Another Ball – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  To Kill a Ghost.  The Table of Contents is here)

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The steps up to the third floor of the Goode Mansion seemed longer than ever.  I could hear the music drifting down the stairs, the murmur of people.  Each step was harder than the last.  It wasn’t just the pain.  Yes, there was still a bit of pain left over from the four broken ribs, the broken right arm, bruises and a bruised bone on the left arm, bruises and a bruised bone on my left leg and, well all of those other injuries from being struck several times by a heavy iron bar.  For the most part, they had healed, but there was still a bit of pain and tightness when I pushed it.  But, no, it wasn’t just the pain.

It was as much the fear.

Fear?  OK, maybe nervousness would be a better word.

I stopped at the landing on the third floor and took a few deep breaths, ignoring my complaining ribs.  In some ways this took more courage than entering the carriage house on that dark April night.

The ballroom was filled with people.  I walked to the front, the area were Abigail kept court, and turned.  I smiled at my parents, who were up from their retirement home in Arizona.  I nodded to my sister and a few friends.  I noticed Kunhal and other work colleagues.

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To Kill a Ghost – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Where’s Lyndsey?.  The Table of Contents is here)

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“Hold on a minutes there,” Sean said.  “I was playing along with this, but it was all a bluff.  I can’t kill anyone.  I mean, I’m a good shot and all, but I’m not a killer.  I don’t even kill the mice in my house, I use live traps.”

“What do you think we were doing here, then?”

“You told me that once Jessica was in the mansion, Martha would have to leave her 100% alone.  She’d be vulnerable and we could kill her then.  That’s Martha, not Jess.  Martha’s dead already and she has been a pest.  I’ve known Jess since she was a little girl.  I can’t harm a hair on her head.  Or any of them, for that matter.”  He holstered his gun and turned to us.  “Sorry you guys.  I played along thinking it was just to scare you, but you know I wouldn’t hurt you, don’t you?  Sorry.  Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.”

He turned and ran out of the building.

I took Jessica’s hand and grabbed Lyndey’s elbow and started to pull them towards the door.  We took three steps when Galvin came in.  He had a gun in one hand and an iron bar in the other.

“Point that gun at them,” Barbara said.

“I don’t like these toys,” Galvin said.  “I think cold, hard iron is a better solution.”

Where’s Lyndsey? – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Lyndsey Again (phone call).  The Table of Contents is here)

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Tuesday seemed to stretch on forever, but there really wasn’t much happening.  Sure, there was work and all, but the reason it seemed to stall was the anticipation of seeing Lyndsey on Wednesday.  We did text back and forth a dozen times and talked on the phone in the evening, but it only made the wait a little more bearable.  In fact, I said as much to Lyndsey, making a joke about our foreplay lasting 48 hours, so it had better be a good climax.

Wednesday started out little better.  I texted Lyndsey for the first time when I got to work and we talked for a few minutes at lunch.  But after that, she didn’t answer me.  The minutes stretched forever as I anticipated her call.  The clock came to a stall.

In the early afternoon, Lyndsey texted that she was behind and wouldn’t be able to make my house by 5 PM.  She thought 6 or 7 more likely.  And then she disappeared again.

It was around 5:45 PM when I received the next text from Lyndsey, “I’ll be up at the mansion soon.”

“What are you talking about?” I texted back.  No answer.  I tried her phone, but it went straight to voicemail.

A few minutes later, maybe around 6, I received another text, “Looking forward to seeing you and Jess in a few.”

Again, she wouldn’t answer my calls and texts.

Lyndsey Again (Phone Call) – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Izle Again.  The Table of Contents is here)

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“Hey Gill, what’s up?  Your text sounded a little…”

“Hi Lyndsey.  I hope I didn’t worry you too much, but I wanted to tell you that there was an accident and that Izle died.”

“Oh.  Izle?”

“Yeah, Isabel Parker.  Here’s the thing.  She said she had something to warn me about, something big.  I blew her off and said I’d meet with her on Monday, today.  I planned to see her about the time she died, but was delayed by work and traffic.”

