Hidden Voices (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah Hughes

  He was looking to see if I was going to confirm his wife was a phony. I was not going to do any such thing. “The thing about being a medium is fighting the doubt that what we are getting is coming from anywhere but our own imagination. Your wife might actually be getting better information but she’s filtering it. It’s normal to do that. To not trust what you hear and so you tailor it a bit thinking you are doing a favor when you aren’t. The key to getting a good message is to not worry about being wrong. It was tough for me at first also. I thought my imagination was running wild. Either that or I was schizophrenic.” I smiled then to show him that his wife’s experiences were nothing to be ashamed about. “I’ll be glad to talk to her sometime, Ted. But right now I want to focus on what I’m doing without any other distractions.” Because he perked up at my offer, I went on with more confidence in having made it. “Ask her if she wants to talk with me about it and if she does, give me her number before you head out of town. Once I’m done here, I’ll give her a ring and we’ll figure it out. Okay?”

  “That’s awfully kind of you, Tess. Thank you.”

  Our meals arrived at that point and the rest of the dinner was filled with discussions about Maine, his job, the plans for the Tenney house (a hotel, what else?), my stay at Poke Harbor (with a brief sketch of the haunting I’d dealt with while staying there) and the weather. The meal was delicious and after we waved off dessert and finished our coffee, we headed back to the B&B where we parted ways and went to our respective rooms. He was off to call his wife and I was off to bed. I’d stayed up late the night before because I wanted to spend as much time with Kade as we could fit in and that meant staying up to the wee hours of the morning. I was quite tired and I wanted to be all rested up and alert for tomorrow morning’s tour through the Tenney house. Already I could feel some stirrings from the Tri-State. They were as excited about my tour as I was. The very fact of it made me quite hopeful. Tomorrow was going to be a great day full of surprises. I could feel it. And now to try getting some sleep with that on my mind.

  Minutes later, I was out.

  CHAPTER SIX

  My dreams were a jumbled mess. Images of plants, fields of them, filtered through my mind like a film reel moving slowly, showing frame by frame one plant after another. I saw people, old and young, male and female, and their nationalities mixed. None of it was clear and none of it made sense. I woke up feeling tired and worn out. My mind’s all-night activity, working on something I could not tap into consciously, made for a very restless night. The information would sort itself out eventually. It usually did.

  Not in any hurry to rush out of bed, I lay still for a few minutes longer and thought about the dream’s images, trying to lock on one or two and possibly identify them. It was a fruitless endeavor. Then I remembered that today I was to go into the Tenney house and came wide awake. A glance at the bedside clock told me I had just over a half hour to take a shower and prepare myself for the day.

  As I went through my morning routine, I couldn’t help but notice the chill in the air…and I’m not talking about the temperature. The cold went deep into my soul and I wondered if I was being warned to tread carefully? After my experience at Sea Willow Haven, I knew enough to take note of how I was feeling and pay heed to it. I needed to stay on heightened alert. So be it. I’d stay very conscious and aware of what was going on around me. In both the physical world and in the spiritual one.

  I made it downstairs to the breakfast room at five minutes to eight. The tantalizing smell of bacon and fresh-baked muffins permeated the air. The breakfast room faced the back of the house with windows on two sides of the room allowing lots of warm sunlight to filter in. A large square table of shiny mahogany wood took up most of the room. Ted was already seated and halfway through a stack of pancakes. He had a crispy piece of bacon in his hand and was about to stuff it in his mouth when he saw me.

  “Morning, Tess. Ready for your tour?”

  “Yes, I am.” I sank down in a chair opposite him and grabbed the coffee carafe. Barbara walked in with a plate of freshly made blueberry muffins. She set them on the table and smiled at me in greeting.

  “Morning, dear, did you sleep well?”

  “Yes. The bed is very comfortable, thank you.” No sense in telling her that despite my physical comfort, my dreams plagued me most of the night and robbed me of a restful sleep.

  “So what will you have this morning?” Barbara took the carafe as soon as I set it down and poured a cup of coffee. She sank into the chair next to me, cradled the warm cup in her hands and waited for me to decide.

