A Wicked Whack: Mad River Series (Prequel) Page 3

  "Tell him it's none of his beeswax." I turned to see Jessamine had appeared next to Jenny. Whether or not she followed was questionable, but the smirk across her face read she wanted to have some fun.

  "I can't tell him that," I whispered.

  "Who are you?" Jenny asked her.

  Oh no. Now I was going to have to get Jenny used to the idea of earth bound spirits. These were now Jenny's kind and she certainly wasn’t used to them, but right now was not a good time.

  "Tell me what girl?" George barked. Crimony, he saw me talking to the supposed air and heard every word. That was also something I couldn't really explain. I looked at Jenny, trying to show her with my eyes that now was not a time I could help here.

  "I'm Jessamine Cartwright.” She stuck out her hand to shake Jenny‘s. Jenny looked down on it, unsure of whether or not her grip would hold, but it did. "Pleased to meet you Jenny Tuckerman. Rumor has it you were killed by somebody. Murder is a gruesome way to go. Sort of happened to me too, being caught in the crossfire of gunfire, but your story seems to be a less straight forward one."

  "How did you find out I was murdered?" I couldn't help but watch them speak. Jenny would not have been able to know of Jessamine's existence only a few hours ago and here they were talking. It was fascinating to watch someone from my outside world experience the inner I carried with me for so long.

  "Ghostly grapevine. Word travels fast when your body can travel faster!" she chirped.

  I realized I had forgotten about George and was standing there blankly.

  "Uh, it's nothing. Got to go!"

  I ran ahead of both of them, desperately trying to catch up to Matthew. A man dressed in a confederate uniform breezed past me but I couldn't tell who it was.

  Jenny's reenactment home was at the top of the hill past most of the main shops. Unfortunately, it looked like a small crowd was beginning to gather. I lost sight of Matthew who had to have headed back inside. The police had already been called and one officer had stepped in. Jenny's home was a bit fancier than the rest, the white wood doors left open. I didn't hesitate when it came to the crime scene. I scampered up the steps and charged through.

  Police were trying to keep the growing group of staff and volunteers out of the way, pushing them back through a hall that crossed from the back of the house past the pantry and the living room. This situation had not been kept quiet. Lucky for me, these old houses were like secret mazes. There was usually a way to get around one room into another. As the police tried to draw the staff out from the one front hall, I snuck in the study and found my way through the sliding wood door into the hall that lead through the back of the house which lead me to the kitchen. I looked around it briefly to see if there was anything here that might tell me something. Everything appeared relatively clean and normal, though I couldn't touch anything. This was part of the crime scene.

  I peered into the hall, which lead off into the pantry. Matthew stood there trying to explain to the police what had happened. He looked over surprised to see me having bypassed the officers. I think Matthew had given up on fighting me on the reasons I did things. He let the officers do their work.

  "Ma'am, I'm afraid you're going to have to step back," a stocky officer told me as he tried to block the door. I ducked underneath his arm and peered around into the pantry.

  "You're going to have trouble with this one," I overheard Matthew say to them.

  Sure enough, there was Jenny face down with an axe stuck in the back of her head. The floor was covered in blood. Her costume had been soaked in spots from the neck downward. Her body was slouched awkwardly against a few of the bottom shelves after sliding downward from being hit. I looked away quickly. It was gruesome. An officer escorted me backwards into the kitchen before going back to the initial crime scene. I could see Jenny in the hall still looking at herself in disbelief.

  "Oh my goodness. Is that really what the back of my head looks like? My hair is all greasy and bloody and messed up. This is infuriating!"

  "You generally didn't look like that when you were alive," I tried to mutter quietly under my breath.

  "This is terrible that people have to see me like this! It's like being caught without makeup or your hair in curlers.”

  Actually, it was much worse than that, but who was I to argue with her.

  Poor Jenny. There once was a time when she actually still had the ability to wear her real face. There was big fish to fry here, fish that unfortunately Jenny wouldn't be tending too. This was only one part of the answer to the story. Now it was a case of figuring out who would do such a thing. She came back to me in the kitchen. I looked around for Jessamine, but it seemed she had disappeared.

  Annabelle, her right hand woman, was nowhere to be found. I imagined she would’ve been an easy suspect and that an officer would be searching the grounds for her. It didn't seem like her to do this though. Then again, I had come to know most of these people for so long and nobody seemed capable of murder. Still, we were very close to opening for the battle re-enactment weekend, and the fact that she was absent was not a good sign.

  I had to catch my breath for a moment. Mark Nathan, dentist and womanizer, came through the hall next to the pantry. I didn't expect to see him. He was also still dressed in his plain street clothes. Peculiar.

  "Can you believe this?" he said.

  "No... not at all." I eyed him up and down to see if there was any trace of blood on him, but nothing seemed to stick out. I needed to be subtle. The man might think I was checking him, and not in the ‘you‘re a murder suspect way.’ Mark Nathan was the last man I'd ever want to give the wrong idea.

