3 The Ghost at the Farm

by SUE FINEMAN

  “Not a problem. I’ll call Julie and put the condo on the market. I could rent it, but I don’t want to fool with any more renters. When are you moving out?”

  “I can go anytime.”

  “I’ll call Julie tomorrow. Does she still have a key?”

  “Yes, I think so. She has a couple boxes of files in the guest room, and maybe some clothes.”

  Kayla came downstairs. “Hi, Andy. Your turn, Daddy. Michael has informed me that no one can tell a bedtime story as good as Daddy.”

  Billy stood. “Andy, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Kayla sat on the sofa beside Andy. “Any more visions?”

  “Not since Otis died, and I still don’t know about the issues the gypsy spoke about. If someone’s going to kill me, there’s no sense starting a new business. There’s no use doing anything if I’m going to die soon. I’ve already made a will and I bought enough life insurance to pay off Billy’s loan.”

  “Oh, honey. We need to talk about psychic visions. I have them myself from time to time, although I’m sure I’m not as gifted as the gypsy was.”

  Andy twisted on the sofa to face his brother’s wife. He liked Kayla. She said things straight out, and she didn’t put up with any nonsense from Billy. Kayla had good sense, and she was a loving wife and mother, a beautiful person inside and out.

  “Psychic visions can be a little confusing, Andy. It’s kinda like working a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the lid and most of the pieces missing. Maybe you can put what you have together and figure out what the whole picture is supposed to be and maybe not.”

  “Then how are you supposed to know?”

  “Sometimes it’s a feeling, and other times all you can do is take what you see and guess at the rest. Often, the pieces don’t mean what you think they do. The gypsy may have meant something besides you being killed, like not being able to meet your responsibilities, or losing the only woman you’ve ever loved to a man like Wallace Bedford, or never being a father to your only son. She could have been wrong about everything except Andrew and the dreams.”

  She put her hand over his on the back of the sofa. “Whatever the gypsy meant, you can’t give up. If you live your life as if you’re gonna die any minute, you’re wasting your life. Take necessary precautions, of course, and stay alert, but don’t stop living.”

  He stared at his lap. “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “Isn’t it? Why did you let Julie get away?”

  It took him a few seconds to say, “I don’t know.”

  “Do you love her?”

  Too choked up to speak, he could only nod. Hell yes, he loved her.

  “She loves you, too, Andy. Julie needs you like Paulina needed Andrew.”

  “It’s too late. She’s gone.”

  “Well, quit moping around like a lost hound dog. Go find her.”

  “She won’t want me now.”

  “Of course she will. Did Paulina stop loving Andrew?”

  He didn’t answer. He’d read all of Paulina’s letters to Andrew. She’d outlived Andrew by fifty years and never stopped loving him.

  Kayla leaned over and hugged him, and in that moment, he heard Otis’s voice. “Don’t wait too long, Andrew.”

  Had he waited too long?

  Billy came downstairs. “The boys are out for the night, and we need to talk business, Andy. As soon as you get your new office set up, I want you to get started on the designs for the renovations on the apartments. The sooner we get that project done, the better. The tenants are bugging me to death about stupid little things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like can they paint a wall black or bright orange, the neighbor used their trashcan instead of their own, somebody’s guest parked in their spot. Nitpicky things. I am done with tenants. We’ll convert one set of apartments, and if I can’t sell the other apartments, we’ll convert them, too. I’m not buying any more rentals. I don’t have the patience.”

  It wasn’t a big job, but it was a start. Before Andy left, he made arrangements to see an empty apartment the day after Thanksgiving, so he could get some measurements.

  The rain had stopped and there was a nip in the air. Winter was closing in. He’d have to winterize the barn and trailer. The last thing he needed was frozen pipes. Charlie could help him with that.

  What would he do without his family?

  Back in the condo, Andy drew a layout of an office for Pop’s room—no matter what they did with that room, he’d always consider it Pop’s room—and wondered if Billy would let him use the computer desk from the condo for his office.

