Jack voiced a real concern. But ghosts were involved here as well. “Do you know anyone who would play jokes that could harm someone or hurt your business?” I asked.
Both Nancy and Jack shook their heads. “No one we can think of,” Jack said. “We have lived here only three years and we certainly haven’t upset anyone that we are aware of.”
“I hate to say this,” Thomas began, regret filling his voice, “but I think Jeanine and I will check out in the morning. Once you folks get it all figured out, we’ll come back for another stay.”
Nancy’s face was pale but resolved. “I think that is a great idea. We’ll reimburse you for tonight’s stay as well.”
I touched Nancy’s arm to get her attention. “I’m not leaving, so don’t suggest it. I really think you need me here right now.” Though I spoke quietly, Kade heard me just the same. Our eyes met and held, then his expression turned grave.
“I think you would be better off to go as well …”
I could feel my resolve hardening my features. “I’m not leaving.”
Nancy covered my hand with her own cold one. “Let’s talk about this in the morning. Okay?”
I nodded in agreement and we both stood to leave. “Okay, we’ll talk in the morning, but I can tell you now that I’m not leaving.” And because this was Nancy’s business and she had every right to force the issue, I gave her a beseeching look. “I couldn’t just go … not now. It will drive me crazy to leave before it’s all figured out.” Before she could say anything more, I gave her a quick hug. “Please.”
Nancy gave me a gentle push toward the door. “We’ll discuss this later. In the morning after we’ve all had some sleep. Okay?”
I paused to give Jeanine a hug and then Thomas. “I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. It was nice meeting both of you.” Kade followed me out the door and walked with me to my cottage.
“I want you to lock all the doors before I leave.” Kade pulled out his cell phone. “Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll give you mine. If either one of us needs to call the other at least we’ll be able to do that.”
I thought that was a good idea. “Hold on a minute, my phone is in the cottage.” I opened the sliding glass door and grabbed my cell phone off the table, then programmed Kade’s number into my phone as he programmed mine into his.
Kade held the door when I started to close it. He looked at me for a long moment as if trying to figure out what to say. “Thank you for coming to my rescue on the roof. I didn’t say anything around the others but … well, I remember feeling absolute panic and the certainty that I was going to get thrown off that roof. Although I didn’t see anything, I felt something. Like a presence.”
I squeezed Kade’s arm. “Yeah, I felt that too. I should go up there tomorrow, see what I can pick up.”
“I don’t know if that is a good idea.”
“You can come along if it makes you feel better.” My voice firmed with resolve. “But I am going up there. Nancy and Jack cannot let all this stuff keep happening. There’s a reason for it and we need to figure out why.”
Kade nodded. “I agree but I also believe you can’t do it alone. Just promise me you won’t do anything without someone along to help, just in case things get out of hand.”
“I promise.” It was an easy vow to make. I was, after all, just a bit afraid. Not of the ghosts. No. It wasn’t ghosts who had me worried. I was worried that someone very much alive was at play here.
Kade stepped away from the door, satisfied that I wasn’t going to go sleuthing without him. “Try to get some sleep. We’ll talk later.”
I shut the door, pushed the lock in place and watched Kade walk away. When the lights went out in his cottage, I made my way to my room and changed back into my sleepwear. Too tired to think, it wasn’t long before I was drifting off into sleep. And that was when I felt the cobwebs brush my face. The sensation was reassuring and I smiled sleepily. For now, it seemed the angels were watching over me. As for the days ahead I could only hope that help from the Tri-State would prevail. I knew that the Tri-State could not interfere with the course of things, but knowing they were with me again was comforting. What bothered me … the thought that was still on my mind as sleep overtook me … was that the course of things ahead wasn’t going to be pleasant. They might even be dangerous. What would the outcome mean for me?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I woke after only a few hours of sleep and got up to make coffee. I was still tired but knew it was useless to try and go back to sleep. Vague dreams plagued the few hours I did sleep and that made for restless slumber. I couldn’t remember the dreams but I had the impression Mike and Tootsie were in them. Frustrated that I couldn’t remember anything, I searched for something to occupy my mind and that is when my eyes lit upon my laptop. Within minutes I was completely focused on my story.
