I thought for a moment about what she’d said. Maybe the stories about Camp Nelson being haunted were fiction, but maybe, just maybe, they were true. I knew better than anyone that nothing was impossible, ghosts included.
"I think I might check it out," I replied. "Maybe this weekend."
"I think that would be fun. Lucy would enjoy it too. She could take her camera and get some really great pictures," Morgan replied. "But, for now, you are welcome to explore the house and the property and see if you can find anything interesting."
"Aunt Morgan, I just have a question about the original owners of the house: what do you know about them?" I asked, hopeful for some more clues.
Aunt Morgan brought her hand to her mouth and thought for a moment before speaking. "The original family moved away after their daughter died. Apparently, her fiancé died in the war, in 1863. Those letters are probably from him. From what the Realtor told me, she had a breakdown when he didn’t return and committed suicide. They found her body on this very property." She smirked and nudged my arm. "Maybe this place is haunted, too."
"Yeah," I agreed, laughing. "Ghosts must be everywhere." My ironic tone only made Morgan laugh more.
"That would sure make things around here more interesting," she stated. "Anyways, I think there are stories about it in the newspaper archives in town, if you’re interested. You should go check them out. I wish I had more information, but that’s all I know."
"Wow, thanks, Aunt Morgan. That information really helps," I said, and offered up a sincere smile.
Aunt Morgan gave me a curious stare, looking at me as if I were crazy. "Why is that information helpful?"
I was stumped as she’d caught me off guard. What should I say? What reasonable answer might I give as to why I’d need information about some long- dead family.
"Oh, I need a cool story for my news article for school. Remember how I’m trying to get onto the news crew. I thought this might make an interesting story." Because of my news story, I’d have an alibi for my snooping. I really couldn’t tell my aunt I needed the information to help the dead girl move on. I don’t think that information would go over very well.
"That’s right–I forgot. Maybe you could do some research tomorrow and start writing your story." Aunt Morgan smiled, pleased at my response. "You know, Sadie, now that Noah’s gone, you and Lucy should spend some time getting to know the neighbors. The girl next door seems very nice and she always has friends over. Her name’s Hailey. Maybe you and Lucy could introduce yourselves tomorrow, take some time away from the farm and work."
"I thought that was why we came here: to work on the farm and help out," I said.
"Sure, I told your mom I could use the help with my workers on vacation, but really, your mom and I thought it would be nice to get you out of Salem and spend some time here, in Kentucky. I haven’t seen you in years, and I really wanted to have some young faces around here again."
"Oh, okay. That sounds good. I know Lucy would like to get out and have some fun. We could go meet Hailey and explore Nicholasville," I stated, glad my entire summer wasn’t going to be spent working. It was nice for my aunt to offer to let me and Lucy have time away from the farm and our work, but my job as messenger–my real job–relied on uncovering information I may only be able to find at the farm. Maybe meeting Hailey would be helpful.
She stood and began to leave the attic. "Sadie," she called from the doorway.
"Yes?"
"Just be careful." With that warning, she turned and left. I wasn’t sure why she thought I needed to be careful, but the worried tone in her voice stayed with me for the rest of the day.
Chapter Twelve
The next afternoon, Lucy and I found ourselves sitting on the back deck in our bathing suit tops and short shorts, baking in the sun. Max was lounging under my chair snoring loudly as he enjoyed another afternoon nap. I’d told Lucy about my experience meeting Bethany and how Aunt Morgan had offered to give us a few days’ break from working. She agreed that we needed some time to just relax and have fun, and we decided to work on our tans instead of working on our new mystery.
"So, she just appeared and screamed for you to leave?" Lucy asked as she applied more sunscreen to her arms.
"It was crazy–she was so angry and full of rage. When she appeared, the air got so cold I thought I was going to freeze," I stated, from the thought. I took the bottle from her and began applying sunscreen to my legs.
"I wish I would have been there," she noted. "She sounds vicious." Lucy’s eyes grew wide as she talked, trying to imagine the vision herself.
