Ghost House Revenge (9 page)

“Shh,” Derek whispered. He slapped his thigh. “Come here, boy.”

Lad rested his chin on Derek’s knee. The soulful brown eyes looked up into Derek’s,
asking for affection. Derek stroked the dog’s smooth head and spoke to him as if he
were human.

“Can you figure this out?” he asked. “What do you suppose that woman wants from me?”
Lad whined. “I don’t know, either,” Derek said, yawning.

He leaned back in the chair and turned to gaze through the back-door window at the
moon. Sighing deeply, he just sat, waiting for an answer to come to him.

“Wait a minute,” he said, turning to the dog again. “I know! Suppose, for some crazy
reason she’s been spying on me? She must know I go to the health club a few nights
a week. She just followed me there and hid out in my car.”

It made sense, but it didn’t answer the most important question:
why?
What could she want from him? He had no money to speak of, and little of value—
nothing
of value, he corrected himself.

Suddenly Lad let out a growl and leaped for the back door. Startled, Derek pushed
his chair back and went to investigate. The hitchhiker was staring through the back-door
window! She was smiling at him, her pointy teeth glistening wetly. Her eyes, shining
with malevolent delight, had a filmy look to them. She didn’t move or make a sound.
She just stood there grinning.

“You bitch! Darek hissed.

He turned quickly to the cupboard behind him and removed the back-door key. As he
twisted the lock, he glowered at the woman’s hideous face. He wouldn’t be afraid.
He’d let her in and make her tell him. . . .

But just as Derek got the door open, she ducked away. He stepped outside quickly and
peered around through the darkness. He could see the silhouettes of the trees beyond
the huge back yard; nothing seemed to be moving. The moon above cast a silver-gray
glow over everything at such an angle that there were no shadows.

“She must have run into the woods,” Derek reasoned, “and there is no way I’m going
to chase her around out there.”

Let her go
, his mind ordered.

He locked the door behind him. It was all a sick joke, of course. He shuddered and
rubbed his arms to ward off a sudden chill. Lad nudged him and after receiving a few
strokes of reassurance, went under the table to sleep.

Oh, damn
, Derek thought as he headed out of the kitchen.

Never a man to be easily frightened, he decided to forget the whole thing. How could
he let it upset him? It was just some smart-ass kid in old clothes and Halloween makeup.
He’d ignore her. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of showing fear. Maybe she’d
get bored and leave him alone.

He did not know that it wouldn’t be that easy.

* * *

“God, you look like you’ve been through the mill,” Gary said when he entered the kitchen
the next morning to find Derek already up.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” Derek answered, yawning into a cup of coffee. He
poured another and set it in front of Gary.

“Thanks,” Gary said, adjusting himself in his wheelchair. “I thought I heard Lad barking.”

“I was here in the kitchen,” Derek explained. He took a sip of coffee. “Hey, Gary,
are there any other families around here?”

“Not for a mile or so. And we told you the house down the road’s been empty for several
months. Why?”

“Well, some crazy kid’s been bothering me lately. I made the stupid mistake of giving
her a lift in my car one day—right down on Houston—and she’s been following me around
ever since.”

“Maybe she’s got a crush on you?” Gary asked.

“Oh, no,” Derek said, shaking his head. “This isn’t infatuation, it’s harassment She
is probably out of her mind. You should see her. She has stringy blond hair, blue
eyes, and sickly pale skin. I mean, you can almost see her veins through it.” He thought
a little more, then said, “Oh, yeah, and her hands are always red. Like she has frostbite.”

“It’s a little late in the spring for frostbite, don’t you think?”

“Of course,” Derek said. “She’s using some kind of makeup on her hands. And on her
face, too. She’s just too pale—like something out of a horror movie.”

Melanie entered the kitchen just then. She greeted them cheerily as Kyle scooted around
her to the refrigerator.

“What intense expressions!” she cried. “What’s going on?”

“Some girl’s been harassing Derek lately,” Gary said. He cast a look at Kyle, who
seemed to be busy filling his cereal bowl. “Do you know any young women with blond
hair and pale skin?”

“Yea,” Melanie said, laughing. “Me.”

“Paler,” Derek said. “Like death warmed over. And her hair was a lighter blond. It’s
down to her waist and looks like she hasn’t combed it in a week or two.”

