Town Haunts (5 page)

After two or
three minutes of this, Tiernay held up her hand for silence. “That
was terrific, everyone! I’m sure we chased away all the evil
spirits with that noise. For the next part of the ceremony . .
.”

But she never
got the opportunity to finish her sentence because the music
suddenly stopped and the lights went out. It was black inside the
store, the only illumination coming from a street light outside the
front window. People began to mutter, and someone shoved past Anna,
knocking her into a table.

“Hey!” she
exclaimed.

“Everybody stay
where you are,” Steve called from behind her.

“Greg, what
happened to the emergency lights?” Tiernay shouted.

The bell on the
store door chimed, and a fresh blast of chilly air rushed into the
room. Anna looked up from rubbing her knee as everyone fell silent.
The dim light from the street lamp illuminated a shadowy figure
hovering on the door step. It paused, turning its head slowly, as
if searching for someone. Pulling a slender cylinder from its
pocket, the figure stepped into the room. The crowd recoiled and a
woman gasped. Someone barrelled past Anna and tackled the intruder,
knocking him to the floor. People started shouting and pushing,
squirming to see what was happening. Then the lights flashed back
on, and the music started to play.

Anna craned to
see past the people huddled in front of her. Steve was climbing to
his feet, the back of his shirt pulled out of his pants and his
hair hanging in his face. He had another man by the collar and was
hauling him up from the floor. The man twisted in Steve’s grasp,
and Anna saw his face. It was Sherman Mason, the cemetery
caretaker. He looked dazed, and blood trickled from his nose. Steve
released Sherman’s collar to take hold of his elbow, steadying the
wobbly man.

“Sherman, what
the devil are you doing here?” he demanded.

Chapter Five

Steve asked the
visitors to clear the store, and ten minutes later, almost everyone
was gone. Sherman sat hunched in a chair behind the front counter
pressing tissues to his nose, while Steve crouched beside him,
asking questions. Tiernay hovered beside Steve, while Greg leaned
against the counter with his arms folded over his chest. Anna and
her friends sat on the sofa by the book shelves where they were
hidden from view.

“How’s your
knee doing?” May asked.

“Looks like I’m
going to get one heck of a bruise, but it’ll be okay,” Anna said,
rolling her pant leg back down.

“Good, because
I can’t hear anything from back here. Let’s get closer so that we
can hear what Sherman’s saying,” May said, springing to her feet
and heading for the front of the store with Anna and Erna scurrying
after her. Steve glanced up as they arrived, and Tiernay did a
double-take.

“You’re still
here?” she asked.

“We are, dear,”
Erna replied. “Anna was injured while the lights went out, so we
were just resting on the couch until she felt well enough to walk.”
She turned to Sherman. “You were saying?”

The caretaker
glanced at Steve, who straightened up from the floor. “It’s not a
criminal investigation. If you want to talk in front of them, go
ahead.” Looking at the three women, Steve added with a wry smile,
“Sherman has kindly declined to press assault charges against
me.”

“It was a
mistake. I guess people were a little spooked when they saw me,”
the caretaker said.

“To put it
mildly,” Anna murmured.

Sherman nodded
and rose to his feet. Heavy drinking hadn’t ruined the caretaker’s
looks; he was still tall and broad-shouldered with a chiselled jaw
and a broad forehead, but his shoulders were stooped, and his eyes
were bleary. He checked the tissues to see if the bleeding had
stopped. Crumpling them in his fist, he tossed the bundle into the
trash can under the counter. “As I was explaining to Steve and the
Raes here, I thought I’d come by the store tonight after the
cleansing ceremony was over, but before everything was locked up.
The lights were out and I thought I was too late, but then I heard
people talking inside. I figured there’d been a power outage, and I
had a flashlight, so I came in to help.”

“I’ll have the
electrician check the wiring on Monday,” Greg said. “Something must
have got screwed up during the renovations.”

“But why wait
until the ceremony was over?” Erna asked Sherman. “Why did you come
at all?”

He dropped his
gaze. “Now that I’m here, Miss Dombrosky, I kind of hate to say. It
sounds kind of crazy.”

“Nonsense,
Sherman, you’ve always been sharp as a tack. You gave me excellent
advice when you were our bank manager.” Anna looked up in surprise
and stared at Sherman. When had this broken-down old man been a
bank manager?

