Sometime Yesterday (10 page)

“No. It was all done through the agency. It was months later after living with the strange events for a while when we thought about asking them. We never did find them.” Tina sipped her water and continued.

“It was just awful living in a construction zone.” She lowered her voice. “My husband isn’t very handy.”

Natalie’s mother laughed. “I understand that as well.”

“We hired a contractor for the big jobs. I had seriously underestimated the size of my little project. They make it look so easy on those decorating shows, don’t they? I had visions of painting and decorating to create a showpiece.”

“The house is gorgeous. You did an amazing job with it.”

Tina’s eyes filled. “It is, isn’t it?”

She looked so sad, Natalie regretted to ask the next question. She cleared her throat. “You said that strange things happened?”

Tina looked down at her hands. “It all sounds so crazy.”

“It’s all right. We’re not here to judge you.”

Tina studied their faces. “Okay. At first, there were strange noises. I could swear I heard someone walking in the hallway. My husband told me it was merely the sounds that old houses make. I didn’t make a great deal about it. He was quick to remind me that it was my choice to live there.” Tina paused. “I hated the basement, just hated it. Every time I went into it I felt I was being watched. It was a dreadful feeling.”

Natalie thought she might not want to hear anymore. She really didn’t want to be scared in what was
her
house now.

“Then the knocking in the walls started. Doors would open and shut at odd times. Brad never experienced any of it. He didn’t believe me.” Her eyes pleaded with them.

“We believe you.” Natalie’s mother reached over and patted Tina’s arm.

“The renovation took almost a year. While it was going on, Brad had explanations for everything. The workman must have done whatever it was that happened to frighten me at the time.” Tina waved her hand. “I would show him the articles I found online about hauntings and how renovations stirred up spirits and such.”

“It pisses them off.”

Tina looked at Natalie’s mother. “Thank you. He refused to believe anything that I showed him.”

Natalie was beginning to develop a strong dislike for Brad. “That must have been frustrating for you.”

“Oh, he’s not a bad man, my husband, just very practical. He sees everything in black and white. There are no gray areas for him.”

Natalie couldn’t imagine what Tina must have felt. She grew up with a mystical mother and grandmother. No one had ever laughed at her, told her that her imagination was stupid or the boogeyman didn’t live under her bed. Her mother simply came in and kicked spirit ass with her prayers and crystals. She felt a surge of appreciation for her.

“I thought I was losing my mind. I was the only one who heard things. I lived in terror in my own home and no one believed me.”

“Did you have any dreams?” Natalie was curious to how Beth and Sarah fit into this story.

Tina shivered slightly. “Yes. They started at the beginning of the second year we were there. I was always being chased by a large man wearing black. He was horrible. I was convinced he was the one haunting the house. He had this really evil laugh.” Tina mimicked the sound.

Natalie’s hair rose on the back of her neck and she looked over at her mother. The dark man.

“He would describe the evil things he would do to me if he ever caught me.” Tina’s face paled.

Natalie sat forward. “Then what happened?”

“My new psychiatrist put me on medication. That stopped the nightmares at least. I walked around doped up for the next several months.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Natalie’s mother said. “When did you decide to leave?”

“Brad started to have dreams. He didn’t want to tell me at first, they were so bad. He started asking me questions about my experiences for the first time. He read the research I had done on the paranormal. Things started to escalate after that, but I was so grateful to know I wasn’t the only one experiencing it anymore. My husband had such a hard time accepting all of it. It shook the very foundations of everything he had been taught to believe.

“On the last night we were there, he woke up from a nightmare.” Tina choked up a little but continued in a hoarse voice. “And he tried to strangle me.”

“Omigod.” Natalie was shocked. She hadn’t expected to hear that.

“He said he snapped out of it when my eyes turned glassy.” She held a hand to her throat. “My husband is a gentle man. In thirty years he never even raised a hand in anger. Anyway, he apologized and cried then told me to pack a bag. He didn’t have to tell me twice. At that point, we’d been there for about eighteen months. It was the worst experience of my life. I didn’t care that we were leaving, I was so relieved.

“We threw a couple of suitcases together and I was waiting for Brad on the landing when I was pushed from behind. He said he saw the force of it as I was standing a good three feet from the stairs at the time. He raced to me at the bottom, picked me up in one swoop, and rushed me to the hospital.

“We were scared to death. The emergency room doctor said I was lucky I didn’t break my neck. I came out of that hospital with two cracked ribs and a broken ankle and I considered myself lucky.”

That did it. Natalie was scared now. “It sounds terrifying. I’m so sorry for dredging up such horrible memories.”

“But you’ve had experiences yourself or you wouldn’t have found me, right?”

“Your husband’s dreams?” Natalie’s mother reminded her gently.

“He finally told me months later. He said he had very vivid dreams of beating me, punishing me. He couldn’t say for what, but that he knew he began to enjoy it. The sight of my blood turned him on. After the night he tried to kill me, he’d had enough. It was all real then. We only went back to pack, in broad daylight, and with a group of people.

“We bought this brand new house and Brad never said a word to me about paying two mortgages for the last three years. We pretend it never happened on the surface. I’m sorry to tell you how ecstatic we were when it sold.” Tina looked down.

Natalie tried to take it all in. The Beechers had a horrifying experience, but it didn’t resemble her own. “What about the women?”

Tina looked genuinely puzzled. “What women? There’s only one. The dark man.”

“You never smelled lavender or dreamt of Beth and Sarah?”

“No.” Tina shook her head.

Natalie didn’t want to go into the details. Tina had been through enough sharing her experience. Instead, she steered the conversation in another direction. “Did you do research on the Seeleys? Maybe to find out who the dark man was?”

