The Sleeping Beauty Bride

by Glenys O'Connell

  “Kelly! Whatever you were going to say, stop! Anyway, he sounded so serious, I guess I’d better go and find out what’s bothering him.”

  Kelly carried on the conversation they’d been having before Nate’s call. “I have an idea about how we can move forward. We need to know more about what happened to Lydia. Maybe we can figure out what makes Cranky Ghost angry and Lydia afraid?”

  Noelia nodded her agreement. “All I know is that Nate is very angry with a young man called Daniel, who apparently was Lydia’s fiancé. He thinks Daniel left Lydia alone in her wrecked car. I have no idea what he’s basing that on, and it seems to be a pretty touchy subject for him. I don’t feel I know him well enough to probe.”

  Kelly nodded. “I can imagine.”

  At that moment a customer came in, and suddenly the store was busy again. It was almost time to close up the shop when Noelia said, “You know, there must have been something in the newspapers. Aren’t you buddies with that cub reporter, Ronnie whatever-his-name is?”

  Kelly grinned. “Noelia, you’re a genius. How about we close up the shop a little early and go see if we can look in their morgue?”

  “What do you mean, morgue? I’ve had enough of dead people . . . ” Noelia shivered.

  Kelly laughed. “I meant the newspaper morgue, a place where they keep back copies of newspapers and story files. Although the newspaper basement is pretty creepy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the odd long-dead and unburied reporter lost down there.”

  Noelia glared. “Sometimes, Kelly, you have the scariest sense of humor.”

  • • •

  Noelia and Kelly drove across town to the local newspaper office. A young woman with blue and red streaks in her hair and violently purple and red fingernails sat behind the reception desk.

  Kelly whispered to Noelia that the girl looked just as bored as she had the last time Kelly met her. “I’m trying to find out about an accident that happened about three months ago, that left a young woman by the name of Westbury in a coma?” she told the receptionist. “I was hoping to check out your past issues.”

  “Sure. We’re close to closing so you won’t have a lot of time, though,” the secretary told Kelly. “I’ll get someone from editorial to help you.”

  Noelia wondered aloud if the young woman had dyed her hair and painted her nails to match her tie-dyed T-shirt.

  Ronnie Catelli, a cub reporter Noelia knew Kelly had spoken to months earlier, entered the room. He’d been keen to write an article about the three brides who’d returned a wedding dress to Wedding Bliss, claiming the dress was cursed. As it happened, the story had a happy ending, and Ronnie had actually written an “all’s well that ends well” kind of piece. Not the sensational read he’d initially been looking for, but the young man seemed happy enough.

  He held out his hand and greeted Kelly warmly. “Ms. Andrews, what can we do for you today?”

  Noelia remembered Kelly’s warning not to describe what she wanted in a way that would make the enthusiastic reporter think there was a front-page story in the offing.

  Kelly introduced Noelia, who said, “Oh, it’s not terribly important, Ronnie. Kelly thought I might be able to get some information about an accident that happened about three months ago. You see, I’ve been volunteering at the hospital, and I often see a patient there, a Lydia Westbury, who was in a car accident and has remained in a coma.”

  “Oh, that’s very sad,” Ronnie said. “I think I remember that accident—a single vehicle crash on one of the country roads just outside Marina Grove heading to Bar Harbor.”

  “That sounds like the one,” Kelly said, and Noelia wondered if they could milk the information from Ronnie without having to spend time hunting through the newspaper’s archives.

  “I’ve grown quite fond of this young woman and have read that coma patients can still hear things said to them, so I spend a little time each visit just talking to Lydia. I’m hoping that if I have more information about the accident, I might be able to use it to get through to her.”

  “Let me think,” Ronnie said. “Yes, the police believe the driver hit an icy patch and lost control—the weather was pretty bad that night—and she hit a tree head on. She’d been there several hours before a passing motorist saw there’d been an accident and called 911.”

  Noelia was disappointed. “That’s all there was to it?”

