Mystery and Suspense at the Cavendish Mansion

by Volpiceli, Waldon; Cristina Rodrigues Gomes, Ana;

  Elizabeth declares:

  - Maybe somebody can, I know someone that could, wait here.

  Elizabeth went to her room, got her mobile phone and called Fisto.

  - Hello, said the voice on the other side.

  - Hello, Fisto? It’s me Elizabeth. You won’t believe it. I’ve inherited a fortune.

  -How is that? Declared Fisto.

  -What you heard, I can’t believe it myself, but I think I found my father, he died and left me a ranch in Amapa.

  -What craziness is this one, it’s a scam, be careful, said Fisto.

  - No, it’s not, there is a lawyer here at the orphanage, with all the documents, the will, everything, the Mother saw it and sustained it. I want you to come with me, I need someone older, how old are you?

  - I’m 25, but going with you, to Amapá?

  - Are you working?

  - No, it’s hard to work with my health condition.

  - Condition? What health condition, what’s wrong with you Fisto?

  - I will tell you one day, but, I do want to go, I have nothing to lose, I am not working.

  - Perfect, let’s go together. I will let them know I found someone, talk to later, I call you.

  Elizabeth returns to the Mother’s room and says:

  -I can go, I have a friend that is going with me, he is older than me.

  - Can she go, Mother? Asked the lawyer.

  - Sometimes she is allowed out, she could be let out permanently only if she finds a family, but as the documents show, she had a father that died and she has goods to inherit. If she goes with someone trustworthy, I won’t obstruct it.

  - Great, Elizabeth, you must go to Calcoene, a city on the coastline of Amapa, when you get there, you call me, here’s my card, I will be in the city, said the lawyer. If you want I could lend you some money for the trip and personal expenses in the city. I already received a good fee from the deceased, Henry.

  - I will take it, said Elizabeth.

  The lawyer hands her exactly 3000 reals.

  - Oh, my god, that is a lot, said Elizabeth.

  - Don’t rush, said the lawyer. I will go now, I am driving, but you can follow afterwards.

  -That’s all right, said the Mother.

  - Well then, it’s been a pleasure, said the lawyer Adolfo Perez, greeting Elizabeth and Mother.

  - I will be waiting for you.

  The lawyer leaves.

  - Well, my daughter, are you sure about it, it’s very far away, in another place, said the Mother.

  - I am sure about it Mother, you know I won’t be able to live here for too long. When I will turn 18 I must leave. No one will adopt me at this stage. I have no profession and now, good or not, I have a father, such a shame he is deceased.

  - May God and Virgin Mary be with you, my daughter, said the Mother, standing up and hugging Elizabeth, that responded to the hug.

  lV

  - Come on, where is Fisto, the taxi is nearly here, said Elizabeth.

  - How are you going to get there? The Mother asked Elizabeth.

  - By bus, it will take longer, but is cheaper.

  It was in the morning, chilly, weak sun. The mother and Elizabeth were outside the orphanage. The Mother with her nun costume and Elizabeth with different clothes. A long, black dress, covering half of her shin. A group of interns gets near Elizabeth.

  - We made a kitty and we will give you the money to help you more, there.

  - Thank you, girls.

  - When you get rich don’t forget about us, said one of the girls.

  -Even if I wanted, I couldn’t forget about you, but I don’t know yet what I am to find there, maybe this fortune is only an illusion, but if it’s real I will call you to come to visit me.

  The Mother pulls Elizabeth away from the girls and says:

  - Call this Fisto and tell him to wait at the corner, I don’t want you to get in the taxi with him, here. I don’t want the novices to think of other things.

  - There’s nothing between us, besides this Fisto is...

  -It doesn’t matter. I want it this way, said the Mother

  - That’s fine.

  Elizabeth picks the phone and calls Fisto.

  - Hello.

  - Hey, Fisto, it’s me. Are you nearly here?

  - Yes.

  -Stop at the corner, they don’t want to see me getting in the taxi with you.

  - Let the taxi go and come to the corner, responded Fisto.

  - Are you not coming anymore, why?

  - I am coming, it’s because I got a car, we’re driving in it.

  - Do you think is better?

