Stalking Shadows (Scary Mary) (21 page)

 Gran had left the phone on the couch. It rang. Mary picked it up and looked at the display. She didn’t recognize the number, but it was local. “Hello, Dubont/Hellick residence.”

“Hello, this is Nina Beadley. May I speak to Mrs. Dubont?”

Mary’s eyes went toward the office, but it sounded like Gran was still talking to the police. “She’s busy right now, may I take a message?”

“Is this Mary?”

She swallowed and ran her hand through her hair. She wanted to deny it but knew that would be stupid. “Yeah, Mrs. Beadley. How are things with Marvin?”

“He was good for a few days after your visit, but he’s up to his old tricks again, and I’m about at my wit’s end.”

“You want us to get rid of him?”

She wasn’t sure why, but the thought made her feel sick. Mrs. Beadley paused before she answered. “No, not get rid of him, but I shouldn’t hold onto him. I need to let him go.”

She wanted to hang up the phone. She couldn’t discuss this with her. Gran had come back into the room. The police must have finally left. She mutely held out the phone. She took it and cocked her head questioningly. “It’s Mrs. Beadley. She wants to talk about Marvin.”

Gran nodded and walked into the kitchen with the phone. She wasn’t sure what to do now. Should she stay on the sofa? She felt like she should be doing something. She got up and went into the kitchen. Gran was sitting at the kitchen table while she talked. Mary walked quietly by her towards the office. She didn’t know if Gran saw her or not. She made no move to stop her.

The office looked the same and different. The lights were all on, and Mr. White was gone. Chowder was sitting on the sideboard. The rip on his neck sagged due to the missing sawdust. His missing eye was sitting by his feet. She patted his head with a shaky hand. There was no happy pant or cheerful yip. Not even a whine.

She couldn’t put him to peace like Mr. White. He had no eyelids to close, and his mouth was wired open. She picked up the small body and tucked it under her arm. The familiar motion made her shudder. She quietly slipped out the side door of the office. The back of the house had a large covered porch that extended to both the office entrance and the one to the kitchen. Gran kept most of her gardening tools back there. She picked up a garden trowel and scanned the ground for a suitable spot.

Their backyard was not the prettiest. The garden tools were there more as an aspiration than for actual use. Scrub grass and weeds made up the yard, along with an old crookety tree. She could never remember the name of it, but at its foot looked like the nicest place to be buried.

She set Chowder gently to the side of the tree, then picked up the trowel and began stabbing the ground to break up the dirt. She didn’t stop until her arm hurt. Mr. White had betrayed them. Max had betrayed them. And Chowder had paid the price. He’d been such an innocent spirit. He hadn’t deserved the violence done to him. They should’ve protected him, but he’d always protected them. She wiped the tears off her face and leaned back, looking up at the sky. The stars overhead were distant and cold. She heard the screen door to the kitchen slam.

Gran came to stand by her. She still had the phone, but now it was off. “I can call Mrs. Todd to get the number of her taxidermist. He could fix him up again.”

Mary shook her head. “It’s no use. He’s gone.”

Gran’s face went slack. “Are you sure?”

She nodded.

Gran seemed to sink into herself. The hole was about a foot deep now. She couldn’t bring herself to call it a grave. Gran carefully got onto her knees and put out her hand. “Here, let me do it.”

Mary shook her head again. “Right, let Grandma do the digging, not the teenaged girl.”

“There are some things you shouldn’t have to do yet.”

She began digging again. How deep was enough? What should she use as a marker? Should they say something? Like a prayer? She didn’t know how to answer these questions. She didn’t know anything, yet she could do so much damage. Tears began to fall from her eyes as her breath turned into hiccups. Gran reached out and put her hand over Mary’s. She let her take the trowel.

Mary looked at the little dog resting beside her. The thought of just placing him in the ground without anything seemed cruel. “We should wrap him in something. I’ll go get a towel.”

