The Ghost of Jeopardy Belle Read online

  “Arnette,” she said with an amused smile.

  I shook my head. “No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I’d better go home. I think my grandfather is picking me up.” Arnette smiled good-naturedly, and I instantly liked her again. I know she didn’t mean to hurt my feelings or insinuate that Jeopardy was some kind of fast girl. Arnette was just being Arnette. Benny looked disappointed, but I gave him a polite finger wave and he perked back up.

  “Goodbye, Harper.”

  “Ciao,” Arnette called after him. That was her new thing. She’d seen it in some movie with Ava Gardner or some glamorous star like that. When was the last time I had been to the movies? I glanced back one more time at Benny. Nope. Still didn’t recall him.

  Addison waited for me at the front door, and together we walked out into the sunshine.

  “Who was that boy?” she asked between sneezes.

  “Just a friend.” I handed her my one and only handkerchief. I dreaded the ride home. I didn’t like my grandfather at all, and it seemed strange to me that he would want to be a part of our lives now that Daddy and Jeopardy were gone. We stood outside, and Loxley ran toward us holding up a piece of paper. In class today, she got to glue macaroni onto paper. Before I had the opportunity to compliment her on her artwork, a horn honked. To my sheer joy, I saw Aunt Dot sitting in her convertible. She waved at us and called my name.

  We all ran toward her. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it would end with some laughter and happiness. Aunt Dot always brought sunshine with her. We hopped in the car as she drove away, and I pretended that I didn’t see my grandfather’s Master DeLuxe just four cars back. He honked at us, but none of us paid attention. Addison finally looked back and tapped me on the shoulder, but I touched my finger to my lips to encourage her to keep quiet. She nodded back with wide eyes. Loxley had taken the front seat today, but Addison and I didn’t complain.

  For the first time in a long time, I felt joy. Real joy. It wouldn’t last long.

  Chapter Five—Jerica

  I woke up feeling groggy, but then again, I’d stayed up much later than I normally would. Since leaving the third shift at the Sunrise Retirement Home behind, I’d gotten used to going to bed at a decent hour. Despite last evening’s frightening beginnings, my date with Jesse went well. Instead of going to the new steakhouse, we drove through the Sonic, ordered a bunch of junk food and went back to his place. Nothing intimate happened beyond some handholding on his front porch swing, but it had been a nice evening, especially after the terror we experienced at Summerleigh. For the first time in a long time, my first thought of the morning was not imagining the arms of my daughter around my neck or the sound of her footsteps running to my bed. I felt a tad guilty about that but whispered, “Good morning, Marisol,” as I always did. I listened quietly for a response, knowing that there would be none. The only sound I heard was a bird fussing in the live oak outside my window.

  As I waited for the fog to lift, I recalled with perfect clarity the strange little boy Jesse and I saw standing in the hallway of Summerleigh last night. We had talked for hours about it but were no closer to understanding what forces were at work. The little boy was clearly not a Belle; we assumed he was a member of the McIntyre family, but since that was so long ago, we had no real way of identifying him. One thing was for sure, though—whoever or whatever he was did not like the repairs and improvements we were making. I rolled over and stared at the clock. It was already eight, and Hannah was scheduled to be here at nine. The hard work of the past week left me feeling tired and sore, but it felt good. I’d forgotten how much I loved working with my hands and the pure exhaustion that came with intense physical labor. I used to save lives, and now I saved houses.

  Or at least I was trying to save the house. I wondered if I should have so readily ignored Ben Hartley’s warning. Maybe I shouldn’t stay. But how could I just leave? This place felt like home, and Marisol had followed me here. What if I left and she didn’t come with me?

  Maybe I’ll call Ben today and insist that he tell me what he knows. Maybe he’s seen the boy too. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do, I promised myself.

  The hour flew by, and Hannah knocked on my door promptly at nine. “Good morning. Come in,” I greeted her with a smile.