  Andy had lived in the apartment Charlie now lived in for a couple years after college, then Billy offered him the condo, and he couldn’t turn it down. He drank in the view of the city and river from the floor to ceiling windows in the living room, remembering when he stood in that same spot with Julie. They kissed right here, in front of the windows, and talked about her virtue. He wanted her then, but he didn’t touch her that way until she seduced him in the shower a few days later.

  Every time he showered, he thought of her. Every time he pulled out the hair dryer, he remembered. Every night when he went to bed, he missed her soft, warm body lying beside him. Every waking moment in this condo, she was on his mind, and he dreamed about her every night.

  Was he destined to go through the rest of his life without her? Was that what the gypsy was trying to tell him?

  <>

  Julie had just left the office Wednesday afternoon when her cell phone rang. She pulled over and answered it.

  “Julie, this is Billy Kane.”

  Why would Billy be calling her? She thought once Andy was out of her life, his family wouldn’t want to have anything more to do with her.

  “I need to sell Andy’s condo. Can you do a market analysis for me?”

  “Absolutely. Is Andy still living there?”

  “He’s moving back to Livingston Avenue. Do you want it furnished?”

  “It’ll show better furnished.” Kayla had done an excellent job with the furnishings, and they helped showcase the elegant lines of the condo.

  “What’s the condo market like in the city?”

  “It’s stronger than for single-family homes, and that condo complex is the nicest one in the city. It’s the perfect place for busy young professionals.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

  “I’ll run some numbers and get back to you on Friday. Thanks for calling me, Billy. I appreciate the business.”

  Another listing. Could she show Andy’s condo without remembering the passionate nights she spent there? No, she could never forget that magical time when she handed Andy her virtue. When a shower turned into so much more.

  When she allowed herself to fall in love with a handsome architect.

  <>

  On Thanksgiving, Julie met her parents, Aunt Mandy, and Susan at the country club where her parents had a membership. Mom no longer cooked holiday dinners, and she didn’t especially like Aunt Mandy smoking in the new house. And Aunt Mandy didn’t go anywhere she couldn’t smoke. The club had a smoking lounge, which was the perfect solution.

  Susan had red hair, a change from her natural mousy brown with blond highlights. “I like the new hair color, Susan,” said Julie. “It suits you.”

  Susan sat beside Julie and they chatted during dinner, a buffet-style feast the club put on every Thanksgiving. “What ever happened to that creep you were dating?”

  “Brent?”

  “Yeah, the weird one.”

  “Last I heard, he was in the state mental hospital, and I don’t want to talk about him.”

  But Mom heard, and she just had to fill everyone in on what happened with Brent and the house and the murder at the hospital. “But the good thing is,” Mom finished, “Julie got to keep the house, which she sold for a nice little profit.”

  Susan leaned toward Julie and asked, “How much?”

  “One point three million.”

/>   Aunt Mandy dropped her glass and wine stained the white tablecloth.

  “She has a new boyfriend now,” said Mom. “He’s the mayor’s son.”

  Susan gasped. “You’re dating Charlie Kane? How could you after what he did to me?”

  “Not Charlie,” said Mom. “Andy.”

  “I hate you,” said Susan.

  “What do you care who I date?” said Julie. “You have a new boyfriend.”

  “Not anymore,” said Aunt Mandy. “He was a loser anyway, like the man I was dating.”

  Relieved that the conversation had shifted to Aunt Mandy’s love life, which was always more interesting than anything else in the family, Julie followed Susan to the buffet table to check out the pie.

  “So, how is Charlie?” Susan asked. “Does he miss me?”

  “Charlie is fine, and I wouldn’t know if he missed you or not. He never mentions your name.”

  “Does he have a new girlfriend?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Andy bought a farm, so he’s been working out there, and he has a collie puppy named Wilma. She’s a sweetheart.”

