He didn't need to ask her whether, in hindsight, she believed the incident had truly happened or was only the creation of a child's overactive imagination. Her reactions in recounting the story made it clear that she believed what she had seen, even nearly two decades afterward. He had no choice but to accept the reality of her experience. Although accepting the existence of ghosts was a stretch for him.
But I can't deny the feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I look at that house.
"I need to stop asking so many questions," he said. "You ever heard that line, `Don't ask a question if you aren't prepared for the answer'? I wasn't ready for your answer."
"I've never shared the story with anyone," she said. "I don't think my brothers have, either. After it happened, we never talked about it."
"I appreciate you sharing it with me, but I doubt that I'll bring it up again, anytime soon"
"Learn to do what I do, David: don't look at the Mason place. You'll feel better."
They rose from the bench and began to walk back to her house. She wrapped her arm around his waist and nestled her head against his shoulder. He held her protectively within the span of his arm.
When they reached the narrow walk that led to her front door, they faced each other, hands clasped together.
"I want to see you tomorrow," he said. Under normal circumstances, he'd never ask a woman out two days in a row. But nothing about their situation seemed normal to him. This was one of those rare times when all of the standard rules of dating were worthless.
"I was hoping you'd say that," she said. "I want to see you, too"
"I'm going to the church in the morning, New Life Baptist. How about you join me?"
"Oh, David, I would, but I have to meet a client tomorrow morning for a really big project" She tapped her lip. "How does dinner sound? I'll cook. Do you like lasagna?"
"Love it. So you can cook, too?"
"I'm Superwoman, baby, didn't you know that?"
He laughed. "What time?"
"Around three," she said. "We'll have dinner at my place, okay?"
"I'm there" He looked toward the house. A silhouetted shape waited behind the window. "Guess I'll meet your mother, too"
"Don't worry, David. She'll like you. She better, because Ilike you"
They melted into each other's arms and shared a fiery kiss.
"We better quit," he said. "Your mother's gonna come out here and beat me off of you with a broom"
"I'm a grown woman, sweetheart. Mama might make a comment, but that doesn't mean I have to listen to her." Her tongue darted across his neck. Then she bit his tender flesh there, lightly, and a shiver of pleasure rippled through him.
"Nia, Nia, Nia." He pulled her within his arms. "Who would've thought a walk in the park ..."
"I know," she said, her head buried against his chest. "I know."
They kissed again, and then she went inside, waving before she closed the door.
Without her presence, the night was dull. He realized how tired he was. He had been floating on an adrenaline high while in Nia's company, and in her absence, fatigue hit him.
But he wasn't too tired to remember to avoid looking at Jubilee as he drove home.
Nia's mother was waiting for her when she came inside.
"I thought I was going have to come out there and separate you two," Mama said. "It's not proper for a young woman to be kissing and carrying on outdoors, where everyone can see"
Nia dropped her purse on an end table, and sighed. She had hoped to make it to her bedroom with fielding only a minimum number of questions and comments about David, thinking that her mother would be too tired for much conversation. But one look at Mama swept away those hopes.
Sitting on the couch, Mama was wrapped in a green house robe and slippers. She had rollers in her hair, and a mug of coffee at her side. A crossword puzzle and a pencil lay across her lap, and she was wearing her glasses. Mama's eyes were alert, ready to probe.
I wish she'd get a life, Nia thought. Her mother had never remarried after Nia's father died twenty years ago, deciding to focus her energies on raising her three children. Nia and her brothers all graduated from college and established successful lives-but the downside of them growing up was that Mama hadn't had anything to occupy her time, outside of work and church. When Nia moved back in, however, Mama regressed into serious mothering mode.
"Mama, please," Nia said. "I'm tired."
"Don't Mama, please, me, Miss Nia James. You know better. Did you lose all your good sense while you were living in that evil, immoral city?"
