Books of the Dead (10 page)

Zoë was astounded by Merly’s long explanation. On one hand, she was pleased, but mostly surprised, so she accepted the apology. It was her turn to offer an explanation, which she was ready to do, but somehow it irked her, because it was unknown to her as why Merly was acting differently.

“It’s all right; I shouldn’t have indulged in the argument as well. It was pointless and things between me and Natalie are a little rough. We had a stupid disagreement last year and I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. So I guess everything is fine between us now.”

Merly linked their arms and gave her an assuring smile and nodded.

But Zoë was not finished and asked if she could ask one last question before they entered their building.

“Go ahead,” Merly said.

“Just what made you change your mind?”

“You are being silly, Zoë. I am being reasonable and now you are worrying too much,” Merly smiled.

Zoë didn’t look convinced, but Merly didn’t bother to offer any other explanations. They made their way quietly to their rooms. Merly offered to eat dinner with them and Zoë agreed to that. Kelly and Camille were preparing dinner when Zoë and Merly entered the room. Zoë informed them that Merly would be having dinner with them that night, but neither Kelly nor Camille said anything. On the other hand, Merly didn’t think much about Camille’s presence there. Camille was hanging out with Kelly and Zoë a lot lately, and Merly knew of Camille and her ways, but didn’t say a thing.

Merly noticed Zoë eyeing Kelly once or twice, but reminded herself that she was again thinking too much into this. She promised herself some hours earlier she would quit thinking about it and indulge herself in the evening of fun chats, gossips and food. Knowing Camille was not that bad for Merly either, she was fun and chatty and didn’t come off creepy. That night after a whole week of torment and agony, Merly enjoyed herself. They talked about their favorite subjects and nobody mentioned anything about Nora or even Merly’s recent friendship with Natalie.

For once in a long time, Merly was happy, carefree and relaxed enough to take things casually, perhaps too casually. So being in a lighthearted mood, she asked, “Hey, Camille, I heard you are into spirits and ghosts, and calling them and things like that. Tell me about it. What prompted you to take it up?”

Kelly, Zoë and Camille looked at each other and were caught a little off-guard at the question. They never expected Merly to raise that topic at that moment, so nobody said anything for quite some time before Merly broke the silence herself, “Hey, I asked you something.”

“Why are you suddenly interested?” Camille asked.

“Because I don’t know much about it and I am curious.”

“Something prompted me to take it up, that is true, but I have a feeling that you know about it.”

Merly remembered what Natalie told about Camille earlier in the evening, but then Camille had no way of knowing that, she thought, hence she made an innocent face and denied the claim. “No, I don’t, and why would I ask you about it then?”

“You are friends with Natalie now; therefore, I assumed that you would know,” Camille stated in a cynical and bitter tone.

“I didn’t ask her about you or anybody else, we are just … friends, so it’s unfair for you to think that we talked about you,” Merly replied hoping that her answer would be accepted. But deep inside, Merly knew that the rest of the girls didn’t believe her, but no one said a thing.

The girls finished their dinner and Merly left. Before going out, Merly informed Zoë that that she will be doing the final parts of the project that night and desires to submit the entire work together tomorrow.

Zoë nodded in agreement.

1. Chapter 4
   

A week earlier, Nora found herself walking up the stairs of the rickety old house in the far end of the street. She checked the location on the Elmhurst map and she was on the right track. It was an old inn Nora found that she was walking into. A women aged around her 60’s opened the door. She looked questionably at Nora, and asked, “What do you want, girl?”

Nora assumed that she might not meet people from the city frequently, and was just being careful. Hence, she didn’t mind the question that was asked of her.

Nora realized that she needed to rest for the day. She had left hastily and left her phone behind, which was not her intention, but somehow she knew that that she had to move fast and take care of things before someone is hurt. She collected herself and stood on the door-front looking at the lady who threw her the question. Nora contemplated if she should give away her true identity or keep it a secret. There was risk in both, and Nora decided against the first one and gave a false name.

“I came from the city and I need a place to stay for the night or a few days.” One of her greatest advantages was that Nora looked different than her age. She gave off a vibe of a young teenager.

Once the lady realized that Nora possessed no threat, she let her in. The interior of the motel was cheap-looking and the decoration confirmed that it lacked renovation. Nora cringed a little, but didn’t say anything. The lady in charge followed her eyes that scanned the entire sitting area and motioned her towards the desk. Nora felt as if the motel was hidden from the entire world. There was no trace of modern technology, the tube lights were old and an antique clock stood in the corner. Nora looked high up in the ceiling when she was called down. “What is your name, girl?” the lady asked.

“Dora.” Nora lied, but it amused her that she was not asked to show any proof of identity. Moments ago, the woman acted suspicious, but now she merely noted her name down in a dusty notebook. She was handed a key and Nora turned to see which room she was allotted. The mark on the key showed she was supposed to spend the night in Room Two on the ground floor. Nora felt a bit relieved, yet the setup of the motel made her feel uneasy, but she didn’t show it.

