Hoaley Ill-Manored (2 page)

Instead of being appalled, or even surprised
Adam noted, Maddy seemed even more excited by Edgar’s revelation.
“Tell us! I knew about the more recent suicide. I didn’t realize
there had been a murder in the house too!” She all but clapped her
hands with delight.

Adam wanted to throttle her. Just once he
wished they could buy and rehab a house that didn’t have skeletons
in its closet…literally.

Edgar patted her hand and smiled. “Oh yes,
dear, It was quite the scandal at the time. Young Mister Bilsworth
was apparently a different sort…” Glancing uncomfortably at Maddy,
Edgar cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed by young Mister
Bilsworth’s differences.

Adam nearly smiled. “You mean he was
gay?”

Edgar nodded, his pale gaze determinedly
avoiding Maddy’s. “Yes. That was the story anyway. By all accounts
he became…close…with a slightly older man he met in London and
asked the young man, Jenks I think his name was, to come and stay
at Bilsworth Manor for the summer. You can imagine how that went
over with his father.”

Maddy nodded. “I’m guessing daddy Bilsworth
wasn’t happy.”

“No indeed. Especially since old Mr.
Bilsworth had been hoping to marry young Patrick off to the
daughter of a wealthy landowner out East.”

Maddy leaned closer, clearly enchanted by
the tale. “So what happened?”

Edgar shook his head. “I’m afraid Mr. Jenks
was quite the scandalous fellow. Old Bilsworth asked around about
him and discovered that things tended to disappear when Jenks was
around. Expensive things, such as jewelry and gold. Nothing had
been proved yet but there was considerable speculation that Jenks
had forged a relationship with young Patrick so he’d have a way out
of Dodge, so to speak, before he was arrested and hanged for his
crimes in England.”

“Poor Patrick,” Maddy murmured.

Adam couldn’t help thinking Patrick must
have been a unique kind of dope to fall for Jenks’s bullshit. “So
despite the rumors that Jenks was a thief, Patrick Bilsworth fell
for him and believed Jenks fell back?”

Edgar nodded, “It appears so. An unfortunate
state of affairs to be sure.”

“So Jenks travelled to Bilsworth Manor from
London,” Maddy prompted.

“Just ahead of the law apparently.” Edgar
agreed. “From all accounts, Young Patrick insisted they throw a
ball in his friend’s honor when Jenks arrived at Bilsworth. So old
Mr. Bilsworth did the only thing he could. He invited every
eligible female in the area to the ball, in the desperate hopes
that young Patrick would come to his senses and throw Mr. Jenks
over. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Apparently, young Patrick ignored all
the pretty ladies and sat in a corner fuming as Mr. Jenks, who was
by all accounts a very handsome fellow, flirted and danced quite
happily with the ladies. In fact, the way my great-granddad told
the story, Mr. Jenks fairly ignored young Patrick all night in
favor of all the pretty flowers at the ball.” Edgar shook his head.
“Love, thy touch is a fickle thing.”

“Amen and amen,” Adam added. “So I’m
assuming Jenks’s behavior put a crimp in Patrick’s love?”

“Yes. Young Patrick and Jenks fought, quite
loudly it seems, on the veranda that very night. Mr. Patrick threw
Mr. Jenks off the premises and Jenks stormed away. Neither
gentleman returned to the ball. It was later discovered that
several very expensive pieces of jewelry disappeared from the necks
and wrists of the ladies that night.”

Maddy shook her head. “How sad. But what
about the murder?”

“The next morning, young Patrick came down
to breakfast very upset. It seemed he’d had a change of heart about
Mr. Jenks and demanded that his father help him find the man so
that Patrick could apologize. I don’t have to tell you that Mr.
Bilsworth was reluctant at best. But to that good gentleman’s
credit, he did engage a search party. Mr. Jenks was finally found,
but it was too late. He was hanging from the rafters of one of the
slave cabins.”

Adam jerked upright, the bottle of water
nearly slipping from his fingers. “Slave cabins!”

Edgar’s pale gaze slid to Adam, filled with
surprise. “Why yes. You didn’t know about the cabins?”

Maddy gave an exclamation of excitement.
“Are they still here? The cabins?”

“Only one I’m afraid.”

She stood up, apparently forgetting they
were talking to a ninety-year-old man. “Can you show us where it
is?”

“Mads…” Adam warned.