  “Well, just between us . . . ” Ronnie took Kelly’s elbow and moved them away from the reception desk. “I heard the cops talking—they said that it looked as though there had been another person in the vehicle, because the passenger door was left wide open, and it couldn’t have happened that way on impact. But no one came forward, and the motorist who found her and the emergency personnel had left so many footprints, it wasn’t possible to tell for sure if there’d been someone else there or not.”

  “My goodness, how horrible to think that someone left this young woman there without getting help for her! The open door could have left her with hypothermia. And no one came forward?” Tears sprang into Noelia’s eyes.

  “Well, Ms. Russo, they would have faced charges of leaving an accident scene and failing to provide aid to the injured driver, among other things. But the police didn’t publicize that because there was no evidence, or at least nothing that I could worm out of them.”

  “Thank you, Ronnie—you’ve been a great help. I’m sure my friend will be able to use this to talk to Lydia,” Kelly said.

  “You’ll let me know if she wakes up?”

  “Of course,” Noelia told him, crossing her fingers behind her back to nullify the promise, although she was sure the news would quickly become public knowledge if Sleeping Beauty woke up.

  They were almost out the door when Ronnie called them back. “One more thing you should know. Seems the young woman had had a terrible fight with her father—Dr. Nathan Westbury—about her plans to marry some young guy he didn’t approve of. The thinking is that she was really upset and that was what caused her to be distracted and lose control on the ice. Although, some folks have whispered that she was so upset, she decided to drive right into that tree and end it all. Can’t imagine how her dad feels if he’s heard that one.”

  • • •

  They had just gotten back into Kelly’s car when Noelia burst into tears. “Oh, Kelly, how awful for Nate if he thinks Lydia was so upset about their argument that she was distracted and went off the road!”

  Kelly handed her tissues from the box on the console and patted her shoulder. “It’s worse still if he’s heard that rumor that she was so upset, she decided to crash her car and end her life.”

  Noelia bit her lip, tears still running down her cheeks. “Do you think that’s why the Cranky Ghost is so angry?”

  Kelly sighed. “Who knows the ways of ghosts? Besides, all this is just gossip, really—for all anyone knows, Lydia could simply have been going too fast, hit ice, and lost control.”

  Blowing her nose and wiping her eyes, Noelia shook her head. “Somehow, none of these scenarios are very comforting. Nate has invited me over to his house tonight, said he had something he had to tell me. I don’t think he wants to talk about Lydia—he said something strange had happened. How on earth can I talk to Nate about this? And yet I think he desperately needs to share his thoughts before the anger consumes him.”

  • • •

  Noelia decided to stop at the store before going to Nate’s place in Bar Harbor instead of driving home, which was on the other side of town. When Nate had called, he asked her to drop by his house on her way home from work—not exactly the romantic date she’d hoped for, but she was looking forward to seeing him.

  The store was quiet, and most of the specialty stores on the street where Wedding Bliss was located were already closed, so she decided she’d spend a few quiet minutes brushing her hair and refreshing her makeup. Whatever Nate wanted, she would at least look her best!

  She was in the middle of applying a cute coral-pink nail polish when
she heard the silver bells herald the arrival of a customer. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” she called, not wanting to go into the store among all those lovely lacy items while her nail polish was still wet. No one answered, and she wondered if maybe Kelly had decided to drop back into the store on her way home.

  But when she stepped back into the main store, she was shocked to see a young woman standing there—dressed in the gorgeous wedding gown that had belonged to Nate’s daughter. It hadn’t even been labeled and put on display yet. The girl had had the nerve to take it out of the protective garment bag that sat on the polished table in the center of the store.

  “Whatever do you think you’re doing?” Noelia exclaimed, but the girl didn’t seem to hear her. She continued to sway this way and that, admiring herself in the long mirror that dominated part of one wall of the store. She’d not even used a fitting room, simply dropped the lovely gown on over her jeans and T-shirt.

