by J A Whiting
Viv held up her hand and kidded. “No unnecessary details, please.”
“What’s the connection?” Lin thought out loud. “Mr. Weeks could have knocked me down in my house. He didn’t have to wait until I went to the shell piles. Weeks is trying to tell me something.”
Viv said, “He’s trying to tell you that there’s something you need to be aware of down by the shell piles ... of something on that lot.”
Lin nodded. “That’s why I felt strange and worried when you and I biked there the other day. I have to figure out what’s wrong down there. It’s something important.”
“At the very least,” Viv surmised, “it is something very important to G. W. Weeks.”
“It can’t be related to his wife,” Lin said. “She predeceased her husband.”
“She died in childbirth,” Viv added. “She wasn’t murdered, she didn’t disappear. Nobody killed her.”
Lin said, “So there’s no mystery surrounding Sara Weeks.”
“What’s the mystery about then?” Vic cocked her head.
“Was or is someone doing something illegal down by the shell piles?” Lin questioned. “Whatever it is, it must have something to do with Mr. Weeks.”
“We need to go back there.” Viv wore a determined expression. “We’ll sniff around, see what’s going on, look for possible clues.”
Lin’s shoulders slumped. “What does the area around the shells have to do with the valentine?”
“That’s the main question, isn’t it?” Viv asked. “We have to find the link between Mr. Weeks, the valentine, and the shell pile lot.” She paused. “How are we going to figure it out?”
“Maybe we need to go to the historical museum to do more research.” Lin’s eyes brightened. “Maybe Anton can help us. We should go talk to him. Pick his brain. He might know something about the area near the shells.”
“Good idea.” Viv picked up her purse and stood. “Now you owe me a meal.”
“Did I agree to that?” Lin teased.
“Yes, you did.” Viv slipped her arm through her cousin’s. “Let’s go.” As they left the library and stepped outside into the cooler evening air amidst the people strolling through town, Viv asked, “How’s Leonard? Are you two back to normal? Is he still keeping you from going into his house?”
Lin’s smile fell away. “We’re fine. Things are back to normal. Even though he told me he’d invite me in someday, I don’t think it will ever happen. Leonard is a private man. He suffered terribly when his wife died. The loss still haunts him, although he seems to be handling it better than he used to. I know he cares about me. I’ve given it a lot of thought. I have to be mindful that Leonard’s home was Marguerite’s home, too, and I don’t think he wants anyone intruding into what they had together. I think the house is a symbol to Leonard of their life together.”
Suddenly, a wall of icy air enveloped Lin and made her shiver. She turned her head quickly and caught a flash of a dark-haired woman standing on the corner watching her … and in less than a half-second, the woman faded and disappeared.
18
“Viv.” Lin was still staring at the opposite corner of the road. “A woman was standing over there. She was watching me.”
Viv looked across the street. “Who was it? Is she gone? Maybe she knows you.”
“I didn’t recognize her. I only saw her for a second and then she was gone.” Lin turned to her cousin and spoke softly. “She was a ghost.”
Viv’s mouth opened in surprise. “Did you feel cold?”
“Yes.” Lin looked up and down the cobble-stone street even though she knew the ghost was gone.
“What did she look like?” Viv asked.
“She was in her mid-thirties, dark shoulder-length hair, slender, pretty.” Lin kept looking at the corner of the road.
“She must be related to the old ghost,” Viv guessed. “Could she be G. W. Weeks’ wife, Sara?”
Lin’s eyes had narrowed. “I don’t think so.”
“What makes you feel that way?” Viv was trying to draw out Lin’s impressions.
Lin bit her lower lip. “The way she was dressed. Her clothes looked contemporary. She didn’t stand out like she was from another century.”
“Okay.” Viv’s mind was working. “Did you get the feeling she wanted something from you? Did she need help?”
“No.” Lin had been surprised to see the woman staring at her. She was sure it was a ghost, but the spirit didn’t send her any sensations to pick up on. Ever since she’d moved back to Nantucket, whenever a ghost appeared to her, he or she gave off a strong feeling … sadness, grief, loss, a longing for something. “She didn’t seem to want anything from me. I didn’t get any feelings from her at all.”
“Are you sure she was looking at you?” Viv questioned. “She might have been looking for or watching someone who was near you.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so.” Lin’s surprise had come from the ghost’s deliberate staring. The woman made eye contact with Lin and held her gaze. “She was looking at me, right at me. Her gaze didn’t waver. She was staring at me.”
The cousins started to walk down the sidewalk.
“Maybe the ghost has heard of you from other ghosts,” Viv offered. “Maybe she wanted to see the human who could communicate with spirits.”
“I can’t communicate with spirits. I can only see them.”
“Well, maybe she wanted to have a look at the kooky human who can see ghosts.” Viv glanced back over her shoulder. “Forget about her. You claim she doesn’t want anything from you, so let it go.”
“It makes me uneasy. I’ve never seen a ghost who doesn’t want something from me.”
“How about when you were a kid? They didn’t want anything from you then, right?” Viv asked.
Lin thought back on her childhood interactions with spirits. “Not really. I guess not.”