  -Yes, everything is far over there, we will need it, you didn’t even buy the bus tickets, you were going to buy them at the counter, there’s no need for it anymore.

  - All right.

  Elizabeth turns around facing the group and says:

  - Guys, I’m going, I’m getting the taxi at the corner.

  - All right, my darling, said the Mother. We will miss you.

  - Ok guys, thank you for everything.

  Elizabeth departs with her wheelie suitcase, in direction to the corner while the nuns and the girls wave her goodbye. At the corner, she sees a black car getting near and parking nearby.

  - Is it you? Asks, Elizabeth.

  - Yes, it is me, said Fisto. What do you think? Nice, isn’t it?

  -Where did you get it from?

  - I stole it.

  Elizabeth laughed, while opening the back door and struggling to get her luggage in.

  - Are you not going to help me? She says.

  - I will, with the power of my mind.

  -Real funny.

  Elizabeth gets the bag in, closes the door, opens the front door and enters.

  - Big car.

  - Yes, it’s my dad’s.

  -How come you never spoke of him?

  -We don’t talk much, he gave me this car, maybe because of my condition.

  - What condition? Unemployment?

  -You’ll know it, one day.

  - Ok, then, are we going?

  - Yes, we are, I got us a map and now we will hit the road.

  The car leaves, crosses the small town, from Sao Paolo estate and enters the highway, in the direction to Amapa, heading to the unknown.

  V

  The trip was continuing without trouble. Fisto and Elizabeth were enjoying the road view, talking about their lives. The left the Sao Paolo district, passed through the Minas Triangle, crossed Goias, reaching Para when...

  - I feel sick, Elizabeth, I will stop for a little while.

  Fisto suddenly stops the car, almost in the middle of the motorway, opens the door, crosses the street and goes to a near bush.

  - Fisto, come back here, you left the car in the middle of the road.

  Elizabeth notices that Fisto was vomiting. He quickly comes back to the car to remove it out of the street.

  - What’s wrong Fisto, what happened?

  - Nothing.

  -How come nothing, do you call this nothing, did you eat something gone bad?

  - No, it’s the side effects of the pills I am taking.

  - Pills, for what?

  Fisto gets worried, he notices he said something he shouldn’t have said.

  - I will tell you one day.

  - You are very mysterious.

  - It’s going to get dark soon, we don’t need to stop, we can do a night trip, says Fisto.

  - That’s fine.

  The trip continues over the night. Elizabeth starts falling asleep, and Fisto remains worried with his situation.

  The next day arrives with an incredible heat.

  - Do you think we will arrive today? asks, Elizabeth.

  - I think so, said Fisto.

  - Already?

  -Of course, already, you slept all night and most of the morning.

  - What time is it now?

  - Nearly 11 o’clock, we are entering Belém.

  - I’ve never travelled so far, said Elizabeth.
To tell you the truth, I barely left the orphanage.

  - I imagine, it must be a great change for you.

  - You can’t imagine, said Elizabeth (looking outside the car, worried).

  After arriving at Belem, Elizabeth and Fisto stop for lunch at a restaurant, on a main street, near a petrol station. After getting petrol they walk in.

  - It’s a nice restaurant, said Elizabeth.

  It was a local small restaurant, with self-service, where people picked up their plates and filled them with whatever they wanted to eat, all displayed on a hot holding counter.

  - Expensive or cheap? Asks, Elizabeth.

  - I don’t know, you are the one paying. I don’t even look at the price.

  - I’ve noticed, said Elizabeth (She already paid for everything, even the petrol).

  While eating, Fisto asked:

  -So strange that lawyer, he gave so much money, how much did he earn for his services?

  -I’s say a lot, said Elizabeth, he gave me 3000 reals just like that.

  - I don’t know, said Fisto.

  - There are good hearted people out there, said Elizabeth.

  - That’s true, said Fisto, but being what I am, I learned that the world can be a very dangerous place.

  After lunch, Elizabeth and Fisto enter the car.

  - We must go, said Fisto. We need to get to Amapa, it’s still quite far.

  And off they go, facing dirt roads, this time, very bad ones, but admiring the Amazonian views at the same time. Large rivers, forests and... the incredible heat.

  Finally, at the end of the evening, they arrived in Calçoene.