Edgar shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid
these tired old legs wouldn’t carry me there. But I can tell you
where it is. It shouldn’t be hard to find, despite the fact that
the trees have quite grown up around it.”

“Did they ever discover who killed Mr.
Jenks?” Adam’s mind was still stuck in the past.

“No. And the stolen jewelry was never
discovered either. Many believe he hid them right here in Bilsworth
Manor. But no one’s ever found them, though many have tried. The
police have had their hands full, what with the treasure hunters
and all those ghost people.”

Adam felt his eyes go wide. “Ghost
people?”

“Yes, because of the hauntings of
course.”

CHAPTER TWO

“I can’t believe you talked me into buying a
house with a history of murder, suicide and ghosts.”

Maddy just laughed, waving as Edgar’s
ancient car crept around the circle. “It’s exciting isn’t it? I
wish Edgar had had time to tell us about the suicide.”

“Unfortunately, I’m sure he’ll tell us about
that tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.”

“You’re a sick individual, Maddy
Rodgers.”

A horn honked beyond the trees and Mink’s
smart, blue sports car shot into view, careening up the long
driveway toward the manor.

Mike and Sue had been lolling happily on the
shoreline of the small lake but they went straight into the air and
came down squawking as Mink flew past them, spewing gravel and dust
in a dense cloud behind him.

The sports car wobbled slightly when Mink
spotted the charging swans, but with a ton of bright blue metal
around him, and speed on his side, Mink rallied and hit the gas,
obviously intending to outrun the outraged swans.

Edgar stopped and waited, whether to watch
the train wreck, or to keep from being part of it, Adam wasn’t
sure. All Adam knew was that, if Edgar thought Mink’s entrance
might prove entertaining or downright dangerous, the old man was
still pretty sharp.

Mink’s tires skidded sideways in the gravel
and Mike and Sue gave him up for a lost cause, waddling angrily
back to their lake to try to recoup their serenity.

Mink honked again as he neared the house at
a still too rapid speed. He waved gaily at Edgar as he flew past,
for all the world acting as if they were old friends, and threw on
the brakes as soon as he hit the cracked and weed-strewn surface of
the circle. The brightly painted sports car screamed to an abrupt
halt, its back tires leaving short, black stripes on the faded
asphalt, and Mink cut the engine.

Behind him, Edgar pulled out of the circle
and started down the drive at a sedate rate of speed, his old guy
hat bobbing above the seat.

Like observers at Wimbledon, Adam and
Maddy’s heads swiveled from Edgar back to Mink, and discovered, as
entertaining as his arrival had been, they hadn’t seen nothin’
yet.

Mink climbed out of the little car and
stood, his handsome face alight with delighted disgust as it turned
to take in his surroundings. “Good god, I’ve been picked up and
plopped down right smack in the middle of Deliverance. I’ll bet the
bugs are big enough to carry you away out here. Did you see those
attack birds? They look prehistoric. What are those things
called…pterodactyls? They’re huge! Doesn’t anybody have a rifle?
You should kill those mothers before they hurt somebody. I’ll do it
if you don’t have the stomach.” He turned a look back toward the
lake, where said prehistoric monsters appeared to be tending to
their extremely ruffled feathers and enjoying a ray of sun at the
edge of the water. “It would be my pleasure.”

“You’re not killing Mike and Sue.” Adam told
him in a bemused voice.

Beside Adam, Maddy appeared to be choking.
Adam leaned against his truck and covered his mouth with one
hand.

Walter sauntered up from a visit to the side
yard and screeched to a stop beside Adam, his nails scratching ruts
in the sun-softened asphalt. The big dog whined. Cocked his head.
And then started barking, his thick fringe of a tail drooping
between his back legs.

Mink frowned. “What’s wrong with
Walter?”

Maddy’s choking worsened, to the point where
Adam thought he might have to smack her on the back, if he didn’t
choke to death himself first. “What exactly are you wearing
Mink?”

Mink’s eyes widened and he looked down, as
if surprised he was wearing anything at all. “Oh, these, yeah, I
figured it would be pretty wild out here so I dressed for it.”

Maddy’s choking finally emerged in a laugh.
“This isn’t a flood zone.”

Mink frowned, obviously not catching her
meaning.

Adam jabbed his partner with an elbow. “What
she means, Mink, old buddy, is that you’re wearing fishing waders.
They’re meant for wading into creeks, not walking around country
manors.”

