Finding the Way Back (37 page)

Finally, Connie climbed out of the recliner
and walked toward the study. “While we still have some time, I’m
going to check on our eBay items. Some of them have ended and
others will end soon.”

The rest of us jumped up to trail along
behind like little ducklings all in a row. It was something
exciting to take my mind off what we were doing later. I had bought
plenty of things on eBay but I had never sold anything before so it
was thrilling to watch the auction from the other side. At least it
was something to take our minds off the repulsion I felt for the
coming experience.

Before long, Dean called up from the basement
that they were ready to begin. As we stomped down the stairs I
tried to tell myself that we weren’t in any real physical danger.
The ghost could perhaps overpower one individual but against a
group as large as ours, he shouldn’t be able to do too much damage.
Of course, looking back, there were a few things I wasn’t fully
aware of.

I situated myself near the stairway next to
the washer and dryer, in the spot I had fallen several days before.
Emmett stood about ten feet away, leaning on a post in the middle
of the floor. My mother and aunt huddled together sitting on the
large trunk we left there earlier with Connie not far behind them.
Glen and Dean set themselves up equidistant between both
groups.

“Now, I’m no expert at these things, but
there’s always strength and power in numbers,” Emmett said. “Let’s
stand in a circle and hold hands.”

I stood next to Emmett, his hand rough and
warm as it held mine which was cold and damp. Connie was on the
other side of me, then Dean, my mom, Glen and Aunt Shelly rounded
out the group.

“I’ve seen psychics close their eyes and
concentrate on connecting with an entity,” Connie said
helpfully.

Gulping, I closed my eyes but started to feel
claustrophobic so I opened them again. “I’ll try. It’s me they’ve
been contacting. If they’re going to come at all, it’s me they’ll
come for.”

Emmett squeezed my hand in assurance.
“Whenever you’re ready, Laney.”

With Emmett by my side, I knew I could do
this. Closing my eyes again, I took several cleansing breaths
before starting to talk. “Is there anyone out there who’d like to
contact me?” The room was silent and I started to laugh, feeling a
little ridiculous.

“Concentrate, Laney,” Connie said
impatiently.

“SSSsshshsh,” everyone countered.

Soon, I could sense something specific in the
room, and I realized that nothing had changed. It had always been
there. I had been trying to ignore it, resisting my ability to
perceive it. But it was there. It was what had been making me feel
uncomfortable the entire time. Until now, I just hadn’t
acknowledged it as a distinct entity. I began to feel angry. This
was what was causing the problem, this was what my grandmother was
afraid of, this was what had to be dealt with. Still holding
Connie’s and Emmett’s hands, I raised my arms and spoke again. “I
demand that you talk to me.”

I heard someone in the room snicker, but I
ignored it. I knew I was on the right track, and I would not be
thwarted.

We waited for several minutes but nothing
happened. I opened my eyes again and looked around the room. “Okay,
any suggestions?”

“Were you doing anything in particular
whenever the entities came to you before?” Glen asked.

“Not that I remember, each incident was
different.” I replayed the events in my mind then had an idea.
“Connie, is your computer still on?”

“Yes, why?”

“I have an idea. Come with me.” We ran up the
steps and she followed me into the study. “You know computers
better than I do. Can you download a song for us to play
downstairs?”

“You want mood music?” Connie asked, plainly
confused.

“No, the record! The broken one we found in
Grandmother’s closet. The same song she was playing when she
appeared to me. The same song I heard the first night I slept here.
I want to try to play that song. Obviously it meant something to
her, maybe it will act as some kind of catalyst.”

“You know, that just might work. Music does
bring up a visceral response in people,” Connie answered, pulling
up the internet as we leaned over her computer. “What was the name
of that song again?”

“We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn.” I watched
her type in a search engine and information and video clips came up
on the screen. I smiled and pointed to the one I was interested in.
It had been viewed by millions of people so it must be a good
version.

“Perfect,” I said to her. “Now, one more
thing, what do you think of me wearing one of Teo’s dresses?”

