April's Affections and Intrigues: Love and Mystery Bloom

Deadly Curiosities, June 2014 by Gail Z. Martin Solaris Featuring: Cassidy Kincaide; Sorren ISBN: 1781082332 EAN: 9781781082331 Kindle: B00L89IWUC Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Purchase Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Powell's Books Books-A-Million Indie BookShop

"An Absolutely Fantastic Urban Fantasy!"

Deadly Curiosities
Gail Z. Martin

Reviewed by Jennifer Barnhart
Posted July 3, 2014

Fantasy Urban

Cassidy Kincaide loves her job...most of the time. She's inherited Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store in Charleston, South Carolina, from her uncle. The store has been in their family since 1670, and Cassidy is continuing the tradition of finding beautiful antiques. She's also continuing the tradition of finding and neutralizing dangerous magical and supernatural items and getting them off the market and out of mortal hands.

When normal antiques suddenly become linked to malicious spirits who go far beyond frightening, Cassidy must find what is triggering these sudden, deadly hauntings before Charleston's bloody history comes back with a vengeance.

DEADLY CURIOSITIES by Gail Z. Martin has to be one my new favorite urban fantasy series. First off, the concept is amazing. Cassidy is a psychometric. She can see and feel the history of an object by touching it. Putting her in a job in which every object comes with an emotional history is simply amazing, not to mention that Charleston is an old city steeped in a history of violence. It makes for a potentially combustible atmosphere.

The cast of characters adds to the charm of this series. Sorren, Cassidy's business partner and a 500 year old vampire, is quite mysterious, and I cant wait to learn more about him as Martin continues with the Deadly Curiosities series. Teag is a fantastic sidekick for Cassidy. He keeps her out of trouble, most of the time, provides humor and support, acts as a bodyguard if need, and his relationship with his partner Anthony adds a touch of sweet romance. The varied Charleston residents, from an aging Southern belle to a powerful Voudon queen, create a powerful and diverse cast who will surprise and delight.

The plot is surprisingly dark, much more so than the brief blurb lets on. I don't want to give away any spoilers because the unexpected direction DEADLY CURIOSITIES takes is part of the pleasure, and how Gail Z. Martin ties seemingly random events together to create a frightening story is simply fantastic.

DEADLY CURIOSITIES is a must read! I can't believe it's taken me this long to find author Gail Z. Martin. I'm moving her to my auto-buy list and can't wait to get my hands on the other books in the Deadly Curiosities series.

Learn more about Deadly Curiosities

SUMMARY

Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, an antique and curio shop with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up.

Excerpt

Gardenia Landing was a Victorian ‘painted lady’ with a two- story colonnaded piazza, an intriguing garden wall and an elaborate, wrought iron gate to a garden with lush greenery and a fountain. It was exactly the kind of place I would have picked if I had wanted to indulge and pamper myself.

I parked and hefted my backpack and overnight bag out of the trunk, along with a small pack filled with some ‘special’ tools to help me tackle whatever was causing the problems at the B&B. Since I deal better with haunted antiques on a full stomach, I’d stopped for a quick dinner on my way over. I was even wearing my favorite agate necklace and earrings, gemstones I trusted to help protect me from bad supernatural mojo. With a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and resolved to take on the worst Gardenia Landing had to throw at me.

Gardenias were in season, and so was honeysuckle and Confederate jasmine. The burble of a fountain promised cool respite from the warm Charleston evening.

As I opened the door into the foyer, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm sugar cookies greeted me and enticed me inside. I was greeted by a room done in period wallpaper and antique furniture with a large crystal chandelier. Off to the left, I got a peek of a dining room, and to the right, what I guessed was a parlor or library. I’d explore both later, I vowed.

Straight back the hallway was the kitchen with modern, stainless steel appliances. A door under the stairs was likely a powder room. The place managed to feel homey and upscale without pretension.

“You must be Cassidy!” A trim woman in her mid-forties rushed from the kitchen at the sound of the door. Her very wavy brown hair fell shoulder length, setting off tasteful gold earrings and a discreet—yet expensive, gold necklace. She wore a blue t-shirt and jeans that looked as if they had been pressed, over Sperry’s without socks. Everything about her exuded warmth and welcome, except for the look of worry in her blue eyes.

I smiled. “Are you Rebecca?”

She nodded. “Yes. And thank you so much for agreeing to come.”

