by Tony Martin
Bethany studied Joshua’s face for a moment. “I sure hope so. You look tired.”
“Bethany, don’t worry about me,” said Joshua. “We’re taking the right steps.”
“I’m just ready to have the old you back.”
“The old me is on his way,” said Joshua. “Can we change the subject?”
“Are you ready to preach tonight?”
“Rarin’ to go,” said Joshua.
The two ate the rest of the meal in silence.
Joshua’s Sunday night sermon was much better. He saw Bethany beaming affirmation from her spot on the third pew. Joshua knew he was disorganized and flat Sunday morning, and resolved that afternoon not to let it happen again. He spent most of his time reviewing and polishing his message, and delivered it with conviction. He took his spot at the front of the church with relief, as his people came by to speak.
Bud Michaels shook his hand, thanked him for the “good message,” and said, “Can I talk to you for just a minute before you leave?”
“Sure,” said Joshua. His stomach did a quick roll. He’d been in the ministry long enough to know that these types of conversations were seldom good. Bud was chairman of the deacons. But Joshua knew Bud was a good man, and would have Joshua’s best interests at heart.
After Joshua finished the “greeting” ritual, he and Bud went to the pastor’s study. “This won’t take long,” he told Bethany, who seemed content chatting with friends.
Bud closed the door to the office, and they both sat.
“Josh, I know you and the Tracys are helping in that situation with Meredith Dubose,” Bud began.
Joshua nodded. “Yes, we are. She’s dealing with some delayed grief from the death of her parents, and the Tracys have asked that I help with counseling or whatever.”
“I understand,” said Bud. “And Joshua, I’m not about to tell my pastor his business. But Friday morning I was going out 187 to my mother’s house to take her some insurance paperwork. I saw Meredith coming out of the drive to the Dubose place. I knew she was supposed to be staying with the Tracys. And, just as I passed the drive and had rounded that next curve, I saw you coming out, too.”
Joshua hoped his face didn’t betray what he was feeling. His mind racing, he started formulating a response. Bud didn’t give him the opportunity.
“Josh, relax,” he said. “I know that anything happening between you and that young lady is out of the question. She’s a good girl, and you’re a man of integrity. But it just doesn’t look right for the two of you to be at the mansion alone – I’m guessing y’all were alone?”
“Yes,” said Joshua.
“Just be careful.” Bud smiled. “And be thankful it was me who saw y’all and not someone else. You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t talk this up. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Joshua knew that Bud meant what he said, “Bud, thank you. I can assure you that we ended up at the mansion totally unaware the other was going to be there.”
“I know that,” said Bud. He grinned. “Just imagine, though, what would happen if Violet Dale had seen you.”
“Oh, Lordy,” said Joshua, in mock horror. “It’d be all over town by sundown that the preacher was cheating on his wife.”
“It sure might,” said Bud. “Anyway, that’s all. Just a friendly head’s up.”
“I appreciate it,” said Joshua. “It’s all about not giving the appearance of evil, and we’re just in a day when people expect the worst.”
Bud rose. “Afraid so. You take care.”
“I will.”
The two men shook hands. Bethany was waiting outside Joshua’s office as Bud left.
“Everything OK?” she asked.
“Yeah, fine,” Joshua said.
Bethany didn’t pursue it until they got in their car. “What did Bud want?” she asked.
Joshua had already formulated his answer. “Just some gossip that we need to head off at the pass. I’m not really able to talk about it yet – it’s confidential. But nothing’s going to come of it.”
This was not untrue, but it was evasive. Bethany seemed content to let it rest. “It’s just church, isn’t it?” she said as they drove away.
“Yeah, it’s just church,” said Joshua. “It’s always something. But -” and he gave her leg a squeeze, “this is a normal something. No ghosts here.”
Bethany laughed. “I never would have dreamed I’d be married to someone like Joshua Franklin Nix, Fearless Ghost Hunter.”
