The Haunting of Pitmon House (17 page)

“She looks horrible,” Eliza said, wiping at her nose. “Her
hair is gone. You can see the burns under this gel they had all over her head.”

“It’s OK,” Robert said. “She’s in good hands. They’re going
to help her.”

“She told me to stop,” Eliza said. “She’s worried that if we
keep up with Pitmon House, I’ll die. Tell me she’s not right.”

She felt Robert squeeze her hand. “I can’t say one way or the
other,” he said.

“We know Pitmon House is dangerous,” Granger replied. “My
leg, now Rachel. It could get worse.”

“Did you see the eyes?” Eliza said. “The red eyes in the fog?”

“No,” Robert replied. “I didn’t. Did you, Dad?”

“No,” Granger replied. “I reached a point in the trance where
everything just came to a stop, and I couldn’t go forward or back. You pulling
me from the chair broke that, and woke me up.”

“And saved your life,” Robert added. “You’d be in one of
these hospital rooms right now if she hadn’t done it.”

“The flames shot out of a black cloud that came from upstairs,”
Eliza said. “There was a set of red eyes inside it. The fire flickered at first,
like whatever was inside the fog was trying to light something.”

“And this was completely separate from the woman you saw?”
Robert asked.

“Separate, but not entirely,” Eliza said. “I got the feeling
they were working as a team. The woman was distracting me while the black fog
moved in. They knew what the other was doing.”

“The woman was Tena,” Granger said. “She showed up because we
tried to contact her.”

“She was pissed,” Eliza said. “Very angry.”

“And then the black cloud attacked,” Robert said. “Do you
think that was Dominic?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Eliza said.

“Working together,” Granger replied. “I’ve rarely seen ghosts
behave that way.”

“They don’t work in tandem?” Eliza asked.

“Not usually,” Granger replied. “Most ghosts are very self-centered,
focused only on their own situation. There had to be a very strong bond between
the two of them for it to carry on like this, after death.”

“What now?” Robert asked. “It’s your call, Eliza.”

“Yes,” Granger said. “We can try again. We could go back to
Agnes; she was fairly benign, and we could try a different approach.”

“It’s up to you,” Robert said. She felt him squeeze her hand
again.

“I need to think,” Eliza said. “I need to get back to Spring
Green and explain things to work, and try to smooth things over with Rachel’s
boss.”

She stood, contemplating the things Rachel had said in the
hospital room. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to try again,” she said to them.
“I appreciate all your help, but maybe this needs to stop.”

Robert smiled at her as he released her hand. “We’re here if
you need us.”

Granger reached into a bag and pulled out a sandwich. “Take
this,” he said, handing it to her. “For the road. We’ll drive you to your car.”

“Thanks,” she said, not taking the sandwich. “I thought I was
hungry, but I’m not.”

They walked out of the waiting area, and as Eliza followed
Granger and Robert to the car, she mused how much she’d been inside a hospital
lately. It reminded her of the time she spent with her father in the hospital a
few years ago.

It wasn’t something she missed.

As Eliza let her feet slide from under the comforter, hitting
the cold rug, she reached over to the alarm clock and turned it off. The sun
was up, and she needed to be into work early, since she had agreed to pick up
the slack from Rachel’s shift. Last night she’d stayed late, completing an
inventory that Lois insisted had to be finished that evening. The events of the
past two days were wearing on her, and she felt anything but refreshed.

She stumbled to the shower and got inside, hoping the water
would wake her up. It half worked. She had spent a restless night in bed,
finding sleep difficult, trying to decide what to do. As she wiped the fog from
the mirror, she tried to wipe the fog from her mind and resume her
contemplation. She picked up the hair straightener and looked at it; normally she
plugged it in before she got into the shower, so it would be nice and hot by
the time she got out, but she’d forgotten this morning, and the irons were
cold. Feeling like a robot set on auto, she plugged it in, waiting for it to
warm up.

Looking in the mirror at herself, she could tell things were
wearing on her. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair already wanted to
go wild.

Why do I do this?
she wondered, looking down at the little light on the handle
of the appliance. She remembered all the nice things her father used to say
about her hair when it was freshly straightened; how it was so much prettier
and attractive.

Attractive to who?
she wondered.

She looked in the mirror. Could there have been some other
way for things to play out yesterday? If she had been more aware of the danger,
or of how things worked in the River, perhaps she could have spared Rachel the
agony she was now experiencing. Had her father taken the time to teach her the things
she needed to know when he was alive, her friend might not be in the hospital
right now.

She unplugged the straightener from the wall and tossed the
cord to the vanity.
I’m not doing this anymore,
she thought.

