by Green, Jeri
“I think I bumped my butt on the way down,” Beanie said. “Hadley, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you when we got tangled up, did I?”
“I think I’ll live, but I bet you and me are going to be two sore housecleaners in the morning. Nothing to do but pick ourselves up and brush off some of this dust.”
Beanie looked at the mountain of rubble.
“We sure know how to make a mess,” he said.
“No sense making an average mess, when with a little effort you can make a colossal one! Let’s be a little more careful, huh? We could have broken our necks on that one.”
A wicked grin spread over her face.
“But I will say this,” Hadley said. “It was quite a ride down, wasn’t it?”
“If you say so, Hadley,” Beanie said.
The cleanup proceeded, although at a much slower pace. The sun sank over the skeletal remains of the roller coaster in the distance.
“Let’s call it a day, Bean,” Hadley said.
“A day,” Beanie said.
Hadley patted Beanie on the back.
“We did good,” she said.
Beanie smiled. He liked it when his friend was happy. Hadley got her purse and the salvaged newspaper, and the two tired friends went home.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Maury could not believe Hadley was hunched over and taking such care as she walked. Hadley looked as if she was a paper-thin eggshell dancing on shards of broken glass.
“What happened to you? Did you get hit by a truck or something?”
“Feels like it,” Hadley said. “Let’s just say Beanie and I had an altercation with a pile of junk and Eustian’s stairs and leave it at that.”
“No, we will not, Hadley Jane Pell,” Maury said. “You tell me what happened.”
“Well, we had cleared out the bottom floor, minus Mother Singlepenny’s shrine of a bedroom, and the kitchen where Eustian’s body was found. Beanie wants to save those for last so we don’t make their ghosts mad or something.
“That’s okay with me. However Beanie wants to do it. If he’s happy, he works harder. I don’t care what rooms we do so long as they’re all done in the end. There’s a staircase that leads up to the second floor that’s crammed as full of junk as the rest of the house.
“How do you live that way, Maury?
“I dunno.
“So, we are cleaning off the stairway. Halfway up, Beanie reached up on top of a pile to pull off an old suitcase. It must have been the keystone holding up the whole mess together. When he grabbed the suitcase, the towering stack came crashing down on us. And we tumbled down the stairs in an avalanche of trash. I told Beanie we’d be sore pups, today. And boy howdy, was I right!”
“Oh Hadley, you are lucky the two of you weren’t hurt or killed,” Maury said.
“I think all the trash kept us from getting hurt badly,” Hadley said. “Cushioned the fall. Gave us something to ride over as we slid down those steps.”
“Well, I’d say your guardian angel has a few tattered feathers.”
“Yeah, but I think Beanie thinks it is Eustian getting revenge on us for cleaning out his house. You know how he is. Always ready to blame anything on spooks, goblins, or ghosts.
“I wish he wasn’t so anxious about all that stuff. I talk to him until I’m blue in the face, but he doesn’t seem to be able to process it. Maybe, he just doesn’t want to, who knows. Old superstitions die hard, I guess. And Beanie’s still convinced if it’s not Eustian’s ghost we’ve stirred up, then it must be Mama Singlepenny’s.
“We were lucky, though. I tried to make light of it to ease Beanie’s mind, but we did take quite a tumble. We both ended up with some bruises and sore muscles. I don’t remember feeling this bad since you suckered me into taking that zoomba class with you. That next morning I was one big ache! I was pretty sure my muscles had ripped off my bones.”
“Ha!” said Maury. “I remember that! I grunted every time I moved. I think Bill thought I was constipated. I was bound and determined not to let him see how much pain I was really in.
“He’d already laughed at me for wanting to take that class in the first place. So, I just stood real straight and moved around the house like a tortoise. But sometimes, I’d grunt. Even though I was trying so hard not to. It was unconscious, I guess. He kept looking at me funny, you know, like which door was he going to run out of if I took a dump in my pants.”
