Wanted: One Ghost (29 page)

“I think I’ll call it a night and try to sleep this one off.” Her mother nodded slightly.

“Do you want us to go with you, Virginia?”

“No, Mom, you and Aunt Vickie go enjoy yourselves. I know you wanted to join in the fun at O’Toole’s Pub. And you,” she turned towards April, with a faint smile, “have fun with James as he celebrates his new life. He’s waiting for you.” Her mother gave her a hug. “I’m so proud of you, April.”

April returned the hug, holding on for more moments than either one remembered in their past. “Thanks Mom, I’m proud of you, too.”

Hugging her family and thanking them for all of their help, she made her way through the crowd towards James. Catherine and Daniel were gone. They must be among the citizens of Kings Mill, celebrating in their own way. Or they could have finally moved on, now that they were able to face their fears and speak up in truth.

***

April barely made it on stage before James wrapped her in his arms. She was his rock. His life giving energy. He was alive but the terror of facing the night, even a re-enactment of it had made him nauseous. The heavy fear of having no control again while he’d been tied on the back of the horse had hit him as if it were all really happening again.

It wasn’t until he’d heard Catherine’s voice coming out of the dark terror that he knew this time history wouldn’t repeat itself. Still his body trembled. Seeing the ghosts of his past interacting with the present, he’d wanted to reach out and hold them but couldn’t gather his wits in time before they left. Daniel had given him a small salute and Catherine had smiled warmly at him before they’d merged into the hundreds of people gathered for the event.

“James, you look like you’re about to pass out. Sit down before you fall.” April made him sit on one of the nearby benches. A few people passed by, congratulating him on a job well done. He’d nodded and thanked them, giving a brief wave. But his heart wasn’t into the celebratory atmosphere right now.

“April, dear,” he heard Aunt Vickie call out as the crowds dissipated, “Is James all right?”

James tried to put on a cheerful face for her family. But the dizziness left him feeling weak. He’d hoped to feel better after all of this. Now he was sure he might be coming down with something like April had said. “I’m fine.”

“April will take care of you. We’ll meet you at the pub. It might be a good idea for you to make the rounds with the town folk tonight.”

Nodding, April waved them on. “Thanks. We’ll check on Mom first. I’m sure James will want to tour the tavern to offer a toast to the town’s people for their sense of justice tonight.” April smiled at him. Her eyes misted with a sheen of tears.

James took her hand and kissed her palm. Feeling weak, his vision blurring, he didn’t want to ruin April’s night. He would buck up soon. Beth arrived with a couple of cups of coffee moments later as they sat alone, trying to regain their composure.

“You did good, kid.” Beth handed him a cup. “You okay?”

Managing a brief nod he took a sip of the hot, bitter liquid. It wasn’t his tea, but anything was welcomed right now.

James looked at Beth, he knew without her speaking the words what she wanted to know. She was still stunned by everything. “Yes, believe it or not, that was actually Catherine and my foreman Daniel Smith.”

Beth stared at him as if he’d grown an extra head. “I couldn’t believe it when April told me…but really, Catherine and Daniel—the lovers from the journal?” her voice trembled. “Oh dear God, now I’ve seen everything!”

“You’re not going to faint again are you?” he asked.

Beth laughed nervously. “So you’re saying what happened really wasn’t part of the skit?” She blew out a breath. “Well, they did get the crowds to participate and put everyone in a festive mood. I think I’ll keep it for next year’s celebration.”

A sudden chill enveloped them. James felt it go through him, literally. April backed away to check out the night sky. Tree branches twisted and crackled as the wind picked up. Standing up, his body felt light and weightless. James realized it was him. Something was happening to him.

No! Not now! He couldn’t be phasing back into a ghost. He couldn’t! 

“What’s going on? Are we in for a storm?” April asked, checking out her surroundings. Littered programs and random trash left on the grounds twirled in the strong breeze. The bonfires fluttered and sparked. People on the streets held onto one another, bracing against the sudden blast of air.

“How odd? The weather forecast wasn’t calling for any heavy winds,” Beth said.