  Hannah was tall, taller than most, and she seemed really self-conscious about that. As always, she clutched her purse close to her like a life vest. She didn’t appear nervous or frightened as she had been when she called last night.

  “Would you like something to drink? Maybe a cup of coffee?” I asked as I led her into the kitchen.

  She politely declined and took a seat at the table. “You went to Summerleigh, didn’t you?”

  I finished pouring my own cup of coffee and took a seat across from her. I smoothed out the tablecloth and shrugged. “I had no intention of going over there, but after you called, I—I mean, we—saw a light in the attic. Jesse was here. And since we had equipment and materials in the house, we couldn’t ignore it. How did you know that there would be activity?”

  Still clutching her purse, Hannah tilted her head and looked past me thoughtfully as if trying to figure out how to best answer my question. “Ever since I visited Summerleigh, the energy there has kind of stayed with me. It’s like I have this weird connection with it now. That happens sometimes; it’s a risk that psychics take, and it usually doesn’t amount to anything, but this time was different. I’m always careful, but I left Summerleigh with a heaviness, an attachment for lack of a better word. I’m positive it originated from something in that house. My alarm bells went off, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Summerleigh. When I saw your daughter, it kind of clicked. I think she came to warn me.”

  “Marisol? You saw my daughter?”

  “Yes. She was worried about you, Jerica. I think she’s trying to protect you.”

  Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them back. Hannah offered me a tissue from her purse. I dabbed at my face as she continued, “I’m not like a lot of psychic mediums, meaning that I don’t commune with spirits the way some psychics do. I sense energy more than anything, not usually ghosts directly, so that’s why it surprised me to see Marisol and get those impressions about the house. I can sense when energy builds and dissipates. Right now, I know energy is building. The spirit world is stirred up, and there are many eyes concentrated on this place. How about you? Are you feeling anything unusual? You have a rare sensitivity, Jerica. I think that’s why Harper picked you.”

  “I’ve had a few things happen, but I didn’t think much of them because Jeopardy Belle has been found. We recovered her remains.”

  “But Harper…you still see Harper,” Hannah said wide-eyed. It wasn’t really a question.

  “Yes. I have dreamed about Harper a few times recently. Her grandfather, the man who murdered Jeopardy, is coming around again. But if he’d done anything to Harper, I would’ve known about it. She would have told me. We were friends, and if she suspected he had anything to do with Jeopardy…”

  Hannah reached across the table and held my hand. “When you’re dealing with the supernatural, it’s really important that you don’t assume anything. I know that’s hard when your emotions are involved, but it may be that Harper wants you to know something. Something that will help you.” She patted my hand one last time and sat up straight. “I think we should take a walk, Jerica. Let’s go check out the house.”

  “I don’t want to put you in further danger, Hannah.”

  “It’s the only way I can help you, and I have my protection now. I have no one to blame but myself for that last incident. I know better than to walk into a place like Summerleigh without preparing. Lesson learned. Let’s go check it out. Unless you want me to go by myself?”

  “No way. You should know that Jesse and I both saw the boy with the black eyes last night. He was on the top floor, and I got the distinct impression that he did not want us there.” We rose from the table, and I put my cup in the sink. I locked th
e back door, and we stepped out the front into the warm sunshine. I hadn’t noticed how chilly it had become in the cottage.

  “Tell me what happened, and don’t leave anything out,” she prompted me as she pulled her purse higher up on her shoulder.

  “Jesse and I were in the kitchen, and we saw a light moving in the attic. It wasn’t like a flashlight beam, more like a strange disco light. There were different colors; first white and then blue and purple and then white again. And it moved around, so it kind of looked like someone was having a party in the attic. I told Jesse what you said about not going in the house, but like I said, we couldn’t ignore it.” I closed the front door behind me and locked it before we walked down the gravel path toward the front door of Summerleigh. I could avoid going through the back door in the daylight.

  “And?”

