Out of the Shadows (Bellingwood Book 12) (5 page)

"Tell me how to find you. I'm on my way."

She described where she was and they both agreed that it was easier for him to come at it from the Mikkels' entrance. It was still quite a hike to get to the field, but there were no fences in the way and it was flat ground.

"Can you stay near the body or is it too awful," Aaron asked.

"I'm about fifteen feet away from it," Polly responded. "I can stay here. I might even be able to stand back up by the time you arrive. This is really awful, Aaron. I think coyotes got to the body. All that's left of the head is..."

"Stop right there," he said. "Don't do it to yourself. I'll see it soon enough. Did your dogs get into it?"

"Han wanted to, but Obiwan wouldn't let him. I'm sure it smells like interesting meat to them."

"That dog of yours is amazing, Polly. I’d keep him around for as long as possible."

"I intend to," she said. "I'm not sure how I was so lucky, but I should probably tell Doug and Billy thank you again for finding him. He stood guard until I got there to snap a leash on Han."

"So why are you out and about by yourself today?" Aaron asked.

Polly huffed. "Because everyone else is busy. Even the kids were too busy to do something with me. Henry and Nate are moving Nate's shop, your wife is in Dayton." She chuckled as she realized what was happening. "Are you trying to distract me until you arrive? Because I'll be fine. I know you need to call this in."

"You know me too well," he said. "Are you sure?"

"We're fine here. I'm far enough away that I don't have to look at it and I can keep myself from thinking about it too intensely. Just hurry."

"I'm heading up R27 now. I should be there in fifteen minutes or less."             

"Thanks, Aaron." Polly swiped the call closed.

Han was lying down, his head on her leg. Obiwan was in front of her, on full alert, watching the area where he'd found the body.

Polly hadn't taken much time to look, but she'd seen enough. Of
course
the goriest body she'd ever seen had been found just before Halloween. She shuddered. Rebecca had asked about ghosts the other night and then yesterday she was asking to spend time in a cemetery. Polly hadn't put those two things together until just now. What was happening with those kids? What had they seen? She should be proud of them for confronting it on their own. Now her own curiosity was setting in. What were they getting into?

"Maybe I should have sent you with them, Obiwan," she said, tugging him back to her. "Of course, I wouldn't have found this poor person today, but they might need you if there are ghosts and ghoulies out there." He sat back on his haunches, craned his neck to lick her face, then turned back to face the body.

"You’re such a good dog," she said, stroking his back. She gathered her legs under her and stood up. Polly stopped herself from trying to look at the body again. She couldn't help it, even though she didn't want to see it.

Fortunately, she was saved by the sight of Aaron's SUV driving across the ground. He stopped in front of the field's edge and started across toward her. Han barked with joy at the sight of another human being. He was such a happy, goofy dog. Obiwan recognized Aaron and still refused to turn away from the body.

"I think I can tell where it is," Aaron said, pointing at the dog.

"He's intent on not losing sight of it," Polly responded. "I'm sorry to drag you out on a Saturday afternoon."

Aaron scowled. "Don't ever be sorry about that. If someone needs you to find them, I'll always be here to back you up. Stay here while I check this out." He walked away from her in the direction that Obiwan was pointing, coming to a slow stop. He stayed in place and took in the entire scene, then backed up and retraced his steps. "You were right," he said, exhaling loudly. "That's a bad one." He lifted his head at the sound of a siren. "That's my team. They'll be here in a few minutes. You can leave."

"Thank you," Polly said. "I didn't do anything around the body and you practically took my same steps in."

"I did take your steps," he said with a grin. "And I've learned to trust you." He patted her back. "I'm proud of you for not losing it, though. Not many would be able to keep it together."

Polly shook her head. "I got out of there so fast that my body wasn't sure what to experience. That was probably my only saving grace. We'll get out of here before everyone else arrives. Thanks for coming so fast."

Aaron stuck a colored flag into the ground where she'd been sitting, then stood back up and gave her a quick hug. "I'll walk with you over to the grass. Do you want someone to give you a ride home?"

Polly took a moment and then said, "No, we'll walk back across the pasture. I'll try to shake this off before I get home."

She held the barbed wire up for the dogs to pass under, transferring the leashes between her hands. Aaron parted the wire for her to crawl through and turned away to go back to his task. Polly held the dog's leashes until they crossed the bridge and were back in home territory. Jason was nowhere to be seen and for that she was thankful. All she wanted to do was go back to her apartment and sit in silence.

CHAPTER FIVE

Awakened by the sound of feet on the back steps, Polly sat up and patted herself down to make sure everything was in order.

"Polly?" Henry asked.

"In here on the couch," she replied.

He rushed into the living room and sat down beside her. "Are you okay? Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to bother you when you were having fun with Nate. And no, I'm not being a martyr. This is old hat, right?"

