Gypsy Spirits

by Marianne Spitzer

  ***

  Maureen paced in the attorney’s office complaining, repeating her words again. “What do I pay you for and how many times have I used this firm?”

  “Mrs. Logan, I’m a real estate attorney and can’t help you. My associate, well versed in probate law, just explained to you the will you brought in is legal. He highly doubts any judge would overturn it, especially since it is Michael Logan’s will drawn up by one of the most prominent attorneys in the county.”

  “I don’t care,” she answered raising her voice. “You find a way or I’ll find a new attorney.” She slammed the office door behind her when she left.

  Slumping in his chair, he mumbled, “There goes my best client.”

  Maureen grew angrier as she headed back to Timmus Woods. She wasn’t going to let Daniel and Annamarie have the Logan home. If it had been left to Daniel, she knew she would have been able to talk him into leaving by frightening him with references to spirits, but that girl would ruin it all. She had thought Annamarie would be the perfect wife and settle Daniel down, but somehow Annamarie had developed a backbone. With the help of Townsend, that girl could ruin her plans to live in the Logan home. It should be her and George’s home. Her mind kept racing back to the porcelain birds the old man had.

  Maureen had coveted them for years and bided her time until he passed away. Now they would be gone forever. That stupid girl would probably throw them away. She doesn’t have the sense of what is good and proper. Before she knew it, she was back at the office, still fuming.

  She barged into George’s office and plopped down on the leather sofa in a most unladylike fashion. “Townsend is an ass,” Maureen ranted. “He’s doing all he can to be sure that girl keeps your father’s house.”

  “Calm down. There are more lawyers than Townsend in the world.”

  “I spoke to a probate attorney in Oaklin. He’s in the same firm as my real estate attorney, and he said the will is legal and if we fight it, we’ll lose.”

  “I know. I’ve made several calls to the best probate attorneys, and they all said the same thing.”

  “Okay. If we give up on the house then what happens?” Maureen said.

  “We can buy the land we saw this spring, and begin building our dream home. We’ll add the features you love about father’s house, but make it our own.”

  Maureen thought it over for a minute, her mind still on the porcelain birds, but she agreed with George.

  Picking up the phone, he called a well-respected architect and made an appointment for him and Maureen to begin the plans for their dream home.

  “This will keep us too busy to worry about father’s house,” George comforted his wife.

  “I’m going home to start dinner,” Maureen called when she left the room. George said he’d be along in about an hour.

  “Perfect,” she thought. “That’ll give me the right amount of time.”

  In her office, she pulled out her largest briefcase. George always commented it looked more like a small suitcase. She looked around for something soft and remembered the roll of paper towels in the kitchen area. She hurriedly grabbed it and put it in the empty briefcase. She quickly left the office. The drive to the Logan house only took her a few minutes. She had her key and hoped the house would be empty.

  Upset to see Elaine’s car in the drive, she wondered how she’d keep her out of the way.

  Maureen rang the front door bell and Elaine answered, “Hello, Mrs. Logan. What can I do for you?”

  Maureen thought quickly, “I’m here to meet Annamarie. I must be early.”

  “Come in. You can wait in the living room.”

  “That’ll be perfect, thanks.”

  As soon as Elaine left the room Maureen opened her briefcase, and pulled out some paper toweling. She picked up the first porcelain bird, wrapped it in the towels and placed it in her briefcase. She was able to get four more before Elaine came in with coffee and cookies.

  “Do you mind if I finish the work I was doing upstairs?”

  “Just forget I’m here. I’ll wait for Annamarie.”

  Elaine went back to work, and Maureen continued to pack the birds until she had all twelve in her briefcase. She quickly finished the coffee and ate a cookie. She called up the stairs to Elaine explaining she’d spoken to Annamarie on the phone, and they would have to meet another day.

  Elaine came down and walked Maureen to the door. Maureen said she could lock up, but Elaine told her the locks had been changed.