Sarah sat in the little room high in the turret and stared out at the ocean, its surface rough with turmoil from a coming storm. For two days now she had been locked in. How long did her father intend to keep her a prisoner in this room? Was he ever going to let her out? What would she do if he didn’t?
One of the servants, she didn’t know which, told him she was sneaking out of the house. She thought she was so careful, that no one knew about the secret passages and the disguise she used while running around with Peter. It saddened her that the servants were faithful to a man who did not deserve their loyalty. Sarah rocked in her chair as she continued to mourn her life. It was all so unfair. It wasn’t Peter’s fault that his family didn’t have a lot of money. Sarah knew that was the main reason her father did not approve of their relationship. He wanted her to find someone that would benefit him financially. Was that all that mattered to him? Did she not factor into his heart at all? Tears trickled in a steady flow down her cheeks. She felt alone … so very alone. It was a terrible feeling. She blinked away her tears and looked out the window … then she blinked again. Quickly she brushed at her eyes, impatient to clear her vision, then sat forward and looked hard.
And there he was. Peter. He stood on the shore, just this side of the little peninsula, staring at the house … at her! Sarah stood and plastered herself against the window, waving frantically. Peter waved back. He saw her! The tears came again and Sarah collapsed against the window casing, her hands flat on the glass, reaching for something she could never touch again. Not if her father had any say. “Peter! Oh, Peter, please help me.” They stood for a long time, staring at each other over the vast distance, for it seemed vast indeed. As the rain came and began to pound the earth with fury, Peter waved again and turned to walk away. As soon as he was out of sight, Sarah sank to the floor and sobbed with heartbreak. God, it was all so unfair. Why was this happening to her? Why?
I pushed the laptop away and stood, paced the room, grabbed my empty coffee cup and refilled it. Tears filled my own eyes. The story reflected my own questions … only my whys were for Mike. Why did he die? Why?
A tap on my door startled me and I swung around. It was Nancy. She looked tired and weary. I motioned for her to come inside. “G’morning, Nancy. Is everything okay? Has something else happened?”
Nancy shook her head, sank in a chair and rubbed at her face. “No, nothing else has happened. I couldn’t sleep and got up for a walk. I saw you moving around in here so thought I’d stop by …” She looked at me and tried to smile, but her lips were trembling and she couldn’t quite pull it off. “I’m so worried about things, Tess. What is happening here?”
I poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Nancy. Then I made another pot, sure we were both going to want a refill, and joined her at the table. “You do have ghosts, Nancy. There’s a cycle of sorrow here that keeps the energy created from those emotions going. I told you that hauntings are energy from a past event re-enacted over and over. The spirits attached to that energy are here as well, and they are trying to tell us something.” I touched Nancy’s cold hand as she fidgeted with her cup. “Nan
cy, they really are trying to help us. Ghosts don’t hurt people and spirits are people in the Tri-State trying to communicate with us. The spirits of the ghosts, and I know that sounds weird, but the spirits of the ghosts are here as well and they want to tell us something. I feel this quite strongly.” I sat back, looked at Nancy, saw the expression on her face turn to unconvinced hope.
“Do you think you can contact them, Tess? Find out what they want? Why they are bothering us?”
“I hope so. Look, after Jeanine and Thomas check out, when are you scheduled for more guests to arrive?”
“We have several people coming in today actually.” Nancy gave a long sigh. “God, I don’t know if I can deal with all that right now.” She fiddled with her hair for a moment. “We really were hoping to turn things around this year and have a great summer, business wise. We had a lot of hopes.”