  Unable to resist the hot muffins, I grabbed one, pulled it apart and buttered it. “You know, I don’t normally eat a big breakfast. If you could throw together a breakfast sandwich of egg and cheese and some of that crispy bacon I see Ted enjoying, then that would do me just fine.”

  Barbara stood up and headed for the kitchen. “Be back in a jiff.”

  I sank my teeth into the fluffy muffin and closed my eyes in pure enjoyment of the succulent taste. “Mmmm. I think I’ve put on a few pounds since coming to Maine. The resort I stayed at before coming here had the best food and I ate more in one day there than what I used to eat in a week.”

  Ted just forked a large pile of pancakes into his mouth so he had to chew for a minute before he could answer. His eyes looked me over in a purely impersonal but critical assessment as he munched. “You must have been a skeleton before then, Tess, because you still look pretty skinny to me.”

  Feeling a little embarrassed, for I wasn’t fishing for any reassurances on my weight and now it felt like I was, I simply smiled my thanks and finished off the muffin. “So, is this Tenney house far from here?” Best to get the conversation onto a less personal topic.

  Ted shook his head. “Nope. About two minutes’ walk.” He picked up a wad of keys that were sitting next to his plate. “Got the keys right here. I figure once we’ve eaten breakfast we could head right on over. There are a couple things I need to check out that the boss asked me to look at. You can wander around all you want. I’ll probably be there awhile so you don’t need to stick with me if you don’t want to.”

  Barbara came back in the room with my breakfast sandwich and an omelet for herself. “Here you go, my dear.” She handed me a small plate with my sandwich on it then resettled in the chair next to me. “So, are you two planning your trip to the Tenney house?”

  Ted finished off his coffee and poured another cup. “Soon as Tess finishes breakfast.” He indicated his empty plate. “I’m going to miss your breakfasts when I leave, Barbara. I’ll have to bring the wife here for a vacation sometime.” He glanced at me and I knew before he asked that he was going to mention Sea Willow Resort. I’d be willing to bet he’d checked into a few things last night on the internet. “What do you think, Tess? Should we book a vacation at Sea Willow Haven as well? I hear the place is overrun with ghosts. Might be a good place to take my wife.”

  Barbara turned in her seat to look at me and it was quite obvious that she was just as interested in my answer as Ted. “Is that true about the place being full of ghosts?”

  I had to tread carefully here. I didn’t want to give away any more than the newspapers did. Nancy and Jack had enough to deal with and I didn’t want to add to the rumors. They were such a nice couple and I wished them nothing but success with their beautiful resort. “Well, I’m not so sure there are any ghosts there now. But it did have a few at one time. You might have better luck, Ted, bringing your wife here and letting her go roam around that fort across the river than to expect any encounters at Sea Willow Haven. But, if you are looking for a great place to stay while visiting Maine, then I would highly recommend the resort. It’s beautiful there.”

  “So, did you get rid of the ghosts for them?” Barbara was not going to let the topic drop. I wondered about that considering she and Nancy were friends. Had Nancy confided in her at all?

  “I hope that I was beneficial regarding the haunting problem.” I made
quick work of finishing off my breakfast sandwich and chugging down my coffee. “Are you about ready then, Ted?”

  Ted pushed away from the table. “Sure am. I just realized I forgot the camera, let me go fetch it from my room and I’ll meet you in the entranceway.” He rushed off and left Barbara and I alone.

  “Nancy was so vague about what happened there that I thought it might be because it embarrassed her. But, the truth is, you all would rather let the subject drop wouldn’t you?” Barbara looked a little disappointed not to be filled in on any juicy details but there was understanding and acceptance in her gaze.

  “The less we talk about the past, the less influence it has over our lives. Don’t you agree, Barbara?”

  She nodded her head and heaved a sigh. “Yes, I do. But, I hope you keep me in the loop on your investigation here. I promise nothing will make it into the papers. Just as Nancy and Jack did for you at Sea Willow Haven.”

