2 Yule Be the Death of Me

by J. D. Shaw

  She came face to face with the angry face of Edgar Rothwell towering above her. “What are you doing in here?” He yelled at her.

  Vivienne put her hands up in surprise. “I’m here to help.”

  His pale eyes turned dark black and he grabbed her roughly by her sweatshirt. “You were thieving.”

  Vivienne felt real panic as his form seemed as solid as hers. She reached up and tried to release his grip but was unable to do so. “I’m a friend, searching for Natalie.”

  “Lies. You women are nothing but deceit and lies. No better than Eve in the garden.” He hissed. “Evil needs to be devoured.”

  Vivienne struggled to get free. “I’m not who you think I am.”

  Edgar pulled her closer and his breath smelled of musty earth and foul rot. She watched in silent terror as his jaw opened wider and wider, with a sickening crackling sound.

  “Let me go.” Vivienne screamed, kicking and pounding against him.

  Edgar held her in place as his jaw lowered beyond his throat.

  Vivienne saw movement from inside his mouth. A pair of fingers were reaching up from behind his tonsils, reaching out toward her. “I won’t let you do this.” Vivienne screamed once more as the fingers moved to the back of his teeth.

  “Vivienne. Honey, can you hear me?” Kathy’s voice called to her from somewhere in the distance.

  “Help me.” Vivienne screamed. “I’m in here.”

  The fingers shot forward and grabbed her around the throat. Vivienne gasped for air as they tightened and constricted her airway. She could feel them pulling her inside Edgar’s mouth. A bitter, terrible cold enveloped her.

  “Snap out of it.” Kathy’s face appeared inside Edgar’s mouth.

  Vivienne let out a scream of abject terror as the entire scene exploded with a deafening thud.

  Kathy shook Vivienne firmly. “Vivienne, can you hear me?”

  She was back in the kitchen of the Rothwell home, lying on the floor near the oven. “Kathy?”

  “Oh, thank God. I thought you’d gone insane.” Relief washed over Kathy’s face. “What the hell happened to you?”

  Vivienne pulled herself up from the floor. “How long was I out?”

  “Just a few seconds.” Kathy replied. “I was about to explore the parlor room when you asked me to come in here because you found something.”

  Vivienne shook her head. “Only a few seconds?”

  “Yes.” Kathy confirmed. “I found you on the floor and thought you were having a seizure. I was about to call the paramedics when you came around.”

  Vivienne shook her head. “It wasn’t a seizure. I tried to open the oven door and I must have slipped and hit my head on the darn thing.”

  Kathy clucked her tongue. “You need to be more careful.” She offered her an arm and pulled Vivienne up to her feet. “Do you feel a bump anywhere on your head?”

  “No.” Vivienne gave her a little smile. “Just my ego is bruised I think.”

  Kathy folded her arms together. “This place sure got awful cold since we came inside.”

  “You feel it too?” Vivienne asked.

  “Are you sure you want to poke around this place? It’s kind of spooky.”

  Vivienne shook her head. “I think I’ve had enough for today. Let’s return the keys to Brian and call it a night.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Monday, December 9th

  It had been a busy day for orders at the bakery, but Vivienne’s head just wasn’t in the game. She was fortunate enough to have Stephanie keeping track of everything. Under her watchful eyes, she made sure that dates were correct and double checked spelling of names on birthday cakes. As they finished the usual rush during the lunch hour, Vivienne fixed herself a cup of cinnamon tea and sat down at one of the bistro tables with her writing pad and pen. She jotted down as much as she could remember from her strange vision inside the Rothwell kitchen and began to list some of the strange questions that needed to be answered.

  “Making out your Christmas list?” Stephanie asked as she placed a fresh batch of half-moon cookies into the glass display case.

  “I wish I was that organized this early.” Vivienne looked over in her direction and gave her a little smile. “I’m just trying to help some friends out.”

  “Anything I can do?” Stephanie closed the sliding door on the display case.