In her mother's opinion, any city with a population greater than twenty thousand in other words, most cities in the world-deserved two labels: evil and immoral. But Mama had never lived outside of Mason's Corner. Her distasteful opinion of cities was formed by the unending series of sensational TV news and cop shows that she consumed for hours a day programs that exhibited crime, filth, immorality, and everything else that Mama found worthy of loathing.
"I'm twenty-seven," Nia said. "Not seventeen"
"I know how old you are, young lady. You're old enough to know better. I can see that this Hunter boy is going to be a bad influence on you. But considering his father, I would've expected nothing less."
Nia folded her arms across her chest. "David's a nice guy. You can't condemn him because of his father."
"Like father, like son," Mama said, with the familiar, Mama-knows-best tone that always set Nia's nerves on edge. "You don't know anything about this boy. You've known him for one day and already you're swooning over him."
"No, I'm not. We went to lunch and dinner; we had a good time. It's not like I'm having his baby."
"Not yet," Mama said. "The way that you and him were carrying on outside, it won't be long before you'll be announcing that you're pregnant. And he'll leave you then, yes he will, like his father left his mother. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree"
"Why do you keep bringing David's father into this?" Nia said. "They are two completely different people."
"The man was a whore," Mama said. "An immoral, whorish man who used his fame to manipulate women"
"Like you?" The words spilled out of Nia.
Her mother's face darkened. "That's none of your business."
"So why are you in my business?"
Her mother spread her arms. "Because you don't know any better, Nia. Look at what happened in Houston "
"Okay, I'm going to bed," Nia said. She spun and marched down the hall, toward her bedroom.
"I'm only trying to help you!" Mama pleaded.
Nia rushed inside the room, slammed the door. She dropped onto the bed. Heart pounding, she stared at the ceiling.
She felt as though she were in high school again. This was crazy. What had she been thinking when she had accepted Mama's invitation to move back home? When she had told David that she and her mother were close, she was telling the truth. But she had gotten along much better with Mama when she had lived in Houston.
I have to get out of here, she thought. Mama is going to drive me nuts.
But where would she go? Atlanta? Charlotte? She had plenty of friends in both cities, which would help ease the transition, but what if she moved away from home and something bad happened again, like it had in Houston? Her friends couldn't save her from that. Mason's Corner was dull, but safe. She was one of the town's golden girls: everyone respected her, admired her, looked out for her. Respect, admiration, and neighborly concern were tough to come by in a big city.
One of the worst aftereffects of her stalking experience was her damaged self-confidence. She used to possess an adventurous, easygoing spirit. Not anymore. Although it had been over a year since the madman had terrorized her, he visited her when she slept, his leering face creeping into her dreams with upsetting frequency. Sometimes, she took sleeping pills in order to achieve a peaceful rest.
Considering how deeply Mr. Morgan had shaken her, it surprised her how quickly and willingly she had opened
up to David. A distrust of men had kept her on guard. But David was different. He was special. No matter what Mama said about his father.
I will not let Mama ruin this for me, Nia thought. She will have to get with the Program.
Before she turned in for the night, she checked on her mother. Mama was finishing a crossword puzzle.
"I invited David to dinner tomorrow," Nia said. "I'm cooking. I want you to meet him, Mama"
"Hmph. I'll meet him," Mama said. "I'll give you my opinion, too. One of us has to show some good sense in this house."
Nia let the comment pass. She kissed her mother on the cheek and went to bed.
She slept without nightmares.
Junior had never worked so hard in his life.
For over four grueling hours, Junior and Andre plunged the shovels into the earthen wall. The dirt was hard and packed tight. At times, it was like trying to dig into concrete.
Junior had a strong, work-toughened body, but he thought his muscles would be plenty sore come tomorrow morning.
Mamu did not help them. He walked around, occasionally pointing out an area in which he wanted them to dig. Sometimes he tinkered with the equipment that lay nearby.
Mamu did not allow them to take a break for any longer than a minute or two, which was hard for Andre. Andre hardly ever worked outdoors, and he smoked all the time, so he kept breathing hard and taking a long time to lift his shovel. During one of their breaks, Andre complained that he was thirsty, and Mamu tossed them bottles of water and went back to fiddling with the equipment.
