Soul Inheritance (7 page)

“
I must’ve known. I mean, everyone has grandparents after all. I just never knew there were things left over from the fire. I just assumed that everything went with them.” She thought of the house. Was it really still there? Had they not died in a house fire like she had been led to believe?

Eventually she fell asleep and dreamed of the lake, the woods, the house. This time, however, she did not go to the house, but wandered the shores exploring, watching, learning the layout.

It was damp and musty in the forest around the lake. Katherine did not know how long she wandered there; only that it was cool, quiet and strangely comforting. It was as if she had come home. A dark, foreboding home, but protective, too. It wrapped around her like a blanket, enveloping, sheltering, hiding her in its endless folds. The lake had a different feel. It felt empty; the malevolence receded leaving a benign peacefulness. The water lapped gently nearby, the breeze was gentle, if a little cool. The scent of forest and water and earth was strong. From the decay of leaves sprung life eternal in the grand old trees whose limbs swayed in an unheard rhythm, and the saplings that joined in at the edges where the sunlight could reach them. It was late afternoon this time, and the dappled light gave a luminescence to this new world. Somewhere in the distance a bell tolled and Katherine stood stiffly and listened to it beckon.

The alarm clock rang loudly. She tumbled from sleep, tangling the covers first around her, then pulling them over her head. The buzz only grew louder until she crawled over and turned it off. She lay still, listening to the silence. The house was so still. Nothing stirred. There was nothing to stir.

She sat up on the edge of the bed, looked down at her feet, rubbed her swollen eyes. The lamp was still burning. Reaching over she turned it off, took a deep breath, then went to shower. Without looking into the mirror she brushed her teeth, then went to the den and dressed in the plain black dress she’d laid out the night before. She surveyed herself in the mirror. She looked almost gaunt, pale and her eyes sunken. Collecting makeup and a brush she did her best to cover the wraith-like appearance, gathered the photo that she had set aside to take and headed down stairs.

Katherine loaded her luggage in the car, then went back inside, checked to see that the water and lights were off and that the heat was turned down. Standing in the foyer she took a long look around. The home she had known was gone forever. It was time to go.

Pulling the door shut, she checked to see that it was locked. She stood by the Jeep, stared at her father’s home. It seemed empty now, even though everything was still there and in its place. There was movement at the bedroom window. She caught a glimpse of a face, only a fleeting glance. Whatever it was it wasn’t her father. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the car, started the engine and drove away.

There were not many people at the funeral home. Some of her father’s business associates, the manager that handled things, and a few faces she didn’t recognize. They all sat quietly as she entered and settled in the front row. The service was short, as he had requested many times over the years.

“
Don’t waste time mourning me. Get on with living,” he would say. She took the words to heart as she thought of the suitcases in the back of the Jeep.

“
Would you approve?” she wondered to herself. With an inward smile she decided he probably would not.

“
Katherine, we’re all so sorry.” His business manager sat down beside her, hugged her lightly. “We’re so shocked, he was always so healthy.”

“
Well, it was sudden.” She fought hard to control a weakening voice. They sat in silence while the casket was rolled forward and the procession to the parking lot began. The manager, Craig, followed close by, his face solemn and gray. Once they were outside she watched numbly as the casket was loaded into the hearse.

“
So sudden,” she was only mumbling to herself, but Craig stepped forward and offered an arm.

“
Where’s the limousine?”

“
There isn’t one. I drove myself.”

“
Oh, well, let me help you to the car.”

She didn’t take his arm, but turned to him instead. He seemed to be trying hard to be of some help, but Katherine was sure he was also worried, about those who depended on the business for their livelihoods. Until that moment she hadn’t considered any of the business decisions.

“
Craig, can you do me a favor?”

“
Sure Katherine, anything.”

“
I have to go away on family business for a little while. Can you keep the business moving just the way it is while I’m gone?”

“
Of course. But I don’t have the authority to do some things.”

“
That’s okay. We’ll fix that before I leave. After the funeral meet me at the coffee shop across the street from George Marino’s office.” She turned and went to the Jeep.

The procession wound its way over crowded streets. People bustled by and continued about their normal, everyday routines. She wished she could be among them, far away from the pain and the sudden, horrifying changes that had taken place, unaware  of the loved ones lost to people like her everyday. Never thinking about the actual event of death. There one day, gone the next. What of her own inevitable end? Would it be swift and sure? Or drawn out? What if? No, she couldn’t think that way. It wasn’t going to win.

She looked out the front window, at the back of the hearse. She had to know what she was fighting to succeed. What was hiding in the past, what was stalking her now, trying to make its way into the present?

The funeral procession finally reached the cemetery. It made its way past rows of grave stones. Passed above ground crypts that were showing hairline cracks like old age wrinkles. The cemetery was grand, well kept and very old. Black pavement wound its way like ribbon between the neat green lawns that rolled off to either side. The procession stopped across from a mortuary decked out in pillars and marble with winged angles resting atop shelves beneath an A frame roofline. They seemed to casually be watching. The casket was removed and bore to the graveside where the proceedings continued to be brief.

Katherine stood looking down at the casket. One small handful of dirt was scattered over the single white lily she had laid atop it. It moved slowly down lowering her father into his crypt. The few grave side mourners there were had left and now only the gravediggers remained. She turned and walked slowly back to the car. She looked more closely at the grand old mausoleum. Anything to take her mind off of the goodbyes already said. Drying her eyes she noticed how beautiful the marble work was leading into the majestic hall of the dead. It was aged, the stone gray and the crevices green.