“That’s a title I plan to drop, real soon,” said Joshua, hoping it would be so.
Joshua went to bed that night mulling over what Bud Michaels said. Joshua was caught – but the irony was that he’d been caught doing nothing. Still, there was that sticky issue of appearances. He could not give the appearance of anything even remotely immoral happening. So, he realized, he would have to take steps to put as much distance between himself and Meredith as possible – certainly not being alone with her.
Only one problem, Joshua thought. I sort of like being with her.
Joshua drifted off to sleep with one final realization: Am I seeing what kind of person I really am?
Chapter Twelve – Help Arrives
Joshua sat at the desk in his study. He found himself full of self-loathing this Monday morning. He couldn’t accept how he was feeling about Meredith – in a perverse way, he was thankful that Bud Michaels had seen him leaving the Dubose mansion. He took it as a wake-up call, a needed check in his spirit.
Joshua tried to be self-analytical. Meredith was thirteen years his junior. She was, frankly, gorgeous. Truthfully, Joshua felt no real physical attraction toward her (at least, that’s what he tried to believe), although there was the troubling, obvious fact that she was pretty.
Hoping that there was nothing so base as pure male lust simmering, Joshua wondered how he might classify his feelings. He knew that he’d never be unfaithful to Bethany.
But it occurred to him, as he idly rearranged unopened mail on his desk, that it was possible to be mentally unfaithful to Bethany without being physically unfaithful. Meredith was an obsession, but he couldn’t pinpoint why. Was this some sort of emotional neediness on his part? Had he developed some “rescuing” component of his nature that had been dormant?
Joshua did realize that Bethany deserved every bit of her husband, and right now, there was, in an undeniable way, another woman.
What to do? Joshua was disgusted with himself and this whole situation. He felt that he’d boxed himself in, that he had invited trouble by getting himself involved, and now trouble was personified in one Meredith Dubose. Separate from the inexplicable events of the last several days, he felt that Meredith would have been an obsession anyway, had he met her even casually.
If some closure could be brought to the manifestations in the Dubose house (and he still flinched inwardly as he wrestled with the absurd reality of what was happening), then he’d be free to break off contact with Meredith. Joshua simply knew that he needed to run away from her. He felt helpless to do anything less. It was like an adolescent crush.
Gretchen called, breaking his unwelcome reverie. “Don’t forget you need to go to the hospital this morning – Carlisle Banks is having surgery.”
“I remember,” said Joshua. “Thanks.” Making a hospital visit to a nominally active church family was not his idea of a fun morning. He wasn’t in a ministering mood.
Unless it has to do with Meredith, he thought, and was immediately aghast at how his emotions were overruling his common sense. The farther he tried to push Meredith from his mind, the more dominant those thoughts became. Even praying about it seemed to bring no relief. He’d given up on trying to string together just the right sequence of words to get God’s attention.
It occurred to Joshua that he needed to get together his team of Fearless Ghost Hunters before Precious’ arrival. How goofy, he thought, opening his organizer.
Joshua wrote his own name. Then Bethany’s. He had to include
Meredith, obviously. He thought for a moment, then jotted down Jimmy, Lydia, and Christine Tracy – they were too intimately involved, and Jimmy would bring a welcome touch of skepticism to the table. Lydia hadn’t been as involved, so she would have less bias. Joshua finally decided to involve Al, just because he was in this particular loop, and it didn’t seem proper to exclude him.
The Magnificent Seven, thought Joshua, about to invade Spook Central. Under other circumstances, this would all be pretty funny, but Joshua was beyond seeing the humor in anything now. He’d been scared, even terrified, and he knew that the Tracy family would be in turmoil until some closure.
And there was always Meredith to consider. Would she be able to return to her house, safe, secure, and untormented? What exactly did Precious propose to do, other than determine the cause of the – manifestations?
The answers, Joshua supposed, would come soon enough.
Joshua was so engrossed about what the evening might hold that he completely forgot about his hospital visit.