  “Actually, would you mind running the store a bit for this afternoon?” Vivienne felt guilty pushing her business duties onto her assistant. She vowed then and there to up her Christmas bonus another twenty percent. “I’m going to check on Eunice at the hospital.”

  Stephanie walked over to the small closet where they stored the cleaning supplies and pulled out the broom and dustpan. “Not at all.”

  “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

  Stephanie started to sweep the floor behind the counter. “I like it here.” She gathered up some pieces of wax paper that had fallen during the lunch rush and dumped them into the waste bin. “It’s never been just a job here. I love what I do.”

  “You’re very good at running a business.” Vivienne complimented her.

  Stephanie paused for a moment, leaning against the broom handle. “It just feels right to me.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised to see you open a business right after you finish college.”

  “Maybe.” Stephanie grinned. “But what would I open?”

  “Whatever drives your passion.” Vivienne replied. “When you follow your heart, you can’t go wrong.”

  “Thanks.” Stephanie went back to sweeping. “Speaking of hearts, I was sorry to see what happened to Nathaniel and Tristan.”

  “That note was terrible and it was written with nothing but malicious intent.” Vivienne set the pen down on the table and took another sip of her tea.

  “Any idea who the Bad Santa is?”

  “I’m working on that.” Vivienne nodded.

  “Those two are the nicest guys, I can’t believe how the town’s just turned on them.” Stephanie added.

  “Joshua said they were keeping an officer out near the protesters in front of their store today. Just to be sure no one does anything stupid.”

  Stephanie emptied her dustpan into the waste bin. “So who’s this Pastor Seamus Kilpatrick?”

  “He’s Eunice Kilpatrick’s brother.” Vivienne confirmed. “He came into town right after she was hit by the car.”

  “It’s like the whole town is suddenly going crazy.” Stephanie remarked.

  “I know how you feel.” Vivienne added. “But I can tell you that Pastor Kilpatrick gathering a small group together to protest Nathaniel and Tristan’s lifestyle isn’t helping matters.”

  “Why don’t the police just go out there and tell them to leave?”

  Vivienne shook her head. “They have the right to protest peacefully.

  “I wanted to yell at them when I drove by this morning, but I didn’t.” Stephanie confessed.

  “You did the right thing. If you give them an inch of attention they’ll run a mile with it.”

  “This Pastor Kilpatrick doesn’t even have a church here, does he?” Stephanie asked.

  “Not to my knowledge.” Vivienne picked up her writing pad and slid out of the chair. “But that’s part of what I’m going to find out today while you run the business.”

  “Go get them.” Stephanie raised her broom up in the air with a grand gesture just as the telephone rang. She hurried over behind the counter and answered it. “Sweet Dreams Bakery, how can I help you?”

  Vivienne walked over the display window that looked out upon Main Street. Inside her bakery, everything was peaceful. She counted her blessings that the Bad Santa hadn’t targeted her yet, because she found it all too easy to imagine the protestors in front of Carriage House Antiques moving to her front sidewalk. Imagine if she were outed as a witch? Miss Octavia had her shop vandalized, but could an angry mob go even further and burn her bakery to the ground? The very notion gave her
chills.

  “Vivienne, it’s Joshua on the phone for you.” Stephanie called out.

  “Joshua?” She turned around in surprise and hurried to the phone. “Thanks, Stephanie.”

  Stephanie handed her the phone. “I’m going to go out back and get a start on the inventory before you leave.”

  “Thanks.” Vivienne put the phone to her ear as Stephanie graciously left to give her privacy. “Hi hon, what’s going on?”

  “Forensics has a match on Sally Rollin’s car. She was the one who ran Eunice Kilpatrick down.” Joshua explained.

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” Vivienne clenched her teeth in frustration. “You know that Eunice tried to help her out not too long ago.”

  “Help her out how?” Joshua asked.

  “She was at the bank applying for a loan and got turned down. Eunice told her that Nathanial and Tristan sometimes bought antiques and paid cash on the spot.”

  “Who told you this?”

