Shadow of a Life

by Mute80

  “I don’t think any kind of death would make up for the pain they put countless people through when they were alive.”

  “I guess we know how they found each other in death—they died at the same time and place. When you read that it was 1912, I thought you were about to tell me they died on the Titanic.”

  “Why?”

  “It sunk in 1912, too.”

  “You’re just a walking history book, aren’t you?” I joked.

  I really didn’t mind. I enjoyed history myself and found Peter’s little trivia facts to be kind of interesting.

  I was silent for a minute, thinking. “Why do you think they became ghosts? Sophia said it’s rare for people who did something bad on earth to become ghosts when they die. Usually it’s for them to right a wrong, but I don’t picture Jeremiah and Elsa doing that. They were completely heartless and I don’t think there’s any way they could ever right all of the wrongs they did.”

  “I don’t know. I just hope we don’t ever have to find out. As long as we can keep Sophia and Nick away from the Goodwins until they extricate we shouldn’t ever have to cross paths with them.”

  I looked at the clock. It was already after five and I was completely exhausted from everything we’d been doing that day.

  “Let’s just leave everything spread out here for tonight,” I said as I waved my hand over the mess of papers on the dining room table. “We can show it to Camille tomorrow . . . and Sophia if she comes back. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving again.”

  “I have an idea. You’ve been feeding me for the last few days and I think it’s my turn to return the favor. Cooking is a hobby of mine. Are you willing to taste my food?” Peter suggested.

  “Sure. I have nothing better to do so I might as well give it a try,” I joked.

  “I make a pretty mean Alfredo sauce if you like that kind of thing.”

  “It sounds delicious. What ingredients do I need to have?”

  “Actually, I think I have everything that I need at my house. Want to go over there?”

  I hesitated for a second. For some reason it didn’t feel weird to be alone at my house with Peter, but the idea of being alone on his territory made me nervous.

  “I guess that would be okay,” I said slowly.

  “Great. Let’s go.”

  We made the walk to his house in less than fifteen minutes and let ourselves in through the garage. Peter’s house was filled with old things just like mine, but the things occupying the shelves in his home were artifacts, not antiques. I spent the first twenty minutes we were there going from glass case to glass case admiring everything I saw. Peter was able to tell me the history of every single piece. His parents had taught him well.

  He stopped at a hall table and hit play on the answering machine. There were a couple of messages for his parents that he quickly skipped over and then listened when he heard his mom’s voice come on the machine.

  “Peter? Hello? I guess you must be out with friends. Don’t have too much fun without us. We were able to take a ferry out to a little tropical island today and it was blissful. You would have really liked it. Anyhoo, enjoy your evening. We’ll call again tomorrow. Love you.”

  Peter rolled his eyes and laughed when the machine beeped that the message was over. “If they’d really wanted to talk to me they would have called my cell phone instead of the home number.”

  Peter chatted as he pulled out pans, utensils, and ingredients and began to work on dinner—obviously in his comfort zone. I offered to help and he instructed me to cook the fettuccine noodles. I could handle that—it only required pasta and water. I shouldn’t have hesitated in going to his house because he was a complete gentleman the entire time we were there and never did so much as hold my hand. He was right—he made a delicious Alfredo and there were no leftovers when we finished.

  We were trying to decide whether to return to my house and continue searching through documents or call it a night when my phone rang.

  “How’d it go today? You never called me so I guess that means you didn’t find anything?” It was Camille. I’d completely forgotten about her.

  I quickly filled her in on all the information we’d uncovered. She was impressed. “I want to see the picture,” she said when I told her about the photo we’d found.

  “Would you be interested in coming back over to my house tonight or do you want to wait until tomorrow?”

  “I know it’s only seven-thirty and bright as day outside, but I’m already in my pajamas. We better make it tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Is ten good?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

  I hung up with Camille and walked with Peter back to my house. He didn’t come inside again, but he said goodbye and left on his bike. I let myself inside the house and leaned back against the closed door.

  I couldn’t believe everything that had happened that day. I’d discovered that I was related to murderous villains and I had my first kiss—all in the same afternoon. Not bad.

  CHAPTER 18

  It was tempting to continue going through stuff on my own, but I decided against it. I might miss something important if mine were the only eyes looking. The chances of three of us missing the same thing were slim so I figured it could wait until the morning. I straightened up the dining room the best I could and went upstairs to get in my own pajamas. It was only 8:30 and the sun had barely gone down, so there was still a faint light coming through my bedroom window.

  I thought back to earlier in the day and the kiss I’d shared with Peter on the widow’s walk above me. I climbed the stairs to the attic once more and unlatched the window to the balcony. I stepped out into the cool night air and looked around. It was even more beautiful at that time of night. I could see the waters of Buzzards Bay way off on the horizon and I thought about all the ships that had sailed in and out of the waters there over the years. After my adventure was over I would never look at the sea the same way again. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the way it felt when Peter had touched my lips with his. The memory was still close.