  - I am calling that lawyer, said Elizabeth, picking the mobile phone.

  - Hello, on the other side of the line.

  -Hello, It’s me, Elizabeth, we arrived in the city.

  - Great, said the lawyer Adolfo Perez, meet me at the central square, if you don’t know where it is, ask around, it’s a small town, it will be easy to find.

  However, the two reach the central square easily. Typical small town. Calçoene is easy to walk into. Arriving there the lawyer Adolfo Perez was already in the square.

  - Did you have a good trip? He asked.

  - Yes, besides the fact that Fisto got sick half way to here, yes, said Elizabeth.

  Fisto with a worried face, looked the other way.

  - So, then, you can claim your ranch. Here you have a little map. Take this big dirt road that takes you to Oiapoque, on the way, there’s a sign that says Cavendish mansion, it will indicate a small road that takes you straight to it.

  After saluting themselves, the two take the map and leave. The dirt road, it’s easier to drive on. The sky was a little cloudy, but it hadn’t rained. Finally, they arrived at the ranch where they came across, from afar, with the Cavendish mansion.

  - It’s beautiful, said Elizabeth.

  - Looks like a mansion, from a horror movie, that widow, up there that overlooks the front, said Fisto.

  - Do you think there is someone there? Said Elizabeth, applauding.

  The one greeting them is the house’s butler, Álvaro Lopes.

  - Welcome, inheritor, I was expecting your visit.

  - This is my friend Fisto, said Elizabeth.

  - A pleasure, said Fisto (while all were greeting each other).

  Elizabeth and Fisto remove the luggage. Elizabeth asks the butler for help, getting their belongings, inside. The butler Álvaro Lopes was pouting. Fisto notices it.

  - Of course, I am already used to it, said the butler.

  He brings them to the stairs that lead to the entrance.

  - My work here is done, said the old butler, I will leave you the keys. You will see that this mansion is out of the ordinary, really, out of the ordinary.

  Fisto and Elizabeth look at each other, finding that statement very strange, but they walk in, while the butler gets in his car and drives away.

  - It really is big, we forgot to ask the butler to show us the house, we will have to figure it out ourselves, said Elizabeth.

  - I don’t think that butler liked you, said Fisto.

  - Why would you say that?

  - My silliness, maybe just an impression.

  Elizabeth goes up the stairs situated in the middle of the main reception room, which’s door was the one that Elizabeth and Fisto used to enter, that leads outside. The stairs lead to a hall, quite dark. Elizabeth turns on the lights, pressing the switch on the right side of the door and starts observing the rooms. All the rooms have a big bed in the middle of them, and inbuilt wardrobes. One of the bedrooms calls for her attention. The second one on the right. The door is open. She walks in. She touches the soft, white, sheet, feeling the mattress.

  - I never had a big bedroom like this one, she thinks.

  She walks around the room for a little while, noticing a bathroom door. A marble sink, the only modern thing in rustic looking room. A big mirror. She looks at her face. After she looks at the shower, a small one. She returns to the room and goes to the dressing table. It’s large, with three drawers. She opens the first one. There’s nothing in it. The second. Nothing in it. The third one.

  - What’s this? She said.

  It was a rifle. She gets scared. The door bangs.

  - Shit, stupid door, she said even more frightened.

  She returns to see the gun. She picks it up. It’s an old rifle, with a long pipe. She notices ammunition in a box. She puts the gun away.

  - Fisto, she shouts.

  She changes her mind. She doesn’t tell Fisto about the gun. She leaves. Fisto was downstairs looking at a kitchen which’s door was on the right side of the entrance. A small kitchen, with a wood stove-cooker and a glass table. Elizabeth walks in.

  - Did you like the house? Said Fisto.

  -Yes, I already know where I am going to stay, in a bedroom upstairs, the second on the right, as you go up the stairs. Why don’t you look for a place to stay? Said Elizabeth.

  - Later, it doesn’t matter to me.

  - Such a big place, said Elizabeth. The electricity bill must be expensive, I don’t even know where to start, everything scares me.

  - It looks like the electricity comes from a generator places outside, said Fisto. If I were you, I would sell everything that’s here, you will never know how to manage this business.