“Then this must be one of those kinds of ghosts. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” Viv encouraged. “You would have felt something if she was out to get you.”
A look of horror spread over Lin’s face. “Out to get me? I didn’t consider that.”
“Come on. Stop thinking about it. Let’s browse some stores before we go for dinner. Didn’t you say you wanted to look in somewhere?” Viv hoped to distract Lin from the ghost’s appearance.
“Yeah.” Lin’s voice sounded flat. “I wanted to go to the shop next to the place where I bought the valentine. I saw a mirror I liked in the window.”
“Great. Let’s head that way.” Viv picked up the pace to move quickly away from the area where Lin had seen the ghost staring at her. After walking several blocks, they turned onto the side street where the shop Lin was interested in was located.
“Here it is.” Lin stopped and pointed to a mirror in the display window. The frame was gold and a sailing ship had been painted on the wood section at the top. “That’s the one I like. I thought it would look nice on the living room wall by the front door.”
“It’s beautiful.” Viv looked sideways at Lin. “But, you probably can’t afford it.”
“Let’s go in and see.”
The young women entered the high-end shop of paintings, mirrors, sculptures, linens, clocks, and jewelry boxes. Lin approached the clerk and asked about the mirror in the window and when she heard the price, her face blanched. “It’s a bit more than I wanted to spend.”
With a look of disappointment, Lin sidled up to Viv who stood at a display table admiring a brass and wood tide clock. “You were right. No way I can afford that mirror.”
“Maybe you can find a similar one for less in a different store,” Viv said.
Lin overheard one of the customers ask for the owner of the store and when the clerk replied that Mrs. Holder had left for the day, her head snapped up. “I met a man outside on the sidewalk the other evening,” she whispered to Viv. “He told me he was the owner of this store.”
“Maybe a husband and wife team own the place,
” Viv suggested.
“Nuh-uh.” Lin shook her head. “The man told me his wife died a few years ago.”
“He could have remarried.”
“I don’t think so. He seemed broken up about losing his wife.” Lin walked across the space to speak to the clerk. “Could you tell me the name of the store owner? I bumped into him outside on the sidewalk the other night.”
The clerk looked confused. “A man? No. Margaret Holder owns the store. She’s been the only owner for about twenty years.”
Lin’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Does Mrs. Holder employ a man to do the window displays?”
The clerk shook her head causing her blond bob to swing around the sides of her chin. “No. A woman from the island does the windows.”
“Does a man in his forties with brown hair and a beard work here?” Lin asked.
“No, I’m sorry. No one like that works here at the shop. Maybe you were outside of a different store and confused it with this shop,” the clerk said helpfully.
“That could be. Thank you.” Lin walked away knowing full well that she was not outside a different shop. She and Viv left the store and stepped into the lamplight where Lin pivoted on the brick sidewalk and faced the display window. “I was standing right here. I almost bumped into the man. We talked next to the window. He said he was the store owner.”
“Well, he was lying,” Viv decided.
Lin’s blue eyes met Viv’s. “He wasn’t lying. He was sincere.”
Viv took a step closer to her cousin. “What did the man say to you?”
“We talked about the store. He told me he lost his wife not long ago.” Lin pressed her fingers to her temple. “He said he’d also lost his close friend.”
“What else did he say?” Viv tilted her head to the side.
Lin recalled the man’s words. “He said we have to treasure our loved ones.”
“Did he make you feel cold?”
“No.” Lin shook her head. “He was solid. A late-middle-aged guy.”
“Are you sure you were outside this store?” Viv asked.
“I’m positive.” Lin looked bewildered.
Viv crossed her arms over her chest. “Then he was pretending to own the shop.”
“Why would he do that?” Lin questioned, confused by the situation.
Viv said, “He runs into a pretty girl. He wants to impress her so he says he owns the store.”
“I don’t think so. He didn’t seem like that kind of person.”
The door near the other side of the display window opened and an older man with silver white hair and leaning on a cane stepped out to the sidewalk.
Viv gestured to the door of the shop. “Well, the guy you talked to doesn’t own this store. The clerk told you that a woman owns it.” She lifted her hand with the palm-side up. “What other explanation is there?”
Lin blew out a long breath of frustration. “I don’t know.”
The old man tipped his tweed hat to the cousins. “Evening. I apologize for overhearing what you were saying. Are you looking for the shop owner?”
Lin shifted around on the sidewalk to face the man. “I was, yes.”
“Mrs. Margaret Holder owns the store.” The man’s face had deep lines in the skin and dark circles showed under his eyes. “I rent the second floor apartment from her.”
“I thought a man owned the place,” Lin explained. “I was mistaken.”
“It happens.” The man gave a kind smile. “Some of the side streets look alike. It’s easy to get confused about which store is on which street.”
“That must be it,” Lin acknowledged.
“I know quite a few of the shop owners here in town,” the man said. “Can you describe the man you’re looking for? I might be able to help.”
Lin told the old man what the person looked like.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t think I can point you in the right direction.” The old man’s back was slightly stooped. He glanced in the display window. “I used to own this shop, the whole building, in fact. It was a very long time ago.”
