The Cats that Stalked a Ghost (4 page)

“Yes, why of course,” Ava said.  She reached into her bag, and started to pull out a card.  Before she handed it to Katherine, she said, “You know, these days, realtors don’t have to bother sellers when showing their house.  The owner puts the house key in a lock box, which hangs over the doorknob.  When we need to get in, we simply punch in the combination, and extract the key.”

“That’s good to know,” Katherine said, thinking it was a terrible idea, security-wise.  She wondered how many people would know the combination, but kept her opinion to herself. 

“Waugh!” Scout cried impatiently.

“Well, it’s been nice meeting you,” Ava said, handing Katherine her card.  “Call me any time.  Thanks so much for the tour.  Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Nice meeting you, too,” Katherine replied, watching the excessively eager realtor get in her car and pull away.

She whispered to Scout, “I’ll carry you home.  I was afraid, too.  Something is off about that room.  We need to find out what’s going on.”

“Ma-waugh,” Scout agreed.

Katherine hurried back to the mansion, used her cell to enter a code to disarm the security alarm, and opened the door.  Sitting inside the door, Abra wore an excited look, and acted like she’d been positioned there the entire time, waiting for Scout to get back home.  Katherine gently put Scout down on the floor, unhooked the leash, and removed the cat harness.  Scout bolted out of the entryway with Abra following. The two Siamese thundered upstairs and headed for the playroom in the turret bedroom. 

Katherine walked into the living room and sat down on the floor.  Sitting cross-legged, she didn’t waste any time calling Colleen, who answered right away.

“Top of the mornin’,” Colleen said with her slight Irish brogue.

“It’s the afternoon, Carrot Top,” Katherine joked.  “Are you busy?  I need to ask you a few things.”

“I’m at the bungalow with Mum.  Why don’t you come over?”

“Oh, really?  I didn’t know you were coming to Erie today. Yes, I’ll be right there.” 

Katherine grabbed her cross-over bag and left the mansion.  She headed toward Alexander Street, where she owned a red brick bungalow — a genuine Sears Craftsman built in 1912.  The house was too small for her growing cat family — now totaling seven, with Barbie Sanders’ rehomed kittens — but the house was perfect for guests.  Colleen’s mum was staying there for a month to help Katherine with the wedding.  Mum was like Katherine’s second mom, especially since Katherine had lost her mother several years ago.  Mum was going to have a part in the wedding:  she was going to “give Katherine away.”

Climbing the steps to the bungalow’s front porch, Katherine didn’t have time to ring the doorbell.  Colleen opened the door, “Katz, hurry up and come in.  I brewed some pumpkin spice tea, and Mum baked orange scones.”

“That’s what smells so delicious in here.  At first, I thought you were burning one of those scented candles.”  The two headed to the kitchen.

“Hi, Mum,” Katherine said, walking over and giving Mum a kiss on the cheek. 

Mum was sitting at the built-in table, reading the Erie newspaper.  “Hello, Katz.  Grab a cuppa, and join us.”

“I got it,” Colleen said, reaching into a kitchen cabinet. 

Katz slid onto the bench across from Mum.  “Are you enjoying your stay?”

Colleen giggled, set down a cup and saucer in front of Katherine. “Mum’s got a date tonight.”

Katherine opened her mouth in surprise.  “Really?”  She wondered if it was Mum’s guest on Cora’s reception list.

Mum pursed her lips.  “Not a date, Colleen.  T’is merely dinner with a friend of Daryl’s father.”

Daryl was Colleen’s boyfriend, and a deputy in the neighboring county.  He was also Jake’s cousin and was going to be the best man at the wedding.

Katherine thought,
Fast work, Mum.  You’ve only been in town for a few days
, then said, “That’s nice.” She bit into a scone, which crumbled into pieces on the table.  “Oops.”

“I might have left something out,” Mum pondered, absent-mindedly.

Colleen added, “Like vegetable oil?”

“I’m a bit daft.  T’is a long time since I’ve had a date, I mean dinner, with a member of the opposite sex.”

“What’s his name?  Where are you going?” Katherine asked.

“His name is James O’Ferrell, and he’s taking me to the Erie Hotel’s restaurant.  His great grandparents were from Ireland, and immigrated to Indiana years ago to buy a farm.”

Colleen added with an impish grin on her face, “Katz, he’s filthy rich.  He still works the family farm, but it’s not a farm-farm with acres of corn, but a large, dairy farm.” 

Mum chimed in, “He’s got a whole line of products from milk to ice cream to yogurt.”

