A Ghost to Die For (5 page)

Alex reached out and took the coffee cup from my hands, he set it on the side table. He held my hands in his. “No one dragged you anywhere. Atlas alarmed me to your terror and I carried you here. I slept on the other divan, across from you. I did not leave you alone until this morning. I needed to get dressed and make this coffee. And I can honestly say that you were never really alone. Atlas kept guard on you if I was not here.”

Te
ars welled in my eyes. I reached down to pat Atlas, “Thank you big guy. And thank you, too,” I said to Alex. “I remember a dream, a lucid dream, but being scared, uh-uh, I can’t remember that. Tell me what happened.”

Alex gave me refills on coffee and then sat back and said, “I awoke to Atlas standing at full attention letting out a bloodcurdling banshee howl and then, even before I could jump out of bed, Atlas sprang from the bedroom. I heard him thundering up the stairs. When I reached your bedroom, Atlas was on the bed and you were hugging him for dear life. I called your name and you did not respond. That was when I picked you up, bedcovers and all, and brought you here. Once I got you tucked in on the divan you fell back to sleep. You never uttered so much as a whimper after that. Shannon, what frightened you?”

My thoughts went blank and I stared out the window, trying to recall, then I looked at Alex and said, “I do not know. I remember a dream, but I don’t think the dream was especially scary.”

“Tell me about your dream.”

“It was surreal and yet vivid and lucid. I knew I was in a dream as I stood in a fog swirling all around me. I know I was standing, and yet, I was not standing on anything, no bare ground, floor or pavement beneath my feet. I felt a rush of wind all over my body and at first I thought I was floating or falling but when I looked around I realized I was not moving. Instead, everything around me was moving, forward, no, what I mean is, I had the feeling that I was moving forward but in reality the rush of wind was caused by everything that was moving past me, making me feel as if I was rushing forward.” I stopped, frustrated and confused.

“What do you mean by
everything
? And was it dark or light?” Alex asked.

“Hmm, it was gray, without color or dimension. There were other beings around me that I couldn’t see and yet, I could hear whispers, lots of voices in unison, but I could not clearly hear or discern what they were saying, except,” I took a deep breath and looked at Alex. Thankfully he took me seriously, “except, I’m pretty sure I heard a phrase that sounded like,
send Claire
.”

“Send Claire,” Alex repeated. “Do you know anyone named Claire?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Could you have recently met a female with that name, but she is not of consequence, so there is not a reason for you to even care you remembered her, or not?”

I closed my eyes and concentrated on his question. I dearly wanted Alex’s common sense suggestion to be the answer. I counted through the few people I had recently come into contact with, in person, in e-mail and on the phone. I looked at Alex. “I’m sorry, your idea is a good one, but Alex, I have not met anyone by that name.”

“Okay, let it go for now. Shannon, if your dream is as you remember it to be, I do not see how it could have frightened you. But you must believe me, when I found you, you were terrorized. And another thing, when I picked you up and we left your room, I left the door wide open, Atlas followed and he was growling as we walked down the stairs. Once we were in here, in the parlor, he settled in and stopped growling. You’ve been around Irish Wolfhounds before and you know quite well they live up to the old Irish adage about them; Gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked. Well, last night, in your bedroom, Atlas was provoked. And this morning, your bedroom door is closed and latched. There is no way it could shut on its own and then, the door handle turn so that it latched. A lever type of handle cannot latch just because the door swings shut.”

“Could it be Eric?”

“No. Absolutely not. A Blackthorne, man, woman or beast, would never harm you.”

“Alex, if I were in danger, then would it not be the opposite? Eric would not let a power harm me, certainly not in his own home?”

“Perhaps, Eric is not here.”

“Because you are, is that what you are telling me, that the two of you cannot be in the same place?” Finally, I had the chance, the perfect opportunity to bring up this subject, and there was no way out for Alex, he had to answer me.

