OLD MAN MALONE RETURNS Page 3

  “This is weird. Evidently, Frederick went out west to a health spa. No one knows where.” She dropped into a chair. “He died in an accident. He was embalmed before his body was returned to Malone Springs and Walker’s. There wasn’t any service. Walker’s transported his body to the cemetery, and he was buried. End of story.” She crossed her arms and leaned forward placing them on her legs.

  “Knowing him, there’s a lot more to the story.” Taylor looked toward Kellie, her lips tight and her eyebrows scrunched.

  “Austern,” Kellie called standing up flexing her fingers open and closed.

  “Yes, may I help you?” As usual he seemed to appear out of nowhere. His gentle smile did nothing to calm Kellie.

  “You told me my grandfather was an invalid before he died. It’s why he had the elevator installed. What was he doing at a spa out west, and what kind of accident did he have?”

  “I thought you had all the facts before you arrived here, or I would have told you. You were upset, and I didn’t want to add more by bringing up sad details.” His face grew serious. His gray eyes that matched his graying hair showed compassion.

  “I’m not upset with you, Austern.” She smiled at the nervous butler. “For some reason, I accepted the fact he died and never asked the reason. I assumed his age.”

  “He was in his early eighties, but it was his arthritis that put him in the wheelchair. He heard about a health spa that used new treatments, massages with exotic oils, and whirlpool baths with special oils. All were supposed to help with the inflammation of the joints. He planned on staying for two months.” Austern stood erect, interlaced his fingers, bowed his head slightly, and continued. “Three weeks into his visit his wheelchair was found at the top of a small ravine. His body was found at the bottom. He had been missing for two days. The medical examiner said he must have tried to stand to watch the sunset and fell breaking his neck.” He looked up and shook his head. He opened his hands and dropped them at his sides.

  “Due to two days of sun exposure, his body was taken care of at a local funeral home, flown back here, and Walker’s arranged burial. He never wanted a service, and even if there was one, the casket would have had to remain closed.” He shrugged. “That’s all I know.”

  “That’s awful even for an evil man. Thanks, Austern.” She shuddered at the thought of having to view him in such a condition.

  “Anytime, Kellie.”

  “One more thing, where was this spa?”

  “I have no idea. I only know it was a reputable health spa out west. Your grandfather took a private jet, and a private jet returned the body. I’m not sure if Walker’s knows more. There might have been paperwork.”

  “Thank you.”

  She called Walker’s again to ask about the funeral home that embalmed her grandfather. Her eyebrows knitted when she heard what little they knew. She shoved her phone into her jean’s pocket and turned toward Taylor.

  Taylor could tell she was confused by what she heard.

  “It seems there was paperwork that accompanied the body. It appeared in proper order. However, Walker’s had a question and found the phone number unlisted. Also, there wasn’t any funeral home by that name anywhere in the area. That made them suspicious. Mr. Walker checked the body. It was badly damaged but might have been my grandfather. He added a handwritten note saying he was fairly certain it was Frederick Malone’s body. I don’t know if that’s true, or some maneuver to cover their butts.”

  “Fairly certain?” squealed Andrea. “Don’t you think in a case like this they should be completely sure somehow. Medical tests. Dental x-rays. I think embalming kills DNA, but there had to be something. I think it’s weird. No police reports either? He could have been pushed. He could be alive.”

  Taylor shivered at the thought. “What if Andrea’s right? He faked his death and now he’s watching us? Worse yet, what if he’s a ghost? If evil can exist after death, he would have found a way.”

  Drew entered the room before Hunter and Cole. His eyes showed his excitement. The girls looked confused when they saw him. Hunter and Cole let him begin; they sat across the room. Drew’s hands were jittery, his excitement growing.

  “I figured it all out.” Drew suggested, “The old man’s angry the judge let you drop the Malone name and that you’re using your maiden name hyphenated with mine. No one would know you were a Malone if you didn’t say something. Everything about his life has changed, and he hates it. He’s come back somehow. Evil continues to exist, and he’s after you and most likely me. Maybe all of us.”

