The Pine Hill Inn

by J A Whiting

  “We don’t know.”

  “We also learned that someone who worked with Leo was harassing him,” Ella explained. “Did Leo mention this to you?”

  Rose looked alarmed. “Harassing him? Who was it? Who told you this?”

  Ella had promised Matt she wouldn’t share his name with anyone. “We weren’t told the name.”

  The young woman’s puzzled look lifted. “Was it Brian Milton?”

  “We aren’t sure,” Ella told her.

  “Leo didn’t like Brian. Brian was always pestering him. Brian had a bunch of schemes he wanted Leo to invest in, but he wouldn’t do it. We wondered if Brian somehow found out how much money Leo had. Leo said Brian shouldn’t be trusted, that he was trouble and was into a bunch of illegal things. Leo said the guy would probably end up in jail someday.”

  “Do you know what Brian was into?”

  “I didn’t want to know.”

  “Have the police come by to talk with you?” Ella asked.

  “They came to see me right after Leo died.” Rose’s voice caught in her throat. “Are there any suspects? Do you communicate with the police? Have they told you anything?”

  Livvy shook her head. “They don’t tell us anything. They don’t want us talking to anyone about Leo. The police think we’re butting in where we shouldn’t be.”

  “But I was the one who found Leo and I feel a duty to do something to help,” Ella explained.

  Rose nodded, and said wistfully, “I’m sure he would appreciate your efforts.”

  When Ella dropped her sister off at her house and returned to her own place, she changed into pajamas, lit a fire, and made dinner for her and Raisin. After eating, they both settled on the sofa together to watch the flickering flames in the wood stove.

  “It turns out Leo was a wealthy man,” Ella told the cat. “Money can sometimes cause trouble between people. Money, love, obsession, jealousy, power trips … they can all be motivators that lead to bad deeds.” Ella ran her hand over Raisin’s soft fur. “Which one of those things caused Leo’s death?”

  A low growl rumbled low in the cat’s throat.

  “And what about Rebekah? What caused her death? She was only twenty years old when she passed away. Why does she remain at the inn? What’s keeping her from crossing over? She grew up in the inn. Does she stay because it was her home? Because she felt loved and happy there?”

  Ella’s phone buzzed with a text from her sister asking her to come to the shop in the morning to have coffee together before she went to the university for the day. When she was replying to Livvy, Ella noticed she had received two other texts while they were in Natick speaking with Rose.

  One was from Liam asking if she could meet in the next couple of days to continue with the interview. His message was upbeat and pleasant and Ella’s heart warmed thinking about seeing him.

  The other missed text was from Detective Jonas Damon asking if they could meet at the family’s business office someday soon to talk about what they do when investigating ghosts. Picturing Jonas in her mind made Ella’s skin tingle.

  Next to the woodstove, glowing particles swirled in circles until the translucent form of a woman materialized, her atoms shimmering. The woman wore a fine, long dress with a high collar, and her soft brown hair was pulled up in a bun.

  “Hello, Dorothy,” Ella said to the spirit of Dorothy Browning, the original owner of the house.

  Raisin trilled at the ghost.

  Dorothy spoke to Ella’s mind without verbally communicating aloud with the young woman. It’s been years since you wanted anything to do with a man, and now you’ve got the hots for two of them.

  12

  Ella, Ben, his girlfriend, Ava, Livvy, her husband, Mike, and son, Jack, walked on the path leading to the country store at the Sunny Hill Farm and Orchard. Aunt Jin and her friend, Elsie, followed a few yards behind, chattering away.

  It was a gorgeous fall day with a bright blue sky and comfortable temperatures. The family had already visited the farm animals which was a big hit with Jack. He loved watching the goats play in their field and he was able to feed them some pellets from his hand. The petting zoo also had pigs, alpacas, ponies, geese, donkeys, ducks, and turkeys.

