Ghosts Beneath Us: A Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery (Spookie Town Murder Mysteries Book 3) (14 page)

Abigail nearly choked on her coffee at the mention of ghosts, seeing that so many people were claiming to being haunted by them these days.

“Here, here,” Martha agreed, flashing Abigail a sharp look. “I also think the town needs to keep expanding. We need to stay up with the times.”

“Spookie?” Again Abigail nearly choked on her coffee.

“Yes, even Spookie. Hey, we’re not doing too badly,” Samantha interjected. “We have a new IGA and a couple of new residents. Now another new business. We’re moving right along, if you ask me.”

Yeah, moving right along at a snail’s pace. Spookie still reminded her of the quaint English town she’d tagged it as the first time she’d seen it and she liked it that way. But as long as the businesses remained small and individually owned, she was for expansion, too.

“Not to change the subject,” Abigail spoke to Samantha, “because I love the thought of the town growing and donuts as much as anyone, but I have some information for you; for the newspaper. It’s bad news I’m afraid. Beatrice Utley is dead and Tina Thompson went on a cruise with Myrtle a couple days ago and is now officially missing. She disappeared right off the ship the last night out. Nothing has been seen or heard of her since. Myrtle’s devastated.”

“Oh, my!” Samantha’s fingers went to her lips and her eyes widened. “It’s getting worse then.”

“What is?” Martha, expression startled, demanded to know.

“There have been a lot of unfortunate
incidents
occurring against our old folks here in town,” Martha answered and then caught Martha up on them. “But I can’t believe Beatrice and Tina are dead.”

“Only Beatrice is dead. Tina is just possibly dead,” Abigail amended. “The cruise line is still looking and hoping to find her, but it’s been days since she went missing from the ship.”

“Abigail, what happened?” Martha had put her fork down, had stopped eating.

Abigail repeated the story she’d heard from Frank and Myrtle about everything, keeping it as simple as she could. She hadn’t yet processed it herself and Frank was still investigating, so she was careful what she revealed. It was all too fresh.

When Abigail had finished, Martha’s face was troubled, but there was a spark of comprehension in her eyes. “I’d already heard about the home harassment situation from my other realtor friends who’d been approached to sell some of the old one’s houses. Quite a few are thinking of moving it’s gotten so bad. What’s going on? Who’d do these sort of things to old people and why?”

“We don’t know, but Frank thinks he’s uncovered a common denominator between the old people involved.”

“And what would that be?” Samantha voiced, in reporter mode, as she leaned in to hear what Abigail had to say. She was probably taking notes in her head for the next edition.

“All of them live fairly close together within about a ten mile radius in an area out past Myrtle’s trailer–which by the way, I almost forgot to tell you, was also set fire to while she was on the cruise with Tina.”

“Oh, no! That’s awful about Myrtle’s trailer. A friend dead, one missing and now her wreck of a trailer is gone. A lot of bad luck for Myrtle,” Martha contributed in a flat tone. “On the other hand, all the rest of what you’re saying is kind of interesting.” She lowered her eyes as her fork tore off another chunk of waffle.

Abigail knew Martha well enough to know she’d stumbled onto something. “How so?”

“Well, I’ve been hearing rumors for months now from some of my realtor friends there’s some mysterious corporation wanting to construct something big on the outskirts of our town. It’s all hush-hush right now to what it will be or where it will be and what it would mean to Spookie. Some of us believe it’s all smoke and mirrors, rumors like always, but there are some who see it as a possibility. Of course, that’s the last thing the town council wants. We like Spookie the way it is. Small, eccentric and charming. An IGA and a new donut shop are fine, but I, for one and a lot more of our citizens, don’t want some huge mall or blocks of cookie-cutter apartment buildings to ruin that. But the rumors persist.”

“Now that is interesting,” Abigail repeated thoughtfully. “Because both Beatrice, Alfred and Myrtle had mentioned they’d been approached recently by people pressuring them to sell their land. Of course they all said an emphatic no.”

Martha looked up and met her eyes. “Hmm, did you know Tina Thompson not only had a house out in that vicinity but it sits on fifty prime acres? The land’s worth a small fortune.”

“No, I didn’t know that.” But the revelation was another small shock.

