It made sense. Malice was involved. The turret room destruction was proof enough of that. “I think what we need to do is sit down and talk this through. There is something we are missing.”
Before Kade could respond, a quick tap sounded on the door and then it opened and Jack came through. “Sorry to stuff you guys in here so fast. Our guests have gone out for the day … headed to Bucksport from what I understand so we won’t see them until dinner. They accepted my explanation that I had left a window open and it blew over a stand that knocked into a wall and caused a picture to fall.” Jack waved for us to precede him from the room. “They want to believe that the ghost did it. Since they are excited at the prospect, I decided to just let it go for now.” He closed the door and locked it, then fell into step with Kade and me as we headed toward the front staircase. “I think we need to cancel the next couple of reservations, though, until we get this situation under control. Nancy is already contacting nearby resorts to see if we can get them reservations elsewhere.”
I touched Jack’s arm in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Jack. I know you were hoping for a great summer here at the resort.”
He shrugged optimistically. “It’s early yet. Maybe we’ll figure out a way to put our ghosts to rest and be done with it.”
“Is there anyone around here that might have been around during Abigail’s time? If we could talk to them, maybe they’d give us some clues as to what may be trapping her and Nathan here.” We had reached the foyer at this point and Jack paused at the bottom step to give it some thought. “I’m not sure, but Modesta might know. She’s been here the longest. She and Hank.” He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. “George has lived here all his life. He’d know.”
“How old is he anyway?” Kade put a hand on my back as if to stay me in place. Obviously he thought I was going to go running off to the kitchen. Which I was about to do until he put a hand on my back and settled me back down.
Jack frowned, thinking. “Late-fifties I think. He would have been a teenager at the time. He might know if anyone is still around that can talk to us about the tragedy.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “It will probably get the locals stirred up. They love the idea of having ghost activity taking place in their town. It stirs up interest in the tourists for some reason.”
“So why turn your guests away, Jack?” I asked. “Maybe they’ll be like your current guests and like the idea of staying in a haunted resort.”
“Because I’m afraid what happened in the turret room is going to happen in one of the other rooms. That would not be good for business, whether anyone got hurt or not.”
I nodded in agreement although I really didn’t believe anything like that would happen elsewhere in the resort. Still, it was best to practice caution until we knew what we were dealing with. “With your permission, Jack, I’d like to go talk to George now.”
“We will talk to George,” Kade corrected firmly and met my eyes with a determined glint in them. “You aren’t doing anything without me, Nancy or Jack. You promised, remember?”
Honestly, I was relieved to hear him say that. I didn’t want to conduct this investigation on my own. And I couldn’t think of a better person to work with than Kade. He kept me grounded and I felt safe when I was with him.
Jack waved us on our way. “Go on ahead. I’m going to go check on Nancy. She’s still pretty shaken up.” He looked at me and hesitated and then went on in a halting voice, “Umm, Tess, I better tell you … Modesta seems to be blaming the recent ghost activity on you.”
“Me?” I really shouldn’t have been surprised.
“She thinks the ghosts are mad that you are here and she wants Nancy and me to send you away. I told her that you would leave only when you wanted to and she is not to bother you or make you feel unwelcome. If she gives you any trouble, please let Nancy or I know.” When I nodded that I would, he winked as if to lighten the mood and to assure me that he did not share Modesta’s sentiments, and then headed off to the office behind the front desk.
Kade leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry about Modesta. She doesn’t understand.” I gave him a grateful smile, which he returned and then waved a hand for me to proceed to the kitchen.
As we walked down the hall, his hand on my back, I wondered if we should be talking to George at all. I was getting a funny feeling about things. I can’t explain the feeling but it made me apprehensive and almost reluctant to even enter the kitchen. I knew not to ignore my feelings, so stopped for a moment to gather myself. Kade didn’t question my hesitation and I was grateful for that. Okay. The thing to do here was pay close attention while George was talking and trust my instincts on what to say and what to reveal.
Once I felt calm settle over me, I nodded to Kade to open the door. It was time to enter active investigative mode. One way or another, we were going to figure this mystery out and put Abigail and Nathan to rest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
George was making lasagna for dinner and was at the center island piecing it all together when we walked in. The kitchen smelled of tomato sauce and garlic and I sniffed appreciatively as I settled on a stool across from him. Kade positioned himself behind me and rested a hand lightly on my shoulder. I loved the contact but worried that it was going to give the wrong impression to George. Then I wondered what it mattered what kind of impression George got from it. Kade and I were working this mystery together. We were a united front. Best to let everyone know that.
Since Kade had yet to say anything, I figured it best that I begin the inquisition. “Smells good, George.”
