Jesse agreed, and we walked down the stairs and left the paranormal investigators alone. Maybe they would have better luck without me around.
I paced around in the Great Room. I didn’t want to leave Summerleigh; it would be irresponsible to leave people in here. I was the one who had suggested this, and I was going to see it through.
“You need anything, Jerica?”
Clutching the teddy bear, I shook my head. “No. I’m fine.” I stopped pacing and stood beside him. “Thanks, Jesse.” He hugged me briefly, and then it was his turn to pace the floor.
Then I heard the scratching sound. At first, I thought it might be a mouse or a rat scratching at some wood, but that wasn’t quite it. And it was coming from the hallway that led to the bedrooms. I raised my eyebrows and looked at Jesse.
“Yeah, I’m hearing it too,” he said. “Sounds like it’s coming from in there.”
“Should we go tell them?”
He shook his head and said, “No. I think we can handle this. Might just be a rodent.”
“Okay.” We headed toward the hallway as the scratching continued. It wasn’t quite like a rodent, more like a smooth scratching sound. And it was coming from Addison and Loxley’s bedroom. I knew that sound! I’d heard it before. Or at least Harper had. That was the sound of someone drawing with chalk on the floor.
Loxley! As we stepped into the room, I smelled the faint scent of vanilla. Yes, Loxley! It felt so much better in this room than upstairs.
“Look at that! Someone was just drawing in here. What does that say? You know I can’t read without my glasses.”
“It looks like ‘Jacob.’ Loxley did this…she gave us the answer we needed. That’s his name—his name is Jacob!”
As soon as I said that, a loud thud smashed above us. “We have to go up there. We have to tell them.” There was another thud, but not above us this time. The sound came from the wall. I didn’t run or flinch. I walked out of Loxley’s room, down the hallway and through the Great Room.
I know your name now. You can’t stay here. You can’t torment us anymore, and you will not harm my daughter.
Lightning illuminated the room in blue light. Thunder soon followed, and the house shook as if a sonic boom had crashed overhead. Jesse was right behind me, and we found the team in one of the other rooms.
“I know his name, and I know what we have to do,” I said. I swallowed at the thought of facing off with this spirit again, but it had to be done. There was going to be peace in this house, one way or another. Time to let the ghosts of the past rest. Some part of me felt sorry for this boy, that he would inherit such a perverse treasure and that he would linger here long after his death to watch over it. Yes, I felt pity for him, and it grew stronger than my fear with every passing second. “Hannah, the boy’s name is Jacob. He has to be Jameson and Mariana’s younger brother. Loxley wrote his name on the floor downstairs.” Thunder rolled over us, and the floor began to creak. Was it just the old house settling, or was something more ominous about to happen?
“That’s great,” she began as all the doors slammed shut at once. Even calm, cool and collected Amy jumped at the sound.
“He’s here,” I said as I held onto Marisol’s bear with both hands.
“It’s not going to be as simple as calling his name, not if he’s attached to something in that attic. We need to find his treasure and move it. If we get it out of the house, he’ll leave with it. We’re going to need a distraction, though. Are you ready for this, Jerica?” Hannah asked with sincere concern. What was she asking me?
“Yes. What do we do?”
Hannah sent Jesse, Rex and Amy to the attic to search for Jameson’s morbid collection. Jesse didn’t want to leave me, but I assured him everything would be okay. “I’m in good hands.”
The door opened without a fight. But when we entered the room, it closed behind us. And during the time my attention went from the door to the room, everything had changed. This wasn’t an empty nursery anymore. There was a large, round blue carpet in the center of the floor. One large chair was positioned in front of the fireplace. Heavy blue curtains hung from the window, and there were three desks at the back of the room. I could see a large wooden toy box, a rocking horse and books that filled a bookcase I did not recognize.
“Hannah?” I whispered as she took my hand. “What’s going on?”
“Talk to him, Jerica. I can’t see what you’re seeing, but I can feel him.”
