Hoaley Ill-Manored

Published by Declan Sands

Copyright 2012 Declan Sands

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DS

A 200-year-old manor house, a disputed
suicide, and a cache of stolen jewelry. Somebody’s willing to kill
to keep Adam from figuring it all out!

While flipping a 200-year-old manor house in
the country, Adam discovers that the house is the site of at least
one questionable death and is rumored to be haunted. Adam and Maddy
get caught up in the story of the young interracial couple who were
torn apart by family, local events, and something sinister that
still seems to be stalking the house. It might not be a ghost, but
whatever it is, it has the potential to be deadly.

Adam Hoale stopped at the end of the
driveway and stared. A coyote stood in the weed-infested gravel,
daring him to turn onto the drive. The animal was beautiful, with
silver tipped brown fur and large, softly furred ears. The
predator’s bushy tail snapped with agitation as it watched him.

Adam had never seen a real live coyote
before. He was pretty sure it was a bad omen.

The animal didn’t seem inclined to move on.
After a few minutes of mutual staring, Adam slid the window down
and stuck his head out. “Scat! Go on, get lost.”

The coyote licked its lips and sat.

“Son of a bitch.” Adam’s cell rang and he
answered. Before he could say anything Maddy yelled at him. “Where
the hell are you, Adam? We’re starving!”

“I can’t get in the driveway.”

“Why not? Oh shit, did that big tree
fall?”

“No.” Adam’s glance slid to the massive
walnut tree that leaned precariously over the weed-infused gravel
driveway. The tree was half rotted at the base and Adam needed to
get a tree guy out to cut it down before it fell. “There’s a coyote
sitting here daring me to run it over.”

Silence pulsed for a beat and then, “Run the
damn thing over. My blood sugar crashed twenty minutes ago and I’m
getting cranky!”

Adam disconnected, murmuring,
“
Getting
cranky. I’d say you flew past cranky a while
back.”

Firmly ensconced in his travel position in
the passenger seat, Walter whined. The big dog never rode in the
car with anything less than four points of contact—butt, two feet,
right hip against the back of the seat—and his gaze steadily out
the window.

“Sorry buddy. Maddy isn’t mad at us. You
know how she gets when she’s hungry.”

Walter sighed, licking his lips. The action
reminded Adam of the coyote and he realized Walter would be in
danger while they worked at the manor. Adam would have to make sure
to keep the big dog close so he didn’t become coyote kibble.

Adam turned back to the driveway and found
it empty. “What the…” The coyote seemed to have vanished into thin
air. Shaking his head, Adam drove forward.

The driveway was one of Adam’s favorite
things about the house. Despite the fact that it needed several
loads of gravel, it was a beautiful approach to the elegant house.
Three quarters of a mile long, it wound through a dense, rough-hewn
landscape of trees and undergrowth. As he rounded the final curve
to the house, a small, picturesque lake appeared on the right, its
glossy surface dotted with water lilies and a pair of swans that
were meaner than Adam’s alcoholic Aunt Minnie in rehab.

But they sure were pretty.

Since Maddy had talked him into buying the
huge old manor house to flip, they’d been inundated with bad luck.
A tainted well, corroded pipes, rotted wires, and a snake in the
attic as big around as Adam’s wrist, were only a few of the
problems they’d faced since starting work on the old house.

He had no idea how that snake had gotten
into the attic.

They hadn’t really been able to do much
actual construction work because the permits he’d filed had gotten
lost. Twice. Mostly all they’d done since taking possession was
removing debris, cleaning, and painting.

Adam parked the truck on a circular drive of
crumbling asphalt and jumped out, grabbing two large, white bags
before Walter could step on them in his eagerness to unload. The
front door slammed open and Bud came bounding down the steps. He
grabbed the bags. “I need to get back in there before Maddy grabs a
kitchen knife and goes psycho on us.”

Adam laughed. “Just throw a burger at her
and retreat. She’ll be fine as soon as the food hits her
stomach.”

Adam looked around for Walter. The big dog
was in the side yard, which they’d finally hacked down from a wild
jungle to a moderately cultivated rural outback just that morning.
Mounds of damp grass and weeds still waited to be raked into piles
and gathered up. Adam sighed. He’d do that after lunch.

Walter suffered from poop anxiety. When he
was making his offering to the Earth goddess he didn’t like to be
hurried or observed. He circled in the shaggy grass, did the hunch,
and gave Adam the side eye in warning. Adam turned away but didn’t
go inside. After seeing the coyote he wasn’t about to leave Walter
outside alone.

Adam turned at the crunch of tires on gravel
and watched the tree line, waiting to see who was arriving at the
manor.

He didn’t recognize the wide, low-slung,
ancient rust bucket that finally poked its formerly light blue nose
from the trees and crept slowly toward him. He could just make out
an old guy hat bobbing a few inches above the steering wheel.

Walter finished his offering and came
running, his tail wagging enthusiastically. He’d never met a
visitor he didn’t like. Unless the visitor came in the dead of
night and skulked. Walter was very sensitive to skulking.

The front door slammed open again and Maddy
came out. She was taking a huge bite from her burger when Adam
turned to look at her. “Feel better?”

“I’mph guttinth therph.” She tucked a french
fry in with the burger. Adam wasn’t sure where she’d been storing
the fry.

“Glad to hear it.” Adam jerked his head
toward the car, which still crawled toward them, some distance
away. “You recognize this car?”

She swallowed, shaking her head. “No. But
judging from the rate of speed I’d say the driver is about ninety
years old.”

The male swan, Mike, bobbed his head and
trumpeted, his large wings flapping as the car drove past. The
female swam closer, as if she recognized the visitor. “Mike and Sue
seem to know him.”

