Pleas of the Poltergeist

16

After thinking over Aunt Linda’s words, I realized I didn’t want Don to lose his job, which might happen if it came out that he was helping me or knew what I was doing. There was no need to bother him with the details right now. Besides, wasn't asking for forgiveness after the fact a much better idea?

Aunt Linda bustled about the front of the shop.

I held the phone in my hands and debated whether I should call Wes. He wasn’t a cop and wouldn’t get in the same type of trouble Don would if things went wrong. Though, he might lose his vet practice or something. What if it interfered with his brother’s trial and/or conviction?

Nope, this wasn’t Wes’ problem either, not really, so I’d have to go it alone.

“Janice, I need your help,” I called while driving home at the end of the day. Nothing happened and Janice didn’t appear. A little louder, I tried again.

“Hey, Janice. I’m going to take you up on that offer to go into your son’s house. Wanna help me get back at him?” She didn’t answer even with the offer to exact some revenge. When I got home, I hurried inside to pull out her bones.

An internal debate followed while I stared at them. I wasn’t sure it was respectful to try to use the bones to get her attention, but I couldn’t do this without her help.

Janice tapped me on the shoulder.

“AGH! Don’t scare me like that,” I yelled.

“What are you doing?” Janice didn’t look remorseful at all.

“Trying to call for your help.”

She laughed, and I cringed at the sound. “So, I’m hearing that you want to explore some tunnels?” Her grin proved to me that she’d been eavesdropping on me all along.

“Is it possible to access the tunnel from the outside like we can with Aunt Linda’s?”

“Unfortunately, no. They closed off the ends so no one could stumble upon them. It’s easier to keep your secrets safe when no one else has access to them.”

“Why did they bury you in our tunnels when they had their own?” I couldn’t see the logic in it.

“Child, what would be better than me being found and your family blamed for the murder? My husband wasn’t dumb.” Janice smirked at me. “They have wanted your family to suffer for years. It’s one of the few things that each generation is trained for, ruining your family. We’ve been connected for hundreds of years.” She shrugged. “They can’t succeed on their own, so they take from others who aren’t as powerful as they are and use it all against them.”

Later, sitting outside of a stranger’s house, I picked up one of her bones so Janice would stay with me and be able to show me where to go once I was inside the house.

“I never thought I’d be breaking into someone’s house carrying around a vertebra. How did I get to this point in my life?” I muttered aloud as I looked at the bone, unsure if it was maybe a kneecap after all. I didn’t know much about bones.

“You’re sure that no one is here?” I questioned her, looking around the neighborhood.

“Yes, it’s empty. While you were trying to decide whether or not to come, I already checked. So park your spaceship down the street so that the neighbors don’t call the police on you. Then just walk up and knock on the door. We’ll open it like someone is home,” Janice instructed me.

Feeling wary, I did as she told me and knocked on the door. Janice opened the locks for me and welcomed me in. Cautiously, I entered the nice old Victorian-style home. Everything inside was immaculate with a very patriotic antique theme throughout.

I couldn’t keep from rolling my eyes at the décor. It was so cliché for someone in politics to have red, white, and blue as their colors in their home.

“I’m exhausted,” Janice commented. “I need to rest for a bit after exerting so much energy on something like this. Those locks really took it out of me. The most I can do is show you into the tunnels, then I’ll need time to recuperate.”

I didn’t answer.

Janice moved through the house as if she still lived there. Her finger lifted to point out the fact that there was a portrait of her above the mantel.

“I was a real looker back in those days before my death.” She continued on, showing me where to go. “It’s one of the few things I don’t regret.” She sniffed. “At least now I can stay a looker for all of eternity, am I right?” She laughed that nasally laugh. “A benefit of being murdered at a young age.”

It was ridiculously morbid, so I still didn’t comment.

Janice stopped beneath the portrait. “You’ll need to move the fireplace. It’s the entrance into the tunnels.” She waited for me to do as asked. “There is a button on the side.”

I felt around the wood trim until my fingernail caught something. There was a click and the entire wall moved apart, revealing a hidden staircase leading down into the tunnels. For the briefest moment, I wished I was doing something I could share on TikTok. Secret passages were super popular.

Lifting my phone to use as a flashlight instead of a camera, I descended down into the darkness.

“Your alarm has a light inside for you to use. That’s brilliant. Is there anything that pocket-sized gadget can’t do?” Janice moved ahead of me and toward a group of boxes. She clearly didn’t need the light to be able to see where we were going. “These are the ones you’ll need to look through. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

She disappeared, and I shined the light over the stacks of boxes.

There were far more boxes in the room than I’d imagined. Rows of inventory were stashed down here. The records that went missing when the hospital was torn down were stacked against one wall. If there was evidence that could be used against the Houghs, this was where I’d find it.

I took pictures with my phone, documenting anything and everything I found. I started going through the boxes that she had pointed out.

The first box appeared to be more chaotic, but as I started reading through the obituaries and birth notices, I realized they were for my family. Decades of announcements, my birth from when it was listed in the paper, and even the notice of my parents’ death were stashed in this box. They’d been following our family for years.