  Finally she seemed to come out of the daze enough to notice Noelia. “Oh, my fiancé and I are getting married soon! He’s finally free of a possessive bitch who couldn’t understand that he loved me and didn’t love her . . . This is such a beautiful dress . . . ” She continued to sway dreamlike, moving to music only she could hear, as she admired herself in the mirror. “I am sure my Danny would just love to see me in it.”

  Noelia was flummoxed. What was she to do? The girl didn’t seem to be aware of her surroundings or understand that what she was doing was way outside the boundaries of what was normal behavior. Was it possible she was on drugs?

  “How did you find that dress? It was still in the dress bag,” Noelia said, not sure if the young woman was capable of responding to a question, so she was surprised when she turned to her with a beautiful smile, her eyes glowing. “I have seen this dress before,” was all she said.

  Noelia wanted to ask where she could have seen a dress designed for another bride before, but two things happened simultaneously: Brett Atwell walked in through the front door, and beautiful wedding items began to hurl themselves angrily at the girl in the wedding dress.

  “Oh crap. Not again!” Brett swore as he rushed toward the young woman under siege and tried to protect her as objects flew at her with some force. By now she was on the ground, the beautiful lace skirt of the gown puddled around her, her arms over her face.

  “Make it stop! Please make it stop!” she implored, grabbing at Brett’s knees as he crouched down protectively over her. Many of the flying objects hit Brett, but much of the fury was slamming against the girl. A beaded bridal bag scored a direct hit in her face, while a lacy bra and pants set landed on her head and a velvet ring pillow pushed against her lower face, making her gasp for breath.

  “Do something, Noelia!” Brett shouted above the whirling breeze and the girl’s frightened cries.

  “What in heaven’s name am I supposed to do?” Noelia shouted back, momentarily frozen by memories of the last time she had been the center of such a hurricane of fury. It had been caused by a frustrated, restless spirit. Noelia clapped her hands over her face. Could it be happening all over again?

  With an effort, she pulled herself out of that memory. “Okay, whoever you are, we get the message! Please stop this disruption of our store,” Noelia shouted as loudly as her tense throat would allow.

  The tornado of pretty bridal things continued unabated. Time to bring in the heavy hitters, Noelia thought. “Look, I don’t know what you want, but I am pretty sure Kelly Andrews would help you—but not if you wreck her store!”

  For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a low, eerie, whispering sound, all the flying bridal paraphernalia slowly sank to the floor. Her heart beating like a military drum, Noelia rushed over to where Brett was helping the stranger to her feet.

  “Golly, I never thought I’d see you again!” Brett exclaimed, recognizing the young woman as he held her hands to steady her on her feet.

  She scowled through her tears. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Brett looked puzzled. “Don’t you remember that night? It must have been three or four months ago. The weather was awful, and you were trying to hitch a ride to Bar Harbor. I think I was the only car on the road, and you were pretty grateful for the lift, as I remember.”

  Her pretty face went even paler than before. She snatched her hand away from his and hissed, “I have never seen you before in my life!”

  “Funny, I don’t usually forget a face, but I guess I owe you an apology.” Brett looked even more puzzled and just a bit embarrassed.

  “You’re weird, all of you! And people are right—this store is haunted! What are you? Devil worshippers?” She was screaming at them now and trying to bolt toward the door, hindered by the long wedding dress tangling around her feet.

  Noelia dashed forward, reaching to grab the girl’s arm as she tripped, but the young woman shrieked like a banshee. “Get off me! Don’t touch me!” She lashed out with a fist, catching Noelia in the face with a hard, panicked blow.

  “Take that dress off and get out of this store!” Noelia was shaken, but she wasn’t going to let that dress be stolen.

  The girl yanked at the shoulders of the dress, pulling her arms out and then dropping it on the floor to step out of it. Noelia shuddered as she heard the sound of ripping silk.

  Panicked, the girl lunged toward the door, almost tripping again on the white lace wrapped around her feet. She yanked the door handle open and ran out, sobbing as she rushed down the street. Noelia slumped down on a chair as Brett closed the door and turned to her with concern on his face.