When Mamu was out of earshot, Andre leaned close to Junior.
"I bet we diggin' for treasure, cuz."
"Huh?" Junior took measured sips of the water, knowing from past experience that drinking too quickly would give him muscle cramps. "What kinda treasure?"
"Gold, jewels, something like that, man." Andre nodded toward Mamu. "Look at this operation, cuz. That cat is gonna blow a hole to get in this cave when we done diggin'. You don't go through all this trouble unless you gonna get some loot."
"You think so?" Junior said. He turned over the idea in his mind. Gold. It made sense. No wonder Mamu could afford to pay them so much money. It was nothing for him to pay them five hundred dollars if they were gonna help him dig up a treasure chest of gold.
"I bet that Ed Mason cat buried some stuff in here." Andre tapped the side of the cave with his shovel. "He was rich, man. Rich folks always hiding money and shit."
"Heck, you just might be right, Andre. I ain't never thought about that"
Andre winked. "Watch and see, cuz. If we can stay around long enough, maybe we can lay our hands on somethin' when French boy ain't lookin'."
"Gentlemen, please resume working!" Mamu said.
Andre smiled at Junior, his gold tooth glimmering. They went back to work.
Junior couldn't get Andre's idea out of his head. As he slammed the shovel into the ground, he stayed on the lookout for anything that sparkled in the dirt. It wouldn't do for him to hit gold and miss it.
After they had been digging for about another half hour, they hit a wall of solid rock.
"Yo, man!" Andre said to Mamu. "We can't dig no more. We done hit some rock"
"Excellent!" Mamu said. He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his fancy white shirt. He wore a yellow hard hat, goggles, and gloves. "Gentlemen, stand back, at least ten feet. I will begin microshaving."
"Huh?" Andre said, but he moved away, and so did Junior.
The French guy looked liked he knew what he was doing. Using a hammer drill, he bore a hole in the rock. He stuck a long soda straw in the gap, a thin wire trailing from the tube to a small device he held in his hand. Then he stepped backward several feet and pressed a button on that handheld gadget. The stones broke apart with a loud crack.
"Ain't that something," Junior said.
"Load the crushed rocks into the buckets," Mamu said crisply.
They did as he ordered. After they had cleared away the crumbled stones, he commanded them to stand back again. He set about drilling another hole so he could blow up more rock.
As Junior watched, he became aware of another presence nearby. He turned, looked in the darkness beyond the circle of light.
A tall, slender man, draped in black, stepped out of the shadows. He was dark-skinned, like Junior, but he was a couple of inches taller than Junior, who stood six-three. The man wore a black shirt, black slacks, and shiny black boots with silver buckles.
Junior's first thought was that the guy was some kinda star. He acted cool and in control. When he walked, he seemed to glide. It was weird.
The man floated past Junior and Andre, saying nothing to either of them, only nodding. He approached Mamu, and he and the Frenchman spoke too softly for Junior to understand what they were saying. But it was plain that the man in black was the one in charge. Mamu looked like a servant.
When they finished chatting, Mamu stood back, and exploded another rock.
Junior realized that the guy in black had vanished.
One second he was standing beside Mamu; the next, he was gone.
Junior had never looked away from the men. He had only blinked. The man had disappeared, literally, in the blink of an eye.
No one could move that fast. It was impossible.
Coldness seeped into Junior's bones. And this cave digging, that scared him, too. All of it was too strange and scary. Who were these people, and what was in the cave?
His cousin's eyes were as wide as hubcaps.
"Where'd that man go?" Junior whispered. "I feel like somethin' bad's going on, Andre"
"I'm ready to get out of here, cuz," Andre said. "Don't know if I want that gold no more"
"Ain't no gold," Junior said, and he could tell that Andre believed him. "Somethin' else is in there"
"But what the hell is it?" Andre said.