Melanie shook her head. “No, I don’t know anyone like that.” She went to the refrigerator
and took out a container of milk.

“Wait,” Derek said. “She told me her name. Do you know anyone named Janice?”

The milk container fell to the floor, the white liquid spilling all over the floor.
“Oh, God,” Melanie said in a soft voice. She waved her hands. “No, damn it. I don’t
know anyone named Janice.”

She went to the pantry for a mop. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she felt a chill
crawling over her. She rubbed hard at the milk, keeping her back to the others. Derek
eyed her, wondering why she had reacted so strangely to the mention of Janice’s name.
Perhaps she did know her?

Later Derek asked Gary about Melanie’s reaction. Gary tried to explain it.

“See, Melanie had a good friend once named Janice,” he said. “But she died the same
night I was hurt. Uhm—I was unconscious at the time, but they told me later that the
same—uhm—the same guy who pushed me from the window killed her.”

“No wonder Melanie was upset. I probably brought back painful memories,” Derek said
apologetically.

“Melanie’s sensitive about it,” Gary said. “She somehow feels responsible for what
happened to Janice, but of course that’s ridiculous.”

“What did happen to her?”

Gary stopped and stared into his eyes. “I don’t really know,” he said.

“Well, okay,” Derek replied. “But I know of course that that Janice isn’t the one
who was in my car. Not if she’s dead. There’re no such things as ghosts.”

Across the room, an unseen woman laughed silently.

Oh, but there are ghosts, my handsome Derek!
she cried, unheard by him.
You’ll soon learn how real I am! They’ll all learn, and they’ll pay for what they
did to me
.

Derek decided he would simply ignore the woman the next time she showed up. But a
week had gone by with no sign of her. Well, that was fine. Maybe she had seen him
with Liza and decided he wasn’t single and worth pursuing any more.

Tonight he was dressing in his best clothes for the dinner with Sarah and Marc Kaufman.
He had bought Alicen a new dress (much to her surprise). His child shouldn’t look
like a street urchin around all this wealth.

Down the hallway, Melanie was in Nancy’s room, busy tying and retying the blue sash
to her daughter’s best dress. Kyle bounced on the bed, whining about his seersucker
suit.
Gina stood at the vanity table with Alicen, combing her friend’s hair.

“Kyle, sit still,” Melanie said, at last finishing the bow. “You’ll mess up your clothes.”

“How come I hafta wear these dumb pants?” Kyle asked, settling on the mattress. “They’re
scratchy!”

“Oh, Kyle,” Gina said in a motherly tone, “stop complaining. You look very nice.”

Kyle clicked his tongue and jumped from the bed, heading for the door. Just as he
reached it, Gary entered the room, on crutches. Kyle stopped short to avoid a collision,
his arms spread out at his sides.

“Where are you going so fast?” Gary asked, laughing.

“Downstairs to the kitchen,” Kyle said, ducking past him.

“Stay out of the food!” Melanie called. She smiled at Gary. “Say, you look great.
It’s been a long time since you wore a suit.”

“And a long time since I was walking,” Gary said. “I hope I do okay tonight.”

“You’ll do fine,” Melanie reassured him. This was the first time Gary would be using
his crutches in front of strangers. Melanie went to him and slid her arms around his
waist. They kissed warmly.

“We make a beautiful couple,” she said.

“You’re beautiful,” Gary said, running his hands over her peach-colored jersey dress.
“And you’ve really done a great job tonight. I’ve never seen the kids so immaculate.”

He looked over his shoulder at his daughters. Gina was dressed in an eyelet-trimmed
denim jumper, while Nancy wore a red-and-white flowered dress. Even Alicen was attired
neatly. Her father had bought her a stylish shirtdress with tiny vertical stripes
that made her chubby body look a little thinner.

“You’d think it was Easter Sunday,” he said.

“It isn’t going to kill you,” Melanie responded, picking up a comb from Nancy’s dresser
to brush her hair for the fifth time.

Now Nancy opened her little jewelry box, revealing a tiny dancing ballerina. She lifted
out a silver and turquoise bracelet Gina offered to help her put it on, but Nancy
refused, insisting that her father do it. Gary obliged, smiling at his little daughter.

“Why don’t you kids go downstairs?” Melanie said after he had finished. “You can make
sure everything looks right.”