  “Are you okay, Noelia? It looks like you’ll have quite a shiner after that punch she gave you.”

  Noelia wasn’t listening to him. Her attention was riveted on the big curved antique mirror that hung on the tangerine wall, reflecting the interior of the store. Brett turned to see what she was looking at, and they both watched open-mouthed as words appeared in a mist on the shining glass.

  “Don’t ever let that bitch near my daughter’s wedding dress again.”

  Noelia, who thought she’d coped with just about everything life—and the occult—could throw at her, slumped in a faint onto the oriental rug.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh my god, what happened here? Were we robbed?” Kelly’s joy at seeing that her husband had returned sooner than expected was quickly dampened by horror as she saw Noelia’s swollen and bruised face. She grew more horrified as Brett and Noelia took turns relating the events of the afternoon, and looked as if she would faint herself when Noelia told her about the words that had appeared on the mirror.

  “There’s nothing there now,” she said, a mixture of frustration and relief in her voice as she glanced warily over her shoulder at the graceful gilded mirror.

  “No, this odd sort of mist, something like condensation, appeared on the glass.” Noelia shuddered at the memory.

  “It was almost like someone had breathed on the mirror, you know, the way it fogs up. Then the words appeared. Just for a few seconds, and then they faded away again. If we hadn’t both seen it, I would have doubted my own eyes.” Brett hugged Kelly close to him, looking shaken. Noelia knew that Kelly’s husband had yet to be convinced about the supernatural forces that seemed to find his wife, and remembered that she, too, had felt the same way once.

  But now she was a believer. That didn’t mean she didn’t wish it would all go away, and while she admired Kelly tremendously for her courage, she also felt sorry for her, because she knew the price she paid for the gift—or curse.

  “Tell me again what the words were.” Kelly’s face was pale as she plied Noelia with more coffee. “Your poor face! Oh, Noelia, I hate that this is happening and that you’re caught up in it.”

  Noelia looked at Brett, silently asking him to be the one to repeat the chilling words.

  He nodded. “It looked as though someone had breathed on the mirror to fog it and then written the words: ‘Don’t ever let that bitch near my dau
ghter’s wedding dress again.’”

  Kelly sat up straight. “Well, I know it’s pretty awful and all, but that gives us a clue as to who the ghost is. Whose wedding gown was it again, Noelia?”

  Noelia bit her lip. She was holding back tears and really wished the whole affair would just go away. “It’s the one that Nate Westbury brought in—it was his daughter’s wedding dress, but the wedding was called off. The daughter was in an accident—you met her, Kelly. She’s the one at the hospital they call the Sleeping Beauty.”

  Kelly hugged her arms across her chest and shivered visibly. “Brett, Noelia has been volunteering at the hospital, and she’s visited this young woman who is in a coma. The doctors don’t know why she won’t wake up. They say there’s no medical reason. The other day I met Noelia for coffee, and we stopped in to see her—her name is Lydia.

  “I . . . I saw a ghost in the room, an angry woman who told us that Lydia is afraid to wake up and that we should figure out why.”

  Both Kelly and Noelia turned to Brett, waiting for his reaction. It wasn’t long coming. He walked over to the store window, and then running his hand through his hair, turned to them and scowled. “Kelly, I know how you feel about having a duty to use what you think is a gift. But it’s dangerous, honey. Someone could get hurt.”

  His glance rested on Noelia, and she bit her lip. “Noelia, you have got to stop encouraging her in this.”

  “That’s not fair, Brett!” Kelly cried.

  “Look, you two, this is no way to spend the first few hours that Brett has been home!” Noelia told them firmly. “Both of you go and get some dinner, then sit and catch up on your honeymoon.”

  Brett laughed. “Always the wise one, Noelia,” he said as he dropped a kiss on Kelly’s forehead and went to get her coat.

  “Noelia, I think Brett should drive you home so you can get some rest and get over the shock you’ve had.” Kelly raised a hand to stem Noelia’s protests. “No, I’m serious. We don’t want you getting ill, and I know how terrified you must have been.”