I remembered Modesta telling me that the two rooms at the end of the hall near the turret were to be rented. Nancy’s apprehension was understandable and, unfortunately, warranted. “Nancy, take me up to the turret room. We’ll both go. Let me see what I can pick up. We should do this before your guests arrive.”
Nancy blinked, frowned, then shook her head. “No, Tess, I don’t like that plan at all.”
“Nancy, activity seems to center around that room. You have guests coming that will be staying at that end of the house … near that room. You can’t afford to lose more guests because of ghostly activity. Let me try. Please!”
“I want Jack and Kade with us as well then.” Nancy looked firm on that and I did not argue with her. If she felt comforted by their presence, so be it. Honestly, though, when it came to ghosts and those in the Tri-State, Jack and Kade were not going to be of much help.
“Agreed. Jack and Kade, you and me. No one else. Okay?” I was never comfortable with an audience and didn’t want my ability hampered by such discomfort.
“Jack is in the office working. I’ll tell him to meet us in the turret in about an hour. Will that be okay?”
“Yes.” Nancy finished her coffee, handed me her empty cup, and stood to leave. I followed her to the door. “I’ll give Kade a call.” When Nancy lifted a brow in question, I motioned to my cell phone. “He gave me his number and said to call if I needed him.”
Nancy nodded approvingly. “That’s a good idea. I know he’s up and about because I saw him out on the patio just before I knocked on your door.”
After Nancy left, I got myself another cup of coffee and picked up my phone. I was still looking for his number in my address list when he knocked on my door. I motioned him in and went to the kitchen. “Morning, Kade. I was just about to call you. Want some coffee?”
Kade hesitated by the open door, saw that I already had a cup down and nodded for me to continue. “Sure, coffee sounds good. I was going up to the house for breakfast but saw Nancy leave your cottage. Anything else happen?”
“No. She’s worried.” I handed Kade his coffee and we both went out to the patio to sit. “We’re going to meet up in the turret room in about an hour.”
Kade looked surprised by that, his disapproval quite apparent. “You think that’s a good idea? Something isn’t right up there shouldn’t you just stay away?”
I had to laugh at that. “Kade, do you really believe staying away is going to solve anything? That room has bad energy programmed into it. It needs to be cleared.”
“How do you clear it?”
“Well, I’m going to go up there and see what energy I can pick up … contact the spirits if possible. I wonder if they have an herb garden here.”
“An herb garden? I believe so. Why?”
“Well, it’s believed that sage can help clear negative energy, dissipate it somehow. I’m not sure how it all works, but it does seem to work.”
“I’m coming up with you when you go.” Kade’s voice was firm as if he expected me to argue.
“I was hoping you would. Nancy insists that you and Jack be present.”
Kade smiled, pleased. “I’m glad about that.” His smile turned into a frown. “Although, Jack and I were pretty ineffective last night, weren’t we?”
I patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. The energy up there is strong and when you don’t know what you are doing, well, you just don’t know how to combat it.”
“That’s true of any enemy isn’t it? If you don’t know what you are dealing with, you don’t know how to eliminate the problem.” Kade ran a hand up through his thick hair. “Do you know what you are dealing with, Tess?”
“I think so. Abigail was in complete despair the night she killed herself. Her despair fills that room and we get caught in the grip of it. We also get caught up in the event that followed … Abigail’s plunge to death.” I finished my coffee and then stood. “I’m going to try and negate some of that energy, and then I’m going to try to talk to Abigail. But first, I need a shower and breakfast.”
Kade stood, handed me his empty cup. “Okay, I’ll see you up at the house then.” He rubbed my arm as he passed. It was a comforting gesture and I was touched by it. I watched Kade until he disappeared around the back of my cottage. He was a nice man. I liked him. And that worried me more than anything that was happening here at Sea Willow Haven.
