When we finally had control of ourselves, I headed with purpose back across the lawn. “Let’s get to the realtor’s office before it closes.”
Mary caught up with me pretty quickly. “Don’t you want to look in the windows?”
“No, I’ll look around properly when I have a key.”
* * *
The realtor was with clients when we arrived so we settled down in the waiting room. A map of the area was on the wall. I glanced at it, looked away then glanced again. An idea was beginning to take hold. I stood up and walked closer to the map to get a better look.
“What’s grabbed your attention so much?” Kade came to stand next to me and studied the map along with me. He pointed to one of the small stickpins stuck into it. “That’s where your house is. Looks like that body of water we saw beyond the marsh is the tip of the lake.”
I grabbed Kade’s arm and jabbed a finger on the map. “Kade, look at the lake! Do you see its shape?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Well, if you use your imagination a bit…it sort of looks like an old fashioned shoe. You know the kind? Ankle length with big buckles on the front and thick heals?”
“Yes, I suppose.” He stood back and gazed at it for a moment, twisting his head this way and that. Finally he gave a nod. “Yes, I see what you mean.”
“Well think about it, Kade! The lake is shaped like a shoe and Buck’s tombstone has a leg marked on it. Some say it’s a booted foot but it looks more like a bare foot as viewed from the side…pointing downward. The shape of this lake is like that of a shoe and its toe…where I stood earlier today…points toward…” I followed from the tip of the lake in a straight line across the map with my finger. In doing so, I crossed over where Dawn’s home would be and ended in the area where…I was willing to bet…the Red Paint Indians’ burial ground was located. I jabbed the area triumphantly. “How much you want to bet the Indian burial ground is located there?”
Kade quirked a brow, his entire look that of skepticism. “Stretching it a bit here, don’t you think, Tess?” He waved a hand at the map. “And what’s the significance?”
I looked at him, incredulous. “What’s the significance? What’s the significance in anything we’ve uncovered? By themselves, nothing, but…you don’t think this is a rather strange coincidence?”
Mary and Dawn were now standing with us listening. They both looked at the lake, their heads tilting this way and that just as Kade had done. “Tess, is right, Kade. The lake does sort of look like one of those old fashioned shoes and the toe points right to our house.” Mary looked at me with expectations I was sure I couldn’t fulfill. Not yet. “But the booted foot…or the bare foot as you claim it to be…on Buck’s monument doesn’t point to anything but the ground.”
I began to pace. I needed to think and it was hard to do when energy was zipping through me like an internal whirlwind. My poor mind was buzzing with information overload. I knew the answer to this. I did. I just needed to pull it all together. Something happened that involved Buck. His son was the town’s Justice of the Peace, a magistrate if you will, and the men in that room at the Tenney house were arguing over a serious issue. Something happened. Something unpleasant and they were upset, scared, angry…
I walked the perimeter of the small waiting room in a rapid circle, the faster my mind began to work, the faster I walked. “The necklace belonged to someone important and was more than likely symbolic of something significant. It was hidden away because no one dared destroy it and yet they had to hide the fact it was in their possession.” I closed my eyes and thought back to when I was in the Tenney house hearing that ghostly argument take place. Mostly it was emotions that I remembered more so than actual words. Buck was upset, the men with him angry and frightened. Images floated into my mind of the necklace being shoved into a box sitting on the desk. They rushed from the room and went…where? To the Rowans?
The only way to get answers was to stop thinking and allow the images to come without comment. And come they did. I was now in the Rowan house. There was arguing, sobs, voices raised. A shot fired. Silence. I waited for more to come, my heart pounding loud in my ears. Nothing.
The door next to us opened and a woman came through it followed by a young couple, both of whom were smiling broadly. The couple waved at us, shook the older woman’s hand, thanked her for all her help then hurried away with excitement stamped all over their faces. Obviously they just had their offer on a house accepted. Hopefully it wasn’t my house.
The woman looked at us expectantly. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here about the Baker property.” Mary waved a hand toward me. “She’s interested.”
The realtor, a woman in her mid-fifties I’d guess, her short hair permed in a neat style around her face, glasses hanging from a chain around her neck, looked at me with sudden acute interest. “Have you been out to see it?”
“Yes, we went out there and looked at it before coming here.”
“And you are still interested?” She glanced curiously at Kade then turned to indicate that we should enter her office. “Come on in and let’s talk.”
We all filed into the spacious office. Mary and Dawn sat on a small sofa near the door. Kade and I headed for the two chairs in front of the desk and waited before sitting down. The realtor held out her hand.
“I’m Sandra Reilly. Everyone calls me Sandy.”
I took her hand, taking care to note the long thin fingers and how cool they were to touch. Her handshake, though, was firm. “I’m Tess Schafer and this is my friend Kade Sinclair.”
Sandy waved to the chairs. “Please have a seat.”
We sat. I was feeling quite anxious at this point. I wanted to get this situation all settled so I could head over to Dawn’s house. I was hoping I’d be able to follow that scene I’d just witnessed in my head through to its conclusion. Not wanting to waste time on small talk, I decided to launch right into business. “What is the asking price?”
