“But your apartment is so small. Where will you put him?” Erna asked.
“On my couch. He won’t mind,” May said, glaring at Erna as if daring her to add any more objections.
“Whatever you think best,” Erna said, dropping her eyes.
Anna nodded. It seemed a practical solution to her. Sherman looked far too upset to remain alone in the house tonight, and none of them were going to volunteer to stay in this spooky old place with him.
“Well, if that’s settled, let’s go, Tiernay,” Anna said. “You look like you’re just about dead on your feet.” She retrieved the leather pouch the young woman had slung over the back of her chair and hung it over her shoulder. “You can pick up the rest of your séance stuff tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say,” Tiernay replied, rising unsteadily to her feet.
Anna slid a steadying hand under Tiernay’s elbow and turned to her friends. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at May and Erna. They had to hold a war council to figure out how to fix things with Sherman. Erna nodded, and Anna led the tottering young woman to the door.
“So, what was that all about?” Anna asked as soon as she and Tiernay had fastened their seat belts after climbing into the car. She put the VW sports car in gear, checked over her shoulder, and made a U-turn back toward town. “You were supposed to help Sherman tonight, not terrify him. Now he’s afraid to stay alone in his own house.”
Tiernay laid her head back against the headrest, allowing the air pouring through the windows to blow across her face and tousle her hair. “I don’t know what happened. I told you, I don’t remember anything after I saw the fog coming through the doorway.”
“You’re kidding, right? Come on – Sherman’s not here – you can tell me the truth. How’d you do the fog, by the way?”
“Greg did it. He rigged a machine inside the black cabinet in the dining room. I activated it with a remote and made the rapping noise on the table, but that’s it. That’s all I did. Everything else was one hundred percent genuine.” She closed her eyes.
Anna gritted her teeth, but didn’t say another word until she pulled up in front of the young woman’s home. Tiernay and Greg lived in a residential neighbourhood one block north of the Healing Hands store. Their house was a two-storey timber frame with three naked poplars vying for space in the stony front yard. Anna turned off the ignition and glanced at Tiernay, who drooped against the seat. Anna had earned her living as an actress for a couple of years after her marriage to Jack. As far as she could tell, if Tiernay were play-acting, she was seriously committed to her role.
“What can I say? How can I believe such a fantastic story?” Anna asked.
Tiernay opened her eyes to gaze sullenly through the windshield. “Believe what you like. You’ll see. I only hope it isn’t too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“The evil I sensed following you. Maybe it was Evelyn’s spirit searching for her murderer. We’ve got to help her before she gets desperate and takes matters into her own hands.”
Anna paused to think. Why was Tiernay so insistent in maintaining her ruse about a ghost? Of course, she had faked the entire séance. What did she have to gain by withholding the truth? It just didn’t make any sense.
The porch light was on, and Anna nodded toward it. “Is Greg home to help you?”
“I don’t know,” the young woman said. “I’ll try calling him on my cell.” She pulled the phone from her bag and punched in the numbers. The phone rang several times before it was answered.
“Hi, it’s me. No, the séance didn’t go well. I’m not sure. Listen, I’m out front in the car, and I’m feeling pretty shaky. Anna drove me home. Can you come out and help me? Thanks.” Tiernay tossed the phone back into her bag and covered her eyes with one hand. “My head is killing me.”
“What about the rest of the illusion? The music? How did you do that?”
Tiernay uncovered her face to glare at Anna. “I’m not going to keep repeating myself. Everything except the fog and the knocking was real. I had nothing to do with the music.”
Anna wanted to shake the petulant expression right off Tiernay’s face, but the front door opened in the nick of time and Greg came bounding down the porch steps in a green silk shirt and tight-fitting jeans. He looked anxiously toward them as he padded barefoot to the curb. Tiernay swung the car door open to greet him.
“What happened?” he asked, bracing a hand against the hood and leaning in toward her.
“I never got the chance to deliver our message. Evelyn’s spirit was still in the house. She got past all of my defences,” she said in a plaintive voice.
Greg shook his head. “How is that possible?”
“I’ve never dealt with a haunting before. She’s so angry, Greg. I wasn’t expecting it. She asked Sherman to avenge her murder.” Greg whistled, and Tiernay nodded. “That’s why she’s still inside the house. Now that I know how strong she is, I won’t make the mistake of confronting her on her own territory again.” She held out her hand to her brother. “I’m so drained. I need to sleep. Help me inside, will you?”
“Sure, honey,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her out of the car. Once she was standing on the curb beside him, he swept her up into his arms, and she nestled her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Glancing back at Anna, Greg said, “Wait for me until I get her settled. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” Anna called through the window.
Cutting across the yard, Greg bounded up the front steps and whisked Tiernay inside. Anna got out of the car and locked the doors, leaning against it and waiting for Greg’s return. If she couldn’t get any information out of Tiernay, maybe she could worm the truth out of him.
Biding her time, Anna stared up at the night sky. The clouds had parted, and there was a sprinkling of stars across the firmament, but the temperature had dropped and the wind was up. Anna blew on her chilled fingers and tucked them under her arms. She wished that Greg would hurry; it was getting late, and she had to get up early for work the next day.
