The Victim - 1. Chapter 1: The Victim

My husband and I had been interviewing with a variety of different companies, some in other cities in the same state where we currently reside and others in different states. We were not only looking for better jobs, but we also want to either be hired by the same company or by two companies that are located within the same general area.

Eventually, we both received a call from the same company offering us jobs, and we agreed to accept. I’m going to be the Benefits and Compensation Administrator and Hayden is going to be the IT manager for the Deluxe Corporation.

“Nathan, I think this is going to work out for both of us,” my husband said, and I couldn’t agree with him more.

We had a lot to do in order to move, and after giving notice to our current employers, we started packing up our belongings and putting most of those things in storage as we prepared to sell our current home. We also contacted a real estate agent in Franklin, the city we’re moving to, so she could show us properties in our price range that we might be interested in.

We flew to Franklin on the Friday before we were to start work, and we stopped at the Deluxe Corporation to sign some paperwork. We also picked up the keys to the apartment the company had arranged for us to use until we got our own place, and then on Saturday we met with the real estate agent. She picked us up at the apartment to go house hunting.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you and I have several properties lined up for you to visit. Each one is located in one of the better communities in this area, and I think you’ll be impressed.”

The first few houses she showed us were all very nice, but they didn’t speak to us and make us feel that we’d be comfortable there. That all changed when she took us to the next property, because we were immediately intrigued the moment we laid eyes on it.

“This house was built in the Georgian Revival style in the late 1880s,” she explained, “and it’s in incredible condition for its age. This is due to the fact that each of the previous owners took great care of the home and each one made improvements to it. In other words, over time major upgrades were made, such as adding central heating in the 1950s, and electricity and indoor plumbing were added prior to that time. The electricity and plumbing were later updated to meet current codes and specifications, and the kitchen and bathrooms have all been renovated at different times as well. As we go around the house, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it appears to be in excellent condition,”

She then took us on a tour of the place and pointed out many of its positive points and unusual features as soon as we walked in the door.

“As you can see, as you enter into a large and impressive foyer, and across from us is the main staircase. It is what is commonly referred to as a half-turn stairway, and all this means is the first flight of stairs ascends until it reaches a landing. In this case the landing is about two-thirds of the distance to the second floor. At the other end of the landing is a shorter flight of stairs that goes 180-degrees in the opposite direction until it reaches the second floor, thus explaining why it is called a half-turn stairway.”

“I must admit it’s very impressive,” I replied.

“If you look along the left wall to where it connects with the landing, you will see there is a small hallway that leads to the backdoor and the rear stairway, but we’ll get to that a little later. However, if you look directly to your left you will see the entrance to the living room. As we enter, you’ll see directly across from you two impressive features, the first is the magnificent stone fireplace with its intricate design.”

She was correct, there was a breathtaking stone fireplace, and in front of it was a sofa, along with wingback chair on either side of it. It wasn’t exactly our style, but I’m sure it was very practical for the owners to enjoy sitting in front of a roaring fire.

“To the right of the fireplace,” she continued, “is a set of French doors that leads out to an enclosed porch,” she added as she led us there. “As you can see, the exterior wall to this area is lined with windows that can easily be opened or closed at the whim of the person using the area. It provides a lovely option so you can enjoy yourself both during the day and at night.”

After we’d inspected the living room and enclosed porch, she led us back to the foyer. “Directly across from us is another doorway that leads into the large dining room, although it’s not nearly as large as the living room. Just so you know, each of the doorways that lead into the living room and dining rooms has a pair of pocket doors that you can slide open or closed as needed.” She then demonstrated how the doors worked.

As we entered the dining room, we couldn’t help but notice the lovely dining room set that was in there. It consisted of a rectangular table with two armchairs and six side chairs, a buffet, or sideboard, and a china cabinet. Each of those items was crafted from cherry wood, which had been highly polished, and the entire set appears as if it belonged in the dining room.

“The reason the dining room is only slightly more than half the size of the living room,” the realtor added, “is that the kitchen takes up the rest of the area. In fact, the kitchen not only takes up the area behind the dining room, but it also extends behind the stairway as well. There are two doorways that lead in and out of the kitchen, with the first being a swinging door that separates the kitchen from the dining room.” As she was saying this, she led us over to the swinging door.

