Nine Steps to Sara

by Olsen, Lisa

  Sara lifted the bottle to try and read the doctor’s scrawl. The dosage was printed clear enough, but the medication itself was harder to decipher. “It’s… morphine. Christ, no wonder you’ve been out of it.”

  “I knew it, he’s trying to keep me doped up, the bastard,” Joanie spat out with more vehemence than Sara thought she’d be capable of in her weakened state. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Now hold on, you’re not in any shape to go anywhere,” Sara blocked her from trying to get out of bed. “I agree morphine seems a bit strong, but maybe it’s because he worried you’d try and do too much too fast? He said you were acting strange the night you fell.”

  “That’s because I didn’t fall,” Joanie lay back against the pillows, conserving her strength.

  “Didn’t fall… Joanie I saw you lying at the bottom of the stairs…”

  “I didn’t fall, I was pushed.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What do you mean you were pushed?”

  “What do you think I mean?”

  “Pushed by who?” Sara couldn’t imagine anyone in the household doing such a thing. Her attitude might have been a little trying over the past few days, but no one would ever hurt her. Would they?

  “Isn’t it obvious? The ghost wants to get rid of me and the Doc and everyone else is trying to cover it up.”

  Sara took long moments to process that statement, not sure how to respond. “Joanie… I know you’ve been through a horrible thing, but…”

  “I was at the top of the stairs when I heard you call me. I had just turned around and I felt two hands push me behind my back.”

  It didn’t seem possible, and Sara was quick to dismiss it. “It was late… you were upset and your heels probably got caught on the edge of the carpet runner or something.

  “I know what I felt, and no one else was there,” Joanie insisted.

  “She said she wouldn’t hurt us…”

  Joanie interrupted, her voice falling to little more than a whisper. “No, she said she wouldn’t hurt you. She needs you. They all do, for whatever whacked out reason, you’re the second coming, for chrissakes. Now we have to get out of here.”

  “Joanie… you’re not in any shape to go anywhere,” Sara balked, still trying to take it all in. Could Gemma really have pushed her?

  “Are you saying you’re going to keep me here against my wishes?” Joanie’s eyes narrowed to slits and Sara instantly shook her head, reaching for her hand.

  “Of course not. If you want to leave I won’t stop you. But Joanie… I really think you should rest up for at least a few days. You’re bruised from head to toe and you shouldn’t be flying anywhere with that concussion.”

  “Then I won’t fly yet, but I’m not staying another night in this house.”

  Indecision warred over Sara’s pretty features as she tried to decide what was in her friend’s best interests. On the one hand, she had no right to keep her there if she really wanted to leave, but was it doing her a favor to let her go when she was ready to pass out at any moment? “How about you give me one more day and then tomorrow I’ll go put you on the train myself?”

  “You’re not seriously thinking about staying here now, are you?” Joanie blinked in disbelief. “How much more is it going to take for you to smarten up? We all need to go home.”

  “Joanie…” Sara sighed, eyes closing for a moment as she tried to find the right words. “This is my home now. Darling Park is where we belong. If something is going on, something sinister, I’m not going to run away from it; I need to figure out what it is and put an end to it. I owe it to Jack, to the community and to myself.”

  “Then that’s it, you won’t come with me?” her eyes were shiny with pain and Sara wasn’t sure if it was from the fall or the perceived betrayal.

  “The answer is no. If you have to leave, I can understand that, but we’re here to stay.”

  Joanie leaned back against the pillows, pinching the bridge of her nose with her good hand. “Fine. Can you ring for that maid of yours then? I’ll need help packing my bags.”

  “I can help you with that. I really wish you would reconsider staying a little longer, I don’t feel good about you leaving like this.”

  “Yeah well, I don’t feel good about you staying like this, so I guess that makes us even,” Joanie snapped.

  There was nothing to say to that, so Sara fell silent as she helped pack up Joanie’s belongings. Joanie drowsed off and on, offering barely a civil word when asked a direct question. Refusing to take any more of the medication left by Marwick, she did accept some ibuprofen, popping four of the little pills.

  “I’ll see if Will can take you to the station then,” Sara offered when there was little else to do. “Or did you want to stay the night in the village before you set off?”

  “No offense, but I’ll call a cab. You never know how deep this thing goes.”

  “Oh come on, Joanie. You don’t seriously think Will is wrapped up in… whatever you think is going on, do you? He’s one of the good guys, trust me on that.”

  “You wouldn’t know a good guy if he came up behind you and pinched your ass.”

  “That wouldn’t make him a very good guy, now would it?” a roll of the eyes was given.

  “I’m just saying, your track record with men isn’t exactly stellar. How many times did you tell me how great Peter was? How sunshine and rainbows grew near every time he appeared?” she fluttered her eyelashes mockingly. “A nice smile and a cute butt and you’re already a smitten kitten.”

  “I am smitten,” Sara replied without a trace of embarrassment. “And I won’t apologize for it. I’m sorry you’re miserable and alone, but I deserve a chance at real happiness and I really think it’s waiting for me here.”

