The Mystery of the Screaming Elms (Eden Patterson: Ghost Whisperer Book 2)
The Mystery of the
Screaming Elms
by
Constance Barker
Copyright 2016 Constance Barker
All rights reserved.
Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.
Prologue
In one of the visits with the spirit of my Grandpa Winky, we walked over to a meadow not far from his home place. The purple wildflowers dotted the landscape as they bobbed and weaved in the light breeze. Beyond the meadow were the green hills of Kentucky, their tops touching the brilliant blue of a cloudless sky.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Grandpa Winky asked me as we sat down in the middle of the field.
I looked around me and couldn’t imagine a better setting than this. “Yes it is,” I answered.
“I asked your grandmother to marry me in this meadow…on a day much like today.”
“Did she say yes?” I liked to tease Winky as much as he liked to kid me.
A smile spread across his face as he looked at the hilltops in the distance. “I’m happy to report she did.”
“Do you miss her?” In my young mind I couldn’t fathom what it must be like for Grandpa…to basically be on the outside looking in. Well, not with me, but with everyone else he was.
He shook his head. “No, I can see her whenever I want.”
“But you can’t talk to her.”
He scratched his head under his brown Derby hat. “That’s true, I can’t. It’s hard to describe Eden, but how I feel now is different than how I felt when I was alive.”
I was curious. “What do you mean?”
He smiled at me. “Someday you will know, but not soon I hope.”
Chapter One
The place where Sydney grew up was located on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia in Appalachia, not too far from where the Hatfield and McCoy clans were located. She grew up poor, living with her young mother Patty and Patty’s parents. The old cabin still stood today, but barely. We drove up the old dirt path to the front of the cabin and filed out of the SUV.
Sydney, her mother Patty, Luke my husband, and I came in one vehicle, while Matt and Gerry, aka Goog, followed us in our Paranormal Services utility truck.
I watched Syd as she walked over to the cabin’s front porch. I knew it had to be difficult for her to come back here after all this time to a past that was not child friendly. Growing up poor might make you strong, but it didn’t leave a sweet taste in your mouth either.
Syd pointed to one of the post’s holding up the front porch. “Look, it’s still there.” The initials SC were scratched into the wood. “I did that 20 years ago when I was eight.”
“You had a knife when you were eight?” Goog asked as he walked up and rubbed his fingers over the initials carved in the wood.
Patty, Syd’s mom spoke up. “She was playing with knives when she was five. Matches too.”
Syd let out a laugh. “Yeah, Dr. Spock would have had a heart attack watching all the crap I got into. But hey, we had to learn young how to start a fire and kill snakes.”
Goog looked to his right and left at the mention of snakes. Syd patted him on the arm. “Don’t worry Bud, I got ya covered.”
Luke walked over to the front steps. “Do you think the cabin’s safe enough to enter?”
Patty shook her head. “I don’t know Luke. Doesn’t look too sturdy. Maybe we sh…”
“Oh come on,” Syd declared as she mounted the steps. “Let’s not be pansies.”
Before we knew it she was inside the cabin. Luke shrugged his shoulders and we followed him up the steps, onto the porch, and then inside the cabin. The entire area was open with what appeared to be a kitchen at one time in the back of the cabin. An old, ratty sofa and chair and banged up lamp were located near the front door. The walls had holes allowing a laser rays of light to shine through.
Patty sighed. “Just about like I remember it. I mean it did look better than this…we kept it as clean as we could.”
Syd paced around the room. “Seems smaller to me.”
“That always happens when you revisit a place where you grew up,” I said. “I remember a few years ago revisiting my old elementary school. I couldn’t believe how small the rooms and hallways felt. When I was little it all seemed so huge.”
“Well, enough reminiscing.” Syd apparently had had enough of the cabin and whatever memories it held. “Let’s get to Aunt Pearl’s and find out what all the fuss is about.”
Aunt Pearl, Patty’s sister lived about three miles from Syd’s old home place. As we drove up you could tell she took pride in her home and landscaping. Easter lilies were peeping open in the warm Spring sunshine and multicolored tulips adorned a trail along her sidewalk. On her front porch sat two rocking chairs with a lilac and cream colored afghan thrown over the arm of one of the chairs.
As we marveled at her green thumb, aunt Pearl walked out the front door. She looked just like Patty and Syd, with her short brown hair and sparkling green eyes.
“Look at this motley crew!” Pearl crowed. “Did the crazy house burn down?”
Syd ran over to her aunt and gave her a big hug. “We decided to move the crazy down here where it belongs!” Pearl let out a cackle. She hugged her sister and we made our introductions. While I knew aunt Susie, Patsy’s other sister, I had never met Pearl. When Syd and I became friends it was way past Syd’s time in Appalachia.
