Jekyll Island: A Paranormal Mystery (Taryn's Camera Book 5) (10 page)

Adena Cottage
was happy to see her, Taryn could feel it the moment she stepped from the golf cart, but she offered no clues that afternoon.

Taryn started off her day by walking around and taking more pictures. Though she studied her LCD screen after every shot, she was disappointed to find that they all came out normal–no shadows, no furniture that shouldn’t be there, and no men or women sitting on the porch sipping their lemonade or tea or whatever it was they used to drink. Taryn was frustrated but that’s just the way the ball rolled sometimes.

She got the feeling that Ivy House was glad to see her pass by. She’d felt the old cottage glaring in her direction as she’d zipped past it, barely tossing it a glance.

“Yeah, well, I’ll get back to you later,” she’d mumbled when it was out of ear shot. She was still determined to make that house like her, although it felt like a losing battle.

She spent most of the afternoon trying to find the shade. Too much sun caused her paint to thin and run, and that was making a mess. There were three trees in front of Adena and she’d been under all three of them, chasing the protection, if not the cool, of the shade they offered. She was about to wrap things up for the day when she heard the footsteps approaching her.

“Hey there,” came the friendly voice behind her.

Paintbrush in hand, Taryn turned and saw Steve coming up behind her. “Hey,” she called back.

His curly hair was frizzy from the humidity and she could see sweat stains on his gray T-shirt. He looked like he’d been out walking for a long time.

“I wanted to come say hello and see how you were doing,” he explained as he drew nearer.

He stood by her easel for a moment and studied her painting and then broke out into a huge smile of admiration. “It’s totally awesome! I mean it. How do you know what it used to look like?”

“A lot of research,” she replied. “I’ve looked at the other cottages, studied the architectural style in books and online–you know, stuff like that. And I have a good imagination.”

It wasn’t the time or place to mention Miss Dixie.

“Well, it looks great. Hope they’re paying you well,” he said.

Taryn felt like he might be fishing for information, but she wasn’t one to usually share income since it tended to cause more trouble than not. Instead, she just smiled. “Well, you know, it’s not going to make me rich anytime soon but it pays the bills. Mostly. So what are you doing out today?”

“Oh, I have the afternoon off.” Steve studied the ground for fire ant mounds and then plopped down at her feet and leaned back against the tree trunk. “Wasn’t ready to go home so I thought I’d just take myself for a walk.”

“Do you live around here?”

Now that she’d been interrupted it would be difficult to regain her momentum. She didn’t mind stopping, though, so Taryn began putting away her supplies. She wrapped her brushes in wax paper and bound them with a rubber band. She’d wash them when she got back to the house.

“Ha,” he snorted. “I live over in Brunswick. Just on the outskirts of the ghetto.”

“I didn’t know Brunswick had a ghetto,” Taryn smiled. She’d been over there to go to Target and Walmart. It looked a lot like any other medium-sized southern town she’d been in. She’d heard good things about the downtown historic district but hadn’t been there yet.

“That’s just what I call it,” he retorted. “It sucks being poor.”

“Well, I can agree with what,” Taryn said.

After following his lead and examining the ground for fire ant hills, she lowered herself to his side. In close proximity he smelled of some kind of young man’s cologne and sweat. It wasn’t an unpleasant odor at all. If she’d been about five years younger then his pretty face, lean build, and confidence were exactly the kinds of traits that would’ve attracted her.

“When I was a kid things didn’t cost so much,” he muttered. “Now it feels like only the rich people get to live on the islands or visit them.”

“That’s kind of the way they started though, wasn’t it?” Taryn asked. “I mean after the settlers took over. It’s kind of always been a rich man’s playground.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed reluctantly. “But it wasn’t always as exclusive if you know what I mean. Have you seen the big gates going up on St. Simon’s?”

She shook her head no. She hadn’t been over there yet.

“Well, people come down from the north or over from Atlanta because they want to live on ‘island time.’ Then they build these big houses on top of each other and put up gates to, I don’t know, protect themselves from the other rich people I guess,” he snarked.

Taryn laughed in spite of herself. “People can be funny,” she said. “Someone else was telling me the same thing.”

“Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard I try I just can’t get ahead,” he complained.

“I know what you mean,” Taryn said, patting him on the knee. “For me it’s always felt like one step forward and two steps back. Have you thought about going someplace else with better job opportunities? Savannah maybe? Or Atlanta?”