  "I don't recall him being around earlier. I wouldn't know if he was a suspect." Jenny appeared as deep in thought as I was about the whole thing, pacing around the room trying to think who could have done this to her.

  "The police want to question me as I was the one who found her," he said. "I wonder if this will push back the plans for the day."

  "I don't know," I said. "I'm going to go outside. The blood has made me a bit nauseous."

  He nodded as I moved back into the living room where I could be alone with Jenny’s thoughts and mine. I wondered if any of the lingering spirits had seen what went down. How I would give their information back in a clear-cut logical way was something I'd need to get a bit creative with. I sat down on a love seat by the window. Nobody ushered me out which was good.

  "It's going to take some time, but I don't think you know what you're dealing with just yet."

  I looked up and Matthias was standing in the doorframe to the front hall. Made sense that he would want to stick by his family in this time of chaos. Things were beginning to go quiet as the police did their work. I had to stay the same if I was to get a read on this place.

  "Jenny, this is Matthias Sharp," I whispered. Jenny was too worried to give him much thought. He walked into the room and sat down on the love seat next to me. "Do you know what happened here?" I asked him. "Did you see anything?"

  "I turned around on my way to find Eliana. I sensed something was deeply wrong. It was as if I was being lead back this way."

  "But you didn't see anything strange?" I whispered.

  "There's something terribly evil here, enough to make any God fearing man shake a little. The energy is negative, very down putting. Whoever carries that with them I believe is who killed Jenny. They are here. It's still here," he told me. He turned his head to Jenny who looked as if she was about to keel over a second time. "You'll sense it too, Jenny."

  "I can't move on until I know who did this. I need to know, Shelby. Or I'll never rest. Lord knows I could use some!"

  I didn’t disagree with her.

  Chapter Five

  We packed back into the staff lounge within a few minutes of the commotion at Jenny's house dying down. Many were still dressed in their street clothes, not even close to beginning the day's work. The village would open soon to the greater public. There was no police presence around so there wo
uld be an open conversation hopefully. I felt like I needed to do something though instead of just sitting around.

  "Regarding the horrendous act of violence against our own Jenny Tuckerman," Matthew began. He was choked up, unable to get most of his words out. "We have decided to proceed with the weekends' events accordingly. Our opening for today is delayed by a few hours, but it is in our best interests to keep the public happy. We won't let the culprit sour what we all worked so hard for.”

  "Or in other words, they can't afford to lose all the money this weekend is going to bring," Nancy Gordon muttered aside to a youthful solider volunteer sitting next to her. He had no idea how to respond to that comment, and rightfully so. To an extent, she might have been right, but Nancy's tone showed a disdain, which left a pit in my stomach. Even just sitting and listening, it was as if her nose was permanently stuck up to the world.

  Eliana's hand shot up to speak, "Dad, don't you think that's a bit inappropriate considering there's a murderer amongst us? How can any of us do our jobs without watching our back at every turn? What about the people's lives who come through here?"

  Matthew was dumbfounded, looking at the room nervously.

  "Perhaps she's right, dear," Calinda said to him, grabbing his arm gently.

  "No, no. I really think we should continue, but we are going to have a memorial service here on Sunday afternoon. I've contacted Jenny's next of kin and it seems they are alright with that happening."

  "Oh no. Are they going to bury me in civil war period clothes? They're so unflattering to my figure. I mean I'll wear it for my job, but it's not like I want to wear a petticoat for the rest of eternity!"

  "Hey, I think I look positively scrumptious in these clothes! It's the folks today that should be concerned about their dress. How do any of you stay warm when you wear so little?" Jessamine called out to Jenny.

  "I think they're awfully becoming of most ladies." Matthias stood near his family, but addressed Jenny from across the room. That thought made her blush a little. Jessamine and Phineas stood with him, curious for answers about what would happen next themselves.

  Jenny appeared next to me, her body dipping into the side of Nick's. That made me stifle a giggle. Oh geeze, what a time to be caught with a loud laugh snort. Heaven help me! I took my phone from my pocket. There was a text from Harriet.

  What's going on at the village? I drove to get groceries and there's police all down Rosemary road.

  I ignored it for now. Harriet would’ve stormed those gates had I told her the truth. This was such a mess.

  "One thing that needs to be made clear though is that the police are asking for co-operation regarding the investigation. If they wish to interview you, please be good with them. They're only trying to do their jobs. We want to know who killed Jenny and bring swift justice as soon as possible," he added. "Annabelle, we'll discuss moving the baking and cooking demonstrations elsewhere. Would you be able to carry them on your own?"

  It was the first time I’d seen Annabelle quiver a bit with nervousness. She was the obvious suspect given how much time Jenny and her spent together, but it seemed the idea of running it all by her was a lot for her to take. All eyes fell on her, as we waited for an answer. I felt bad for Annabelle. I knew what it was like to stick out when you didn't want to.

