The Ghostly Hideaway (11 page)

“Chrissy, —“ Her mother tried to get a word in
edgewise.

“But she was really patient and sweet with—“

“Chrissy, can you be quiet for just a minute,
please, dear?” her mother asked with a very serious look on her
face.

“I was just telling you about my afternoon. I
thought you’d be interested, but if you’re not I can go back
outside or something." When Chrissy turned as if to go, her mother
reached out, took her left hand and turned it to expose the
Sweetheart Ring that Johnny had given her.

“I think I’d rather hear about this, if you don’t
mind.”

“Oh, that." Chrissy blushed furiously and snatched
her hand away. Johnny took her hand gently in both of his and
looked at the four pairs of eyes waiting for an explanation.

“I’ve asked Chrissy to be my wife and she said
‘yes.’ I have an engagement ring and a wedding band ordered and
they should be here before long." He looked at Candy and Andy and
lightly asked, “What would you think of having me for a brother?
When Chrissy and I get married, you’ll be my little brother and
sister. I think that’ll be fun.”

The twins were still somewhat shocked by the whole
thing. They didn’t completely understand what ‘wife’ and ‘marriage’
was all about but they did think they would enjoy having Johnny for
a big brother.

Chrissy was still waiting for whatever would be
forthcoming from her mom and dad. She had turned nineteen only a
few weeks ago but she was still worried about her folks’ reaction
to Johnny’s proposal.

Her mother’s smile finally shone through and she
hugged Chrissy. Johnny and Ed shook hands and Ed said, “Welcome to
the family, Son." Of course, Chrissy and Penny both had to blow
their noses and, as if on cue, a door slammed loudly upstairs.

“Well, apparently somebody doesn’t approve of the
idea, the way the door is banging,” Penny laughed.

“Oh, but maybe, that showed their approval. Maybe it
was meant as applause. Was that what it was?" She looked up and
sure enough, the door banged again. Everyone laughed but somewhat
nervously.

Johnny was still debating if he should tell the Wroe
family about the part he had played in stirring up “ghosts” but,
for sure, he hadn’t been up there making noises that time.

A couple of weeks later, Chrissy and Penny walked up
the hill to visit Lydia Thorne. “Mom, she asked me to call her
‘grandmother,’” Chrissy told her mom. “I didn’t want you to be
surprised and I’d feel funny calling her Mrs. Thorne after she
specifically asked me to use ‘grandmother.’”

“Yes, of course, Honey. You should certainly do as
she asks on that. It would be disrespectful if you did
otherwise”

When they arrived and knocked on the door, Lydia
opened it with her usual frown in place but her face brightened
considerably when she saw Chrissy. She wasn’t smiling and bubbly
but she did look fairly pleasant and when Chrissy introduced her
mother, Lydia shook her hand affably and invited them in. Chrissy
had been so nervous she had barely looked at the room when she had
been there the first time. While Lydia poured them all coffee,
Chrissy took time to notice the neat, clean kitchen. There was
nothing fancy about it, but, apparently, she had a place for
everything and everything was in its place. The linoleum on the
floor was worn but no dirt was visible anywhere. A small pot of
begonias was blooming brilliantly on the windowsill that faced the
east. There was also a large pot of purple African Violets beside
it.

“This coffee is delicious,” Penny said sincerely.
“Do you have a secret? I seem to detect a hint of another flavor to
it but I can’t tell what it is.”

This time Lydia did smile and Chrissy almost gasped.
Lydia had a beautiful smile. It completely transformed her face and
showed more than a hint of the beauty that had obviously been
something really special in her youth.

“Yes, there’s a secret ingredient that I add; but
I’ve never told anyone what it is." Lydia seemed almost shy about
it. “I think I want to share it with you, though. I add just one
square of a Hershey’s Candy Bar to a pot of coffee. It gives it a
slight mocha taste, I think.”

“Absolutely, that’s it! And thank you for sharing
that with me. I will start doing that at home, too, if I can hide
the candy from the twins. That could be a problem, though,” Penny
laughed.

“Oh, you have more children than just Chrissy?”