"Who sounds vicious?" said a sweet, Southern voice, sending us jumping out of our skin.
I pushed my sunglasses to the edge of my nose, so I could better see who had intruded upon my conversation. Max, who had been sound asleep, suddenly woke, startled. He gave a slight growl as he watched the person speak.
Standing before me was a tall, blonde girl with long, thin legs that seemed to go on for days, just hovering above me on the porch, holding two large Mason jar glasses in her hands. "I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to scare y’all. I heard Morgan had visitors and I wanted to come by, say hi, and bring some sweet tea."
The girl looked sincere as she stepped onto the porch and placed the glasses filled with the light brown tea on the small table sitting between our lounge chairs.
"It’s okay. You didn’t scare us," I said. "We were just talking about…um…a girl…from back home, someone who’s like one of the girls from that Mean Girls movie." I laughed, realizing mean girls seemed to exist everywhere. It was the one, universal concept you could always count on in high school. Well, mean girls and terrible cafeteria food.
Lucy nodded her head in agreement and offered our new friend a smile.
"I know a couple of girls like that," the girl noted, smiling. Her platinum blonde hair bounced in a high ponytail as she talked. Her ocean blue eyes sparkled in the shining sunlight. Her skin was tanned and complimented by her orange, cropped top. She extended her hand to introduce herself. "Sorry, my name is Hailey. I live next door. My mom and Morgan have become good friends. She helped us tame one of our horses."
"That’s great," I replied. "My name’s Sadie. Morgan’s my aunt. This is Lucy, my best friend, and this is Max," I said, pointing to Max who was still sitting upright and looking very uncomfortable. "We’re visiting this summer from Salem."
The three of us just smiled at each other, taking in the uncomfortable silence until Lucy took a sip of her sweet tea, and said, "This is so good!" breaking through the silence. She took another large drink.
I reached over for my glass, took a sip, and found the sweet drink refreshing. It cooled my body and had just enough flavor to leave my taste buds desiring more. I agreed with Lucy and continued to sip the cool liquid.
"I’m glad you girls like it. Sweet tea is a Southern gem. Anyways, I didn’t stop by just to bring you tea. I wanted to see if you girls wanted to come to my house tomorrow evening for a bonfire. I’ll have friends, food, and drinks–it’ll be epic." Her smile spread across her perfectly tanned face as she waited for our responses.
Lucy looked to me, and I knew she wanted to go. We had no other plans and we were both desperate for some fun.
"Sure, that sounds fun," I replied, and gave her a smile.
I couldn’t help noticing that while Hailey spoke, Max watched her every move. He seemed uneasy and almost alarmed as he became fully awake. I hadn’t seen the dog move fast or even look alert once while I’d been there, but something about Hailey’s presence made him take notice. That idea stuck with me, even though I didn’t fully understand why.
"Great. I’ll see you girls around eight. Trust me: you don’t want to miss what I have planned." She waved as she turned to leave, her long strides making her seem as if she were walking effortlessly on air.
"She seems nice," Lucy declared between sips of her tea.
As I watched Hailey leave, a sudden wave of uneasiness washed over m
e. Hailey had been welcoming, bringing us a drink and inviting us to her party, but something about the way she’d made her last statement just didn’t sit right with me.
"Are you sure we should go?" I asked Lucy once Hailey was out of earshot.
"What? Are you serious? You just told her we wanted to go, why are you questioning it now?" Her eyebrows arched as she gave me a stern expression.
"I just didn’t like the way she said it. She kind of reminds me of someone, but I don’t know who." I watched Lucy glare at me from the corner of my eye.
"You’re crazy!" Lucy said, letting go with a nervous laugh as she threw herself into the back of the lounge chair. "She was nice, and you are way too cynical. Loosen up–it’s our last summer before senior year. Your aunt is letting us go out and have some fun–I don’t know why you’re questioning someone who’s being nice to offer us some." She picked up her Seventeen Magazine and flipped through the pages. "I’m going and so are you and we’re going to have fun. You need to stop thinking everyone has an agenda. Not everyone is an evil ghost looking to hurt you." She found an article about the latest celebrity break-ups and began reading.