“Speaking of dump,” Hadley said, “I did find something interesting in one of the old piles of newspapers. I brought it home with me to get a closer look at it, but it’s so old and dirty and yellowed, it’s hard to make out.”
“Hadley, you didn’t bring any of that man’s cootie-infested rubbish into your house, did you? What are you thinking! Are you crazy! You know cooties are catching. They probably multiply like the dickens.
“And if you bring them in your house, they will more than likely end up in mine! Don’t breathe too deeply when you unfold that musty old newspaper, Hadley. If you inhale, you might suck some muck up into your lungs. When you exhale, we will only be able to see the whites of your eyes in the dust cloud. And who knows what crud you’ll be blowing out around me and my air space!”
“Oh, shush, Maury. Don’t bust your corset. It’s just an old copy of the Hope Rock County Gazette. Here, take a look. It’s story about the roller coaster accident. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. You know me. Curious Cora. I just couldn’t pass it by.
“I can’t believe it’s been that long ago. Look at this photo. There’s a crowd shot of people looking at the wreckage of the coaster cars. I think I saw Hardy Branwell, but I’m not sure. Let me get that old magnifying glass, and we’ll see who we recognize.”
“It’s so yellowed and grimy,” Maury said. “Are you sure we won’t contract some weird lung fungus from this nasty old thing? It looks like it might dissolve into a million pieces in our hands. And I’ll bet there are molds clinging to this paper that have not even been discovered yet. It looks like something you pulled from the pyramids.”
“Here’s the glass,” Hadley said. “Can you make it out any better?”
They hunched over the paper spread out on the kitchen table.
“You will seriously think about burning this table cloth, I hope,” Maury said. “Do they make vats of bleach big enough to soak this table in? Maybe we should fumigate the whole room later. What do you think?”
“Will you chill out? I am constantly wiping off counters and tables. Don’t you think I know that Onus explores every surface he can while I’m out? I know a cat’s feet are nasty. Not to mention his bottom when he plops down to rest a spell.”
“Exactly why I do not have an indoor pet,” said Maury. “And can I just take a moment to thank you for all those glorious pictures you have just put in my head!”
“The filth is a tradeoff for the company,” said Hadley. “You have Bill.”
“Yep,” said Maury, “he’s a nasty little bugger sometimes, too. You would not believe how often I have to tell him to toss his skivvies into the dirty clothes bin. I think he’d wear them until they fell off his bottom. Why can’t he just change them every day like clockwork? He drives me crazy over that. But don’t tell him I said so. ”
“Your secret’s safe with me, Sis,” Hadley said. “Lips are sealed and locked tighter than Fort Knox.”
They bent down closer for a better look.
“There’s Lou Edna, you can tell by her wash-tub hairdo,” Hadley said. pointing to a woman in the crowd of faces. “That’s young deputy Bill. I can tell by that Smokey the Bear hat he’s wearing. That may or may not be Hardy Branwell. Shoot. This picture is so grainy. With this magnifying glass, all I can make out are a bunch of gray and black dots. I wish I could get a hold of the original photo.”
They tried to figure out more of the faces, but it was useless.
“You busy?” Hadley asked.
“No,” Maury said. “I got nothin’ pressin’ on my social calendar, tod
ay.”
“Good,” said Hadley. “Grab your purse.”
“Where we goin’?”
“To the library.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Hey, gal,” Anna said. “Long time no see, Maury. Hey, Hadley. What in the world’s the matter? You look like you got in a back alley fight and lost. Haven’t been hanging out with that tomcat of yours? You okay?”
“Sore muscles,” Hadley said. “I’ll be fine as soon as I move around a bit and work the tenderness out.”
“How’s it coming?” Anna asked. “You anywhere near finished cleaning out that house?”
“Quite a job,” Hadley said. “But Beanie and I are making progress.”