“This makes it easy to bring the food to the table just by pushing on the door,” she said as she pushed the door open, “and as you can see, there is a small window in it so you don’t accidentally open the door into someone on the other side.”

She then led us into the kitchen and allowed us to look around. It was definitely very large, and it contained a fairly modern stove, a wall oven, a large refrigerator, and a freezer. There were also cupboards above and below the workspaces, along with a separate pantry, although they all looked a little outdated. After we’d had a chance to look around, she led us over to the other doorway. It was at the opposite end of the same wall as the swinging door, and it opened up into the short hallway that led to the backdoor and the rear stairway.

After we exited the kitchen, she led us back to the foyer and we stopped at the left side of the main staircase. “And now I’ll show you what is hidden beneath the staircase and landing,” she said as she opened a door. “This is a fairly roomy coat closet,” she said as she moved aside to let us inspect it.

“And over here,” she continued as she opened a door that was below the landing, “is a half-bath.” Again, she moved aside so we could examine it, and we saw a toilet and a small sink with a mirror above it, along with a small storage cabinet below the sink for storage. There was also a light on the wall, just to the right of the light switch and even with the toilet. I guess it’s there so people can read while they’re doing their business. There was another light above the mirror that had its own light switch.

“I doubt this was what these two areas were used for when the house was first built,” she explained, “but I’m sure they’ll both come in very handy if you decide to live here. And just past this area you’ll note the hallway that leads to the backdoor that opens into a very large backyard. And to the left of the backdoor is the rear stairway that leads to the second floor, as well as the stairway going down to the basement.”

She then took us down the hallway to inspect these two features. She was right. The door opened up into a huge backyard, and off to the left there was another fairly large outbuilding.

“What’s that building used for?” Hayden asked.

“It’s a storage shed where they keep a small tractor and several attachments for it, as well as a collection of hand tools and other items.”

As I turned toward the rear stairway, I was somewhat surprised when I noticed the stairs going up were on the narrow side. In contrast, the stairs leading down to the basement were quite wide.

“I’ll take you down to the basement if you wish, but there is a great deal of storage space down there, along with a washing machine, a dryer, a utility sink, and a table on which you can fold the clothes. There are also some storage cabinets so you can store your laundry supplies.

“The main items down there are the furnace and three hot water heaters. You may think that’s excessive, but there’s a reason for it. I understand that a previous owner had a large family that produced a lot of laundry and they took a lot of baths and showers. One of the hot water heaters is for the kitchen and the half bath on the first floor. The second is for the laundry area and the bathroom on the second floor, and the final one is for the bathroom on the third floor and the master bathroom. I take it this was done at a time when the bathroom on the third floor wasn’t used very often.”

“Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that there’s a dumbwaiter in the basement. It runs behind the landing on the rear stairway and goes up to the second floor. It saves a lot of wear and tear on the person doing the laundry, because they don’t have to carry laundry baskets with everything in it up and down the stairs.”

“That is a definite plus,” I replied, “since I do most of the laundry.”

She then led us up the same set of stairs to the hallway again, and then she continued going up the rear stairway to the second floor. Not only was it narrower, it was totally enclosed between walls and less elaborate than the main staircase. I suspect it was probably used by the servants of the original owner.

“Whew, that was quite a climb,” the real estate agent said when we reached the second floor. “I doubt that few people climb the stairs from the basement to the second floor on a regular basis, unless they are doing the laundry or trying to get in shape.” She laughed after saying this, so Hayden and I did as well.

“The layout on the second floor isn’t very difficult to figure out, but I’ll show you around. If you will follow me, I’ll lead you to the master bedroom, but we’ll also pass the upper end of the main staircase. As you can see, the master bedroom is to the left side of the house and to the right when you reach the top of the main staircase. It’s located directly above the living room and it has its own fireplace that is located above the one on the first floor.”

She then led us into the Master bedroom. “I think you’ll agree that the fireplace is just as impressive as the one on the first floor.”

“It certainly is,” Hayden concurred.