Henry opened his arms and she leaned in, letting him hold her tight. "It's not old hat, though, and you know it. No matter how often it happens, you still have to face it. You should have called."

"How did you find out anyway?" Polly pulled back to look at him.

"When we drove in, there were emergency vehicles on Nate's property. It took twenty minutes to find Aaron so he could tell us what happened. He said it was pretty awful for you." He pulled her in against his body and leaned the two of them back on the sofa. "What were you doing over there?"

"I thought maybe we'd come see you. I hadn't found the connecting point between our land and Nate's yet, so when everyone left today it seemed like the perfect time to go exploring. Do you know how wonderful it is out there? The dogs were chasing mice and playing with each other." Polly swallowed hard. "Until I saw what Obiwan was protecting. Then things turned ugly. Did Aaron say anything else to you? Do they have any idea what happened?"

"No. He didn't tell me. Someone called Dan Severt and he came over."

"What did he say?" Polly asked.

"He's upset that it happened in his field and asked if you needed anything."

"Did his combine tear up the body? It was a mess."

"He finished that field three weeks ago and someone said the body hadn't been there that long. Dan was quite concerned."

"I'll bet. I can't imagine how horrible that would be for him. At least he doesn't have that hanging over him. Did you hear anybody say anything about why the body was such a mess?"

"They were assuming exposure and animals."

She chuckled to herself.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"We need one of those television forensics people to show up and look at their bones, maybe build a computer image of the face. You know, flashy TV stuff."

"You're a nut. Aaron's friend from the Department of Criminal Investigation was there. They'll deal with it. You've done your job, they can do theirs."

"I hope I'm done this time," she said. "And I hope it isn't someone we know." Polly sighed. "I don't mean that. It's someone's child or friend or spouse or parent. They know this person well. It's so sad."

"And you've made sure that they were found and the family can have closure, no matter what's going on."

Polly relaxed and breathed him in. Was it odd that even when he'd been working, his scent was still her favorite thing? "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock," he said. "Nate and I are done for the day."

"You didn't have to stop so early. I told the kids to be back by five. They'd have kept me occupied tonight."

He stroked her hair and ran his hand down her back - over and over as she continued to relax. "It's one thing when I can't be there for you if I'm working, but on weekends like this, you are still my priority. Will you ever understand that?"

"Don't be silly," she mumbled into his flannel shirt. "I can take care of myself."