“Good,” Anna said. “Are you looking for anything in particular, today?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I’m wanting to look up an old copy of the Hope Rock County Gazette. I’m talking real old. Do you have copies stored somewhere?”
“Well,” Anna said, “we are digitizing a lot of the older material, but we haven’t gotten around to finishing all of it. Some of the very old stuff is still on microfilm.”
“Microfilm!” Hadley said. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I used those old microfiche machines in college. For research papers. Hot dog, Maury!”
“Hadley, what are you ramblin’ about?” Maury asked.
“Finally,” Hadley said, “a piece of technology I know how to use!”
Anna laughed.
“It is old school, but it works. The reason we’re trying phasing it out is because that technology takes up too much storage space. We are blessed here with a big building, so storage space is not as much of an issue for us as it is for other facilities.
“But, like just about everything else in the world, it takes time to move the old way to the new. Exactly how far back are you talking, Hadley?”
Hadley gave her the date.
“Step right back here,” Anna said. “You’re definitely still in the microfilm era. We have a room dedicated to the microfiche material. Over here, ladies. The films are in these drawers. If you need any help, just call me.”
“Thanks, Anna,” Hadley said. “I’m finally in my element. You old-school beauty, you haven’t changed in eons! Sit down, Maury. Let’s give these films a spin.”
Hadley found the correct microfilm and loaded it into the machine. She wound the little handle and the large screen in front of them was a blur of newsprint and motion.
“Slow down, Hadley! You’re makin’ me sick,” said Maury.
“I know,” said Hadley. “It doesn’t pay to get trigger happy on these machines and wind fast like you’re shooting a machine gun. I’m getting dizzy, myself. Wouldn’t Lou Edna gossip about me if I made myself so drunk I fell right out of this chair! Besides, I’m already sore enough from the fall.”
Hadley slowed the spin of the machine.
“Hey!” she said. “Here it is.”
“That’s Betsy and Billy Aiken,” Maury said. “Where’d they move off to?”
“California. I think,” said Hadley. “At least that’s the last place I heard. But it has been awhile, so I don’t really know for sure.”
“That’s right,” said Maury. “I remember, now. That little Betsy was something else. Wasn’t she? I don’t know why, but she always thought she was something on a stick, remember? Prissin’ around in that fancy little car Frankie bought her.”
“I’ll bet Betsy’s a leather prune by now if she’s cruisin’ the Pacific Coast Highway with the top down and no sunscreen.”
“Maury, you are terrible,” said Hadley.
“All that I am, I learned from my older sister,” said Maury.
“And a philosopher, too!” said Hadley. “But there is a grain of truth in what you say. I never win the award for always being the perfect Little Miss Sunshine.”
“Look!” said Maury. “Isn’t that Hardy!”
“I thought so, too,” said Hadley. “Looking at the old newsprint, it looked sort of like him. But here on this screen, it most definitely is.”
“Wonder why he never mentioned bein’ there that day? That was when Claire got hurt. Them coaster cars are tore up somethin’ fierce. Makes me shudder inside just lookin’ at this photo. Can you imagine how horrible it was to have been there and seen everything up close and in living color? Musta been an awful sight to see.”
“Maybe,” said Hadley, “that’s exactly why Hardy’s never talked about being there that day. As bad as these pictures are, it had to have been horrific to have been there in person.”
“Yeah,” said Maury. “Nightmare City.”
“Did you girls find what you need?” asked Anna.
“Yeah,” said Hadley. “Just quenching our curiosity. Nosy old biddies are like that.”
“Speaking of curiosity,” said Anna, “let me know when you want another fly-by over the county, Hadley.”
“I will. And thanks, Anna.”
Maury and Hadley were standing outside the library.
“You know you’re not goin’ back up in that contraption, Hadley,” Maury said. “I am mortified just to hear you mention that. I’ve seen that thing over at Stanley’s hangar. He’s proud as punch to have bought it for Anna. I think it looks like a rickety little rattle trap of death.”