“And to the right of the fireplace is a glass panel door that leads out to a sleeping porch, which is above the enclosed porch below.” She then led us out there. “On hot summer nights the owners would open all of the windows out here and sleep on lounges or cots so the breeze that blew through the windows would keep them cooler than if they remained indoors.”

She then led us back into the master bedroom and pointed out another feature. “If you look to your left, you will notice two doors that lead into two separate, and very large, walk-in closets. One was for the man of the house and the other for his wife, but in your case, it means there will be one for each of you.”

She let us look into each of the closets, and when we finished, she led us to the other end of the room. “This doorway leads into the master bathroom, but this wasn’t always the case. The original bathroom was located just outside of this room and had a door that opened into the area fairly close to the doorway to the master bedroom, and everyone on this floor would use it.”

“That must have been a real hassle if they had a large family,” Hayden quipped.

“Yes, I suppose it was, and it would explain why one of the former owners made the decision to change it. He put the doorway inside the master bedroom and closed off the original doorway. He then expanded the bathroom to include part of the fourth bedroom on this floor and then he updated everything in there.

“He also replaced the bathtub with a Jacuzzi, installed a large shower on the back wall, and as you can see, he also put in a long counter with two sinks. Each sink has a large mirror above it and a medicine cabinet off to one side, and there are cupboards below the counter that provides plenty of storage.”

After we left the master bedroom, she took us to see another bathroom. “This was created for the other two bedrooms to use and it utilized the remaining space that was once the fourth bedroom.”

It was decent size bathroom and had everything anyone would need.

“And over here you’ll see the doorways leading into the other two bedrooms,” she announced as she pointed them out. “You’ll notice they are on the opposite side of the house from the master bedroom, as well as on the other side of the main staircase.”

They were both fairly large, although only about half the size of the master bedroom. “If we decide to purchase this place, then I think we should use the bedroom closest to the bathroom as the guest room, but that will depend on the asking price,” Hayden said.

I thought we were done, but she led us to the back wall of this floor to where there was another staircase, but this one led up to what I assumed must be a third floor. We followed her up the stairs until we reached an area that appeared to be about half the size of the other two floors, due to the slanting roof.

“There were two additional bedrooms up here, along with a third bathroom, and each area has a window or two that lets in the light from outside, although they have plenty of electric lights as well.”

As we inspected these areas, I learned what she meant. Hayden and I had noticed the dormers along the roof earlier, and each dormer contained a window. The one at the center of the front of the roof allowed light into the bathroom, while the dormers on the sides and rear of the roof brightened the two bedrooms.

Now that we’d seen all three floors and the basement, she led us back to the first floor, but this time we used the main staircase. When we reached the bottom, I turned to Hayden and spoke in a whisper.

“I know we both want this place if the price is right, but what are we going to do with the two rooms on the third floor? Are we just going to leave them as they are?”

“No, I thought we could use the one on the right side of the house as an additional bedroom, in case it’s needed later, but we’ll use the room on the left side of the house, the one that’s partially above the master bedroom, as a storage area.”

“Ok, that will work.”

When we finished this conversation, the realtor turned to us and spoke. “I know this is probably more house than you’ll need, but I was wondering if you might be interested in purchasing it, since I could see how impressed both of you were as I showed you around.”

“Yes, it is a lot of house, but we’ve discussed starting a family and either use a surrogate or adopt, so this may work out quite nicely,” Hayden replied. “Of course, that will depend on the asking price.”

She them revealed what the house was listed for and it caused me to look over at Hayden oddly. That’s because the house was listed at an amount that differed greatly from what we were expecting.

“Uhhh, I thought the asking price would be much higher than what you just told us, so does it mean there’s something wrong with the house?” I asked.

“No, Nathan, there is nothing wrong with the house. There are no structural issues, and as you’ve been able to see that the house is in excellent condition. In fact, from what I understand the current owners had just completed doing some minor renovations and some other upgrades before they received a call about the husband’s parents. It is my understanding that each of his parents, who are quite elderly, recently suffered some serious health setbacks, and that’s why he and his wife lowered the price so the house will sell quickly.”

“Does that mean they’ve already moved?” Hayden asked.

“Yes, they’ve moved into the house that the husband grew up in and where his parents still reside, although both of his parents are still in the hospital. They plan to live there and take care of his parents, once they’re discharged from the hospital.”