  “Drew, we were discussing some of the same things.”

  Kellie explained the girl’s ideas. He thought it was plausible someone might dig up the grave to be sure he was dead and buried. However, it’s also plausible he’s a ghost.

  “We’ll see who’s right when Old Man Malone comes calling alive or dead.”

  “Stop it, Drew. You’ll scare everyone. I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Cole and Hunter agree with me. Time will tell. I never did believe until last fall when your mother’s spirit visited you. Yeah, he’ll be here. You wait and see.”

  The girls stared wide eyed at the men they loved. Andreas’s mouth hung open as she realized Cole agreed with Drew. Taylor leaned back as far as she could on the sofa and put her hands up in front of her. Kellie shook her head. These couldn’t be the normal, sane guys they were in love with.

  Kellie’s cell phone rang again. “Hello.” Her facial expression turned to terror when she listened and said, “It was him, and he’s a ghost.”

  Drew looking surprised asked, “So you agree with me, why?”

  “I heard my grandfather, I mean Frederick, and he can hear us.” She looked around at the walls and ceiling. Her face was growing more frantic. She strode from one window to another. “He’s near. He told me we should listen to you, Drew. You’re right. He’s dead and coming back. He told me.” Her voice quivered as she relayed what she had heard.

  “Give me that phone.” He checked the caller ID. “It reads ‘Private name, Private number’. That doesn’t help us” He dialed Kellie’s Uncle Mike’s number. “We’re sure it’s not kids. Whoever called knew what we were talking about. Yeah, I’m sure. He called Kellie and told her.”

  He hung up the phone and grabbed a piece of paper quickly jotting down what the detective had told him. Each friend read the note, and Drew tossed it into the fireplace watching it burn.

  “Bugged?” Kellie whispered in Drew’s ear. “Austern,” she called. She was near hysteria--her voice raised and her lip quivered.

  “Yes, Kellie.” Austern walked into the room from the foyer.

  “Are there any video or audio recordings of my grandfather? I would like to find out if I heard his actual voice or someone pretending to be him.”

  “Not to my knowledge, miss. He never recorded anything here at home that I know about. It is possible he was interviewed on a news show at some time or another. He did do his best to shy away from cameras and video equipment. If you’ll remember the photos that were hanging on the wall when you moved in were all of him in younger years.”

  “Yes, I thought that was odd.”

  He crossed one long arm across his chest and leaned his other arm on the first. He tapped his forefinger on his cheek and stared off into space. “Hmm, I don’t believe there were many taken after he turned forty. For the newspaper obituary, I could only find an old photo from over thirty years ago. There are photos of your mother and grandmother, but none of him. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not.”

  “Perhaps he removed all the pictures of himself after my mother died. It was about that time he became more or less of a recluse wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it was. He was quite mobile at the time, and he could have removed any photos or papers in the house. I was only here a short time before your mother passed, remember? I am not sure what he did before.”

  “Thanks, Austern. I was afraid of that because Drew and
I have been through every box in this house and found nothing.”

  “You’re welcome, Kellie.” He bowed slightly and walked off toward the kitchen.

  She began to pace around the parlor mumbling, “How do I know it’s him if I’ve never heard his voice. Was it him? Was it his ghost? I can’t go through more of this again.”

  Drew grabbed her and hugged her. “I’ll call the TV and radio stations on Monday morning to see if they have any interviews on file. If they do, you might be able to identify his voice as the one you heard on the phone. Until then, we’ll all stick close together, and we’ll be safe. Possibly we can record the voice on the phone, and Austern could listen to it.”

  She leaned against him and whispered, “Okay, I pray we find an answer soon.”

  Cole popped up out of his chair and turned on some music. “We’ve had enough feeling worried and afraid. Alive or dead, he’s no match for the six of us. We took down Mrs. Casey. We’ll solve this mystery, too.”

  It was difficult to feel bad when Cole began to act silly, and it was what they needed. He was right. They had figured out Mrs. Casey was trying to scare Kellie into giving up her inheritance. Perhaps they would be able to solve this mystery, too.