Maddy grimaced. “What stupid names for such
elegant animals.”

“Let’s see if you feel that way when Mike
chases
you
across the yard. He’s lucky I didn’t name him
Spot.”

Maddy shook her head, thoroughly disgusted.
“Pull on your big boy panties, Adam. They’re just birds.”

“Damn big birds. Even Walter won’t go near
the lake and he loves water.”

The rust bucket groaned to a stop behind
Adam’s truck and gave off a warning shot before settling into
silence. A full minute passed before the door creaked open and a
tiny, stooped figure in a fedora climbed slowly out.

Adam and Maddy walked over to greet him.

Adam stuck his hand out. “Hello. I’m Adam
Hoale and this is my partner, Maddy Rodgers.”

The elderly gentleman did indeed look ninety
if he was a day. He clasped Adam’s hand in a dry, crinkled grip and
smiled, showing a full mouth of crooked, yellow teeth. “Nice to
meet you, son.”

Nodding at Maddy, the old man pulled the
fedora off his head and a few wisps of white hair danced in the
sun. The scalp beneath the wisps was pink and age speckled, looking
as if he’d forgotten to wear his hat or sunscreen the last time
he’d toddled around in his garden. He took Maddy’s hand in both of
his, pumping it and grinning. “My, you are a pretty thing. Such a
nice couple.”

Walter snuffled the man’s hand and received
a gentle pat on the head for his bad manners. “Hello, young
man.”

Adam opened his mouth to explain that he and
Maddy weren’t
that
kind of partners, but decided against it.
How did you explain to a man from the greatest generation that one
of them liked men and the other liked women, just not the ones he
expected?

“I’m Edgar Reeves. I used to be the
caretaker here at Bilsworth Manor.”

Maddy’s eyes widened with delight. “I’m so
happy to meet you, Mr. Reeves! I have so many questions about the
house, its history, the people who lived here…that type of thing.
Would you mind if I picked your brain?”

He laughed, clearly pleased by her
enthusiasm. “Not at all, young lady. I’d be happy to tell you about
the old place.” He turned and looked up at the huge, red brick
manor house with its tall, formerly white columns. “I have a
lifetime full of memories tied up in this place.” His voice warbled
with emotion and Maddy and Adam shared a look.

Maddy tucked her arm through Edgar’s and
turned him toward the house. “Let’s go inside and sit. I’m afraid
it’s a little rough in there, but I can fix you a cup of tea at
least.”

“Tea sounds lovely.”

DS

“As you probably already know, the house has
quite a history.”

Maddy nodded, settling a napkin with a donut
from that morning’s breakfast in front of Edgar. The old man
smacked his lips appreciatively. “Thank you, my dear. I just
realized I might have forgotten to eat breakfast.”

Maddy threw Adam a look over Edgar’s head.
It was obvious the old man had very limited funds. Though clean and
carefully tended, his clothes were threadbare and had been mended
in several spots. It was a good bet he didn’t forget breakfast as
much as had no funds to buy it. “I think there’s an extra burger in
that bag, Mads, Edgar might enjoy that too.”

She frowned, opened her mouth to tell Adam
that only his burger was in the bag, and then got the message when
he gave her a slight shake of the head. “Absolutely. You always buy
an extra just in case.” She smiled at him, her pretty hazel eyes
sparkling with emotion.

Edgar made short work of his lunch and sat
back with a smile. He sipped his tea and patted his belly. “That
was lovely. Thank you, again.”

“Our pleasure.” Maddy sat across from him,
sipping her tea. “So tell us about Bilsworth Manor.”

Adam leaned against the counter and downed a
slightly warm bottle of water. He knew he should get to the yard
work but, despite telling Maddy repeatedly that he didn’t want to
hear the house’s history, knowing he wouldn’t like what he heard,
Adam had to admit to a certain curiosity now that Edgar had arrived
on their doorstep. It would be fun hearing it directly from the
caretaker’s lips.

“It was built by Matthew Bilsworth in 1824.
Matthew came over from England and wanted to recreate the country
manor he’d owned outside London. He did a beautiful job too. In its
day, Bilsworth Manor was spectacular.” Edgar looked up, his gaze
bright and animated. “Do you know they used to hold actual balls
here?”

Maddy leaned close, obviously sharing his
excitement. “Yes, I recognized the ballroom. How exciting!”

Edgar grimaced. “The last owners turned it
into a basketball court.” He shook his head, clearly disgusted.

“On the marble floors?” Adam shared Edgar’s
disgust. “No wonder those beautiful floors are such a mess.”

Maddy threw Adam a look that told him to
stop thinking like a contractor. “Do you know anything about the
family? The Bilsworths?”

“I knew the recent family of course. The
last Bilsworth lived in this house up until ten years ago. They
finally gave up on trying to keep the grand old lady running and
sold out to a rich young man with no sense at all.” Edgar shook his
head. “That was my last day at the house. I couldn’t stay on and
watch the silliness that ensued.” He sighed. “But the original
Bilsworths I learned about from my great-granddad. He worked for
Mathew Bilsworth himself, but that was probably ten or fifteen
years after.”

Adam lifted an eyebrow, tipping his water
bottle for another drink. “After what?”

“After the first murder,” Edgar told him
stoically.

Adam sprayed his water, showering Walter,
who had been sprawled at his feet. Walter jumped up, wagging his
tail. He thought they were playing
spray the dog ’cause he’s
hot
. It was Walter’s favorite summer game. Adam sputtered,
“
first
murder! There was more than one?”

At the screech in Adam’s voice Walter slunk
out of the kitchen. He had a delicate psyche and generally went to
great lengths to avoid negativity.

“Well, technically the second one was
declared a suicide. But I never believed it.”