She put on her clothes, feeling her hair begin to move as it
dried. By the time she reached work, she knew what it would look like, and she
didn’t care.

She considered calling the hospitals to check in on Shane and
Rachel, but decided instead to call from work, where she could get away with
letting them pay the long distance.

Lois was concerned about Rachel but just as worried about the
coverage, and seemed grateful when Eliza offered to pick up work. Lois also
said she’d be bringing in her niece to help out, just until Rachel could come
back. Eliza suspected Lois had been looking for a way to get her niece a job
for months. She worried the niece might not leave when Rachel was capable of
returning. For now, she was grateful Lois wasn’t outright firing Rachel, so she
didn’t say anything, but she hoped Rachel could recover quickly, so the niece
didn’t become ensconced.

She made her phone calls during a break at work. Rachel was
resting and showing promising signs. There was no change with Shane, although
the nurse mentioned that a hospital administrator wanted to discuss insurance
and billing with her.

She went to the employee restroom before returning to the
shift. It reeked of an artificial deodorizer. As she washed her hands, she
looked up into the mirror once again. Her hair had now completely dried and it swirled
around her head chaotically, as it had always done since she was a little girl
when she didn’t take the time to straighten it. It was a dramatic change for
her co-workers, and she knew Lois wanted to say something to her about it, but
didn’t for some reason. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she thought
about Granger and Robert.

She knew she’d have to make a decision: either drop things
altogether, as Rachel had suggested, or keep going and try to find some way to
help Shane.

Both in the hospital, both unable to help themselves,
she thought
.
It’s just me,
alone in this silent, smelly bathroom, trying to come to terms with myself.

What would my father say?
she wondered as she looked at her hair, its wild look
slowly growing on her, slowly becoming OK.
Knowing how he avoided talking
about the River, he’d probably agree with Rachel and tell me to stop.

She turned from the mirror, and went to make a quick phone
call before returning to the gift shop, informing Granger and Robert she’d be
there by seven.

●

Climbing the second story staircase in the dark was
unnerving, and Eliza felt their group was a little less powerful without
Rachel. She knew Granger and Robert were experienced, but Rachel had been the anchor
she’d been using to feel solid about what they were doing, and with her gone,
she felt a little adrift.

Robert seemed to sense her unease and was saying all the
right things. She appreciated his thoughtfulness, and marveled at how different
he was than any of the men she had dated. Still, all the nice thoughts and
queries as to her comfort didn’t ease the dread she felt as they crested the
top of the staircase and she looked down the dark hallway of the second floor,
her flashlight unable to reach the wall at the far end, the faint yellow
pattern of the flashlight lens wiping weakly over the images of the artwork.

They opened the door to Agnes’ room and stepped inside.

“Remember,” Granger said, “we want to get as much info from
her as we can before she completes her cycle.”

“Got it,” Robert replied. He paused, taking a deep breath.
“Agnes! We want to talk to you again!”

A couple of seconds passed. Eliza saw Robert suck in his
stomach and take a step back. “She groped you again?”

Robert smiled, a little embarrassed. “She’s rarin’ to go.”

They dropped into the River. Agnes was hovering next to
Robert. She was much better defined this time, the white wisps so numerous
inside her frame she almost appeared as a solid being.

Agnes,
Robert said, moving again as her hands went for his crotch.
Please!

Just a little fun,
Agnes replied, slowly turning to look at the others.
Oh,
we have an audience!

You remember my friends,
Robert said.
They were here with me last time.

No,
Agnes replied,
I don’t remember.
She moved at him again, and he
took a step back.

We met with Tena,
Robert said, trying to distract her.

It worked. Agnes stopped her pursuit and looked confused.
Met
with her? How?

We summoned her,
Robert said.
We wanted to talk to her.

Agnes pulled back from Robert.
Why are the handsome ones
always so stupid? Why would you do that?

We wanted to talk to Kendall, but he didn’t respond,
Robert replied.
So we tried to
talk to Tena.

What a mistake!
Agnes said, her voice tinged with pity.
Tena used to be a
normal person, when she first moved in with Kendall. It was Dominic that
changed her. She let him. They became sick perverts together, doing horrible
things.

I want to ask you about Kendall,
Robert said.
What business was he
in, do you know?

The kind that loses money!
Agnes replied.
The kind that sails on a sea of red
ink!

Do you know if he was involved with music machines?
Robert asked.

Those stupid contraptions!
Agnes said.
What a child he was! Playing with
toys. No wonder his wife treated him like a common cuckold! Can you imagine a
grown man, tinkering with such stupid things!