  Families, friends, and couples strolled past the activities and the decorations. A band played upbeat tunes and some people and kids danced along to the music. The farm had a corn maze, a zip line course, pick-your-own apples in the orchard, a courtyard with fire pits, picnic tables, and lawn chairs, face painters, three food tents, the country store, and an area with games and activities for every age.

  The scent of cinnamon and apples drifted on the air as the group approached the farm store.

  “Do they have popcorn here?” Jack asked his mother. “I think I can smell it.”

  “I think they sell popcorn in the store.” Livvy nodded and held Jack’s hand as he happily bounced along next to her.

  “What snack are you going to get?” Jack asked his favorite aunt.

  Ella said, “I’m planning on the apple-cider donut, but I might change my mind when I get inside.”

  Ben, Ava, and Mike decided to head over to the volleyball games, and Jin and Elsie sat in the shade at one of the picnic tables while Ella, Livvy, and Jack went inside to buy some snacks.

  “What a fun day,” Livvy smiled. “Everyone’s having a great time. It’s nice to be outside enjoying the fall weather.”

  “It’s refreshing to be away from work and investigations,” Ella agreed. “It gives the brain a much-needed break.”

  “So much for getting away from investigations.” Livvy nodded across the room at someone before she went to help Jack choose some treats.

  Ella turned to see Jonas Damon walking over to her.

  “Hey. I wasn’t expecting to run into you today.” Jonas looked toned and fit in jeans and a t-shirt that emphasized the man’s physique.

  “I’m here with the family,” Ella smiled.

  “I came with some buddies. We’re going to do the obstacle course in the team competition. I sort of got roped into it.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “It might be more fun to sit under the trees with some barbecue and a drink and just relax,” Jonas kidded. “Thanks for answering my text with a day to meet and talk about your family business.”

  “Sure. We’re always open to explaining what we do,” Ella told the man.

  When Livvy and Jack came over with a brown bag with apple bread, donuts, and popcorn, she greeted the detective, and they all headed outside.

  “We’ll meet you at the picnic table,” Livvy told Ella, and she and her son went to join Jin and Elsie.

  “A cute kid. He seems like he’s having a ball,” Jonas noted.

  “We were at the petting zoo. He loved it. We’re going to the corn maze after we have a snack, and then on to pick apples.”

  “He’ll sleep well tonight,” Jonas said with a smile.

  “I think we all will,” Ella chuckled.

  “You must have heard about the kitchen break-in at the inn?” the detective asked.

  Ella’s expression turned serious. “We did. Lucy asked us to come out.”

  One of Jonas’s eyebrows raised. “Did she? What did you think?”

  Tilting her head to the side and giving the detective a careful look, she asked, “What did you think?”

  “Things point to someone with a key.”

  “We considered that option, too.” Ella left out the fact that she and her siblings thought the number one suspect in the kitchen mess was most likely Leo. The ghost wouldn’t have needed a key to get inside. “You’ve interviewed some of the kitchen staff?”

  “We did. We talked with all of them,” Jonas told her. “Some seemed reluctant to speak, but that’s not unusual. A lot of people don’t like to get involved, especially in a murder case.”

  “Did you get the feeling someone was hiding information?” Ella wondered how much Jonas would share with her.

  “
You have to assume that’s the case, whether people do it intentionally or not. People hold back. Sometimes they don’t trust their judgment and won’t say what they think because they’re afraid to appear foolish in front of law enforcement.”

  “I can understand that.” Ella nodded. “Did you get any information that might be helpful?” She wanted to know what the detective thought about the young man who seemed to have been harassing Leo.

  “Some. We’ll see what more we can learn as we go forward,” Jonas said.

  Ella said, “That sounds like an answer designed not to tell someone anything at all.”

  Jonas shrugged a shoulder. “We don’t have any answers right now.”

  “Who else will you interview?”

  “Anyone we think will be able to give us some information about the case.” Jonas was being deliberately vague.

  “Did you speak with some of the inn’s guests?”