“Did you?” Viv asked with interest. “Did you sell the same kinds of merchandise when you owned the place?”
“Some of the same things. It was ages ago. The items that were in demand years ago are not what people are looking for today.” He looked up and down the street filled with tourists. “It is still a beautiful town, isn’t it? That is one thing that hasn’t changed.”
“You’re still living in the building?” Viv asked.
“That was part of the sale agreement, that I be allowed to live in the apartment as long as I wish. The woman I sold the property to is a very nice person.”
“Why did you decide to sell?”
“I was tired. My wife had passed away. My friend was gone. I couldn’t keep up with the workload. It was time to let someone else handle the place.” The man looked at Viv. “You own the bookstore, don’t you?”
Viv smiled, pleased to be recognized. “I do, yes.”
“You’ve done a very nice job with that space.”
Viv beamed and thanked the man.
He looked from Viv to Lin. “You are both good businesswomen.” Tipping his hat again, the man wished the girls a goodnight, told them it was pleasant to speak with them, and shuffled away down the street.
Lin and Viv headed for a restaurant down by the docks and when they were a block from the shop they’d just left, Lin stopped in her tracks and stared at her cousin. “How did the man know that I’m a businesswoman, too?”
A shiver of unease ran down Lin’s back.
Viv said, “Maybe he’s seen you doing landscaping at the library or working on window boxes at some town businesses.”
“He wouldn’t know I was the one who owned the business.”
Viv gave a shrug. “Maybe he guessed.”
Lin knew that wasn’t the case. Something was off … she could feel it.
19
Just as Lin opened the front door of her cottage to leave for work, Anton Wilson pulled his convertible to a stop in front of her house and jumped out. Nicky stood at Lin’s feet, wagged his little tail, and let out a woof to greet the historian.
“What’s up?” Lin asked, surprised to see Anton so early in the morning.
“Libby called me.” The man was out of breath. “She found someone else you need to speak to. Libby was discussing your case with some people she knows and one of them told her about a woman who used to rent the old Cape house.” Anton removed a fresh white handkerchief from his back pocket and dabbed at the perspiration on his brow. “It’s too hot for me. Give me a cool, dark library research room any time.”
“The woman experienced a ghost?” Lin asked trying to get Anton back on track.
“You need to talk to her. Libby doesn’t know the woman personally, she’s a friend of a friend.” Anton handed Lin a small piece of paper. “Here’s her name and number. You have to go now. She’s at the docks. She’s taking the early ferry back to the mainland.”
“She doesn’t live here anymore?”
“She and her family live in Boston. She was only here for a short visit.” Anton took Lin’s arm. “Go now or you’ll miss her. Call and let her know you’re coming. Tell her Libby’s friend, Phyllis Duncan, told you to call.”
“But, I have to get to work,” Lin protested.
“I’m your first client of the day,” Anton said. “I’ll give you today off.”
Lin’s eyes widened. “You usually don’t know when I’m scheduled to work in your yard.”
“I checked the calendar,” Anton said. “I haven’t seen you for a few days. I figured you could shuffle the clients around, if need be. Libby said this woman has good information. Go on, now. Shall I take the dog with me?”
“No, he can come to the docks with me. It will save time if I don’t have to come get him at your house later.” Lin let Nicky in on the passenger side and then climbed inside her truck. As she pulled away, she called a “th
ank you” to Anton who stood next to his red convertible and watched them go.
Lin met the woman on Straight Wharf near the ferry office. “I’m Donna Bigley. The ferry doesn’t leave for forty-five minutes. There’s a bench in the shade over that way. Why don’t we go sit?”
When they were settled, Donna leaned forward and gave Nicky a pat. “What a nice dog.” The woman was in her late forties, had short brown hair, and was wearing a sleeveless summer dress. “Since you mentioned Phyllis, I know what you probably want to talk to me about.” She didn’t look happy about it.
“My friend, Libby, knows Phyllis. She said it would be helpful if I could speak with you.”
“If you don’t mind, I’m not going to ask why it would be helpful to you.” Donna looked down the brick walkways. Even though it was early, people were strolling along past the restaurants and stores, some carrying take-out cups of coffee, some holding the hands of small children. In front of them to the left, a sailboat bobbed gently at its mooring.
Donna said, “Things that went on in the old house can’t be explained, at least not in a way I’m able to understand. I’ve talked to Phyllis about our experiences and she’s been a help, but whenever she explains one thing, I end up with fifty more questions. It isn’t easy for me to say, but I’ve accepted that there are things in the world that … well … that I didn’t think were possible.” The woman let out a long, slow breath. “I don’t talk about this with people, not even with my husband, but on occasion, Phyllis asks me to do a favor and I do it.”
Lin nodded. “I appreciate it.”
“What can I tell you?” Donna said with resignation.
“When did you rent the Cape house?”
“It was about six years ago. We rented for a year. Our boys were four and two.”
“What were your experiences?”
“It wasn’t really my experience in the house that you want to hear about. My husband and I didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Well, not until the day we moved out.” Donna swallowed. “It was our older boy, Kyle. He had … he interacted with … he said a man talked to him while we lived there. Kyle called him his friend.”