“Ok, now I understand their reason for selling the house and setting the price lower than what we expected, so we’ll take this information into consideration while we’re deciding if we’re ready to make an offer.”

“The couple has also agreed to sell all of the furniture and other items you see here, including the items in the large storage shed,” and then she took us out there to see what it contained.

“They no longer need any of the things that still remain in the house, since they’ve moved into his parents’ furnished home. They have also indicated that they’re willing to give the purchaser of the house the first choice on everything here as well, and whatever they aren’t interested in buying, the current owner will sell at an auction.”

“Does this include the appliances in the kitchen, as well as the washer and dryer?”

“The stove and refrigerator will remain, but you’ll have to purchase the freezer, washer, and dryer separately.”

“That’s good to know, so will you give us a few minutes to talk this over? If we were interested in purchasing the house, then we’ll look around to see which other items we might want to buy as well, and we’ll let you know what we decide when we’ve finished.”

“That will be fine and I’ll go outside so you can talk it over privately and look around a little more, if you’d like. I have a few phone calls I can make while you’re doing that.”

The realtor then went outside and I looked at my husband and spoke. “What do you think? Do you feel she’s being honest about everything? And if so, can you see us living here?”

“The story she told us makes sense and there will be inspections done on the house prior to the closing, so we’ll know in advance if there are any problems. I can definitely see us living here, even if it might be a little more house than what we were looking for. Since we’ve been talking about starting a family, there will be plenty of room for the children, and it appears to be in great shape. It also has a large yard for the kids to play in, and it will also afford us some privacy, since no one lives close by. Not only that, but it is also well within our price range.”

“You’re right and they’re all great points.”

“And this house was probably built by a very wealthy and prominent family at the time, and they apparently didn’t spare any expense during its construction. The appliances they’re leaving in the kitchen are all high quality and in good shape, but I want to update the kitchen, because the cabinets and counters looked like something out of the 1980s. And since the purchase price is so reasonable and they’re leaving all of the appliances, we’ll definitely be able to afford doing that at the same time.”

“Ok, then let’s tell her that we’re interested in buying this place, but first we should look around to see what else we might want to buy, since it makes no sense for us to look a gift-horse in the mouth.”

After we walked through the various rooms, we made a list of the things we were interested in buying. We wanted to purchase a few of the antique tables and several antique lamps, and we also wanted to purchase the full-size brass bed and chest of drawers currently in the master bedroom. We don’t actually need it, since we have our own bedroom set, so we’ll use those items in the guest room.

We also wanted the complete dining room set, including the buffet and china cabinet, and the freezer, washer, and dryer, along with the fireplace tools for both fireplaces. We also wanted the John Deere tractor and various attachments that were in the large shed, which will make it possible for us to take care of the yard. We even talked about eventually building a gazebo in the backyard as well.

Now that we’d decided on which items we wanted, we went outside and informed the realtor about the good news. “We’ve decided to purchase the house,” Hayden began, “and we made a list of the other items we wish to acquire.”

“That’s wonderful, so I’ll drive you back to my office so we can fill out a purchase agreement. We’ll also list the additional items that you want, along with the price you’re willing to pay for them. And when we’ve done that, you can both sign it.”

After we drove back to her office and she’d completed the paperwork for the purchase agreement, we told her that we wanted to take it to a lawyer so he could look it over before we signed it. Although she looked disappointed, she said she understood and took us back to the apartment. As soon as we got there, we called and made an appointment with the lawyer so he could protect our interests.

After the lawyer looked everything over, he made a couple of minor changes, and then we contacted the real estate agent. When she arrived, we signed the contract, and then Hayden wrote her a check for the earnest money deposit.

“I’ll contact the owners within the next 24 hours and then let you know if they accepted your offer on both the house and the other items you want to purchase.”

I didn’t see why they wouldn’t accept the offer on the house, since we’d agreed to the full asking price, and we were offering them a fair price for the other items as well. Even so, they still might wish to haggle over what we were willing to pay for those things, so we’ll wait and see what happens.