  “We heard what sounded like a child’s footsteps, so we went up to check it out. When we got to the end of the hallway on the second floor, we could see the light shining under the door, and you could see the shadows of someone passing through it. While we were busy trying to open the door, the boy appeared at the end of the hall. The doors started slamming—I mean they were slamming so hard it sounded like they were going to be ripped off the hinges. I won’t lie; I was scared out of my mind. I don’t know what I would have done without Jesse. The sound kept getting louder and louder.” I put the key in the door of Summerleigh and turned it slowly. “I couldn’t take it anymore, so I screamed. I said, ‘Quit it!’ or something like that, and it all stopped. Jesse and I didn’t waste any time getting out of there.”

  “Interesting. He listened to you. He must know that this is your place now. Still, I can’t imagine he’ll go without a fight.”

  We stepped inside the Great Room. I left the door open because the air was so heavy that it felt like it might smother me. “I almost forgot, Jerica. I made this for you.” Hannah dug inside her purse and retrieved a necklace. After untangling the chain, she handed it to me. It was a silver chain with an odd blue pendant. “This will protect you while we’re here. Let’s go upstairs to the center of the activity. Funny, though, I don’t feel any of the Belles in here. Not even John, the father.”

  As we walked toward the staircase, I sighed sadly. All of the happiness and goodwill that I felt earlier this week, all the hard work we put into restoring Summerleigh, seemed so worthless now. Perhaps Ben Hartley was right. This place was cursed.

  “Oh yes. The boy is here. Such an unhappy entity. Definitely human, so at least there are limitations to his power. But I get the sense that he is…” Hannah paused on the stairs and looked behind her.

  “What? What is it?”

  “It’s just a voice, a droning in my ear. Don’t you hear it?”

  I shook my head but listened for a minute. The hair all over my body crept up. “Let’s keep going. I’ll see if I can communicate with the boy, but if he’s anything like last time, I’m not sure how successful I’ll be. If we can figure out what he wants, maybe we can help him move on.”

  I remembered something important from a dream I had recently. “I forgot to tell you, Hannah. Loxley, the youngest Belle girl, admitted to Harper that she was the one who cut up her dress with the scissors. She said the boy wanted her to do it…and in fact, he was the one who gave her the scissors. And I remember Jesse mentioned once before that Mariana McIntyre was murdered with a pair of scissors. I’m not sure if that means anything, but I figured I’d tell you.”

  Hannah nodded as she clutched her purse and whispered to herself. With nervous hands, she removed a small electronic device from her pocket. She clicked the button, paused on the top stair and then slowly began to move down the hall, looking through each open doorway as she went. I followed a few steps behind her.

  Was she praying? Maybe I should pray too?

  Hannah said, “Little boy, I know you are here. We’re not here to harm you, but you cannot harm us either. We need to know, are you a McIntyre? Was Mariana your sister?” She waved her recorder around and then walked into the room that the Belle girls always referred to as the nursery. It was as silent as the grave. We waited but heard nothing except the sound of scurrying somewhere. Oh great, please don’t let there be mice in here.

  “Oh yes, you like it in here, don’t you? This was your own little kingdom, wasn’t it?” I heard a bumping sound coming from the nearby closet, but Hannah didn’t react to it. She continued to walk around the room and finally put her device in the window. “This lady owns this house now. This is not your house anymore. There are no children here for you to play with. You should go, be with your family.” Another bumping sound came from the closet, and I was feeling less comfortable by the second. “Why are you hiding from us? I’m not opening that closet door. We’re not playing with you. You need to leave.” The door handle on the closet began to shake as if an invisible hand tugged on it. I stepped back and stood in the corner of the room, my pulse racing and my hands sweating. Hannah extended her hand behind her and waved at me to calm me down. I tried to keep cool, but it wasn’t working. She waved at me again and looked back at me, lifting her chin to prompt me to speak.

  “My name is Jerica Poole. Summerleigh is mine now. I don’t want you here.” The door to the closet flung open, but there was nothing inside. Not a strange boy with a hateful stare. No lady in white. Not even a coat hanger. All I could see was a dust-covered floor.

