Madison Johns - Agnes Barton Paranormal 01 - Haunted Hijinks (17 page)

“Our friends, Jack Winston and Elsie Bradford, were both conned out of their money.” I went on to say the exact amounts, and Stuart made a call via his cell. Soon sirens were sounding off as cop cars tore into the driveway. I wanted to stay and help Stuart look for the money, but they shooed us off.

By the time we had made it downstairs, the first trick or treater’s were at the door. Sara sauntered her way there, giving a clown and cowboy two large candy bars each and, just like the proper actress, she never let them see her sweat.

Sheriff Peterson strode in the door asking what happened, and I explained to him as best I could—excluding the ghost part.

“So how did Katherine really die?” I asked Peterson.

“Coroner says it was natural causes, heart attack.”

I stared him down. “Why did the news report that there was on ongoing investigation?”

“Well, when we found out she wasn’t who we thought she was, we put everything on hold. We really were trying to figure out who she was. I had no idea there was an ongoing FBI investigation until much later. I wasn’t at liberty to discuss the case further. Unfortunately, the coroner didn’t understand that.”

“I see. I can’t say I blame him entirely, but I suppose he has a job to do and so do you.”

Caroline was nowhere in sight and I really wondered if she’d found her way to the other side, but there was so much more I had to check out.

Sara’s eyes now were quite wide and I asked her if she was okay.

“Okay? A man was murdered upstairs and you expect me to be okay? I’ll be lucky if this place makes it a year. Who wants to spend the night in a murder house?”

“It’s already been a murder house, Sara,” I said. “And Len’s death was accidental. If he hadn’t cracked off that shot, it would never have ricocheted and killed him.”

“What did it ricochet off of anyway?” Trooper Sales asked as he lingered in the background.

“Beats me. I’m just glad that Eleanor and I will live to tell the tale.”

Caroline’s absence really began to bother me, and I went in search of her just as Mona and Stuart came up the stairs, bringing the cops with them to the third floor. I wasn’t sure, but I hoped the ghosts—whoever they were—decided to play nice and stay inside the picture frame from which they were wont to appear. All I knew was that they’d saved us in a big way once again.

Chapter Fourteen

I stared at the picture frame with interest. The man wore a black tuxedo from the 30s era. His hair was slicked back and he had a twinkle in his eyes. I sat in the drawing room while everyone else was in the dining room chatting. The cops had left hours ago, an ambulance carting off Len’s body to the morgue. After over half an hour, Sara batted her eyelashes the right way while speaking to Sheriff Peterson so that the mansion wouldn’t be considered a crime scene. After a thorough search of the third floor, no money was found. Stuart and Moraine, along with a slew of federal agents, convened on the cemetery after the money wasn’t found in the mansion. Luckily, they left the mansion intact. Andrew made sure of that, claiming his client, Sara, had been through quite enough already.

“Who are you?” I asked the man.

I felt a breeze move my hair slightly and I looked up, making my way to the window. When I glanced outside, I saw a van parked well away from the mansion, and with my iPhone in hand, I made my way outside. An owl hooted nearby as I approached the van, my cell’s flashlight my only resource. When I was at the van, I cupped my hands around my face, trying to see inside. In was then that the door moved slightly. I tried the door and found it was unlocked. My nostrils flared at the chemical smell inside, and after I swept my flashlight along the interior, I realized this van belonged to the cleaners. It was then that I also caught sight of a wheelchair. It would seem that Robert wasn’t as wheelchair-bound as he seemed. His wheelchair was here, but he wasn’t.

I hurried back to the mansion, noting the lights coming from the third floor window. I should have known all along that the cleaners weren’t who they said they were. They’d been searching for the money the whole time! Katherine had accomplices after all, and they might just find something the cops missed.

I called Stuart and told him to get back to the mansion and pronto. I didn’t stay on the line to listen to him say for me to wait for him. They might get away before he got here, and I just couldn’t risk it. Caroline tried to block my way on the stairs, but I ran right through her. I retrieved Eleanor’s pistol as I heard loud noises coming from the third floor. I was on my own now, just me and Caroline, who was glued to my side.

“Agnes, don’t go up there alone.”

“I don’t have a choice. Stuart is on his way. I can’t let them get away.”