Sandy’s thin brows, outlined with dark brown liner, rose until they disappeared beneath her bangs. “There’s just over six acres of property with the house. It’s been newly renovated…the heating and wiring updated. A new kitchen and bathroom were also installed. It’s in great shape…”
“So how much are they asking?”
Kade touched my knee to gain my attention. “I thought you wanted to rent it?”
“Rent? Well….” Sandy shook her head as if uncertain about that idea.
I interrupted her before she could continue. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I might be interested in buying it. I’ll want to see it first and of course it depends on the asking price?”
“It’s listed for $149,000 but if you agree to a quick sale, they’ll take $120,000 for it.”
“What does that mean?” I glanced at Kade and he gave me a cautious shake of his head. He obviously was somewhat suspicious of the deal.
Sandy glanced at Kade then settled her gaze on me. “There is no mortgage on the property. The house is owned equally between three adult children and they have given legal jurisdiction to the oldest of the three to handle the sale. None of them want to deal with the property…”
“Why?” If it was because of ghosts, I could handle that. If there were other factors involved, well I wanted to know.
Sandy looked down at the papers spread before her. Finally, after a short pause, she looked up and met my eyes. I think she was expecting me to be put off by her answer but was just as determined to be honest. “The house is haunted. The family moved there when the three kids were all teenagers. Their father inherited the place from his grandfather. Two of the kids moved out shortly after moving in…they went to live with their mother’s parents. The other child stayed for a while but he was…unstable.”
“What’s that mean?” Kade asked.
“He tried to make friends with the ghosts and it nearly drove him mad. He’s fine now, from what I understand, but he was committed for a while up at the Ban
gor Mental Health Institute. Unfortunately, he was quite vocal to the locals about the ghosts in his house and word spread pretty fast. The place already had quite a reputation and this just made it worse.” Before I could question that statement, she rushed on, “The house and the property are worth much more than the asking price. The family had the place appraised and inspected about two months ago. If you accept their reports and not go through the inspection process, they are willing to bring the price down for a quick sale. Of course, to do this, unless you pay in full, you’ll need to get a bank to agree and to do that you’ll have to put a substantial amount down. If you have the funds to do that, I don’t anticipate the banks having a problem with financing because the house’s appraisal came in at just over $190,000. It’s quite a good deal.”
Yes it was, if the house was sound. “I’d like to see it.”
The realtor glanced at her calendar. “How about tomorrow morning? I have another house to show in about an hour. By the time I’m done with that, it will be getting dark and the electricity is not on out at the property.”
“Tomorrow is fine.”
Sandy smiled, looking quite pleased. “The ghosts don’t concern you then?”
“No they do not. In fact, most of the time they are chasing me around so it wouldn’t matter anyway.”
Sandy’s eyes widened and she looked at Kade to see if he would confirm it was a joke. Kade shook his head at the silent question. “She’s a medium.”
“Oh. Oh!” She looked at me with renewed interest. “Well then…tomorrow should be very interesting. I don’t know if I believe the stories or not but I do know the place makes me uncomfortable. I always put it down to my being influenced by the rumors.”
“Can we do it around nine?” I asked.
“Yes of course. I’ll meet you there at nine.” She handed me a folder. “Here’s all the information on the property.”
As we stepped out of the office, I couldn’t shake the excitement racing through me. I was about to become the owner of my second house. I just knew it. And then chasing that excited thought was my doubts. What was I doing?
“So, you want me to take you back to the B&B?” Mary asked.
“No, Mary. I’d like to go to your place. I think we need to have another go at contacting the spirits there. I know a bit more now and I think our questions might get answered this time.”
Dawn’s eyes lit up. “Oh this is going to be fun!”
I didn’t know about that but it sure as heck was going to be enlightening. We were close to cracking this mystery. I just knew that too. And about time–seemed other mysteries were stacking up on me. The tomb lady and the girl at the bridge needed to have their stories come to light. First, though, to get this blasted curse straightened out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
When we arrived at the Rowans’ home, the air was crackling with excitement, the energy around the house stirred to a near frenzy. I stepped from the car and the hairs on my arms stood in response to the buzzing anticipation. Shivers raced along my spine and I knew something amazing was about to happen. I could feel it as surely as the pounding of my heart.
Kade came around the car to join me. He looked about then lowered his head to whisper close to my ear. “Something’s up. Can you feel that? Weird.”
Mary and Dawn looked oblivious to the static in the atmosphere as they motioned for us to follow them, looking for all the world as if we’d just come for tea. Did they really not feel anything?
We stepped into the house and Dawn glanced around, rubbing her arms as she did so. “The house is awfully cold don’t you think? Wonder why…?” She headed for the living room as if she’d find the answer to that question there.
Mary grabbed my arm and drew me close so she could speak without her mother overhearing. “Something doesn’t feel right. I mean…something’s…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged, at a loss to explain how she felt. She looked at me with wide, confused eyes. “It's like I’m high right now and the last time I felt like this, I was in the dentist chair huffing laughing gas.”