“Yea,” Gary said. “Your mother’s expecting the queen of England.”

“It’s just the mayor,” Nancy said.

“The way your mother’s got you kids dressed up,” Gary said, “she might as well be
the queen of England.”

“Gary!” Melanie cried.

Gary left the room laughing. Melanie had to admit he was right, though.

Sarah arrived wearing a pale pink suit. Four gold chains hung from her neck, and gold
earrings dangled from her ears.

“Boy, she looks rich,” Kyle whispered.

Melanie aimed a swat behind her to hush her son, then smiled and greeted Sarah and
Marc Kaufman. Marc, who had brown hair just turning gray and a thin mustache, offered
a stark contrast to his wife in his plain, though expensive, gray suit.

“Sarah and Marc,” she said, “I’d like you to meet my husband, Gary.”

“Glad to know you,” Sarah said.

Marc hesitated to extend his hand, seeing Gary’s crutches. But Gary reached out and
took his firmly. Marc grinned.

“This is Derek Miller,” Gary said, “my therapist.”

Derek and Marc shook hands, then Melanie introduced the children. Sarah leaned down
to Nancy and chucked her under the chin.

“My, aren’t you a pretty little thing?”

Melanie saw Alicen shuffling in the background and quickly said, “This is Alicen Miller,
Derek’s daughter. She and her father live with us.”

“Hello, dear,” Sarah said.

“Hello,” Alicen replied, shyly averting her eyes from this stranger.

Sarah and Marc followed everyone down the long hallway. Sarah commented that something
smelled luscious, and Melanie told her they were having rib roast for dinner. In the
dining room, Sarah complimented Melanie on the centerpiece of azaleas and baby’s breath
as she settled herself into a massive oak chair. Melanie suddenly remembered Gary’s
comment about the queen of England and bit her lip to suppress a giggle. She turned
into the kitchen to get the food, aided by Kyle and Gina.

Gary’s chair had been placed near the sideboard so that he could serve the wine. He
turned around and lifted a heavy crystal carafe, filling five matching goblets.

“Excellent wine,” Marc said. “What is it?”

Gary laughed. “You’re asking me? I hardly know the difference between red and rosé!”

“Well, let’s see,” Melanie said, leaning toward the sideboard.

She picked up the empty bottle that sat behind the carafe and brought it closer to
read it.

There was a sudden crash, and giving a cry, Melanie jumped away from the table. The
bottle had exploded in her hand. Shocked, she held out her palm to Gary, showing a
trickle of blood that ran from a gash in her skin.

“Kyle, get the first-aid kit,” Gary said quickly.

He reached for his crutches, but Derek was already on his feet and leading Melanie
into the kitchen. He held a white napkin to her hand to stop the flow of blood. Melanie
grimaced in pain.,

“I don’t know how that happened,” she cried as Derek put her hand under a running
faucet to wash it.

“You’ll be okay,” Derek said, examining it “It’s a long cut, but not a very deep one.”

Melanie shuddered. “It hurts.”

Kyle entered the kitchen with the first-aid kit and put it on the counter. While Derek
opened it to take out a bandage, the little boy stood on tiptoe to see his mother’s
hand. Gary, who was standing in the doorway, called to him.

“Kyle, leave your mother alone,” he said.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Kyle asked. “Mom, does it hurt a lot?”

“It just stings,” Melanie said, smiling for his benefit.

Derek wrapped the cut with gauze, then closed the first-aid kit. Holding her hand
upright, Melanie reentered the dining room while Gary held the door open for her.
She looked around at her guests. Sarah and Marc looked worried, Gina and Nancy were
whispering, and Alicen kept her eyes on her lap.

“Wait until you see what I do for an encore,” Melanie joked, hoping to ease the tension.

Everyone laughed. Melanie was glad, for this night was very important to her. She
wouldn’t spoil it by letting them know how much her hand hurt.

“What do you suppose happened?” Marc asked.

“Maybe a tremendous pressure built up inside the bottle while it was sitting there
for so many months. Melanie just happened to pick it up at the wrong time,” Gary theorized.

“That makes sense,” Derek agreed.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what it was,” Melanie said, a slight inflection in her voice
betraying her uneasiness. She just wanted to forget the whole thing. “Come on, eat
the food before it gets cold. Gary, will you carve the roast for us?”