“For real?”  Katherine asked.  “What’s the brand name?”

Colleen held up a pint of cream, sitting on the table.  “A bit of cream for your tea?”

“Lady Moo Products,” Katherine read the logo on the container.  Katherine’s face lit up, “Wow!  I buy that brand at the Erie Market.”

Colleen said to Katherine, “I know you didn’t come over to talk about milk.”  Colleen and Katherine had been friends since grade school, and frequently read each other’s thoughts.

Mum stood up.  “I need to freshen up for
me
date.  T’is grand to see ya, Katz.”

“You, too!  Have a wonderful time,” Katherine said. 

Colleen slid onto the bench opposite. 

After Mum left the room, Katherine began, “You know that yellow brick house next door to me?”

“Yeah, the one that no one wants to buy,” Colleen commented candidly.

“Scout and I just had something creepy happen to us at that house.”

“What were you doing there?  Shouldn’t you be busy with your wedding stuff?”

“I know, but I got restless, and took Scout out for a walk with her new harness and leash.  We ended up at the house.”

“Okay, getting back to the house, since it was a speakeasy with gangsters and bootleggers, I’d suspect there’d be something off about it, like maybe it’s haunted.”  Colleen beamed enthusiastically.  Spirit hunting was her area of expertise, because she once belonged to a ghost-hunting group in Manhattan.

Katherine shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It’s been on the market for over a year with no offers.  Today while I was outside with Scout, a real estate lady approached me and asked to handle the listing.  I took her on a tour.”

Katherine recapped the haunting, complete with the rocking chair, Scout’s reaction to the closet, and the invisible female voice.

Colleen’s eyes grew big.  “A chair rocking on its own —”

“The way it was moving, it looked like some invisible force was sitting in it, rocking away.”

“Wait!  Is the house furnished?”

“No, there isn’t a stick of furniture except for that creepy chair.”

“That’s odd.  Didn’t Margie work on that house?”

“Yes, but she never mentioned anything that went bump in the night.  I’ll call her later.”

“Okay, getting back to the facts, rocking chair symbolizes motherhood — a mom rocking her child.  The mom is crying . . .  but wait, are you sure it was an adult crying, or a child?”

“It was definitely an adult.”

“Maybe the mom lost her child.”

“Oh, how sad,” Katherine frowned.

“Who lived there before?”

“I remember Mark Dunn said a woman named Mrs. Clay lived there for many, many years.  She was a hoarder, and when she passed away, he had to make arrangements to empty the house.”

“Maybe you should call him and ask if he ever felt anything odd in the house,” Colleen suggested, “or knew of anyone else who did.”

Katherine gave an amused look.  “Surely you jest.  Mark Dunn would think I’d gone mental.  He’d be the last person I’d ask about the house.”

“Do you think the Erie Library would have information about previous homeowners?”

“I was thinking more of the county courthouse.  They would have property tax records.  From there, I could get names of the people who lived there, and then go to the library.  It’s worth a trip.”

“Good idea,” Colleen said, then suggested.  “How about I bring my spirit-hunting equipment, and we set up in the room?”

“Not liking that idea.  It was scary enough the first time.”

Colleen ignored the comment. “Is Friday night okay?  I can’t do it earlier, because I’ve got an exam coming up, and I need to study.”  Colleen was attending the same university in the city where Jake taught; she wanted to be a teacher.

“Great, but in the meantime, I plan on finding out as much as possible.”  Katherine got up.  “Say ‘bye’ to Mum for me.”

Katherine was halfway to the mansion when Margie, driving her pickup, pulled up alongside her.  She lowered her window and said, “Hey, kiddo, it’s a perfect day for a stroll in the park.”

Katherine walked over to the driver’s side, “Hi, Margie.  How are you? How are the kids?”

“I’m doin’ great, thank you.  The kids are fine.  Shelly got all As on her report card; Tommy did pretty good, but got a D in shop.”

Katherine grimaced.  “Maybe he didn’t inherit Cokey’s and your jack-of-all-trades genes.”

Margie nodded, then said, “Or maybe he’s too interested in the girls.”

Katherine smiled.  “Listen, I was over at the yellow brick house, and was surprised to see an old rocking chair in one of the bedrooms.”

Margie tipped her head back and laughed.  “Oh, my gosh.  I forgot to haul that away.  It was a joke with my drywall guys.  They said it looked just like that rocking chair in the movie,
The Woman in Black
, with that actor that was in the Harry Potter movies.  What’s his name?  Can’t remember.”