Bethany had lunch ready for Joshua when he got home. Over sandwiches, Joshua shared his potential list of observers for Precious’ work.
“I think that’s fine,” said Bethany. “It doesn’t involve anyone who’s not already involved.”
“My understanding,” said Joshua, around a mouthful of turkey and Swiss, “is that Precious mostly wants the participants to keep a journal, and that he’ll show us how to use all his gizmos.”
“You won’t believe this,” said Bethany, “but I’m actually sort of looking forward to this. It's kinda exciting.”
“It’s different, that’s for sure,” said Joshua. “I’ve been thinking what a heritage we’re tapping into.”
“What?”
“Well, historically, the idea of a band of intrepid ghost hunters trying to get to the bottom of an alleged haunting is an old one. It’s been around for ages. So much of this grew out of the spiritualist frenzy from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s I mentioned in my sermon. In that day, there was serious scientific inquiry into the whole idea of life after death, and if the dead did indeed come back among the living.”
“You are an odd one,” said Bethany, incredulous.
“It gets better,” said Joshua, warming to his subject. “Back in the 1800’s, you had the Fox sisters who were among the first ‘modern’ mediums. They were frauds, of course – they admitted as much - but you wouldn’t believe the impact they had on their contemporaries. Even Mary Todd Lincoln asked them to help her contact her husband.”
“Yeah, but she was a little mental, wasn’t she?” asked Bethany.
“So they say,” said Joshua. “Anyway, you had all sorts of things growing from those early days – home circles, in which mediums would produce automatic writing, taps, ectoplasm, disembodied voices, the whole works.
“But scientifically, none of this really held water, because what was happing in spiritualist circles couldn’t be replicated, so science took the skeptic’s role,” said Joshua. “But that’s not to say that great minds didn’t try to overcome that.” He paused for effect.
“And?”
“You ever heard of Thomas Edison?”
“Come on,” said Bethany.
“Yep,” said Joshua. “In later years, Edison tried to invent a device that would allow people to detect and communicate with the dead. He believed that all living things were made up of what he called ‘life units,’ and these units did not disappear when someone died. He thought the units had a memory. So he set about inventing a machine that would detect these life units after someone died. He believed the personality existed after death. He thought mediums were bogus, so he wanted to have a machine that would allow the departed to communicate with those left behind. But, his device was uncompleted when he died.”
“Well, aren’t you the scholar?” asked Bethany.
“There’s one you don’t see in textbooks,” said Joshua. “So what Precious presumes to do is in the lineage of what Edison wanted to do.”
“And you’re excited about all this.”
“Honestly, yeah.”
Bethany sighed. “Well, count me in. Why should I let you have all the fun?”
Joshua grew grave. “For all our kidding, this really is serious. I don’t want to make light of any of this.”
“Is Meredith OK?”
“I haven’t talked to her lately,” Joshua said evasively. “But I’ll call everyone and tell them to sit tight for Tuesday night.”
Bethany finished the last bite of her sandwich. “I’m intrigued by all this, but it needs to end.” She looked at Joshua. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Joshua thought for a moment, remembering how evasive he’d been about his encounter with Meredith the previous Friday. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s time to put all this behind us.”
“Brother Josh? You’ve got visitors,” said Gretchen.
“Al and his cousin?”
“Yessir,” said Gretchen. “Al and – Precious.”
Joshua grinned at the phone. “Tell them to come on in.”
Precious looked nothing like Joshua imagined. Precious McRae was what might kindly be called “portly.” He wore a heavily starched white dress shirt, open at the collar, with blue cotton chinos and red suspenders. He was bald except for a flaming red fringe of hair around his temples, which reminded Joshua of a halo. Couple that with a cherubic, clean-shaven face, and Joshua couldn’t help but think he was being visited by an eccentric angel, or a small-town mayor from the 30’s.
Precious’ face split from ear to ear with a manic grin. “Joshua! So pleased to meet you at last.”