  “I can’t see Charlie working on a farm.”

  “He’s a nice guy, Susan. After he dumped you, I was ready to hate him, but he’s not so bad, just not ready to settle down yet.”

  “What about Andy? Is he ready to settle down?”

  “Andy… He has some problems, so we’re not together anymore.”

  Susan stared at Julie’s face. “You’re in love with the guy, aren’t you?”

  Julie nodded, then selected a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top.

  On their way back to the table, Susan asked, “What are you going to do with all that money?”

  “I’m afraid to spend it. I keep thinking someone is going to tell me it was all a mistake, that the money has to be returned.” Susan and Aunt Mandy would undoubtedly ask for some.

  Aunt Mandy had been married and divorced five times and was on the prowl for number six. Like Mom, she was fixated on money, or the lack of money, and she didn’t like living alone. Susan didn’t like being alone either, but the men she picked weren’t the kind who were looking for long-term relationships.

  “I’ve never met Andy,” said Susan. “Does he look like Charlie?”

  “No, Andy has long, wavy, brown hair and brown eyes. He’s a great guy, Susan.” If Susan saw Andy, she’d be all over him.

  “So, are you going to marry him?”

  “He hasn’t asked and I’m not seeing him now. He has some things to work out. He quit his job, for one thing, and…” And he still hadn’t resolved those issues, whatever they were.

  Susan grabbed Julie’s arm. “Look… no, don’t look.”

  “At what?”

  “That man sitting at the table by the door. Isn’t he the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen?”

  Julie glanced over and saw what looked like a high school or college student with an older couple. “Robbing the cradle these days, Susan?”

  “I happen to like younger men.”

  “You’re only twenty-five. He can’t be over nineteen or twenty.”

  “Yeah, but he’s a babe, not as handsome as Charlie Kane, but still a babe.”

  Susan was as bad as Aunt Mandy, who had never had a relationship that lasted longer than a year or so. Susan couldn’t stay with one man either.

  Julie only wanted one man, one she could love forever.

  Andy Kane.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Kane family sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. Trevor had come home from Tacoma, so everyone in the family was there. Except Ginny.

  While Billy’s boys fought over who got the drumsticks, Andy asked his mother, “Where’s Ginny?”

  “She went home with her roommate for Thanksgiving, but she said she’d be home for Christmas for sure.”

  Ginny had grown into a striking beauty, with Mom’s black hair and Dad’s blue eyes. Andy had a feeling there was more going on with her than an invitation from her roommate. Only a man could keep his little sister away from home on Thanksgiving.

  After they’d all eaten their fill, when they were letting their belts out another notch, Trevor said, “I’ll help you move, Andy. All we have to do is time it around the rain.”

  “I’ll help, too,” said Charlie. “Hey, Billy, how come you’re selling the condo? I thought you’d let me live there next.”

  “You have a dog,” said Andy. “The condo association doesn’t allow dogs.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a great place to take women.”

  Andy had taken a few women there, but the only one who stayed over a few hours was Julianne Tandry. His beautiful Julie.

  “You don’t have a job either,” said Dad. “How would you pay the rent?”

  “I have a job. I’m working on the farm. I may not get a paycheck yet, but—”

  “You can keep whatever you pull in from the crops you grow,” said Andy. “Look through those ledgers. It tells what they planted, when they planted it, which field they planted it in, what time of year they harvested, and how much they made.”

  “For when?” Dad asked. “The nineteenth century?”

  “And part of the twentieth.”

  Mom passed another piece of pie to Charlie. “Why don’t you take some agriculture classes this winter?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  Charlie had dropped out of college in his senior year to enlist in the Marines. Andy couldn’t figure out why he didn’t finish school first, but Charlie was drifting back then. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. If Dad hadn’t been police chief, Charlie might have studied criminal justice and become a police officer. Both their grandfathers had been cops. They all respected Dad for what he’d accomplished, but Donovan Kane left mighty big footprints.