“I understand
that you’ve been going through some difficult times,” Erna added,
“but why not tell us what’s troubling you? Maybe we can help.” She
laid a hand on Sherman’s shoulder, but he stepped out from under
it.

“All right. I
guess I don’t mind you ladies hearing about my business, too. The
thing is, I need someone to run a séance for me, and I figured that
whoever owned this store might know how.”

They all stared
at Sherman. Tiernay exchanged a glance with Greg before saying,
“I’m not sure that I can help you, Mr. Mason. It’s true that I’m
sensitive to the spirit world, but I’ve never conducted a séance
before.”

Everyone was
silent until May spoke up. “I’ve been to a séance,” she said,
matter-of-factly.

“You have?”
Tiernay asked.

“Yup. Down in
New Orleans. Earl and I went when we were on vacation. There was a
medium, a spooky old lady who claimed that her house was haunted by
the ghost of a confederate soldier. I must say, the séance was
pretty exciting.”

“What
happened?” Sherman asked, taking a step closer to May.

“Well, it was
night-time, plus the curtains were drawn, so the room was really
dark. The only light came from two candles lit right in front of
the medium’s face. She stared at the flames until she went into
some kind of trance, and then she started talking in this deep
voice, claiming to be the confederate soldier.”

“I don’t think
that I could do that,” Tiernay said.

“You never know
until you try,” Erna replied. “Besides, there’s more than one way
to communicate with the dead. Table rapping, Ouija board, automatic
writing . . . Just who are you trying to communicate with, by the
way?” she asked, turning back to Sherman.

“My wife,” he
said, meeting her eyes. “I think that she spoke to me in the
cemetery last Monday night.”

“Really? How
fascinating. What did she say?”

“Nothing. She
just called my name. Three times. But it felt as though she were
trying to tell me something.”

“I wonder what
it could be? How did she sound?”

“She sounded
unhappy, Miss Dombrosky. Angry, even.”

“Oh my, that’s
not good. Can you help him?” Erna asked, addressing Tiernay.

The young woman
frowned. “I suppose I could try, but I’m new here, Mr. Mason, and I
haven’t got a coven together yet. The support of other sensitives
helps me to focus my powers. I’m not sure how effective I could be
without them.”

“Not a
problem,” Greg said. “What about these three lovely ladies? I’m
sure that they’d be happy to help.” He gestured at Anna, May, and
Erna, his face breaking into a grin. “The maiden, the mother, and
the crone.”

There was an
awkward silence that seemed to hang on much too long. “I beg your
pardon, Greg?” Anna finally said in a cold voice, angry that he had
insulted Erna by implying that she was a crone.

“The triple
threat of the Wiccan religion,” Greg hastened to explain. “The
three faces of the Earth Mother. I didn’t mean any insult,” he
added, looking at Erna.

“Oh, no,”
Tiernay hurried to say. “People don’t think of the crone as an ugly
old hag anymore. Today we revere the mature woman for her wisdom
and experience. You’re beautiful to us, Miss Dombrosky.”

“Why, thank
you, dear,” Erna said with a smile.

“But, Greg,
don’t be ridiculous,” Tiernay countered. “Anna can’t represent the
maiden. She’s much too old. How old are you, anyway –
forty-five?”

“Forty,” Anna
replied, gimlet-eyed.

“You see, I’ll
have to be the maiden.”

“Figuratively
speaking,” Anna quipped.

May snorted,
and Tiernay glared at Anna before turning to her brother. “I don’t
know. A séance could be dangerous, don’t you think?”

“You know what
precautions to take.”

“Excuse me,”
Sherman said, breaking into their conversation, “I don’t exactly
understand what all this Earth Mother talk means, but I’d be
grateful if you could help Evie and me. The whole experience was
pretty unsettling. I don’t mind telling you, I haven’t liked going
into that part of the cemetery since.”

“Evie?” Tiernay
asked.

“My wife,
Evelyn. We could hold the séance at my house, if you like.”

The young woman
paused to consider. “Yes, if she’s lingered, her spirit might still
be strong in the house. We might even have a manifestation. Okay,
Mr. Mason, I’d be willing to try if these ladies will help me.” She
gestured at the three friends. “May has experience with séances,
Anna’s spirit is strong, and Miss Dombrosky has a lot of orange in
her aura.”