He was taken off guard by my question. Alex stood and walked over to the window out of my view of his face. He paced back and forth until I was forced to interrupt. “Well?”

He came back and sat down. “Shannon, I do not know how to answer you. Let me say this, if what you ask is true, then how could it be that Eric would appear to me when I was little. We most certainly were in the same place at the same time. You know this to be true; I’ve explained my experience with him. However, your question does bring into play an added element, that element being
you
. The three of us: you, Eric and myself have never been together in the same room, at the same time.”

Wow. “I don’t believe he would harm me, or allow harm to me. There must be another reason I was scared, another force or power. A totally different explanation.”

“Okay, I’ll go with that. And I hope you are correct. For know, humor me and allow Atlas to sleep in your room. In fact, whenever you are alone in this house, if Atlas is here, keep him by your side, please Shannon?”

I smiled. Alex’s suggestion was one I could live with. I loved having Atlas around. “A dame and a dog, as my dear auntie used to say, is a pair to be reckoned with. It’s a deal. So, did you cook me breakfast, too?”

“No, go get dressed and I’ll take you out for breakfast. I know a restaurant along the harbor that is dog-friendly.”

Chapter 9

After breakfast Alex drove us home. Atlas stayed with me because Alex had business to attend to at the university. I worked on the brochure all morning and into the early afternoon. Satisfied with the master copy I had created for the Museum of Mystery’s opening, I tucked the materials away in a portfolio, ready for delivery. I called Greg Winslow and he said he’d send a courier over to pick up the materials. At three in the afternoon the courier rang the door. I answered with the portfolio in hand. The transaction was quick, the courier signed for acceptance of the materials, and I gave him a friendly good-bye and a monetary tip. After shutting the door, I stood in the foyer and looked around. Atlas had disappeared and it was not like him to so readily leave my side. I suspected he was padding about in the kitchen but before I could take more than a few steps in that direction, he came trotting through the kitchen’s swing door, and padded up to me. There was no mistaking what Atlas had in mind. He had his leash in his mouth. He stood gazing at me, tail gently wagging back and forth.

“So, you’re so big that you can now take yourself for a walk? All I need do is attach the leash to your collar and let you hold the handle in your mouth?”

He dropped the leash on the floor and then with his right forepaw he shuffled it toward me.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the hint. Okay big guy, let me grab the house key and we’ll take a walk.”

Within two shakes of an Irish Wolfhound’s tail we were out the door and strolling down the sidewalk. When a hundred-and-ten pound petite woman walks with an Irish Wolfhound in tow, looks follow and comments pour in. Within two blocks I had received more than my fair share of silly observations, such as,
hey little lady, why don’t you put a saddle on that dog and ride him.
Truth be told, Atlas never tired of the gawking and was always polite in letting strangers pet him. And even more truth to be told, I did get tired of it. So, after ten minutes, we turned down one of the insider streets, the avenues that locals use, in order to avoid public traffic. Walking at a leisurely pace on these quiet streets we made contact with neighbors who knew us. We would stop and chat over little picket fences and since this was a regular walking route for us, Atlas had the occasional treat to look forward to. Such was the scenario as we approached the Van Wyck home, where Otis Van Wyck was out in the front trimming rose bushes. Atlas moseyed to a halt. Otis set down his pruning shears and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small dog biscuit and unobtrusively gave it to Atlas.

“Afternoon Shannon, and you too, Atlas. How are you two today?”

“Just fine. We finished up an assignment and Atlas, here, insisted on taking me out for a walk.”

Otis chuckled at my comment and patted Atlas on his head. “Yep. Dogs are mighty good at making sure their owners get exercise and the social mingling they need.”

“Atlas is good at providing comic relief, too. He fetched his own leash and brought it to me in his mouth. I thought he was trying to convince me that he could take himself for a stroll. I see you’re tidying up your garden, I hope the roses aren’t more trouble than they are beautiful?”

