The Ghost in the Grove, Marcia [ebook pc reader txt] 📗

your death or come to terms with it.”
Aaron spoke of watching his dad kneel beside his body and tell him he loved him. His voice broke as he remembered seeing his father leave the crypt and how he knew his father would not live for much longer when he saw him at the funeral.
“Wait hold on, you went to your own funeral?” Maria’s eyes were wide, “That’s just a little, dark isn’t it?

“Think about it Maria,” Aaron asked, his grey eyes were clouded over, “one minute you are alive, you can feel the glow inside you, the next there is no glow, just darkness and it is really cold; you see and hear people but they don’t see or hear you.”

“Is that what it’s like to die? You lose your glow?” Maria’s question made Aaron look at her.

“Honey I can’t go into details about dying, there are rules that we need to follow. But I can tell you a few things and part of it is that there is this fire that burns inside you, it’s the life given to you by the creator. It is so subtle you hardly know it’s there when you are alive,” he bit his lower lip and continued, “when you die the fire goes out instantly and you know it ,you feel it, it’s like being thrown into a pool on a hot summer’s day.”

Maria cast a glance about her. The strange mist that brought her to Willow Grove still lay about them.
“Do you remember anything about your life?” her heart skipped about in her chest.

He gave the saddest half smile, “yes I remember everything about my life, my dad, my friends, my hobbies, just about everything actually.”

“And the day you died?” the question came out tentatively, almost as if though she did not want to ask it.

He gave a short sarcastic laugh, “oh my darling Maria, if only it were that easy. No, I can’t remember that. Not what I had for breakfast or who I spoke to. All I remember was waking up and feeling really cold. It’s part of the rules; you don’t get the last day of your life.”

Maria rubbed her face in her hands, “Okay you know something bad happened to you, right?” she asked him.

“Yes I know it was bad, I saw my body and the police. I also heard things at my funeral.” He whispered, “You know I never knew how much I wanted to live until I died.”
They stared at each other for a long time. The mist around them changed colour from silver to gold and then to a pearly white.
Eventually Maria leaned forward and took Aaron’s face into her hands, looking into his eyes she said, “I think we should find out what happened to you ghost boy.”
His eyes shone with happiness, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him. Pressing his lips to hers and completely ignoring her protests, he kissed her soundly. Releasing her he grinned and replied, “You have yourself a deal Maria.”

Maria awoke with a start. Aaron’s words were ringing in her eyes and her lips tingled from his kiss. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sat with her head in her hands. What was she getting herself into? In her dream she told Aaron she would help him find out what happened but she was not sure that everything that had happened so far was not her imagination running riot. Raising her head she looked out the window at Willow Grove. Smiling she remembered how he called her pretty Maria and the way his grey eyes shone. If all had gone well with Aaron he would now be 61 years old, with a wife and a few children. Instead his bones lay rotting in a grave and his spirit was seducing her. Scrunching up her face, she remembered how he made her feel when he kissed or touched her. It felt as if though he was alive and she was dead. Somehow she understood what he meant when he spoke about the fire leaving you. Wasn’t that how she felt when she had lost Alessandro? Maybe dying was not much different that living.
With that thought Maria decided that she would find out who killed Aaron. She knew she was looking at something that happened 40 years ago and there was every chance she would come up empty handed but she had to try.
She was still not convinced that she was completely sane, but of one thing she was certain; she would help the strange ghost boy find out what happened on the last day of his life


CHAPTER 5

Maria went into work earlier than usual on Monday morning. She slept badly the night before. Her dreams were filled with images of shadows and Aaron being held captive by a snake that hissed and jeered at her every time she tried to get close him. Mrs Hodgson walked in at about 9AM and greeted her cheerily.
“Morning dear, how are you?” she beamed.

“I am good, Mrs H, how are you?” Maria answered.

“I am excellent, Mr Hodgson and the kids cooked dinner for me and I got a beautiful bouquet of roses,” she gushed.

“Oh nice. It wasn’t your birthday or anything?” Maria asked trying to remember the librarian’s birth date.

“No not at all. It was just something to surprise me. Though I suppose Mr Hodgson has his ulterior motives.” Mrs Hodgson said with resignation.

Maria struggled with a particularly large dictionary, “why would you say that?”

“Well you know the mayoral elections were held recently and Harold holds quite a high position in the mayor’s office. I guess this is his way of apologising for being around a lot less in the coming months.” Mrs Hodgson squinted out the window lost in thought.

