Ghost House Revenge (17 page)

“Alicen, let’s look up—”

Jamie turned to see Alicen staring across the room. He snapped his fingers in front
of her eyes.

“Alicen!” he cried. “What’s the matter?”

His cries broke her spell, and giving a gasp, Alicen turned to face him. She pointed
to the entranceway. “There’s someone standing there!” she hissed.

Jamie squinted his eyes and looked through the darkness. He saw a shimmer of white
where Alicen pointed. Someone was standing there, all right, blocking their only exit!
For the first time since entering the house, Jamie was scared. Slowly he unbuckled
his belt and pulled it through the loops of his jeans. Winding an end around his hand,
leaving the buckle
free, he walked carefully toward the white light. It did not move.

He raised it in the air, ready to swing it forward with all his might.

“Go away!” Alicen cried. “Leave us alone!”

Jamie gave a cry then and let the buckle of his belt swirl through the air at the
unmoving form. It made a loud sound as it struck wood. The sound reverberated through
the house like mocking laughter. There was no one there at all.

“Alicen, it’s only a curtain,” Jamie cried. “I just made a fool of myself over a dumb
curtain.”

“I know I saw someone there,” Alicen insisted. “She pointed right at me and said,
‘Leave this place. There is danger, child!’ ”

“I think your brain is in danger,” Jamie scoffed. “I didn’t hear a thing.”

“It’s true,” Alicen said.

“Oh, you’re seeing things,” Jamie said. “If you’re so scared to be in this house,
I’ll leave.”

He took her by the hand and walked through the darkness to the kitchen. Alicen didn’t
protest, only too happy to be getting out of there. But she had seen something. It
had spoken to her.

They cut across the dark basement, heading toward the light of the doorway. Once outside,
Jamie closed the doors. Then he turned to Alicen, and squinting in the bright sunlight,
he said, “If you tell anyone what happened in there, I’ll kill you. I feel like such
a jerk—hitting a curtain with a belt!”

“I won’t tell a soul,” Alicen promised. She pulled her hand from his and ran across
the lawn, wanting to get as far away from the house as possible. Jamie went to fetch
his bicycle, pondering over Alicen’s overactive imagination.

“She’s nuts,” he said, then sighed. Climbing onto his bike, he rode back to the road
and headed home.

He didn’t know he was being watched.

I try so hard to warn them
, the dark-haired woman thought.
I have spoken to Melanie many times, but she ignores me. They all ignore me
.

I don’t know that I can save them
.

After shepherding Gary through a number of tests and X-rays, Doctor Norton announced
that he could go back to
work on a three-day-a-week schedule. Derek readily agreed to drive Gary into the city,
provided he promise that the remaining days be dedicated to therapy.

“After the bus accident, I knew something good had to happen to this family,” Melanie
said when she heard the news. Thoughts of the mysterious dark-haired woman flashed
in her mind, but she shook them away. This was a happy occasion, and nothing would
mar it.

“You’ve waited so long for this,” she went on, “and now it’s here.”

The next morning, all the children gave Gary kisses of encouragement before they left
for school. Around ten, Derek helped Gary put his things in order, then carried the
briefcase and crutches downstairs while Gary rode the lift. Derek made a mental note
to begin stairs therapy that week.

Gary took the crutches from him at the bottom, then hobbled into the kitchen to say
goodbye to Melanie. There were tears in her blue eyes. He laughed and ran a thumb
under one of them.

“Hey, this is a happy occasion,” he said.

“Why do you think I’m crying?” Melanie blubbered.

“Well, I’ll see you later tonight,” Gary said, kissing her. “Stop crying and wish
me luck.”

“Good luck, Gary,” Melanie said, smiling.

The sun was shining brightly as the two men got into Derek’s car. There was a low
hum in the air, the buzz of insects heralding summer. Gary opened his window and breathed
in the aroma of flowers on the warm, soft breeze.

“Summer’s so close you can smell it,” he said.

“I love this time of the year,” Derek replied, turning his key. “I met Elaine on a
day just like this.”

He looked up at the blue, cloudless sky and pressed his foot on the gas pedal. “Funny
how a certain kind of day can make you remember things,” he said.

“For sure,” Gary agreed, wondering if Derek wanted to talk about his wife.