  No one mentioned Julie’s name, but she was constantly on Andy’s mind. For several weeks, she’d been a part of this family, and his heart ached with missing her.

  Otis was here in spirit. There were times when Andy felt his presence. When he felt his disapproval over letting Julie get away.

  Nobody regretted that more than Andy.

  <>

  Brent sat in his cell in the county jail, where they’d moved him yesterday. It wasn’t much better than the room at the hospital, but he could hear other inmates. That was a step up from being totally alone like he was at the hospital. The mattress was so thin he might as well be sleeping on the floor, and the orange jumpsuit they gave him to wear chafed his neck, but it did no good to complain.

  The Thanksgiving feast wasn’t much of a feast, although they did serve turkey and stuffing with a dab of cranberry sauce. He wondered where Julie was and if she was having dinner with her family or with Andy Kane. How long before he could see her again? How long until they could be together in the new house, married and happy? How long before he could kill the mayor’s brat for stealing his woman?

  If they charged him with murdering Grunt, he might never get out. He could spend the rest of his life locked in a cell like a rabid dog nobody wanted to get near, sleeping on a thin, lumpy mattress, wearing rough garments with numbers on them. Eating slop. Last Thanksgiving he ate at the club. Julie was there, with her parents, and he watched her eat. She didn’t even notice he was there.

  He didn’t want to live like this. He wanted to live in the new house with Julie. She belonged to him, dammit, and he wanted to be with her.

  Why didn’t she come to see him? Didn’t she know he was rotting in a stupid jail cell, waiting for her to come? Didn’t she love him?

  <>

  Friday morning, Billy drove Andy to the apartments, where Andy took pictures and measured the rooms. The tenants in this unit were gone, but they’d left their mark on the place. The stove was filthy, the oven a fire hazard, and the sink looked like it was long overdue for a good scrubbing. The carpets were badly stained, and although Billy rented only to non-smokers without pets, this place reeked of stale smoke and cat p
iss.

  “If renters do this to a place, I wouldn’t want to deal with them either.”

  “I’m giving notice to the other tenants that they have to be out by the end of March. If that doesn’t chase them out, I figure the construction noise will do it.”

  Andy turned to face Billy. “This neighborhood is a mix of single family homes, condos, and apartments. I guess the zoning commission missed this part of town.”

  “It’s better than it was four years ago, when I bought the apartments.”

  Billy owned two four-plexes with tiny, two-bedroom apartments. If he wanted to keep them rented as apartments, he’d have to put some money into them, but he wouldn’t get it back in rent because of the size of the units.

  Andy pointed. “If I remember right, the building across the street was converted a couple years ago.” Craig had worked on the designs.

  Billy propped his hands on his hips. “Do you remember what they did?”

  “They combined the units upstairs and down, turned the top floor into nice master suite with another bedroom or two. Downstairs, they opened it up, expanded the kitchen, added a study. Half bath. Laundry. Hardwood floors. Fireplace.”

  “Total gut job?”

  “Yeah. It’s a good location, close to downtown, pretty tree-lined street, and the structure is sound. Off-street parking. I guess it depends on what you want to spend, but I can tell you this. Nobody will buy them like they are. They’re the worst looking buildings on the street.”

  “I know. I bought them because of the location. And they were cheap. Okay, see what you can come up with and we’ll go from there.”

  Billy’s phone rang. “Hey, Julie. Sure. On our way.” He disconnected and told Andy, “Julie has the market analysis for the condo. She’ll meet us there.”

  Andy knew he’d run into her sooner or later. Would she even want to speak with him? He’d walked away from her and regretted it every day since then.

  Could they get back what they’d lost?

  He had to try.

  <>

  Julie rang the bell at the condo and didn’t get any answer, so she let herself in with her key. She’d left some clothes here, and the files from the office were still sitting in the corner of the bedroom. Piling the clothes on the bed, she looked for anything else that belonged to her.