  “Nathaniel and Tristan.” Vivienne explained. “But there’s much more to that story.”

  “Sally Rollins is being brought in for questioning” Joshua offered. “Be careful you don’t step on Sheriff Rigsbee’s toes when you check things out. He’s on his last nerve and not afraid to let anyone who gets in his way know it.”

  “I’m heading to the library, so I’ll be far from the line of fire.” Vivienne assured him.

  “Any leads that your magic helped out with yet?”

  Vivienne had wanted to tell him all about what had happened yesterday in the Rothwell mansion, but she could barely process the experience herself. She needed to verify information first, piece together what she had seen in her vision, and then formulate some sort of explanation that tied everything together. “I’m working on it.”

  “I wish I could talk longer, but I’ve got a meeting with Sheriff Rigsbee in a minute. Be careful.” Joshua replied.

  “You too.” Vivienne wished that he could come with her. She always felt safe with him beside her. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Joshua echoed back. “If you find out anything big be sure to call me right away.”

  “I promise.” Vivienne hung up the phone and opened her display case. She pulled out two half-moon cookies and wrapped them in a small box. Delores would be thrilled to get the treat.

  * * *

  Vivienne’s first stop was at the hospital to check on Eunice’s progress and to say hello to Delores as she had promised. However, her plans changed slightly as she walked into room 508 and heard two familiar voices talking from behind the curtain, Eunice and her brother, Pastor Seamus Kilpatrick. Delores, was fast asleep, her head tipped to the side as she snored.

  “When did the doctor say you could leave?” Seamus’ voice asked as Vivienne crept carefully closer to hear everything.

  “Not for at least a week.” Eunice’s voice was raspy and sounded frail. “He says I might need some physical therapy first.”

  “Did you let him know that I could stay with you to help out?”

  “I didn’t know how long you were staying in Cayuga Cove for.” Eunice replied. “Did you have a talk with Father William over at Our Lady of the Lake?”

  “I did.” Seamus replied. “He was happy to hear that I would be taking over the congregation at Shoreline Baptist while Pastor Green goes overseas on missionary work.”

  “So when you do start?”

  “New Year’s day.” Seamus added. “That’s when we start to clean up this town and put it back on the path of righteousness.”

  “Amen, dear brother.” Eunice replied. “This town has been going downhill fast with the murder scandal, the opening of a witchcraft store, and those sleazy gays who run the antique store.”

  “I promised you that I’d fix things, sister. With the Lord on our side, how can we go wrong?”

  Vivienne set the package of cookies on the bedside table and hurried away before she could be found. She didn’t like the tone in Seamus’ voice, but he was the least of her worries. At least Delores could enjoy the baked goods when she awoke. As for Eunice, she could just stuff her face with communion wafers.

  * * *

  Harriet Nettles had been more than happy to once again assist Vivienne with research at the town library. She had felt quite free to express her own opinions on what was going on in town as she gathered the Cayuga Union Cemetery records for Vivienne upstairs in the library. As much as it pained Vivienne to think it, she had to admit that when it came to the stereotypical ‘old maid’ figure, Harriet fit the profile to perfection.

  She had few friends, mostly keeping company with her books and the stray cats she fed outside her modest single bedroom home. She never expressed very much interest in getting married or starting a family, but that was where Vivienne had enormous respect for her. She was happy with her life and felt no need to justify her decisions to anyone. She was a collector of information and had a natural curiosity about the world. However, unlike Vivienne, Harriet was happy to explore from the comfort of her wingback chair with a hand-knitted blanket over her lap and a cup of chamomile tea on the side table.

  As Vivienne explored the cemetery records she located the information about the death of the Rothwell family but could find no record of Natalie Burdick. It was as if she had never existed, yet her magical vision had told quite the opposite story.

  Frustrated, she returned to the main desk where Harriet was busy gathering books that had been dropped off in the night return box. “Harriet, I have a question about the old Cayuga Union Cemetery that I can’t find an answer to.”

