Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (10 page)

She picked up the phone and answered it with a chirpy, “Hello.” There was no response, only silence. “Hello, is anybody there?” Still there was no answer. Hanging up without a second thought, she went back to the business at hand.

Again the phone rang.
This time there better be somebody on the other end.
Grabbing the receiver she answered, “Hello,” a little gruffly. This time, she could swear she heard somebody whisper, “Find it.”

“I think you have the wrong number.” There was no response to this, only silence. Rene felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Quickly, she hung up the phone.
How creepy,
she thought shuddering. She had to find out who was calling her. Entering star sixty-nine, she waited impatiently to be connected and give someone a piece of her mind. Only the connection never came. Sure, sometimes people could use, ‘star sixty-seven’, to block. Except in those cases the phone company would issue a message letting you know the call couldn’t be completed. This time there was nothing but silence on the line, with no rhyme or reason to it. “Fuck,” she mumbled to herself, hanging up the phone.

*    *    *

When Sam knocked on her door it startled her, but she was more than ready to go out. Sam was such a nice guy, and the prospects of having a good dinner and perhaps a movie were quite pleasing.
I wonder what he has planned.

“Hello, Rene, it’s so great to see you again,” Sam said with a nervous tone to his voice.

“Hi there, Sam…long time no see!” Rene said with a huge smile and a laugh.

“Have you heard of Trattoria Tosca? It’s this great little Italian place downtown. Does that sound good to you?” Sam asked hesitantly.

“It sure does!” She said, beaming him another great big smile.

As they got into Sam’s car, he noticed the dark clouds. “It looks like it is going to really pour tonight.”

“I like the rain. It makes for a great night’s sleep. The sound is very soothing pounding down on the roof,” she answered. “I also enjoy walking in it, if there isn’t any lightning, of course.”

Wow, this is my kind of girl; not all fussy about her hair, her makeup, her outfit, sounds like she is just down to earth and fun-loving. 
“Maybe we will get a chance to walk in the rain together,” and with that the first few drops of the storm began to come down soft and wet.

It was a twenty-minute drive from Rene’s apartment to the downtown restaurant. The conversation was flowing easily. Sam, who usually struggled with longer conversations, found that he felt exceptionally comfortable talking to Rene.

Dinner was going great as well. The two of them seemed to share the same offbeat sense of humor.

I really like this guy, although I really like Jack too. Two boyfriends at once, what am I thinking? Then again, isn’t boyfriend kind of a strong word? I met Sam for the first time at the hospital, when he came to check on me, then again for a lunch date, and now. Let’s think about it, I helped Jack get his apartment, had a casual pizza dinner to celebrate, then a breakfast, and dinner tomorrow night. And of course, who could forget destroying his prize car. Although, he has been an awfully good sport about it. ‘Boyfriend’ is definitely too strong of a word for either of them.  A few dates are just a beginning. With my luck they’ll both turn out to be jerks.

“Earth to Rene, are you still here?” Sam said inquisitively.

Rene shook her head slightly and decided to focus back on the here and now. “Oh, sorry about that Sam…I guess the sound of the rain hitting the window was so relaxing I zoned out for a minute. You got us this fantastic window seat. Now, what where you saying?”

“We where talking about your family,” Sam prompted.

“Let’s talk about the rest of this evening.  What do you have planned?” Rene asked.

Sam leaned across the table and motioned for Rene to do the same. He whispered quietly, “Well, I have an idea if you’re up for a bit of adventure. I’ll tell you more about it in the car.”

I wonder what Sam has up his sleeve?
Any guess that Rene might have had would have been dead wrong.

*    *    *

The rain was continuing to come down as the couple drove to Sam’s mysterious destination. He had refused to say where they where going, only that it might be a bit spooky. Rene felt an unexpected chill crawl slowly up her back.

“Sam, when are you going to tell me what this adventure is?” she asked quizzically.

“We’re almost there, and then I’ll spill the beans.”

“That’s a funny old expression. I haven’t heard that in years,” she laughed.

Their silly conversation continued on for several more minutes before Sam pulled the car up to the curb and parked.

Rene looked confused. Sam had parked in a relatively desolate downtown business area.

“Sam, there is nothing open down here at night.”

“I know. We are going to walk several blocks over.”

“Why don’t we just park there?”

“You’ll see, it’ll be better if we don’t. There’s no lightning and it’s not raining that hard anymore, seems like a good time for a walk.”

“Okay, I have to admit you have me curious or perhaps even a little nervous. You’re a nice guy, right? Not a serial killer or something?”

Sam chuckled at Rene’s attempt to make light of her apprehension. “I am nice, sometimes too nice for my own good.”

They began walking, it was a warm rain, and they were both thoroughly enjoying it. Sam was particularly savoring how Rene’s shirt was clinging to her silhouette.

“Hey mister, I see your eyes wondering,” she said playfully.

“It’s not my fault you’re so good looking,” he teased back.

As they rounded the corner and started up the next block, Rene noticed the Horner Bank Building looming in the darkness. “Hey, does this adventure have something to do with that creepy building?” Rene asked.

“It sure does. I know you’re a history buff. You mentioned working at a local antique store, the one with the crackpot owner who wants to save this building.”

“Liam is not a crackpot! Granted, he is a little bit odd,” Rene protested.

“I haven’t told anyone this, but when Jack and I were in there, I found an old journal. I knew the police would confiscate it if I brought it out with me. So I stashed it on the way out. I think Jack was so rattled by what happened that he doesn’t even remember it. I thought we would sneak in and get it.”