Katherine studied the angels, as she stood there leaning on the Jeep. Their skin was smooth, their cherub faces round and childlike with mops of curly cascading hair carefully carved from the stone. Wings adorned them, and swaths of cloth covered all the right places as their smiles beamed to the heavens. But the eyes… The empty eyes stared into nothing. They seemed to reflect a coldness that chilled to the core. An emptiness filled by intent. She turned away, opened the door. Made herself look back.

“
You can’t go through life like this.” She looked up, followed the line of the roof to the middle figure. There in their midst sat Greystone. The blank eyes of the angelic statues all turned to stare down as if in judgment. Her world had been reduced to a tight tunnel, surprise and repulsion racked her body. Grasping the door handle she stood erect and ready to bolt.

Greystone’s wings were full spread and he stood solid, one arm reaching dramatically toward the sky, the other toward the earth. He blended with the gray marble of the angels so well, that she nearly thought he was a statue himself. Some grotesque testament by a talented sculptor. This could explain it. She’d been here before, seen the statue and incorporated it into her dreams.

He moved. Slowly he turned, looked down at her and grimaced to show very real razor sharp teeth.

Katherine scrambled to get the door open, jumped into the drivers seat. She glanced back at the mausoleum as she put the car in drive and pushed the gas. Nothing was there but the ancient angels with their blank stares aimed at the heavens. The tires squealed as the Jeep speed out of the cemetery.

There was one parking spot just in front of the lawyer’s office. Rushing across the street she entered the busy coffee shop, scanning the room. Craig stood as she approached.

“
Are you okay? You’re white as a sheet!” Craig’s brow furrowed as he reached toward her arm, offering support.

“
Yes, I’m fine. Just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“
I can imagine. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”

“
No, I just need to get away for a while. You’re doing plenty by taking care of this.” She pulled out a chair and sat down. “Crystal, my manager for the flower shops’ will be here shortly, along with George. We’ll set you both up with the ability to pay the bills and make necessary decisions, sign papers and so on. George has arranged for an accountant to check over things every month until I can make some decisions. Is that okay?”

“
Sure, we’re all just glad to still have a job. What do you think you’ll do? I mean for the long term?”

“
I really haven’t thought about it. I’ve got to take care of family stuff first.” Katherine flagged down a waiter. “Can I get a hot chocolate with whipped cream?”

“
Anything else?”

“
Um, well,” she motioned to Craig. “Want anything? I’m buying.”

“
A black coffee please.”

The waiter hurried off to get their order as they waited for the others. Once everyone was there - George, Craig, Crystal, and Katherine - they set to making arrangements for both businesses. With the details ironed out and papers signed the managers left. George turned to Katherine.

“
How’re you?
Really
.” He laid his hand on hers. He was a good deal older with a thinning hairline. He had been one of the few people her father had considered a friend.

“
I’m okay. Just a little shell shocked. I wasn’t expecting...”

He gave a weak smile. “I’m so sorry. You do know your father left you very stable? To say the least!”

“
Yes, I have a pretty good notion. But George…” she wasn’t sure how to approach the question without sparking a discussion she didn’t want. “Did Dad ever mention having property in Maine?”

George paused. “Yes, I paid the taxes on it every year, through an off shore account.”

Katherine’s eyes grew wide. “A what?”

“
An off shore account. It’s the best way to keep people from tracking you down if you don’t want to be found. All Mitch ever really told me was that his family had died under bad circumstances and that he didn’t want anyone tracking the two of you here. I checked out his story. He wasn’t a criminal or anything, I promise Katherine.”

“
Go on.”

“
Well, you own property, but your father would never lay a hand on anything to do with it. I tried to get him to sell it once, when you guys were living in that ratty little place across town. When he could barely buy food and pay the rent. It was the only time I’ve ever seen him anything but calm and collected.” He chuckled a little. “Goddamn, I thought I’d done something sacrilegious or something. He said there was no way that he’d ever sell it, or have anything to do with the money that was in that account. Said something about that place was pure evil and he’d never let anyone near it.” He was still a moment. “I thought maybe it was just because his parents died there, in that fire, ya know. I think it was a bad place in his life that he buried long ago and wanted to keep it there. I never brought it up again.”

Katherine sat quietly and stared into the light brown of her hot chocolate. “Might explain why he never told me about it.”

“
You goin’ up there?”

She looked up at him. “Yes. In fact I’m leaving from here. I thought I’d go take a look at the place.”

“
Well, maybe it’ll be a good thing. Maybe you can sell it for a good price, retire young.” He winked at her. “I know where ya can find an old coot to shack up with!” He smiled broadly, patted her shoulder. “Just kidding. You need something young with some spirit.”

They left the coffee shop and went across the street to sign the necessary estate papers.

Katherine left George’s office and walked toward the bookstore several doors down. So much responsibility had been removed with the funeral over and the business being taken care of that she felt lighter. Ducking into the bookstore she went in search of maps of the east coast and Maine.

After buying her maps and a few books on demons and legends she went back to the coffee shop, purchased a croissant and hot chocolate for the road. She turned the Jeep south and found her way out of town and onto I-9 north. Glancing at the clock she sighed. It was almost five o’clock. It wasn’t long until she passed the Virginia border. It was getting late at Richmond, but she pushed on until she reached Woodbridge, just outside of Alexandria, not far from the D.C. border. There she stopped to find a hotel.