“Oh.  That’s…”

“Wait, there’s more.  One of the ghosts told me that it wasn’t over, that there would be deaths and I needed to be vigilant.  Even Amy’s dad, Bob Lansing, sent me a message that it isn’t over and to be careful.  I think Izle’s death is related to all of this.  And If I had been home on time…”

“Now Gill, don’t go blaming yourself.  You are not responsible.  Maybe I do need to get you out of that town for a while, if not for your safety, for your peace of mind.  As I said, she was not your responsibility.  OK?”

“Yeah, I know.  It’s just that with all of those warnings, well, I’m a little concerned.  Also about Jessica.  But, yeah…”

“I get it.  It sounds like you had an odd day.  Do you want to know about mine?”

“Of course.  I… Wait.  Damn, how could I forget!  Yes, please tell me.  I’m sorry I went on so long about this.”

Lyndsey laughed.  “I guess you must have been upset to forget.  Or wasn’t it that important?”

Izle again – the Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  A Phone Call.  The Table of Contents is here)

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A lot happened at the office and so I was about an hour late getting home on Monday.  In Amesbury, as I turned off Main Street, I was surprised to notice that part of town appeared to be blocked off.  I could see flashing lights, but couldn’t make out what was going on.  I went out for a walk almost immediately after getting home.  First, I wanted to find out what was happening.  I’ll admit it, it’s a small town and we are all slightly nosy.  But also, I had promised Izle that I would talk to her.  Despite it being Izle, I was very curious.  She said she wanted to want to warn me about something.  I had wondered if it were similar to Alexander’s warning.  On the other hand, she had mentioned Galvin.  I couldn’t imagine him being involved in anything, but he could be a stooge, just like when he was a lookout for the kids exploring the mansion.

As I walked, I thought a little about Alexander and his issues.  Mike from the historic society had written back that after thinking about it, he was about 90% certain that I was correct that Alexander was a black man.  It explained so much about his life.  He was a business genius and a good man in most ways, but something always held him back.  And no matter how polite he was, people took an instant dislike to him.  Seeing an issue with racism made all of the pieces of the puzzle fit neatly together.  Mike said that he was amazed that it had never been brought up before.  Later he wrote back and said that after a bit of research, he was 100% sure Alexander was black.  He was wrong and found that it had been brought up, at least in Alexander’s lifetime, but for some reason the historians missed it.  I wondered if the historians were as racist as the people 200 years ago, thinking that only a white person could be so successful and never entertaining the idea that Alexander wasn’t white, despite the fact he was often referred to as “the black devil”.  From what Mike said, it was even more than that, that people called him black all of the time, but people had taken it to mean his personality.

Walking into the center of the village, I discovered that Mill Street had been blocked off and the traffic rerouted.  I could see emergency vehicles down around the large mill building that housed Cooper’s Scientific Instruments.  I knew I couldn’t go down there, so I decided to do the next best thing and headed to Strickland’s.

I wasn’t too surprised that most of the usual guys were there, hanging out.

A Phone Call – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Revealed.  The Table of Contents is here)

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“Hey Gill.”

“Lyndsey!  I can’t tell you how great it is to hear your voice.”

“Don’t I know it.  I missed you so much it hurt.  And from what I hear, it wasn’t just you I missed, but the most excitement Amesbury has seen in decades.  I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”

“News travels fast.”

“Ha!  News this big travels at the speed of light.  Or at least radio waves going to my cell phone, and perhaps light in a fiber cable.  Yeah, my dad called me.  I just got off the phone with him before I called you.”

“Ah yes, he was an eyewitness to some of it.  There was, of course, a lot more.”

“I’m sure there was.  I received your text.  So, Martha finally sent you that invitation, huh?  My guess is the ball wasn’t sexy at all, but a bit morbid.”

“The ball was great, it’s what happened afterwards that took a turn towards the dark side.  And the scene in the carriage house… I don’t want to talk about that over the phone.  You have to be sitting here so we can cuddle and tell each other that it will be alright.”

“I can imagine.  Dad was creeped out just by the old bones in the foundation.  I’m sure if you witnessed it, even if it was just a ghostly shadow.”

Revealed – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  The Library III.  The Table of Contents is here)

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I napped for about an hour after getting home from the library.  It had stopped raining and the sun looked like it was attempting to come out.  I puttered around the house, and by the time I ate dinner, the clouds had long since vanished.  I felt restless and I knew I wasn’t going to talk to Lyndsey, so at about 8 PM, I went out for a walk.