Before walking away towards her room, Nora stopped and turned back. Then she looked at the lady at the desk and asked her, “Ma’am, are there any other people staying at this motel tonight?” She hoped she didn’t get an answer like, “It is not your business, ma’am.” Instead, she was met with an answer.

“Of course, there are people staying here tonight,” the lady announced proudly, then continued to say, “We have visitors all year round. We are cheap, so it is economical, but why do you ask, girl?”

Nora was ready with an answer. “You clearly looked surprised when I knocked on the door, and I assumed that there are hardly any visitors from the city.”

“Ah, that...” the lady seemed to think of an answer and said, “I was resting. Old age has gotten to me, and so I was surprised. You go on, because you must be tired, girl. I’ll make some dinner.”

“You serve dinner?” Nora questioned. She was surprised that the motel had that provision, and her mind was on the fact that she didn’t believe what the lady said.

“A little that we can,” the lady said.

“I don’t want dinner. I have packed my own.” With that, Nora locked herself in Room Two on the first floor.

Nora was studying criminology and was a brave young individual. She lived her life according to her own terms and did her own things. She took off on her own once or twice before, and hence, this time she was confident of completing the quest on her own. She checked the door to make sure it was locked, and once she was sure it was, she climbed into the rugged bed.

Nora was tired from the day’s journey and desired to get some rest. The bed was uncomfortable, but Nora managed and decided there was no point fretting over it. She looked at the walls and the furniture, which looked uncared for. She had a hard time believing that such a cheap motel existed until this day, but shrugged off the thought a moment later. Sure she was hungry and her growling stomach reminded her of that, but a moment ago, she refused dinner because she had hard time trusting the owner. She took out two snack bars from her bag and began munching on them. They didn’t quite satisfy her hunger, but Nora had no right to complain.

The snack bars were gone in no time, and Nora looked at her watch. The entire night lay in front of her and she had to pass the time. Sleep wouldn’t come and Nora thought about her friend. She didn’t intend to leave without informing Merly and regretted her decision for a second time. But she didn’t want to ponder over it as this would be her residence for a few days. So Nora took out two yearbooks from her bag and started flipping through its pages. She stopped a few pages here and there, but then continued looking through the rest of the book.

There were two particular photos which she stared at for the longest time and then finally shut the book. Nora took out her notebook, scribbled something down and decided to call it a night.

The sharp tone of the alarm clock woke Nora up. She checked her watch and it was already 10:00 a.m. “I must have dozed off,” she said to herself. Nora locked her door and was about to leave when the lady at the counter called on her.

“You, staying tonight again, girl?”

Nora turned back and replied “Yeah, I’ll be back by night,” and turned on her toes to leave.

“You want breakfast? It’s fresh,” the lady called back.

Nora considered it for a moment and felt that she was in fact hungry. Hence, she walked over to the sitting area where several tables where a few people were having their breakfast, and sat down at one of the empty tables waiting for her breakfast to arrive. A boy around 15 appeared shortly with two bread slices, an omelet and a cup of coffee. Nora smelled the hot brew and took a bite from the bread, then scolded herself for being prejudiced and judgmental on the previous night. It’s not so bad, she told herself.

Nora quickly finished her breakfast and then went on her way to begin her search. It was not easy, needless to say, for every door she knocked on or every house she went to, she was met with the sound of silence. She went around searching for information on two individuals who were photographed in the yearbook. Nora had somehow managed to gather the information that the two were from this part of town, but somehow nobody was able to provide her with a concrete answer.

It was past noon, and Nora was still without an answer. She wondered what Merly was thinking.
I should have told her that where I was going,
because finding any information soon looked bleak. Residents of the small town had changed and Nora understood that most of them were new locals. Nora was a little exasperated, but she had intended giving up her search. She reminded herself that she was doing this for her friend and that is what kept her going.

Nora was ready to head back to her motel when she tried one last house. A man opened the door. He was wearing dark glasses and looked kind of frail. He stood blocking his doorway. Nora was unsure if she wanted to ask this man anything. But she had come a long way and didn’t want to back out, so she asked, “Sir, can you tell me if you perhaps know these people?” and handed him two photographs. He looked at them and Nora realized it didn’t even take him a minute before the man said,”Of course, I know them. Who wouldn’t who lived here? They were the most intelligent brother and sister pair in town. Heard they live in the main city now, you could visit their old school, and if you are lucky, the staff there can tell you more about them.”

“You know them?” Nora wanted to be assured again. Back at the university, she was almost sure that the young man in the photograph was Mr. Summers, and the young girl with a similar tint in her eyes, was related to him.

“So they are related. She is his brother,” Nora could hear herself say. But she couldn’t make out the reason why he was trying to hide the fact. She stood there thinking, but didn’t quite understand what made Mr. Summers act the way he did in the library, or why he was so fierce about taking those yearbooks himself. So what was wrong for his sister to be in the same school? It was not a crime and there was nothing to hide. It was true that Mr. Summers was a private person, but it still was unclear to Nora what prompted him to change their surnames and enroll in college. Now she needed to know.