I still wasn’t convinced it was a great idea, but I was resolved to see this thing through. “Your B&B is lovely,” I said sincerely.

Rebecca’s good cheer dimmed. “Thank you. I really love this place. But if we can’t figure out what’s going on, I don’t think I can stay here. Maggie said you had a ‘talent’ for dealing with these things. I don’t have a whiff of ESP, but unusual abilities do run in my mother’s family, so you’re not going to shock me.”

“How about if I put my bag in my room and then we sit down and talk?” I suggested. “I’d love a cup of that coffee; it smells amazing!” I paused. “Unless you’ve got other guests waiting.”

“Unfortunately, no.” She gave a sad smile. “It’s just you and one other couple for the next few days. I’m afraid word might be getting out about the problem.” She gestured for me to follow her. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”

I climbed the stairs, looking around at the foyer with its dark wood, beautiful balustrade, and antique furniture. A lovely cut glass vase was filled with hydrangea blossoms, and I recognized it as the ‘funeral’ vase Teag researched. I resolved to come back for a closer look once I settled in.

Upstairs, I counted four rooms plus another set of stairs. “I live on the third floor,” Rebecca said as she led me down the hall. “It was originally the maid’s room.”

She stopped in front of the last door on the right. “This is your room,” she said, opening the door for me. “Every room has its own bathroom with a shower. It’s a little tight, but you don’t have to share.”

The room was charming. The walls were painted a pale blue with a stenciled border. The large brass bed was the focal point of the room, with its plump throw pillows and chenille bedspread. A small white night stand with a lace doily was on one side, complete with a brass reading lamp with a stained glass shade. Is that the lamp she bought from Trifles and Folly? I wondered, suddenly a little disquieted by the idea of having it next to my bed.

At the foot of the bed was a dresser with a tall mirror and a marble finish on the top. A fluffy white bathrobe was draped invitingly over the arm of a comfortable chair with an ottoman, below a perfectly-angled floor lamp. I loved every piece, and the combined effect made me wish my stay was truly for rest and relaxation.

I set down my luggage and turned back to Rebecca. “The room is beautiful. Can you show me around, please? Then let’s talk about what’s been going on.”

Rebecca smiled, but I could tell she had a lot on her mind. I tried to set her at ease. “I always love to hear stories about old homes like this,” I said warmly. “And if you know the stories of any of the pieces that aren’t from our shop, please fill me in!”

“Most of the furniture in this room came from my grandma’s house near Savannah,” Rebecca replied. “Everything except the lamp, which is from Trifles and Folly.”

“Your grandmother had good taste,” I said.

Rebecca’s smile grew reflective. “She got a lot of the furniture from her mother and grandmother, so it’s authentic Victorian. When I was a little girl, I loved sleeping in the big brass bed.”

“The linens look period, too,” I said. Later, I would risk touching pieces, when I was alone. But Rebecca didn’t know much about my talent, and I didn’t want to give her an impromptu demonstration.

“Oh yes,” she agreed. “Though the table cloth Debra bought from you is in the dining room. The bedspread was also my grandmother’s, as are the pillow shams. But the pillows and sheets are all brand new!”

I wanted nothing more than to cozy into that inviting bed with a good book and a cup of tea, but relaxing would have to wait. “It all goes together perfectly. Do you have a different theme for each room?”

That was Rebecca’s cue to lead me back into the hallway. She handed me a key on a pretty keychain, and I recognized the fob as the handle from an ornate silver plated fork or spoon. Lovely.

“The house itself was built in the 1850s as a wedding present from James Harrison to his bride, Clarissa,” Rebecca told me as we walked down the narrow, dimly-lit hall. “The light fixtures were originally for gaslights, although of course, everything was remodeled for electric years ago.” The wall sconces had bulbs that replicated the warm glow of gas, which made the hallway a little eerie.

“The Harrisons raised their family in this house,” Rebecca continued. “They had three sons and a daughter, all of the sons rose to prominence.” She frowned. “Unfortunately, they also lost two infants, something that was far too common back then.”

“Did the house stay in the family?” I prompted. Mindful of the haunting, I was listening to validate the tragedies Mrs. Morrissey had mentioned, events that might have primed the house for paranormal action if the right catalyst was introduced.

Rebecca paused with her hand on the molded brass door knob to one of the other guestrooms. “It did, for a while,” she replied. “The oldest of the Harrison sons, Joseph, took over the family shipping company, and brought his new wife here. The other two sons eventually purchased homes nearby.”

