Gifts of the Ghost

We spent our evening covered in dust while going through most of the boxes. Several trips up the stairs to the attic later, I had most of it ready to be taken to a storage unit.

“Let’s leave the tunnels for another day.” Aunt Linda wiped sweat from her forehead when we got the last box into her car. “It’s late and hasn’t really been looked at yet. It can wait a few more days until we can really focus on it.”

“What should we do about the body that’s down there?” I scrunched up my face at the idea of disturbing it.

“That’s up to Wes’s family, really. We can’t leave it down there, but where he needs to be buried is up to them.” Aunt Linda brushed it off as she climbed in her car to head to storage. “I suppose we will need to notify the authorities at some point.” She pulled out as I waved goodbye.

“Okay. Time to lock up and go home, I guess.” I spoke to the empty air.

After securing the house as best I could, I headed home. Aunt Linda wasn’t done at our storage building yet. Her car wasn’t in our driveway. Though, Shadow waited for me on the porch. I let her inside only to find Maggie waiting for me.

“We went through the attic and there wasn’t much to give us any answers on how to help you move on.” I put my purse and keys on the entryway table. “Tomorrow, after work, I’ll go down and check out the tunnels. I need some sleep right now.”

Aunt Linda and I needed to finish work before we could look for more answers, but it had to be done and soon. We all needed some resolution.

It was late, so I didn’t text Wes again. I should probably do that in the morning. If he didn’t answer, as much as I hated it, I’d have to call him again if he kept ignoring my messages.

The next day was another early morning, and I dressed and headed into town. I’d slept pretty well, which was good as we were still busy.

I worked for several hours before deciding that I needed to take a break and visit with my shop friends. I didn’t think I’d seen them since the ball.

Otto prepared lunch for Aunt Linda and me, but I knew coffee was urgent if I was going to survive the afternoon, so I headed to Jitterbug. While waiting for my usual coffee, Jitterbug’s entrance swung open.

And in walked “Woo Woo Wes”, as Aunt Linda had called him, and his brother. At least I assumed it was his brother. They looked nothing alike physically. His brother seemed cold, whereas Wes had always given me the impression of being warm and welcoming. He was talking to Wes, but he didn’t appear to be happy. The friendly vibes weren’t there, and Wes looked especially uncomfortable.

Wes noticed me eyeing them and walked over. “Mags, this is my brother, William. He goes by Liam though.”

I held out a hand as he introduced us. Interesting. Another William.

His grip was firm, but his touch sent bad vibes racing down my spine. I tried not to jerk my hand from his. It wouldn’t do any good to be rude.

Liam moved toward me, but I stepped back, not wanting him in my space.

They didn’t seem to have noticed my discomfort. “Liam is going to look at the journal while he’s here,” Wes announced.

“Where did you find it? It belongs to our family.” Liam’s tone was full of accusation as he interrupted his brother.

A look of panic must have crossed my features as I looked at Wes for an answer.

He shook his head, confirming what I’d thought. He wasn’t overly fond of his brother. “Nobody stole it, Liam. It was in her family’s basement.”

He notably hadn’t mentioned the tunnels and made it seem like it was in a normal, run-of-the-mill basement. A rose by any other name, I suppose.

I shrugged. “We had a bunch of family things to go through down there, and I found it while I was sorting stuff.” True enough.

“Maybe we should join you next time you sort things again?” Liam suggested. “In case there are any other pieces of our family history there.”

I didn’t mind Wes coming along but wasn’t overly fond of Liam. “I was planning to go down there tonight.”

William, the ghost, stood just behind Wes and shook his head, vehemently opposed to the idea.

Great, the ghost didn’t like the idea. I made a face at him before looking at Wes. “Can we talk for just a minute?” I motioned to the side of the seating area, out of Liam’s hearing.

Liam got the hint and shot me a derisive look. “I’ll just grab the coffee, Wes.” He moved to the counter to give us privacy.

