Madison Johns - Agnes Barton Paranormal 02 - Ghostly Hijinks (8 page)

“Yes, Andrew.”

“I’m not sure what you said to Eleanor, but she said something about going to the library to get a book.”

My eyes widened. “Oh, my. Was that some cause of concern?”

He pushed his palm through his hair. “Well yes, since she was muttering about Caroline and she’d show her that she wasn’t afraid of ghosts.”

I strode toward the elevator, and instead of waiting on it, I took to the stairs. By the time I was halfway down the second flight, I wished I had waited for the elevator.

When I was finally on the first floor, I had to lean on the arm rail and try to catch my breath, as I was panting like a dog that had run for miles. Getting old sure sucked when you couldn’t do the things you once could.

Andrew met me and said, “Agnes Barton, are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Not exactly, but I need to stop Eleanor from going into that library.”

“Whatever for? And don’t you dare tell me another story about any more ghosts.”

I straightened and searched for Eleanor, who was in the process of opening doors and looking inside.

I made my way over to Eleanor and scolded her. “Wh-What on earth are you doing, Eleanor?”

“Why are you panting like that, Agnes?”

“Because I took the stairs to try and catch up to you.”

“Are you nuts? You’re not in any shape to do that.”

“I know, but I was trying to catch up to you, and—”

“Found the library,” Eleanor said as she opened the door, making her way inside. “I’m going to prove to you that Caroline is filling your head with tall tales.”

I followed Eleanor inside and we both were tiptoeing at this point, each of us looking around. Eleanor laughed. “I told you there’s no Cutter in here.”

Books flew off the shelf and a ghostly apparition of a man surfaced out of a bookshelf with a long, jagged knife in his hand. “Leave me alone. I’m trying to read!” he shouted as he shook a book in his opposite hand.

I backed up. “Well, go right ahead, then.”

Eleanor now had her arms around my neck. “Run!” I screamed.

We raced for the door and a startled Andrew dodged out of the way just as the Cutter slashed at him. We narrowly escaped with our lives, or so I thought, slamming the library door closed behind us.

Lois waltzed toward us. “Really? What is all this commotion about?”

“I-I,” Eleanor began.

“Th-There’s a m-man,” I said.

“With a knife trying to kill us,” Andrew said with bated breath. “What kind of hotel are you running with crazy men running around trying to stab your guests?”

“There’s no man with a knife in the library, I assure you. It’s simply a wild figment of your imaginations.”

“No? You go in there and check it out, then,” I said as I cocked my brow.

“I’ll do no such a thing. I’m busy.”

Lois whirled away and Eleanor said, “She’s too chicken to go in there, is my thought.”

“Don’t blame her there. I need to sit down,” Andrew said.

He sat in a chair nearby, trying to calm himself, from the looks of it.

“Sorry, Andrew. I had hoped you’d be spared from seeing a ghost while we’re here.”

“Is that what that was? He sure is an angry one.”

“Caroline called him The Cutter.”

“So you already knew he was in there and you went in anyway?”

“Actually, I just tried to stop Eleanor from going in there, remember?”

“I wanted to prove to you that I’m not afraid of ghosts, is all. How was I to know there’d be a real angry spirit that would be brandishing a knife?”

I walked into the dining room and came back with coffee in Styrofoam cups. “Here, take a drink, dear,” I said.

“Actually, I’d rather go to the saloon where I can get a real drink. Besides, I want to check on Mr. Wilson. He said there’s a poker tournament in there today. I want to make sure he doesn’t get conned out of all of his money.”

We waltzed to the saloon, where Mr. Wilson sat at a table with Badass Bart and two other men who looked like serious card players, with the saloon girl dealing.

“Do you have room for one more?” Andrew asked.

“Sure do,” the saloon girl said.

“Thanks, Patty,” Andrew said.

“Patty?”

“Oh, yes. We chit-chatted yesterday, remember?”

I really didn’t, seeing as how yesterday was a blur of playing cards. Now that I thought about it, I sort of remembered that Andrew and Patty were talking, although I didn’t know her name at the time. Since I’m not the jealous type, I didn’t mind it all that much.

“Can I get the key fob so I can get out to Francine Pullman’s place?”