“And the daughter?”

“Arabella Harrison did not fare as well as her brothers, I’m afraid,” Rebecca said. “She had what they called back then a ‘delicate nervous condition’. Today, I guess we’d say she was given to bouts of depression or worse. She died young.”

“Did she pass away here in the house?” I asked. Rebecca gave me a startled look. “I’m looking for clues about what might be going on,” I said apologetically, feeling like a ghoul.

“Actually, she did die in the house,” Rebecca said. “From consumption—the old name for tuberculosis.”

I shivered. “Do you know where she died?”

Rebecca shook her head. “I’ve never found anything that says exactly. Family letters just say that she spent most of her time in the garden, and that she died ‘in bed’.” She pushed open the door and turned on the light to the second guest room.

“We do have guests in this room, so I can’t let you do more than look.” As if she could guess my thoughts, she added, “None of the items we bought from you are in the room, and neither this room nor your room have had any problems.”

That was good to know, and it might mean that the lamp wasn’t supernaturally charged, but I wasn’t taking anything for granted until I knew more.

From the doorway, I peered into the room. It had a masculine feel, with a dark walnut bedroom set that had all the Victorian ornamentation. The bed’s high headboard nearly reached the ceiling. There was a huge armoire, a comfy chair and ottoman, and brass lamps with brass shades that reminded me of ones I’d seen in big city libraries. The dresser was the same dark walnut, with a white marble counter and an ornate mirror that must have been almost eight feet tall, crested with a carved medallion. Small antique pieces gave the room a lived-in look: old tintype photos in silver frames, a watercolor of a dog on the wall behind the chair, and white antimacassars on the back of the chairs.

Two duffle bags lay to one side. Obviously, the other guests hadn’t unpacked, either. I wondered if I would run into them later on. The web site said that guests were invited to gather nightly for cocktails.

“I’ll show you the other two rooms,” Rebecca said, as we stepped back from the doorway and she locked it up again. We turned toward the opposite side of the hallway, where the doorways were staggered so that one room wasn’t directly across from another.

These doors weren’t locked. The first room was shadowed, and although I knew that outside, dusk had fallen, something about the darkened room made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Rebecca turned on the light, but the faux gaslight glow didn’t dispel the feeling that something was not quite right.

“This room was the first place we got reports of problems,” Rebecca said. She nodded toward the large, oval mirror with a broad bronze ribbon-like frame. I was certain it came from our shop.

“What happened?” I asked.

Rebecca looked chagrinned. “Guests said they felt uncomfortable in the room, as if they were being watched. A few reported waking up to see a shadow moving across the wall.”

Shadow men, again.

“Could it be car headlights from the street?” I asked. “That’s given me a start now and again.”

“Not up here,” Rebecca replied. “The angle’s wrong.” She sighed. “This is one of the places guests and cleaning staff have reported cold spots and small items moving around on their own.”

“Were there problems before you bought the mirror?”

She shook her head. “We brought all the pieces from Trifles and Folly in at the same time, so it’s hard to say whether it’s all of them, or just some of them.” Rebecca gestured toward the room. “You can see why I don’t want to return the pieces. They’re just perfect for the décor—if we can get them to stop scaring the guests.”

The furniture in this room was oak, with a bed, dresser and old-fashioned washstand. The bed still had the very tall headboard and footboard, but lacked the ornamentation of the last room’s furnishings. Other than the troublesome mirror, there was an oil portrait of a pretty young woman, and a seascape that seemed a bit moody and dramatic for a bedroom. A Chinese Foo dog statue and a pewter lamp sat on the nightstand. The room had the requisite overstuffed chair, and also boasted a small fireplace.

“Do the fireplaces work?” I asked.

Rebecca nodded. “Several of them were bricked over before we bought the property, and the contractor advised against opening those back up. But the ones you see all work, and in the winter, guests like to cozy up to a fire even though as you know, it never gets all that cold here.”

I was glad when we left the room. I wondered whether my imagination was running away with me or whether I really was picking up the vibe from the mirror, but there was no way I would have been comfortable sleeping there.

“This is the last guest room,” Rebecca said, opening the door wide. She turned on the light, and I found myself looking at an imposing bed that had a small wooden half canopy protruding from the very high headboard, a detail that made it look like a throne. A vintage quilt covered the mattress, along with needlepoint throw pillows which made the bed only slightly less intimidating.