Gran nodded and kept digging. She went inside and took down a towel from the bathroom closet. She realized what she was getting was a shroud. She felt a new set of tears forming. On her way back outside, she spotted the red ball. It had been Chowder’s favorite-- actually his only--toy. It was the only thing that they had for him. They'd needed no food dish or leash. There was nothing to indicate that they had ever owned a dog. She took the ball with her. Back outside, Gran was waiting for her. Together they carefully wrapped Chowder’s body in the towel with the ball tucked inside with him and lowered the bundle into the small hole. Together they filled it in with their hands. When the hole was filled, Mary could only stare at it. “What should we say?” she asked. She didn’t know if she could say anything but felt like something should be said.

Gran patted the patch of earth with a gentle hand. “Chowder, you were the best little dog. You made us happy. We will miss you, and we hope you are happy and surrounded by love.”

Mary nodded silently in agreement.

Chapter 14

Coming to Terms

Mary walked up to Mrs. Beadley’s home with heavy steps. She wished Gran hadn’t insisted that they make this trip today. After everything that had happened the night before, she’d wanted to stay home in bed. As Gran knocked on the front door, she couldn’t help remembering carrying Chowder the last time they’d been there, the way Mrs. Beadley had stammered at the sight of him, how he’d been so happy to be there with them. She could feel her eyes watering and shook herself to stop them. Gran reached out and stroked her arm. It didn’t help. She stamped her feet instead and took deep breaths. The tears receded.

Nina opened the door for them with a relieved smile. “Thank you so much for coming,” she said as she ushered them in. Mary cast a weary look around the house. She didn’t hear Marvin, but Neil was sitting in the living room.

He nodded hello to them. He had a large picture frame in his hands. It had a wedding photo in it. It must be he and his late wife Gladys. She went to stand to the side. She’d felt unqualified to help the last time; this time she felt uninterested.

“Why are you here again?”

“Your wife called us. It seems you’re really upsetting her.” She kept her voice low as she answered.

“I’m only looking out for her.”

“No, you’re not. You’re being selfish and mean.”

“Now see here, girl. You don’t know anything about marriage.”

“I know it involves ‘until death do you part.’ What’s your excuse?”

Gran was talking to Nina and Neil during her conversation with Marvin. Neil was showing her the picture, and she was nodding her head while lightly touching it.

“Who are these women, Marvin?”

“Two mediums or something. The girl can hear us just fine.”

“She can?”

“Yes, she can,” Mary said softly. Gran sent an inquiring glance her way. Mary shrugged and dropped her eyes. She really didn’t want to get involved.

“Marvin, Gladys? I need you both to listen to me,” Gran said looking about the room. “You both know what’s happened to you. It’s time to move on.”

“And go where?”

Mary was curious about that, too. She’d heard Gran talk about ushering spirits to the other side, but she’d never really understood how that was supposed to work. She got that spirits anchored to an object to stay, but how were they supposed to leave unless you destroyed the anchor?

“You should feel it in your hearts like a tug. Follow it.”

“Do you feel it, Marvin? I think I feel it.”

“Yeah, I suppose, but it doesn’t mean we should leave.”

“Your loved ones are safe and cared for. You can leave with clear consciousnesses and easy hearts. Your time here is done. You need to continue your journey. Staying will only hurt you and those you care for.”

What Gran said sounded so right and good. The dead shouldn't linger. They weren't meant to stay. Why they did—-no, why some did and not others--was a mystery. Why she could hear those that stayed was a mystery, too. If the dead weren't meant to stay, why did she have this ability? Why did some stay? If they weren't meant to stay, then why did they? Why did she hear them? What was the point to all of it? It made no sense. The illogic just went round and round, making her dizzy. She felt cold. She knew the temperature in the room hadn’t dropped, and no one else seemed to have noticed it.

“Marvin, is that you?”

“What, girl?”