“You’ll be lucky if your vehicle even starts today,” Badass Bart said. “Dust storms have a way of clogging up your tailpipes.”

I almost sighed, but Redd waltzed into the room, waving a piece of paper. “I drew you a map so you can find the Pullman place. I knew you’d want to head right out there today.”

“But what about the Jeep? Bart said that the dust storm might have clogged up all the pipes.”

“Not to worry. Before I returned the key fob, I made sure to park your vehicle in one of the barns out back. I’d hate for tourists to get stranded out here.”

“Could you come with us?” I asked. “Like you said, I’d hate to get stranded since our men folk are too busy playing cards now.”

“I’ll have to clear it with Lois first, but I’ll go ask.”

Eleanor and I gave our men a peck on their cheeks and we made our way out to wait by the door until Redd strode our way. “Let’s go, ladies.”

“Lois must be in a better mood now.”

“Not really, but since she didn’t want to lose another paying patron, she agreed that it was a good idea that I accompany you ladies. Women just shouldn’t be traipsing all over by themselves in unfamiliar territory.”

“Is that some kind of crack?” I asked with a sly smile.

“No, ma’am. I know better than to do such a thing.”

Redd led the way out to a barn, opening the door, and noticed that the Jeep had only a minimal amount of dirt on it. I hopped into the driver’s seat and pushed the ignition button and out I drove. On the way out of town, all along the main drag, people were in front of businesses sweeping the sidewalks and the front of their places to remove the dirt. The street still had its fair share of dirt on it, but not deep enough to cause issues driving through it.

Once we were out of town, we were back in the wide-open spaces with the mountains in the distance. We were all quiet for some reason, until I asked, “So how well acquainted are you with Francine?”

“Well as a man can be with a woman for a boss,” he chuckled. “Personally, I avoid her at all costs.”

“Why is that?”

“Let’s just say she’s been lonely for far too many years now and I’ve always had the impression that she’d like to become better acquainted with me that I’d care to be.”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Eleanor asked.

“I suppose not, but I like my life just the way it is, without complications.”

I smiled to myself and knew a confirmed bachelor when I met one. “Have you ever been married?”

“No. I’m just not interested in getting married, or raising a family.”

“Surely, you had to have some female companionship,” Eleanor said.

Redd pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Can we change the subject?”

“Sure we can, or we don’t have to talk about anything if you don’t want to, but I was curious about something that happened in the library before we left. There was a man in there wielding a knife, and he almost stabbed us.”

Redd smiled. “Oh, so you met The Cutter, did you? He’s never actually harmed anyone, but he sure knows how to scare the daylights out of folks.”

“That’s sounds about right, but Lois acted like she didn’t know what we were even talking about.”

“Oh, but I reckon she never went in the library to check it out, either, now did she?”

“You got that one right,” Eleanor said.

“Lois doesn’t care for ghosts all that much and I think the feeling is mutual. That’s why she stays close to the desk most of the time. They never go near there.”

“So what’s the story about The Cutter?”

“Well, I’m not all that sure. You should ask Francine—”

“Don’t start that again. You have to know something.”

“Fine, then. His name is Douglas. He worked at the hotel as a carpenter and he had an obsession with knives, but he was an odd one, as the story goes. He loved to read books and sure got awfully mad if he was disturbed in the library. They found out he was a wanted man and implicated in a few murders in Virginia City, but when the law showed up here looking for him, there was a shootout, and Douglas was killed right here in the library.”

“A real Old West shootout in the library of the Goldberg?” I asked, astonished.

“Yes, might be why he still haunts the library. But other than scare folks out of there he’s harmless. There are still bullet fragments in the woodwork of the library. Take a look sometime and you’ll see.”

“I-I’m not so sure I want to go back in there. I mean, it’s rude to bother a spirit when he’s reading.”

Eleanor snickered. “Good one, Agnes.”

I shot Eleanor a look via the rearview mirror, and asked Redd, “Did you ever work here when Crazy Mary was here?”

“Oh, no, but I know exactly who you’re talking about. Mary worked as a housekeeper here, but I can’t tell you exactly when. I’ve seen her when I went up to the attic once. She’s a real mean spirit and scares off anyone who goes up there.”