“Anna’s little plane is quite safe. They say flying is safer than driving a car.”
“Tell that to Patsy Cline.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The forest canopy played out over the mountainside like a sea of green. Maury sat in her car on the back country road and reminisced. She remembered the times she’d visited the old Whittaker place with Bill. It seemed like a lifetime ago. They were both so young then. Life was like a freshly blooming dandelion sprinkled with morning dew. They had been dating six months. Things were going well. No major spats. Every day, Maury fell a little harder for the dark-haired boy who had stolen her heart.
A few times, Bill had driven to a secluded spot. Heck, she thought, on this land every place was a secluded spot. And the whole area was wildly beautiful, like an untamed stallion roaming the vast canyons out West.
The entrance to the property was so hard to find. Jubal had wanted it that way. Like so many mountain folks, he valued his privacy. Don’t bother him. That was Jubal’s motto. And he, in turn, did his best not to bother anybody else.
If you didn’t know where to look, you’d be hard pressed to find the entry way. Likewise, it would be nearly impossible to give directions to a stranger on how to find it. Jubal had definitely been successful in his efforts to camouflage it. She sat in her car, letting it idle.
Maury would be the first to admit it. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her. Perhaps she’d been hanging around her older sister too much, but here she was. She had to find out what Skip was up to.
From the moment he had left in his old truck that morning, the seeds of an obsession began growing. Deep down, Maury knew she should trust Skip but that had become hard to do lately. Skip was growing more secretive. And it wasn’t like him to be so moody.
She had been tempted to search his apartment to see if she could find evidence of something illegal. Skip had given her a spare key in case he locked himself out. God forbid it was drugs. But she could not bring herself to invade her son’s privacy. He was too much like Jubal in that regard. He would never forgive her. She’d said nothing to Bill. He had too much on his plate with Kyle’s murder.
What would Bill say? How would Skip react? She was terrified that if she revealed her truest thoughts, she’d turn both her son and her husband against her. But today, she would take a page from Hadley’s book and be proactive. She was going to see if she could find out what her elusive son was up to.
Her fingernails drummed the steering wheel. Nervous energy. If she sat in her car all day, she would never find anything out. She put the car in gear, edging closer to the twin offset hemlock trees that marked the entrance to the farm.
From the road the trees
hid the way that led to the old cabin. It wasn’t until you drove up to them that the opening was revealed. Bill’s mother and father had lived there until they died.
Maury noted how much skinnier the road seemed. Were cars smaller back then? Probably not. She and Bill hadn’t tooled around the mountainsides in a T-model. Just her imagination.
The old road had never been much. It was hardly more than a dirt path. And it twisted and turned and forked in myriad directions. Maury had often laughed in those first days when Bill had brought her here. How had Bill grown up so straight and tall following all these zigzags, she’d joked. And some places were so steep. Why hadn’t he grown up with one leg shorter than the other!
She didn’t remember so many side paths.
But she took a deep breath. Let it all come back. She knew the way by heart. Right at the first fork in the road, then two lefts. Another right. Bear right again. Over the small wooden bridge. Right. Right. Then, another left.
It had been several years since she had driven here. Nature had been busy while she was away. Everywhere she looked she saw an overgrowth of green. It didn’t appear as if Skip had been any more interested in clearing out the road than his grandfather had been. It felt so wild up here. Deserted.
“I hope he is not growing pot up here,” she mumbled.
The whole area would be just perfect for your own little marijuana plantation.
Farther into the tangle of thickets and overgrowth, she drove. Slowly and carefully, she made her way, dodging large rocks and deep holes. It wouldn’t do to break an axle. A dollar to a doughnut, there were no bars on her cell this far out in the boondocks. It would be impossible to call Bill and let him know where she was stranded. Maury took a deep breath and swallowed her anxiety. It felt as if the forest was swallowing her up.
An uneasy dread filled her. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination or if her senses were alerting her to danger. The trees felt like they were moving in closer. Closer.