  “I hope you get it, kid. I really do,” Joanie’s shoulders slumped as she sighed in resignation. “I just can’t stick around and watch it.” With a lurch, she launched herself out of bed, grabbing hold of the nightstand to right herself as the room dipped and swayed.

  “I don’t want to part like this,” Sara reached for her arm to steady her. “At least let me take you to the train station so I’ll know you’re off safely.” With a short nod, Joanie let her help her make it down the stairs, waving off the offer of assistance from anyone else. Jack came down for a quick goodbye and Sara promised to be back in time for dinner.

  The ride to the train station was silent and uncomfortable with Joanie not wanting to talk much in front of Will, and Sara wished she’d brought something to read along the way. Will saw to her luggage and purchasing a ticket while Sara helped Joanie to the platform.

  “Call me and let me know when you get to London safely, alright?” Sara hugged her gingerly, taking care not to hurt her.

  “I will. Listen, Sara. Be careful, okay?” Joanie’s eyes were hooded with concern.

  “I will.”

  “I mean it. Whatever you have to do to make that place safe, hire an exorcist, fire everybody and get a new staff, burn the place to the ground and start from scratch… whatever it takes, make sure you protect yourself and Jack.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Sara smiled, handing her over to the helpful porter who assisted her onto the train. “Bye, Joanie. Feel better soon.”

  “You’ll take care of what?” Will asked, wrapping an arm around her waist as they watched Joanie get settled.

  “She suggested I get an exorcist to purge the house or burn it to the ground if necessary to protect myself.”

  “Seems a little extreme,” he chuckled. “But we’ll keep that in mind.”

  Sara rode up front with Will for the return trip, their fingers brushing on the seat between them. “She’s a stubborn bird, but you have to admire the girl for going after what she wants, no matter how stupid,” he observed aloud.

  “I can’t say I blame her really. This trip has been one mishap after another for her. First the horse and then the stairs…”

  “She might want to look into
accident insurance.”

  “Joanie said she was pushed.”

  “Sorry?” Will’s lopsided smile returned, until he realized she wasn’t kidding. “By who?”

  “She thinks Gemma did it, but… I’m not convinced. She hasn’t done anything dangerous to us yet, and Gemma said she wanted to warn us, not hurt us.”

  “We’re back to the séance again, are we?”

  “It wasn’t a séance, but I do believe we contacted Gemma’s spirit,” Sara insisted. “I just wish I understood some of her answers. When I asked her why Jack was in danger, she said one.”

  “One what?”

  “I have no idea. The number one.”

  “Number one,” Will repeated, turning it over in his mind before shaking his head. “I’ve no clue what that means. What else did it say?”

  “I asked it who wanted to hurt Jack and she said nine.”

  “Nine,” Will frowned. “Again I’m stumped. Didn’t you ask what it meant?”

  Pleased to see he wasn’t completely against the idea that it could have been real, Sara replied. “I didn’t get a chance to; Joanie hijacked it, asking about Cole.”

  “The tosser from London who showed up at the fair?”

  “Yep, he invited her to take a trip with him while I thought over his proposal, but he never showed up to meet her, he checked out instead.”

  “And what did the ghost tell her? That he was shacking up with another slapper?”

  “No, she said he was dead.”

  That wiped the smirk off of Will’s face. “Dead.”

  “Dead, and also because of the number nine, I might add. So you can start to see why she was a little spooked.”

  “Still, that seems a bit of a stretch.”

  “Then you don’t think Cole is actually dead?”

  “No, I don’t. More than likely he left voluntarily and didn’t give Joanie two thoughts. Else why did he check out of the inn? It’s probably easy enough to find out; I’ll make some calls if you like.”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

  “It’s nothing. I’d rather lay your mind to rest as quickly as possible. I don’t want to be making this trip again with you and Jack in the back seat,” his fingers closed around hers.

  “I meant it when I said I was staying, this is my home now. But if that’s true, I need to know exactly what I’m getting into.”

  “It sounds like you have a plan of attack.”

  “More of a general strategy than an actual plan,” she gave a half shrug.

  “Anything I can help with?”

  “I’m glad you asked. I think it’s about time I got a look behind those closed doors at Darling Park.”

  *

  The house was busy with activity as the equipment and crew arrived to start tearing out the back yard. Will’s father looked happy as a pig in mud directing traffic, and Sara could hear the sounds of heavy machinery in the back yard. The plans to explore the house temporarily forgotten, Sara headed for the courtyard in back to take a look at the preparations and see if there was anything she needed to do while Will put the car away.

  A bulldozer was already working on removing the dead shrubs and trees with another following in its wake to churn up the dirt. Sara watched in fascination as so many people worked in close proximity to each other, almost like a synchronized dance.

  Not the only one interested in the works, Jack soon appeared at her side. “Mom, Mrs. Poole says I can’t go outside while the workers are here, is that true?”

  “Well, you don’t want to be underfoot, honey. They’re all busy working, they might not see you.”

  “I’d stay out of the way, I just want to watch,” he insisted as Will approached with his father, a rolled up paper in his hands.

  “I’ll see to the lad, no worries on that score,” Talbot offered with a wink for Jack.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Sara replied quickly, not wanting him to feel obligated. “You have enough to worry about out here.”