  Cole said, “I’m going to take Andrea out to dinner. Don’t wait up for me. I may not be home until tomorrow.” He winked as he hurried to help Andrea with her coat.

  Chapter Four

  Kellie’s scream brought Drew, Hunter, Taylor, and Austern into her bedroom. She was standing inside the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. She was leaning against the doorway visibly shaken.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Drew as he ran to her side.

  “He was there, right there in the doorway to the nursery. I saw him. He was staring at me,” she said trying to point in the direction of the nursery. Her hand was shaking too hard, and she dropped it to her side.

  “Who was there?”

  “My grandfather. He looked exactly as he did in those photos only older with gray hair. He was dressed all in black, but he’s dead. Isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is. Someone’s trying to scare you.”

  “No, it had to be him. If it wasn’t his ghost, how did they get out of here? He couldn’t use the secret stairs; you would have seen him going into the bedroom. I didn’t hear the elevator. He couldn’t have gone that way.”

  “Maybe, he got to the third floor stairway before we did and went down the secret stairs from up there.”

  “Drew, if he’s a ghost he doesn’t need stairs.” Her words came out in gasps. “If he’s human, he would know the secret staircase connects the attic to the wine cellar. Only family knows about that, unless he told some accomplice before he died.” She took a deep breath, sat on the edge of the bed, and tried to stop shaking.

  Hunter ran to check the door. “The door is shut tight. It’s the one that sticks. I think you would have heard it either open or close.”

  “Then he’s in the house. He can no longer get out of the basement. You locked that entrance.” Kellie rose from the bed, and stepped into the bathroom. She tossed the towel into the hamper and quickly put on her robe. Her hands were shaking as she held the robe tightly around her. “We have to find him now.”

  “I only have the basement tunnel door locked from this side. Anyone could go out and through the tunnel to the garage. Again only family knows about his secret tunnel. None of us did this. We were never able to figure out why he needed that tunnel, but he knew. Maybe whoever was in cahoots with him knows, too.”

  “Okay maybe, but then the lock would be unlocked right. It’s a dead bolt. He can’t lock that from the other side, and there are only two keys. I have one, and Austern has one.” She rushed to check her purse for her keys. “See, right here. I have my key.”

  Austern held up his key chain. “And I have mine.”

  “I’m going to check the lock,” said Hunter as he rushed out of the room. Taylor followed him to be sure he was safe.

  Austern walked into the nursery and returned saying, “The elevator is on this floor. No one took it down and sent it back up. We would have heard it.”

  Kellie looked at Drew, “Well, did I see a ghost? You thought earlier it was a ghost. It must have been a ghost. Wouldn’t Rufus have reacted to a human stranger?”

  “I don’t know. I know I said it had to be a ghost, but every ounce of my being doesn’t believe in them. I deal in reality.” He walked to the mirror, ran his fingers through his hair, and mussed it up again. “How can I get a job and council people to accept reality when I believe in ghosts? Honestly, I think it might be a ghost. I don’t think anyone dug him up to prove he was dead. Why would anyone need or want to do that after a year?” He sat down onto the bed next to Kellie, dropping his head into his hands. “I think I’m going crazy.”

  She sat on the bed and wrapped her quilt around herself. “I don’t know. We need answers. If this house is haunted, I don’t have to live here. The will was broken. I can move, sell it, or burn it to the ground, and no one can say a word.”

  A loud, shrill scream could be heard seemingly coming from within the walls. An anguished voice moaned in pain.

  “What the hell was that?” Drew jumped off the bed.

  Kellie sat on the bed staring at him and wrapped herself more tightly into the quilt. Hunter and Taylor hurried into the room shortly after hearing the scream. Taylor hopped on the bed with Kellie and wrapped herself in the other half of the quilt.

  “Did you guys here that?” Hunter asked.

  “Yes, it was coming from the walls.”

  Hope, their housekeeper, came running up the stairs. She was out of breath and her brown curls hung in her eyes. She brushed them back exposing the fear in her soft brown eyes.

