The Haunted Bones (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 3) (5 page)

L
in met
Leonard at the farmhouse at lunchtime to have a look at the back of the property to see what the investigators did to the area while digging for any new bones. They thought the additional disruption to the yard might require some tweaking to their work plan.

“Looks okay.” Leonard gazed at the dirt piles. “It’ll just need some extra work with the front loader.” He gave Lin a grin. “You must be happy about that.”

The two went over the documents showing the landscape designs, pointed out some things that needed adjustment, and made their plan for the following days. Leonard headed off to another job while Lin stood at her truck rolling up the paperwork. Putting it on the backseat, she glanced over to the neighbor’s house. It could barely be seen through the lush greenery. Lin decided that this was as good a time as any, so she and the dog cut through the trees and bushes and came out on the neighbor’s crushed shell driveway. Taking a deep breath she went to the front of the three-story home and rang the bell.

It only took a few seconds for the door to open. A woman in her early sixties with chin-length auburn hair stood at the entrance smiling at Lin. “Hi, there. Can I help with something?”

Lin introduced herself and explained that she and her partner would be working in the rear yard next door. “Since no one’s usually at the house, I just wanted you to know that we’d be coming and going.”

A tall, strong-looking man came up behind the woman. He also looked to be in his sixties and had salt and pepper hair and deep-set dark eyes. His thick eyebrows were like two caterpillars placed on his forehead. They scrunched together in a concerned expression. “You’re not removing any of the trees or bushes that line the edge of the property, are you?”

“Not at all.” Lin reassured the man. “The couple who owns the house want to keep the vegetation along the property line. We’ll just be working along the edges of the area creating new flower beds. It won’t impact you at all.”

The man scowled. “I’m sure the noise you’ll be making will impact us.”

“Oh, Lloyd, honestly.” The woman shook her head. “Everyone has work done on their places now and then.”

Lin said, “We’ll be working within the hours of eight to five in order to keep the noise down. We’ll only be using a small front loader on the first two days of the job. Then everything will just be some trucks arriving and manual labor.”

The woman held out her hand. “I’m Olive Sawyer. This is my husband, Lloyd.”

The man didn’t offer to shake hands, just gave Lin a curt nod.

“There’s already been a lot going on next door the past few days.” Lin was leading up to asking the couple about things they’d seen over the past year. “It was an unfortunate find.”

“You found that bone, didn’t you?” Lloyd was almost accusatory.

Lin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and she nodded. She remembered seeing a man on the other side of the trees that night and realized it must have been Lloyd. “My partner and I were reviewing the landscaping plans the other evening. My dog was the one who discovered the bone.”

“How terrible to find such a thing.” Olive wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m so glad they didn’t find any more bones.” She gave a shudder.

“I wonder how it got there.” Lin looked at Olive hoping that the woman might share some speculation.

“I wish we knew.” Olive’s lips were pulled down.

Lin said, “The farmhouse was empty for a year, I heard. I guess someone could have accessed the yard during that time.”

“We aren’t here in the winter. We close up for the cold weather and head home to New York City.” Olive’s voice took on a concerned tone. “I did see people back there once in a while though.”

Lloyd cut in. “That was the Realtor checking on the property.” He gave Lin a look. “My wife likes to ignore the humdrum explanation.”

“Things aren’t always as they seem.” Olive faced Lin. “When no one is living in a house, there’s a chance that someone might break in and cause trouble. There’s nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the place. It’s the neighborly thing to do.”

“Who lived there before the new couple bought it?” Lin questioned.

Olive said, “George Lyons, a business owner, owned the place. I don’t know why he wanted it.”

Lloyd cut into the conversation. “The man used it as an investment.”

Olive clucked. “A home should be lived in. Lyons hardly ever used the place. The first year, he might have been there for a total of four weekends, but the rest of the time, the house was empty. The second year, he put it up for rent. After that, he put the place up for sale.”

“What were the rental people like? Did someone rent it for a full year?”

“No.” Lloyd scowled again and Lin wondered if that was his usual expression. She felt badly for Olive having to live with such a sour puss. “A family rented it for the summer. So much noise over there, a bunch of kids always shouting in the backyard.”

Olive made a face at her husband’s comments. “I liked it. The yard was full of life. In the off-season, a writer and her husband rented it September through March. Then a single man took over for April and May.” She scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t care for him.”

“Then that family brought their noise back with them in the summer.” Lloyd grunted. “I have to get back to work.” He turned abruptly and moved down the hallway with heavy steps.

Lin watched him go and then looked at Olive with a friendly expression. She hoped that the woman would continue their conversation for a bit longer.