“Yes, I have twins that are almost five years old: a
boy, Andy Ray and a girl, Candy May. Would you like to meet them
sometime? We’re all almost as much in love with your Johnny as
Chrissy is.”

“I’ve been alone for a long time,” Lydia spoke
hesitantly and Penny was wondering if she would feel that two
rambunctious children that age would be too much for her. “I think
I’ve grown lonely and fed up with only myself and Johnny for
company. Yes, I think I’d like that very much." Her face brightened
again as she spoke decidedly. “When can you bring them to see
me?”

“Lydia, I have an even better idea. Next Thursday is
Thanksgiving and we’d love to have you come to our house for our
Thanksgiving meal….that is, if you’ll make the coffee.”

Different emotions and changes came across her face
as she thought about it, “I haven’t been off this Hill since my
husband died eight years ago. I never thought I would. I had
expected to live and die right here; but—yes, I’d love to come for
dinner if you’re sure you want me.”

“Of course, we want you, Lydia. We’re going to need
to get started planning Chrissy and Johnny’s wedding anyway as soon
as they set a date. Oh, I’ve been lonely, too, without any other
women to talk to and visit with. This is going to be fabulous! I’m
so excited.”

“I am, too, Grandmother. We’ll be a real family."
Chrissy knelt down by Lydia’s chair, threw her arms around her, and
kissed her cheek. All three women had tears in their eyes when
Penny and Chrissy left a short time later.

“We’ll see you next Thursday, Lydia.”

“I love you, Grandmother.”

“I—I’ll bring some pumpkin pies for dessert. They
have a secret ingredient, too. We’ll see if you can figure out what
it is." Lydia had wanted to say, “I love you, too." However, it had
been such a long time since she had thought she was capable of
loving anyone, she had to think about it a while before she would
feel comfortable saying it. Of course, she was fond of Johnny but
she hadn’t thought about actually
loving
him. Nevertheless,
she could almost feel the ice around her heart beginning to thaw
and she found herself wanting to believe she might be able to love
again after all.

Chrissy and Penny chatted excitedly all the way home
making plans for their big meal on Thursday. When they arrived back
at the house, they had even more to celebrate. Johnny had stayed
with the twins while Ed went to town and when he came back he had
stopped by the mailbox and found a big envelope from Attorney Lee
inside. It contained the deed to the house and one hundred
thirty-three acres.

“I didn’t realize that much acreage went with the
house. This is a nice-sized farm, isn’t it?”

“And it’s completely ours, now, Ed. We have a place
that we love that belongs to us. I can hardly believe—“

“You’ve got to be kidding!" Chrissy had been
extremely excited about Grandmother Lydia planning to come there
for Thanksgiving, she couldn't wait to tell Johnny first thing.
“You’re sure? You’re absolutely sure she agreed to come here for a
meal? That is unbelievably wonderful. What did you do to her to get
her to agree?" He picked Chrissy up and swung her around and around
in celebration.

“She’s going to make pumpkin pies to bring." Chrissy
was bubbling over.

“Now do me,” Candy said lifting her arms and Johnny
obligingly whirled her around, too. Next, he tackled Andy, wrestled
him to the ground, and tickled him until they were both
breathless.

“Honey, I’ve got to go home,” Johnny kissed Chrissy
fervently, turned to Penny, and hugged her. “I can never thank you
all enough for breaking through Grandmother’s shell and giving her
back to me. I do need to go home, though, and make sure she’s okay.
I sure do hope she doesn’t change her mind. I’ll see you all
tomorrow. Bye.”

“I didn’t mean to take away from the importance and
excitement over the deed and it all belonging to us, now. That is
exciting and I’m truly pumped up about it. Johnny had talked to me,
though, about how much he wished that his Grandmother did have
friends and would stop being a total recluse; but he didn’t really
believe it would happen, no matter how much he wanted it. He had
said he didn’t expect her even to come to our wedding; but now
she’s agreed to help us plan it. Everything is wonderful!”

None of the Wroes would have felt quite so confident
or happy if they had seen the stealthy figure that crept around the
bend in the road and stood looking at their house for a long, long
time that night. Norman didn’t know what in the world he was going
to do. That was definitely Ed’s SUV setting out front. He sure as
hell didn’t want to go to jail and he knew if Ed saw him, that
would be exactly where he was headed.