“What brings the two of you in here in the middle of a great day? I know it isn’t to discuss food or to admire my skills, so what’s up?” George sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on the lasagna then stopped to give us his undivided attention. “Well?” He removed his white cap from his nearly bald head, wiped at his glistening forehead with a dishrag and replaced his hat.
Kade gave George a friendly grin. “Hope you don’t mind our disturbing you while you are making one of my favorite dishes.”
George indicated the empty chair beside me. “Have a seat, Kade. Take a load off. I don’t mind the interruption at all. Not often I get company in here other than Modesta who talks too much or Hank who annoys me more often than not.”
Kade’s hands slid from my shoulders as he moved to sit down. I immediately missed the contact. He rested his forearms on the counter and leaned forward, an air of casual interest lighting his eyes. “How long have you lived in Poke Harbor, George?”
“Gettin’ right down to business are we?” George rested his hands on the counter top and leaned on them while he gave the question some thought. “Well now, let me think …” He looked like he was doing some mental calculations and then shook his head as if surprised at the result. “Well … my parents moved here when I was about eighteen and I turn sixty-two in three months so guess I’ve lived here about forty-four years.”
“And you started working here when?”
He was making it sound as if Hank was on trial. I decided it was time to intervene. “You have heard, I am sure, about our recent ghost incident with the new people haven’t you, George?”
George nodded, his expression somber. “Yeah, heard about it from Modesta. I sure hope it doesn’t hurt Nancy and Jack’s summer. Good people they are.”
“Well, we are thinking the ghosts are all stirred up because they are trying to tell us something,” I told him.
George narrowed pale hazel eyes on me. His tone was pleasant enough, and yet, I suspected he was masking his displeasure at the turn of our conversation. “Modesta told me that you held a séance down in the basement. She thinks you are the one stirring things up.”
I shifted uncomfortably, aware that Kade’s keen eyes watched me closely. If George reacted negatively to what I was about to confess, it would embarrass me to have Kade witness it. These were moments that I did not relish. I was never sure how someone was going to r
eact to me once they knew about what I did. Some people acted as if I was crazy and it was contagious. Some reacted fearfully as if I was doing something evil, and then there were others who were so excited that they usually asked me to contact a departed loved one for them. “She might be right, George. I do have the gift of talking to ghosts (I didn’t like using that word but it was the one most people could best relate to) and that is why I think Abigail has a message she is trying to convey.”
George didn’t so much as blink an eye. He regarded me for a silent moment then said, “If that’s true, why doesn’t she just come right out and tell you?”
“I wish I had an answer to that question, George. I ask it myself. It sure would make things a whole lot easier.”
“So why do you need to know how long I’ve been here? You think I have something to do with it?” He glanced distrustfully between Kade and me. We both shook our heads that he had it wrong and he visibly relaxed.
“We think there is more to the situation that took place back when Abigail and Nathan died,” I told him. “We’re trying to piece it together and see if we can come up with some clues that might help us help them.”
“Help them? They are dead.” George now was looking at me as if I were just a tad daft.
“Yes, they are dead, but they haven’t gone into the light. That’s why they are still haunting the resort. I would like to help them move into the light.”
“Oh, like what the girl does on that ghost show. I thought that stuff wasn’t quite real, you know, just television.”
I knew what show he was referring to, Ghost Whisperer, and I was glad he sort of understood what I was talking about. “Well, that show is produced by a man who has the same ability as me. The show is fictional but the concept is not.” I could feel Kade’s impatience with the conversation so tried to focus it back to our original intention. “Do you remember who was working here when Abigail lived here and do any of those people still live nearby?”
George regarded me for another long moment. I couldn’t quite read his expression but it didn’t look amiable. He scowled and then after a considerable pause, he scratched the back of his balding head. “Well now, let me think.” His bushy brows nearly came together when he frowned. “I worked here as a gardener for a while but it didn’t quite work out and I got a job working the kitchen at another place in Bar Harbor. So, though I wish I could help you, I can’t. From my understanding anyway, everyone who worked for Mr. Quartermaine is either dead or long gone.”
My heart gave a little lurch at that last statement though I wasn’t sure why. Something wasn’t quite ringing true here and I couldn’t place what it was. “You don’t know of anyone still living here in the area that might know a little more?”
George’s face went a little hard, his hazel eyes cold. “Look, I’m not sure what you’re up to, young lady, but I’m pretty sure I don’t like it. I had no contact with the Quartermaine’s after I started working at the other place so I don’t know who exactly was staying here at that point, nor do I care. That is all in the past and I think it all needs to be left alone.”
“We’re not out to cause trouble, George. We are trying to help Nancy and Jack by putting things to rest once and for all,” Kade said.