“I don’t think I could ever forget the way Elaine looked that day,” Derek said wistfully.
“She was so beautiful.” But he forced his voice into a more cheerful tone. “I’m happy
that I met Liza Crewe. She’s giving me something to look forward to in life. I’m hoping
to marry her.”

“Hey, that’s great,” Gary said. “Any idea when?”

“I haven’t asked her yet,” Derek said. “I don’t think the time is right, since we’ve
only known each other a few weeks. I don’t want to scare her off.”

“It’s usually smart to take it easy,” Gary said. “Although Melanie and I only knew
each other for a few months before we tied the knot.”

“Those kind of marriages usually don’t work,” Derek said. “Which is why I hesitate
to ask Liza this early on. You and Melanie were lucky.”

“We’ve had our problems,” Gary said.

“So I gathered from what you told me the other night,” Derek said. “Hey, listen. I
wanted to apologize for laughing at you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gary said. “It is an unbelievable story.”

“Are you taking it back?”

“No,” Gary said. “It’s true. I just hope nothing ever happens again to prove it.”

Derek put on his signal as he headed for the exit ramp. He thought about the things
Gary and Melanie had told him and wondered if there wasn’t a germ of truth in them.
Not ghosts, of course. Derek firmly believed those things didn’t exist. But he knew
some crazy people practiced the occult. Could the prowler who murdered those three
people have been one of those?

Whatever, it didn’t concern him. He looked up into his rear-view mirror to be sure
no one was tailgating him. Then he returned his eyes to the road. Seconds later, he
did a double take.

“Damn!” he cried. “She’s back again.”

“Who?” Gary asked, trying to look out the back window.

“The hitchhiker I told you about,” Derek said, looking in his mirror at her. She was
waving slowly. “I was hoping that bitch had decided to leave me alone.”

Gary hadn’t seen anything on the road but thought perhaps that the woman had moved
out of his line of vision. He noticed that Derek’s forehead had broken out in a sweat
and that his usually calm therapist was chewing at his lips.

“Hey, she’s really gotten to you, hasn’t she?”

“Huh?” Derek jumped a little. “Oh, Jesus in Heaven. I guess so. I had forgotten about
her, but it looks as if she’s moving in on me again.”

“Somebody ought to call the police about her,” Gary suggested.

Derek reached the parkway exit, and he sped onto it, glad to be getting away from
the woman. He didn’t understand why she frightened him so much. But he had seen something
in her eyes a moment ago—the look one sometimes sees in the faces of killers pictured
in the newspapers. If Jacob Armand—or whoever the prowler was—had belonged to some
occult group, could she have also been a member? Was that why she was hanging around
the VanBuren house?

A short while later, Derek dropped Gary off at his building.

“I’ll see you later today,” he said.

“Thanks,” Gary said, and turned to walk inside the building.

WELCOME BACK, GARY!

The sign was stretched across the waiting room, from a translucent glass door that
read Warren Lee to one that read Gary VanBuren. Gary rocked on his crutches, grinning
up at it. The secretary, who had been hired during his absence, asked politely if
he needed help.

“I work here,” he said, grinning at the sound of those words. “I’m Gary VanBuren.”

“Oh!” the young woman said, standing. She rounded the desk, a petite redhead with
a broad smile. She held out a hand, and Gary shook it. “I’m Judy Palance. Mr. Lee’s
told me so much about you! Can I help you sit down? Then I’ll go get—”

Gary assured her that he was fine. The door to Warren Lee’s office opened then, and
a handsome young Asian man stepped out. Seeing Gary, he smiled and went to put his
arms around his partner. Then he stepped back and looked him over.

“It’s been a long time,” he said. He gave him a slight punch. “You look terrific.
Are those muscles I see under that suit?”

Gary looked from one arm to the other. “I guess that’s from lifting weights. The way
my therapist pushes me, you’d think I was training for the fight of the century.”

“At least he’s got you walking again,” Warren said. He turned to Judy. “Get the champagne
out, okay? We’re going to have a party.”

“You bought champagne?” Gary asked. Warren nodded, smiling. “And what about my appointments?”

“I set the first one up for one o’clock, so we’d have time to talk. And you’re only
getting one today. You don’t need to overburden yourself.”

“Yes, doctor,” said Gary.