“Don’t mind, Lloyd.” Olive waved her hand in his direction. “He’s an old fuss-budget. He has a very rigid way of thinking about the world.”

Lin wanted to ask Olive how on earth she could stand living with him, but thought better of it.

Olive nodded to the house next door. “The house just sat idle for almost the whole year while it was up for sale.”

Lin said, “I wonder why George Lyons didn’t rent the house that last year.”

Olive gave a shrug. “He probably thought it would sell quickly and didn’t want to have a rental agreement to honor that might slow the sale. He probably just wanted to unload the place.”

“Did you ever see any suspicious activity next door?” So far the conversation wasn’t shedding any light on how the bone might have ended up in the farmhouse’s backyard. “Somebody lurking who didn’t belong there? Lights on when they weren’t supposed to be?”

Olive shook her head. “I’d see somebody walking around the house, but Lloyd always said it was the real estate agent or a property manager checking up on it.” She laughed. “I
was
ready to call the police one night though. I saw the light of a flashlight in the yard, but it turned out to be Lloyd.”

Lin’s eyes narrowed. “Lloyd was over there?”

Olive smiled. “Imagine the police showing up and it’s my own husband that I called in about.”

“Why was Lloyd in the backyard?”

“He said he thought he heard someone over there … he thought he saw a light in the yard.”

Lin cocked her head. “He wasn’t concerned for his safety? If it was an intruder?”

Olive batted the air with her hand. “Lloyd does things in his own way.”

Lin wondered what else Lloyd might do in his own way. She forced a smile. “When did that happen?”

“Oh, months ago.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then Lin thanked her for her time and started down the front steps. Thinking of something, she stopped. “You mentioned you didn’t like the man who rented the farmhouse in April and May. What bothered you about him?”

Olive’s expression darkened. “He was unfriendly, abrupt. I went over with some cookies to welcome him and he just poked his head out of the door. He only opened it a crack, like he was trying to hide something. He gave me a bad feeling.”

Lin waited to see if she might add to her comments, but the woman had a faraway look on her face and didn’t say any more. “Thank you for talking with me,” Lin said.

“You know,” Olive said slowly.

Lin made eye contact with her.

“I thought I saw that guy in the yard after he’d moved out.” Olive gestured to the farmhouse. “It was dark, but there was a security light that lit up part of the yard. The guy walked briefly under the light. I thought it looked just like him.” She shook her head. “Lloyd said it was just my imagination running away with me.”

“What did you think of Lloyd’s explanation?”

Olive was quiet for a few seconds and then her jaw seemed to tighten. The woman leveled her eyes at Lin. “I thought he was wrong.”

D
riving
to meet John at the house showing, Lin couldn’t stop thinking about her visit to the farmhouse neighbors. Olive seemed to believe that she saw the creepy renter guy behind the farmhouse at night at a time when he wasn’t even renting and she reported that Lloyd was skulking around back there in the dark one night claiming to have heard and seen a possible intruder. Lin’s mind was replaying the events that had happened over the past few days and it all seemed like a carousel that was spinning faster and faster making everything a blur.

She pulled to the curb of a long driveway and she and the dog got out. In the gathering dusk, Lin could see John’s car parked at the end of the driveway near the house. The vehicle’s interior overhead light was on and she could make out John’s head bent forward. When she reached the side of the car, Lin could see that John was going over some paperwork. She said his name and waved at his window which caused John’s head to snap up as he whirled towards the sound.

When John saw Lin, he blew out a long breath. He opened the driver side door and stepped out. “I didn’t hear you come up. I’m feeling jumpy.”

Nicky gave the man a soft woof and wagged his little tail. John bent to scratch his ears.

“It’s okay.” Lin gave John’s arm a quick squeeze. “Being nervous will pass. You just need to give it time. You should make these appointments in the daylight until you feel better about going into unoccupied houses.” She looked over at the building. “It looks pretty run down.”

“It is. It’s a mess.” John locked his car and removed the house key from his briefcase. “The price is right for a person who has some money to put into renovations. Doing renovations could double or triple the value of the place.” John led the way to the front door.

“Can Nicky come in with us?”

“He
is
my bodyguard,” John joked as he pushed open the door.

John’s words caused a slight shiver to travel over Lin’s skin and not knowing why she had that reaction, she gave herself a shake trying to throw off the strange unease.

The house was dark and musty. The tiles in the entryway were cracked and loose. Dingy wallpaper covered the foyer walls. John fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on illuminating the living room.

Lin glanced around the sad room’s disrepair. The wood floors were scuffed and stained and a few pieces of old, torn upholstered furniture stood haphazardly about the space. The window glass was covered in grime.