"Of course you can." He continued to rub her back and Polly breathed slower and slower.

~~~

Polly stirred awake again when Henry moved.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't want to wake you."

She sat up. "It's okay. I didn't even know I was tired. How long was I asleep?"

"About twenty minutes. The kids are coming up the steps."

They'd been gone a long time. Polly couldn't imagine what had occupied them for so long. If they weren't in the apartment, they were usually down at the barn so today's adventure was new territory for them. The dogs leaped down to say hello and even the cats were interested in the return of the explorers.

"I'm okay," she whispered to Henry. "I promise. Thanks for coming home." Polly kissed him and stood up.

The three kids were standing in a row across the doorway.

"How was your afternoon?" she asked.

"We need to talk to you guys," Rebecca said. She took a step into the living room and then turned to make sure Kayla and Andrew were following her. They hesitated, but soon all three kids were sitting on the sofa across from Polly and Henry.

"This sounds serious," Henry said, taking Polly's hand and pulling her back down to the couch.

Rebecca wet her lips and then glanced at the other two kids. Neither were interested in speaking - it was up to her. "We might have done something stupid today and then we broke a window and we didn't mean to, it just kind of happened. I don't know if anybody saw it, but just in case, we wanted you to hear it from us first. Polly, are you sure you don't believe in ghosts? Because we saw one today and this isn't the first time."

"Whoa," Polly said, putting her hands up. "Back up. Where have you been today?"

All three kids hung their heads.

"One of you is going to tell us what's going on," Henry said. "But first, is anybody hurt? When you broke the window, did anyone get cut?"

They shook their heads.

Polly turned to Henry. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

He chuckled. "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? If I position their hands, will you take a picture?"

"You're not being serious," Rebecca chided them.

"We don't know what you're talking about yet," Polly said. "Tell us the whole story. And maybe you don't start with today, but earlier this week. I seem to remember you asking me about ghosts one night."

"I did. Because we saw one. I'm sure of it. And everybody knows the house is haunted. They were talking about it at school this week."

"What house?" Polly asked.

Henry sat back and crossed his legs. "It's the old Springer House, isn't it?"

Andrew nodded. "It's really scary there."

"You know about this?" Polly asked Henry.

He nodded. "It's been a source of spooky campfire tales for decades. Even before
I
was in junior high." He glanced over at the kids. Apparently, the fact that Henry knew something cool like this gave them newfound respect for him.

"What's the story?" Polly pressed.

"As the story goes - Muriel Springer hung herself from the upstairs banister after she received notice that her husband had died in the war. But then he returned. There'd been a mix-up in paperwork and transfer orders and he was alive after all. He didn't realize what had happened until he arrived in Bellingwood and discovered she was dead. It was all very tragic.

"After a proper mourning period, he married another woman and they started a family. But," Henry paused and looked at each person in the eye. “Then the second child was born. It was too much for poor Muriel and she came back in a fury. She gave them no peace, screaming through the house at night. They'd never know when she would show up and just about the time they believed she’d moved on, she was back. The poor family couldn't sleep safely in their own home. Muriel knocked family pictures off walls and tables and broke china and crystal that had been the second couple’s wedding gifts.

Henry stopped again and waited to make sure they were all paying attention. Andrew's mouth was wide open and he'd moved forward on the couch, ready to pounce. Kayla had slid closer to Rebecca and was leaning against her friend. Polly had been completely taken in by the story and watched as Henry held the kids in his thrall.

He continued. "And then one night, John Springer went into the nursery to check on his baby before going to bed and he saw Muriel hovering over the child, her ghostly hands wrapped around its neck. He grabbed the baby and ran for the front door, yelling at his wife to wake up and get their son out of bed. He put the baby in the car and then ran back. Muriel stood at the railing, her hands holding the rope that was tied to the banister and around her neck. As his current wife ran for the front door, he watched as Muriel threw herself over the railing and died in front of him. He put his hands on the front door, looked up and she repeated the entire scenario again and again, screaming his name each time she fell. They left the house that night without taking anything but the clothes on their backs. No one knows where they moved to and the house was left to sit."

Polly tucked her legs underneath her and patted her side for Obiwan to get closer. Goosebumps had risen on her forearms and she rubbed her hands across them. "That's creepy. I had no idea."

"It isn't true," Henry said. "Yes, the house was owned by the Springers, but my grandfather told me that John Springer received an incredible job offer from a company in Chicago. He was given less than forty-eight hours to get there. It was such a good opportunity, they packed only what they could fit in their car, left everything else and moved on. Muriel's death had weighed heavily on him and his new wife was never truly accepted in Bellingwood. People couldn't see past the fact that she'd replaced a popular young local woman who had died tragically at the news of her war hero husband's death." He looked at Polly. "You know those busybody types who are always critical. They still live here."

"Surely not the same busybodies," she said. "They'd be ancient."

"They had kids. Lots and lots of kids. It was the fifties and everyone was glad the war was over. But they learned how to be busybodies from their parents, that's for sure."

"Now I know the story of the house. What does this have to do with you three?" Polly asked.

"Muriel is real," Rebecca said. "A bunch of kids at school saw her. And you know, it's been seventy years since she died. Penny Crosby's grandmother told her that she killed herself on Halloween and comes back every ten years to see if John is here."

Polly smiled. "Oh honey, it's only a ghost story. Henry just told you that there is a much more reasonable explanation for why the Springers left town. Were you at the house this afternoon? Is that where you broke the window?"

"She's really real," Rebecca insisted. "We saw her the other night."

"What night?" Henry asked. "You're home every night."

"No, after school. We went by the house and saw her in there." Rebecca looked at Andrew and then at Kayla. They both nodded in agreement.

Henry scowled. "That house isn't on your way home. Did you tell Polly you were going to be late?"

Rebecca dropped her head again. "You guys were in Boone at the trial and didn't come home until late. And we just walked up there and then came straight home."

"Well," Andrew interrupted. "We stopped at the bakery to see when Mom was picking me up."

"And your sister wasn't worried that you were late?" Polly asked.

Kayla looked at the floor. "We called from the bakery. She thought we were there the whole time."

As little rebellions went, this wasn’t a big deal and the kids were shook up by whatever had happened to them today. Polly found herself biting her upper lip to keep from scolding them. Kids were kids and she'd much rather they tested their limits in ways like this.

However, Henry stepped right in. "If something had happened to the three of you, no one would have known where you were. When your families expect you to be here at Sycamore House, we're responsible for you. It's not fair to any of us when you lie."

"I'm sorry," Rebecca said, her lower lip quivering.

"Yeah," Andrew echoed. "Sorry."

Kayla nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.

"It's okay," Polly said. "You all know better. Don't do that again. It makes me less inclined to say yes when you want me to trust you when you ask to go off on your own. Got it?"

They nodded again.

"Now, tell us about what happened today," she said, putting her hand on Henry's leg. She felt his muscles clench and knew it was going to take a moment for him to calm down. This next story probably wouldn't help. Polly slowly rubbed her hand back and forth, trying to soothe him. "Was the story about decorating the cemetery true or did you make that up?"