Gary, Warren, and Judy shared champagne, joking together so joyfully that they barely
heard the phone ringing over
their laughter. Judy leaned over her desk to grab the phone. “Mr. VanBuren? Yes, he’s
in. Hold on.”

Gary looked at Warren. “I didn’t think anyone knew I was coming back today.”

Warren shrugged his shoulders in response. Gary turned and went into his office. For
a moment he stopped to admire it. It looked exactly as it had when he had left it
last November. Even the calendar hadn’t been changed. He flipped through it to the
right date and settled down in his leather chair. God, that felt good! It was wonderful
to be back on familiar territory. Propping his crutches against the window behind
him, he paused for a moment to look out at the city. Then he finally answered the
phone.

“Mr. VanBuren?” a voice asked. It was vaguely familiar.

“Yes?”

“It’s Marc Kaufman,” the man said.

Gary leaned back in his chair. “Oh, yes. How are you, mayor?”

“Under the circumstances—” Marc began. Gary could hear him sigh. “Well, I should get
right to the point. It’s about Sarah’s diamond ring. I don’t want to seem as if I’m
making accusations, but it was missing from her hand when . . .”

“The heirloom she was wearing that night?”

“Yes,” said Marc. “Mr. VanBuren, I was wondering if you might have seen it? Perhaps
she dropped it in your house.”

“Did you call my wife?” Gary asked.

“I tried,” said Marc. “No one answered the phone.”

“Then she’s probably out shopping,” Gary said. “How about the people at the hospital?
Or in the ambulance?”

“I’ve talked to them,” Marc said. “And to the police. Please don’t think I’m saying
anyone at your house took it. But it was the last place Sarah wore the ring.”

Gary thought a moment, then said, “When I get home tonight, I promise I’ll have the
whole family look for it. Come to think of it, we gave you two a tour of the house
that day. It could be anywhere.”

“I’d really appreciate it if you’d look,” Marc said.

As soon as he hung up, Gary’s door opened. Into the room walked his partner, carrying
a pile of folders. He dumped them on Gary’s desk and told him they were backlogged
files that needed to be gone through.

“Hey,” Gary said. “I thought you weren’t going to overburden me today?”

“Admit it,” Warren said. “You love every minute of this.”

Gary smiled crookedly and opened the top folder. At last he was back at work again.

While Gary readjusted himself to the working world, Derek Miller waited outside Madame
Martin’s Dance Studio for Liza to finish her class. He sat on a cushion-covered bench
in the waiting room, looking at the pictures of a magazine written in French. He heard
a French voice from behind a door.

“Un et deux, un et deux,” it repeated over and over to the beat of the piano music.
“Et c’est assez, mesdames. A demain!”

Seconds later, the door opened, and a thin woman with hair pulled back in a bun came
out. Derek looked past her at the small group of students and signaled to Liza. She
waved and indicated the locker room. Derek went back to his seat and waited.

Liza came out at last and in front of several other dance students, threw her arms
around him and kissed him.

“That’s the kind of greeting I like,” Derek said.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not really,” Derek answered. “But I’m ready for lunch if you are.”

“I’m famished!” Liza cried, patting her flat stomach. “And I know a terrific Chinese
restaurant.”

It was only three blocks away, but Derek insisted upon carrying Liza’s case. It wasn’t
heavy at all, and Liza was a little embarrassed when a few classmates saw her handing
it to him. But Derek wasn’t worried about their opinion.

“Women shouldn’t have to burden themselves,” he said.

“You’re such a chauvinist,” Liza teased, “but I guess I love you, anyway.” At the
restaurant Liza opened the door before Derek could get to it.

The restaurant was crowded, but recognizing Liza, the maitre d’ led them quickly to
a table. In silence Derek and Liza ran over the menu, then placed their orders. When
the waiter left, Liza folded her hands together and leaned forward.

“How’s your daughter?” she asked. “You told me about the accident over the phone but
no details. Did it upset her very much?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Derek admitted. “I took her out to dinner that day, but she didn’t
want to talk about it. Alicen has a habit of clamming up like that.”

“I can’t blame her,” Liza said. “I saw the picture in the paper. What a horrible mess!”

“Thank God none of the children were seriously hurt,” Derek said. “But that poor teacher
. . .”