Pearl yelled to Luke and Matt. “Go around back boys and grab us some lawn chairs so we can sit out here and enjoy the sunshine.“ Goog sat on the front step so he could bend over and smell the fragrance from the tulips. After a few minutes of catching up, Syd wanted to get down to business.
“Okay, what’s going on aunt Pearl? Momma said you called all upset…something about spooky goings on around here.”
Pearl heaved a heavy sigh and the laughter ran away from her face. I could tell that whatever was happening was taking a toll on her. She looked directly at Syd who was sitting to her left.
“Remember when you were little and you’d say how the big elm trees spoke to you?”
Syd nodded. “Sure. I use to put a blanket under the trees and play with my dolls. They’d whisper to me and sometimes even sing. They were like my friends, well besides the possums and squirrels.”
“You had a possum as a pet?” Matt asked. “Why doesn’t that surprise me.”
“She tried to catch a wild pig one day,” Pearl remarked. “Remember that Syd?”
Syd laughed. “Sure I do! Boy he was a wily one. Never got him. He use to oink at me from a distance whenever Mom and I went mushroom hunting. I did get him between the eyes with an acorn and slingshot though. Okay, back to the singing elm trees.”
Syd shifted in her seat. “As I remember it though no one believed me…said I was making it all up or I had an active imagination. So what happened? Are others hearing them now?”
Pearl looked perplexed. “Yes people have heard them, and they’re not singing anymore. They seem to be screaming.”
A chill traveled down my spine and I could see Luke as he straightened in his chair.
“What does it sound like exactly Pearl? Have you heard it?”
Pearl shivered involuntarily and reflexively pulled the afghan up over her shoulders. “Yes I have Luke. Only once and that’s all I ever want to hear.”
“Would you take us to where you heard it?” Syd asked.
“No,” Pearl answered quickly. “I don’t want to go there again. I couldn’t sleep for two nights after. But it
’s the same spot you use to go when you were young. Just over the holler from the old home place.”
Patty took her sister’s hand. “Did it sound like a woman screaming? Maybe someone needed help.”
Pearl shook her head and then she looked out towards the forest in the distance. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t human.”
Not even the fragrance from the pink and yellow tulips could keep Goog from cringing.
Chapter Two
“This looks like a good place to pitch the tents,” Luke said as he threw down his backpack onto the leaf covered ground.
We decided to trek into the forest past Syd’s old home place into the hollers where the huge elm trees were heavily populated. I looked straight up, watching as the tops of the elm trees swayed lazily in the breeze. It was hypnotic and I swayed with them, almost falling down before Luke caught me.
“You feeling alright Eden?” He asked…his voice full of concern.
“I’m fine hon. Just lost my footing.”
“We better get these tents up before we lose daylight.” Matt wasn’t keen on the idea of spending the night in the hollers with the elm trees. He enjoyed modern comfort and the thought of tents, sleeping bags, and a campfire were far from his normal setting. The faster we could get the tents up the more time he could spend inside them away from the biting insects.
He swatted at a fly buzzing his head. “Could this get anymore annoying?”
Opposite of Matt was Syd who grew up in a ramshackle cabin that wasn’t much better than a tent. “You’re such a pansy. Possums use to crawl into my crib at night and keep me warm.”
Matt shook his head. “You’re so full of it.”
“It’s true.” Syd drove the stakes into the ground for the tents. “I had a pet chipmunk too. He’d crawl up my arm and sit on my shoulder. It’s hard to get them to trust you. They’re so skittish.”
Matt stared at her. “Was his name Alvin?”
Syd, not missing a beat. “Nope…Laverne. She was a sassy little critter. Always back talking me.”
“You couldn’t have normal pets like a dog?” I think Matt really believed her.
Syd stopped and took a drink from her bottle of water. “Oh we had a bunch of cur dogs. There was this one, almost as big as a horse. I use to ride him down to the old general store. He tried to kick me off at first but he finally found out who was boss.”
Goog let out a snort and punched Matt’s arm. “She’s kidding you.”
“Oh no, I’m not kidding. Aunt Pearl said he was a cross between a Great Dane and a St. Bernard, with about seven other dogs thrown in for good measure.” She looked at them as serious as a judge.
They stared at her not knowing what to say or think. I stifled a giggle. Syd almost had me believing her too. Then again, maybe she was telling the truth instead of a tall tale. You never knew with her.
The boys became quiet, probably mulling over this new knowledge of their co-worker, and we finished setting up camp. I lit a few torches and stuck them around the perimeter of the camp as Luke came out to help.
“So what do you think is going on around here? Have you felt anything yet?”