“Is that good?”
Erna asked.

“Definitely.
Orange is a sign of power and the ability to control people. You’d
be a very useful person to have in our group, Miss Dombrosky.”

May smiled and
put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “I’ve always known that
about you.”

“Thank you,”
Erna replied. “What do you think, Anna?”

Anna shrugged.
“It sounds to me like someone was pulling a prank on Sherman. It’s
three weeks to Halloween, after all.” She addressed the caretaker
directly. “Was there any sign of someone being there ‒ someone
other than your wife’s ghost, I mean?”

Sherman paused,
looking uneasy. “There was a light before I got there. I saw it
from the back of the house.”

“What kind of a
light?” Tiernay asked.

Sherman shook
his head. “Just a light. It was bouncing between the trees.”

Greg exchanged
a look with his sister. “Lights are often part of a spirit
manifestation, aren’t they?”

“That’s right,”
Tiernay said, her breath coming a little more quickly. “Sometimes a
spirit isn’t strong enough for an ectoplasmic manifestation, but it
can manage light. You should have told us about this before, Mr.
Mason. I find the light very promising.”

“Sorry,” he
said, falling silent. Tiernay turned to stare pointedly at the
other women.

“Look, don’t
get me wrong, I’d like to help,” Anna said. “Just tell me when, and
I’ll come to the séance.”

“I’ll need a
couple of days to make preparations,” Tiernay said. “Fortunately, I
don’t have many massages booked yet, so my evenings are mostly
free. How about Monday night? That gives me two days.” She looked
at Anna and her friends, who nodded. “What do you think, Mr.
Mason?”

“Fine with me.
The sooner the better. I have an old table in the dining room big
enough for all of us, I should think.”

Tiernay looked
at her brother. “Greg, can you help me to set up beforehand?”

“Sure. Whatever
you need.”

“All right, Mr.
Mason, I’ll do it. Shall we say 8 p.m., everyone?” They all
nodded.

“Good. I’ll see
you then,” Sherman said. “You’ve all been very helpful. I
appreciate it.” Without another word, the caretaker exited the
store with Erna and May following him a moment later. Tiernay took
Greg aside for some private conversation, leaving Anna alone with
Steve. She started.

“Hey, I forgot
all about Henry Fellows with everything else that’s been happening.
Did you see him?” she asked.

“No, not a sign
of him.” He pointed at May and Erna through the store window where
they chatted on the sidewalk. “I think they’re waiting for you.
Hadn’t you better get going?”

Anna
straightened from where she had been leaning against the counter.
“Trying to get rid of me?” When he didn’t reply, she shrugged and
said, “See you later, Steve.”

But before she
could leave, Steve took hold of her arm. “Listen, Anna,” he said,
gazing down into her eyes, “make sure that May gives you and Erna a
lift home tonight, okay?”

Anna paused,
her expression curious. “Why? May always drives Erna home, but I
usually walk.”

“Well, don’t.
Not tonight, anyway. There’s some weird stuff going on around town,
and I don’t want you taking any chances.” He released her arm.
“Just do what you’re told, for once.”

Anna frowned,
not liking his dictatorial tone. Steve’s stern expression softened
into a smile. “Come on Anna. As a favour to me. If anything ever
happened to you, Tremaine would have my hide.”

Anna shook her
head in exasperation. “All right, I’ll ask May to give me a lift,
too, if it’s so important to you.”

Steve smiled
and patted her head, but she knocked his hand away in exasperation.
His smile widened into a grin. “That’s a good girl. Night,
Anna.”

“You just be
careful yourself, Steve Walker,” Anna sputtered after him as he
headed toward Tiernay at the back of the store.

Instead of driving her friends
home straight away, however, May invited them to her apartment for
a confab. Once inside, she bustled about her tiny kitchen preparing
mugs of cinnamon spice decaffeinated tea. While she was working,
May asked Anna to add two logs to the wood-burning stove, the
apartment’s principal heat source.

“Sorry it’s a
bit chilly in here,” May said. “I didn’t expect to be at the
cleansing ceremony so long, and the fire’s burned down. Thanks
Anna. Just leave the door open – I like to watch the wood burn.”
Anna nodded and joined Erna at the kitchen dinette.