“Fire! Hey—there’s a fire over here!” someone yelled from a group of straggling visitors. Confusion and chaos ensued as people gathered at the backside of the county courthouse, just feet away. In the distance the blare of fire trucks could be heard, the sound growing louder.

They went to see what was going on. James tried to reach out to April, but he knew it wouldn’t matter. He was afraid she wouldn’t be able to feel it.

Now? After all I’ve been through? Now I’m moving on? I haven’t had time to say good-bye to April!

The atmosphere around him sparked with electrical currents. April gave him a puzzling look as she reached for him but he stepped away. He didn’t want to alarm her if he was phasing back into his former self.

His hands felt clammy and he stumbled. He shook his head and blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. Trying to blame it on the exhaustion and emotional turmoil from the day’s activities, he focused on holding onto the present.

April tried to touch him again and he side-stepped. She dropped her hand, but her eyes misted over. He thought she knew or sensed the change, but she was trying to deny the truth as long as possible, like he was. “You’re not all right, are you James?”

The smell of musky smoke hit him before they saw the red-orange licks of flame and gray billows as they rounded the back side of the courthouse.

“Oh God! April, your Aunt’s house is on fire!” Beth gasped and stopped suddenly in shock at seeing the old colonial house ablaze. April ran past her at breakneck speed, straight for the house.

“No!” April screamed, racing up the steps of the burning house and straight into danger. “My Mom’s inside!”

In his impetuousness, James couldn’t stop his momentum and shimmered right through Beth on his way to save April from her foolishness. No one saw him run into the burning house.

James’s heart stopped when April raced into the burning house. As usual she didn’t stop to think. Flames were already licking out the windows and roof like angry serpent tongues. James called out to her, but his voice sounded distant, even to him. He ran after her, a sense of weightlessness settling into him.

Plumes of smoke billowed in gusts as if the old house was alive and exhaling. The activity behind him was a mass of chaos, but he didn’t catch any of it as he focused on reaching April. Fire had already settled into the parlor and flames were emerging from the butler’s pantry. He should feel the heat. Why wasn’t it affecting him? Popping glass and crackling wood caught his attention. One of her aunt’s china hutches in the parlor blazed, the glass knick-knacks exploding. Thankfully, the stairs were still whole. He raced up them, only steps away from April.

He could hear her coughing and gasping for air. He had to get her out before the house caved in or she died of smoke inhalation. He reached her side but when he grabbed her arm, his hand went right through her.

Dear God! Not now, just a little more time?

The doorway to their room was in flames. Fire poured out as pieces of old timber and plaster walls fell. The blaze had already eaten through Catherine’s room. He wasn’t worried about the rooms. They needed to get her mother out. He knew April wouldn’t leave without her. But he was afraid he was unable to help. He stood in front of April, between her and the door to her mother’s room.

“April, get the hell out of here!”

“My mother’s in there and I’m not leaving until she’s safe!” She yelled back as squeals of blazing timbers echoed around them. The door was cool but locked. April beat on the door. “Mom! Open up! Fire!”

“Move out of the way!”

James shouldered his way into the wooden door and his body went straight through. He’d already phased. He heard April scream his name. He knew this wouldn’t end well but he needed to get to Virginia before April died trying to save her. Damn her for rushing head long into danger!

The room was strangely untouched by the fire. Virginia crouched in the corner in satin pajamas, fighting against the force field holding her in place. Henry Samuel stood there in a ghostly form, holding Virginia around the throat, pressing tightly against her windpipe, choking her. His other hand wielded a flaming fire poker, and he waved it around as James approached.

Henry’s paranormal energies couldn’t hold both forces. He released April’s mother. James watched her fall helplessly to the floor as she struggled for breath. He reached for Virginia’s hand to help her up but realized she couldn’t see him now he had no solid form. But she would be able to hear him, if she could focus.

Fire leapt from the poker Henry waved, trying to attack him, catching the ends of the filmy window sheers. The pristine room would be an inferno in seconds. James was racing against time.

