Finding the Way Back

by Jill Bisker

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What happened?” Emmett shone his flashlight down on me and Connie lying in a tangle of arms and legs. He extended a hand to help us up.

  “Laney, what happened?” Connie asked. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m so sorry, Connie. I didn’t mean to drag you down the stairs with me. Are you hurt?” Standing up, I stretched and bent to see if everything was intact and in working condition.

  Connie did the same, mimicking my movements. “I’m fine. Did you trip?”

  “No,” I said, embarrassed, scared, and angry at the same time. “I was pushed.”

  “What?!” Connie and Emmett both said at the same time.

  “This is getting ridiculous,” I snapped, feeling the anger crowd out my other emotions as I looked up the stairs. “I was pushed from behind. Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked Connie again, feeling guilty. If I had been holding on to the banister I could have prevented my fall.

  “I’m fine, a few bruises is all. This is the one time I’m happy there is thick shag carpet at the bottom of the stairs.” I knew she was okay when she joked.

  Emmett ran back upstairs to see if he could find anyone or anything but we all knew it was a futile attempt to make sense of the fall. He returned a few minutes later looking glum. “Nothing.”

  “Hey, it’s not your fault. Besides, we’re fine. I’ll be more careful from now on. I feel like I’m going to be one big bruise after tonight. I may need to find a new chiropractor.” Connie and I stretched our muscles some more then moved to the living room. Connie lowered herself into the recliner with a sigh and I took the couch.

  The basement door in the kitchen creaked open and then Dean and Glen joined us in the living room. “We heard a large bang and wondered if everything was okay up here.” Dean’s flashlight could be seen moving about the room as he scoured the area for evidence of a mishap.

  Emmett gestured toward us and explained my accident. I was grateful he didn’t act like he thought it was my fault. Dean and Glen took the kitchen chairs our mothers had occupied that afternoon as Emmett joined me on the couch.

  I could see a scowl on his face as I turned my flashlight on him. “You look ominous.”

  “I don’t like what’s going on here. It’s almost like something is singling you out, Laney,” Emmett responded.

  “It’s probably more of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” I suggested, pulling my legs up under me and leaning my head to lay it on the arm of the couch. “I am kind of known for that.”

  “Actually, she’s right about that,” Connie chimed in. “She does seem to get herself in all sorts of predicaments. If it could happen to anyone—it happens to Laney.”

  “Thanks, I think,” I countered.

  “Maybe, but I’m not totally convinced.” Emmett was quiet for a moment with his hand on his chin. Finally, he said, “I think we should give this up for tonight. I’m not even sure you two should stay here in the house anymore.”

  I bounded out of my chair. “No one is going to tell me what to do.” As soon as I said it, I realized how it must have sounded. “Sorry,” I stammered as everyone looked at me. “What I mean is, I’m not scared and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Listen, Laney,” Emmett started.

  But I dug my heels in and cut him off. “No, you listen. I’m not a little girl anymore and I don’t like being told what to do. I think we should continue. If some entity doesn’t want us here then there must be a reason. If possible, I want to know what that is.”

  Looking chastened, Emmett said, “Laney, I would never tell you what to do, but I also don’t want to do anything that increases the danger for you.”

  There was something about the look on his face and the tone of his voice that made me lose my train of thought. “Thanks, Emmett,” I answered softly, sitting back down. “But I think it’s important to go on.”

  “I think Laney’s right,” Connie agreed. “Don’t treat us like little girls.”

  “I’m just worried about your safety, but it’s up to you,” Emmett said.

  “I know, and thank you,” I said. “But if he, or it, or whatever, is so tough, then why not just appear now and throw us all out? I’m not backing down this time, and that’s it. We’ll just have to be more careful in the future.”

  Emmett nodded and Connie looked at me with something that might have been newly found respect.

  “Let’s move on,” I said.

  “Okay, well then, the basement also had some weird incidents,” Dean began. “When we first got down there we did an EMF reading. There are some very high numbers down there so that might be why people feel uncomfortable, but I don’t think that’s the only thing going on. I can’t put my finger on it but there is something, I don’t know, wrong about that place. We sat really quiet near the stairway and there were all these bumps, which sounded like they were coming from near the washer and dryer. We went over there and looked all around and moved them away from the wall, but there was nothing we could find. No animals, mice, squirrels, nothing. Nothing we could see or determine that might have been making the noises.” He seemed hesitant to continue.

  “Really? That’s interesting. Upstairs we thought we heard some footsteps and music that we weren’t able to debunk. There were a few other things, but it’s hard to say if they were paranormal,” Emmett said, switching his light on and off nervously.

  “That is a lot of unexplained incidents. I’d like to work upstairs next,” Glen proclaimed. “We should definitely do more EVP work.”

  “Well, Laney and Connie are determined that we continue,” Emmett said reluctantly. “But no one goes anywhere alone, especially you, Laney. Dean, you and Glen go upstairs, and the three of us will work on this level.”