  I had to smile because Barbara was letting me know that she knew I had more to do with what took place at the resort than what was mentioned in the papers. She was also offering her silence and I thought it fair. “Okay, agreed.”

  As we stood up and headed for the entryway, Barbara asked me with some trepidation, “You haven’t detected any ghosts here have you?”

  Max joined us in that moment and I bent down to pat his head. He’d been waiting patiently in the sitting room for us to come out of the breakfast room. He was not allowed in there when people were eating and I thought it pretty obedient of him to honor the rule. “What a good dog you are, Max.” I ruffled my fingers around his ears and Max shifted his head this way and that to get scratches in wherever he could. After a moment I straightened up and looked at Barbara. She was still waiting for my answer. “Not really.”

  “Not really? What does that mean?”

  “The spirit world knows what my intentions are with this visit. Those involved are in a bit of a tizzy over it. Not sure if they are happy or apprehensive. I think both reactions are involved depending on the spirit. I think one of them followed me to my room last night but I told them to hold off until today. If I’m to confront any spirits, I’ll do it at the Tenney house.”

  “Will they follow you back here?” Barbara suddenly looked very doubtful about the whole business.

  “I will do my best to ensure that they don’t. If they do, however, it is me that attracts them. They won’t hang around your house bothering anyone else. So please don’t worry.”

  Ted joined us at that moment. He looked from me to Barbara and back to me. “What’s up? What is Barbara worried about?”

  “I just want any spirits Tess makes contact with to stay right where they are and leave my house out of it.” Barbara smiled then to show she meant no ill will and headed for the sitting room. “Let me know how it all goes down.”

  Laughing at Barbara’s phrasing, I waved for Ted to proceed out the door. “Lead the way.”

  When Ted said it was a two-minute walk, he wasn’t kidding. It might have been less than that. The Tenney house was located on Bucksport’s main street and right in the middle of its epicenter. Built on a rising hill above the street, it loomed majestically over the town. Three stories high and of a simple Colonial architectural style, it looked both dignified and appealing. The front and left side of the house was outfitted with a wrap-around porch in need of repair. Wide steps leading up to it were located in the front facing the street and stretching to meet the paved sidewalk. The house had side and back entrances as well. Ted headed for the one in the back.

  “We’ll just enter through the kitchen. What I need to check into is there. You can go on through the house and explore all you want. The electricity isn’t on, however.” When we stepped into the darkened interior, Ted grabbed a couple flashlights off the counter and handed one to me. “Hope you aren’t afraid of the dark?”

  Smiling, I took the flashlight and made my way across the massive kitchen toward a set of double doors “Nope. Not usually anyway.” As soon as I stepped into the hallway outside the kitchen, I was immediately enshrouded in darkness. No windows here. I stood for a moment and said my prayers then imagined a protective light glowing around me. This was how I protected myself and it seemed to work just fine. There was no reason to doubt it and so I didn’t. I made my intentions clear to the Tri-State that I was looking for anyone involved in the Jonathan Buck curse and almost immediately I detected another presence hovering a short distance away. It loomed in the shadows drawing near, making me shiver as it did so.

  Some people believed that spirits drew energy to themselves to manifest into our physical world. An easy form of energy to draw from was heat. Light was another. I was beginning to wonder, though, if their energy, which moved at a much higher rate of vibration than anything on the physical plane (our level of existence), was actually drawing our energy to them inadvertently. After all, did they really need to use our slower form of energy to manifest in our world? It was a theory I’d have to consider later. Right now I would concentrate on the fact that the hallway was getting quite cold. More than one spirit was with me. There were several in fact and I wondered what I was supposed to do with them all?

