On his return, he opened the window. A gentle breeze swept in. Andrea, dressed in her nightgown, watched him from the bed. His eyes traveled back to her, and she could see the way he admired her by the look on his face.
The cool evening was comfortable for sleeping, but Andrea lay awake for a long time, thinking about what they were going to do the next night. This was what she’d planned and waited for. With one more glance at John, who slept like a baby, she finally fell asleep and began to dream.
Once again, she went back in time. She wore a full-length dress, and her hair had been pulled up and back into a bun. The ring sparkled on her finger, just like in the last dream. This time she wore a wide-brimmed hat with a small bunch of flowers on one side of it and a silk ribbon around the crown
The same handsome man from her previous dream held her by the arm as she stepped up into a carriage. Smiling, he sat next to her. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, then leaned over to kiss her. She could feel excitement course through her entire body as she looked into his beautiful green eyes. Sensual feelings rose when he kissed her, sending heat down her hips and thighs. He ravished her with kisses, his strong hands caressing places only meant for John, but with a gentle touch — a touch that set her on fire.
The two horses in front of the carriage became nervous. They moved their heads back and forth and pawed the ground. Suddenly, Andrea saw what had made them so uneasy — the silhouette of a woman stood at the side of the carriage. Andrea couldn’t see her face in the darkness.
She strained her eyes, trying to focus on the features of this seemingly uninvited person. Something of a whisper came from the woman, followed by words spoken so softly that Andrea couldn’t make them out. Then the shadowy figure began to cry. A sound all too familiar. Could this dark female figure be Anna?
Frightened, she tried to get out of the carriage but couldn’t move. An invisible force held her in the seat. Numbness overcame her as she struggled to move. Even her arms were glued tightly to her sides, her hands clasped together in her lap. The fear within her became more intense.
Suddenly, she bolted up in bed, trembling all over.
John woke up and raised his head. “What’s the matter?” he asked as he rubbed his eyes with his fists.
She didn’t answer him. He turned over and reached up to turn on the light. “Did you hear something?” He looked around the room. The only movement came from the curtains waving slightly in the soft breeze.
She made light of things. “I guess I’m just a little jumpy. It was nothing, John. Go back to sleep.” She didn’t want anything to change John’s decision about going to the cemetery, so she thought it best not to tell him about the dream. She lay awake, listening to the sounds in the house thinking about the dream and Anna’s grave.
Chapter Twelve
The alarm went off. With a wrenching jolt, John sat up in bed. He hit the button on the top of the clock. “Why does that thing have to ring so loud? We should be able to turn it down somehow. That alarm could wake the dead.” As soon as he said it, he wanted to take the remark back.
Throwing the blanket to the side, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stormed out of the room. On the way to the bathroom, he stopped long enough to listen, thinking he might hear something — the crying, or maybe the windows and doors closing and opening. Nothing would have upset him more than to have that awful cold and frost return to the house.
Closing the bathroom door, he turned the shower on but stood back a moment to listen once more before getting under the flow of water.
Andrea relaxed when she heard the water running in the bathroom. She knew John was on edge. She would have to be very careful with him, or he would change his mind about going to the cemetery. It was not going to be easy for her either. She was just as nervous as he was.
She got out of bed and went down to the kitchen, thinking about the wonderful man in her dreams again. And the woman… was it really Anna? Why would she appear in my dream?
Although the dreams seemed very real, Andrea knew they weren’t. But thinking about them made her feel good. Tingling sensations went through her body, and she felt a sense of tranquility like she hadn’t experienced in a while. Memories of the dark man — his green eyes, the touch of his hands, the smell of his cologne — pulled her back into the dream, if only in her mind. She sat at the kitchen table, savoring every thought about him.
John came down to the kitchen and asked, “Is the coffee ready?” Andrea didn’t answer him. “Andrea, is there coffee? Hello…? Are you awake?”
She turned her head slowly toward him and looked at him as though she didn’t even know he had come into the room. Then her eyes widened. “What did you say?”
John shook his head. “You better go back to bed. Get more sleep, Andrea. I asked you twice if the coffee was done, but never mind now.” He took a cup from the cupboard and proceeded to pour the brew. “You want some?”
“No, thank you.” She stood up, walked to the sink, and poured herself a cup. She put in two heaping teaspoons of sugar and began to stir.
John watched her. “Since when do you use sugar in your coffee?” he asked.
She took a sip of the coffee and spat it out into the sink. “You’re right, I don’t.” She dumped the whole cup down the drain. As though nothing had happened, she went to the coffee pot and poured herself another cup. “I don’t know why I did that,” she told him. “I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”
“I know you don’t want to hear it, Andrea, but don’t you think things are getting just a little out of hand around here? I think it’s making you crazy.”
She sat quietly, drinking her coffee. She spoke as though what he’d said didn’t even register on her. “I have some errands to run today, and then I’ll get things ready for tonight. If I have time, I’ll lie down for a while this afternoon. I feel tired, but I have so much to do today I don’t know if I’ll have time for rest. Don’t worry, I’ll be just fine. I’m ready for tonight. You can count on it.”