  Walking to her car with her precious bird collection in her briefcase, Maureen felt proud she’d pulled off getting what she wanted. With the locks changed, there may not have been a better time. She carefully placed the briefcase in her trunk and headed home. Daniel and Annamarie had the house, but Maureen was going to have her dream home. She also had her precious birds.

  ***

  Bulk woke with a start. It was getting dark and whatever drugs they had given him were wearing off. He lay on the bed wishing he could talk to Garret. Garret knew about everything that happened to Ben and who did it. Garret knew how to keep them both safe. At the moment, Bulk was safe, but when he went home, anyone could find him, even that man he saw yelling at Garret and Chuck. He wished he could run away and thought he would. First, he had to be released and go home again. Then he’d find a way to run from Timmus Woods, Oaklin, the spirits, and them.

  ***

  Daniel and Annamarie arrived home after a perfect evening. They had a great late lunch at the Steak Grill, and then decided to do some shopping and talk about their future. Possibilities flooded in one after another since Annamarie had found the bearer bonds, and they owned the Logan house. It all happened so fast they were more than overwhelmed. Not sure when they should move or how they would redecorate the house was the major subject of their conversation. The only thing they knew for certain was the outbuilding where Garret died was going to be torn down and the wood disposed of when the sheriff gave his okay. Annamarie thought they should plant an area of wildflowers where the outbuilding had been. Wild flowers would suit Garret’s memory best.

  She knew they should let Mr. and Mrs. Frant know what they were going to do, but she had no idea when the best time would be to contact them. They decided they could talk to them at Garret’s funeral. Annamarie couldn’t believe there’d be another funeral in their little town so soon.

  Daniel called the sheriff’s office and asked if the sheriff was in. He was. The sheriff said they were done with the building, and understood their need to tear it down. Daniel was relieved the matter was settled.

  Normally they would have Bulk do a job like this, but Annamarie told Daniel she would look up a demolition company in the yellow pages. Annamarie made a mental note to also call the phone company about the extension phone.

  Daniel picked up the phone again and dialed the Frant’s number. Garret had been his friend, and he had to let his parents know he didn’t hold any hard feelings, and how sorry he was Garret died.

  Chapter Seventeen: Lost

  Mr. Frant answered the phone.

  “Good evening, sir.”

  “Daniel, it’s good to hear your voice.”

  “I called about Garret sir. I can’t find the words. We’ve been friends for so long. Annamarie and I are terribly sorry about everything that’s happened. Please tell Mrs. Frant how we feel and Annamarie says she remembers you in her prayers.”

  “Thank you, that means a lot.”

  “I also wanted you to know I could never hold any ill will toward Garret, regardless of what happened. He became involved with the wrong people. It wasn’t his fault. He’ll always be remembered as a good friend.”

  “That will help my wife deal with her grief. We’ll both feel relieved someone besides us cares.”

  “I do care sir, and I was wondering about Garret’s funeral.”

  “We have decided to have a quiet service in Oaklin with only family. The town can’t go through more, and many may blame Garret. I can’t put my w
ife and daughter through that.”

  “Would it be an imposition if Annamarie and I attended? We would like to say goodbye.”

  “I think it would be fine providing you don’t tell anyone else except possibly Bulk.”

  “Bulk’s still hospitalized in Oaklin, sir.”

  “This’ll be a great blow to him. He followed Garret around constantly.”

  “I worry about that, too, but there isn’t anything we can do for Bulk now.”

  Mr. Frant told Daniel the small service would be at Walker’s on Thursday at two o’clock. Daniel and Mr. Frant said goodnight. Daniel told Annamarie about the Frant’s plans. She said she would order flowers tomorrow, but she would use a florist in Oaklin, so word wouldn’t get around town.

  Her heart broke for the Frants and the fact they had to hide their son’s funeral from the public for fear someone might cause a problem.

  It had been a long day. They sat on the sofa and wondered out loud how they were going to keep Garret’s funeral a secret from the Hansons and Daniel’s parents.