  I opened my eyes and as I turned to go back inside I spied a couple out for an evening stroll on the sidewalk just down the road from my house. It was sweet that they were still holding hands at their older age, but as they grew ever nearer to my house my world came crashing down. I was not very close, and it was fairly dark, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was Jeremiah and Elsa. I was so scared that my knees started knocking together. I probably should have immediately gone back down into the attic, but I was frozen in place, too scared to move.

  They were almost directly in front of my house when they looked up and saw me staring at them. My heart pounded as our eyes locked. They stopped walking and waved. My arm felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds, but I was finally able to lift it in a gesture of hello and managed to fake a half-smile in return. They continued walking and I let out my breath loudly. I jumped back into the attic and locked the window. I ran down the attic staircase, locking the door behind me and then ran down the main staircase and peered out the living room window. I couldn’t see the Goodwins anymore and hoped they’d gone on down the street.

  I continued my crazy run through the house checking every window and door lock, turning on lights, and closing all the curtains before I realized it wasn’t doing me any good—if they wanted in, they would come in. I was just about to dial Peter’s number when the doorbell rang.

  My heart raced and it took every ounce of courage I could dig up to step toward the front door. Please let it be Camille, or Peter, or Sophia. Please let it be Camille, or Peter, or Sophia. Please let it be Camille, or Peter, or Sophia, I chanted over and over in my head as I stood on tiptoes to look through the round peephole.

  “Aaggh!” I tried to stifle the scream that escaped my mouth before the couple on the other side of the door could hear it. My mind raced, trying to decide what to do. I could run through the back door and hide in the yard until they left, but maybe th
ey would just come in if I did that. All the information Peter and I had gathered about them lay on the dining room table. It wouldn’t take a genius to find it and know what we’d been up to. If I ran out the back door I could try to escape to Jack and Rita’s and maybe they could come back with me and check for ghosts since they could see their auras and I couldn’t. But I really didn’t want to get them involved. They deserved to be happy without getting mixed up in all the other crap. I was still trying to decide what to do when the doorbell rang again, followed by a knock on the door right near my head. I jumped and moaned again.

  Finally, I made a decision. I’d wanted adventure and I was going to get it. If I answered the door I’d be able to see them and know what they were up to. If I didn’t let them in, I’d spend the night wondering if they were invisibly following me around my house. I quickly dialed Peter’s number on my cell phone and then slipped it into my pocket with my finger hovering over the send button. I unlocked the bolts on the door, the noise sounding much louder to me than I’m sure it actually was, and opened the door slowly.

  “Hello, honey,” Elsa said in a sing-song way.

  “Uh . . . hi.”

  “We’re the Godfreys. This is John and I’m Elizabeth,” she said as she pointed to Jeremiah standing next to her. “We saw you standing on your roof and we were wondering if you could help us with a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?” I stood with the door only partially opened, not wanting to let them all the way in. Elsa peered past me into the room as if looking for something.

  “Well, dear, our granddaughter has gone missing and we’ve been combing the neighborhoods around here looking for her. She’s run away before, but we’re really worried about her this time. Some others we’ve talked to thought she looked like a girl that had been seen at a bus stop near here recently. You look to be about her age so maybe you’ve seen her?”

  Jeremiah, who hadn’t yet said anything, stretched out his hand. I looked down and saw that he held a picture. When he spoke his voice was gruff and deep. “This is what she looks like. Have you seen her?”

  I reached down and took the picture with the trembling hand that wasn’t in my pocket. It was definitely Sophia. It looked like it had been taken sometime within a year or two after the one I’d found in the attic. The picture was cropped to only show her face and looked as if the color had been added later. Some sort of photo editing program had definitely been used.

  The question remained. Should I lie or tell the truth . . . sort of?

  I handed the picture back to Jeremiah. “She looks a little familiar. What did you say her name was?”

  “Sophia,” Elsa said at the same time Jeremiah said, “Suzanne.”

  “What we mean is, her name is Sophia Suzanne Godfrey. She could be going by any name, though,” Elsa explained.

  “Oh, I do remember her. I saw her at a restaurant in town. I overhead her talking with another girl that I don’t know. She said something about leaving and going up to Boston I think.” I really hoped they couldn’t see through my poor lies.

  “When was this?” Jeremiah questioned.

  “Oh, I dunno. Maybe a week or so ago? I’m sure she’s long gone. I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Well, thank you for your help, honey. Can you do us one more favor? Will you give us a call if you see her again? We’re desperate to know that she is safe. You can call us any time of the day.”

  “Sure. I could do that,” I lied again, taking the little card on which Elsa had just scribbled a phone number and started to shut the door.

  “We didn’t catch your name, dear?”

  “Jamie,” I said without thinking. “Uhh . . . have a good night.” That time I quickly shut the door and locked it again. I watched through the peephole as Jeremiah and Elsa walked down the porch stairs and down the road, continuing on their way. When I couldn’t see them through the hole in the door anymore, I ran to the window and peered out through a gap in the curtains, watching as they rounded the corner at the end of the street. I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out my phone, quickly dialing Peter’s cell.