Talking to him was the last thing I wanted to do. He looked like something out of a horror movie with his white skin and black eyes. I couldn’t see his face fully, but those horrible eyes were as plain as day. How do you reason with something like this? Just kill some time, Jerica. Give them time.
“I know your name now.” The boy raised his head, and I swear I heard him growl. “My friend Loxley told me your name. She knows you. You used to play with her.”
The rocking horse began to move back and forth, and the flames in the fireplace rose.
“My name is Jerica, and you’re Jacob. I am not here to hurt you, Jacob.”
“That’s good. Keep talking, Jerica.”
The horse rocked faster, and the clock on the mantelpiece began to make a horrible sound. I glanced at it and could see the hour and minute hands spinning wildly, like an unseen hand was manipulating them.
“Jacob, I know you want to stay here, but you can’t. You have to go. Your time here is over, Jacob.”
The boy took a step toward me, and I thought I saw a shadow dart behind him. A tall shadow. I heard Hannah yelp in pain beside me, but I kept my focus. She was still holding my hand, and I squeezed hers. She squeezed back to reassure me she was okay.
“Jacob, listen to me. I know that bad things happened in this house, that you saw bad things. I’m sorry that happened to you, but the bad things have to stop.” The rocking horse flew across the room and broke into many pieces. I caught my breath and turned loose of Hannah’s hand. I clutched Marisol’s bear as if it were a life preserver. “I’m sorry about Mariana and Jameson, but it wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m sorry.”
The clock flew off the mantel and smashed on the floor, and a ball in the corner bounced furiously. The boy frowned and raised his face so that I could see him clearly. Yes, he was a terrifying sight, but at one time he had just been a boy. A boy who had been hurt by someone. A boy who had died here. The storm outside raged. Lightning smashed the darkness and illuminated the room in frantic flashes. But the thunder was strange, like it was happening in the house and not outside of it.
Now what do I do? What should I say to this angry creature? “Jacob, please believe me. Your brother’s treasure is not yours to keep. You are not responsible for what he did; his crimes are not yours. I know you loved your brother, but what he did was wrong.”
Leave here.
“I will not leave. This is my house now, along with everything in it. You have to go. I’m setting you free, Jacob. You don’t have to stay and watch over Jameson’s treasure anymore.” He moved closer, but I stood my ground. “I promise you I’ll take care of it. I won’t let anything happen to it.”
Hannah whispered beside me, “The energy is changing. He’s used a lot of his strength. Command him to leave now, Jerica.”
She was right; I could feel his power waning. Yes, I could command him to go, but my sympathy for him still grew. I got on my knees to get at eye level with him. “Jacob, you have to leave Summerleigh now. You can’t stay here anymore. Go and take this treasure with you. It’s my treasure, and I want you to have it.” I held the stuffed animal out to him, my hands shaking, my heart pounding. Tears filled my eyes because I didn’t really want to part with it…and I wasn’t sure this was going to work. “It’s okay. You can have it.”
Everything got still. Jacob stepped closer to me. He was so close now that he could reach out and touch me if he wanted to. But he didn’t. He touched the bear, and then he and the
toy were gone. A quick flash of light filled the room, and then everything was as it had been. The room was empty and in need of repair.
Hannah was weeping, and I took her hand. The place was quiet. No more knocks and bangs. Even the wind outside stopped blowing. Somehow, we had achieved our goal. Summerleigh was finally free.
And so was I.
Chapter Nineteen—Harper
After the funeral, Addison and I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the kitchen in the parlor. Miss Augustine stayed for a little while, but of course she didn’t lift a finger. She did, however, fill her plate multiple times before unceremoniously leaving it on the kitchen table for me to wash.
I gave Momma another one of the pills the doctor prescribed for her and once again told her that was the last one. I had to, or else she would want the whole bottle. I still didn’t trust that she wouldn’t hurt herself. Several times in the past few days she’d called me Jeopardy, and once I caught her talking to herself (or someone) on the second-floor landing. Addison stayed close to me, and as I promised her, I slept in her room that night. She questioned me about a few things, including Aunt Dot’s offer to come live with her, but agreed with me that the best thing to do now was to stay close to Momma.
