“Did you find all this out in the book?” Rob asked.
“The story is documented in the local history book, but I had to do more digging and there’s conflicting details. Can we go upstairs?”
“To the roof again?” Bodie asked.
Elise closed the book and shook her head. “No, to the main level. That’s where he approached me before. I don’t want to go on the roof if I don’t have to.”
“I don’t think the roof is a good idea, either. Not after the last time,” Rob said, thinking of how upset and out of sorts Elise was after that experience.
They headed upstairs. A lot of progress had been made on the remodel. The electrical system had been redone and new walls constructed. They redesigned the main level of the building and Rob thought the floor plan had improved a hundred percent over what used to be there. The walls and floors should be finished in the next week or two. He could envision every detail of his business. Every detail except the addition of a meddlesome ghost.
“Should we be doing this at night?” Shane asked.
“He visited Elise in the daylight before,” Bodie said.
“How does this work exactly?” Rob asked.
Elise stood in the unfinished large dining room and looked around. “This has to do with the construction.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. “It’s as if you’ve opened up a connection from that time to now because of disturbing the building... but also because you are a family like they were. You even have the same initials.” She paused then said, “He’s here with us now.”
Rob watched her chest rise and fall with slow, even breaths. They remained silent and waited for her to say more, or for something to happen. Rob didn’t notice anything different.
Shane was the first to show impatience. He whispered, “What the fuck are we supposed to do?”
“He’s not sure why we’re here and why we’re being so quiet,” Elise said. “It’s like he’s wary and uncertain of our intentions.”
“He’s wary? I’m about to check myself in to a psychiatric facility,” Bodie said.
“Shh...” Elise hushed. She opened her book. “I have a written account of what happened to Victoria,” she said with a directness that wasn’t aimed at Rob or his brothers. She began to read the page.
“Victoria Albrighton died on July 14, 1851 after falling off the roof of the Granite Lake Mercantile building. Although her death was blamed on Roger Eyres, a later account of the story was given by Roger’s cousin, Slade Eyres. His testimony directly contradicted the statements made by Victoria’s brother, Charles Albrighton. In light of Slade, and Roger’s brother, Thadeus’s, accounts of Roger and Victoria’s close relationship, the accusation against Roger for premeditated or accidental murder became extremely unlikely. And if Charles’s testimony was withdrawn, then the murder of Victoria by her fiancé (a fact that was not known to Charles at the time — or was it?) held no standing whatsoever. After Roger was gunned down for escaping from the local jail, the investigation was halted since Victoria’s accused murderer was now deceased.
“But it is of no coincidence that the order to stop looking into the matter of Victoria’s death after Roger died was given by her brother, a man who was in direct conflict with Roger Eyres over the rights to the Third Chance claim. This ruling was immediately contested by Roger’s brother and cousin, but they both perished on July 27, 1851 due to an accident when their wagon ran over the side of a one-hundred-and-fifty foot drop off on the Mid-South Stage Road. The death of the three Eyres ended the legal battle for the rights to the Third Chance claim. The local court, of which Charles Albrighton was intimately acquainted, awarded him the sole ownership of the Third Chance.
“The mine went on to yield a thousand ounces of gold over the next three years, and thereby made Charles Albrighton one of the wealthiest mine owners in the region. To add further evidence against the mayor, he aptly renamed his mine The Lost Fortune and dedicated the mine to his beloved sister who, ‘Died too young from the hands of a misguided fortune seeker’. Was he speaking of himself? No one knows for certain. Many of the local miners and families of the time believed the deaths rested solely on the shoulders of the mayor of Granite Lake, Mr. Charles F. Albrighton.”
Rob waited a second to see if she had more to say. Elise turned to the hallway that led to the restrooms.
“So the guy was set up,” Bodie said.
“Sounds like it,” Shane said.
“There are more details. I’ve been doing a lot of reading. There is one written account of Charles arguing loudly in public with his sister for wanton behavior with a stranger of no means.” Elise kept her gaze on the far side of the room.
“Why is he here, then? I’m assuming our ghost is Roger, correct?” Rob asked.
“Yes, it’s Roger.” Elise closed her eyes, her eyelids shaking as she focused on things he had no clue about. “He wants justice, but he’s in denial over her passing.”
“Is this for real?” Shane asked.
Elise opened her eyes with a start and walked up to Shane. She passed him the book stuffed with her papers. “You can read everything for yourself. I had to piece together the facts from the Historical Society and the local library. There are conflicting stories about Charles Albrighton. Some local residents believed he was the victim in all this. There was another eye witness who came forward later and said he saw Charles, Roger, and Victoria on the roof of this building right before she fell off. Since Charles was the mayor and Roger was deceased there was no reason to continue searching for the truth. Other people wondered why Roger tried escaping from jail when he openly claimed his innocence. Roger was shot by the sheriff, who was a well-known friend of the mayor’s. There are layers of corruption and lies in this story. It’s fascinating, but that was the past. Roger is more or less stuck here in denial and waiting for something to change. You’re dismantling of the building could be enough change to unsettle him.”
“Did you read the account for us or him?” Rob asked.