Maria smiled at her; Mrs Hodgson had been married for 35 years. Born and raised in Meenrall’s hill, she had married Harold Hodgson, a lawyer back then who had taken a keen interest in politics. He had risen quickly through the ranks and had given his family a comfortable home and an elevated status in the Hill.

“So have you dealt with your ghosts?” Mrs Hodgson asked.

Maria jerked sharply and stared at the older woman, “What do you mean Mrs H?”

“Really Maria there is no need to look so alarmed. You just looked like a woman on a mission yesterday. Did you find what you were looking for?” Mrs Hodgson asked with a raised eyebrow.

Releasing a breath she had not been aware she was holding Maria replied, “Oh yes, that, I actually found out quite a bit. However it was nothing really concrete. I mean the story of The Lover; it is so macabre and so tragic. Then there is the fact that no one found out who the killer is. What exactly do you know Mrs H?” she asked in what she hoped was an off handed way.

Mrs Hodgson’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember The Lover’s killing spree. “Well I do remember it was a really dark time in the town. 5 young men were killed off in a space of just two years and the worst part was that these men were the pride of the town. For a while it seemed as if though the killer had a vendetta against the wealthy people of the town.”
She took a sip of her tea and continued, “For that period of time the whole town was in a constant state of mourning. We literally lived in fear of the morning for the news of another murder.”
Her eyes looked off into the distance, going back 40 years.

5th November 1979 – Eleanor looked up as Harold walked into the hardware store. Beaming brightly she beckoned her husband of 5 years into a solitary corner of the store. When they were enclosed in the confined space she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Her heart pounded in her chest and she marvelled at how after 5 years of marriage he could still make her feel like she was sixteen years old. Harold pressed her up against a shelf, his hand curling around her calf bringing her knee up to his waist. His other hand ran up her thigh and pressed into the small of her back. Snaking her tongue into his mouth she moaned slightly and he gripped her, pulling her closer. The counter bell pinged out front and Eleanor groaned in frustration
“I think they want you baby,” Harold breathed against her lips.
“I am sure they can wait a little while longer,” she whispered urgently.
“Mrs Eleanor, you back there? I need your help urgently please.” Detective chief inspector Ramose’s voice carried through the store.
“Shit!” she whispered, “stay here and don’t move. I will be back now,” she told her husband.
Smoothing out her hair and skirt Eleanor Hodgson walked to the front of the store and greeted the police officer, “Morning Sam, what can I help you with today?”
The officer looked at her, “Sorry to disturb you, we need about 6 flashlights and some rope. We need to cordon off an area.”
Eleanor stared at him and asked “cordon off an area? Why? Is there an issue with the cattle farmers again?”
Ramose passed a hand over his tired face and in a low voice said, “There was another murder last night.”
Her mouth dropped open and she looked at him aghast, “Who is it Sam?”
“Its Dr Macayle’s boy, Devon. We found him up in Lovers Lane.”
Her hands shook as she handed over the required items.
“Oh good Lord Sam,” her voice was barely a whisper, “was it that, monster?”
“Yeah Eleanor,” Sam said, looking down at his feet, “it’s The Lover, again.”

Maria watched Eleanor Hodgson in her reverie for a few moments and then cleared her throat.
“So you were saying, the town was in a state of mourning?”

“Oh yes,” Mrs Hodgson replied, “it was a terrible time, everyone was on their last nerve, the police had no answers and people just lived in fear of the phone ringing.”

She looked at Maria, her calf brown eyes staring at her hopelessly. Maria felt her despair and wondered what it would have been like to live in Meenrall’s Hill at that time.
Mrs Hodgson continued, “When Aaron was murdered, everyone thought that the killer had made a mistake, because he was not as well off as the other boys. There was this one detective though, Detective LaRain, he kept making enquiries long after the case was put on the shelf. He never gave up. It was as if though it was his mission in life to catch the killer.”
Maria perked up at this.

“This detective, is he still around?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah David is still around. He teaches criminology at the university up on the ridge. It’s a shame actually, he was so young when he started working on the case and it just took over his life.” Mrs Hodgson returned behind the counter and began her with her day’s work leaving Maria to her thoughts.

The first free moment she had, Maria looked up detective David LaRain. He lived at the edge of the town close to the university. That afternoon during her lunch time, Maria caught a bus to the university and enquired from some of the students about where she could find LaRain.
She walked into his office, he had