“Virginia,” he said, hoping for a connection. “It’s me James. I need you to get April out of here. Tell her I love her and I will find a way to be with her again. Now go!” James said with flat finality.

Virginia
nodded, her eyes widening with realization. Her face clouded with anguish. James heard the wailing of more sirens in the distance. She needed to get out.

“Go now, Virginia. Get April to safety.”

The fire spread into the hallway. He could hear April banging on the door, pleading and crying for him and her mother as the flames leapt dangerously close.

James made sure Virginia got out and waited until he saw her push April towards the stairs.

“Go April, I’m right behind you!” he heard Virginia yell over the sounds of screeching wood.

“James! Where is James?” April cried out, trying to fight her mother’s manipulations.

“April go!” James shouted as his body was held back, snagged by some unknown force. The momentum of being pulled back turned him around. Henry’s beefy face was mere inches from his own. James felt the force of Henry’s fist strike across the jaw. Sprawling on the floor at the top of the stairs, he didn’t have enough energy to right himself.

Fire fighters ran up the stairs, passed through his and Henry’s souls on the way to Virginia’s room. They were looking for him. He’d heard April’s desperate cries as she’d called out his name while her mother had dragged her to safety. Not seeing anyone else in the rooms, the firefighters called ‘all clear’ and evacuated the house.

Heavy sprays of water flooded the remaining structure from the various hoses, but James paid no heed. It didn’t matter.

“You blue-blooded bastard! I thought I had gotten rid of you once. Well now we are on equal ground. Welcome to Hell!” Henry spat out, yanking James up by his collar.

James feigned defeat until he was level with Henry. Pulling his fist back, he landed a right hook to Henry’s nose, sending the older man reeling back. Yeah, they were on equal ground. It was Hell all right. Two ghosts fighting in a raging fire neither one felt.

Struggling to regain his footing, James weakened even further. Was this it? Was this him finally moving on? Why now! Why hadn’t it happened sooner—or later? What piece of the puzzle was finally in place for him to leave this Earth completely? Henry ran at him and grabbed him around the middle, pinning him up against the burning wall behind them.

“Because of your lady-friend, my historical bearing in Kings Mill is going to be questioned. She made Catherine work against me. I wanted your mill and I would have had it, too. Now, I will be the laughing stock—” Henry stopped and looked to his left. His eyes rounded.

James looked, too. There, a few feet away was the image of Catherine. Her pristine figure stood straight and tall. With her shoulders back, she glared at Henry.

“Remember me, dear husband?”

“Catherine! It was you! You killed me!” Henry bellowed at the ghost.

“No. I would have if I had the same courage Dr. Branford showed me. No, it was your own fear of seeing my ghost that sent you tumbling down those stairs all those years ago. Don’t go blaming anyone but yourself, Henry. You did this. It was because of you we’ve all been trapped for so long. Dr. Branford has shown me I can move past my fear of you to move on to a better life.”

Henry let James go and stalked towards the figure of his wife. “I’ll never let you move on. You belong to me, Catherine!”

Fear and uncertainty clouded Catherine’s delicate face. James didn’t want to see her fear anymore. She deserved to move on, too. Henry was such a bastard! James jumped the man from behind but sifted right through Henry’s soul. Lying on the floor, covered with flames, he stared at his own vanishing form. He wasn’t even able to see all of himself now.

But the distraction was all Catherine needed to move out of the way. Henry lurched forward, and screaming in agony, tumbled head first down the staircase, landing with a sickening thud at the base of the stairs in a hellish inferno.

“Catherine—” he found the last dregs of energy to stand up among the fire and burning embers, but there was nothing left of his form, only a sense of being.

“It’s all right, James. Henry is where he needs to be now. I can move on. Thank April for me.” She smiled.

It was becoming more difficult to see and function. The image of the fire was dying around him, being replaced by white, sterile walls and a bright light shining in his face. Catherine’s image faded into the background. “I can’t. I’m gone. I’ll never see April again.” His voice came out in a strangled sob.

He heard Catherine’s faint, tinkling laughter. Why was she laughing at his peril?

“What? I thought you believed in fate? This isn’t death, James…it’s just the beginning of your new life.”