“Mostly him,” Elise said and glanced at the hallway again.
“Is he still here with us right now?” Bodie asked.
“Yes.”
“Where?” Shane asked.
“It’s not like the way we’re standing here in the room. He’s on another level of existence. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but he’s here and not here. He can definitely hear me speaking, especially when I talk about his story and what happened.”
“I’m willing to believe you, but can you ask him to leave? Our roofers refuse to finish the job until I can assure them that there will be no more pranks or stolen tools. A hammer fell off the roof the other day and almost hit one of the crew. It’s no joke.”
“You didn’t tell me about that,” Rob said.
“That’s because you don’t believe any of this. And I may have forgotten to mention it. I’ve been busy,” Bodie said.
Shane said, “I have news to share as well. I wanted to wait until Elise told us what she knew. The lab confirmed it was blood on the rock you found in the roof. It’s blood type A positive. Of course, we don’t have any way of knowing what Victoria’s blood type was, but we know it is blood.”
“I know it’s her blood. When you have time, you should donate the rock to the Historical Society and ask them to add it to the Albrighton collection,” Elise said. Both her words and the look in her eyes were distant and airy. “We need to leave now.”
Elise looked up at Rob. Her face had gone pale. He took her arm as if to steady her.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To the cemetery.”
Rob didn’t question Elise, but he turned his gaze to Bodie and Shane.
“Let’s go. I’ll drive,” Shane said.
Elise was quiet as they drove across town to the Granite Lake cemetery. He held her hand in the backseat of Shane’s 4Runner. They climbed out of the SUV and walked toward the old section of the cemetery.
“If you see Victoria’s g
rave, that is a good place to start,” she said.
“Have you done this before?”
“No. I was harassed by a ghost once, but fixing the problem was an entirely different experience.” Concern and wariness clouded her expression, but she continued looking for the grave marker. “If I don’t follow my gut, I know he’s going to continue causing trouble not only in your brew pub, but for me as well. My dreams won’t stop until I do something about them.”
“I’m sorry you’re being dragged into our problem,” Rob said.
Bodie and Shane split up to continue looking for Victoria’s name on the headstones.
“Thank you, Rob. It’s not your fault and I don’t blame you or your brothers. I didn’t choose this lifestyle, but I can’t ignore it, either. He’s not pestering me like he does when I’m inside your building, but my dreams are strong enough that I have to do something to make it stop. You have no idea how strange this is for me.”
“Me, too, but I’m glad I’m here with you whether it’s something I believe in or not.”
She gave an uncertain smile and continued to look at the names on every headstone.
“I found her,” Bodie said from about ten yards away.
Rob, Elise, and Shane joined Bodie in front of a granite grave marker. They took a moment of solemnity and read the name and dates. Before anyone had a chance to speak, Elise dropped to her knees. She covered her eyes as tears began to stream from her face. Rob lowered himself beside her and wrapped an arm around her back.
“Are you all right? What’s going on?”
Her body shook with grief and she didn’t respond at first.
“Christ. What the hell is happening? Are you okay?” Shane asked.
“Give her a minute,” Bodie said.
They were in the oldest section of the cemetery. Mature trees towered over the graves and left them immersed in the emerald shade. The tops of the pines and spruce trees began to sway with high winds. Shane glanced up as the sound of the breeze increased. He made eye contact with his brothers as the shift in the weather started to penetrate their surroundings. No one spoke, but the change in the weather was abrupt and appeared to be located exclusively inside the cemetery. Elise reached for Rob and gripped his shirt. The wind increased and swirled violently around Victoria’s grave. Bodie and Shane stepped back to get out of the mini cyclone.
Rob started to rise from his knees, but Elise held him next to her.
“This is it. Stay with me,” she pleaded. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” she said under her breath.
He barely heard her last whisper, and he didn’t know if she were speaking to him or herself. And that’s when the apparition appeared. A man, a ghost, a spirit. Rob didn’t know what he saw, but it was suddenly standing three feet to Shane’s right. His gaze held steady on the grave marker and the ghost held his hat over his heart. The wind continued to circle around them and Rob had to blink away dust and debris floating in the air. When he cleared his eyes, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Two more ghosts stood across from the first. He knew he was looking at the three members of the Eyres family who lost their lives over a century and a half earlier. They nodded to each other and the two new ghosts removed their hats and placed them over their chests. Rob wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or hallucinating. The three ghosts walked around the headstone and moved toward the back of the cemetery. They disappeared into a shaft of brilliant white sunlight that broke through the canopy of tree limbs and touched the ground.
“What the hell was that?” Shane asked.
Elise climbed to her feet and Rob rose with her.
“That was the end of your ghost problem.” She swiped her finger under her eye to wipe away the remaining tears.
“Are you okay?” Rob asked, squeezing her in a tight hug.
“I’ll be all right.” She sucked in a shaky breath and then another steadier one.
“Did everyone see that?” Shane asked.
By the look on Shane and Bodie’s faces, he had to wonder if his brothers crapped in their pants. Perhaps not literally, but if there was ever an appropriate moment for dirtying one’s shorts, this would have been it. For Rob, he felt somewhat calm even as he doubted his reality.