Mamu approached them. "We are not finished yet, gentlemen. We must continue to displace the stones"
"Aww, shit," Andre said. "Man, when you gonna let us go?"
"Soon. Come now."
"What happened to the dude dressed in black?" Andre asked. "He cut out of here with the quickness. I ain't never seen nobody move that fast."
Mamu gave them another of his strange smiles. "My employer will be returning soon"
It took all of Junior's courage for him to drag himself forward. His stomach was in knots.
They spent another hour watching Mamu blow up stones, then coming behind him to load the junk into buckets. Finally, Mamu said that he felt cool air coming from inside the cave-a sign that they were almost done-and ordered them to pick up the sledgehammers and start whacking away.
Swinging the hammer at the rocks, Junior's arms felt as if they were ready to fall off. He could not wait to get home and go to bed. In spite of the good money he was going to earn, he didn't ever want to do something like this again.
They chiseled open a good-size doorway in the cave. Using the shovels, they cleared away the crumbled stones. Mamu actually helped them this time.
A terrible smell drifted from inside the cavern: an old, rotten stench. Junior couldn't see what was in there because it was dark, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what lay within. He only wanted to get his money and go home.
At last, Mamu set down his shovel. He dug his hand into the pocket of his slacks and retrieved the money clip.
"Your work is done, gentlemen," Mamu said. He peeled off several crisp bills. He handed Andre a portion, then gave Junior his share. "You are free to go ""
"I must impress something upon you before you leave us," a deep voice said, and Junior jumped as if someone had thrown water in his face. The man in black was suddenly beside them; he was the one who had spoken.
Junior's legs were watery. How had this man gotten there so quickly, without making a sound?
It ain't natural, Junior thought. This man, I don't know who he is, but what he does ain't natural.
The thought came t
o him, unbidden, that maybe the man in black wasn't a man at all.
"You must not tell anyone in town what you have done this night," the man said. "Give me your word that you will keep it secret"
Andre looked at the bills, then stuffed them into his pocket. His voice was shaky. "All right. I ain't saying nothing."
"Me, neither," Junior said. He shook his head adamantly. "Nothing."
The guy in black nodded. "You may go" He flowed past them and slipped inside the cave, as swiftly as a shadow. Mamu winked at them, then picked up the lamp that lay on the ground. He switched it on and entered the cavern's dark mouth.
Andre looked at Junior. "Cuz, what the fuck is happening?"
"I ... I don't know. I ain't sure I want to know. I want to go home"
Andre's eyes narrowed. "These cats is up to no good, man. Come on."
"Where you going?"
"I want to look inside and see what they doing."
"Andre, get back here!" Junior grabbed his shoulder.
Andre brushed away his hand. "Only wanna take a quick peek. I done busted my ass helping these cats. I wanna know what they doing."
Junior groaned. His legs trembled. But he followed Andre. Both of them moved quietly and lowered their heads as they stepped underneath the jagged ridge of the entrance.
It was dark inside, and the awful smell made Junior want to vomit. He covered his mouth with his shirt.
Mamu was ahead of them, out of sight around a corner. The backsplash of his lamp gave them a little light as they picked their way forward. Junior and Andre moved forward, in step with one another.
They reached the corner of the cavern tunnel. Junior heard Mamu and the other guy speaking in hushed tones.
Andre put his finger to his lips. He and Junior leaned forward and peeked around the corner.
What they saw made them drop to the ground in stupefied shock.
Human skeletons. Dozens of them, piled one atop the other across the ground. Many of the corpses were swaddled in old rags.
Junior's stomach flip-flopped. He vomited.
Through his teary eyes, he saw the guy in black and Mamu, standing at the far end of the mass of skeletons. They saw him.
"Get out of here!" the man in black said, his voice like thunder. He pointed in Junior's direction, and Junior felt himself lifted in the air by an unseen power. He was flung against the wall with tremendous force, the breath whooshing out of his lungs, pain cracking across his back. He collapsed on a warm cushion underneath him, and realized that his cushion was actually Andre.
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