Someone was terrorizing and possibly killing the old people who lived out in a certain area–and some mysterious corporation wanted their land.
Wait until she told Frank what she’d found out.

“I’d love to stick around, you two, and chat more,” Abigail concluded, coming to her feet, “but I have to run. Got to get to work.” In a voice loud enough for the waitress to hear, she called out, “Stella, can I please get two large cups of your great coffee to go? And the check?”

Stella acknowledged the order with a wave of her hand and bustled off to get it.

Then Samantha asked, “Abigail, can I stop by later, either at Kate’s shop or your house and get more information on Tina’s disappearance and Myrtle’s trailer burning down? Anything else you might know about all this? I can include it in the article coming out this week.”

“Sure, just call me. But I’ll catch you up with things after I get done at the donut shop but before I head home. Frank and I have plans for the evening.” She smiled. “Tell you what, I can just drop by the newspaper on my way out of town about three or so. Would that be okay?”

“Sure, I can be at the paper around three. After I leave here I think I’ll go out and see Myrtle’s crispy trailer and maybe have a chat with her in person. Ask about the cruise and Tina, too. Get some direct quotes.”

“All right. She’s staying at Tina’s house for now. You know, in case Tina shows up? If you can’t find her there, go to Frank’s. He’d invited her to stay at his cabin until her lodging problem was solved, but she opted to stay at Tina’s. But you know Myrtle, she likes Frank’s cooking.”

“Okay, I’ll check Tina’s house first and then Frank’s. Thanks.”

Stella sashayed over and placed two large paper cups on the table. “Four twenty-three is what you owe, sweetie.”

Abigail thanked the waitress, paid for the coffee and headed to the door saying, “Bye Martha. Bye Sam. Catch you later,” on the way out.

She was anxious to see Kate and what the shop looked like now.

*****

Kate was in the middle of a room filled with shiny new tables and chairs, positioning them, probably trying to decide where each one would go. The shop had been thoroughly cleaned up, the glass display cases for the donuts were in, new flooring had been put down; lighting fixtures had been put in. Everything gleamed. It didn’t seem like the same place Abigail had been in the week before. It was beginning to look like a real business. All it needed now was the walls painted, pastries under glass, customers at the tables and buying things at the cash register.

“This looks great, Kate. It’s so colorful, but cozy. I like it. This is going to be the hot spot to gather, slurp coffee and munch donuts.”

“You should like it. It’s your layout, the furniture and color choices you picked out.” Smiling, Kate came over to her and Abigail handed her one of the coffees.

“That was sweet of you,” Kate said. “Let me pay you for it.”

“No, it’s my treat. Next time it’ll be yours.” Abigail returned the smile and began helping the other woman move the table and chairs into the right configurations.

“Thank you. And it won’t be long before I have freshly made coffee here. The machines and such are being delivered later today. So I’ll be able to brew java myself. Thank goodness. I can’t wait. I’m a coffee addict and not having it here to guzzle down every day has been hard. Not to mention the money I’ve spent getting it from Stella’s every morning.” Kate laughed softly but she looked tired. There were shadows around her eyes and she moved slower than the last time Abigail had seen her. The woman must have been working her behind off all week or perhaps her childhood injuries were acting up. But the shop did look good.

“Tell you what.” Abigail sat down in one of the chairs and took a sip from her cup. “Let’s take a minute and drink our coffee. You look like you’re ready to drop. Besides, I have sketches to show you.” She’d placed her portfolio on the table and now opened it. A flutter of nervousness coming like it always did when she first showed her sketches to a client; hoping they liked them.

Kate didn’t argue but claimed a chair with a grateful sigh. “You’re right. I do need a break. I’ve been at this non-stop for weeks and I am exhausted.” She drank her coffee and instantly looked better. Then her head tilted down and her left hand began to rub her neck. “But, to tell the truth, my exhaustion isn’t merely because of this shop and the work I’ve been doing to get it ready. It’s my mom.”

Abigail caught the frustration in the woman’s voice. “Your mom? That’s Clementine Kitteridge, isn’t it?”

“How did you know that?”

“Small town. Myrtle Schmitt, a dear friend of mine, told me. She saw me last week coming in to meet you and told me who your mother was.”