I slid Eleanor’s revolver in my pocket for safekeeping, and slowly moved up the stairs. Larry held a flashlight for Gary, who had a mallet and chisel and was hammering away between the bricks of the wall that protruded out about a foot. Although this room had no fireplace, the chimney loomed directly over it on the roof.

“Hurry up,” Robert shouted. “It won’t be long before those old bats will be coming upstairs for bed.”

“I’m trying, but how can’t they be hearing all this pounding up here?”

My thoughts were that it was because this house was built solid as a rock with thick walls, but if they didn’t hurry, someone might just discover what they were doing. “I’d check to see if a brick was loose, personally,” I said out loud, then clapped my mouth with my hand.

The three men stopped what they were doing and stared over to where I stood with the quivering Caroline. “Here we go again.”

I moved my hand down and asked, “So you’re Katherine’s accomplices?”

Robert pulled out a gun, pointing it at me. “She’s my sister, or was before she died. I wasn’t involved in her schemes, but she spilled the beans when I saw her with wads of cash. She refused to bring me in, so after her death I came here to locate the money she conned out of those people.”

“Did she also tell you where the money is?”

“No, but since that man came here to search in this room, it has to be in here. We overheard the cops arguing about not being able to lock down the scene, and luckily the feds are now looking elsewhere.”

Caroline wailed. “Oh, no!

When I looked to see what she was looking at, I saw only a blank space, but then a black mist rose to the ceiling near the window, taking the  shape of a man with sharp jagged teeth. I’m not sure if it was my expression or not, but the mallet and chisel fell to the floor with a bang, and the men ran screaming from the room, their heavy footsteps pounding on the stairs as they descended. I watched from the window, smiling in satisfaction as the feds were now here, rounding them up and ushering them to cars.

I wasn’t too concerned about the black mist that floated nearby. It pointed out one specific brick and had disappeared by the time Stuart raced into the room.

“Mother, are you okay?”

“O-Oh yes,” I stammered. I pointed out a brick. “You might want to search behind that brick. Robert, one of the cleaners that Sara hired, was the brother of the woman who called herself Katherine. He took the job here to find the money Katherine had hidden.”

“Why that brick? It looks like they were searching above that area.”

I took a hold of Stuart’s shirt. “Trust me, check that brick.”

I refused to leave while more feds piled into the room and hammered away at the bricks until one large chunk was lowered to the floor. A man then shined a flashlight inside, coming back with a large trash bag. He handed it to Stuart who yanked out a wad of cash rolled up with a rubber bands wound around it.

“Looks like we found the mother load,” Stuart said.

When he showed me the inside of the bag, I was overwhelmed. I had to say, “That looks like more money than what Jack Winston and Elsie Bradford handed over to Katherine.”

“Barbara Billings, you mean. Katherine was just an alias.”

“Really?” I asked as if I had no idea. “Is it only me, or does Barbara Billings sound like an alias, or actress’s name? Wasn’t Billings the last name of the
Leave it to Beaver
mom?”

“No, that was Billingsley,” Sara said as she waltzed into the room. She then nodded to Stuart. “Find what you’re looking for finally, handsome?”

“Yes, looks that way. Sorry to be bothering you again so soon.”

Sara rubbed a hand down Stuart’s arm. “Not a problem. When you’re done, why don’t you come on down for a drink? Elsie Bradford made the most marvelous spiked lemonade.”

All eyes were on Stuart now, who calmly explained, “That’s against the FBI policy, I’m afraid. Besides, my wife is the jealous type.”

Moraine, his wife, cleared her throat. I hadn’t noticed her.

Sara’s hand flew to her mouth. “I … I’m sorry. I had no idea he was married. I’d love to treat you both to dinner sometime.”

“Like my husband said, it’s really against policy.”

“I hope you don’t think I meant to hire a woman of questionable scruples?” Sara said.

“Well, did you?” I asked.

“Not at all. I put an ad on Craig’s list and screened all candidates. Since Katherine lived in Michigan, she seemed like the best person for the job, and for the most part she helped me out.”

“Craig’s List?” I said. “That’s the worst place to hire someone off of.”

