The Curse Оf Hollister House

Tuesday

“What smells so good?” I asked, coming downstairs with Alastair tagging along behind me.

“Biscuits and sausage gravy. Tom and I are going to a movie this evening, so I won’t be making dinner. I decided a big breakfast was just the thing in the event you ended up with a sandwich for dinner.”

I’d existed on sandwiches in New York, so I could certainly manage with one for one evening but didn’t say as much. “It smells wonderful, and I love your sausage gravy, but you didn’t need to go to so much trouble.”

Gracie slid a tray of golden biscuits from the oven. “I don’t mind. I like a big breakfast sometimes. With the rain and wind and all-around blustery day, it seemed like just the thing.”

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen counter. “Do you need help?”

“No. I just need to scramble some eggs. I guess you could set the table. Tom will be here as well, so we’ll need three place settings.”

I took three plates from the cupboard and was just setting them on the table when Tom walked in. He hung his wet hat and jacket in the mudroom, removed his shoes, and then padded into the room in his stocking feet. “Rain’s getting harder,” he said, pouring his own cup of coffee.

Gracie paused. “Tom dear, could you check the window at the end of the hallway? I opened it just a bit after it stopped raining yesterday and I can’t remember if I closed it.”

“I’ll check.” He headed out of the room.

“I hope it’s closed,” I said, picking out three sets of silverware. “If not, there will be a puddle on the floor.”

Gracie stirred the gravy and shrugged. “I have a mop, and the floor has been sealed. If the window was open, the wind might have blown your garland around a bit, though.”

“I can fix it. We don’t need spoons, do we?”

“No, a knife and fork each will do.”

Tom returned to the room. “The window was closed.”

“That’s good.” Gracie smiled at him. “The cream is still in the refrigerator.”

He headed in that direction. “I noticed the Halloween decorations. Been a while since anyone put them up here,” Tom commented.

“Paisley and I decorated yesterday,” I informed him.

“Such a sweet child,” Tom said. “Shame about her mother.”

“What exactly is wrong with her?” I asked. “Paisley said she was very, very sick, but she didn’t mention exactly what ailed her.”

“Leukemia,” Gracie said. “She’s been battling it for a while, although it looks like the dang thing may have won the battle.”

I paused and looked up from what I was doing. “Paisley mentioned that she overheard her mom and grandma talking about what will happen when she dies. Tough thing for a kid to overhear.”

Gracie glanced at me. “The entire situation is so sad. Not only is the mom basically at death’s door, but Ethel has been dealing with health issues as well. I don’t know what will happen to that poor child if she decides she is not able to care for her.”

“Maybe we can help,” I suggested. “With rides, or homework, or even meals.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gracie said. “I’ll talk to Ethel to see what she needs help with the most. I would think that transportation might be a biggie. No one is letting their children walk anywhere until they know for sure that Tracy’s killer is behind bars.”

“I spoke to Paisley about that yesterday.” I took a biscuit from the basket Gracie had just placed on the table. They looked delicious, and I was starving. “She said she is being driven to and from school by her friend, Anna’s, mother.”

“That’s good. No child should be on the street alone.” Gracie set the gravy on the table, and Tom followed with the eggs, and both joined me.

“Anna has an older sister, Emma, who attends the middle school,” I continued. “Paisley told me that Emma told her sister that Tracy and some of her friends would sneak out of school to meet up with some high school boys and vape during lunch.”

Gracie frowned. “I don’t like to hear that. Does Cass know about it?”

I nodded. “I called him yesterday to fill him in on the vaping and the creepy guy in the field.”

“Creepy guy in the field?” Tom asked.

I shared what Paisley had told me about the man who wore a big coat and could possibly be a drug dealer hanging out in the field behind the middle school.

“Someone lurking around the middle school where a child went missing seems like a good lead to me,” Tom said.

“I thought so too, but Cass said he already spoke to the guy,” I answered. “Apparently, he claims he just likes to sit on the rock and watch the kids. He didn’t have any drugs on him when Cass spoke to him, and as far as Cass knew, he hadn’t actually approached the school, so he couldn’t arrest him for anything. Cass suggested to the man that he might want to find another place to hang out and people watch, but he didn’t seem inclined to move, and he was far enough away from the school that Cass couldn’t force him to leave. Cass also said he didn’t have any reason to believe this guy was the killer, and he has a prosthetic hand. It’s a cheap one at that, not the sort you could get a good grip with, and Cass didn’t think he would have been able to dig the grave where Tracy was buried.”

“He might have had help,” Gracie pointed out.

“He might have, and Cass is keeping an eye on him.”

“So, what are your plans for today?” Gracie asked, changing the subject.

“I have my first experience as a dog trainer at two, and then Cass and I volunteer from four to six. I thought I might see if he wants to get pizza after that. In the meantime, I’m going to head into town to see if I can get some information from Hope about what exactly is expected of me at the Harvest Festival. The sign-in sheet was sort of vague, and you know I like to be prepared.”

“That is true. It did seem like you were two steps ahead of the game most of the time while you were growing up.”

Except for forgetting to wear a swimsuit under my clothes on that fateful fishing trip, I reminded myself, still blushing at the memory that refused to fade into the distance now that it had been conjured up. “Paisley and I talked about heading down to the pumpkin patch after my volunteer shift at the Harvest Festival on Saturday. We used to have so much fun picking out pumpkins and eating apple pie. The two of you are welcome to come with us if you’d like.”

Gracie looked at Tom. He nodded. “We’d love to come, dear. I’ll make a big pot of chili we can heat up and serve when we get back. We’ll want to get started on carving those pumpkins, and chili is an easy meal to serve. Remember the year we decided to try our hand at making fancy jack-o’-lanterns using the special knives I bought from the shopping channel?”

I laughed. “Your Charlie Chaplin ended up looking more like Snoopy the dog.”

“Poor Charlie did end up with an unfortunate nose.” Tom chuckled.

Gracie responded, and I took a minute to sit back and enjoy the banter. I’d missed it yet somehow hadn’t even been aware of it until just now. Looking back, I wasn’t sure how I’d let myself get so wrapped up in my own life. Fourteen years! I’d been gone for fourteen years and hadn’t been back to visit once. Sure, Gracie had come to New York to see me a few times, and there was that one year I had a concert in Chicago and we’d met up there, but to not have come home for more than a decade seemed unimaginable now that I was here, and the memory of what this place had once meant to me was beginning to sink in. When I’d come crawling home a broken and defeated woman, I hadn’t planned to stay. I figured I’d lick my wounds and regroup and then find some other dream to chase. But now that I was here, sitting at the family table eating biscuits and gravy while the rain poured down just outside the window, I found myself wondering why on earth I’d ever want to leave. Of course, staying would mean figuring out a way to support myself, and I had no idea what that might be.

“Another biscuit?” Gracie asked me, jogging me from my thoughts.

“No, thank you. This was all delicious.” I glanced at Alastair, who was waiting patiently for the bite of egg he knew would be coming. “Alastair and I will get the dishes, and then I’d like to talk to you about some ideas I have for updating my room just a bit.”

Gracie looked surprised. “Updating your room? Are you thinking of staying?”

“For now. If that is okay.”

Gracie smiled, and I couldn’t help but notice the tear in the corner of her eye. “Oh yes, that is more than okay; that is exactly what I’ve been hoping for.”