“Daniel Radcliffe.  Did the guys ever sit in it?” Katherine joked, trying to mask a serious question.

“Have you forgotten?  Those guys were the size of pro wrestlers.  Not thinkin’ they would have fit in it.  Want me to move it today?”

“No, that’s okay.  I can leave it there until I put the house back on the market.”

A truck pulled up behind Margie.  Katherine waved him to go around.  She had one more question to ask.  “Did you ever encounter anything spooky in that house?”

Margie shook her head.  “No, why?”

“Just asking.  Sometimes these old houses give me the creeps.”

“Nope, not this one.  She’s a happy house, and I’m surprised she hasn’t sold.  Well, kiddo, I was just headin’ home to pick up some tools.  Gotta get back to work.”

“Talk to you soon,” Katherine said, walking back to the sidewalk. 
Happy house
, she thought. 
Then why was the ghost crying?

Chapter Five

Katherine opened the side door of the mansion and walked out.  Earlier, she’d gotten a text message from Marcia, the daughter of her next door neighbor, Birdie Harper.  Marcia was engaged to Evan Hamilton — a Vietnam veteran who was seriously disfigured in the war.  He lived in secret in a cabin on the property that Katherine had bought a few months earlier.  Marcia was stopping by for a visit.

Marcia drove up in her white Buick sedan and parked in front of the house.  Katherine bounded down the concrete driveway to meet her.

“Hi, Marcia!” she called.

“Katz, hello!  You will not
believe
my good news.”

“What? Tell me?” Katherine said anxiously.

“I bought Evan a cell phone.  Now when we’re apart, we can send text messages to each other.”

Katherine’s cell pinged.  She pulled it out of her jean’s pocket.  Evan had sent her a picture of his pet crow.  Katherine giggled.  She took a selfie of herself wearing a big grin.  Evan texted back, “Morning sunshine!”

Katherine said to Marcia, “Come up on the porch, and ‘have a sit down.’”  She led the way.

Marcia laughed.  “You really are becoming a Hoosier.”

“Jake’s an excellent coach.”

Marcia joined her on the porch and sat on the swing.  Katherine sat beside her. 

Katherine returned Evan’s text, “Marcia here.  More later.”  She ended the message with a smiley face emoticon.  She returned her cell to her pocket. 

Marcia asked, “How are the wedding plans coming along?”

“Right at this very moment, Jake and Daryl are getting fitted for their tuxedos.”

“I take it Daryl is the best man?”

Katherine nodded.  “He’s also Jake’s cousin.” Katherine switched the topic.  “How are things at the cabin?”

“Pretty good,” Marcia said slowly.  She began to wring her hands, and judging by the grave look on her face, Katherine suspected she had something serious to say.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ll just come right out with it,” Marcia said uneasily.  “Evan and I are moving.”

“What?” Katherine said, shocked, with her mouth open.  “Why?  Did someone in the town find out about Evan’s secret?”

“No, but it’s only a matter of time.  Evan doesn’t want to be exposed.”

“But he didn’t concoct that ‘haunting of Peace Lake’ legend.  His relatives did.”

“Katz, confidentially, the legend is good for the town’s economy.  The romantic notion of a high school basketball legend dying in Vietnam and coming back to search for his lost love,” Marcia stopped, and pointed at herself, “lost love being me . . . It appeals to tourists, making them want to visit the town.”

“This is true, and when they visit, they also spend money at the local businesses.”

Marcia sat up straight in the swing, turned and faced Katherine, “We don’t want to start our married life under these circumstances.”

Katherine put up her hand in the stop motion.  “What?  Married?  When?”  She smiled.

Marcia grinned. “Yes, dear, we are, but not in Indiana.  After Evan gets his prosthetic eye, we’re heading to New Mexico.  Instead of buying property at Peace Lake and building there, as I intended, I’ve bought a house in a small town outside Santa Fe.”

Recovering from shock, Katherine said, “Congratulations!  I’m happy for the two of you.  When are you moving?”

“We haven’t decided yet, but we’ll let you know.”  Marcia started to get up.  “I’ve got a million errands to do before I drive back to the cabin.  I’ll keep in touch.”

Katherine walked Marcia to her car, and waved as she drove away.  She thought it was probably a good idea for Evan to leave Peace Lake.  Who knows how many townspeople would be affected by the exposure of a bogus ghost story.  Katherine knew in her heart that the couple needed to move where no one knew Evan’s history.  But she’d grown very fond of Evan, who treated her like a daughter.  She brushed a tear from her cheek.  She’d miss him terribly.