Did he have any of them here?
Robert asked.
In his room, maybe?

When he and Tena moved in, he had many of them,
Agnes replied.
Too many. Marvin
said…

Agnes’ eyes began to bulge, and her white hands rose to her
throat, grabbing at it as she struggled to breathe. Her tongue extended from
her mouth and she began to fall to one side, when her image froze in place for
a few seconds before fading away.

Damn,
Robert said.
She cycles fast.

They dropped from the River.

“We know she doesn’t start up again right away,” Granger
said. “How long did we wait last time, when she didn’t return? Ten, fifteen
minutes?”

“About that,” Eliza replied, walking to the bed and sitting
on the mattress. “We should wait as long as we can and try again.”

“There’s no guarantee she’ll cycle after fifteen minutes,”
Robert said, “or an hour for that matter. We don’t know what her timeframe is. Last
time we came back a day later. It might take 24 hours for all we know.”

“I have to work tomorrow,” Eliza said. “If we don’t reach her
tonight before I have to leave, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow night. That’s
too long.”

“So, do you think we’re better off waiting here in her room,”
Granger asked, “or downstairs? Going downstairs means moving through the second
floor again, going down and coming back up.”

Robert sat next to her on the bed. “What do you think?”

“I think we should stay here and try again in twenty
minutes,” Eliza said. “And try every five minutes after that until we reach
her. I’d rather wait here until midnight if we have to. This room feels safer
to me than out in the hallway. Perhaps Tena and Dominic still consider this
Agnes’ room, and allow her privacy.”

“Let’s hope,” Granger said, sitting on the other end of the
bed. “It’s 8:30 now. I’ll set my watch for 8:50.”

“She keeps mentioning Marvin,” Eliza said, thinking through
the interaction with the ghost. “What did Reid say about Marvin?”

“That he was the administrator; something like that,” Robert
replied. “I could ask her again.”

“Just don’t let her get off on a tangent,” Granger replied.
“Cut her off and move on to the important stuff. She’ll go on and on about how
perverted Tena and Dominic were if you let her.”

“And this cuckold thing,” Eliza said. “What does that mean,
exactly?”

“Not polite conversation,” Granger replied.

“I’m a grown woman, Granger,” Eliza said. “Just tell me.”

“A cuckold is a man whose wife sleeps around,” Granger
replied, “and he knows about it. He either allows it, or likes it. There’s
usually a humiliation aspect involved. Not that I would know much about such
things, of course.”

“No, of course not,” Eliza replied. “Agnes said Tena and
Dominic would have sex in front of Kendall? Did I hear that right?”

“That’s what she said,” Granger replied, “the last time we
were here.”

“Twisted,” Eliza said. “And you think Kendall liked it?”

“Hard to know if he did or not,” Granger replied, “without
talking to one of them about it. Some men get off on that kind of thing. Not
me; I’d just like to make that clear.”

Eliza smiled. “Is your wife still alive, Granger? I noticed a
picture on Robert’s dresser.”

“No, she’s been gone for years now,” Granger replied. “Died
in childbirth.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Eliza said, noticing Robert look down as
Granger spoke. “So, you never knew her?” she asked Robert.

“No,” he replied. “Just stories.”

An uncomfortable silence settled on them, and Eliza felt a
little awkward for prying. She felt it might be a little too much to ask more,
so she remained silent.

After a while Granger checked his watch. “It’s been twenty,”
he said. “Let’s give it another go.”

They rose from the bed, and Robert called out to Agnes,
dropping into the River almost immediately. Granger and Eliza joined him. To
her relief, Agnes was there, approaching Robert for another grope.

Who is Marvin, Agnes?
Robert asked, stepping away from her hands.

He runs the office,
Agnes replied.
Marvin and I get along better than any of
the others here. I believe he has a crush on me. I can’t let him pursue me, of
course, because he’s of a mixed racial background, but we do enjoy a dinner
together every Thursday night.

And Kendall?
Robert asked.
His music machines? Do you know where he
kept them?

Oh, those stupid contraptions?
Agnes asked.
Can you imagine a
grown man, playing with such toys? Tena had to treat him like a child! That’s
exactly what she did, she…

Robert cut her off.
Do you know where he kept the music
machines? Did he keep them in his room?

Oh, he had far too many when they moved in,
Agnes said.
Marvin let him store
them until he could sell them all. Who would want to buy such ridiculous
contraptions? Sometimes I don’t blame her for taking charge. If I had such a
pitiable husband, I’d take over, too! I suppose I’d rather have sex with
Dominic than with him!