He came out of the house ten minutes later dressed in a knee-length black wool coat and a black watchman’s cap, a natty tweed scarf tied around his neck. Anna was beginning to tremble from the cold by then. He trotted across the yard and was at her side in seconds.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Tiernay wanted me to help her with a cleanse to get rid of any residual energy from the possession. Can I give you a lift home?” Noticing that Anna was shaking, he put an arm around her waist and rubbed her back.
“Th-thanks,” Anna replied, her teeth chattering. “Any longer and I was going to get back inside the car and turn on the heater.” She dropped the keys into his hand and waited for him to unlock the doors before climbing inside. Greg turned the heater on full blast before peeling away from the curb.
“Where do you live?” he asked.
“At the end of Wistler Road, just on the way out of town,” she said, stretching her toes toward the lukewarm air blowing on her feet. Greg executed a sharp U-turn and headed in the opposite direction.
Anna peeked at his face as he concentrated on the road. The black beard stubble, combined with the wavy hair sticking out from under his cap, gave him a roguish look. A whiff of musky cologne reached her nose, and she sniffed appreciatively. Charlie didn’t wear scent, but it smelled good on Greg.
“Feeling any warmer?”
“Starting to. Thanks. So tell me, what’s the deal with the séance?”
He turned and smiled at her, his warm brown eyes glinting with humour. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you, Anna?” She stared at him, waiting for him to confide in her, but he shrugged instead. “Things didn’t go as planned.”
“I’ll say. Tiernay scared Sherman silly. Why’d she do it?”
“Evelyn had a different message in mind, I guess.”
Anna paused, backpedalling mentally. She hadn’t realized that Greg believed in Tiernay
’s magical powers. She was treading on shaky ground here.
“Do you believe that Tiernay was really possessed?” she asked slowly.
“I’ve seen some freaky things happen around my sister. She is seriously gifted. Believe me.” Anna remained silent, frowning out the windshield as their headlights swept up the road. “You don’t believe in ghosts?” Greg asked, glancing at her. “I’m surprised to hear it. I thought you were a good, church-going Catholic.”
“What’s that got to do with it?” Anna asked, her eyebrows arching. “Sure, I believe in an afterlife, but not in ghosts. Not ghosts strong enough to rap on tables or possess people, anyway. Otherwise, the world would be knee-deep in them with all the people who died violently or unhappily, right? That just makes common sense.”
Greg shook his head and looked back at the road. “I don’t have a clue how it works, Anna. All I know is, if you’re open to the possibility of a spiritual world, you have to admit that hauntings and possessions can happen. How else can you explain all the ghost stories we still hear, even in our modern, scientific world? Besides, Evelyn’s manifestation may have had something to do with you and your friends being there tonight.”
He turned onto Wistler Road and was rapidly approaching her house. Distracted, Anna pointed at it through the windshield.
“It’s there, the bungalow with the wood siding and the ivy.”
Greg nodded and turned into her driveway, pulling up close to the garage. He shifted the car into park and let it idle. It was cozy with the heater whirring away, and the fatigue of a long day was catching up with Anna. She sighed and turned to Greg, studying his face in the garage light she had left on.
“What did you mean when you said that the three of us being there tonight might have had something to do with Evelyn’s manifestation?”
Greg rested his hand on the back of her chair. “Ever been part of a witches’ coven?”
“What? Of course not. Don’t be silly.”
He shook his head. “I’m not being silly, Anna. Tiernay thinks that you ladies have something special. Maybe you don’t feel it when you’re on your own, but when the three of you get together with Tiernay as your focus ‒ boom!” His long, eloquent fingers drew a mini-explosion in the air.
She laughed. “That’s crazy.”
Instead of answering, Greg slipped his hand into her hair and let it flow through his fingers. Tensing, Anna stopped laughing to watch him. He removed his hand from her hair, letting it rest upon her shoulder.
“I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you,” he murmured with a mischievous smile. “You have such rich, dark hair – I just had to touch it. And your cheekbones and jaw line are gorgeous.” He traced a finger along her jaw. “I’d love to draw you sometime.”
“You mean like the way you drew your sister?” Anna asked, gently pulling away. “You did those nude ink drawings of her, didn’t you?”
“Guilty,” he said, returning his hand to her shoulder. “Does the naked body make you uncomfortable?”
“Sometimes. It has a lot to do with who’s naked.”
He snorted and put his hand back on the steering wheel. “That’s honest, anyway. You know, Constable Walker had a talk with me earlier. He wanted to make sure that I knew about your corporal.”
“Sergeant.”
“Sergeant. It’s a long-distance romance, I gather?”
“That’s right.”
His chocolate-brown eyes were bottomless as he gazed into hers. “Long-distance romances can be pretty lonely, Anna. I plan to be in Crane for a long time.”
Anna unfastened her seatbelt and reached for the door handle. “I’m kind of a solitary person, Greg. I’m doing just fine.” She opened the door and climbed out, turning back to look at him.
“Well, you know where to find me if things change.”