  Harriet looked up from the desk as she scanned the books with a barcode device to log them back into the system. “I’ve given you everything I have on it.”

  “Do you know who the last caretaker was?” Vivienne wondered.

  Harriet scratched her chin with her hand. “That’s a good question. I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea. The records were stored here long before I assumed the job.”

  “Maggie Sandro died last year, so I can’t ask her.” Vivienne brought up the beloved former librarian that had served for nearly five decades.

  “May she rest in peace.” Harriet lowered her head for a moment. “You know Vivienne, I remember her talking about plans to fix up that old cemetery a few months before she died. She kept saying it was shameful to the memory of the civil war veterans buried there to let the place fade away.”

  “This could be very important, Harriet.” Vivienne pressed. “Did she mention anyone she discussed this with?”

  Harriet tried to pull up the memory but she simply shook her head in frustration. “I’m sorry, I just can’t recall the details of the conversation.”

  Vivienne looked around the desk. The library was empty as usual. “It was worth a try.” She looked down at Harriet’s hands and noticed a charm bracelet on her right wrist. “Say, that’s quite lovely.” Vivienne pointed down.

  Harriet smiled. “My bracelet? Why, thank you.”

  “Wherever did you find it?”

  “It was on clearance at Meeker Jewelers last week for twenty-five dollars.” Harriet beamed with pride. “I normally don’t indulge in such things, but it was just so cute I couldn’t say no.”

  “May I see it up close?” Vivienne asked.

  “Sure.” Harriet stretched her arm upwards at Vivienne’s face. “I just love the simple elegance of silver.”

  Vivienne nodded and seized Harriet’s hand in her own grip. “Think back to that conversation with Maggie Sandro. Back when she talked about the cemetery.”

  Harriet’s face went blank as the magic worked through her mind. She let out a little gasp. “I miss Maggie so much.”

  “We all do, Harriet. But think back to the time when you and her talked about the cemetery.”

  Harriet nodded as her mind began to open to Vivienne. “Yes, what a shame it was to let it go.” She murmured.

  The library desk swirled away as Vivienne stepped into Harriet’s memory.
She felt more disconnected this time, as if she were more a silent observer than an active participant in the spell. When her vision cleared, she was standing in a charmingly-decorated room at the Whispering Oaks retirement facility. Vivienne knew the layout quite well from her many visits to Nana Mary’s apartment.

  Maggie Sandro sat on her blue-floral patterned loveseat with Harriet Nettles beside her. Her short white hair was neatly combed, her brown eyes still bright with the spark of curiosity that Harriet shared. “I spoke with Mona Clarke about getting the mayor involved with rescuing the cemetery.”

  Vivienne was pleased to have the more unique view of a spectral observer than the more personal invasion of assuming the target’s body. There was hardly any dizzy feeling or disorientation.

  “What did she say?” Harriet asked.

  “She said that her husband was a very busy man, having just taken office but that she would mention it to him.” Maggie gave a little scowl. “I didn’t find her very sincere.”

  “Well, she did come to Whispering Oaks to visit with the residents.” Harriet replied. “That’s something.”

  “It’s the minimum she could do.” Maggie spoke up. “She seems more caught up in the excitement of being first lady if you ask me.”

  “I can’t argue with you on that point.” Harriet chuckled. “Whatever made you take notice of the Cayuga Union Cemetery?”

  “I know there are fewer days ahead than there are behind, Harriet.” Maggie sighed.

  Harriet reached out and took hold of Maggie’s hands. “Oh, don’t say such a thing.”

  “I’ve lived a very full life and I certainly can’t complain for having eighty-nine good years to enjoy it with.”

  Harriet’s eyes filled with tears. “The good Lord will bless you with many more I hope.”

  “Perhaps he will.” Maggie agreed. “But, one last thing I hope to do before I go is have that old cemetery restored to a proper state.”

  “There hasn’t been a burial out there for decades.” Harriet replied. “Does anyone even visit the graves? I never see any flowers.”