I sighed, leaned back in my lounge chair, and closed my eyes. Maybe Lucy was right. Maybe I needed to loosen up and stop thinking the worst of people. I was sure Hailey was great, and that we would have a blast at her bonfire. "You’re right, Lucy. I’m going to stop worrying so much and just relax."
"I’m glad to hear that," Lucy muttered as she immersed herself in the drama on the page she was reading.
I picked up my cell phone and texted Noah my plans for the next evening, purposely leaving out my conversation with Bethany, unsure of what it meant, or if it had helped me on my mission for answers. Plus, I didn’t want him to worry. It was hard enough that we were apart.
My heart jumped when I heard my phone ting with a text message from Noah.
Noah: Hey, Sadie, how’s farm life?
Me: Noah! It’s boring. Lucy and I are laying out in the sun today. Pretty uneventful.
Noah: Nice! Are you in a bikini?
Me: Yes.
Noah: Send pictures! Me: No way!
Noah: Yeah, that’s what I figured.
Me: Anyway, I am actually enjoying the silence.
Noah: Enjoy it now–you never know when a dead girl’s going to show up!
We continued texting, talking about what Noah was doing while I basked in the summer sun. He was busy working overtime at the dock and glad to hear I was going to have fun, but like me, he missed not spending time together. We texted during his lunch break and agreed to talk later that night.
I fell asleep sometime after my texting conversation with Noah. When I woke an hour later, my skin had begun to burn. I could see the pinkened skin that tingled from too much sun. Lucy had passed out, the magazine spread across her face. I nudged her awake and we slowly made our way into the house to take cold showers. After the day I had, I needed a nice, relaxing night of television watching. For some reason, I had a feeling I’d need all the rest I could get.
I felt a ray of warm sunlight creeping up my bare arm as I snuggled deeper under my blanket. I knew it was morning, but I wasn’t ready to get up yet. I heard Lucy tip-toeing into the room and laid as stiff as I could, hoping she’d think I was still asleep.
"Wake up, sunshine," Lucy’s voice broke the silence of my pretend deep sleep.
I rolled away from her and pulled my blanket over my head. "Go away," I groaned.
"Your aunt and uncle left us bagels. They said they had to go to Louisville for business and that they’ll be back tomorrow afternoon."
She took a bite of what smelled like a cinnamon raisin bagel. I heard her chewing and knew she wasn’t going to leave me alone until I got up, too.
"When did they leave? And, why are you up so early?" I asked as I threw the covers off my body and stretched my arms. I reached over, took the rest of her bagel, and chomped down on the delicious treat.
Lucy slapped my hand, took her bagel back, and laughed. "They left around eight this morning. Morgan tried to wake you, but you were out cold. She even checked your pulse to make sure you were still alive." She continued talking in between bites. "Not everyone sleeps until noon," she joked, and she stood to leave the room.
"Noon?" I asked when I noticed the bright sunlight leaking in through the curtains. Wow, I was really falling into summer vacation mode. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in so late, and I loved it!
"Yeah, noon," she called as she made her way downstairs. It occurred to me she had already showered and dressed. Realizing I was taking this relaxing idea a little too far, I decided to get up and go for a run. I pulled a t-shirt over my head and put on a pair of my favorite Nike running shorts and shoes. I yelled for Lucy to join me as I rushed out the front door, but she just waved me away while watching her daytime talk show.
Once outside, the afternoon heat practically slapped me in the face. The air was so thick with humidity it almost took my breath away. Note to self: get up earlier, especially on days you want to run.
My feet hadn’t pounded the pavement for more than two minutes and sweat was already developing on my forehead. I ran down the long driveway and onto the one lane road leading away from Aunt Morgan’s farmhouse. The run was scenic and very beautiful. The only noise came from the trees brushing against each other when a slight breeze picked up and made its way through them. That, and my shoes as they smacked against the pavement. I enjoyed quiet runs like this, where I could be alone and just think. I didn’t have to worry about talking to anyone or being cautious of cars or other people. In that moment, it was just me and nature, and I was loving every minute of it.