  "I...I...suppose I could do it," she murmured from the corner of the room.

  I watched Jenny's head dart from side-to-side. Something told me she was doing her own investigating as well as she scanned the room. She didn't seem to be receiving any answers she wanted.

  "I want everyone to head back to their stations and proceed as normal," Matthew said. "That's everything for now."

  The group stood up, ready to do as instructed. I sat in my chair wondering what to do. Nick stood up and asked if I was coming. I told him I wasn’t feeling very well. Jenny was able to take a sturdier place next to me once he left.

  "What are you going to do first?" Jenny asked.

  I brought out my phone again, typing a note on it for her to read. It seemed to be the most logical way of constructing thoughts without having to speak them aloud.

  Mark Nathan

  I put my phone back in my pocket. Jenny followed me as I made a beeline for Mark, who stood with Annabelle in the corner. Corning someone in an actual corner might not have been the best idea, but the one who found Jenny was probably a good start. He seemed unable to talk when I first met with him earlier. I hoped the emotions had cooled at least a little.

  "Hey guys, are you okay? I know it's kind of shocking considering-"

  "Oh...yeah. Thank you for your concern, Shelby. I need to get going though. I have a lot of work to do and I'm a bit nervous now that Matthew is making me do this all by myself."

  Annabelle exited while Mark stayed behind, watching her leave.

  "You'd think they'd get some volunteers to help her," he said aside.

  "How did you find Jenny?" Nothing like not beating around the proverbial bush.

  He turned his head back to me and raised his eyebrow curiously. "Bit bizarre of you to wonder.”

  I was infuriated. “Why would it be bizarre? Jenny was my friend.” Whoohoo, I was getting some backbone and it felt good. Mark looked at me strange. Okay, I needed to steer this conversation back to something less accusatory.

  Jenny snapped her fingers together, caught in an immediate idea, though no snapping sound came from her, "Ask about the preserves. Always ask about those. I was eating some before I passed out…well, I mean murdered."

  "It's a real bummer that we won't get to have any more of her preserves, they were so delicious," I said. I could practically taste the heightened enthusiasm coming out of me. I was good…at least I hoped so. I saw Jenny out of the corner of my eye nod eagerly in approval, giving me thumbs up.

  "Oh totally. Actually, Jenny smelled like them when I found her. You wouldn't expect strawberries to waft from a deceased person, but they did."

  "It's funny; I don't remember seeing any glass on the ground though. I can imagine she would have dropped the jar had she been eating some?"

  "You playing detective? What's with all the questions?"

  "She was my friend, Mark. I'm just curious. I want to make sense of the situation too."

  Mark shrugged. "I checked her pulse and that‘s when I smelled it. That was about it I believe," he told me. "I can't recall anything else specific near her."

  "I had an axe in the back of my head numbskull. Why was he even bothering with my pulse?" Jenny exclaimed. "Give him a pass for now, Shelby. He's too concerned with the way I smell and too blind to commit something this devious."

  Jenny had a point. I let Mark go. As a suspect, he seemed pretty unlikely. The room grew sparse with people. I tried to make myself relatively unnoticed as I attempted to eavesdrop on the Sharps. Matthias was still standing with them, unnoticed of course, as they congregated together in a corner near the door of the lounge. Eliana looked particularly displeased with her father. I tried to watch them as I passed, hoping maybe I'd hear something significant, but my gaze held too long. Eliana saw me. I turned my head the other way and made way to the exit.

  I stopped just outside the lounge, hiding next to the doorframe near the couches. Jenny followed me out again.

  "Jenny, get back in there!" I muttered quietly.

  "What? Won't they..." She got the hint fast that she would be unnoticed. "Ohhhhh yeah, I keep forgetting."

  We nodded at each other in solidarity before she darted back inside. Jenny still wasn’t quite used to being a ghost.

  "Looking in all the wrong places, Whitaker. Wrong places."

  The mysterious voice of torment emerged again. I looked around the front foyer of the main office building. I couldn't see anyone directly speaking to me. The last of the staff had exited to tend to their posts again, but that voice definitely sounded like the one I heard on my first day of training. Whoever this was, he was a very sneaky spirit. Why he would take so long to show himself I co
uldn’t understand. I didn't wish to be chided anymore. Reveal yourself cowardly ghost! Yep, that didn’t produce anything.

  Jenny returned to me rather fast.

  "Nothing. The Sharps were not much help. Calinda mentioned there was nothing to clean up but me. Any further evidence would still be back in the pantry, which is likely closed off for the police."

  "You're sure you were eating preserves?"

  "Positive. Strawberries, Shelby. If nothing was picked up, there's got to be stolen evidence lying around this place somewhere."

  "We should go…oooohhh," I stopped myself as Eliana glided out of the staff lounge rather close to where I was standing. Her dress could barely fit through the door, but she managed not to make much of it. With her eyes squinting in my direction, it seemed she’d heard me talking to what appeared to be myself.