  Connie, Emmett and I all sat gathered together in the darkened kitchen lost in our own thoughts for a few moments. Emmett had refused to continue unless we all sat in our chairs during the session. Was there really something targeting me? I wondered. It could be, I supposed. After all, I was intruding on its territory and changing everything. It was amazing how far I’d come in such a short time. I went from not believing in ghosts to wondering if they were purposely singling me out for some nefarious reason. The main level of the house was quiet. I could hear the house creak or groan but it was in a normal, settling way as the evening got colder.

  Emmett rustled in his chair. I could almost hear him ruminating on our stubborn behavior and wondering what to do about our obstinacies. He wouldn’t understand that I was at a point in my life where I just couldn’t be pushed anymore. I appreciated Connie for backing me up.

  Light from the streetlamps outside shone through the kitchen window, casting a pale glow across the room, making us look like grim specters. I could tell Emmett was still harboring misgivings about continuing the investigation, but he seemed willing to go on anyway at our insistence. Sighing loudly, he pulled the EVP player out again and placed it on the table. “Is anyone here with us?” he began. Silence. “Is there anything you’d like to tell us?” More silence. “We’d love it if you would join us here.” Not even a creak of the floor boards. We sat at the table a few minutes more. My thoughts wandered as the minutes lengthened and nothing happened.

  “We just cleaned out the study earlier today. Let’s move there,” Connie suggested, turning on her flashlight and rising from her chair. “I’ve heard ghosts sometimes get active when you redecorate or remodel. Maybe that’s what’s happening here.”

  “Good idea,” I followed her lead, turning on my flashlight and pushing the kitchen chair back under the table.

  Emmett got to his feet and strode out of the room to the study. “I’m going first. If there is a chair, I’d like you to sit in it please, Laney. If there isn’t one, I’ll bring one from the kitchen.”

  I could tell Emmett was making an effort not to tell me what to do but he just couldn’t help himself. I held back a laugh and decided not to argue since he was being so polite. When we g
ot to the study he pulled the chair out from behind the desk, looked at me and gestured for me to sit. Smiling, I sat with a flourish. He grinned back at me, shaking his head. “Connie, you may sit at the window seat.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she mocked, walking to the specified location.

  I sat at the desk and looked around the dim room. There were more trees in front of the study windows than the kitchen, so there was less light filtering in from outside. Emmett walked around the room holding his EVP recorder, asking similar questions as before then stopping so he would be able to hear responses when listening to the tape later. His voice droned on and I stopped paying attention. I rocked back and forth in the chair, then sat forward and put my head down on the desk. I hadn’t slept well in several nights and it was getting late. I had to sit up or I would be asleep in a minute. Looking at the desk, I saw the unexplored drawers and flipped on my flashlight. I hadn’t had time yet to go through them, and now was as good a time as any. I felt a little like I was invading my grandfather’s space, which I was, but I had been doing that since the first time I set foot through the front door. If this place would ever truly be mine and Connie’s, it would have to yield all its secrets to us.

  Without further hesitation, I slid open the top center drawer. Pens and pencils rolled forward as the drawer moved, pushing forward coins, paper clips, and old puzzle pieces. I wondered if the rest of the puzzles were anywhere in the house. I pulled out a scratch pad from the local bank and another from the lumber yard that had gone out of business when the large corporate store opened. Nothing good in this one. Ready to move on to the next, I started to close the drawer. It stuck a little and I had to jiggle it a bit to get it to go back in. The red glow of my flashlight caught what looked like a small piece of paper as it floated to the floor. I picked it up and held my light to it. “Cool. Look what I found, a stamp from nineteen fifty-three. I wonder if it’s worth anything. It has General Patton on it,” I said to the others, and set it on the corner of the desk.

  Connie got up and wandered over to look at it with her flashlight. “I don’t think it’s been used. Does that make it more valuable?”

  “No idea. I don’t collect stamps. Wasn’t there an Audrey Hepburn movie where the treasure was stamps?” Opening the next drawer I found old check stubs dating from the nineteen eighties, address labels, a stapler with its refills, and a dust cloth. Funny, the desk was very neat in comparison to the rest of the house. The other drawers were empty. He could leave stuff piled all over the house, but let’s not muss up the insides of drawers.

  “Ooo, yes, with Cary Grant,” Connie said, as she and I continued our conversation, totally oblivious to Emmett trying to do his EVP work. “Isn’t it weird how he had that accent even though he was American?”

  “Cary Grant wasn’t American, he was British.”

  “He was not, he was, like, from New York or somewhere.”

  “Actually, he was born in England but became an American citizen,” Emmett said, giving us a sideways glance. “Should we be done here?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready,” I said. Compared to earlier, it seemed like the rest of the night was going to be anticlimactic.

  “We’ll review the evidence and come back tomorrow night to show you anything we caught,” Emmett said, walking out of the room. Calling up the stairs, he told Dean and Glen we were done then headed downstairs to turn the power on again. The heater kicked on, and the refrigerator started humming as the house seemed to spring back to life. We switched the lights on and the guys got busy winding the extension cords and removing the cameras while Connie and I took a potty break.