“Everyone is gone now, Harper. Daddy, Jeopardy and now Grandfather. Promise me you’ll never leave me.”
“I promise you, Addison Lee. Wherever I go, you’ll go too. Okay?”
I had a restless night that night but eventually fell asleep. After years of training, it was hard for me to sleep late; as usual, I got up before sunrise. I dressed quickly and went to the kitchen. I put on the percolator, mainly for myself because Addison didn’t drink coffee and I had a feeling that Momma would not want any this morning. She’d probably drown her sorrows in cheap wine again. At least her supply was running out, and there was no one to take her to the store or buy her more. We hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Dewey Landry, thankfully, and Momma sold her Chevy Master DeLuxe last week for some reason. God only knew what she’d done with the money. But if Aunt Dot proved right, we wouldn’t need to depend on Momma anymore. What would that be like, to have food in the house and new clothes to wear whenever we wanted them?
“Harper?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Ben Hartley was calling me from the window. “What are you doing out here, Ben?”
“I thought you might want to go fishing. I’ve got the poles and stuff.”
I was surprised to see him, what with everything that had passed between us earlier. I was kind of glad to see him…just not this early in the morning.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for church?” I asked as I unlocked the back door and opened the screen to let him in.
“You going?”
“No. I don’t go much anymore.”
“Me either. I just thought we could fish. You know, like before. I’m sorry.”
“You mean you’re sorry you said what you said?” I asked him with my hands on my hips. “We hardly know each other, Ben Hartley. Do you go around telling all the girls you love them?”
“No. I’ve never done that. Just with you. But I won’t say it again, I promise. I want to be your friend at least. Please go fishing with me.”
I shrugged and said, “Okay, but only if Addison goes with us. I don’t want to get a reputation.”
“Okay,” he agreed with a gap-toothed smile.
Addie wasn’t up yet, which didn’t bode well. That meant she wanted to sleep late. I tried to talk her into fishing, but she wasn’t interested. “Go fishing, Harper. I’ll be here.”
I sighed and put my sneakers on. “All right, but I’ll be back by ten. There’s food in the refrigerator. Please eat something, Addie.”
She agreed, and I left at the sound of her snoring.
Benny and I didn’t talk much on the way to the river, but I could tell he was deep in thought. I wondered if I had made the right decision. I said I wouldn’t go fishing with him again, but here I was. Was I so desperate to have friends that I would break my own rules? Well, Benny was a nice enough boy. We made it to the river just after sunrise, and he offered to bait my hook.
“No thanks. My daddy taught me how to fish.”
“Did you like your dad?”
“Yes. Don’t you like yours?”
He tossed his line in the water. “Nope. Not really.”
Our luck was better today. I caught a speckled trout, and he snagged a redfish. His specimen outweighed mine, but at least he didn’t brag about it. Not like Jeopardy would have. Jeopardy. Here I am, having fun, and you’re dead. You must be dead, or else I wouldn’t have seen your ghost. It was getting warm, so we retreated to a nearby shade tree to take a break from the heat. Benny offered me some of his soda pop, and I chugged a few swallows before handing the warm drink back to him. At least it was wet.
“What do you think y’all will do now? You aren’t moving, are you?”
“What do you mean? Were you listening in on my conversation with Aunt Dot? That’s not polite, you know.” I didn’t tell him I did it all the time.
“No. Of course not. I mean, now that your grandfather is dead, would you have to move? I mean, I guess he was taking care of y’all.”
I wiped the sweat off my face. Benny asked the strangest and most inappropriate questions. “He didn’t take care of us, Ben Hartley. You have some strange ideas.”
My stomach was rumbling, and I was toying with the idea of going home. I was getting tired of Benny’s company. Not because I didn’t like him but because I’d gotten used to being alone. I liked it much more than I could have guessed. You got stronger when you were alone. I think that was a secret Jeopardy knew too.