It took a few more days before we heard back from the realtor, after she informed us that the previous owners wanted to hire a lawyer to look over the contract and handle the transaction from their end. Of course, we understood, since we’d hired our own attorney to protect our interests.

Once we were informed that they’d agreed to the contract as is, we now had to apply for a mortgage. We felt that getting a mortgage should be fairly easy to do, since we both had great credit ratings, but we encountered some difficulty because we were both starting new jobs.

After getting this news, we asked the HR manager to fill out some paperwork to attest to our job status and salaries, and then we were finally approved. All that was left was to set a closing date.

As soon as that had been agreed to, we had to arrange for a moving company to pick up the things that we’d left in storage where we used to live and transport everything to our new home. I had to send them the key to our storage unit in the mail, and we told them to deliver everything to our new home on the Friday afternoon following the closing.

We were working at our new jobs in the meantime, and of course some of our coworkers were interested in the house we’d purchased and asked us questions about it.

“From what you’ve told us,” one of our coworkers stated, “it sounds as if you bought the home of Colonel Josiah Bickford.”

“I don’t remember the names of each of the owners, but I was told the guy who had the house built was a very influential businessman and had also been mayor for quite a few years.”

“That would be him. He served in the army during the Civil War and was promoted to Colonel, and when the war ended, he decided to keep the title and went to work for his father-in-law, who owned a textile mill. The Colonel took over as the plant manager, and it’s said he was very harsh and extremely strict with his employees.

“The mill employed quite a large percentage of the local population, most of whom were women and children. It was a very hazardous profession, but many of the people who lived in this area were poor and desperate, so they ended up being dependent on the mill for a living. He also served five terms as mayor of Franklinville, which later grew into the city of Franklin, and it is my understanding that during his terms as mayor, he ruled the area as if he was a king.”

“That’s a lot of great information and I thank you for sharing it with us.”

“You know, I’ve always had a wistful longing to see the house he built,” another person added, “but I never knew any of the previous owners and didn’t want to just go there to ask if I could look around.”

“Then I’ll be sure to invite you to our house warming, as soon as we get completely moved and settled in.”

Since we had the entire day off, after the closing we went to the house and looked around again, but this time we talked about the things we wanted to put in each room. When the truck with our belongings arrived, we stationed ourselves near the front door so we would be able to guide the movers to the appropriate locations.

As the movers unloaded the truck, Hayden and I showed them where we wanted each item to go. As the movers continued bringing the other items into the house, I suddenly realized something. It’s suddenly became obvious that we were going to have to buy some additional furniture, since this house is much larger than where we used to live. However, I decided we could do it over time, rather than right away.

When the movers finished their work, we realized we were getting hungry, so we locked up the house and went to get something to eat. After we finished our meal, we headed back to the apartment to unwind for a while before we went to sleep.

Over the weekend, we worked very hard as we cleaned the various rooms. We even vacuumed the furniture to get rid of the dust that had accumulated on it while in storage. When we finished, we began unpacking the boxes and started arranging the various items where we wanted them. We also had to make time so we could run out to the store to purchase groceries and some additional necessities.

“Hayden, I hope you realize that we’ll have to purchase a shower curtain for the other bathroom, along with towels and a bath mat, but we already have those items for our bathroom. We’ll also have to purchase bedding and pillows for the third bedroom.”

“Yes, I know that, but we’ll stop somewhere to have lunch first.”

When we returned from our outing and put those things away, we spent the rest of the day scrubbing down the kitchen and bathrooms, before we returned to the apartment and went to sleep.

On Sunday, I asked Hayden what he thought we should do. “We’ll pack up everything we brought to the apartment and take it over to the house,” he stated.

“And we’ll have to go to Lowe’s to pick up a stud finder and the other items I’ll need in order to hang the pictures and mirrors on the walls.”

“What do you need a stud finder for? You’ve already married a stud,” Hayden joked.

“It’s a different kind of stud finder that’s used to find the studs in the walls. I got rid of the stud finder that I’d used to find you, since I had no further use for it, but now I need the other kind so I can hang the artwork and mirrors.”

“Good answer,” Hayden replied with a grin, and then we walked out to get in our rental car.

“We’ve also got to go car shopping, so we can get rid of this rental car,” Hayden stated as he smacked the steering wheel.