I spoke in a hushed whisper. “William is here, and he does not like the idea of you both looking through the tunnels.”

“We won’t be doing that with you there,” Wes reassured me.

Though, if either of them thought they’d be going down there without me, they had another thing coming. “But you’re going to have to decide what to do with William’s body,” I hissed. “It can’t just stay down there forever. Beneath the house.” I frowned at the horrible idea.

“I’ll mention it to my family today. I’ll need to find out how they want to handle it.” Wes continued to face me but directed his words to William and the empty space next to me. “What would you like to happen to your remains?” he whispered.

“Home. I’d like to go home.” William nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, seeming happy with the thought.

I relayed his response. “He wants to go home to England.”

Liam came back holding both coffees. “When should we come over to check out that basement with you?” he pressed.

William shook his head once again.

I spread my hands out as if I were uncertain. “I’ll have to let you know. It really depends on how the afternoon goes and if I need to go back down there with Aunt Linda. She has to give her permission.”

“Very well. We’ll be waiting for your message.” Liam’s frustration at my answer was quite apparent in the flare of his nostril and the set of his jaw. Wes had gotten all the good humor and charm.

“Yeah, we’d better let you get back to work.” Wes ushered his brother out the door before I could respond.

Geez. Those two were brothers? Not such a happy family.

16

It was swap day, which meant I got to be the one to stay put in the shop for the afternoon while Aunt Linda ran the errands.

To my delight and confusion about how I felt about him, Don stopped by unexpectedly.

“Hey there,” I said in a warm voice. “Come sit. I’ve got extra lunch if you want to join me.” Otto had loaded me up, as usual. If Don didn’t help me eat, it would become leftovers.

With a smile, he took a seat next to me. “How are things going with the reopening?” He dug into the lunch eagerly. “I haven’t had a chance to stop by since just before you two officially went back into business.”

I chewed a big bite of turkey before replying. “Everything has been so busy. We’ve run out of several items. What’s even crazier is that social media and the videos I’m making are causing the online orders to skyrocket.” I took a couple of bites. “Kind of wild, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Good wild.”

Don stood after we’d shot the breeze about local happenings for a while after eating. I’d had to stop and help customers several times during the process.

“Well,” he said. “I’d better be getting back to it.”

He hadn’t been gone long when Maggie appeared, her ghostly form reminding me that she was still with us.

“Tonight we’ll get some answers,” I promised.

She nodded, looking weary with me, and disappeared.

Aunt Linda returned before closing time and looked around the rear stockroom with a pleased but surprised look on her face.

I sighed and put my hands on my hips. “Things are going to need to be restocked before this weekend. We won’t have enough to fill all the walk-in customer orders along with the online orders.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, Mags. What if you did certain scents that were available online only? Then we wouldn’t be spread as thin. Some of our walk-in customers would go online to get the exclusive scents.” She began to straighten up the shop so we could head home.

“Sounds wonderful.” I started doing the same thing, neatening and tidying. “Maggie was here again. I promised that we’d check out the tunnels tonight. There’s just one minor problem.”

Her head jerked up, and she eyed me with concern. “What’s that?”

“I met Wes’s brother today in the coffee shop. Liam. William the ghost appeared, but he didn’t want me to show them the tunnels. He said it was a bad idea.”

She furrowed her brow. “Why would William care if you showed them the tunnels?”

“He didn’t say. Just that he didn’t want me to take them down there.” I shrugged. “They’ll have to go down there eventually to get William’s body.”

“If it’s exhumed properly, then a professional will be the one that goes down there and not one of us or them. They’ll know how to ship it back to England, so it won’t get stuck in customs.” She tapped her chin. “We’ll insist on proper handling.”

“Did you ever think that you’d be having a conversation about a body being exhumed from hidden tunnels in your house?” I laughed and held the door open as she grabbed her purse.

We both headed over to her house. I parked behind her, and we got out to go inside.

