Haunted

“No, of course not,” Darcy agreed. “They were just old floorboards.”



As they walked through the breezeway to the foyer, the front door opened. Matt was back, in uniform. Darcy felt a bit strange, noticing the way he looked over her close proximity to Carter. Maybe Carter noticed Matt’s look as well. His arm fell from her shoulders.



“Hey, hardworking lawman,” Carter said. “You made it back just in time for dinner.”



Matt nodded, glancing at Darcy. “You feeling all right?”



She made an effort not to grit her teeth. “I’m really feeling terrific. You were the one who hit the floor, remember?”



“Ah, yes, the valiant, manly man of a sheriff!” Carter teased, and yet, Darcy thought that there was just a slight edge to his voice.” Of course, Darcy is fine. She fell on all that terrific muscle and sinew, eh, Matt?”



“Something like that,” Matt said dryly.



Penny appeared in the foyer. “Matt! Great. I’m so happy you’re back in time for a real dinner. Where did you get to? You weren’t answering the cell, and Shirley said that you’d left the station.”



“I had some business out of the county,” Matt said simply, still looking at Darcy. Then he turned to Penny at last. “Go on and start dinner without me. I’m going to take a quick shower and change. If you’ll all excuse me?”



It wasn’t really a question; more of a statement. He headed up the stairs.



“Well, ladies?” Carter said. He offered them both an arm.



Penny smiled and took one. “Honestly. You and Clint can be the most wretched young reprobates in history, but then, you can be the most darling men I know.”



“We strive for ‘darling’!” Carter said. “Come along.” He looked at Darcy, wiggling his free arm. “I’m working so hard on being ‘darling,’ Darcy. Give me a hand here!”



She smiled and accepted his arm.



“You should shave, Carter,” Penny told him.



“I’ve worked long and hard on this beard!” he told her.



“You’re still such a handsome fellow without it,” Penny argued.



“But I don’t look like Jeb Stuart without it!” Carter protested.



Penny sighed and looked around him to tell Darcy, “They called Jeb Stuart ‘Beauty’ when he was at West Point, and not because of his good looks, but because they thought that he was ugly as sin. So he had to grow a beard! Carter, it’s just the opposite with you. You have a great face. The beard should really go. What do you say, Darcy?”



Put on the spot, she shrugged. “I think he has to do what makes him happy with himself,” she said.



Carter studied her, slowly grinning. “That’s the whole crust of life, right in a nutshell, don’t you think? We all have to do what we all have to do—to be happy with ourselves.”



“While we’re living—and when we’re dead,” Penny said. She shivered suddenly. “Oh, Darcy! I like you so very much, but I sure do wish that you’d leave. I’m so worried about you.”



“Penny, there’s an expression that’s not very nice, but it fits the bill, I think,” Darcy told her, then quoted, “It’s not happening. So live with it.”



Penny grimaced. “That’s just the point, Darcy,” she said, and there was a real shiver to her voice. “I want you to live!”



Clint came striding to the foyer from the dining room. “Excuse me, people, but dinner is served!”



Penny walked ahead, touching Clint’s cheek. “We’re coming! But stalling a minute is fine, too. Matt’s home, showering and changing.”



“Well, then, Ms. Penny, you come and tell that to the cook!” Clint said.



Clint and Penny moved on. Darcy started to follow.



Carter pulled her back. “Darcy, something there just gave me chills, and I don’t believe in chills. Maybe you should think about this.”



“What are you talking about?” Darcy asked him.



“I don’t know. Just a feeling of discomfort. I don’t think that I believe that a ghost could be after you. No, I definitely don’t believe that. But still…”



“Still…what?” Darcy asked.



“There does seem to be some danger here for you,” Carter said, his words slow, as if he was struggling to understand his own feeling. Then the look of worry left his face. “You’re just too gorgeous. Which means, of course, we’d like to have you around forever. But not as a ghost! We want you to remain among the living. Oh, what the hell am I saying? Come, my beauty! The dinner table awaits.”



Caught in his arm, Darcy walked with him toward the dining room.



Then she was startled herself.



An icy chill suddenly swept up around her. Cold, so cold.



And she felt a strange tug….



As if someone was trying to get her away from Carter.



Keep her back.



Have her there…



Alone.