I continued sorting even when Janice reappeared.

Her expression was tight. “My son is just down the street. You need to go, girly. Your time is up.”

17

In a huge panic, I grabbed the one tangible object that I didn’t scan through my phone, which was a journal similar to the one I found on Howe.

“Can I take this with me?” I held up the journal for Janice to approve.

“If you don’t leave now, then the only thing being taken will be your life,” she hissed, rushing me toward the exit.

I shut the box and ran through the tunnel, I barely made it outside and into the bushes before Hough turned into the paved drive.

Janice was beside me as we watched his car pull into the driveway. The sour-faced man got out and walked toward the house.

I knew I’d seen his car lately. Though I couldn’t place where, it seemed really familiar. His attire and the way he moved, gave the impression he was a slick character. Not someone to be messed with because he was three steps ahead of the game.

Janice shook her head in regret. “Too bad he looks like his father and acts like him, too.”

“Does your son know that you were murdered?” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t hear me.

“More than likely not. Although, based on his murdering tendencies, he truly may not care. It runs in the family. The murdering and killing, that is. A family trait I wasn’t aware of until it was too late.”

“Kim said her uncle killed my parents. He caused a car accident and murdered them,” I admitted. “They wouldn’t have exposed the uncle, though. Aunt Linda was the one doing the investigating. She wasn’t even sure what the documents she’d had meant.”

“I’m sorry. I wish he hadn’t done that. I wasn’t raising him to behave like that.” Janice sighed. “You should go get in your car now.”

She disappeared when I slipped behind the driver’s seat of my vehicle, and I drove straight home. Don’s number popped up on my bluetooth as I drove.

I pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

“Mags, why has Linda called me three times since lunch? She says you’re playing dangerous games, but she can’t say more than that because I need to talk to you.”

I didn’t answer his question, wanting to wait until I was in person to do it. Instead, I said, “Can you meet me at my house? I’m headed there now.”

“Yes, I’m on the way.”

He was already there when I pulled into the driveway and slid my car beside his.

“What did you do?” He eyed me suspiciously.

I held the journal up in triumph.

“Mags, what is that?” Doubt filled his features. “I can’t get involved in something illegal.”

“Um, you probably don’t want to know how I got it because it wasn’t exactly legal. Though, I did have Janice’s permission to enter the house.”

“Leave that part out and tell me what this is about.” Don sighed as he started to follow me into the house.

“It’s a journal filled with family details about the Howes and the Houghs.” I laid the journal on the table and opened it to see what I’d risked my life for. “I don’t know much more than that yet.”

Don looked over my shoulder as I flipped through the book. The entries at the beginning were written by Howe, but halfway through, someone else had taken over.

I gestured to the pages. “I don’t recognize the first name, but the last name is one that I’d recognize anywhere. There was a journal like this buried with William. That one admitted to killing my family member Maggie.”

Don nodded. “Well, you’ll need to read through this one and see what this book admits to. It all has to tie together somehow. Now call Linda and let her know you’re alive.”

Dialing Aunt Linda, I waited for her to pick up. “Hello?” she said, and her voice sounded shaky.

“I’m home and Don is here with me, but he’s about to leave. Everything is just fine,” I informed her.

“What did you do? Why didn’t you answer me?”

“I’ll explain later,” I said.

Aunt Linda gave a long sigh. “You don’t have to, but if you ever do anything like that again, I’ll kill you myself,” she threatened.

I laughed, hoping to ease her tension. “It was perfectly safe. I’ve got guardian ghosts helping me.”

“I’ve got to get back to work in the shop. Are you coming back in today?”

“Yes, I’ll be back in a little bit,” I promised. “I need to eat something while I’m home and then I’ll be up there.”

Shadow came into the kitchen as I heated some leftovers I found in the fridge. She yawned, stretched, and curled up at my feet. I flipped through the journal as I started eating. It was a daily journal instead of the same type of confessional that Howe had used before. I placed my now-warmed food on a plate and continued reading.

The second half was written by Howe’s lover, Cecilia. She talked about her affair with Howe. I paused eating to keep reading. A gasp escaped as I read what she wrote about their child.

“I’m going to keep it. My husband is infertile and thinks it’s his miracle baby. He can claim it, and I’ll get to have my baby, too. I’ll know who the real father is, and that’s enough for me.”

Maggie’s name jumped off the page, and I stopped skimming to read each word carefully.

“Howe set a fire to help keep our secret, but I handled that problem myself. I gagged that meddling woman, Maggie, and buried her alive. It was easy to drug her tea when she visited this morning,” Cecilia boasted in the journal.

I scarfed down the rest of my food but realized that I needed a drink for my suddenly dry throat. Thinking about what I’d just read, I grabbed a cup and filled it with ice before pouring tea into it. After I placed the pitcher back inside, I bumped the fridge door closed with my hip.

But Maggie stood behind it.

I leapt into the air since I wasn’t expecting to see her, but I quickly calmed down and became simply excited to see her again.

But Maggie’s expression became one of horror, and she pointed at the door behind me just before it swung open.