  “It’s no worry at all, dearie. I’ll put him to work, that’ll keep him out of trouble.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve years of experience keeping small boys out of trouble, never you fear,” he assured her and Sara gave in.

  “Okay then, you do everything Mr. Talbot asks you to do, alright Jack? He’s the boss.”

  “I prefer Captain,” Talbot grinned conspiratorially, “and you can be my first mate.”

  “Aye, aye, Cap’n,” Jack saluted in delight.

  “Alright, be careful,” Sara called out, a little worried that Talbot might be biting off more than he could chew where Jack was concerned, but Will drew her aside with a reassuring smile.

  “He’ll be fine; Da can find no end of small, safe errands to keep him occupied, believe you me.”

  “What have you got there?” Sara noticed the rolled paper for the first time.

  “Ah, here I have some sketches for your Ladyship to peruse,” he gave a little bow, unrolling the papers to reveal schematics for a gazebo. “Da described what the old gazebo looked like, and I took the liberty of drawing it up for you, along with a couple of alternate designs if you decide you’d rather try something new.”

  “Wow, you drew these?” she replied, flipping them open to see the next design. “You’re pretty good at this.”

  “You sound surprised,” he chuckled, and Sara realized how that must have sounded.

  “Sorry, I’ve just never seen you at your chosen profession before. I’m not surprised at all though, you’re very talented.”

  “In more ways than you know,” he winked. “Are you ready to find a few answers?” Will held up a circle of keys with a jingle.

  Recognizing them right away, Sara snatched them out of his hand before anyone else could see. “Where did you get these?”

  “I filched them off of Mrs. Poole while she was busy complaining about the workers tromping through her vegetable garden,” he grinned. “Shall we do some exploring then?”

  Sara looked back to Jack who stood next to Will’s father, holding onto his clipboard while Mrs. Poole looked on in disapproval from the French doors. It was probably as good a time as any to slip away unnoticed. “Let’s go, and I know right where I want to start.”

  The first floor of the mansion held several rooms that had been locked up tight since she’d gotten there, and Sara was dying to get inside and take a look. After a few tries, she found the right key to an ornate set of double doors in the east wing. The door swung wide to reveal a ballroom, empty but for a few scarred chairs by the opposite wall. The reason for the locked door was readily apparent; the wood floor was blackened and pitted by fire, and the walls and ceiling were spoiled by soot and water damage.

  “I wonder what happened here?” Sara murmured, not daring to go more than a few feet into the room for fear of crashing through the floor.

  “I’ve no idea; I don’t remember hearing anything about a fire at the house before. It must have happened a long time ago.”

  “That’s kind of weird they wouldn’t have had it repaired though, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe they weren’t too keen on holding any more balls after whatever happened?” Will shrugged. “I think we should press on, this doesn’t look very safe.”

  Agreeing, Sara led them to another locked door which proved to be a storage closet and the next room gave no clue to its function; completely bare of furniture or wall decorations. Starting to lose hope they’d find anything of interest, she tried again, this time opening up to a parlor decorated in feminine tones, in perfect condition.

  “Why would she lock this room up?” Sara wondered aloud, stepping into the room. There were two couches set before the fireplace, along with a pair of wing backed chairs set around a table by the bank of windows. A feminine writing desk was tucked away in the corner next to the built in bookshelves that held a mixture of classic novels and knick knacks.

  “No idea, it looks perfectly sound.” Will shut the doo
r behind them, turning a moment as if trying to orient himself. “If memory serves, this is the parlor where the Lady of the house received visitors.”

  “It’s nice,” Sara observed. The windows would offer a lovely view of the side gardens when they were in bloom, she imagined. “I’ve kind of gotten used to using the study myself. I don’t see why we couldn’t use the room for something though.”

  Will nodded, testing the floor in various spots with his weight and thumping on the walls. “The wallpaper needs some repair and there’s a fair bit of water damage here, but it looks old, I’d say the leak has been seen to. I can’t think why this one was shut up.”

  “You know… I think I’m going to redo this room myself,” as soon as she said it, Sara knew it was a good idea. “That way, when Jack is older, he can use the study and I’ll have this room. Well… if I still live here, I guess.” Would she still be living there when Jack was all grown up?

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  “Oh, you know. Who wants their mom underfoot all the time? I suppose some day I’ll move out when Jack takes over if he wants me to.”

  “As if you’d be trampling each other underfoot in a house of this size,” he chuckled. “I understand you might vacate the master suite to make room for Jack, but there’s space enough for you and… whoever you choose to spend your life with.”

  It felt strange to talk about the future in such a context. “You don’t think that’d be kinda weird? Me and my… whatever, glomming onto Jack’s life?”

  “It’s not glomming, Sara, it’s how it’s been done for centuries. Of course we could always build you a dowager’s house on the estate if you prefer, or if you don’t get on with his bride.”

  “His bride,” Sara laughed. “You know, I think maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. For now, I think I’ll focus on making this our home and we’ll see where the future leads us.”

  “Excellent plan,” he nodded in approval. “Shall I contact some workers for you to get started on the renovations then?”