across the space where the woodland met the garden. It shimmered in the evening light and almost seemed to float. It turned to stare at them, pausing on the border of the treeline. Laura saw a twisted, wraith-like face with empty eyes, gazing back at her. She felt sick and closed her eyes. When she looked again, it had disappeared.
“Janet?” Laura asked. “We didn't actually see that, did we?” Her heart was pounding and she felt as if she couldn't move.
“I don't know what to think!” Janet whispered.
Her hand was still in Laura's, clinging on desperately, and Laura found herself surprisingly glad of it.
The thing seemed to have disappeared, and Laura forced herself to walk to the window to check that it was so. She saw that it was still there, drifting through the woodland along a path.
“I don't believe in ghosts,” she said, though she noticed a tremor in her voice.
“Laura...” Janet said. She looked as if she wanted to be sick.
“I don't believe in things like that,” Laura said firmly. “It must be a person. It has to be a person.”
“How?” Janet said in a quiet voice.
“I don't know,” Laura said. “But I am going to find out!” She walked to the door and grabbed her coat, slipping it on over the light summer top she was wearing.
“Laura...” Janet said pleadingly. “Please be careful!”
“I will be,” Laura said, feeling herself stiffen with resolve. She would not let something like that beat her. She was going to find out the truth.
She stepped boldly out of the house and walked around to the garden, to where Janet had first seen the thing and stopped.
She was going to find out the truth. She didn't believe in ghosts, witches, or the paranormal.
Did she?
Laura shivered. She bit her lip and strode ahead into the woods.
“I don't believe in ghosts!” she shouted. She heard nothing but the echo of her own voice and felt encouraged. She walked on ahead, following the path the thing had followed.
Up ahead, she was rewarded with a glance of silvery gray – something shimmering just on the edge of the path. It moved on as she came closer. She suddenly felt scared. What if it was really a ghost, luring her somewhere?
“Don't be silly, Laura,” she chided herself. She could hear her own voice shaking and her legs almost refused to carry her, stiff with terror. “Come on!”
She walked on boldly ahead. After about fifty paces, she found herself in a clearing. The evening's first fog wreathed the place, and the trees were dim around it, the shadows holding secrets Laura did not want to probe.
In the center of the clearing was a burial mound. At least, that was what it seemed to Laura. A mound built by the pre-Christian ancestors of Britain, built to house their respected dead. Laura felt her hair stand on end. The whole place had an air of ancient sanctity, as if a thousand voices from the past said: “We are here!”
She walked forward, slowly, into the clearing.
Suddenly, the blackness from the shadows seemed to fill her head and she fell, screaming, into darkness.
CHAPTER TWO
A MATTER OF TIME
Light.
It flickered before Laura's eyelids, teasing and wavering. Her head hurt. The light throbbed in time with the pain. She became aware of her body – her arms, her torso, her legs, and feet and toes.
I wonder what would happen if I opened my eyes?
Laura opened them and stared.
She was in the clearing with the burial mound, on the edge where she had been.
On the other edge, precisely where it had not been, was a tall, soaring mansion. Laura blinked. It had high gables and a well-tended hedge and it looked like something from a Victorian novel.
As she watched, a man in a coat and top-hat came out of the building. He was approached by another man in a cloth cap and corduroy.
“Good evening, Welling,” he said crisply, his voice wavering over the short distance to where Laura lay, hidden in the woods beside the mansion.
“Evening, Mr. Forster,” the man said, and doffed his cap. “The carriage is waiting in the drive.”
Laura felt her heart go through the floor. She had traveled back in time.
She was trapped somewhere in the woods, in a Dickensian time period. She had no idea how to get back.
To be continued…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carrie Marsh writes cozy mysteries and suspense novels, along with occasional blog post on her website. Her objective is to entertain, and amuse people that reads her books. Her approach is to combine witty ideas with excellent writing skills.
She lives in Florida, USA. When she's not writing, she likes to take long walks with her dog observing the wor
ld around her. Her inspirations of her stories come from these long walks.
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ALSO BY CARRIE MARSH
The Sleepless Detective Murder Mystery Series
1. LINK: The Case Of The Hated Body
A Millerfield Village Cozy Murder Mysteries Series
Link to Book #1: Dining With The Dead
Link to Book #2: Cooking With The Dead
Link to Book #3: Paying Back The Dead
Link to Book #4: The Dead Among Us
Morhollow Sweet Tooth Mysteries
Link to Book #1: The Deadly Jellybean Affair
Acknowledgement
Thank you for taking your time and energy to read “The Deadly Jellybean Affair”. Without your continuous support, I would not have written this book.
Wherever you are, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. I also want to thank my wonderful Facebook fans, my advance copy reviewers and beta readers in advance for making this series a success
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Publisher’s Notes
This book is copyright © 2017 by CARRIE MARSH & SMILING HOUSE PUBLISHING CO.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.