“The insurance called today,” she said as she unlocked the door. “I’m just going to demolish the house. The inspector doesn’t think it needs to be repaired but torn down instead.” Aunt Linda sighed as we walked toward the tunnels. “It’s too far gone.”

“Will you build the same house again? Or is there something else that you want to do this time?” I looked at the molding and wondered how much could be salvaged for the new place.

She paused when we reached the top of the stairs. “The old house was where I’d always assumed that I’d grow old. Now, I’m not sure what I want to do.” She flipped on the flashlight before going down.

Both of us aimed the flashlights into the darkness and toward the alcoves. There were antiques in several of them. “Here we go,” I muttered.

The first one held a trunk and a table. I opened the trunk and found some linens that hadn’t fared very well. Everything had aged and was falling apart.

The next alcove held a rocker, a candlestick, and some busted wood. Nothing to explore, really, though I was dying to know some of the values of these pieces. Where was one of those Antique Roadshow guys when you needed them? I probably should’ve been filming some of this.

Wooden crates and chests filled the next space, but when I tried to open some of them, William appeared.

A gasp escaped from me. I guess some ghosts still managed to spook me. “Can I help you?” I asked, putting a hand over my still racing heart to help calm down.

“I sensed someone getting close to my body,” he replied, his voice sorrowful.

“How are you holding up?” I scanned the floor with the flashlight so that I didn’t step on his buried corpse. I had no idea where exactly it was, but it was apparently close enough to send William out.

“Wes needs to be protected,” he stated, pacing the floor. “Other than that, I’m not entirely sure why I’m still here. I’m ready to be at peace. After all this time, I feel like it’s well earned.”

“That’s what we’re doing down here. I’m searching for something that will give you and Maggie some peace. There has to be something here, and I will not give up on you two.”

I tried again in vain to open a crate. “Maybe Wes can do something with the information in the journal that will let you rest,” I offered hopefully.

“That seems very unlikely,” he said with a frown before disappearing as easily and with as little warning as when he’d appeared.

Aunt Linda came into the alcove where I stood.

“William was here,” I said.

“I heard you talking to him.” She shook her head. “Ghosts…”

The crates were stubborn and wouldn’t let us open them without a crowbar. “We might as well leave them for tonight. I’m tired, and we have an early day at the shop again tomorrow.” Aunt Linda motioned for us to head back up the stairs.

Disappointed, but knowing she was right, I followed her as we called it a night.

17

A few days later, I ran over to the Jitterbug to meet up with the other shop owners and Lucy.

“You guys did such an amazing job. Those new scents are to die for,” Lacy raved. “I can’t believe all the improvements you’ve made in the shop.”

I couldn’t stop my grin. “It’s been so crazy. I mean, that’s a good thing, really. We’re going to have to restock again though.” I sighed and took a sip of the coffee that Laura handed me. “Third time since we reopened. I’ve been making candles nonstop the last few days while Linda handles customers.” We really needed another assistant. One that wouldn’t try to kill us. Or burn the place down.

“How are you guys doing with prepping for the holiday rush?” I asked them.

“Well, there will be a rush of orders for dinner parties, but it’s a lot of work.” Otto nodded with experience.

“I always love all the lights and decorations, but I’m also glad when it’s over.” Laura sighed and took a seat at the table with the rest of us.

“What are we reading today?” I asked.

The book club moments with the shop owners were always a breath of fresh air. The perspective I gained, not from the reading, but from my friends, always gave me something to think about.

When I walked back into the Colonial Candles an hour later, Aunt Linda was rearranging another candle set. I hurried to help her get it just right.

“Maggie was here all morning.” Aunt Linda frowned. “She was just watching.”

“Ugh, I feel so guilty. I should have solved this thing for Maggie.” I moved a couple of things just a smidge to complete the arrangement. “I don’t think there are any bones or even a body left for us to find. We’ve discovered her murderer and Kim got arrested. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to help her move on at this point.”