  “We did. They didn’t know anything.”

  “Did you talk with Leo’s girlfriend, Rose Mahoney?”

  For a half-second, Jonas looked surprised by Ella’s question. “I talked with her right after Leo died. She didn’t have a lot to report.”

  Ella thought Rose had told her and Livvy some important details, but she realized Jonas was probably holding back about what Rose shared with him.

  Jonas asked softly, “Do you have any paranormal-type feelings about the case?”

  “I’m surprised you’re asking such a question.” Ella pretended to be shocked. “You don’t believe in things like that.”

  “I’m gathering information,” Jonas defended himself.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to tell you anything you thought was silly.” Ella pushed her hair over her shoulder. “What would be the point?”

  Jonas seemed to be deciding on what to say next, and he took a quick look to see who was around before he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Have you seen Leo as a ghost?”

  Ella chuckled. “Come on, Detective. You know as well as anyone … there are no such things as ghosts.”

  “What did he want?” Jin asked when Ella sat down with them at the picnic table.

  “He talked a little about the case.”

  “Very little, I assume.” Jin kept her eyes on the detective watching him as he met up with his friends. “You didn’t share what you know with him?”

  “No, I didn’t.” Ella reached into the paper bag for a donut. “We have a meeting with him in a few days. He wants to talk to us about what we do.”

  “Don’t give him any hard and fast details. Speak in generalities,” Jin advised.

  “We know the drill,” Livvy said.

  “Where’s Jack?” Ella asked.

  “He’s over at the slide.” Livvy pointed. “He met a friend from preschool.”

  Jin had a sour look on her face. “I don’t believe the detective has an honest desire to know about spirit investigations. Be careful what you tell him.”

  “Are you picking up specifically on Jonas’s intentions or are you being cautious in general?” Ella glanced over to where the detective was standing with his friends.

  “Cautious in general, I guess,” Jin admitted.

  Elsie eyed the man. “He’s quite good-looking. I’d meet with him, too.”

  “You’re thirty years older than he is,” Jin scolded.

  “Physically, yes,” Elsie said. “But not in spirit.”

  Livvy and Ella laughed.

  “Jonas asked me if I’d seen Leo’s ghost.”

  Jin sat up. “He must have been mocking us.”

  “I’m not sure. It didn’t feel that way,” Ella said.

  “How did you respond?” Livvy questioned.

  “I told him there are no such things as ghosts.”

  “Good answer.” Livvy took a piece of her sister’s donut. “Did he give you any helpful information about the case?”

  “He gave general answers that sounded like he was telling me things, but they were just rote responses without meaning,” Ella said.

  Livvy made a face. “Maybe I should put a truth spell on him so when you ask about the case, he’ll have to tell you what he knows.”

  “There will be no frivolous casting of spells in this family. That is not how we use our gifts,” Jin scolded. “Anyway, we don’t need his help.”

  Elsie gave Jin a little poke with her elbow. “Oh, let Livvy do it.”

  Jin glared at her friend and sniffed. “Don’t encourage things like that. We have standards.”

  Jack raced over to Livvy. “My friend had to go home. Can we go to the corn maze now?”

  “I think that’s a good idea.” Livvy packed up the things on the table. “Why don’t you go get Dad and Ben and Ava. See, they’re right over there.” She pointed to the sand area where the volleyball games were being played.

  Jack ran down to retrieve the others, and when they came back up the hill, the group headed to the corn maze.

  “There are lots of people and its busy in the maze so don’t run ahead of us,” Livvy cautioned her son.

  Everyone got a little map and they entered the puzzle path.

  “Wow. Which way should we go?” Jack asked. “There are four choices.”

  Ella looked at her sister. “This is kind of like a murder case with leads running off in different directions.”

  Livvy nodded. “How do we choose the right path?”

  “Trust our instincts?” Ella asked.

  “That’s probably the best way to go.”

  Mike said to his son, “You pick the path this time. We can always correct our direction as we go through the maze.”