John’s expression turned solemn. “Are we still going grave digging tonight? I suppose you’re going to insist on it, aren’t you?”
“You agreed, remember? We are going, and I don’t want you going back on your word. Tonight, John, tonight.”
“I’m well aware of your determination, and that does not make me happy, but I’ll be home early to help load the car with the tools we need. I still think this is foolish, but it’s your game and I’m going along with it.” He swiped the side of his head with an open hand. “One more thing — if we have too much trouble digging into that hard ground, we give it up and come home, understood?”
Andrea didn’t think they would have any trouble, and told him so. John shook his head and went upstairs to prepare for work. As soon as he left the house, she dressed and got ready to leave. She had many things to do. Things she had neglected since they moved in — dry cleaning to pick up, mail to be posted, and grocery shopping.
On the way into town, she found herself humming a waltz — the same melody that had played in her dream. She also remembered it from her childhood, playing at the skating rink. She pictured herself on the dance floor with her arm on the shoulder of that fantastic man, her hand held tightly in his as they circled around the large room. The fantasy continued until she reached the town square.
She drove by the stone church on her way to the post office. She realized they hadn’t yet registered in the church, but that would have to wait until another day. She would finish her errands and go straight home as fast as she could. This would be a big night for her. Her excitement rose to a new height. At last she would learn the truth about Anna’s burial. Would they find Anna in the grave or not? They would soon find out.
Andrea arrived home right at noon. After she put the groceries away, she poured herself a glass of iced tea and went out to the patio for a short rest. The aroma of flowers filled the air. It was sunny and warm. Soft, fluffy clouds dotted the skyline.
The maple trees along the property line were in full foliage, and the flowerbeds were in bloom.
She relaxed, her thoughts once again turning to the cemetery. She could picture it clearly — darkness of the night, the full moon, the howling of a dog in the distance, the eerie hoot of an owl in a nearby tree… No, nothing was going to frighten her out of doing this. She had to stop thinking about it. It was time to get busy with others things.
She went to the kitchen and turned on the radio. She tuned in her favorite station but heard nothing but static. She turned the dial back and forth only to find most of the stations were the same. The only thing she could find was a quiz game show. Listening to the chatter kept her mind occupied as she went through the motions of fixing herself a small salad to eat.
After lunch, she climbed the stairs with a little bounce to her step. Sunshine from the long windows at the end of the hallway danced across the floor, promising a good day. She set jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers out on the bed. On the top shelf of the closet, she found their old heavy-duty plaid blanket—a real must in the middle of the night. It had come in handy many times on camping trips and other such outings.
Before closing the closet, she paused long enough to look at the photograph and make a silent promise. I’ll find out what happened to you and help you, I swear. Gently, she set it back in the wooden box.
Down in the kitchen, she took out the flashlights and a thermos and set them on the counter. It could be a long night, so she would take along plenty of hot coffee. Her expectations grew with every minute that passed. She couldn’t have been more ready for whatever they would discover. They would find an empty casket in that grave, she had no doubt in her mind.
****
John prepared to leave his office, but before doing so he told his secretary he wouldn’t be coming in the next morning. He gave her instructions for the work he wanted done, the calls to be made, and the mail to be posted. Then he said he would call her sometime before noon tomorrow.
He sighed. His own office, and already he had taken more days off than he had in the entire last year. At least he didn’t have a boss looking at his performance, and the work was getting done.
He arrived home at three. As soon as he walked in the door, Andrea suggested he get the tools from the shed and load them into the car. It hadn’t been his intention to jump right into preparation for that night. He turned and faced her. “I could use some rest. I’ll put that stuff in the car, but then I’m going to lie down for a while.”
He changed clothes, came down to the kitchen, and opened a can of cold beer, which he took with him out to the shed. The afternoon sun had heated things up. He took his shirt off before hauling the tools to the car. It didn’t take long for him to fill the trunk and the back seat with everything they would need — shovels, a pick, lanterns, a gas-powered weed trimmer, and some rope. He left enough room for the other things Andrea had laid out — jackets, blanket, the thermos, and other necessary items.
When he’d finished, he went inside. Tired, he climbed the stairs. Andrea left him alone, knowing he needed the rest before nightfall. She went to the sofa in the living room. Before lying down, she turned the radio on. The station came in clear, no static like before. With a pillow behind her head, she made herself comfortable.
The music relaxed her. As she became drowsy, the music began to fade away, and in its place came a muffled sound. The change took place gradually, so she didn’t notice it right away. She could hear a voice emerging. At first it was nothing more than a mumble, but then it became clearer, penetrating the silence in the house.
She opened her eyes. An ugly, deep voice came from the radio. She stayed motionless. The evil tone of the voice could have been something right out of the depths of hell. “Andrea, listen to me.”