“Oh, so it isn’t Elizabeth roaming up there after all?”

Redd laughed. “I guess not. What I told you yesterday was just one of the stories I’ve heard is all. I had completely forgotten about Crazy Mary.”

“I heard she was seeing another man—Niles.”

“Where are getting all your information? Not too many folks know about Niles and Mary. I don’t even know the specifics, but what I do know is there was a murder-suicide on the third floor, and it must have been them, since both of their ghosts have been spotted in the hotel.”

“There was a murder-suicide in the hotel, too?” I asked.

“Just because there was a horrific crime like that here,” Eleanor began. “That doesn’t mean that Mary and Niles haunt the hotel. I’m beginning to wonder if folks just are letting their imaginations go to extremes.”

“Mr. Wilson heard footsteps above the ceiling,” I said. “That has to be Mary, and Caroline—”

“Let’s not talk about Caroline the friendly ghost now. You should have left her at home.”

“Eleanor, Caroline has been a great help.”

“How? By vanishing when something happens?”

“Wow, sounds like you two are letting a ghost get between your friendship.”

“No, I’m not,” I said. “Eleanor is just jealous that Caroline has attached herself to me, and she’s helped out many times. I didn’t ask to start seeing ghosts, you know.”

“How did it begin?” Redd asked.

“I had a car accident and she just appeared to me.”

“That sure is an interesting gift, but what you two need to decide is if you want to work as a team or not. Does she speak to the other spirits, too?”

“Sometimes. She told me about Mary and Niles, saying that they once dated when there were alive.”

“Did she happen to say if Mary killed Niles and then herself?”

“No.”

“Too bad. I’d sure like to know if the whole story about them is true. I bet it’s a great story.”

Eleanor nudged me through the seat and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to shush me up, which I did, just as a cow-shaped mailbox came into view.

 “There’s the driveway,” Redd pointed out.

I drove up the dirt drive and stopped at a large house with a woman sweeping her wraparound porch. She stopped what she was doing when she saw the Jeep come to a stop, and smiled when she saw Redd as we got out.

Two black labs ran off the porch and began to bark something fierce. “Knock off that racket, boys,” the woman said. “What’s going on here, Redd?”

“Francine, this is Agnes and Eleanor. They wanted to meet you and get some history about the Goldberg Hotel.”

“Is that right, now?”

I couldn’t help but smile, as she was the very same woman from my dream and that gave me more hope than I had previously. Was it possible that this woman had worked the desk at the hotel? Before I started asking too many weird questions like that, I needed to ask about the ownership of the hotel.

“Come on in, ladies. Redd can chill on the porch.”

She sashayed into the house and Eleanor and I followed. Inside was very western-like with a fireplace and wooden mantel above it where trophy antlers were attached. She asked us if we wanted some iced tea and was off into the other room when we nodded profusely. Francine brought back iced tea on a tray and set it down on a glass table. “Please, have a seat, ladies.”

We sunk into the leather couch and it felt like heaven to me since it was so cool to my back. “I’m really a history buff,” I said.

“We are,” Eleanor added. “We heard that Jessup Goldberg actually had the hotel built.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Construction began in the winter of 1873 and was finished in 1875. There was a grand opening that even President Ulysses S. Grant attended.”

“Wow, that sounds like a huge deal for Silver,” I said.

“Oh, it sure was, but the success of the Goldberg was short-lived for Jessup. He died before his time, and with good reason. He spent too much time in the mine he insisted on digging under the hotel in search of gold that wound up to be a dry shaft.”

“And he died in 1878, is that right?” I asked.

“Very good. I suppose Redd told you that since Lois is very tight-lipped.”

I took a sip of the iced tea and nodded. “That, she is. She’s a bit too stiff for my liking.”

“She’s obedient. I wish that were true of more people.” She took a drink of her tea and asked, “So why are you really here?”

“We were interested in who might have taken possession of the Goldberg after Mr. Goldberg died.”

Francine pulled an imaginary string from her pants. “Fine, I’ll play along. It was closed down when he died. There was quite a debt and the State of Nevada took possession of the Goldberg then. It was finally sold to Ervin Hastings in 1898.”