Nora had seen the book with the initials of “R. Keaton” and the photograph, too. The moment she saw the photograph of the young girl and the pale boy behind her, Nora suspected that they resembled someone though their names on the photograph were different, but now the picture was clearer to her. Though the old man didn’t say that the little boy and girl were Mr. Summers and his sister, yet Nora somehow knew that he was talking about them.

The man standing at the doorway noticed her silence and must have thought something, hence, he said with an air of confidence, “I’ve been living here for a long time. I was a kid when I moved in and they were, too, so I know them.”

Nora felt a little triumphant in her head; she knew that she was on the right track. She wanted to ask some other questions as well, but the man seemed uninterested, so she excused herself and left. Nora was midway when she realized that she was careless enough not to get the name of the school, but thought that there wouldn’t be too many schools around this part of the town, and like the old man said, if she was lucky enough, she might be able to dig out information. However, Nora wanted to know more rather than petty information. She wanted to know about what they were like or what they did. With that hope, she marched forward.

Finding the old school was not difficult. Nora asked a few locals for the directions and was directed towards a local school. The building had two stories, but looked freshly painted, and Nora saw that the left side of the building was renovated. There was one security guard standing at the entrance of the gate when Nora walked towards him and asked for the permission to let her in, although she doubted that without an appointment she’ll be let in.

As she thought, Nora was denied entry. She was an unknown face with no relative currently enrolled in the school, and she was unable to provide an answer that satisfied the security guard. Nora panicked as she realized that time was running out and she was yet to come up with a concrete resolution. She had left her friend behind and without an answer, and Nora couldn’t afford to delay any longer. She needed something to let her friend know that she was onto something.

Nora decided to go back to the old man and ask if he could help her out with the situation. This time, when Nora rang the bell, it was not the old man who opened the door. It was a young boy about her age who stood on the doorway instead of the old man.

He inquired who she was and if she needed to see anyone one, but not knowing the name of the man who opened the door. Nora wasn’t sure what to say at first, but she was smart enough and came up with an answer.

“I am a journalist and I am interviewing old locals who have been living in this part of town for a long time.” With that, she hoped that her lie wouldn’t get caught.

The boy asked her to wait and went inside. Nora waited for a couple of minutes before the old man was back and accompanied by the boy and a woman. They are a family, Nora thought and cursed herself for not being clear about the person she wanted to speak to. All three members stood there in the doorway when the old man suddenly said, “You are the girl who came here an hour ago asking about the photographs.” The young boy, who Nora assumed to be his son, and the woman both looked at Nora, then back at the old man.

“Yes,” Nora said, “I am and I was here asking you about the photographs and I am here again asking some more questions. Actually, there are not many old locals living here anymore, most of them have moved on to other town or cities and it is hard for me to interview anyone, and I was at the old school, but the guard didn’t let me in without an appointment, so…” Nora made a face and hoped that the man was convinced.

“But why do you want to know about them?” he asked.

“It’s not just them,” Nora said without hesitation and added, “I’ll be glad if you could help me with a few questions or anything.”

The man didn’t ask her anymore more questions, and Nora thought she saw pity in his eyes. He asked her in.

She sat down along with the man and after asking him a few questions sincerely about the town this time, she asked if there was any way she would be allowed inside the school.

“They didn’t let you in. Ah, security these days, I should have known,” he said.

“I need to work on this article that I am writing, so I need to get into the school. Perhaps you can help. People know you here and I could use a little helping hand,” Nora said sweetly.

“Perhaps I can,” and with that he got up from his seat, grabbed his coat and motioned her to come with him.

“Don’t wait for me. I am taking this young lady to our school,” he called out, but to no one in particular, and walked out the door. Nora followed him out.

“Can you walk? Or should I take out my scooter?” he asked.

“I guess, I prefer to walk,” Nora replied with a smile.

It was a 15-minute walk before they both reached the school. The guard was still there who looked mildly miffed upon seeing her again. However, this time he saw that Nora was not alone and accompanied by a local.

“Mr. Kippler” he greeted.

“Andrew, kindly let us in. And oh, she is with me,” he said.

“Who is she, Mr. Kippler?” the guard asked.

Nora realized that up until now, she didn’t mention her name, so she said, “I am Dora.” She remembered to use her false name and Mr. Kippler picked up on that and continued. “This is Dora, and she is a reporter from the city. She is here to interview old residents and locals about how this part of the town used to be. Maybe, if she could meet the principal, then it would help her with her research. Am I right, young lady?”

Nora nodded and returned a smile; the guard didn’t say anything, hesitated a little, and then greeted Mr. Kippler again and opened the gate for them. “Wait here,” he said, then he made a quick call and finally Nora and the old man were allowed to go in. Nora looked at Mr. Kippler and realized that this seemingly simple-looking man was quite well-known and respected. She felt happy that her plan was working.