“Beauty often comes with a price. But these lovelies are well worth it, thorns and all. Wish I could say that about all flowers. Harriet just loves her moonflowers that are underneath our bedroom window. They do put out a heady fragrance on summer nights when they are in full bloom. But this time of year, after they go to seed, the darn seed pods are troublesome.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“Well if I don’t get to them just at the right time, the pods crack open and spill the seeds everywhere. They’re quite toxic to humans and animals alike. We worry about our young grandchildren accidentally getting into them. It doesn’t take much more than a breeze to scatter the seeds.”

“Otis, wouldn’t it be worth having some peace of mind to pull up the moonflowers?”

He winked at me and said, “I reckon it would be, to me. But, Harriet so loves them.”

“Are the seeds ready to be picked up, if so, I can help. Really, I’m glad to.”

“All done for this year. But, I’ll take you up on that offer for next year.”

“It’s a deal Otis.”

Atlas had perfect timing and pulled a little on his leash. Otis noticed. “Okay Atlas, you and your missy best be getting home. I reckon Rosario will have dinner ready for you pretty soon.”

“Oh, Rosario is away on a vacation, it’s just me and Atlas and, uh, Alex comes by at night to check in on us.” I was fudging some on the true facts of the matter but I did not want to start tongues wagging.

“You don’t say, you mean, you are all alone at the Blackthorne place?” His face shaded into a rueful expression. Otis took off his hat and scratched behind his left ear. “Shannon, keep our phone number handy should you need anything, anytime, promise?”

His concern touched my heart and made me a bit anxious. What on earth could he be concerned about? I smiled at him and said, “Why, of course I will. And Otis, remember I have Atlas with me, we’ll be fine until Rosario returns. Top of the evening to you and Harriet. Bye now.”

I turned and headed back the way we came, Atlas walked beside me instead of six feet out in front. Half way down the block, I stopped momentarily and turned to wave at Otis and caught him staring at us. He stood straight with is hands shading his eyes against the afternoon sun. I waved, hoping that doing so would ease his mind, but he seemed not to have noticed me, at all. I turned back around and looked ahead out to the horizon and pondered, what did Otis see, feel or sense that sounded an alarm to my well-being?

Chapter 10

Our evening was quiet. Alex had called a few minutes after we returned home to say he was staying at his own house for the evening, if I didn’t mind. And I didn’t. Alex assured me he was only a phone call away and that he would be at home all night.

I rummaged around in the refrigerator for a bite to eat and sat at the kitchen table munching on leftover pizza. Atlas had his kibble and then taking a cue from my childhood days of spending a night watching old movies in my room while my parents stole a night out together, Atlas and I cozied up on my bed to watch old movies. Rosario kept a collection of movie DVDs in the parlor library. I picked out one of my favorites,
A Walk in the Clouds
.

After the movie I luxuriated in a bubble bath while Atlas remained on guard from the plush rug in my bedroom. I tried closing the bathroom door, but he bumped it open. I decided it was best to leave the bathroom door open, that way Atlas could keep an eye on me from his relaxed sentry position. It was lights out early for us. Atlas didn’t seem to mind a bit, he gallantly left the majority of my queen-size bed to me and draped his full length across the foot of the bed.

He was still there when I woke in the morning.

“Hey sleepy dog, how about you go outside to take care of your morning business and I’ll get us breakfast.” Atlas sprang into action and thundered down the stairs before I could get my robe on.

I let him out and then put coffee on. I had enough time to wash up and pour a bowl of cereal for me, then a bowl of kibble for Atlas, before he knocked to come back in.

We had finished and I was cleaning up our dishes when the phone rang, it was Alex.

“Well, I’ve dropped Rosario and her sister off at the pier, they were boarding the cruise ship when I left. Everything is good, the weather is fine, and they should have smooth sailing. Oh, she was wearing the scarf you gave her, thought I’d mentioned that.”