“Oh, Myrtle. Yes, she’s a very old dear friend of my mother’s, too. I’ve always thought she was a little strange, with her quirks and her entourage of ghosts,” here she smiled, “but she’s good to my mom and mom loves her dearly.”

“As we all do. I know Myrtle’s a little odd but she’s a good friend to have and smarter than most people think.” She could have told Kate about Myrtle’s recent troubles but decided not to. The woman seemed troubled enough. She’d tell her about it later. “What about your mom?”

Abigail waited for Kate to go on, yet the woman seemed hesitant to do so.

“Come on, you can tell me. If we’re going to be friends you can trust me. Maybe I can help?”

Kate appeared to come to a decision. She straightened up in her chair and inhaled deeply. “You know, my mom’s getting up there in years and she needs a lot of help. She can’t live alone any longer. That’s half the reason I moved back here. I’ve been gone for far too long and I have so much catching up in that respect to do. For years I’ve unintentionally neglected her and now I have to make that right. I’m going to take care of her. I go over there after I get done here and make her supper, help her with her bills, make sure she’s taken her daily pills, watch television with her, and keep her company for the evening. I come back here,” she glanced upwards at her loft apartment, “really late at night because she doesn’t want me to leave. Thing is, my mom’s scared. Someone’s been playing cruel pranks on her. She’s been hearing odd noises at night in her basement and there have been petty vandalisms at her house. Some of her windows have been broken and various things, furniture and her knick-knacks, have been moved around during the night. Some items have disappeared.” Another deeper sigh.

“My mom thinks she’s being haunted. Haunted…by
ghosts
.” She shook her head.

“Ghosts?” Abigail’s skin prickled. Not another one. “Why does she think it’s ghosts?”

Kate dropped her face into her hands. It was an honest gesture of defeat. “Suffice it to say, it’s a long story. But I can see Myrtle’s hand in it. She probably told my mother it was ghosts and there you go. I don’t want to muddle into it now, but I believe it’s all in my mother’s imagination. She’s being haunted by the past, that’s what. There are no such things as ghosts.”

“Now you sound like my boyfriend, Frank. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, either.”

“Do you?”

She didn’t answer right off, but looked away and then back. “Let’s just say I’m ninety-nine percent sure they don’t exist and leave it at that.”

Kate nodded. “Well, I’m at one hundred percent.

“Anyway, spectral beings aside, the situation with my mother is wearing me out. Sometimes mom calls me in the middle of the night, terrified the ghosts are going to get her or she thinks someone is outside her kitchen window peering in at her. Once she called me at two in the morning and swore she was seeing green neon lights pulsating over her house. Says they’re aliens. Sometimes she forgets and thinks my dead father and my dead siblings were taken by them. She’s insists we go look for them and gets highly aggravated if we don’t. Of course, we don’t. It’s one thing after another.”

“You know,” Abigail confessed gently, “Myrtle told me about your tragic family history. About your father and your siblings and the accident. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be. It was ages ago. Ancient history. I just hate it that some weirdo is tormenting my mom like this. Why? She’s a sweet lady and at her age and with her delicate state of mind doesn’t deserve to be scared out of her skin every night. It makes me so
mad
.” But when Kate raised her eyes to meet Abigail’s they were tinged with worry.

That’s when Abigail asked, “Out of curiosity, where exactly does your mother live?”

Kate’s reply was what she’d been afraid it would be. Her mother lived in the same neighborhood as the others being bothered.

She knew she had to tell Kate what was going on in her mother’s neighborhood.

So she spent the next few minutes enlightening her and concluded with, “I know my retired cop boyfriend Frank will want to talk to you. He’s looking into these incidents and he wants answers. He thinks they are all related. Don’t be surprised if he shows up here tomorrow if not sooner to ask questions.”

“Thank you for telling me this. It’s such a relief to know my mother isn’t totally off her rocker and making these things up. If this has been happening to other people, then it isn’t just her. But on the other hand if it is happening to others it’s a bigger problem. If someone is scaring, hurting or killing these people, I think I’d better move in with her to protect her. For a while anyway. I have a gun, I know how to use it and I will if I have to. No one is going to hurt my mother. You will let me know if Frank finds out something else on this, won’t you?”