I spotted another set of silver picture frames on the dresser, ones I immediately recognized from our store. The pictures were old tintypes of a man and woman, authentic and completely unremarkable, yet instinctively, I wanted to draw back from the frames in unaccountable sadness.

“What happens in this room?” I asked.

“It’s odd,” Rebecca said. “The last room gives guests the willies, although no one has reported being hurt—thank heavens! But in this room, it’s almost as if something gradually drains the happiness out of the guests who stay here. Guests have cut their trip short, saying that they just didn’t feel like vacationing anymore. One woman told me that she broke down sobbing for no reason. My cleaning lady says the same thing.”

“So the problems have been witnessed by people other than just guests?” I asked. It had occurred to me that an unscrupulous guest might be tempted to concoct a story to get a discount or a refund.

Rebecca nodded. “Since the problems began, I’ve had to replace the cleaning position twice. The woman I have now, Cecilia, wears several charms around her neck, but then again, she’s Gullah, and says her people have ways of making peace with the spirits.” She drew a deep breath. “Sometimes when she’s cleaning, I hear her chanting to herself, but honestly, I don’t care what she does as long as she doesn’t quit!”

The Gullah people were descended from runaway or freed slaves who settled in isolated areas along South Carolina’s coast, the area most people call the Lowcountry. Gullah folks are known for their distinctive language, a combination of African and Caribbean languages borrowed from the cultures of the original settlers. One of their old traditions involves ‘root work’, a powerful form of folk magic and healing. The magic is real, and root workers deserve the high degree of respect—and awe—they are accorded. If you’re wise, you take root work very seriously.

I looked around the hallway as Rebecca closed the bedroom door and followed her back downstairs. The parlor had a magnificent Victorian single-end sofa, with a curving back that was higher on one side than the other, and rich red velvet upholstery edged in dark wood. Fringed lampshades glowed on the table lamps with their elaborate molded bronze stands. Rebecca laughed as she showed me how the big armoire hid a large screen TV and stereo system. A pair of comfortable chairs sat near the fireplace with an end table between them, inviting me to curl up and read.

“It’s lovely,” I said sincerely. “Any incidents in here?”

Rebecca grimaced. “Now, we seem to have incidents everywhere. At first, it was just in the bedrooms. Then, guests and staffers started experiencing strange things down here as well. And last week, we had a couple of unusual things go on in the garden.”

“Like?”She sighed. “There was damage to one of the flower beds, but everyone denied doing it, and frankly, I can’t really imagine one of our guests tearing out the geraniums.”

I couldn’t either. “How about your room? Do you have any antiques I should look at up there?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Everything in my room is modern—I brought it from my old house and I’ve had it for years. I put all the good pieces where guests could use and enjoy them.” She looked sheepish. “As much as I love the antiques, having only modern furniture in my room is a nice break, and it helps me feel like I’ve left work, if that makes sense.”

I nodded. “It does. Any disturbances up there?”

Rebecca hesitated, and I figured she was deciding just how much to trust me. “Not at first,” she said quietly. “But then ‘he’ started showing up.” She had gone quiet and pale. “He?” I asked gently.

She nodded, and exhaled in a rush, as if summoning her courage. “I see a black shadow of a man, but it’s too dark to be a regular shadow.” Her eyes pleaded with me for understanding. “Imagine if you cut a silhouette out of black construction paper. That’s how black it is. No light goes through it. Sometimes, I see him on the stairs. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and see the shadow slide out the door, like he’s been watching me.”

“Has your shadow man actually tried to harm anyone?” I asked.

Rebecca sighed. “No, but I’m afraid it’s heading that way. A few days ago, I fell on the steps. Only I didn’t trip. I definitely felt someone push me from behind, but there was no one here. One of my guests took an evening walk in the garden, and she said a vicious black dog growled at her. It chased her into the house, but of course, when we went searching for it, the gates were closed and there was no dog.”

“Have you had any reports of strangers, loitering near the place?” I asked.

Rebecca frowned. “The day I fell, I happened to look out the front window and I saw a man in black clothing with a broad- brimmed hat near the gate. It stuck in my mind because his clothing seemed odd for the season. I saw him again, the day the shadow dog chased my guest.”

She paused. “At first, I thought he might be new in the neighborhood. But I saw him just a few moments before you arrived, and I tried to catch up with him, but by the time I reached the sidewalk, he was gone.”