As I continued to run, I heard someone calling my name and looked up to see Hailey standing at the edge of a driveway, similar to my aunt’s. She was wearing a yellow sun dress and her hair was swept up in a tight bun. I felt disgusting, but I slowed my pace and made my way toward her anyway.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," I replied, trying to catch my breath. "Don’t you think it is too hot to be running
outside?" she asked when she noticed the sweat dripping from my neck.
"It is humid, but I don’t mind," I replied as I became even more self-conscious and aware that I was smelly and sweaty, and she was shining and radiant.
"Oh, well, that’s nice," she stated. We both turned as a white BMW drove slowly up the driveway. An overweight woman, who was obviously trying to appear much younger than she really was, approached wearing diamond earrings and a navy, silk blouse. She gave a small wave as she drove past us and onto the road. Hailey watched the car leave wearing the look of pure hatred on her face.
"Was that your mom?" I asked, trying to break the tension that had suddenly filled the space between us.
"No," she snapped back in a hateful tone. "I mean, no. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound so rude. That was my step-mom. She brought me home." Her gaze would have burned a hole through the car as she watched the road if it were possible. She managed to compose herself and smile, brushing off the encounter.
"Oh, well, that’s nice," I replied, unsure of what else to say.
"No, that woman is anything but nice. She only brought me home because she can’t stand me when my dad’s away or working. When he’s home, she’s almost tolerable, but when he’s not there, she yells at me or just leaves me alone. She’s pure evil," she noted without a single ounce of emotion on her face.
"I live here with my mom and step-dad. My mom’s a nurse at the local hospital, and my step-dad transports horses to farms and racing venues during the season. My mom’s family has lived here practically forever. They just keep handing down this house, generation after generation. When I get older, I’m moving far, far away," she said, her mood settling back to the nice girl I’d met earlier.
"Oh, okay. Sorry, you’re stuck here, alone. Maybe we could hang out more now that I’m here for the summer. Well, I guess I’ll see you tonight," I stated
as I stretched once more to continue my run.
"Sure. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your run. See you later." She waved and then turned to walk back up the long driveway to her house.
I couldn’t help but notice the sad look on her face. She looked so lonely, and I almost stayed to talk with her some more, but I decided against it.
Instead, I turned to continue my run, enjoying the quietness of my surroundings to calm me. It was as if I was able to turn off all of my senses and just run.
I was just about to turn around and make my way back toward Morgan’s house when the air around me began to chill–I knew that feeling all too well. The heat had evaporated, and my body trembled from the sudden frosty bite in the air. No longer was it a hot, humid afternoon in southern Kentucky–now it was more like Arctic tundra. My deep breaths came out in thick, white puffs.
Bethany stepped out from behind a set of large oak trees, her icy cold eyes glaring at me, bringing my body temperature even lower.
Shivering, I walked to where she was standing. "What do you want now?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, even though my teeth were chattering from the cold.
"I have already told you what I want, and yet you are still here. I want your family to leave this home, or I will have to make you." Her smug glare frightened me beyond belief. Something about the way she spoke, the strength of her voice, terrified me.
"Look, Bethany, my family is not leaving that house. You need to tell me what’s made you so angry, so I can help you; that’s what I do," I responded, trying to sound persuasive even though I was more like a frightened, little girl on the inside.
"That house belongs to me. He needs to know I am still here, so he will come back to find me," she cried, her voice weakening with rage.
"You mean William," I offered, taking a step closer to her. The air around us was still thick with the cold to the point where I was struggling to breathe. Upon my movements, Bethany’s stance strengthened. She seemed to grow taller and more severe. She didn’t move away, but she eyed me closely, unsure of what I might do. "I know you lost your fiancé. That must have been very hard, but you have to move on." My voice was sympathetic and understanding. I wanted her to trust me, not fear me or be angry with me.
Wicked Lies Page 10