I laughed at Mary’s expression and gave her a quick hug. “Don’t worry. I think this is a good thing. I think we are about to get some answers.”
“Why now?”
Good question. Persistence? Was my brain finally putting the pieces together? Who knew, I sure as heck didn’t. Rubbing my hands together in anticipation, I nodded toward the living room. “Let’s see what we can find out.”
Adam was standing next to his mother and both were very still and focused. They were as aware of the quiet buzzing in the air as I was and trying to figure out where it was coming from. Amused, I walked over to them and touched Dawn’s arm. “The spirits are ready to talk, I think.”
We stood in a spot where the late afternoon sunlight poured through the windows. Oddly, the sun’s rays offered no warmth. It was nearly cold enough to frost a glass. I didn’t understand the phenomena of having the air temperature drop when spirit activity was occurring. There were lots of theories but no one really knew for sure. When it came to the paranormal, it was anyone's guess. I was sure it had to do with energy being affected somehow but as I wasn’t a physicist, I couldn’t even begin to try an explanation. Did the why of it matter? No. The end result mattered. We were about to communicate with the other side of life and I was most impatient to get on with it.
Mary looked as eager as I felt and I wondered why she wasn’t as fearful about this anymore? “Well then, let’s see what they have to say.” She and Dawn started gathering chairs and putting them in a circle like we’d done the last time we did this.
A sudden surge of energy gripped me, rooting me to the floor and making it impossible to even breathe. When I finally managed to draw air into my lungs, I got the oddest sensation, like I was drawing in a swarm of miniature bees. The strange feeling zipped through my body making me tingle. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant either. It was just so strange and I didn’t know what to make of it.
A humming noise started in my ears and though I wanted to ask the others if they heard it too, I couldn’t even open my mouth to speak. Neither could I look at them. Instead, I turned about and walked down the hall to the back door, the one Adam used when he took us outside to show us the fireplace. And then I knew that was exactly where we were going this time too. Someone from ‘beyond’ was controlling the situation and for the moment I allowed it.
Having an entity take possession of my body without permission was not a happy circumstance for me but I knew if I wanted it to end, it would. It was a male energy. He was very large, his presence filling my space and more. I knew the others would follow and that was the last I thought of them as we stepped off the porch and made our way across the lawn.
When I reached the fireplace, the male energy released me and I collapsed from the sudden loss of support. As soon as I connected with the ground, I instantly merged with someone else. A girl. Several emotions spun through my system but the one I felt most was panic. Her panic. Though I knew instinctively this was not going to end well, I decided to go with it and let it all play out. I needed to know what she knew and the only way to do that was to be her. It wasn’t going to be easy, though, for she was in great peril.
Settling quickly into her drama, we glanced behind us to ensure there was no immediate danger of discovery then turned back to dig with frantic vigor at the ground before us. Our nails broke and the tender skin on our fingers became punctured with small stinging cuts. Tears mingled with mucus and dripped down our chin as the pain in our heart filled every part of our being. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the girl from Buck’s graveyard?
The fact I could still think as me even as I remained merged with her was quite fascinating. Though I didn’t like merging with another and going through their horror, my fascination with the whole process ensured that I did not stop it from happening. My need to know urged me to continue though I knew I wasn’t going to like the ex
perience one single bit.
Behind us was chaos, fast approaching. A gunshot rang loud in our ears. We flinched at the sound and froze, unable to move or suck in a breath. Echoes of shouting and sobs filled the air, sounding as hollow and mournful as a cold winter wind. A renewed sense of purpose filled us and our breathing ability returned, though it was labored and ragged. We continued our digging efforts at an even more frantic pace. Our fingers worked feverishly, desperation spurring us on despite the sharp stings of pain. Finally we uncovered a rectangular piece of metal and it didn’t take me long to realize it was the lid to a box. It was slightly larger than a cigar box and made of thicker material than the copper one I found at the Tenney house. We pried the lid open and grabbed a soft pouch lying on the ground beside us. I had no time to wonder at its contents before it was shoved into the box and the lid closed over it.
The understanding that we had little time had us quickly reburying the box. Once we were satisfied it was aptly covered, we grabbed one of the flat slabs of slate lying loose upon the ground and slid it atop the freshly dug dirt. Dried leaves and pine needles were scattered everywhere and we grabbed handfuls of them to toss above and around the slab. We did our best to disguise the fact that the dirt here was recently disturbed.
As soon as she was satisfied that her hiding spot was safe, we crawled away, stood and stumbled forward, catching our fall on a pole lodged in the dirt a few feet away. Carvings on the pole caught my attention for a brief precious moment and I glanced at them curiously. They looked like hieroglyphics though I couldn’t be sure. My curiosity aroused, I looked around and the area where the lilac trees had been now appeared to be a small graveyard and an odd one at that. Mounds of rocks were piled there. The thought chased through my mind that they might be the same rocks Adam used to make his fireplace! I had no time to ponder this revelation however for we were suddenly grabbed from behind and crushed against a hard male body.
Hidden Voices (Tess Schafer-Medium) Page 30