I shook my head. “No I haven’t. Well, I did feel a little woozy when looking up at the elm trees, but nothing else.”
“Woozy huh? That doesn’t sound like you.” Luke was still concerned.
I put my hand on his arm. “I’m okay, don’t worry about me. It was just a momentary thing.”
Luke didn’t look convinced. “I’m keeping my eye on you.”
I playfully hit him on the arm. “You better.”
Luke started a fire and we sat around it as the sun sunk behind the great elm trees. Patsy and Pearl had loaded us down with blankets along with the sleeping bags. Syd and I sat huddled together sharing a large blanket while the boys sat with their jackets on around the fire. We stopped at the small store on the way here and brought along a cooler with drinks and hotdogs which we were roasting over the fire.
“This reminds me of when my Dad would take us camping when I was young,” Goog remarked as he turned his hotdog carefully over the fire. “In the morning you could smell the bacon and sausage he cooked on the grill. Didn’t have to holler for us to get up…we just followed our noses.”
“Where did your family camp at Goog?” Luke asked as he delivered his burnt dog into a bun.
“Most of the time we’d go to Kentucky Lake so Dad could fish. Then we’d eat whatever he caught…bass, blue gill…my favorite was crappie.” I could see the faraway look in Goog’s eyes as he reminisced. Family memories were something to cherish.
“Any ghost tales around the campfire at night?” Matt asked as he took a bite of his dog.
“Actually no,” Goog answered. “Maybe if we had I’d have a thicker skin when it came to spooks.”
“They don’t like being called spooks,” Syd said with authority. “That’s probably why they have a problem with you Goog…you don’t address them correctly.”
Goog stared at her. “I never know when you’re ribbing me.”
“Oh, I’m serious as a heart attack,” Syd said as she gulped down her dog.
Poor Goog. He was like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs when it came to ghosts. So you might wonder why he worked for a paranormal service like ours. For one reason he was a childhood friend of Luke’s and he wanted to get over his fear of the unknown. But it was deeper than that. Something he had to work out. I wasn’t privy to that information, but I knew in time he’d confide in us.
Syd speared another hotdog on a tree stick and stuck it over the fire. “My cousins and I would tell ghost stories all the time. Best one was the bridge ghost. Supposed to be this haunted old bridge a few miles from here. It was built over a stream on the back dirt roads. It was told the moonshiners built the road and bridge to maneuver in the hollers without the Feds finding them. Anyway, back in the ‘20’s some moonshiners were being chased by the Feds so they took their shortcut to lose them. Only they didn’t…the Feds kept right on their tail. The two moonshiners lost control of their car coming up on the bridge and drove it straight into the river bank. Smashed the car right up to the backseat, which meant the two boys in the front were goners. Funny thing was, all the moonshine in the trunk of their car was still in tact. After that they say if you peek over the bridge into the murky water below one of the dead boys’ faces will stare back up at you.”
“You ever went down there and tried it?” Matt asked as he took a swallow of his Mountain Dew.
“Of course,” Syd replied. “But you have to go when it’s a full moon so you can see their faces real good.”
Matt wasn’t buying it. “Yeah right.”
Suddenly we heard rustling of leaves about 10 yards past the torches. Then a hoot owl screeched and Goog almost came out of his skin. “What the holy heck!”
“Calm down Goog,” Luke said as he put another log on the fire. “The screech was an owl and the rustling was probably squirrels or raccoons. They’re just curious about who’s invaded their space.”
“Or a bear who’s not happy we ventured into his hunting ground.” Syd knew she was rattling Goog’s chain.
“Are we sure we’re safe out here?” Goog asked as I saw him visibly shiver.
Syd waved her hand. “I’m just jerking your chain Goog. Most animals keep their distance and Pearl said there’s been no talk of bears around these parts for a while now. Although the coyote population has been growing. But the lights should keep them at bay.”
“Think I should turn a few on?” Matt asked Luke.
Luke looked at his watch. “We’ve only got a few hours of battery use so let’s wait another couple of hours. The torches have enough fuel to last until then. If you guys want to take a nap, Eden and I will keep watch.”
Matt stretched and yawned. “I think I’ll take you up on that Luke.” He stood up and looked at Goog. “How about you?”
Goog looked at Syd. “I’m sticking with her.” Smart move.
Luke and I cuddled under a large blanket together. It was nice, watching the fire, the stars twinkling in the night sky, and the fresh smell of the forest.
“You still feeling okay,” Luke asked as I lay my head in the groove of his shoulder. “No more woozy feelings?”
I shook my head slightly. “Nope. Actually I feel pretty good. I must have just needed something to eat. You know me…when Momma don’t eat she gets cranky and I guess dizzy headed as well.”