Chapter 9



9



“S o, our skull proves to be that of poor Amy, who has been running around the forest looking for her head for years,” Clint said, helping himself to more mashed potatoes. “This means we have to have a nice little ceremony and bury her skull, right?” He looked at Matt.



“Oh, but of course!” Penny exclaimed, before Matt could speak.



Matt arched a brow to her.



“We should bury it quietly,” he said. “If we have a ceremony, every idiot journalist from here to Alaska will be in the place, making a big deal out of it.”



“Matt, really!” Penny said with disgust.



Matt might be exaggerating, but he also had a point. People loved stories like this one; the New York Times might not pounce on it, but small papers and sensationalist rags from all over would jump on that kind of a story.



“Actually,” Carter said, “it wouldn’t be so bad. It would be a nice thing. A tidy end to the story. And the journalists would have to write up the fact that the ghost had been put to rest. Once put to rest, there would be no more hauntings. Right, Darcy?”



Darcy set her fork down. “The skull should be buried with the rest of the body. Having a minister officiate would be nice. Exactly what goes on other than that probably doesn’t matter.”



“None of it really matters anyway,” Matt said. He sounded irritated. Naturally. He didn’t believe in ghosts.



Darcy chose her words carefully. “Whether Amy’s ghost ever actually ran around the forest or not isn’t the point. We bury people out of respect for the lives they led, and for those loved ones left behind. Granted, Amy doesn’t have any remaining relatives in the area—that we know about—but she was still a living, breathing human being. A pitiable one, considering the way that she was murdered. In all due respect, we should see that her skull is buried with her body.”



Matt hesitated, then said, “Her skull can go near her body. She was buried more than a century ago. God knows what shape she’d be in now. The coffin was probably simple wood, long since deteriorated. There are different laws regarding burial now. We can do our best—since I suppose you’re right, that it would be proper.” He looked around the table. “Go into any major museum, and you’ll find bones and skulls coming out of the woodwork. Dead is dead. If there truly is life after death, I’d say it’s pretty well confirmed that we don’t need our physical bodies once we get there.”



“Matt, there’s not a bit of the romantic in you!” Penny moaned.



“What is romantic about a tragic murder?”



“The simple rightness of seeing that she is whole again, at least in her final resting place,” Penny said firmly.



Matt shrugged. “Penny, we’ll see that the skull is interred near the body, all right?”



“And we’ll have a little ceremony?” Penny pleaded.



He threw up his hands. “Whatever you wish, Penny.”



“Hey,” Darcy asked, determined to change the subject. “Did any of you all ever hear of a woman named Arabella?”



“Yes, there is a story about Arabella,” Penny began. “She was supposedly the bastard child of a far distant Stone who tried to seduce the legitimate heir, eons ago. Scheming, conniving, and all. But he married someone else. And she disappeared from the legend. Why? Were you reading about her?”



“Yes, just now.”



Penny was excited. “There’s no story about her dying a violent death.”



“But she disappeared. Maybe she was murdered. She could be the haunt in the Lee Room.”



Matt pushed back his chair. “Excuse me, ladies, gentlemen. I hear the night air calling to me.”



“But Matt!” Penny said.



He didn’t reply. He pushed his chair in, then looked at Darcy. “You’re sure you’re all right?”



They had managed to go through the entire meal without referring to the episode in the library.



Darcy sighed. “I’m fine,” she said.



“When you’re tired, go up,” he warned.



“Darcy, he’s right,” Clint said, looking at her worriedly.



“I’m fine,” she persisted.



“I agree. You looked darned good to me,” Carter said lightly.



Matt turned and walked out of the dining room. Penny folded her hands and looked at Darcy excitedly again. “Arabella! I can see what you’re thinking. She disappeared from the records and the area—because she was dead. Murdered by her traitorous lover. In the Lee Room!”



“Something like that,” Darcy said.



Carter groaned. “There wasn’t a body.”



“Oh, posh! A man who knew the area—years ago, before forensic sciences were so advanced—could easily dispose of a body,” Penny said. She looked earnestly at Darcy. “I watch all the forensic shows, so I know about these things.”



Darcy looked down, hiding a smile. Then she looked at Carter. “I’m afraid that even today, with all the police work and forensic technology available, lots of bodies still disappear, and many murderers go unpunished.”