Again Benny acted like he wanted to tell me something, but I didn’t hurry him along. I hoped he wouldn’t tell me he loved me again. I’d have to end our friendship if he talked crazy. “You won’t have to worry about him anymore, Harper. He’ll never hurt y’all again.”
I launched to my feet. I had the creepy crawlies all over me, just like when that weird boy ghost popped up at Summerleigh. “What are you talking about?” He got up too and wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. He wouldn’t look at me. He looked at the river, at the grass, everywhere but at me. And that worried me. “What do you mean? You think you know something? Out with it, Ben Hartley.”
“Why do you always do that? You think you’re better than me? All I’ve tried to do is help you, Harper.”
A rare wind caught the leaves overhead, and a few fluttered down between us. If it had been any other moment, it would have felt magical. This wasn’t magical. Benny was trying to tell me something, something I didn’t want to hear. But I had to listen. I had to listen good.
“How? How have you helped me? What do you know?” And just like that, as if someone had snapped their fingers, I knew too. I had figured it out a long time ago, and I just didn’t want to admit it. My grandfather liked to hurt people in ways no one should.
Momma most of all.
Benny didn’t answer me. He reached for the dingy wrapping on his hand, and my stomach did a double clutch like Daddy’s old truck.
“How did you do that to your hand? Let me see it.” I stepped toward him. I loomed over him now. I hadn’t realized how much taller I was than him, but he didn’t back down.
“Fine. You want to see it?” He unwrapped it furiously and held it up so I could see the angry red gashes. “I didn’t mean to do it, Harper.”
“You killed him, Benny. You killed Mr. Daughdrill. Why?”
He sobbed, and his eyes shone with tears. “I love you, Harper. I know I’m not supposed to say it, but I do. I just wanted to talk to him, to tell him to leave you and Addison alone. Everyone knows, Harper. Everyone knows what he is, but they didn’t do anything.” He was shouting now, and I was afraid of him. I’d never been afraid of him before. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“You stabbed him, Benny. Where did you get the scissors?” Those creepy
crawlies were on me like white on rice.
“I was just going to talk to him. I went to his house to talk to him man to man, but he didn’t come to the door. I tried the handle, and the door was open. I remember opening the door and going in, but I don’t remember nothing after that. I think he yelled at me, but it’s like it was a dream. Next thing I knew, I was holding the scissors, and then they were poking out of his chest. Honest, Harper. You have to believe me.”
“You killed him, Benny. You killed him. You’re a murderer!”
“I did it for you, Harper. I swear I didn’t plan on it. It just happened.”
I took off running. I cried and screamed, hoping someone would hear me. I’d never been more scared in all my life. I was friends with a murderer. Ben Hartley killed Mr. Daughdrill. He might say he did it for me, but that didn’t make it right.
“Harper, wait! Please, wait! I love you, Harper Belle!”
I’d never run so fast. By the time I made it home, my legs were burning and I couldn’t hardly breathe. I raced past Momma and picked up the phone.
“Harper, what is it?” Addison asked as she came in from the parlor.
I dropped the phone because I was shaking so bad. Addison helped me to the chair while Momma got me a glass of water.
And in that moment, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t turn in my friend. He was no serial killer, no psychotic murderer. He was a boy who wanted to help me. He’d been influenced by this house, by the spirits here, and had become an unwilling vessel for their evil. I hung the phone up. I never spoke about it again to anyone, not even Ben when I talked to him years later. Things were settled between us. He had helped me with something that I would never have had the courage to ask. But I believed that Ben didn’t know what he was doing that night.
The damage had already been done, but we were free.
The sheriff came back to our house again that day. At first, I thought it was because he knew the truth about Benny, but that wasn’t it. Dewey Landry had been arrested for shooting up Aunt Dot’s house and trying to kill her. He’d been caught trying to leave town with a stash of money in a black bag. There were rumors that Momma had put him up to it.
The Ghosts of Summerleigh Collection Page 26