John groaned. “The guy from the office was supposed to come and remove this furniture.”

Lin looked at him, the corner of her mouth turning up. “The furniture isn’t going to be the thing that stops the sale of this place.”

“It just makes it look worse.” Pulling out his phone, John made a call to the office. He paced back and forth as he talked.

Lin walked around and entered what was once used as a dining room. It was in the same sorry state as the living area. Lin leaned down near the window and peering through the grimy streaks, tried to look out into the darkening yard. She straightened up with a start. Emily Coffin stood in the side yard staring up at Lin. Her ghostly body shimmered in the evening light.

Lin bit her lower lip, her mind racing.
Why is she here? What does it mean?
Her heart sank. She walked back into the living room where John was still pacing and talking into the phone. He glanced up at Lin and she mouthed,
I’m going to go look around
.

John nodded.

“Come on, Nick.” Lin led the way to the other rooms with the dog right at her heels. Tension gathered in her muscles and she consciously tried to relax and release them. She reached to her throat for her gold pendant with the horseshoe on it. While she moved her index finger over the edges of the necklace, she tried to slow her breathing and calm her pounding heart. She was sure there was something in the house that Emily Coffin wanted her to find.
Where is it? What is it?

On the first floor and then on the second, Lin moved from room to room, holding her breath as she flicked on the lights and opened the closet doors. Relief flooded her body each time a space was empty. Despite her attempts to control it, her tension was making her feel shaky. “I guess the coast is clear, Nick.” She and the dog hurried down the staircase. John stood in the living room sending text messages. He looked up when Lin came in.

“The clients are late. They called when you were upstairs. They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.” John looked hopefully at Lin. “Can you stay?”

“Sure. It’s fine.” Lin nodded, but what she really wanted was to rush from the empty house and run to her car. She needed to get control of her nerves.

“I’m going to run out to the car to get some paperwork.” John went out the front door.

From the other room, Nicky let out a long whine that sent a shudder though Lin’s body. She turned and walked into the kitchen to find the dog. The little brown creature sat in front of a door. He lifted his foot and pawed at it. Lin glanced over her shoulder to the living room and then flicked her gaze back to the door. She wanted to call to John to have him come into the kitchen, but if something unpleasant was behind the door, she didn’t want to add another distressing find to his current anxious state. Lin considered telling John that they needed to leave the building, but she pushed the idea out of her head.

Nicky pawed the door again and whined.

Lin blew out a breath and put her hand on the door knob. She turned it slowly and squeezed her eyes into slits so she would have only partial sight. She pulled the door open to find the stairs to the basement.

Lin looked down the stairs into the dingy cellar and then shifted her eyes to the dog. “No way I’m going down there.”

Before Lin could grab him, Nicky rushed down the steps into the basement and disappeared around the corner.

Lin almost stomped her foot in frustration. She called to the dog. He wouldn’t return. Reaching for the light switch, she pushed on the button to turn the cellar lights on. Hesitating, Lin put her hand on the side of her face and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Opening them again, she sucked in a deep breath, grabbed the rickety banister, and slow step by slow step, descended into the cellar.

L
in reached
the bottom of the stairs and warily looked around the basement. An old wooden work bench stood to one side. Two by fours were strewn across the floor, used paint cans were stacked in rows on the left side of the space, there was a box holding some rotted fire wood, and a couple of broken chairs lay in a heap.

“Nicky.” Lin’s voice was stern. She wanted to find the dog and get out of there.

Lin heard something scratch on the floor. She edged around the corner into a smaller space that had a dirt floor. Lin fumbled along the wall trying to find a light switch. She let out an exasperated sigh when her fingers couldn’t locate it. Squinting into the dank space, she made out the form of the dog. He whined sending a shiver down her spine.

“What are you doing, Nick?” Lin moved her feet a few inches at a time as she shuffled closer. The dog sat next to a rusty locker that lay on the floor like it had fallen from its upright position and was left there by someone who thought it was more useful that way. Nicky pawed the metal.

Lin’s throat tightened as if fingers were laced around her neck. A wave of dizziness came over her and she reached her hand out to find something to steady herself. Her fingers floundered in the air so she slowly sank onto her knees and put her hand on top of the locker. Zings of electricity nipped at her fingers and she yanked her arm back.

Lin’s heart pounded like it was going to leap from her chest. When the dizziness passed, she moved her trembling hand to the handle on the locker. Terrified of what she might find, she steeled herself and sucked in a breath. Twisting the knob, she flung the metal door open.

Lin’s feet scurried under her so quickly in a scramble to get away that she toppled onto her back with a heavy thud.

A sound hurt her ears. She realized it was the sound of her own scream.