“Hey there, Missy.” Creepy Leonard from Hammond Landscaping stood a foot away from her. An unpleasant odor like he hadn’t showered in days emanated from the man. His greasy hair hung over his dark, beady eyes. Lin’s breath caught in her throat and she had to steel herself to keep from recoiling.
Leonard took a step closer. “I been lookin’….”
Just then, Viv stepped out from the store’s front door. Leonard flicked his eyes to her, hesitated, and shuffled away without finishing his sentence. “Have a nice night,” he mumbled.
Relief washed over Lin as she watched the man move away from them.
Viv frowned. “Who was that? What did he want?”
Lin told her where she’d met Leonard. “He makes my skin crawl.” She linked her arm through her cousin’s and they walked along the streets heading back to Viv’s house. Forgetting about running into Leonard, Lin ranted about what was going on. “Wilson and Libby both used the very same phrase when I asked them about that morning on the docks … ‘just the sound of the cool breeze.’ What does that even mean? Did they conspire to use the same sentence? If they did, why would they do that? Did they have something to do with Hammond’s death? They say things, but I feel like their words mean something else.”
Lin stopped short.
“What?” Viv asked, cocking her head.
“Something flickered in my mind.” Lin blinked. “But I lost it.”
Viv sighed. “I hate when you do that.” She looked over her shoulder worried that creepy Leonard might be following them. “Let’s go.” She tugged on her cousin’s arm.
The girls hurriedly walked the final three blocks to Viv’s house.
Chapter 17
Viv and Lin ate their dinner on the deck. The full moon created a silvery patch of light on the backyard lawn. Nicky darted around the property line sniffing and running under bushes enjoying the pleasantly cool evening air.
“That dog is nuts.” Viv sipped from her glass of lemonade.
“The heat knocks him out so when the temperature drops he gets a burst of energy.” Lin raised a forkful of chicken marsala to her mouth. “This is delicious, by the way.”
When the main dish was finished, the girls nibbled on cookies dusted with confectioner’s sugar and spread on top with dark chocolate.
“I can’t get Libby and Anton Wilson out of my head.” Lin sighed. “Not being able to understand them and how they’re connected to the murder, or not, is driving me crazy.”
“Give it a rest. You’ve been thinking too hard. You need to give your brain a break.” Viv reached for another cookie. “I’m worried that no one has been arrested. I’m afraid the police will talk to me again and suspect me of the murder.”
Lin’s heart fluttered with worry. It wasn’t possible that the police could arrest Viv. Could they? “Let’s get these dishes cleaned up. We need to try and find out what the antique key from the cupboard opens.” She leveled her eyes at her cousin. “We’re going up to the attic. If you don’t want to go, then I’ll go by myself.”
After cleaning the pans and loading the dishwasher, the girls climbed the staircase to the second floor and entered the larger of the two bedrooms. “That’s the door to the attic.” Viv pointed to a small door on one of the walls. “The ceiling is slanted so you have to hunch over.”
“You mean we have to hunch over.” Lin reached for the latch and pulled the door open. She knelt down and peered inside. Queenie and Nicky sat beside her eager to see what would happen. “Is there a light?”
“There’s a bulb hanging from the ceiling. There’s a long string. It’s just inside the door on the left.”
Lin leaned in and flapped her hand around until she felt the thin string. “I’ve got it.” The light flicked on. “There’s a lot of stuff. Do you know what’s up here?”
“No.” Viv had her arms wrapped around herself. “And I don’t want to know.”
“I’m going in.” Lin scooted into the attic space waddling like a duck. She moved forward and stood up as much as the ceiling would allow.
“I’m waiting out here.” Viv sat down on the bed.
“I don’t know what you’re afraid of.” Lin called from inside the cramped space.
“For one thing, I dislike small spaces. Number two, it’s full of cobwebs. Three.” Viv paused. “I can’t remember the third reason.”
Lin ignored her. “There’s some old furniture. A rocker. A dresser.” Lin tried the drawers to see if any had keyholes in them. “These don’t lock though.” She shuffled further into the attic calling out the items she came across. “Nothing has a keyhole.” Lin’s tone was exasperated.
She continued to edge around the attic space checking the items that had been stored trying to find something that required a key to open it, but she came up empty. Her lower back ached from the hunched position she had to maintain. “I’m coming out.” She scooted to the door and edged into the bedroom being careful not to hit her head on the low doorframe.
The bedroom light was off. Viv was still sitting on the bed, but her straight posture seemed slightly stiff. Her head was turned away from the attic door towards the open window. Queenie was perched on the sill and Nicky sat next to Viv on the bed, his head facing the window.
“Viv?” Lin stood up.
Viv wagged her hand in the air gesturing for her cousin to stay back. “Don’t come close unless you scrunch down,” she whispered. “I turned off the bedroom light so I could see better.”
“What’s going on?” Lin kept her voice down. She slowly advanced to where Viv sat on the bed in the dark.
“I glanced out the window and some movement caught my eye. I think someone is down there slinking along the bushes.”
Lin’s throat tightened. “Could it be your neighbor?”
“It’s definitely not my neighbor.”
“Where is he? Can you still see him?” Lin attempted to move nearer to the window but was impeded by her cousin grabbing the back of her T-shirt.
“Whoever it is will see you if you get too close,” Viv warned.
“If one of us doesn’t get closer, we won’t get a good look at whoever is out there.” Lin slid across the wide pine floorboards on her hands and knees. Slowly she rose up so her head was next to the side of the window. She squinted. “I see him. At least, I think it’s a him. He’s walking around the shed.”
Nicky whined and Queenie gave a low growl.
Lin could hear her cousin suck in a breath. Viv asked, “Should we call the police? Is he going to steal my bike?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t call the police since they’ve questioned you about the murder. You don’t need their attention on you. Anyway, I don’t get the sense this guy is here to steal your bike.”
“What sense do you get from him?”
Lin’s eyes widened and she straightened.
“Scrunch down. He’ll see you,” Viv warned.
“He’s behind the shed now. I can’t see him and he can’t see me. But I do see something else.”
Lin’s words caused Viv to freeze in her sitting position. She stopped breathing for a few seconds. “Is it a.…”
Lin didn’t answer.
The eighteenth century ghost stood near the property line staring up at the window at Lin’s small oval face peering down at him. His usual translucent appearance was enhanced by the shimmer of moonlight through his body. The thought that the man looked ghostly popped into Lin’s head and she rolled her eyes at herself. He looks ghostly because he’s a ghost.
“It’s the ghost, isn’t it?” Viv’s voice was weak. She sounded like she was going to pass out. “Why is he prowling around my yard?”
“He’s not. He’s just standing there.”
“Well, he was prowling around by the bushes.”