Connie unplugged her laptop and nodded. “It’s
worth a try.”

We hurried upstairs and I quickly pulled on
the blue-green velvet dress I had tried on the other day. I was
going to go barefoot, but I thought of the cold concrete floor in
the basement and decided to wear my tennis shoes instead. I don’t
know why, but I suddenly felt stronger, more sure of myself. We
were going to solve this riddle once and for all. Connie appraised
my appearance and gave me a firm nod. Then we headed back to the
basement.

As I descended the basement stairs, Dean was
the first to see me and he gave a low whistle. Everyone else just
stared.

“Obviously, I’m underdressed,” Emmett said
with a mischievous grin.

“We’ll see if I get anyone’s attention this
way.”

“Well you got mine,” Emmett said. “What do
you do for an encore?”

“Funny boy. I meant the ghosts.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Dean said
grabbing a stool sitting next to the wall and placing it in the
center of the room. Connie set her computer down while the rest of
us got back in a circle. We joined hands again, this time my mom
was on my left. Emmett was still on my right.

Closing my eyes, I said softly, “Start the
song.” The music began with an old fashioned tone then Vera’s
beautiful voice filled the room. “Turn it up.”

“Hey, does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?”
Emmett said.

I turned to look at him. “What?”

“Sorry, Pink Floyd song,” he said
sheepishly.

Ignoring Emmett’s remark, I noticed the
dismal feeling getting stronger in the room. I sucked in my breath,
the smell was starting. “It’s coming,” I said softly, warning the
room.

Emmett squeezed my hand. “Laney,” he
whispered. “I don’t know about this. Maybe we should stop.”

“We have to get to the bottom of all this,” I
said, looking around the room and waiting. The music suddenly
stopped and the computer screen went dark. The room was dead
silent. I was about to walk up to look at it when the laptop
slammed shut then flew off the stool toward me and skidded across
the floor stopping at my feet.

My mom and I screeched in fear and jumped
back. All eyes darted across the room, from the computer to each
other. Before any of us knew what to do next, we heard from
upstairs the back door crash and the sound of someone entering the
house. Our fear of the unknown soon turned to shock as a
brightly-dressed figure came stumbling down the stairs.

Saundra Sills hurtled into the room
unsteadily, waving a fist, and brandishing a handgun.

Chapter
Thirty-Nine

Saundra’s normally perfect, coiffed hair
stood up all over her head as if she was a cartoon character who
had been electrocuted. Her eye makeup was running down her cheeks,
her eyes wide and deranged as she tottered on her four inch heels.
Her white blouse was untucked and her skirt was wrinkled and dirty.
She looked like she’d slept in her clothing. She swung the gun back
and forth trying to cover the entire room.

No one moved. Everyone was utterly shocked at
this turn of events.

“He promised me part of the treasure,” she
gurgled, as she swayed before us. “I know you’ve been looking for
it and I deserve it for putting up with that old fart for so long.”
She was obviously drinking all day and I worried she would
accidentally shoot someone while waving the gun around.

“Saundra, please put the gun down and we can
talk,” I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm and as steady as
possible.

“You give me my treasure and I’ll put the gun
down,” she screeched.

I could feel something change in the room, as
if all the air had been drawn out and was replaced by anger, hate
and envy. In spite of Saundra, I closed my eyes and the feelings
were tangible, despair, loneliness, fear, guilt, hate. I pushed my
own horror aside and suddenly knew in that moment that there were
three entities here in the house. And the most dangerous one was
now entering the room.

A dark outline started forming behind
Saundra, taking human shape. A cry burst from my mother’s lips and
I heard my aunt cry in fear as we started to see features forming
in the dark shape. Distinctly angry features of a face we knew.

It was Soren.

I recognized him from pictures I had seen. I
had known my grandfather was mean, resentful and unkind, but I
hadn’t realized the extent of his anger, hate and sheer repugnance
for everyone and everything. It seemed now that only those parts of
him were left. In his youth he’d been a bull of a man, and he was
again as he appeared to us.