  Not wanting to stay in such a dark spot, I moved cautiously down the hall toward an area where I could see lots of light. It turned out to be the front entrance area facing the street. There were several windows here and the sunny morning spilled in. Chilled to the bone, I walked into a spot of sunlight and switched off my flashlight. I set it down on a windowsill and rubbed my cold hands together to warm them up. A large oak counter elaborately carved in fancy designs took up most of the area. The few pieces of furniture scattered about the lobby were covered in dust blankets. I walked over to the long, narrow counter and put my hands on the smooth wood. Echoes of times past whispered through my mind. It was like tuning into a bunch of radio stations at once and having none of them clear. I closed my eyes to focus better and tried to put a lock on the jumbled noises. I heard laughter and loud boasting and soft whispers and anger. Taking my hand off the counter, I gave a long sigh. So many people had passed through these doors and all of them had left their imprint.

  There was a set of carpeted stairs on both sides of the front reception area. A peek up them showed darkness. I grabbed the flashlight and went up the set of stairs on the left. It led to two long hallways. One went straight toward the back of the house, and the other went to my right, turning at the end to also go toward the back. I went straight. Another set of carpeted stairs was located at the end of the hallway. They went up three steps and turned right going out of view up to the third floor. Letting my hand run along the papered wall and over the various doors I passed, I walked the hallway and waited for a sign…some sort of signal from the Tri-State. I let thoughts of Jonathan Buck fill my mind. I had no idea what he looked like and wished that was not the case for it would be nice to have an image to concentrate on. Spirits followed behind. I didn’t pay them much attention because it seemed they were more curious than anything. A medium was in their midst, that always got them excited.

  I was almost to the stairs when the hairs on my arms went on alert. I instantly went still and waited, listening intently for any sort of sound be it physical or spiritual. Nothing. I took another step forward and as I did so, I heard the unmistakable sound of someone descending the stairs ahead of me, the tread heavy and slow. So distinct was the sound that for a moment I wondered if someone else might be in the building with us. I continued forward, but the footsteps ended when they reached the landing facing me and I too came to a stop. Whoever it was, he did not come down the last three steps. I could feel his energy easily enough. He stood on the landing, some sort of imposing force field, and waited. I had a very strong feeling that a challenge was being issued. Would I approach him? I flashed my flashlight beam toward the stairs. Of course I saw nothing. Heart pounding, I took a couple steps forward. Though I wasn’t afraid, I was a little apprehensive. The spirit before me felt large, his spi
rit very strong. He obviously wanted me to know he was here and he clearly wanted my attention.

  When I was within a couple feet from the stairs, I imagined the white light around me getting stronger. Just in case, it didn’t hurt to protect myself. I wasn’t sure if the entity was friendly or not and I knew he couldn’t penetrate my light. Imagined or not, it existed because I made it so and the spirit would honor it. Still I saw nothing. No stirring in the shadows, no dark shape. Although I wasn’t afraid, I decided that I was not going to get any closer to the stairs. So here we stood. I held out my hand and felt cold air move around it. The hotel wasn’t warm but the cold that swirled around my hand didn’t seem natural. Now the skin on my back began to prickle. I drew my hand back and clenched it against my chest. Heart pounding, I wondered what to do. “Who are you?”

  The wooden landing creaked. My heart jumped. The spirit, for whatever reason, was enjoying my discomfort. Eyes narrowing, I dropped my hands to my side and relaxed. “Tell me.”

  Impressions filled my mind. I saw a big man, very tanned…no that wasn’t right either. He was a different color but it wasn’t brown. He appeared unnatural to me. The image was somewhat frightening because I wasn’t sure what I was encountering. Why the strange color? I tried to focus more. He was bare-chested but his legs were encased in a soft dark material. He had a large chest and big arms. He was not happy to be dealing with me but felt he had no choice but to do so. Wondering what that meant, I lifted my hands, palms out, in appeal. “I mean no harm. I just want to talk.”

  As soon as I got the words out, there was a loud cracking noise, like he just stomped down hard on the stairs. The noise was loud in my ears, sounding similar to a lightning strike, and reverberated in my head even louder. I took a step back. Another booming sound and now I did think it sounded like thunder. I began to retreat, moving slowly backwards, my eyes fixed on the stairwell that was obviously filled with a very large, angry male. What was he doing? Why force my retreat? I felt quite strongly that he wanted to communicate with me but he didn’t trust me. So how to get through?