She put her hand over her mouth. Tears filled her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling. Frightened out of her mind, she couldn’t even scream. Again, the evil thing on the radio called out to her. “Andreaaaaa. I want you. You will come to me.”
Her heart beat so fast and hard she thought it would explode. Her hand tightened against her mouth, and she shook all over. Finally, she gathered enough courage to sit up. Slowly, she scanned the room. Surely there had to be someone in the living room with her, but she saw nothing out of place.
The voice stopped, and the soft music returned. She ran to the foyer, then up the stairs as fast as she could. As she approached the bedroom, she yelled, “John!” Her voice trembled as she called out.
Startled by her call, John rose from the bed and hurried to her as she entered the room. He threw his arms around her and held her trembling body. “What’s the matter? What happened?”
Near hysteria, she looked into his eyes. “I heard this awful, evil voice on the radio. He… he called out my name, and…”
“What are you talking about, Andrea?” He took her by the hand. “Come on. We’re going downstairs. I want to hear this.”
“It’s gone,” she told him. “It stopped.”
He kept going as if he hadn’t heard her. He looked around the living room as Andrea held tightly to his arm. The radio still played soft music. John went over to it and turned the dial back and forth. There was nothing but the usual broadcasting on all of the stations. No static, no evil voice. “Were you sleeping when you heard this voice?”
Still shaking, she said, “Not really. I was just dozing a little, but I wasn’t asleep.” She went to the sofa and sat down. Tears ran down her cheeks. “I know what I heard! It was not a dream.”
He sat next to her and tried to comfort her. “Take it easy, babe. Maybe we should call off this crazy trip to the cemetery tonight. You seem to be pretty shaken up.”
“No! We are going, John. It’s more important now than ever before that we find out all we can about Anna, and that means we start with our plans for tonight. I know something terrible happened to her, and we have to find out what it was.”
It was already seven. Andrea ended the dispute by saying she would fix them something to eat. Leaving the living room, she went out to the kitchen. John followed her. “Andrea, you have been so obsessed with this. I think you’re having nightmares about it. I want to know — are you all right?”
She remained quiet as she went to the refrigerator. She fumbled through the shelves and drawers, only to come up with some luncheon meats and pickles. “I’ll make us sandwiches.”
John sat at the table, watching her. “You’re not yourself. I wish you would listen to reason. What we are going to do tonight is pretty bizarre. I don’t understand why you need to do this. It’s against the law, you know.”
She let out a sigh. “John, don’t start again. Please! You said you would go with me and do this tonight, so let it go.”
Just then, the phone rang, and John didn’t have a chance to say another word. Andrea heard him say hello to his sister Peg and knew he would stay calm as he talked to her. John stayed on the phone with his sister for almost a half-hour.
Time dragged that evening. It seemed like an eternity waiting for the hours to pass. John went upstairs to lie down while Andrea stayed in the living room trying to concentrate on a TV program. At eleven-thirty, she went to the kitchen to make a large pot of coffee. John came downstairs as she poured the coffee into the thermos. He made one last attempt to change her mind. “Well, babe, this is not going to be any fun, you know. I realize how much you want to find out about this woman, and I have to admit I’m a bit curious about her myself, but don’t you think this is going a bit too far? I mean, digging up the remains of a woman who lived so many years ago… Just think about it, Andrea.”
“John, I am not going to change my mind. This is the only way. We have to do this.”
There was no convincing her, so John just shut up. They went upstairs to change into the clothes Andrea had put out for them to wear. Within fifteen minutes, they were in the car and backing out of the driveway, on their way to the old cemetery.
Chapter Thirteen
The spaces between the streetlights on the roads out of town swallowed them like a deep, black pool. Occasionally they passed a farm lit by pole lamps. The moon shone down, casting shadows across the open fields, making everything seem as though spotlighted on a stage. John drove slowly, paying close attention to the signs. Even though they had traveled these roads in the light of day, it all looked different at night. It would have been very easy to make a wrong turn.
Andrea opened her window. The sounds of crickets and frogs traveled across the shadowy land, in full harmony with the earth. The cloudless sky, filled with brilliant stars, helped light the way. Trees swayed with a soft whisk of the wind.
Finally, with the headlights on high, they spotted the rusted fence at the entrance to the old cemetery. As John pulled up to it, he turned the headlights off but left the parking lights on. He stopped in the same place as before to avoid getting stuck in the high growth of grass and weeds. There was no telling what might be beneath all that heavy foliage.
Flashlights lay on the passenger side floor. He reached down and took one of them with him as he emerged. They both walked to the back of the car, where John opened the trunk to retrieve the tools. He started complaining as he lifted the shovel out and set it down. “This is crazy. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this, Andrea. I just hope we can get this stuff back through this overgrown excuse of a cemetery. I don’t want a lot of trips back and forth.”
She would not argue with him, so she said nothing. All she cared about was that they were there, and soon she would know the truth about Anna’s so-called burial.
What Happened to Anna? Page 14