That definitely did not bode well, I thought. Shadow men, and now the man with the hat. Not to mention the fact that the incidents seemed to be getting more dangerous. Someone was going to get hurt. Maybe that was the point.

I followed Rebecca into the dining room, and gasped. Dominating the room was a massive mahogany table and an ornate side board that gave the bedroom sets real competition when it came to carved ornamentation. The table easily seated sixteen, and the chairs had leather upholstery and graceful, curved backs.

A huge, heavy server table sat up against one wall. No doubt many a Thanksgiving turkey and sides of sweet potatoes and okra had once waited their turn from that fine piece of furniture. But it was the equally massive sideboard and matching china cupboard that were the stars of the room.

The china cupboard stood at least seven feet tall, with a fan-shaped, intricately carved wooden frill at the top that probably added another foot or so to the height. The back of the cabinet was mirrored, with glass shelves to set off treasured china and decorative objects to their best advantage. The sideboard was probably four feet long and over five feet high, with a wide counter for holding tureens and platters. The tea set from Trifles and Folly sat on the broad counter, ready for use. The sideboard had a mirrored back above the counter, with carved wooden pillars at each end and another delicate but big wooden frill at the top. Drawers below would have held linens, flatware and other necessities, making it a very solid piece.

“It’s absolutely magnificent,” I whispered.

Rebecca grinned. “We’ve got some nice furniture in the house, but this is the showstopper,” she acknowledged. “My father’s great, great-grandfather was a sea captain, and he did well for himself. When he brought his bride to their new home, he wanted to make sure its furnishings made a statement to the neighbors that Captain Harrison and his wife were people of quality.”

“I imagine this did the trick,” I said. Part of me longed to run my fingers over the beautiful carvings, but I held back, unsure what kind of psychic image I might receive.

Rebecca nodded. “By all accounts, the captain and his wife were very happy for many years.”

“Until?” Something in her voice told me that the Harrisons’s happiness did not last forever.

She sighed. “Shipping is a dangerous business, especially back in that time. When Captain Harrison was in his late fifties, he decided to retire from the sea and planned to enjoy his later years with his wife. Unfortunately, his ship was lost on his final voyage, and he never made it home.”

“That’s awful,” I said.

Rebecca ran a hand lovingly over the table’s beautiful wood. “Mrs. Harrison lived into her nineties and never remarried. She was twenty years younger than her husband, so it was a long widowhood. The story that was passed down through the family was that she set a place for the Captain every night, just in case fate brought him home to her.” She looked at me conspiratorially.

“And according to family legend, it did. But not in the way she expected.”

“Oh?”

Rebecca gave me an impish grin. “According to family legend, Mrs. Harrison was walking down by the Battery and spotted something bobbing in the water next to the sea wall. She had a servant fish it out.” Flotsam wasn’t unusual down by the harbor, but most of the time it consisted of obvious trash.

“The item turned out to be an oilskin pouch that had been sealed with wax. That’s what made it float and kept out the water. Inside were papers from Captain Harrison himself, along with a fine silver chain necklace. An unfinished letter in the pouch in the captain’s handwriting indicated that the necklace was a gift for her, and that he looked forward to being home as soon as they completed this last trip, and that he would bring her a fresh pineapple to celebrate.”

There was a reason so many houses in the Charleston area used carvings of pineapples in their decorations. Once upon a time, the fruit had been quite rare, and many a sea captain brought them home as highly desirable gifts.

Rebecca shook her head. “Of course, his ship never made it home, but somehow, the sea brought her his last gift and letter.”

“What a great story!” I said, although as a historian, I had my doubts about its authenticity.

“Oh, that’s not the end of it,” Rebecca said. “The story says that great-great Grandma Harrison put the chain around her neck and went home with the letter. She was giddy with excitement, and told the servants that the Captain was coming home that night.”

“The poor old dear,” I murmured.

“In fact, she told the servants to serve dinner for two, and then leave her uninterrupted, because she and the Captain had a lot of catching up to do,” Rebecca said with a gleam in her eye.

My scalp began to prickle. “What happened?” I asked.

“According to the story, they found her dead at the table later that evening, slumped in her dining chair. But listen to this: the servants said that the food had been eaten at both place settings and that the room smelled of Bay Rum and pipe smoke, as it did when the Captain was in port.” She met my gaze. “And there was a fresh pineapple in the middle of the table.”