Emmett put his hands on my upper arms and
started pulling me backward, away from the entity, until we were up
against the washing machine and had nowhere else to go. I could
hear the others backing up also but I couldn’t look away from the
image of my grandfather.

He started moving toward Saundra, and she
must have sensed it through her alcohol-induced haze for she
suddenly turned and faced him. She let out a high pitched scream
and tumbled to the floor. Soren continued to move toward her.

“We need to do something,” I yelled,
wriggling out of Emmett’s hands and jumping forward.

“Laney,” Emmett yelled, but I paid him no
heed. I threw my flashlight at the image and it clattered uselessly
as it hit the wall behind him.

A light appeared behind me, and I turned
expecting to see Emmett shining his flashlight, but instead the
light seemed to be coming right out of a portion of the wall where
slats of wood were nailed to it. I’d always assumed it was a fruit
cellar door that had been boarded up, but I had no idea what could
possibly be happening now. A wind began whipping around the room as
the light behind the slats became brighter. The nails started to
pop one by one and we all ducked as pieces of rotted wood started
to fly across the room. Emmett was on the floor, holding his hand
out to me and yelling my name, but I couldn’t hear his voice over
the din. I saw my grandfather walk past me to go determinedly
toward the wall, his visage filled with rage and hatred. I felt
like I could choke on the raw emotions in the room.

There was now an open hole in the concrete
wall, indicating a small enclosure about three feet off the ground.
Then another dark shape appeared in the opening. I recognized the
rotting corpse that crawled out of the hole—it was the one that
confronted me on the steps before—but I was surprised to see it
begin to glow and then solidify into the image of a handsome young
man. His short, combed hair and lanky figure reminded me of a young
Jimmy Stewart. I knew at that moment it was Quentin Collins, my
real grandfather.

They faced one another and I suddenly
realized we were watching a scene that had happened somewhere
before. Instinctively, I knew the outcome of this confrontation.
That time had not gone well for the young man and now I knew why he
hadn’t ended up meeting up with my grandmother. He had never had a
choice. Someone had made sure he would never be there.

Soren lunged at Quentin, and they met with a
crash like a lightning strike. The wind continued to assault the
room, and the air crackled and sparked as they struggled.

Soren pushed my grandfather back against the
wall next to the hole as they grappled together. I wanted to help
but didn’t know what to do or if there was anything I could do when
I remembered my grandmother.

I ran to the stairway screaming, “Teoline!
Teoline! We’re in the basement! We need you!” Then I stopped
calling, closed my eyes, and began to concentrate, picturing my
grandmother as she had appeared to me.

Teoline appeared on the stairs in a flash of
light, the shock and horror visible on her face. “Teoline,” I
cried, and turned my gaze to the two entities wrapped in an
embrace, fighting to destroy each other.

Her eyes followed mine and I could see the
agony on her face. There was the man she had waited for. The one
she always thought had forgotten her. Her features hardened in
anger, then withered in pain, as if she suddenly remembered
something.

My mother and aunt gasped and jumped up,
startled to see their mother after so many years. “Wait!” I
screamed, running over to throw my outstretched arms in front of
them, trying to get their attention so they wouldn’t join the
fray.

My grandmother moved forward and I sensed her
drawing energy to herself as she faced the man who had taken her
love and her future. Soren turned to look at Teoline and his face
became a mask of disbelief and something else. Guilt. Soren and
Quentin broke apart and Soren took a step towards Teoline.

“You thought I would never find out, didn’t
you?” she challenged him, her voice an echo of pain. “I found the
note from Quentin in your office where you’d hidden it. Did you
keep it to gloat over? You knew I would never have married you if I
thought he had wanted me. You made me believe I was just a
plaything to him, that he left me when I needed him most. You
wanted me to feel vulnerable and abandoned so you could have me.
Now, I know the truth, and you can never undo that. Until now I
just thought you hid the note you had intercepted so I wouldn’t go
to him. But he didn’t leave me. You met him instead and murdered
him, and buried him here, then brought me to this cursed place
afterwards as your wife.