She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Sweat was breaking out on her upper lip. She wiped it away and thought about pulling out her hair. Gran looked over at her again with concern. Mary wrapped her arms around herself and backed out of the room. Gran called to her. She reached for the door. She couldn’t be here. Gran stepped into the foyer with a concerned look on her face. Mary shook her head to tell her not to follow. She slipped outside and took a few deep breaths. She clenched and unclenched her hands. She had to get it together. She looked at her hands again. They looked dirty. She wiped them on her jeans and paced to the front gate. Why was she even here? She didn’t care if Marvin and Gladys went to the light.

She turned and began pacing back to the house. Her eyes fell on the front door. Right now, Gran was trying to get rid of two ghosts. Last night two ghosts she’d wanted to stay had faded away. What was the point?

She turned and paced back to the gate. They could go peacefully. No one had to hurt them, and they didn’t have to hurt anyone. It was more than others got. A lot more.

She swung around when she reached the gate and paced back toward the house. Why did ghosts hang around? Why did they insist on staying? It didn't help anyone, no matter how nice they were. Losing someone twice was worse than once. They were being selfish. Mean. Hurting those they loved. Well, that was wrong. Hurting was wrong.

She didn’t turn around when she reached the front door. She took the handle and strode back inside. Everyone was still in the living room. Gran was still urging them to move on. Mary entered the room and stopped short at the coffee table. Gran stopped speaking and all eyes turned to her.

“That’s it. You get two choices. One, you cross over, or two you stay on this plane, but you don’t get to stay here. You’ll come home with us, and we’ll put you in our shed. You can bicker and haunt that for the rest of eternity. How does that sound?”

“Mary!” Gran protested.

“No, the world is for the living, right? The dead shouldn’t dictate the terms to us. You two don’t even realize how lucky you got it. You get a choice. Others in your situation don’t. So which will it be? Cross over or shed?”

“Now see here,” Neil protested.

“Oh I don’t know about this,” Nina said.

“Mary, you really shouldn’t—-”

“If you think you can make ultimatums--”

“I don’t know you, but you can’t--”

Mary marched out of the room and went to the kitchen. She threw open the overhead cabinet and dug out an old coffee cup. It hummed in her hand. It was Marvin’s anchor. She went back into the living room and picked up Neil’s framed wedding picture. Neil jumped up.

“Now I’m giving you a choice. I don’t have to. I could just smash both of these right here and, poof, you’d be gone.”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious which one you’d like us to choose,”
Marvin said.

“No, I don’t care. I’m just not going to stand here and plead. We’re not the powerless ones.”

Mrs. Beadley stood cautiously. “Wait, Mary. You don’t have to do this. We can take care of it.”

“He won’t let you be happy with Neil. He’s going to haunt you for the rest of your life. If he stays, you won’t be allowed to live, which may be worse than being dead. It’s the same for you, Neil. You decide.”

No one had an immediate response to her strong words. Gran was clearly thinking, but her eyes weren’t giving away what she thought. Neil and Nina looked pensive. Gladys and Marvin were silent, but it was a heavy silence.

She wanted to break something or scream. Why couldn’t any of them see it? Why were they dithering about this? If they wanted to get rid of the ghosts, then get rid of the ghosts! It wasn’t difficult. You didn’t need to be a freak to do it. She looked at Marvin’s coffee cup in her hand. She thought about smashing it on the floor. It would be so simple. She didn’t even need to throw it, just let it slip and down it would go and then Marvin would be gone. Her hands began to shake again.

She tried to tighten her grip on the mug, but her hand wouldn’t cooperate. The mug slipped before she could stop it. She tried to catch it, but she was too slow. It landed on the floor with a dull ceramic ring. It didn’t shatter, but a large chip came off of it.

The coldness she’d felt earlier swept over her again. What had she done? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She knelt down and picked up the mug. She pressed the chip back into where it’d come off. “I can fix this. He’s still here. It’s okay. I’m sorry.” Nina and Neil stared at her. They still didn’t fully understand the significance of the mug. Gran moved from her seat and gently took it out of her hands.