“Atlanta is being run over with basketball players and rappers,” Steve muttered. “Savannah’s cool but, you know, I got my mama here. She’s not doing so well. Going through chemo at the moment. Cancer started in her female parts but now it’s all over.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Taryn said sympathetically. “That’s difficult. I watched my grandmother get sick and pass away. It was awful. I was there when they removed the ventilator and feeding tube. I prayed she’d go right then but she held on another day. She was always a fighter. She basically raised me so I kind of know what you mean. I didn’t want to leave her either.”

“I always thought I’d do great things, and she’d be proud of me,” he sighed. “But it doesn’t look like she’s going to see that.”

“Well, you’re a bright, intelligent young man,” Taryn said. “It’s not too late for you yet. I’d keep your eyes out for a better opportunity. Something is bound to come your way.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, a wry smile on his face. “I hope so. I really do.”

The
crowd gathered ‘round was dense, and the current of excitement that ran through them was palpable.

As the bodies closed in tightly around her, she found herself fighting to push through, to get to the front. Nobody appeared to pay her struggle any mind or move aside for her. Instead, they just seemed to squeeze closer together, forming a wall of limbs and torsos.

She knew that the reason they gathered was for something bad, but had no idea why or
how
she knew it. She just knew that she had to make it to the front. On and on she pushed forward, arms outstretched, a frantic energy inside of her that drove her wild with anticipation.  Time was of the essence.

Finally, up ahead, she could see the short stone wall, the wooden planks atop it. And then the man appeared. She knew it was a man because he wore trousers. And although she couldn’t see his head for the covering wrapped tightly over his face, she knew it was her husband.

Anger surged inside of her now, anger and hatred as she stared at the small platform. The excitement of the crowd now coursed through her own body and lit her afire.

As the long rope was slipped around his neck the people around her cheered out, their voices reaching up into the sky as one. Some moved forward and were pushed back by guards waving pistols in the air, threatening them. Their movements pushed her forward as well, but nobody shooed her away. They seemed not even to notice her at all.

As the voice merged into a single chant, steadily growing and growing until it became too much for her, she raised her hands and covered her ears.

And then, in one swift movement, the bottom was opened. She watched as her once beloved descended with a jolt, his legs frantically kicking back and forth as though he were running through air. A deep gurgling noise came from the cloth over his face; even through the deafening noise of the crowd she could hear it.

She was so close to him that she could reach out her arms and touch his legs as they dangled there, trying to locate a foothold they’d never find. And she did that now–she reached out her hand to grasp his foot. As she watched in horror, however, her hand slipped right through it; it was nothing but fog.

She tried again, this time with more urgency. He’d stopped moving now, and she simply wanted to feel him one last time. But, again, her hand melted through the solidity of his body.

In horror, she snatched her hand away and turned to face the crowd. The scream she let out rose above their chants and cheering, it carried itself up into the sky and wrapped around the trees and clouds and burst onto the rays of the sun.

But nobody could hear her. She was dead.

The soft breeze was cool on her cheeks, a welcomed relief from
the house’s stuffiness.

Sometime during the night, probably about the time she was watching someone drop to their death from a noose in her dream, her air conditioning went out. With the interior temperature steadily climbing to 95 degrees she had no desire to cozy down under the covers and sleep in. In fact, Taryn thought it might be awhile before she wanted to sleep again.

Like many of her dreams, this one had felt too real. She’d felt the surge of energy from the crowd, smelled their sweat and excitement, saw the glint of anticipation in their eyes…it hadn’t been pleasant.

Now, however, on her bicycle, she rode across the island on the well-marked bike path, the wind whipping her hair back out of her face. In the clear light of day everything looked so much brighter and friendlier. It was hard to believe there was anything malevolent or evil in the world when the sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

It was true what they said about riding a bike. She had barely lost her balance in the half hour she’d been on it.

Soon Taryn passed the construction site and group of trailers that acted as temporary storefronts. She passed the roundabout and convention center and chain motels and found herself bordered by trees, not a building in sight.

Proud of herself for riding as far as she’d gone, even if it wasn’t a difficult ride since the whole island didn’t rise more than four feet, Taryn pedaled onwards. She didn’t have a particular destination in mind; she just wanted to feel the island around her and to see how far she could go.

On her iPod she plugged in Angaleena Presley and sang along with “Ain’t No Man” as loud as she could. Nobody was around to hear her sing off-key.  When the road came up to a water tower on her right Taryn slowed down. There were three cars pulled off to the side of the road across from it and a small sandy path wound through the trees.

“Huh,” Taryn mused, popping her earbuds out and turning off her iPod. “I wonder if this is another way to get to Glory Beach.”