  Hannah stepped up beside me. “Let’s go, Jerica.” As she went to retrieve the device from the window, it flew across the room and smashed against the opposite wall. I shrieked and did a side step, but Hannah didn’t flinch. We both raced over to examine the damage. Hannah retrieved the batteries that had flown out the back. It didn’t look like anything else was wrong with the machine. She popped the batteries back in, slid the back on and turned on the power. “It’s still working,” she said to me with a frown. Then she said loudly, “That was not very nice. We’re leaving this room, and you cannot follow us. Remember, we are protected.” Hannah made the sign of the cross, and I did the same. We walked out of the room, leaving the bone-chilling cold behind.

  “You okay?” she asked as she patted my shoulder.

  “Yeah. Just startled me.”

  “Let’s head toward the attic. I think we should leave him alone.”

  “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Some ghosts are intelligent, meaning they know what’s happening. They may not understand that they are dead or that they exist in a different time, but they are intelligent nonetheless. I’ve found that most are not mean, but some are. I have the feeling that if we could ever discover his name, it would help us. He respects you, for some reason.”

  I whispered to her, “Is this other one, Mariana, intelligent also?”

  “I’m not sure yet. She’s intelligent enough to want to avoid us, but she might tell us what we need to know. There is certainly a residual aspect to her haunting, meaning she does the same thing over and over. She likes visiting the same places; she feels at home.” We walked to the attic, and to my surprise, Hannah stopped and knocked softly on the door.

  “Mariana? My name is Hannah Ray. My friend Jerica is with me. May we come in?” I reached for the doorknob, but Hannah touched my shoulder. “No. We can’t go in.” She stepped back and stared at the door.

  “What? Why?”

  “Let’s leave. I think I need some air.”

  “Okay,” I said as we walked back down the hall. I purposely did not look into the nursery as we passed by. I hurried down the stairs probably quicker than I should have and nearly tripped on the last step, but Hannah caught me. “Thanks.” We walked outside, and I locked the door behind us. It felt good to stand in the sunshine. Hannah began to walk away from the house, and I caught up with her.

  “Nothing can follow us. No one can follow us.”

  Okay, that’s worrying. “It’s not good, is it?”

  “I’m going to go home and review this recorder to see if there are any clues as to who
this child is, if he is a child.”

  “What do you mean if? I saw him. It was a boy.”

  Hannah shook her head and said, “Some very intelligent entities like putting on faces that are useful to them. If there were children in this house, it would make sense that he would appear to them as a child. Or if there is a mother missing her child…”

  My heart sank. “Oh, I see.” I rubbed my lip with my finger. “But you said that it was definitely a human.”

  “Yes, but it may not be a boy. It could be a man or a woman. Who knows?”

  “I have to know, Hannah. Why did you stop me from going into the attic?”

  “I’m not sure. It just felt like the wrong time to go in. I’m sorry, Jerica. I don’t mean to sound so mysterious, and I wish there were more I could tell you. It’s just not how things work. Summerleigh is a very active place, and although most of the Belles appear to be at rest, there are other spirits here. They need to be dealt with too. I’d like to come back and bring a few friends with me. People with similar gifts who know more than I do.”

  I sighed and tried to fight the frustration that threatened to overwhelm me. “My crew is coming back Monday, so tomorrow would be okay.”

  “Tomorrow it is, then. I’ll call you with the details as soon as I hear from my friends. In the meantime, Jerica, go for a walk. Spend some time outdoors. That’s where you’ll find your strength. And stay out of Summerleigh. I don’t care how many lights you see. Don’t go in there by yourself.” Hannah paused on the pathway before getting into her car.

  I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling very alone.

  “You haven’t asked me about her.”

  “I know she’s here. That’s enough for now.” The truth was I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Marisol. And for some reason, I believed that if I did truly connect with her, I’d never see her again. Ever.