“We have to be missing something,” Aunt Linda chimed in. “Why don’t you run to the hardware store and pick up a crowbar? Then we’ll be able to get those boxes open tonight. Maybe it will get us closer to helping Maggie move on.”

“William mentioned at the ball that he was trying to protect Wes. Then I asked Maggie if she was here to protect me, and she nodded.”

“If Kim is in jail and they found her guilty, what more do you need protected from?” Aunt Linda tilted her head at me.

“Couldn’t agree more,” I said, but I couldn’t help but be nervous about what they could’ve been predicting.

After closing, armed with safety glasses and a crowbar, we headed downstairs, ready to take on our mission. I set down a lantern I’d picked up at the hardware store when I got the crowbars. Much better than just the flashlights.

We arrived at the first crate that needed to be opened, only to stare at it.

“Do we even know how to use the crowbar?” We exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

I shrugged. “It seems a little self-explanatory, but I’m not sure where to start.” I studied first one end and then the other. “Which one should I use?”

Linda laughed with me. “Only way to find out is to try.”

A few minutes later, with no progress, I wasn’t sure what to do. “We could always call the fire chief. He’s been coming into the store a lot lately. Maybe he’d come help us.”

“Aunt Linda.” My voice rose two octaves as if I was scandalized. “When did this start?”

“He’s been coming around a bit.” She blushed, noticeable even in the electric lantern light. “He’s brought lunch over a few times too.”

I laughed at the way she was trying to downplay his attention. “There’s always Wes. His brother wanted to come down anyway, and I’m sure they can help us.”

“Would you be okay with that? Because you didn’t feel right about it at first. What about Don?” She stood back, waiting for my answer.

“Um, yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea either.” I grimaced. He’d been texting me off and on all week.

Aunt Linda let out a huff and flapped her hand at me. “I’ll order dinner and go get it. You call Wes and invite him down. Try to give him the hint that we only want him. He can open everything. Then while he’s here, he can decide what to do with his ancestor’s body.”

“Ugh, I guess that is the best plan for tonight. I’ll call him.” I groaned and pulled out my phone.

I was surprised I had service, but it rang easily, and he picked up on the second ring. “Wes?” His voice didn’t sound right.

“No, this is Liam.” Ugh. That was why.

“Oh, hello. Can I speak to Wes please?” I didn’t want to be rude, but I wanted to speak to the less scary brother.

“He’s with the last patient of the evening. Can I deliver a message for you?” Liam’s suave tone made me feel icky.

“Um, sure. I was going through the tunnels and there were some crates we couldn’t get open. I could use some help with those.” I gasped as the words escaped before I could get them back. Scotch Bonnet.

“We can probably come help with that in about half an hour.” Darn it. I should’ve lied. Double Scotch Bonnet.

“Thank you. I’ll be outside to meet you.” After hanging up, I went to find Aunt Linda leaning against her car.

“The food should be ready in about forty-five minutes,” she announced. “I’ll leave in about twenty so it will still be hot or as hot as it can be when I get back. We can bring up a few of those smaller things and put them on the backseat until later.”

“Works for me.” I followed her back downstairs for a load of the things we’d found while I waited on my helpers to arrive.

18

Wes and his brother, Liam, arrived shortly after Aunt Linda went to town to get the food for everyone.

The ghostly form of William appeared right as the two exited their car. He followed closely behind them, shaking his head in disapproval.

I spared a glance to William, hoping for an answer, but quickly turned back to Wes and Liam. “Hey, thanks for coming to help us.” I couldn’t really speak to William in front of Liam.

“No, thank you for calling us,” Liam said with a sickly-sweet smile.

I risked another glance at William.

“You are doing us a real service. Aunt Linda and I aren’t strong enough to open a single box with the crowbar. The chests weren’t that difficult, but the crates have old hand-forged nails. They don’t make things like they used to, that’s for sure.”