After doing my normal route, I decided to swing through the “downtown” section of the village.  It was beginning to get dark so I figured nobody would notice if I crossed the trestle and went behind the old mill.

I was passing a little hidden cubby in the back of the mill when I heard someone call my name.  I turned and saw the black man that had been haunting the mill and my dreams for the past few weeks.  He motioned me over to him.

“Today is my last day here and I need to talk to you,” he said.

“What?” I asked.  I tried to clear my head.  Nothing made sense.  “This is a bit odd.  Won’t somebody see?”

“Not many will see me, and as for you, we have watchers that will warn us if anyone comes close.  If they catch you, say what you want.  You were urinating on the wall or reading the inscription over there.”  He pointed to a block on the wall.  It had always been covered in ivy, but some of the vegetation had fallen away revealing words.  I had never noticed it before and wondered if anyone else knew about it.  “But you’ll have plenty of warning if anyone comes.  The watchers will know.”

“Watchers?  I don’t see anyone.”

The Library 3 – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Discovered.  The Table of Contents is here)

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I wasn’t able to make down to the library for almost three and a half hours.  With the lack of sleep and the excitement of the discovery, I was a clumsy mess, but I finally made my way over.  It was still lightly drizzling as I waited for Mike to come to the door.

“Hey, I guess you’re the big news today,” he said as he let me in.

“Well, maybe not me, but what I discovered,” I said.  “Is Sean still around?”

“No.  He went over to visit Barbara and talk to her.  I’m sure she’ll be steamed about it all.  You may have lost a friend there.”  He started up the steps to the historic society rooms.

“I’m not too worried.  So, they know each other?  I thought when I first met Barbara that she told me she didn’t know who owned the mansion.”

“She’s Sean’s aunt, so, yeah, they know each other well.  I have no idea why she’d tell you she didn’t know who owned the Goode Mansion.  She must have been pulling your leg.”

I thought about it.  Did she actually ever say she didn’t know who owned it?  I couldn’t remember, I just remember that she said she wanted to buy it but it wasn’t for sale.  I Think her words were, “not for sale at any price.”  

Discovered – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  Found.  The Table of Contents is here)

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A light misty rain started to come down as we went into the mansion.  I wasn’t really sure where to begin.  Martha had told me that I couldn’t miss it, but that wasn’t a very good clue.  I figured that there was some kind of rule in the ghost universe that made it so she couldn’t come right out and tell me.  But there were things about her body language.  I felt that I should know.

For a brief second I thought of Jessica giving me a sultry look and telling me to come look at the bed.  In my mind, Jessica turned into the young Martha.  They had both hinted about taking me to bed.  They had both winked.

“Uhm, let’s go up to the second floor,” I said.  “I want to take a look at Martha’s bedroom.  There’s something about that room.”

Sean shook his head.  “That room has been sliced, diced, dissected and put back together.  We pulled the walls apart and rebuilt it.  Even the floor came up, every single floorboard.  There’s nothing there.”

Found – The Old Mill

(This is the latest installment of the series that starts with The Old Mill.  The previous chapter was  The Carriage House.  The Table of Contents is here)

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I walked across the parking area in front of the Goode Mansion to Bill’s truck as he was getting out.  He gave me a once over.

“You look like crap, Gill,” he said.  “I know how my no-good daughter is acting is getting us all down, but…”

“Morning Bill.  Yeah, she’s getting me down, but I think it’s more to do with the fact that I didn’t sleep well.  I was kept out until after midnight and then couldn’t sleep.  I spent half the night writing and the other half rolling over and over, not able to close my eyes more than a few moments at a time.”

“And in that delusional state you call me at the crack of dawn, huh?  I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but I just hope that you weren’t pushed over the edge by Lynds or decided to take Jess too seriously…”

“Proud father, yeah.”  I winked.  “I don’t think I’m insane, but…  Oh, can you do me a favor while we’re waiting for the others to show up?”

“Sure.  What’s up?”

“If I remember correctly, there’s a crow bar, about three-foot-long, in the equipment shed.  Can you grab it for me?”

“Of course.  Any clues for me?”

“Nope.  Well, OK, I will tell you that I’m acting on something some ghosts told me.  Other than, well, you’ll have to wait to see if I lost my marbles.  If so, maybe you can help me find them.”

“Ghost stories, right.  Those marbles might be gone forever.  I’ll be right back.”