  Regrouping at the front door, we agreed to get together the next day to look over the evidence. “Is there anything else I can do for you tonight?” Emmett asked me with a serious look. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  It felt like everyone was watching us but I was sure it was my imagination. “I’m fine, I mean, we’re fine. Connie and me, I mean. We’re fine.” I didn’t know why I was feeling so flustered. “I just want to go to bed. To sleep,” I clarified quickly. My God, what an idiot.

  Emmett looked at me dubiously then looked at Connie who gave him a reassuring nod. I tried to pretend it didn’t feel like a first date but obviously didn’t do a very good job at it. As Emmett turned to walk out the door, I pictured him giving me a good night kiss. Missing that kiss was the only part that made we wish it was a first date.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I fastened the latch then lingered at the door, watching Emmett, Dean, and Glen get in their van and disappear into the night. The house suddenly felt very empty and quiet, and it was just Connie and me again. We turned out some of the lights on the main floor, leaving a few lamps on just for comfort’s sake and then headed upstairs to bed.

  I was straightening my room a bit and putting some clothes away when I heard Connie finish up in the bathroom and head back to her room. I put my pajamas on then went down to talk to her.

  “So am I the biggest fruitcake in the world or what?” I asked her.

  “They’re men, they seldom notice anything unless you hit them over the head. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better. You were supposed to say that I wasn’t a fruitcake at all, not that they wouldn’t notice.” I sat on one of the twin beds, smoothing the covers. Connie lay on her side in the other.

  “I like the thought of you with him. He’s not my type, but Emmett’s always been a good friend.”

  “Connie! Tell me you didn’t deliberately try to set me up with him.”

  “I didn’t, honest! But if it turns out that way, what’s the harm in that? I’m surprised he’s not married yet.”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that?”

  “I know he was going to get married after college but that didn’t work out for some reason. I’m not sure what happened.”

  “Maybe it’s his unusual hobby.”

  “There are worse ones.”

  “Yes, Simon had a few of those,” I said. “When I look at it that way, ghost hunting isn’t so peculiar.”

  We both laughed then lay back, staring at the ceiling. “Maybe I’ll just sleep in here with you tonight,” I said. “Is that okay?”

  “More than okay, that would be great,” she said.

  “It’ll be just like when we were kids. Remember the Barbie fests we used to have where we would take the blankets off the bed and make tent houses between the furniture for our little families?”

  “Those were the best times. I could do that for hours.”

  “I remember laughing so hard my stomach and face would hurt. Then you get older and life beats the laughter out of you.”

  “I know what you mean, but it doesn’t have to. Sometimes things just don’t turn out like you think they will. But if it’s not working you can do something different. That’s what I do. I never thought my interest in art would lead me to re-imagine old furniture and other objects, but I love it. Sometimes the universe throws things at you from unexpected directions. You just have to be open to it,” Connie finished, then paused a moment. “You know, I always thought of you as my sister. Neither one of us had brothers or sisters so we just had each other. I was sad that we grew apart as we got older.”

  I looked over at Connie and could see my little cousin again. “Me too. I didn’t mean to, but I got married and you were doing other things. It’s been ages since I thought of those times we spent together when we were kids.”

  Connie rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. “I remember being in junior high when you went to high school. All of a sudden you seemed just gone.”

  I thought about that time, remembering events I hadn’t revisited in years. “I’m sorry we lost touch. I did get too big for my britches about that time. I so wanted to be accepted into the ‘in’ crowd. I thought I couldn’t drag along my younger cousin. Then Melanie moved in and they dumped me anyway. I felt like I lost all my friends at one time
. I forgot that family was forever.” I remembered the pain of that time like it was yesterday. “The happiest years of your life, my ass! I’m really sorry, Connie.”

  “I forgive you,” Connie said simply, sitting up. “I discovered boys around the same time, so I wouldn’t have had time for you anyway.” We both giggled. “Remember when we used to climb in bed together and pull the sheet up over our heads and pretend we were in Pride and Prejudice?”

  “You have to be Jane since you’re the beautiful one in the family on whom we are all pinning our hopes to marry well.”

  “So if you’re Elizabeth, that must make Emmett Mr. Darcy. But who’s my Mr. Bingley?”

  I didn’t dare admit it to Connie, but I felt a twinge of jealousy that she thought of Emmett as the stoic and sexy Mr. Darcy. I sure didn’t need any competition from her. It didn’t occur to me that Mr. Darcy ended up with Elizabeth.

  * * * *

  When I woke up the next morning I was grateful that the rest of the night had been quiet. No unearthly visitations. It was starting to get light and I told myself we would have to get shades on the bedroom windows or we would be getting up at the crack of dawn each day. I lugged myself out of bed and looked over at Connie who was still out like a light. I glanced at my cell phone that I surprisingly had remembered to take to bed with me. Six-thirty. Ugh. Even when I stayed up half the night I couldn’t sleep in. I pulled on my robe and slippers and padded to the bathroom. Inside, I saw that the door to the closet under the eaves was ajar, and I was sure it was closed the night before. Okay, I’m going to ignore that, I told myself, too tired even to think of ghosts. Then I headed downstairs for my coffee.