She shook her head and closed the door. As Anna circled around the front of the car, Greg touched two fingers to his lips and raised them in a salute. She shook her head again and followed the driveway to the front porch. Waiting until she had her key in the lock, Greg tapped the horn softly and backed down the driveway. She waved with one hand and watched him drive away.
Anna shivered in the frosty night air. Thank heaven she had Charlie to keep her on the straight and narrow. Greg was awfully tempting with his deep, rich voice and seductive eyes, but she’d never been one for one-night stands, even when she’d been an inexperienced young woman released from the confines of small-town life into the big, bad city of Toronto. She had grown up a lot since then, but, oh, it would have been easy to have made a fool of herself with him tonight. Still, she barely knew Greg. Muttering a grateful prayer for keeping him at a safe distance, Anna let herself into the house and bolted the door.
Chapter Nine
“Thanks for letting me stay, May,” Sherman said, taking the blanket and pillow from her and setting them down on the couch. He hovered beside it, uncomfortable now that he was alone with her in the small apartment.
“That’s okay,” May said. “I wouldn’t have stayed at your house with Evelyn’s ghost traipsing around, either. Can I get you a cup of tea? I’ve got camomile. It’ll help you sleep.”
He shook his head.
“How about a glass of wine? I’ve got a nice red open.”
He glanced up at her in surprise. The whole town knew that he sometimes had a drink too many. Most people wouldn’t have offered him alcohol under the circumstances.
May smiled. “Come on, hang your coat up in the closet and kick off your shoes. I’ll get the wine and meet you back at the couch.” Sailing into the kitchen, she pulled glasses from the cupboard and retrieved the bottle of wine from her pantry. The pantry door was just about closed again when she reached back inside and grabbed a box of ginger cookies. Shuffling back to the couch, she set the wine, glasses, and cookies down on the coffee table before sitting down beside Sherman. She poured two generous glasses as he placed his second shoe on the floor and handed him a glass.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” she said with a smile. “Earl and I liked to have a drink in the evening before going to bed. Cheers!” She held up her glass, and they clinked their glasses together. Sherman took a deep gulp while Erna picked up the box of cookies.
“Can I let you in on a secret?” she asked.
“Sure,” Sherman said, feeling even more uneasy.
“I know it’s not very sophisticated, but I like to dunk ginger cookies in my wine. Ever try it? They taste great.” She held the box out to Sherman, who stared at her like she was crazy before reaching inside for a cookie. May helped herself to one and picked up her glass. Together, they carefully dipped their cookies into the wine. Sherman studied his for a moment while May popped hers into her mouth. Taking a bite, Sherman chewed the fragment slowly while May watched him.
“Good, eh?”
Sherman grinned and took a second bite while May reached for another cookie.
Anna called Erna from work the following morning to report that both Tiernay and Greg were sticking with their possession story, but suggested that the three of them should meet with Tiernay anyway. Erna said she’d walk over to Healing Hands after lunch to talk with the young woman, and would get back to Anna. When Erna called later that afternoon, she said that Tiernay had a massage at seven, but could with meet them at May’s store at six.
Erna, May, and Tiernay were already there when Anna arrived at the appointed time, Erna sitting on the stool behind the cash register while May and Tiernay leaned against the counter. The four women quickly began rehashing the events of the previous evening. As Anna expected, Tiernay insisted that she had been possessed at the séance. Erna nodded thoughtfully, while May rolled her eyes.
Tiernay caught the scepticism in May’s face. “You’re not a believer, are you, May?”
“Course not,” the older woman said.
“But you went to that séance in New Orleans.”
“Only for entertainment. I didn’t believe that the spir
it of a dead confederate soldier was actually speaking to us through that phoney-baloney medium.” She looked at Anna. “You’re awfully quiet. You don’t believe that Tiernay was really possessed, do you?”
Anna shrugged, preferring to appear undecided. If Tiernay thought that she and Erna were open-minded about spiritualism, the young woman might let down her guard and reveal what she was really up to. Tiernay looked at Anna in surprise.
“You’re not serious? It’s all a load of bull kaflunkers,” May said, her face reddening.
“How’s Sherman doing?” Anna asked, trying to deflect the explosion she knew was building inside her friend.
May audibly exhaled. “He’s okay. We killed a bottle of wine last night, so he was finally able to sleep. I made breakfast for us this morning and told him that he could stick around for a few days, if he wanted to. I haven’t seen him since.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re looking after him. He looked so shocked last night,” Erna said. “I think that he’s still very vulnerable about his wife’s death.”
“What about his wife’s killer?” Tiernay asked. The conversation came to a dead halt as Anna, May, and Erna turned to look at her, Tiernay staring defiantly back at them.
“You’re not seriously suggesting that Evelyn was murdered, are you? For Pete’s sake, the police thought it was a straightforward accident at the time,” May said, growing excited again. “The town office is old, and the basement steps are steep. Evelyn’s fall was an accident. The only mystery about her death was what Evelyn was doing down there.”
“May’s right,” Erna added. “There wasn’t a hint of gossip at the time. It would have been all over town if her death had seemed suspicious.”
“What about security cameras?” Tiernay asked. “At least we would know who was in the office with her when she died.”
Town Haunts Page 6