  Livvy smiled. “Another good motto to live by.” And she and her sister followed the group into the maze together.

  13

  Ella sat at the glossy wood table in the elegant Quinsigamond historical museum library doing research on Rebekah and her family, the Coopers. Books were stacked on the table next to her as she used the library system’s online databases to read historical documents. She’d been reading for hours and her eyes began to blur. Leaning against the chair back, she rubbed her eyes and let out a sigh.

  The Pine Hill Inn had been in operation as a tavern and inn for about two-hundred-and-fifty years serving travelers on the road from Boston to the western part of the state. The house began as a ten-room Colonial home for the Cooper family with the front part of the building serving as the inn. The Coopers had owned the house for only three years before Rebekah was born. There were two brothers before her, and two sisters who were born after.

  In letters Ella had found written from Rebekah’s parents to family and friends, Rebekah was described as a dark-haired beauty with a fiery and opinionated personality. She worked at the inn from the age of twelve helping with cooking, serving the guests, making up the rooms, and tending the gardens. She was business-minded and came up with some ideas about how the inn could run more smoothly. Rebekah’s parents seemed proud of their daughter and praised her in their letters making comments about her intelligence, business-sense, and work ethic.

  Ella yawned and leaned forward to continue her research, and after another hour, she’d had enough and was about to stop for the day when something caught her eye in the online database. Her heart rate sped up.

  There was a letter from Rebekah’s mother to a sister in Boston discussing her daughter’s reaction to what seemed like an arranged marriage. Rebekah’s father, Elias Cooper, had met a wealthy merchant in Boston, Jebediah Adams, and after several business dealings over many months, Elias thought this man would make a good prospect for Rebekah.

  Jebediah owned several shops in the city, owned hundreds of acres of land west of Boston, and owned two sailing ships that brought expensive items from overseas to his shops. The man had a mansion in a fashionable part of town and he hobnobbed with the city’s social elite. Elias believed Jebediah could be the perfect match for his daughter.

  Rebekah disagreed and an argument ensued between her and her parents. Rebe
kah had no desire to move to Boston. She had no interest in marrying a wealthy merchant. She wanted to stay where she was and continue to work at the inn. Open to marriage, she wanted to wed someone from the area who loved the land as much as she did. She refused to live in a city.

  Over a period of months, Rebekah pleaded her case, but Elias was not moved by the arguments, believing he knew what was best for his daughter. In her letters to her sister, Rebekah’s mother, Sarah, wrote that she was sympathetic to her first-born daughter’s plight and privately took her side.

  The next letter Ella read made her breath catch in her throat.

  Jebediah arrived at the inn for a visit. Rebekah did not treat the man with interest and tried to ignore him. Elias had a long talk with his daughter about the need for her to marry, and to marry well. Rebekah rejected his ideas.

  The last part of the letter expressed Sarah’s misery at losing her daughter who was found dead in the gardens during Jebediah’s visit to the inn.

  Ella could barely breathe. What happened to Rebekah? Was her death an accident? Did she take her own life to avoid a marriage she didn’t want to be part of? Did someone kill her for rejecting the suitor?

  All Rebekah had wanted was to stay in the area with a man who loved the land and continue to work at the inn.

  No wonder she doesn’t want to cross over. Rebekah loved her life at the inn. Was there a man she knew from the surrounding area who she hoped to marry?

  Ella closed out of the online library system, snatched up her things and shoved them into her briefcase, and then hurried out of the historical museum and drove home.

  Ella changed into jeans and a sweater, and she and Raisin walked into town to Livvy’s store.

  “I found out what happened to Rebekah.”

  Livvy had just finished waiting on a customer. She came out from behind the counter and ushered her sister to a table in the corner. Raisin followed and jumped onto one of the café chairs.

  “What did you find out?”

  Ella gave her sister the condensed version of the story, and when she’d finished, Livvy looked heartbroken.