Since nobody was there to answer her, she walked her bike across the road and leaned it up against a tree. There had to be something through the trees, or else there wouldn’t have been cars pulled over to the side like that.

Grabbing Miss Dixie and a water bottle from her bike’s basket she began trudging up the sandy path, momentarily taking comfort in the brief shade the trees overhead offered her. She was going to be in shape by the time she left; she swore it. She was already venturing farther and farther every day and that
had
to be worth something, right?

When she reached a rise, she clamored upwards and huffed and puffed until she reached the top and then Taryn stopped in her tracks, her mouth slackening.

It was quite possibly the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

Before her the white sandy beach stretched on for what looked like miles without a single soul in view. There were no children on picnic blankets, no coolers filled with soft drinks and sandwiches, no shirtless fishermen with tanned skin and dirty hats…nothing but her and the water.

The dunes rose up around here, some of them flanked with poles that documented sea turtle eggs. Signs were posted to keep off the dunes, but they were the only signs of human activity. Wherever the other vehicles’ occupants were, she couldn’t see them. She had the entire place to herself.

Shaking with happiness, Taryn flew down the embankment like a little girl, losing her sandals along the way. By the time she reached the water’s edge her eyes were burning brightly and her cheeks hurt from the force of her wide grin. With her feet planted firmly in the water, she closed her eyes and let the ocean lap at her ankles, shifting the sand beneath her feet and digging her deeper and deeper into the earth. The winds were night and somewhere above her a kingfisher squawked in unsteady flight. She ignored it.

When she nearly lost her balance, Taryn walked along the water’s edge, kicking at the crystal clear waves as they broke on the shore. There were sand dollars in abundance on the ground–the first time she’d ever seen any outside of a tourist shop. She was squatting down to collect one when a voice called out from behind her.

“Taryn!”

Startled, she turned around, annoyed at having her peace interrupted. She softened when she saw David’s long black hair and tanned arms swinging in the sun.

Yeah, well, I guess he can come here too
, she thought wryly.

“It’s the best place on the island, isn’t it?” he asked as he drew nearer.

“So far,” she agreed. “I can’t believe nobody’s here.”

“Yeah, well, it seems to be off the beaten path,” he shrugged. “I’ve been coming out here about every day. Sometimes I run into people from the Sea Turtle Center, checking on the eggs.”

“So what are you up to today?” Since her peace was broken she figured she might as well enjoy the company. In fact, now that he was close to her, she felt her blood bubbling.

Stop it
, she commanded herself.
He’s just a man and you’ve already got a very nice one.

“I have a meeting with the site manager over at the hotel in about two hours,” he replied. “I’ve gone over my notes so many times that I’m starting to forget them. I needed to get out for awhile.”

“I understand,” Taryn laughed. “Sometimes I also have to get out of my head to work.”

“So how’s the painting going?”

“It’s going…” she answered slowly.

She was aching to tell someone about Adena Cottage, about Ivy House, and about her dreams and what had gone on after the ghost hunters’ meeting. So far Matt had been too busy to invest much time in her ramblings but she understood. He was in the middle of a big project himself and couldn’t just tear himself away to listen to her.

“Anything wrong?” The look of concern on David’s face boosted her spirits, but there was no way she was going to unleash all her thoughts on a perfect stranger.

“Oh, it’s fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night. Bad dream,” she added casually.

David bowed his head and looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “Yes, I’ve been having them since arriving on the island myself. I assumed it was because I am Creek, and it was the Creeks who settled the island for many years.”

“So you have a connection to it?” she asked.

David smiled. “Yes. So what about you? What’s your connection to it?”

“I don’t know,” Taryn said. “That’s what I am trying to figure out.”

David turned away from her and faced the water. She watched the sunlight touch his face and seem to glide over him, wrapping itself around his body. She wished she could feel as peaceful as he looked. Finally, he turned back to Taryn. “There are many things on this island, many lives and histories. It is possible that one of those histories has found you and is reaching out to a kindred spirit.”

“It’s happened before,” Taryn admitted. “Several times actually.”

“It’s not a bad thing, not when you can learn how to control your doorway. It’s letting everyone in that can be the problem.”

Taryn smiled wryly and took a long drink of water. “But if you open the door for the good, aren’t you also letting in the bad?”

Placing a friendly hand on her shoulder David leaned in and looked her in the eye. Their faces were only a few inches apart, and Taryn could feel something snap in the air between them. “Be careful with this,” he said softly. “Not all histories are meant to be remembered or brought back.”

Taryn bit her lip and nodded. But what happened when they just wouldn’t let you go? What were you supposed to do then?