He wondered where in the world Ed had got the money
to buy that huge old house.
It just isn’t fair,
he was
thinking,
for Ed to have a three-story house and a big farm and
me to have nothing. Haven’t I always worked hard, the same as Ed?
And, now if I can’t take care of this problem some way, I’ll have
to take off again and this time I’ll have absolutely nothing; not a
pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. I just can’t let
that happen! But what can I do? There has to be some way to fix
this, but I’m damned if I know what.

Then in his mind’s eye, he suddenly saw that big old
house erupting in orange flames. He could almost see the smoke and
fire as they engulfed the entire house. The colorful red and gold
and orange tongues of fire flicking and flying, licking, tasting
and then devouring everything until the whole structure came
crashing onto itself and eliminating immediately all his problems.
They would all be gone. There would be nobody left who could point
a finger at him for any of his crimes. Hey, that could work. But
could he actually set Ed’s house on fire knowing that his wife and
children as well as Ed might be burned alive? He shivered in the
November chill but part of the feeling was the excitement of
thinking about doing a deed like that. Could he do that? If he
didn’t do something, how long would it be before his past crimes
were exposed? Rape, burglary, perjury. Any one of which could net
him a long time in the penitentiary. Would arson really be any
worse? However, that arson could lead to murder, too. Nevertheless,
again, it was either him or Ed, so it would be sort of like
self-defense, wouldn't it? This man had been his friend since first
grade, though. He couldn’t do that. Could he?

After a while, he turned and walked back around the
bend in the road, got in his car and went back to his motel room in
Dundee.

This wouldn’t be the last time, though, that Norman
considered arson and homicide as a solution to his problems.

***

Ed and Johnny went to work on Monday and the work
was going well until they ran out of finishing nails. Johnny
volunteered to go to the lumberyard and get some. He found what he
needed at the store and waited in line to pay for them. Something
was strangely familiar, he thought, about the man just ahead of him
in line. When he reached around behind his back to get his billfold
to pay for his items, Johnny noticed a tattoo of a hammer on his
right forearm. That rang a bell, but he couldn’t remember from
where. When he walked out of the store, he noticed he was walking
with a slight limp and suddenly it hit him. That was part of the
description given in the newspaper article Ed had shown him about
his former partner. While he did wear glasses, though, he didn’t
have a moustache. Of course, he could have shaved it off to help
hide his identity. He sure did look similar to the picture of Ed’s
ex-partner. The same partner who had framed him for burglary and
testified against Ed in court. He looked to be in his late
thirties; his hair was too black to be natural and was pulled back
in a ponytail. Johnny hurried outside to his car and watched as the
man he was almost sure was Norman Jones got into a white Honda and
drove out of the yard. The door on the passenger side was dented
deeply and the back bumper was missing altogether. He found a piece
of paper and a stub of a carpenter’s pencil and scribbled down the
license plate: JEA-915 and it was a Kentucky plate.

Now Johnny didn’t know what to do again. Should he
tell Ed what he had seen or keep it to himself and try to
investigate on his own? He hated to get Ed upset when this guy
could turn out to be somebody who had been born and raised here and
just happened to resemble Norman Jones. He finally decided not to
worry Ed until he was sure he had cause for concern.

Thanksgiving finally arrived and Johnny pulled into
the driveway at Ed and Penny’s house at precisely eleven o’clock.
Everyone ran out to meet them and Chrissy and Penny helped Lydia
into the house. Johnny and Ed each carried in a pumpkin pie that
looked delicious and smelled even better.

Andy and Candy had been warned in the strongest
possible words to be on their best—very best—behavior and they were
trying to keep their natural high spirits under control at least
most of the time.

“Sit down right here, Grandmother, and let me take
your coats and gloves. I’ll go put them in the living room until
later.”

“Are you warm enough, Lydia,” Penny asked and Lydia
assured her that she was. Everybody, including Lydia, was all
smiles. It was obvious that Lydia was a trifle nervous but everyone
was determined that she should have a good time and soon she seemed
completely at ease.