“I don’t know what I saw,” Bodie said.
“Ghosts, man. Those were fucking ghosts. I’m getting out of here.” Shane turned for the parking lot and didn’t look back.
“I don’t think they were actually fucking. They were more like three people reunited over the loss of a loved one,” Elise said and moved to follow Shane.
Rob gave her the side eye and marveled at her ability to make a joke after having a minor meltdown only minutes earlier. He stayed by her side, but halted when Bodie spoke behind them.
“Look at the grave. God in heaven, look at that.”
Elise and Rob looked back. The grave was clear of all pine needles and forest debris exactly over the rectangular shape of where Victoria was buried. Chills like centipedes ran up his spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood to attention. Bodie squatted down next to the outline in the earth.
“There are initials here. R.E. and V.A. I’m taking a picture of this.” He pulled out his phone to record the supernatural phenomenon.
“Life is weird,” Elise said and started walking back to the SUV. “But death is weirder.”
Rob hugged her close to his side and planted a quick kiss to the top of her head. “You may have understated that.”
Twenty
ELISE ASKED TO BE DROPPED OFF at her place. Rob could tell she wanted time alone, but he asked if he could stop by before he picked up Maisie. Shane let her out, then drove across the street and parked.
The three of them walked inside and upstairs to the bar and dining area.
“Is she okay?” Bodie asked.
“I think so. Elise needs a lot of alone time,” Rob said.
Each brother visually inspected the building as if they could actually see that the ghost was gone, even though none of them could see the ghost to begin with. Whether imagined or real, there seemed to be a clearing of the air inside the brewery.
“Does it bother you?” Bodie asked.
“What?” Rob asked. “That Elise isn’t clingy or needy? No. It doesn’t bother me.”
“But something does. You’re all broody and quiet,” Bodie said.
“I’m not brooding, dude.”
“Man, I’ve never seen you so intense about a woman. What’s up? Does she have you by the balls or what?” Shane asked.
“No,” Rob shirked off the comment from Shane, then answered again, “Yes. No. I don’t know. She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. I don’t know if we’re dating or if she’s using me for, you know, my stud services.”
“Jesus. What the fuck is the matter with you?” Shane said. “Stud service. Seriously? I’m so glad I wasn’t born the awkward oldest brother.”
“Shut the hell up. I don’t know what you think I should call it, but all we do is get together once a week and you know, hang out. Just the two of us. Alone. And it’s unreal. Unbelievable, if I’m being honest.”
“But she won’t go out with you in public?” Bodie asked. He walked to the front doors and stared out the window at the street and businesses lining the downtown stretch of their mountain community.
“Not yet. We’re both busy and have kids. She won’t call me, either. Sometimes we text each other, but that’s all until she comes over to stay the night with me.”
“Yeah about that. I was planning to stay at your house tonight. I want to knock out the rest of these walls today and tomorrow,” Shane said.
“I was planning to crash at your house tonight, too. That is unless I get a call to go out on Search,” Bodie said.
“Whatever. Elise and I didn’t have plans for tonight anyway.” Rob sighed and wondered what she was doing across the street. He stared out the large windows and could see part of the bookstore.
“It sounds like she’s using you, man,”
Shane said.
“I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion yet. You haven’t been seeing her that long. Treasure can’t be forced into a relationship, either. If you like her, and it looks like you do, then respect her space. If she doesn’t come around by the time you’re ready to move things forward, then move on. That’s all you can do. And it’s what I had to do with Treasure. You can’t force a relationship,” Bodie said. He made his way over to the tools and supplies stacked in the corner and picked up his tool belt.
Rob considered Bodie’s words. “I don’t want to force anything. Elise is different but in a good way.” Really good, he thought to himself.
“She kind of freaks me out, bro.” Shane said and moved to pick up his own tool belt. “You’re a freak, too, so you must be perfect together.”
Rob threw a pointed look at Shane.
Shane chuckled lightly. “I dig freaks. Not you, but the weird ones are hot. A roll in the sack with a freak is fucking amazing. At least, that’s been my experience.” He raised his hands in the air and nodded with self-satisfaction.
“Are we related? You’re the freak,” Rob said.
“Don’t judge. You’re the one falling in love with the queen of obscuredom.”
Rob shook his head. This wasn’t love, was it? “She’s hot and cold. I can’t always tell what’s going on with her. Sometimes, things are perfect between us, but she won’t commit. I can’t even bring it up. If I try, she shuts down or runs away.”
“I don’t see a problem,” Shane said. “She cooks. She’s hot. For some reason, she likes your package, and she doesn’t make you talk about your feelings. Sounds like a perfect fuck buddy to me. You should really stop your whining and get to work.”
Bodie shook his head. “Shane, you have some serious fucking problems.”
“I don’t have fucking problems. You two assholes do. I see who I want when I want. I could have three different chicks meet me right now. And a couple of them at the same time if I asked them for a threesome—”
“Shut up!” Bodie and Rob said at the same time, cutting Shane off.
Divining Elise Page 19