At my feet, Shadow hissed at the intruder standing in front of me.

18

“Hello,” Kim’s father greeted me as he stood in my house. “It’s not so fun when people just break into your house without being invited in, is it?”

I took a step back and he shut the door behind him.

“We’re just going to have a little chat. You don’t need to look so scared.” He smiled at me, but it was more of a leer. “Just two Larkhaven citizens having a friendly talk. Why don’t you go ahead and pour me some tea as well? Then we can have a seat and talk about this.”

“It’s going to take me a minute.” I contemplated how fast I could run out of the house before he could get to me.

I wished I’d taken Don up on his offer to have lunch instead of staying here by myself.

“I may be just a bit older than you, but I can move just as quickly as you can,” he warned. “Take a seat and this will stay a friendly conversation. Run and things will get ugly and probably messy.”

Doing as I was told, I sat down at the table where he joined me.

“What were you looking for?”

I kept my mouth shut. He didn’t need an answer to something he already knew.

“I know you were looking for something in my house. You went straight to the correct boxes and started looking through them. You left with something. Who is helping you?” He slammed his fist down on my table.

Staring at him, I had no idea what to say. He was already angry, and anything I said was only going to make it worse.

Janice appeared and held a finger to her lips, urging me to keep quiet.

I looked around but didn’t see Maggie anymore.

Janice walked around to the counter and knocked a drying towel over onto the journal so that it wasn’t out in plain sight.

“Has my traitor of a daughter been telling you what to look for? I always knew she would be the snitch.” He laughed at the absurd thought. “Good luck finding it again. She won’t know where I’ve put it now.”

I remained quiet.

“What do you want? Why are you searching through things?” He growled, as if that was going to make me more willing to talk.

“How did you even know I was there?” It was the first thing I’d said to him.

“Cameras, dear girl. I caught your whole little sneaking act on film.” He sneered at me. “It was quite the home video. It will completely ruin your reputation in town. Might make your candle shop business dry up and then what will you do for work? People won’t be able to trust you anymore because you’re just a thief.”

I watched Janice out of the peripherals, but she just shrugged apologetically. “I know your brother killed my parents. Did you help him?”

Janice nodded emphatically. Holy crap. He’d helped his brother.

“So you did help him,” I murmured.

“No, you don’t know. You don’t know anything. You just think you do.” His words became ominous. “Stop searching or I’ll turn in the video of you breaking into my home and have you arrested. You are playing games and acting like an amateur detective. It’s about to get you into loads of trouble you aren’t prepared for.”

“You aren’t above the law. Continue to play games after our little talk, and I will succeed where my daughter failed to silence you.” He stood and marched out, leaving as abruptly as he’d entered the house.

After his car sped away, I gulped in air as if his presence had sucked the oxygen out of my body.

“Sorry, dearie. I didn’t know people could have cameras in their houses now. They weren’t like that back before I died,” Janice apologized.

Shadow hopped on my lap in a comforting manner, and I just petted her for a while to help calm myself down. Her purr soothed my anxiousness.

I lifted my chin. “I’m not leaving it alone, and I don’t care if I get in trouble, too. There has to be a reason for all this. Maggie and William need to find peace. Where did Maggie go, anyway?” I spoke aloud to Janice, but it was more to help me think.

Aunt Linda answered immediately when I called her.

“Where are you? I thought you were coming here. Are you on your way?” She sounded a little worried.

“Yes, I’ll be there in a minute. Have you seen Maggie lately?”

“No, I haven’t. Be careful, okay?”

“I will. I promise.”

Placing Shadow on the ground, I grabbed the book and headed for the front door. “I’ve got some justice to serve up. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.

Janice winked before she was gone in a poof.

19

I drove to the candle store and breathed a sigh of relief when the shop looked empty. I hurried inside. Locking the doors, I announced to Aunt Linda, “We’re closed for the next hour.”

Shadow was already curled on the counter, and I petted her as she followed me into the back room.

“What on earth is going on?” Aunt Linda demanded.

It was time to confess everything.

“I went into the Hough home with Janice’s help. There were tons of boxes, but she helped me to narrow it down to the ones I needed to look through.” I frowned. “They had records on our entire family.”

Suddenly, my brain clicked into gear. “I have Maggie’s bones! They must be under William’s. That’s where Cecilia buried her.”

“Hold on, I can’t deal with all this yet. You went into their home?” She made me stop bouncing and stand still. “Mags… their home?”

“Yes, then when I got home, he came right inside mine and threatened me.”

“How did he know where to find you? He just came in, didn’t knock or anything?” Aunt Linda shivered at the thought.

“I think he’s been keeping tabs on me somehow. His vehicle looked really familiar; I think he’s been around trying to keep an eye on me. I recognized his car when he pulled into his driveway. Kim probably told him to watch me.” I opened the doorbell app on my phone to show him walking up to the house and walking in without knocking.

“He told me to leave it all alone before threatening me with taking his video to the police and having me arrested.”

“I knew this was a bad idea. They’ve been killing our family for years.”

“We can’t just leave Maggie and William trapped here. Janice either, for that matter.”