  Annamarie said, “I feel like I’m hiding a major secret from the Hansons.”

  Daniel answered, “I don’t care if I hide it from my parents. They’ve hurt me deeply in the last forty-eight hours. I’ve lost some of the trust I had in them after what they’d been saying.”

  “The hardest part will come after the funeral because we can’t tell anyone we attended. Garret’s obituary will read only family attended.”

  Fortunately, Annamarie was working half days, and Daniel could always get out of work at noon especially since his grandfather and Garret had passed away.

  “What if the Hansons find out we were at Garret’s service and I lose my job?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I said that, what’s happening to me?”

  “Nothing, we’re both under an immense amount of stress. It’s understandable we would be worried about everything right now.”

  Maybe she thought, but she would have to try and be more understanding before she turned into Maureen.

  He looked at her with that strained look on his face that usually accompanied severe anxiety, and said, “Annamarie, I can’t believe I’ve lost two of my best friends and grandfather in less than two weeks, but I was wondering since both Garret and Ben died near the woods if they would join the spirits.”

  “I thought we’d gotten past all the spirits in the woods talk.”

  “I’ve been trying, but I know the spirits have been there my entire life. I swear I saw my grandmother and her baby. She died in grandfather’s house when she gave birth, so it makes sense she would be in the woods. Who knows who else might be out there?”

  Never realizing his grandmother had given birth at home, she had to ask Daniel, “are you sure you’ll be able to live in grandpa’s house if you think a spirit lives there?”

  “Of course, grandmother is happy now because grandfather is with her. The best thing he could have done was deciding to be buried with her especially since he also died at the house.”

  Annamarie now understood why grandpa kept the master bedroom as a shrine lost in time. His wife and baby died there. It was full of happy and sad memories. Not believing in Daniel’s spirits, Annamarie still thought the first room they needed to redo would be the bedroom. She brought the subject up to Daniel and he agreed. Since the furniture was so lovely, they decided to move it to one of the empty rooms in the north wing, and keep it as a special reminder of Daniel’s grandparent’s love.

  It was time for some sleep, and for once they both slept through the entire night without fear or nightmares. The alarm woke them both feeling refreshed and ready to face the day, but worried what else might be lost before long. It seems as if that has been the path the entire town was traveling. They decided to try and get through the day the best they could, and meet at home for lunch.

  Before leaving for work, Annamarie said, “I don’t remember any dreams, but I have an odd feeling I dreamt about birds. I remember a voice saying, ‘not all birds fly, beware.’”

  “That’s funny. Not every dream we have has an important meaning,” Daniel said and he hugged her.

  She shrugged and agreed as they left.

  ***

  Annamarie’s morning was slow. She had enough time to finish her work, and make a call to the demolition company. Daniel and Annamarie had spent a lot of time there in the summers, and she felt a pang of loss. It stung more than she expected.

  When Mr. Hanson went back into the plant, she took the opportunity to call a florist in Oaklin and order flowers for Garret’s service.

  “I’ll come in this afternoon and pay for the flowers.”

  “No need Mrs. Logan, you can stop by tomorrow on your way to the service.”

  Part of her wanted to shout, “I’m not Mrs. Logan I’m Annamarie,” but she thanked her for her kindness and hung up.

  It was then she realized the Logan name certainly did carry weight, and for the first time it helped her. She felt some of it when the lady at the bank was so polite and kept calling her Mrs. Logan, but she thought it was because she was there with Mr. Townsend. Maybe she was wrong, and it was both of them. Not sure if she was ready to be another Mrs. Logan since that usually meant Maureen, but she would try. She didn’t want to lose her individuality or what Daniel referred to as her “innocent view of the world.”

  The phone rang, it was Daniel.

  “Hi. The demolition company will be there tomorrow. I need to call Elaine to see if she will be there, in case there were questions.”