Mink glared at them. “I’m not stupid…”

Maddy doubled over in an apparent fit of
coughing.

Walter inched closer, a low growl throbbing
in his throat.

“I know they’re fishing waders. But they’re
also impervious to bugs, snakes, and raccoon teeth. Ted’s Sports
was selling them at fifty percent off. I couldn’t resist.”

“Next time resist!” Maddy managed in a
strangled voice before snorting in a less than ladylike way.

Standing just about as far away as he could
and still reach Mink, Walter poked his nose way out and sniffed the
thick green rubber of the realtor’s footwear.

“You think you’re gonna be attacked by a
raccoon? In broad daylight?” Adam gave in and laughed with Maddy.
“You’re a kook.”

Mink rolled his eyes. “Only the rabid ones.
They wander around during the day until some kind soul puts them
out of their misery. So…we’re back to that gun.”

Walter’s tail finally started wagging and he
stepped closer, sniffing all up and down Mink’s legs.

“You’re very bloodthirsty today, Mink.”
Maddy said, drying her eyes.

Mink shrugged. “I’m a little out of my
comfort zone in the country. You might have noticed.” Mink’s
natural good humor asserted itself and he grinned.

Walter lifted his leg on one of the tall,
rubber trees and peed.

Mink was oblivious.

“I suppose the dumb-fuck hat is part of your
anti-rodent, anti-reptile protection too?” Adam threw Maddy a grin
as she snorted out another laugh.

Mink wore a dark blue, large billed hat that
tied beneath his chin. It looked like something a woman might wear
on a boat at sea…if she didn’t care that she looked like an
idiot.

“Blood sucking ticks,” Mink clarified with a
nod.

Adam knew he shouldn’t do it but he couldn’t
resist. “There’s nothing there to protect you from coyotes.”

Mink’s gray-blue eyes widened and he grew
pale under the dumb-fuck hat. “Coyotes?”

“Stop it, Adam.” Maddy strode forward and
took Mink’s arm. “He’s just teasing you. There aren’t any coyotes
around here.” She threw Adam a warning look. “I’m really glad
you’re here, though. We just found out there’s an old slave cabin
somewhere on the property. Adam and I are going to go try to find
it.”

Mink’s face flared into horror. “Out there!”
He threw an arm covered in long denim sleeves vaguely in the
direction of the woods. “You want me to go into the wild and wooly
wilderness to look for the rotted remains of a cabin?”

Adam wrapped an arm around his friend’s
shoulders. “That’s exactly what we want you to do. Besides, look at
you. Nothing could possibly get to you through all those clothes
and…things.”

“But aren’t you going to show me the house
first?” Mink asked in a slightly hysterical tone.

Maddy shook her head. “You can’t go into the
house just yet. Not until your rubber dries.”

“My rubber…what the hell are you talking
about, Mads?”

Adam and Maddy just laughed.

The afternoon was aging. A dense, buggy heat
had settled down over the trees, and the constant drone of
mosquitoes gave their hapless trek through the dense undergrowth a
particularly annoying edge.

Edgar Reeves had been right when he’d said
the trees had grown up all around the cabin. The scarred,
weed-infused remains of the old building stood cheek to jowl with a
sizeable army of thick-trunked green warriors. Their shade cast the
old bones in shadow and kept them moist enough to retain their
shape without crumbling, while the dense cover probably kept the
rain away and allowed the skeleton to age with grace.

One wall of the structure was covered in
moss and some kind of hearty vine. The glassless window on that
side was nearly obscured by the determined green stuff. Though the
frame where a door had most likely once been was empty, the ground
leading up to the door was cleared of brush, as if someone came to
the cabin on a fairly regular basis.

Maddy’s pretty cheeks were rosy and a fine
sheen of sweat made her glisten in the dappled light beneath the
trees. She swiped a filthy hand over her face and looked at Adam.
“It’s incredible.”

Adam frowned. They’d fought their way
through the dense woods and bugs and god knew what else to find the
cabin, spending the better part of two hours doing it, and the
moment Adam stepped from the trees and saw the structure, he’d
known it was a mistake. The place just reached over and wrapped
cold, bony fingers around his heart, squeezing with cold
malevolence as if to ask, “Why? Why didn’t you do something about
this a long time ago?”