  “What was that? It was coming out of the walls in the kitchen. Mrs. Decker was so frightened she took her coat and ran out to her car. She left, and all the pots are on the stove.”

  Austern looked as shocked as everyone else. He made sure they were alright and turned toward Hope. “I’m not sure what it was. Let’s go down and take care of the dinner.”

  Hope nodded and followed him downstairs.

  Kellie peeked out from under the quilt. “As soon as I said I would burn the house down, we heard that scream. It was the old man. He’s a ghost. He can hear all we say, and he doesn’t want me to burn down the house.” She snuggled deeper under the quilt. She rocked back and forth fighting the tears she felt forming. She reached for Taylor’s hand. Taylor, completely covered by the quilt, gripped it tightly.

  “Do you really believe it was him?” Hunter looked over the top of the quilt to see Kellie’s eyes.

  “Yes, and to prove it I want to tell all of you and you, too, grandfather, that I’ll not hurt your home ever. I promise.” She disappeared back under the quilt.

  Drew looked at her as if she had lost her mind when they heard a maniacal laugh come from the walls. “There’s a reason for that, air in the water pipes, something.” He began banging on the bedroom walls but heard nothing in return. He rushed into the bathroom. He flushed the toilet, ran water in the sink and tub, gripped and shook every pipe he could see. Hunter tried to stop him. Drew pulled away from him and ran back into the bedroom. Hunter finally was able to stop Drew’s panic. He held his shoulder’s tightly.

  “Drew, stop. You’re not helping.”

  Taylor popped out of the quilt and whispered, “It’s him, and he can hear us. He heard Kellie.” She pulled the quilt back over her head.

  Drew pulled away from Hunter, “I told you he’d show up. Happy now?” He stormed out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

  Austern returned to announce dinner was ready. He said, “Hope will help me serve, and then she is going home. I’m not sure she’ll return tomorrow. The girls are close to hysteria.”

  “Try and calm her down, please. We’ll be right down,” said Kellie. “I better get dressed in something besides this robe.”

  Hunter left Kellie to get dressed. Taylor stay
ed to keep her company.

  ########

  Two lively debates took place during dinner. One concerned the possibility of Frederick Malone’s ghost haunting the mansion. The other revolved around Hunter’s insistence that Taylor move out of the mansion after their wedding, if not sooner. Hunter was gentle and calm in hectic situations. This was different in his eyes. He loved Taylor. Taylor refused to leave her best friend to fight a ghost alone.

  “Taylor, be realistic. This situation could be dangerous.” He stood and walked up to the fireplace and picked up a small knick-knack. He tossed it up and down in his hand and pulled his arm back to throw it. He sighed and placed it back on the mantle. He spun and looked directly at Taylor. “No, this is your life we’re discussing. You’re moving with me and now.”

  “Hunter, I’ve had enough of you trying to bully me into moving. If this is the kind of husband you’re going to be, I might reconsider our wedding. Kellie was nice enough to offer us a free place to live while we save money for a down payment. You can at least be grateful and stay here to help her.”

  Hunter stared at Taylor. He knew she was serious. This was the closest they’d been to a full blown argument. He shrugged giving up. He walked back to the table slowly, sat down, and ate another forkful of rice.

  Kellie reached across the table taking both Hunter and Taylor’s hands. She smiled at them until Taylor began to smile back. Hunter continued to eat. “Listen both of you. I offered the south wing to help you out and because I knew Hunter wouldn’t accept a down payment as a wedding gift. If this is going to cause you both to fight, I have a solution. I’ll buy you a house outright. You can have any house in town. If it’ll make you feel better, you can pay rent. You can save for a down payment, and buy the house from me when you’re ready.”

  Hunter knitted his eyebrows and looked at the ceiling. “That might work.”

  “No!” Taylor stood up from her dining chair nearly knocking her plate on the floor. “Kellie and I have been best friends, more like sisters since we were three. I refuse to leave her alone with a madman or a ghost roaming around. This is my last word on the subject, Hunter. Take it or leave it. I’m living in my room until the wedding, if there is a wedding, and then in the south wing after. You can leave if you want. The decision is yours.”