“Do you know what make and model of car you want?”

“I’m torn between a Honda Accord and a Toyota Camry, so it will depend on which one we can get a better deal on.”

Over the next couple of hours, we drove to the places I’d mentioned earlier and purchased the items we needed, but first Hayden drove to the Honda and Toyota dealerships in the area. He wanted to see what was available and what we might have to pay for a new car, and after we finished doing that, we went to the other places we had talked about, including the grocery store.

When we returned to the house, Hayden put the groceries away and started making our lunch, while I went online and began checking the ratings for the vehicles he’d mentioned. I didn’t want to buy a car and then discover that it had several recalls recently or that it had an unfavorable rating from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power. I was just about finished doing this when Hayden came into the living room and announced that lunch was ready.

As we were eating, Hayden quizzed me about what I’d been doing, and after I told him what I’d discovered, he looked at me and smiled.

“You’re always right on top of those kinds of details, while I’m thinking about which car looks best, what color I want, and if it gets decent gas mileage, as well as how much it will cost. I’m really glad you’re checking out the things that I’ve overlooked. We make a great team.”

“Yes, we do.”

 

When we were done with lunch, we sat down and made a list of the things we still needed to do.

“We’ll also have to measure all of the windows and make a list of the sizes so we can order the drapes and curtains to fit them,” Hayden began. “I don’t care for the ones the previous owner used, but they’ll do until the new ones arrive, but I want the old curtains and drapes replaced before we invite anyone over to see this place.”

“And we’ll need to purchase a few decorative items for the mantels on both fireplaces, and we can use some additional artwork to decorate the two guest bedrooms. We’ll probably think of other items we need while we’re shopping, but this list will do for now.”

 

I helped Hayden measure the windows in each room and realized I was getting hungry. We worked together to prepare supper, and then we ate in the new dining room.

Once we finished cleaning up from the meal, we decided to rest for a while. It didn’t take very long, though, before we discovered that we were so tired that we decided to go to bed – and this time in our new home. By the time we got to our bedroom, we realized that we weren’t totally exhausted, so we chose to have a little fun first and opted to make love in our new house for the first time as well.

After we’d both enjoyed a release, Hayden lay prone on the bed with his head on the pillow, so I rolled over on my side and snuggled with him. I draped my arm across his belly and placed my head on his chest, and then we fell asleep.

I woke up first in the morning, so I lifted my and head kissed Hayden, since I felt he would enjoy being awakened this way.

“Good morning, Nathan,” he said shortly after rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “and thank you for waking me up so nicely.”

“You’re welcome, but we have a lot more to do today and we need to get moving.”

As I was getting out of bed, Hayden did the same, but then I felt him stop moving on the bed before he spoke. “Nathan, did you notice that we have a visitor in our bedroom?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I looked around quickly until I saw the same person that Hayden had spotted. It was a young man, possibly in his mid to late teens, but there was something odd about him. After thinking about it briefly, I realized he was wearing old fashioned clothes instead of what you’d see on someone today. Maybe he’d dressed this way as a joke or he was going to be in a play, but I put that out of my mind. Instead, I turned toward Hayden and spoke in a whisper.

“How did he get in here? I’m sure I locked both doors before we came to bed last night.”

“I’m not sure,” Hayden answered as we glanced at each other, but when we looked back, the boy was gone.

“Where did he go?” I shouted.

“I don’t know, but I think we’d better look for him. We have to find out why he’s here and discover how he got in.”

“It’s possible he may have lived here at one time and still has a key to the house,” I suggested.

“If that’s the case, then we’ll have to get the key back or change the locks.”

We both got out of bed and put on our slippers, but we didn’t bother to take time to get dressed before we went looking for the boy. We merely walked around in our underwear.

“You go down and look on the first floor,” Hayden urged, “and I’ll check out this floor and the one above. I’ll meet you downstairs when I’m done.”

When we met up again, neither of us had located the boy and we were somewhat puzzled. “I checked both doors and they’re still locked,” I commented, “and there aren’t any windows open either.”

“I checked the upstairs thoroughly, including the closets and under the beds, as well as anywhere else he might be able to hide,” Hayden added. “It’s as if he just disappeared.”