“I always meant to. You have to remember that I thought I was going crazy. I wasn’t looking for any specific information. After we left, I didn’t care. I wanted to erase that part of my life.” She looked contrite. “I never even thought about how I was passing the nightmare to someone else. I am so sorry.”

Natalie thought that Tina looked a bit frail. She didn’t have it in her to say anything that would make her feel guilty. It wasn’t in her nature. Her heart only wanted to reassure Tina it was fine. She would let the Beechers close this chapter of their lives. “Well,” she said finally. “The good news is that I appear to have different ghosts.”

“Good girl,” Natalie’s mother murmured.

Natalie didn’t mention the dark man. She told her instead about the feminine energy in the house. The look of relief on Tina’s face told Natalie she’d done the right thing.

Her mother, bless her heart, helped to put Tina at ease then they thanked her for her time.

It wasn’t until they were nearly home that Natalie realized she hadn’t remembered to ask about the painting. She doubted Tina would have known about it. After all, Natalie watched it being created in her dream. She was curious as to where it was hiding all these years. It seemed she had more questions than answers than ever before.

“Mom?”

“I don’t know yet, sweetheart.”

“I didn’t ask you anything yet.”

Her mother smiled. “Yes, you did.”

“Not out loud, I didn’t.”

“I know.” Natalie’s mother looked out the window. “We have more research to do.”

“To find Sarah and Beth?”

“Yes and the dark man who controls the house. Let’s put it away for now, okay? Besides, don’t you have a date to get ready for?”

Natalie immediately felt butterflies in her stomach. She was excited to see Van. Yes, she could put this on the back burner for tonight.

Tonight, she was going to explore new possibilities.

*

Get a grip! You’re thirty-two, not fourteen!
Natalie heard the front door slam and the sound of feet running up the stairs and down the hall. Mary burst in her room without bothering to knock.

“Am I too late? Do you have any idea what it’s like to take thirty-five teenagers to the museum? Fricking teenagers can drive a sane woman to drink. What are you going to wear? Are you going to kiss her?”

Natalie grabbed Mary by the arms. “It’s all about me right this second, Mare. Help me. What
does
one wear on a first date? It’s hardly fair. I haven’t been on a date in thirteen years, and even back then I never cared what I
wore.
What if I commit some horrible lesbian faux pas on my first date with a woman?”

Mary started to laugh, but cut it off abruptly when Natalie glared at her. “What do you have?”

Natalie flung her arm toward the bed. It was covered in a pile nearly two feet deep. “Every piece of clothing that I own is on that bed. I’ve tried it all on. None of my clothes look right.”

“Nat? You better think of something, because she’s here and you’re in your underwear.” Mary looked over to her. “Nice fancy underwear, I might add, yet nonetheless, not appropriate for dinner wear.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Natalie bent over and put a hand over her stomach. “I’m so nervous. What’s she wearing?”

Mary gave a little wave out the window. “Black 501s, with a black short sleeved shirt tucked in. Oh, and she’s wearing shit kickers. Damn, girl, if I weren’t straight, I’d want her. She’s hot!”

Natalie groaned and dove back into the mess on the bed. Mary hurried over to help and finally held up a green Gypsy-style summer dress that laced up the front.

“Matches your eyes, easy on hers, it’s perfect.” She left the room to answer the front door.

Twenty minutes later, Natalie headed for the voices in the kitchen. She took a deep breath, smoothed her hair, and breezed in the door. “Sorry I kept you waiting.” She was so nervous, her heart thumped almost painfully.

Van was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs with her long legs straight out in front of her. “You look great.”

Two hours straightening my hair and doing my makeup. But wasn’t that look just worth it. “
Thank you, Van. So do you.”

Van smiled. “Thanks. I was just getting ready to tell your mother and Mary that one of my ancestors worked here when the house was originally built.”

Natalie saw her mother’s eyebrows rise and jumped in. “Wow. In all the excitement around here, did I forget to mention that?”

“What excitement?” Van asked.

“The house is haunted,” Mary blurted.

Natalie winced inwardly. Great, now Van would think she was nuts. She looked anxiously over to see her reaction.

“Really?” Van looked around the kitchen. “I’ve heard the rumors. What’s going on?”

“You’re not surprised?” asked Natalie.

Van laughed. “Hey, I watch
Ghost Adventures.
”

Natalie was grateful for the humor. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore today. She was nervous enough as it was. “Shall we?” she asked Van then caught herself from sighing when she stood up next to her. She felt her nerve endings fire up and a skip in her pulse. She could only hope she didn’t make an ass of herself tonight.

Van led Natalie to the truck and admired how amazing she looked in that dress. She no longer questioned her motive for asking her out. She looked delicious.

“There’s no graceful way to do this in a dress. Is there?” Natalie asked when she stood in front of the high cab.

“Nope.” Van chuckled. “Pretty much, none.” She helped Natalie up and then went around and jumped in the driver’s side. “I hope you like seafood. My uncle’s family owns a restaurant on the boardwalk. Are you okay with that?”

“I love seafood. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”

During the short ride down the coast, Van was quiet but kept darting glances over at Natalie. She looked adorable sitting there with her hands folded primly in her lap. When she realized that Natalie seemed to be waiting for her to talk, Van searched for her long-dormant flirting skills. She hadn’t needed them for a long time. “I love your work,” she said finally.

Natalie smiled. “Thank you. Did you visit the Web page?”

Van nodded. “Here we are.” She pulled smoothly into the crowded parking lot of the restaurant.

“Which-fish?” asked Natalie.

Van chuckled. “Uncle John couldn’t decide on a name for the first year. He would just shout out, ‘Which fish do you want?’ So my aunt had a sign made. Over the years, the place became so popular that they expanded and dispensed with the counter. The name stuck, though.”