“My pleasure,” said Joshua, his hand disappearing in Precious’ moist paw.
The three men sat. Precious dominated the room with his Falstaffian good humor.
“So, Joshua, are you ready for our little adventure?” he asked.
“I suppose,” said Joshua. His initial excitement was waning; after meeting Precious, he wasn’t sure of what he’d gotten into.
“Splendid,” said Precious. He looked over at Al, who seemed embarrassed. “And I understand that my cousin here is joining us in this escapade.”
“Al couldn’t wait,” Joshua said, intercepting a “what have I done?” look from Al. “And I’ve got everyone else on board, too.”
“Excellent!” boomed Precious. Spittle flew. “So, I’d imagine we need to take an initial survey of the Dubose home later this afternoon, if that’s acceptable. Then, tomorrow, we’ll begin our investigation in earnest.” His voice dropped a few decibels. “Joshua, let me assure you that I’ll take the utmost care to resolve the situation with the young lady and her home. She need not fear.”
“She’ll be glad to hear that,” said Joshua.
“Fine. Well, Alphonsus,” said Precious, “I suppose I can follow you home? I’ve never seen where you live.”
“Absolutely, Hardwick,” said Al, who looked to be on the verge of a fit. “Katie’s expecting us.” Joshua winked at Al as they left.
Joshua watched them go, torn between being amused and horrified. Muttering to himself, he called the Tracy home. Lydia answered.
“Is Meredith there?” asked Joshua.
“No, she’s running some errands for me,” said Lydia. “I’m just trying to keep her occupied while Christine is in class. Can I do anything for you?”
“Just give her a message, please,” said Joshua, somewhat sorry to not be able to speak to Meredith. “Tell her that Al, his cousin Precious, and I are going out to her house tonight just so Precious can have a look around. It’s important that she not come out there, at least not yet.”
“I’ll pass the word along,” said Lydia. “And Joshua --”
“Yes?”
“I’ve got all confidence in you that you’ll do the right thing.”
“I appreciate that,” said Joshua. “We’ll get it all right, somehow.”
Joshua, Al, and Precious arranged to meet at the church, then take Precious’ Su
burban to the Dubose mansion. Joshua picked at his supper.
“I thought you liked pork chops,” said Bethany, clearing the table.
“Normally, I do,” said Joshua. “I just can’t eat tonight. Call it pre-spook jitters.”
Bethany sat next to him. “Joshua, I need to know you’ll be all right.”
“Tonight’s no big deal,” said Joshua. “It’s more of a scouting trip.”
“Do be careful.”
“I will,” said Joshua, rising and giving Bethany a quick hug. “I’ll call you when I’m about to come home.”
Joshua left his house, his nerves humming in anticipation. Al and Precious were already at the church. He climbed in Precious’ SUV. The back was full of black reinforced cases; it looked as though Precious was the roadie for a band.
“Lots of stuff you got there, Mr. McRae,” said Joshua.
“No one has ever accused me of traveling light,” said Precious, circling the square and making the turn down Highway 187.
For the remainder of the drive, Joshua and Al were silent – Al looked as though he might be sick. Precious was oblivious – he prattled on about different types of supernatural manifestations.
“We actually don’t use the term ghost much,” said Precious. “In common vernacular, a ghost is most any phantom object. But an apparition would specifically be any appearance – aural, visual, whatever – of a disembodied spirit. Now, this doesn’t take into account poltergeist activity, or angelic visitations, or visions of the Virgin Mary…”
Joshua tuned out Precious. He was more concerned with the events of the next couple of days than any esoteric discussion of what a ghost might be. He perked up, though, when Precious mentioned purgatory.
“In Roman Catholic theology, we have the concept of purgatory,” Precious said. “If you remember your studies, you’ll recall that purgatory was a place of spirit, somewhere between heaven and hell. The idea, of course, is that people who died in a state of grace had to spend some time in this place being cleansed of their pardonable sins before being admitted into heaven.”