  “Hello?” He sounded surprised that I called again so soon.

  “Peter. It’s Jamie.” I didn’t mean to and I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. The tears started falling and I sobbed into the phone.

  Peter was on high alert. “What’s wrong? Jamie, what happened? Is it Sophia?”

  I tried to explain the best I could through the tears and was finally able to calm down.

  “I’m sure they’ve moved on to another neighborhood. That was smart to try to lead them in the wrong direction,” he said, his voice coming out kind of choppy.

  “What if they circled back and snuck into my house? They could be standing behind me listening to everything I’m telling you.” I shivered and looked around.

  “Jamie, just stay put. If they’re lingering around and they see you bolt, you’re going to look suspicious. I’m sure if they really thought you knew something they would have stayed longer or done something to you.” For some reason he sounded out of breath.

  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight. I’m so freaked out. I really wish Sophia was back so she could be on the lookout for spirits floating around.”

  “Jamie, don’t freak out, but your doorbell is going to ring again.”

  “What?”

  “I ran over as soon as you called. I’m almost to your door so don’t freak out when I ring the bell.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “About coming over or about not freaking out?”

  I looked out the window. Peter was starting up the front walk. I opened the door before he even had a chance to ring the bell and stepped into his arms. The tears came again.

  “I feel like such a baby. You didn’t have to come all the way back here,” I said when I’d finally composed myself and let go of him.

  He laughed. “I don’t mind at all. Guys like to play the role of protector, didn’t you know that?”

  “Did you pass the Goodwins on the way over?”

  “No, but there are multiple streets they could have turned down. I’m sure they’re well out of our neighborhood. Or else they went invisible.”

  I shuddered. “So what do we do now?”

  Peter looked around. “Let’s hide the stuff in the dining room first. In case they do come back, secretively or not, we don’t want to risk them seeing anything.”

  We quickly stuffed the boxes in the small kitchen pantry and then looked around like lost puppies.

  “Do you think we should call Jack or Rita?”

  “I haven’t met Jack yet, but I think you were right about not getting them involved.”

  “You’d like him.” I managed a smile.

  “It sure is bright in here. Why are all your lights on?”

  I blushed. “I was nervous.”

  “Let’s turn some of them off. If any of your neighbors know that your Dad is out of town, they’ll wonder why the place is all lit up. If your neighbors come over, you can bet I won’t be spending the night.”

  “You’re spending the night?”

  “There’s no way I’m leaving you here by yourself.”

  My night had just become very interesting. I looked down then and realized I was standing there in my fuzzy pink pajama pants and an old t-shirt with dancing teddy bears. My face burned even more. I couldn’t exactly go upstairs and change without Peter noticing and possibly saying something so I decided to just stick it out. The damage had already been done.

  It was 10:30, but I was wide awake. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to sleep again. Together Peter and I grabbed a pile of blankets and pillows from an upstairs linen closet and made beds for ourselves in my living room. I took the couch and Peter, ever the cavalier one, took the floor. We popped a bowl of popcorn and sat down in front of the TV. There were a couple of late night comedy talk shows on and we watched them without much enthusiasm. The last time I remember looki
ng at the clock it was about 1 a.m. I don’t know which of us fell asleep first, but I didn’t wake up again until my phone started ringing and vibrating around five-thirty. I’d never been so glad to hear Sophia’s voice in my life.

  “Sophia,” I yelled into the phone. The sudden noise woke Peter and he jumped up and looked around. I covered the mouthpiece and mouthed happily, “It’s Sophia.”

  “You’re mighty chipper for this time in the morning. I figured I’d be leaving a message on your voicemail.”

  “There hasn’t been a lot of sleeping going on lately.”

  “How come?”

  “Well, for starters, Jeremiah and Elsa paid me a visit last night.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “I wish I was.” I could hear Nick in the background asking what was wrong. Sophia whispered to him and then came back on the line.

  “What happened? Are they still there? What do they want? Why won’t they stop following me?”

  “One question at a time, please.”

  She paused before answering and inhaled sharply. “I heard a voice in the background. Are they there now?” she whispered into the phone.

  “No. That’s Peter.”

  “Peter’s there this early?”

  “I was scared to be alone last night . . . so he stayed with me.”

  “Oh. That was nice, I guess.”

  I couldn’t see Sophia through the phone but I could sense a sly smile spreading across her face. I’m sure she patted herself on the back for pulling Peter into the crazy adventure and successfully getting us together.

  “So, tell me everything that happened. And please, start at the beginning.”

  I related to Sophia everything that had gone on the night before, starting when I stepped out onto the widow’s walk by myself after Peter had gone home. She was understandably upset that Jeremiah and Elsa were passing her picture around town. Many of our friends had seen Sophia with us around Marion and we were sure that if Jeremiah and Elsa kept pushing the subject, someone would eventually finger us. When Jeremiah and Elsa returned to my house, they would most likely not be as “friendly” as they had been the first time.