I eyed the table once more. With all these stories, I’m more surprised that the inn wasn’t haunted before this. Both the house and the furnishings are prime spook material. So the real question is—why now? What set off the haunting?

“Their second son, Benjamin, also went into the shipping business with his brother, and was also lost at sea,” Rebecca added. “Good story, huh?”

“Very good.” I paused. “What about the linens from our shop?” I asked.

Rebecca crossed the room and opened the door beneath the huge sideboard. She took out a folded tablecloth and unfurled it over the dining table.

“I fell in love with this as soon as Debra showed it to me,” Rebecca said wistfully. “For its age, it’s in excellent condition, and the embroidery is just beautiful,” she said, caressing the old stitches between her thumb and finger. The stitching was as white as the cloth itself, but it formed a complicated tracery border that was a work of art.

“We only use it for show,” Rebecca said. “I don’t serve meals on it, because I’m afraid of stains. But I enjoyed putting it out at other times, until she showed up.”

“She?”

Rebecca sighed. “Actually, people have seen two old women in this room, but not at the same time. One of them seems angry about something, and the other one has a darkness about her that has made people uneasy.”

Grumpy old lady ghosts, I thought. “No idea who they are?” I asked

“I think one of them might be Mrs. Harrison,” Rebecca said. “I’ve only glimpsed her once or twice, but the way she had her hair made me think of an old photograph I saw as a child.” She looked sheepish. “Of course, there were probably thousands of women in her day who wore their hair like that. I could be wrong.”

“But no clue as to why one is angry and the other is out of sorts?”

Rebecca shrugged, turning her hands palm up as if to say ‘who knows?’ “No idea. But one night, I heard a sound like china breaking, and when I came downstairs to see if something had fallen, there was nothing broken, but the doors to the sideboard were both open, and I’m certain I had shut them before going to bed.”

I followed her to the very modern kitchen, where she poured us each a cup of coffee and we settled down at the breakfast nook.

“You’re sure there weren’t any sightings of ghosts or strange happenings before you bought the items from Trifles and Folly?” I asked, sipping and savoring my coffee.

Rebecca shook her head. “After everything I’ve told you, you’d think we’d have had a spook-a-palooza here, right?”

She made a face. “Truth is, I used to envy the inns that claimed to be haunted. They always get mentioned more in the tourist brochures, and between the ghost tours and the annual Halloween Haunt write-up in the Post and Courier, it seemed to be good for business.”

“If that’s the case, why change it?” I asked. “You’ve got some great stories to tell, and Andrews Carriage Rides would probably be thrilled to have some fresh tales.” Some of our ghosts are famous enough to be celebrities in their own right. A new story with evidence to back it up could be valuable marketing.

Rebecca sipped her coffee, staring into the liquid like she might see an answer in the swirl of her cream. “I thought so too, at first…” She shivered.

“Tell me,” I urged, reaching out to touch her arm.

“The ‘sad’ bedroom upstairs certainly isn’t good for business, or staff turnover,” she said with a grim smile. “The mirror room is unsettling, and the spirit in that room has a habit of playing pranks that has gone from funny to creepy.”

“Oh?”

Her dark hair bobbed as she nodded. “At first, it was just little things like moving a guest’s glasses or sliding a key from one side of the dresser to another. Then later, items went missing, even when no one had been in the room.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t a staff person playing a prank?”

Rebecca shook her head. “It’s usually just me and one assistant who helps out in busy times, plus a part-time cook and the cleaning lady. At the times guests reported the incidents, there was no one here but me.”

“Could the guest have staged it themselves for attention—or a refund?”

She grimaced. “I don’t think so. The guests didn’t ask for their money back. Two of the others asked for a change of room. But they were all really spooked by it. I don’t think they were acting.”

“What else?”

“The ghosts have gotten more vocal,” she said with a sigh. “We’ve heard children in the hallway when there weren’t any kids staying here, and a woman’s voice when the room was empty.”

“Anything else?”

Rebecca met my gaze. “I’m worried, Cassidy. In the last week, the activity’s gotten worse. Doors slamming and locking. Damage to the flower beds outside. That incident on the stairs. And in the mirror room, I found one of the feather pillows ripped to shreds.” She shivered. “These aren’t the fun type of ghosts.” “Do you think the ghosts are angry about something?”

Slowly, Rebecca nodded. “That’s exactly what I think.” She paused. “I told you about the shadow man in my room. But there’s someone else up there as well.”

