Gypsy Spirits (7 page)

Daniel stopped talking
. He looked at Annamarie as if he was six years old and confused over something he was trying to figure out while doing homework or a puzzle. He needed help, but he knew there was no way he’d get anyone to believe him. The one person who had a spirit of her own might believe him. Hoping Annamarie’s spirit didn’t do this to Ben, he needed to find a way to ask her if she thought Ben’s death involved her spirit.

“Annamarie,
I know this was the spirits. Nothing else could have done that to Ben. Do you think they’re angry because you used your Gypsy curse?” 

By this
time, Annamarie was ready to run and not look back. “The Gypsy curse was a joke. I made it up to upset you the way you upset me, and there are no angry spirits in the woods or anywhere else.”

“Yes, there are,” yelled Daniel jumping to his feet. “I need your help to get rid of them.” He began restlessly pacing back and forth. “I need a drink,” pouring a half glass of scotch.

“Alcohol got you into this mess. Do you need that now?”

“I need something. The spirits are coming.” He downed the scotch in one gulp before she reached him.

Wanting to give up, she decided to try a different approach to Daniel’s dilemma. She did her best to explain if she had conjured up a spirit it would come after her and not Ben and the other guys at the cabin. That was a mistake. Rather than soothing Daniel’s fears, he began to think she finally believed spirits lived in the woods. He was sure the spirits would never come after her because the spirit Annamarie had conjured up was strong, and would keep her safe. 

Speechless, she knew he truly believed it.      

Daniel continued with his reasoning. “I’ve seen a spirit at grandfather’s house, and I know they watch me from the edge of the woods. They never attacked anyone before.”

She threw her hands over her face.
“You can’t be serious. There are no spirits in the woods or anywhere else.”

He glared at her, twisting his hands over and over.
“Listen, Annamarie, we were all right until you cursed me and saw your spirit in a dream. She stays close to you keeping you safe. However, there is nothing to keep the rest of us safe.” 

She looked into his eyes. “Daniel Logan, if you’re blaming me for Ben being killed after one of your crazy drinking parties, I’m going to knock you out cold, call your father, my dad, Sheriff Richardson, Dr. Norse
, and have you committed.” 

Annamarie thought he believed her because he stopped talking
, and dropped down in the living room chair.

***      

Having had enough of his wild talk, she told Daniel she was going to take a shower and get dressed. He couldn’t be left alone even for an hour. She was going to have to skip church, but she wanted to get him out of the house. He needed to take his mind off this madness. Annamarie suggested they go to Ray’s Diner for breakfast.

“Ray’s sounds good, but while you’re showering, I’m going to wash my Jeep in case there are any blood stains on it. We can’t go back to the c
abin until Bulk calms down. Garret said he’d call me today.”

Knowing she couldn’t dissuade him from his current mind set she turned and went to shower. Daniel walked out the back door, found the pail and soap in the garage
, and began to wash his Jeep. After scrubbing it inside and out, he decided he had gotten rid of any possible blood stains. He poured the dirty water down the drain and hosed the driveway clean of any soap residue.

Annamarie walked outside as Daniel finished drying the windows on the Jeep. He said he was ready for breakfast.   

On the way to Ray’s, she asked, “Do you think it might have been a wolf?”

“Remember when Mrs. Graysbe lost her two Pomeranians? She had the entire town in an uproar about wild wolves stealing dogs. She said the children would be next, and some people believed her.”

“Yes, I remember. The neighbors were frantic and went out searching for wolves.”

“That wacky woman drove the town crazy and after two days, the only wild things found were her stupid dogs tangled in the underbrush
, and barking madly.” That was the end of the wild wolf saga. 

Out of ideas, she wondered if her husband was psychic or insane. It was a question Annamarie had to answer and soon.

***   

Rays’ Diner was a small place set between two stands of oaks. Including the counter stools and two tables in
the back, it was large enough to hold approximately thirty people. Early on Sunday mornings it was practically empty. Ray served a decent lunch and dinner, but his blueberry pancake breakfasts were perfection.

Daniel and Annamarie sat in a booth and were discussing the menu when they saw Garret’s Bronco pull up. Garret and Bulk walked in, nodded at Daniel
, and took seats at the counter. 

Five minutes later Mr. Mitchell came running in breathless
, barely able to speak. “There’s smoke coming from the woods beyond the lake.” 

It hadn’t been a dry summer and no storms were in sight. It was unlikely they had a forest fire on their hands. Annamarie could hear the solo siren of the volunteer fire truck as it rolled past the diner headed for the lake. 

Mr. Mitchell continued, “They’ll have to fill the tanker from the lake before heading into the woods. The guys barely finished putting out a suspicious grass fire down by the cemetery when the call came into the station. Two in one day--pretty strange for ‘round here.” 

The town only had wells for drinking water. There weren’t any fire hydrants, but the fire station had its
own water supply. It would be faster to refill at the lake than anywhere else in town. For years, the fire chief had been petitioning for hydrants, but the town voted him down each time.

A few minutes later, Mr. Mitchell ran back in and said to Daniel, “Old Wally just called me
again and said the smoke was coming from the direction of your cabin.” 

Old Wally lived across from the lake and had an excellent view of the area. Daniel sat there staring at Annamarie and murmured, “Spirits.” 

“Shut up before someone hears you.” 

Daniel whispered, “Spirits always like fire
. Wasn’t your Gypsy spirit dancing around a fire?” 

Unable to think of anything to say, she grunted and stood up to leave.