* * *
Half-hour later, I was eating breakfast with Jack, Nancy, and Modesta. I wasn’t sure where Kade was though I was told he’d eaten and left with a promise to be back shortly and to not start without him. Modesta knew we were all going to the turret room and now knew about me and what I was going to attempt to do. She kept watch of me all through breakfast until finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Is something on your mind, Modesta?”
“I wonder … why you see ghosts. Why you talk to them?”
“I wonder the same thing to be honest with you. I don’t know why I can do that, and until recently, I haven’t done any such thing in two years.”
“You no scared?”
I smiled at her incredulity. “No, I am not scared.” But I was somewhat apprehensive. Something of a menacing nature also presides in this house, and I was more concerned about that than anything. “I thought you weren’t scared of ghosts, Modesta.”
Modesta gave a small shiver and crossed herself as I’ve seen people do before prayer. “I no scared of ghosts, but I no talk to them either. I no think God likes us to talk to them.”
“Why not?” Such a statement had me very curious.
“If God want that kind of communication, then we would all be able to do it. Once we are with God then that should be the end of it.” Modesta gave Nancy an apologetic look. “I no like this, Nancy, but you do what you must.”
“You don’t think it was God who gave me the ability to talk to the other side?” Where did she believe talents came from, if not from God?
Modesta frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe it be Satan who give you this power.”
I didn’t like that. Not at all. I had to force down my defenses before speaking. “Honestly, Modesta, since it is only God who creates us, then only God can give us the talents and abilities we are born with. My ability does not promote evil. It does not benefit evil in any way. When I contact those on the other side, I do so with love.” I paused for a moment, remembered something else she said and went on to clear up any further misconceptions. “My ability does not give me power and I am not in a position of power because I talk to the dead.” I put my napkin down and stood. “May I go out to the kitchen and speak with your chef for a moment, Nancy?”
Curious at the request, Nancy nodded. “Certainly. We’ll meet you in the living room when you are ready.” She glanced at Modesta, frowned, and turned back to me, her expression one of apology. “Please don’t take offense with Modesta. She does not mean anything bad about what you do.” She turned to Modesta. “Do you?”
Modesta shook her head, though her eyes remained downcast. “No, I mean nothing bad. I just no understand. I am sorry if I make you mad.”
I walked from the
room without replying. Modesta’s words were not sincere and I felt no need to continue talking with her. Such things have been said to me before. It bothered me to have people condemn something they didn’t understand, but that was the nature of people, condemn what they do not know, attack what they do not understand.
There were two people in the kitchen when I got there, George the chef, and Hank. I wasn’t happy that Hank was there for he would wonder what we were up to and I didn’t want him to know. Not just yet anyway. Hank was a nice man but I couldn’t help but feel that if he knew that I talked to the dead, his opinion of me would undergo a drastic change. I didn’t want to lose his easy friendship because of something he didn’t understand or believe in.
“Good morning, little lady. I hear you all had an interesting ev’nin.” Hank motioned for me to join him at the large center island where George was cutting vegetables. I think potpie was on the menu for tonight.
I sat down on the barstool next to Hank and George raised one of his bushy gray brows in question. “You okay? All the excitement from last night didn’t scare you did it?”
I shrugged my shoulders in a dismissive gesture. “The storm raised a bit of excitement but it was nothing to get alarmed about.” I wondered what they had been told and by who.
“Modesta told me that new couple who checked in yesterday saw our ghost last night and it scared them away.” George finished paring the carrots and began slicing them up. “I know they are leaving today, but you aren’t going to leave are you?”
“No, of course not. I’m not afraid of ghosts.”
“Them ghosts has been here a while, never hurt no one. Don’t see why people are so scared of them anyway.” George put his chopped vegetables in a large colander and went to the sink to rinse them.
“I agree with you, George. I think people are afraid of ghosts because they don’t understand them, what they want, why they are here.” I waited until George came back to the kitchen island where he now started dicing chicken meat. “I wonder if you have any dried sage, George. From the garden, not from an herb bottle like you buy in the store.”
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