“Who?”

Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t know her name, but I think she might have worked in the house a long time ago. Maybe that was her room. She’s a middle-aged woman with her hair in a top knot, and she looks like she should have a rolling pin in her hands, if you know what I mean. I think she shows up to protect me.”

“How?”

A smile touched her lips. “One night when I saw the shadow man, I thought he was going to come closer. That was the first time I saw Greta.”

“Greta?”

Again, the sheepish grin. “That’s my name for her. Greta was standing between the door and the foot of my bed. I could almost see through her, but her figure was very clear. She had her hands on her hips, and she looked like she meant business. The shadow man disappeared, and didn’t come back for several nights.”

I leaned forward. “Do you know anything about James Harrison being involved with smugglers?” I asked. “Have you ever heard of a man named Jeremiah Abernathy?”

Rebecca frowned, thinking. “Smuggling wouldn’t surprise me. That was practically the official industry in Charleston for a long while.” She paused. “I don’t know anything about Jeremiah Abernathy, but there was some talk about the pirate loot that James Harrison and his crew brought back on their last trip.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “Their ship, the Lady Jane, was just coming back from Barbados. Rumor had it, they had picked up some of the treasure of a pirate ship that had sunk in a freak storm, and James brought it back to Charleston. A couple of days later, they sailed out again never to return.” Rebecca paused.

“Mrs. Harrison’s diary made it sound like the treasure they had picked up brought trouble. Some of Captain Harrison’s sailors thought it was cursed, and wanted to throw it overboard. They were all relieved to set out again and leave it behind in Charleston. Maybe they should have left it floating where they found it,” she said with a sigh.

A chime sounded, and Rebecca looked up suddenly, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was quarter to eight. “Yikes! I’ve got to get ready,” she said, draining her coffee cup. “I offer light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails in the dining room at 8:30, so I’d better get a move on.”

I finished my coffee and stood. “Can I help?”

Rebecca made a ‘tsk-tsk’ sound. “Thanks, but no. You’re my guest! Relax a little—I think you’ll enjoy meeting the other couple.”

With that, I left the coffee cup by the sink and headed up to my room. My room was just as I left it. So far, so good, I thought.

I had less than an hour before cocktails, so I unpacked my overnight case and laid out a fresh blouse. Time to see what kind of a read I’ll get from these pieces, I thought. I wanted to be able to sleep tonight, so I was hoping none of the objects in this room were too highly charged with supernatural juice.

I picked up the kit we used on investigations and pulled out a small package of salt, and another bag with some charcoal pieces in it, good for neutralizing negative energy. I didn’t want to damage any of Rebecca’s lovely antiques, but I didn’t want to be damaged by any of them, either.

Gingerly, I touched the footboard of the large brass bed, and waited for my gift to kick in. The images were faint, but pleasant. I caught a whiff of lemon verbena, and saw an image in my mind of a plump older woman her gray hair in a bun and apron strings tied over a work dress. Running my hand across the chenille bedspread reinforced the same mental picture. Rebecca’s grandmother? I wondered. Whoever she was, the old woman was a comforting presence.

I felt a little more hesitation when I approached the lamp. I remembered handling it in the shop without any strange effect. This time, I felt a tingle that had nothing to do with loose wiring. But like the bed and bedspread, the feelings and images were safe and comforting. A few notes of a lullaby sounded in the distance, and murmured good-nights. I pulled my hand away, and the vision disappeared, but not the sense of being wrapped in a warm embrace.

None of the pieces in my room needed to be cleansed or neutralized, so I put my items back in the pack and set it near the door for later that evening. Relieved, I settled into the chair with my book for the remaining time, figuring that I’d prowl the inn this evening after my fellow guests retired for the night. Before I knew it, the time had come to spruce up for cocktails.

I brushed my hair, washed my face, and then pulled on my new blouse and put on some lip gloss. Much better, I thought, appraising my reflection.

As I went down the stairs, I could hear low voices in the dining room and Rebecca’s laugh. When I reached the doorway, I stopped in my tracks, and my mouth may have fallen open in astonishment.

Teag and his partner Anthony stood leaning against the large sideboard, each holding a glass of wine, with Teag’s arm draped across Anthony’s shoulders.

“Hello, Cassidy,” Teag said with a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. “Fancy meeting you here. Isn’t this a lovely place to get away for a couple of days?”

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