***

Annamarie didn’t know what to think at this point, but for some reason, her mind traveled straight to Garret and Bulk. Her feelings about Ben’s death centered more on Garret than any spirit. She wished she could share her thoughts with Daniel, but knowing Garret could do no wrong in his eyes, Annamarie kept her thoughts to herself.     

Daniel knew he should call Maureen and George, but he didn’t want his parents involved. He wasn’t thinking rationally. Living in a small town, his parents probably were aware their cabin might be on fire.

“I’m sure someone will call your parents about the cabin.”

“Right, who’d bother them?”

“This is a close community, people love to spread news.”

“Great, probably Mr. Mitchell or Old Wally, they love to stir things up.”

“The sheriff or fire chief might call them. If they figure out you were there last night, I wouldn’t want to be you.”

“Someone will find Ben,” Daniel groaned.

“Thank goodness,” she whispered, “His body shouldn’t be left up there like that.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

She knew Maureen and George may be there by now, and perhaps they could help Daniel. Climbing into his Jeep, they headed for the lake. It was approximately a five minute drive and the road was blocked off by a sheriff’s vehicle. When Steve saw it was Daniel and Annamarie he let them pass. He told them to stop at the lake parking area and not to go up the logging trail.

They parked and saw George and Maureen’s car. They walked as close as the police tape would allow and spotted the fire chief walking back down the trail. 

Chief Leon Cornett was a big man and his fire gear made him appear even bigger. Annamarie watched him approach George and Maureen. Daniel ran up to hear what was going on. Annamarie followed close behind. 

“The fire damaged the cabin, but not beyond repair since oak is hard to burn. The fire truck could only make it half way up the old logging road. I told you years ago to widen the road and at least cover it with gravel,” chided Chief Cornett.

“That’s my cabin and my decision,” said George. “The road works for us.”

“I told you a disaster was waiting to happen, and today was the day. We had to use three Jeeps pulling water trailers to bring water from the fire truck to keep the fire from spreading to the woods.”

Chief Cornett had wisely invested in the water trailers several years ago in case there was a fire where the fire truck couldn’t travel.

“Isn’t that what we pay taxes for? It’s your job,” snapped George.

“Right for normal fires, but this wasn’t normal and if those boys are at fault, I’ll send you
a bill. Not only did the cabin’s porch burn, but also a large area of grass in front of the cabin. The door was open, and there was a fire inside. My men are clearing that out now.” Chief Cornett turned his back and walked away.

“Jerk,” mumbled George.

“Quiet,” Maureen said, “before we have more trouble.”

Daniel whispered to Annamarie, “That’s where we left Ben’s body, out on the grass. I think it’s gone.” 

She couldn’t believe what she heard. Who would move it? 

Chief Cornett was walking toward the logging road when one of his firemen came running down the trail calling his name. Conferring quietly and hurriedly, they left to go back to the cabin. It seemed as if it took hours for the Chief to return, but Annamarie assumed it was closer to thirty minutes.  His face grim, he called over to Steve to get the sheriff there now. 

Knowing the answer before he spoke, Daniel asked, “What the hell’s going on, Chief?” 

“We found something suspicious,” replied the chief.

Daniel went completely pale, and Annamarie thought he might pass out. He turned to walk across the parking lot toward Garret’s Bronco which had recently pulled up and parked. Garret got out, leaned against his vehicle and lit a cigarette. Bulk stayed in the truck, his face mirroring his terror. A heated discussion erupted between Daniel and Garret, and Bulk slid down hiding his face in his hands. 

Garret stopped talking when Annamarie strode up to the truck. Informing Garret she knew what was going on, he threatened to punch Daniel for telling her. 

She said, “Go ahead, and you’ll top the sheriff’s list of people to interview.” 

Garret glared at her and shook his head.

“Daniel, we should walk back to where your parents are waiting before the sheriff returns.”

“Good idea.” He left Garret and Bulk at the truck.

They found George and Maureen sitting on a park bench extremely distraught. No one mentioned a body. Daniel said they left Ben out in front of the cabin, surely the firefighters would have found him. It was a good thing Maureen and George were unaware of the previous night’s tragedy, Annamarie thought. One or both might have had a heart attack.

Sheriff Richardson arrived and disappeared up the trail with the fire chief. The sky was clear of smoke, indicating the fire was out, but something else was going on. 

Daniel whispered, “They found Ben. They must have.” 

Hoping he was right, she glanced back at the parking lot. Garret’s Bronco was gone. She asked Daniel, “Where’d they go?”

“Garret took Bulk home. He just can’t take what happened to Ben. We agreed on a story last night, and I hope Bulk doesn’t fall apart if they question him.” 

She hoped they’d all be okay because no one would believe the story about spirits. She certainly didn’t believe it, and she knew none of them would have hurt Ben. However, the
sheriff’s first duty was to determine how Ben died. The big question was would he think it was an accident or murder. 

Sheriff Richardson walked up and broke her concentration.  He said to George, “We found a body in the cabin burned beyond recognition.” 

“A body, who, what, oh my Lord,” said George as he threw his hands up to his face. 

Maureen was crying. “It’s our cabin, who was there?” 

Sheriff Richardson didn’t know, but he knew who to ask and looked directly at Daniel. He told Daniel not to leave, he’d be back shortly.             

Chapter Six: Fear

Looking at George, Maureen said, “Whatever happened at the cabin, the sheriff is after D
aniel. We need to protect him. We never saw him do anything odd in the woods, play with fire, or attack anyone.” 

George growled, “That was before he had a vehicle and ran around without our guidance. Who knows what those boys are capable of?”