“Unless you do a background check,” Stuart added. “So is that who hired the cleaners? Katherine?”

“Yes, she handled all the preparations and Andrew recommended that Agnes and Eleanor oversee things. I had no idea they had planned to look into Katherine’s death for the most part,” Sara explained.

“Yes, my mother and her meddling partner, Eleanor, know a thing or two about solving mysteries. If it wasn’t for my mother tonight, the cleaners would have found and made off with the money.”

“I don’t believe that Robert was involved in his sister’s crimes. He just came along after the fact. You can’t blame him for wanting to find that money.”

“I suppose not, but if he knew what his sister was doing, he should have contacted the police instead of searching for the money with the intent to take it for himself. He pulled a gun on you, Mother.”

“He did, but I just feel like he was desperate. His sister had just died and it was a crime of opportunity.”

“We’ll be looking into what Robert really knew and when. If he had no connection to his sister’s illegal activities, he won’t have any worries. He’s actually fortunate Len didn’t find out what he was up to. Len was the real deal, a dangerous man.”

“Yup,” I said. “One who lost his life in this very room. On Facebook he had an alias, Peyton Murphy.”

“That Robert and his cohorts came outside blabbering that they saw a demon up here,” Moraine said with a snicker.

“Ghosts, now demons?” asked Sara. “I’m not sure I’m ready to run a bed and breakfast that is haunted. Whatever will the customers think?”

“That this place is haunted. I highly suspect that you’ll never have a vacancy if word gets out.”

“That’s good, but we shouldn’t really play the whole haunted mansion up.”

“I’m with you on that. Let’s go downstairs, Sara. I’m really ready for a glass of lemonade after the day I’ve had. I’ve had a gun pointed at me twice today.”

“I tried to tell you to wait and let us handle the cleaners on the phone,” Stuart said. “But I don’t blame you for doing what you did. Without you, we’d be searching all night for that money.”

I led Sara from the room and once we were in the dining room, I explained to everyone what had happened upstairs, wondering where Andrew was.

“So you saw a real demon up there, Agnes?” Elsie asked with a shudder.

“Not exactly sure what I saw. I just knew that it meant me no harm.”

Eleanor gave me a hug and whispered, “I don’t blame you for not bringing me, but next time, please don’t go alone to check things out.”

When she pulled away, I said, “I didn’t go alone. Caroline went with me, but she disappeared when that other ghost showed up.” I was glad when nobody asked who Caroline was.

Elsie handed me a glass of her spiked lemonade. “Sounds like you need this more than me.”

I took the glass and downed it. “This is so good, Elsie. I’m so sorry everything happened the way it has. Hopefully, the FBI will be able to return your money.”

“I hope so, too. Jack really needs to get into the good graces of his son again.”

I drank in silence, enjoying the company, but when I asked Sara where Andrew was, she told me he had gone back to the Tawas Beach Resort to gather his belongings. I was glad that he’d be back soon because I really didn’t want to be alone tonight, not after everything I’ve gone through today.

Chapter Fifteen

I made my way back to the drawing room and Caroline was admiring the picture I had found.

“Who is that?” I asked as she took my hand. In the blink of an eye, I was transported back in time. I now stood in the bedroom where Sheriff Peterson had found the suitcase packed with clothing from the 30s. A very much alive-looking Caroline was packing the suitcase, tears streaming down her cheeks.

When she ran from the room and down the stairs, a man ran after her, brandishing a silver pistol. She screamed as a shot went off, wood splintering on the doorway as she sprinted from the mansion. Caroline ran toward the woods as a man shouted, “Caroline, come back. That woman meant nothing.”

Branches scratched Caroline’s arms and she raced through the woods and cemetery, making it into town. She panted to regain her breath and strength and stumbled across US 23 just as a black car raced toward her. Agnes could see the man’s tense face, his foot slamming on the accelerator, striking Caroline. She flew into the air like a ragdoll, landing with a loud thump in the middle of the street as the car raced away and out of sight.

I knew in an instant that it was the same man whose picture was in the suitcase. He’d murdered Caroline.

I nearly fainted as I fell back into a chair in the drawing room, now transported back to the present. Caroline’s ghostly figure was here, too, and so was the man who had murdered her—the same man from the picture.