  -I don’t know, I will think about it, said Elizabeth. It’s nearly night-time, it’s getting dark outside and it looks cloudy.

  - Have you got a guardian? Asks, Fisto.

  - What’s that? Said Elizabeth.

  - You are underage, should be someone able to manage everything that’s here on your behalf, do you understand?

  - But who could it be? Said Elizabeth.

  - The will should name someone, is there no one’s name written on the will?

  - Not that I know about.

  -So, the old man that died, left you all this and forgot to assign you a guardian, said Fisto.

  - What now?

  - Could be anyone then.

  - Do you think there’s any food here? Asks, Elizabeth.

  She goes to a near press and finds things: many 5 kg bags of rice, 1 kg bags of beans, oil, pasta but nothing special.

  -Can you cook? Asks, Fisto.

  - More or less, says Elizabeth, closing the press.

  Elizabeth notices that Fisto left his wheelie suitcase on the floor.

  - Did you choose your room, yet? Said Elizabeth.

  - I didn’t even see them, said Fisto.

  - That suitcase will break loose, it’s near the door, I’ll move it out of the way.

  When Elizabeth picks up the suitcase, the things in it fell, because it was open and a medicine container spills out, Fisto gets nervous:

  - Be careful, he said (running to pick up the pills).

  - What are those pills? Asks, Elizabeth.

  - It’s none of your business, you are very nosey, said Fisto angrily.

  - Sorry, it was an accident.

  - That’s ok,
I am sorry.

  - Are you sick?

  - I already told you, I will tell you about it, one day.

  Elizabeth gives up. Fisto, puts the medicine in the suitcase, and the suitcase in one of the living room’s corners. Night-time is close by. They return at the table. Elizabeth says:

  - Fisto I found something in my room, it’s a...

  Suddenly something breaks in the living room.

  - What was that? Said Fisto.

  - Sounds like something made of glass broke. I will check it out, said Elizabeth.

  She gets to the living room. The big door that leads to the street is closed. It’s night, already, the light is weak, outside is windy, cloudy, almost raining. Elizabeth looks for the broken object, examines the windows, looks outside and when she returns to the kitchen...Fisto is missing.

  - Fisto, where are you? Elizabeth gets scared. Don’t make these jokes. I went to look for a room for you?

  Elizabeth notices that Fisto left his suitcase in the living room. She runs up the main stairs, walks around the weakly illuminated by the generator, rooms, searching for him. He wasn’t there. She went outside. Complete silence. It was already night-time. Around the house there were only some trees, quite far, the forest itself. Suddenly...

  - Plack!!!

  A branch breaks, as if someone stepped on it.

  - Fisto is that you? If this is a joke, I don’t think it’s funny.

  Silence, no one answers. It was very dark where the noise came from. Suddenly...a door closing sound.

  -Is there someone in the house, thought Elizabeth.

  The noise came from the kitchen. She walked in through the main door. The living room was badly illuminated. Elizabeth remembered the rifle. She went up the central stairs, ran to the room, opened the third drawer where the gun was and...

  - Gone, but I am sure there was a gun here, said Elizabeth.

  She looked for it deep in the drawer. The bullet box was still there. She opened it, they were all there. Suddenly...a footstep noise above the room she was in. Steps from someone using heel shoes.

  - It can’t be Fisto. He was wearing trainers that can’t make this noise. But, is there more rooms upstairs?

  Elizabeth got some courage, went to the end of the hallway where there was a window. She looked through the window, it was very dark outside. She noticed some side stairs leading to another level of the mansion. She wasn’t brave enough to go there without the gun. She went back to the room. She laid on the bed. For the first time, ever she felt the comfort. The mattress was soft, so different from the orphanage’s mattresses. She felt the white and soft bed sheet. The goose feather pillow was perfect. Elizabeth closed her eyes and, suddenly, she felt a drop of something on her face. Rain? She thought. She cleaned her face with her hand, and looking at it, it was a red liquid. She got scared. She stood up. She washed her hand, but she was too frightened to look in the mirror. She went back to the room, still scared. She tried to look for the place, where the drops were coming from, but couldn’t see anything. The room was as badly illuminated as the rest of the mansion. The generator wasn’t too efficient. Then, she heard a piercing voice.