  “Great idea, can you meet me at grandfather’s house at noon instead of home because I want to check the new window locks?”

  “No problem, I’ll see you shortly after noon.”

  ***

  Daniel was there when she pulled into the drive. Annamarie noticed Elaine’s car. Walking to the front door, Elaine met her.

  “I have made you and Mr. Daniel lunch.”

  “How nice Elaine, thank you.”

  “Will the other Mrs. Logan be joining you today?”

  “No, why do you think Maureen is coming?”

  “Since she missed you the other day, I thought perhaps you would be meeting today.”

  “Maureen was here and said she was waiting for me?”

  “Yes, but left after talking to you on the phone.”

  “Thank you, Elaine.”

  Elaine disappeared into the kitchen, and Annamarie went to find Daniel. He was in the north wing checking the locks, and thought they would work perfectly. She told him what Elaine told her.

  “I think my mom was probably trying to snoop.”

  “It’s a good thing we changed the locks.”

  Daniel and Annamarie continued their discussion about his mom when they walked to the kitchen to enjoy the lunch Elaine had made them. Daniel asked Elaine not to open the door to his parents since they were trying to take the house from them.

  Shocked, Elaine said, “The house is yours Mr. Daniel. Mr. Logan left it to you.” She set a plate of donuts on the table.

  “I know, but they would like to try, and we would like to keep them out, if possible. Did you make these donuts?” Daniel had eaten half in one bite.

  “Yes, glad you like them and I’ll watch for your parents,” Elaine said when she set the luncheon plates on the table.

  Annamarie laughed, “Daniel, eat lunch before you devour all the donuts.”

  “Mmm okay,” he mumbled when he finished his donut.

  Elaine added, “I thought Mrs. Logan was going to help you decorate because of that large case she had with her.”

  Daniel and Annamarie looked at each other, and they were both thinking the same thing, Maureen was after an item big enough that she needed a large case to hold it.

  After lunch Daniel and Annamarie walked through the entire house. They wanted to get ideas on how they would like to decorate.

  They finished their little tour in the main house’s living room. Sitting in her favorite chair, Annam
arie noticed the beautiful porcelain blue jay that sat on the table next to the chair was gone. She asked Elaine and she said she had no idea why it was moved.

  “Oh, Mrs. Logan, the robin, yellow finch, cardinal and eight others are also gone.”

  All at once they spoke, “Mother,” said Daniel, “Mrs. Logan,” said Elaine, “your mom,” Annamarie said.

  “That’s what the large case was for.”

  “Grandfather loved those. He purchased them for my grandmother. How could my mom just take them?”

  “Something else lost, this is so sad. You don’t think this is why I had the dream of birds that can’t fly?”

  “You said you heard the voice say ‘beware.’ It must have been a warning we would lose them. It’s sad it was too late.”

  Elaine went back to the kitchen, and Daniel and Annamarie decided they would not cause problems about the birds.

  Annamarie said to Daniel “if she’s happy with the birds, let her be so there’s peace, we know she missed the main prize.”

  “The bonds,” smiled Daniel.

  She smiled back.

  “Someday we’ll let them know.” Daniel leaned back on the leather couch. “Just imagine the look on their faces, I can’t wait.”

  “I’ll enjoy that.”

  Annamarie and Daniel told Elaine they were leaving. Elaine said she would also be leaving soon, and would be back tomorrow morning to meet the men coming to remove the outbuilding.

  “Do you want to walk out there, and take one last look, baby?”

  “No, the sadness overwhelms the happy memories.”

  Daniel shook his head. They walked to their cars and headed home.

  ***

  The phone rang in the sheriff’s office. It was Dr. Norse.

  He said, “Bulk is doing much better, but he is refusing to talk about what happened to Ben. He hasn’t been told about Garret. The doctors feel the news should come from Bulk’s brother. He’ll see him this evening before anyone else can tell Bulk. We still need to be careful with his mental state.”

  “Thanks for the call.”