Was she mocking him? Damn! His head hurt. Why did his head hurt? He shouldn’t feel any pain. He was dead. Brightness surrounded him. Was this the light he was supposed to move into? Images faded into the light. He was no longer in the burning house. Had April and her mother gotten out safely? Where was Catherine? A figure moved towards him into the brightness surrounding them both. A man’s figure—but it wasn’t Henry. This man was taller, leaner. He walked with purpose as he approached and instead of going around James, walked right through him.

What the bloody hell?

His question went unanswered. He heard himself scream as he felt his chest explode from within. Electronic beeps echoed in his head, and then he heard a subtle thumping, like a heartbeat. A group of people with masks over their faces stood around him as the brilliant light faded to a glare of intense artificial light from lamps hanging above his head. One person stared down at him with wide-eyed wonder.

“Doctor, I have a pulse!”

***

Standing at the small pauper’s grave stone, April gave her power one last chance. Kneeling with her hands flat on his tombstone, she focused on finding James’s essence. But like every other day over the past few weeks, nothing happened. No matter what she did she couldn’t bring James back to life. His spirit wasn’t here. Her gift no longer worked. Throwing herself onto his stone she pressed her cheek against the cold, hard marble, letting her tears and anguish take over again.

What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she feel him anymore? Her heart constricted painfully. Why couldn’t she have died in the fire, too? Where was all the live energy she’d had only weeks ago when she’d met him? The only time she felt any connection to the past was when she read Catherine’s journal. But those memories brought on heartache all over again. She couldn’t even find Catherine anymore. There were no more ghostly visions, no more haunted house, nothing to connect to.

The fire inspector had claimed faulty wiring as the cause of the fire. But she knew differently. It was the ghost of Henry Samuel who’d started it. He’d been trying to get to Catherine and kill her spirit. She’d angered him by revealing his secrets at the festivities. Aunt Vickie was able to discern at least a portion of information when she’d studied the remains from the fire. She’d sensed Catherine was no longer there and Henry was where he needed to be.

Thanksgiving had come and gone. Beth invited her entire family over for dinner before April’s mom went back home to her condo in Rockville. Grandma Dottie invited Aunt Vickie to stay with her in her riverfront home in Annapolis. April was staying with Beth until she could figure out what to do next. The Kings Mill historical society was going through many changes, and Beth needed an extra hand, desperately. There was so much left to do. Too much for one person to get the new historical society opened by the first of the year. Beth hired her on to help record information and make final preparations.

Working at the Historical Society was the only thing keeping April from feeling empty. The remaining ledgers they’d found in the crates of historical documents belonged to Henry Samuel. They were exactly as Catherine stated the night of the festival—
the truth was in
the numbers
, or lack thereof, as the case ended up being. Henry’s funds had dwindled in games of chance and risky investing. The only way he could have gotten the land was by stealing it, or doing what he’d done to James and others over the years.

But some good came from her research. Catherine’s journal was a font of information. Catherine had given birth to a child who’d lived. As Beth researched indentured files in the southern counties of Maryland, she realized she may have been a descendant of Catherine and Daniel’s child. The connection made perfect sense to Dr. Freelane, and she took the knowledge as gospel.

Beth now had a new historical subject to research. Catherine’s plight as an indentured servant had inspired Dr. Freelane to begin documenting the lives of early colonial servants along the Chesapeake. April hoped to be able to shed more light for her through the journal but there wasn’t much to go on. Still, Beth hoped to one day have the opportunity to meet the ghost of Catherine Samuel personally. April didn’t hold out much hope. She was sure all her ghosts had moved on.

April dried her tears on her already tear-soaked knit gloves wadded up in her hands. Kissing her fingers with trembling lips, she placed the tips to James’s stone. Sighing, she knew it was a lost cause to try and hope for James to return to her. But hope was all she had. And lately, it was diminishing. Looking up she realized the sky had turned overcast while she was here.
Like my soul?
Now huge snowflakes the size of breadcrumbs began to fall. Reluctantly, she turned away and walked back to the office.