George heaved a sigh and then began to put another layer on the lasagna. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be difficult. I just can’t help you and I don’t think you should be messing with stuff like … well, like ghosts and such.”
It occurred to me just then that this was the first time I’d even heard what Abigail’s family name was. Quartermaine. It sounded like a wealthy name. “What was Mr. Quartermaine’s first name?”
“Clayton.” George finished the layer and started another. It looked delicious and delightfully fattening. “Mr. Quartermaine had a lot of people come and go. You know, people to deliver groceries, people to do the laundry, that sort of thing. That’s all I know.” He shrugged in a way that said he had just told us all he knew.
I slid off the stool and patted the counter top. “Thanks, George.”
Kade nodded at him and indicated the huge lasagna dish stacked high and ready to go in the oven. “That looks great, George.”
George didn’t even look up. “You two get about your business. You don’t want to be wasting time in here with me.”
As soon as we left the kitchen, Kade put a hand on my back to guide me towards the front foyer. “Maybe Nancy will know someone who might know more than George.”
“Maybe I’ll know who?” Nancy came up behind us and we told her what we had learned from George. We didn’t tell her that George wasn’t all that happy with us or our conversation.
Nancy frowned thoughtfully. “I could look in the old records and see if there are any names mentioned.”
“Good idea, Nancy,” Kade said. “Why don’t you show me those files and I’ll help you go through them.”
I waved my hand toward the door. “I’ll go find Hank. He might know something.”
“Okay,” Nancy said. “I think he was out by the fountain. It’s acting up again.”
I did find Hank by the fountain but he wasn’t working on it. He was sitting on the edge of the well wall staring out at the ocean seemingly lost in thought. A sickle lay propped against the wall beside him. I figured he was taking a break.
“Hi, Hank”
He turned, smiled and stood up. “Hey there, little lady. Nice weather we’re having these days. You found me slacking on my job enjoying the cool breeze.”
“Sorry to interrupt your break, Hank. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the people who worked here for Mr. Quartermaine?”
His smile faded and his bushy brows came together in confusion. “Mr. Quartermaine? Why would you want to know that?”
“Kade and I want to talk to someone who was working here and see if they could shed some light on why there is ghost activity occurring here.”
Hank looked at me for a long moment, sort of like George had done. “Most of the people who worked here are all dead. You think they are haunting the place?”
I laughed then and sat down on the well wall. “Of course not, Hank. I think Abigail is haunting the place and I would like to figure out why. Sometimes, knowing the why of something makes the problem go away.”
Hank nodded as if what I said made sense. “I suppose so.” He rubbed his stubbly chin. “Let’s see.” He thought for a long moment and then sighed. “Everyone I think of is dead.” He snapped his fingers as he suddenly remembered something. “Irene Potter. She used to come in and do laundry for Mr. Quartermaine. I’m pretty sure she’s alive and living right in Bar Harbor somewhere.”
Excited to have a name, I stood up and started backing up the path toward the house. “You are a treasure, Hank. Thanks!!”
Hank’s face reddened at the compliment and he bent down to pick up the sickle. “Don’t mention it, little lady. I just like to see that wicked nice smile on your pretty face.”
I found Kade and Nancy going through dusty old files in the sitting room behind the front desk. Modesta saw me coming and waved for me to go ahead and go in. She gave me no sort of greeting and I figured that we were no longer going to be on friendly terms.
When I told Kade and Nancy about what I learned from Hank, Nancy called Modesta into the room. “Modesta, do you know anyone that lives in Bar Harbor by the name of Irene Potter?”
“You mean the Irene Potter that owns the dry cleaning laundry on Pine Street?”
Kade and I looked at each other with excitement. This had to be the same Irene Potter especially since she was involved in the laundry business.
Nancy turned to Kade and me, her own eyes lit up with excitement. “Well, there’s your answer.”
Kade stood and brushed the dust from his Khaki shorts. “We’ll take my car and go see if we can find that dry cleaning place.”
Modesta’s eyes narrowed as we passed her in the doorway. I gave her a friendly smile and she gave the barest of nods
in return. I felt distinctly uncomfortable around her now but I was not going to slink by the woman. I hadn’t done anything to warrant her suspicion and if anything, it was Modesta who should be looking shame faced. She was being the judgmental one, not me.
“We’ll be back in time for dinner,” Kade said. “I’ll help you with the files later this evening, Nancy.”
“No worries, Kade, this will give me something to do while you are out sleuthing,” Nancy told him. She waved us out the door. “Get going, you two. I can’t wait to hear if you learn anything.”
Be Still, My Love Page 27