“Isn’t that place all locked up after the incident?”

“Sure it is, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” Sam reached into a side pocket on his tan cargo pants and pulled out something to show Rene.

“Is that a lock pick?” she asked. “Sam, you struck me as a straight shooter, but you’re just full of surprises.”

“I’ve always had a skill for ‘breaking and entering’ even as a kid,” Sam bragged. “Well, are you game for it?”

As she thought about her answer, thunder boomed, and lighting flashed, “Better in there than out here.” She started to run.

Sam caught up, and they ran up the block to the bank building. Shortly, they were standing next to the side door,  the same door he and Jack had burst out of several days ago. Sam began to work the lock with the pick. It wasn’t long before Rene heard a loud click, and Sam pushed the door open. The rain was just beginning to pick up, and within a minute it began to come down torrentially.

The stairwell gawked at them, dark and ominous. Sam gave Rene a quick nudge into the gloom, and quickly followed, closing the door behind them.

“Hey, Sam, you said you were a nice guy, right?”

Sam clicked on a small but surprisingly bright flashlight, that he fished out of his other pocket.

“What else have you got hiding in there?” she pondered out loud.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Sam laughed. “I think I stashed the journal on the third floor,” and he motioned for Rene to follow him up the stairs.

“I have a bad feeling about this place, Sam,” she said, as she began to follow him slowly up the stairs. “Remember, I’m a clairvoyant. And, well, this place just has a feeling of death hanging over it. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Come on, Rene, where’s your sense of adventure? Nothing’s going to happen and you have to admit this is an exciting and memorable date.”

“I’ll give you memorable, but I’m not sure what else. And it’s the ‘what else’ part that scares me.”
He called it a date; yes, maybe he is looking for a girlfriend.!

They rounded the second floor stairwell and continued their climb. Several blasts of thunder echoed off the outside of the building. Rene scooted up close to Sam, grabbing his back belt loop. Sam glanced at her and smiled.

There is something to be said for scaring a girl if you want her to snuggle up close,
he thought happily.

Upon reaching the third floor landing, Sam shone the small flashlight around. He quickly found the old fire extinguisher casing the journal was stashed in.

“Here it is,” he said pulling the journal out of it’s hiding place.

The moment Rene laid eyes on the journal, the cold feeling of death she had felt was replaced by another feeling. At first, she couldn’t put her finger on what that was, and then it came to her. It felt like coming home to loved ones after a hard day, like receiving a hug and a pat on the back. The sensation was almost the complete polar opposite of what she had been feeling up to this point.

Rene reached for the journal. “Let me have a look, please.” The journal had a well-worn black leather cover. It was obvious, whoever had owned this had used it a lot. She couldn’t shake the feeling of warmth and comfort that had come over her, not that she wanted to. Carefully, she opened the tattered cover. The name written on the inside of the covering read “Tim Bartington 1929”. “Wow, I love stuff from the twenties, and this is like the perfect window to the past.” She stared at the journal, a look of utter fascination on her face.

Sam carefully slipped the journal out of her hands, gently closed it, and placed it carefully into his pants pocket.

“Hey, there you go again with those pockets of yours.”

“We can go back to my place and read it for a while if you like,” He offered up hopefully.

The warm feeling that had come over her so suddenly washed away, just as suddenly as it had come. It was being replaced with a much different mood; one she had felt all too often lately, that of seething hatred. 

Even in the dark hallway sparsely lit by the flashlight, Sam could feel the change in Rene’s disposition. Her easy-going nature seemed to have just vanished.

“Sam, we’re going up to see the office you told me about,” she commanded in a voice as gruff as sandpaper.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think we should get the hell out of here,” Sam stated apprehensively.

Rene’s tone changed, but not her cold demeanor. “Please, I would really like to see it,” she said, as smooth as silk this time.

“Are you sure you really want to?”

“I am very sure,” she said, grabbing his arm roughly and directing him up the stairs.

Originally, she didn’t even want to come in this creepy building, and now she wants to go to the scariest spot. I just don’t get it
.

It was not long before they reached the stairwell door on the seventh floor. Sam opened the door for Rene, but then decided to lead the way.  Looking down the hall, Sam could see the infamous office door still ajar. There appeared to be smoke coming out of it.

Rene marched right past him and down the hall, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Before he knew what was happening, her slim frame disappeared from sight, passed the door labeled, “T.I.M Banking and Investment Firm.” The storm outside was putting on a wild display. Lightning was illuminating the hallway in an eerie strobe-like fashion.

Hastily, he followed Rene down the hall, not wanting to leave her alone.  As he entered the room, he saw Rene standing in front of the painting, which was no longer on the floor where he had placed it, but back on the wall in its original spot. 

The office continued to be bathed by the glow of lightning, as thunder pounded the building. Sam felt all of his instincts telling him to run again, yet he couldn’t. He stood rooted to the floor, fascination overruling common sense.

“I just love this painting; don’t you?” said Rene in a stern voice.

“Sure, it’s interesting enough I guess. Rene, let’s get out of here. This place is really giving me the creeps.”

Turning towards Sam, her eyes flashed briefly; they appeared to be a fiery red. “I want that,” she pointed to the painting.

“Really, you think it is worth something? That’s what I originally thought too, before Jack distracted me with the paperweight.”

“I am sure it has some value; but that aside, I just want it.”

“That’s stealing—we might get caught,” Sam protested.

“I have it from a good source that there will be no further police investigation.  We will be fine! Now grab the painting, and let’s go!” Rene demanded.