“I was thinking the same thing. I noticed he was wearing outdated clothing, but I thought there must be an explanation for it. The only time I’ve ever seen anyone wearing similar types of clothes is when I’m watching a TV show, a movie, or a play that was taking place in the early twentieth century.”

“Does that mean you think this place is haunted?”

“That thought crossed my mind.”

“Let’s get dressed and we’ll grab something to eat first, and then we’ll go run the errands we talked about last night. We’ll just have to wait and see if the boy shows up again later.”

“Ok, but thinking about him gives me an eerie feeling.”

“I know what you mean.”

 

The Victim – Part 2:

Now that we’d come to the conclusion that we might have just seen a ghost, we talked about it briefly before we moved on to other things, since he didn’t seem to be a problem. The first item on the agenda was heading out to purchase a mattress and box spring for the brass bed in the guest bedroom.

We made our way to the Mattress Firm and selected the items we wanted. We didn’t have a truck, so we made certain the company would not only deliver it to the house, but they would also remove the old mattress and box spring at the same time. As soon as that had been agreed to, we set the delivery date for the following Saturday before noon, and then Hayden gave the clerk his credit card to pay for our purchases.

When we went out to the car, Hayden merely got in the driver’s seat and sat behind the wheel. I wondered why he hadn’t started the car, and that’s when I noticed he was examining the receipt.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just making certain that everything we just agreed to is written down on the receipt. If not, I’ll go back inside and make sure they add the missing information.” As he continued to inspect the receipt, he suddenly looked up at me, with his mouth hanging open.

“Damn, it didn’t dawn on me until I saw the delivery date written on this receipt, but it will be the middle of October when they deliver those things, so that means its nearly Halloween! Do you think that might have something do with our visitor this morning?”

“Possibly, although I don’t believe ghosts operate using a calendar. Instead of thinking about it, I suggest we should find out if someone that age has ever lived in the house and possibly even died there. If so, then we might be able to find a way to help the spirit and ourselves at the same time.”

“That’s a good idea.”

When we returned home, I grabbed the stud finder we’d purchased yesterday. I then used it to locate the areas where I could hang the various artwork and mirrors that we owned.

As soon as I measured and located the best place to display each item, I’d hammer in the appropriate hardware required to hang it. I’d then get the particular item and put it in place, and then I’d take a couple of steps back to see if the effect was what I desired. Once I was satisfied, I’d move on to hang the next item.

While I was doing this on the first floor, Hayden kept busy performing other tasks. When I finished hanging each of those items on the first floor, I decided to unpack the items that we’d purchased to decorate the fireplace mantel in the living room. As I was removing the items from the boxes they came in, I heard a noise. Since I was unsure what had caused it, I turned to see if Hayden had come into the living room for some reason, and that’s when I saw the boy running toward me.

This surprised me, so I quickly tried to determine what he was up to. Was he merely going to give me a hug or was he doing this for some other reason? I didn’t have long to think about it because I saw he had an object in his raised hand and it appeared he was about to attack me with it.

“Oh, no you don’t!” I screamed as I jumped up and reached out to grab his arm so I could prevent him from doing what he wanted.

To my utter amazement, the moment I made contact with his arm he dropped the object and disappeared. The item made a loud ‘thump when it hit the floor, and that’s when I realized what he’d been holding.

“What are you shouting about and what was that noise?” Hayden asked in an alarmed voice as he rushed in from the kitchen.

“Our uninvited guest just attempted to attack me with the hammer I’d been using to hang the paintings and mirrors. When I grabbed his arm to stop him, he suddenly disappeared and the hammer fell to the floor and made the loud thump that you heard.”

“Didn’t you have the hammer with you, since you were working with it?”

“No, I’d set it down on one of the end tables after I finished hanging those things, and I was currently unpacking the decorative items that we’d purchased for the mantel.”

“In that case, you’re lucky you saw him before he was able to hit you with it.”

“Yes, I know, but I only heard him because he must’ve been having trouble picking up the hammer. I suspect the weight of the hammer I’d been using was heavier than he expected, and it seems that he ended up dragging it across the end table before he was able to lift it. That was obviously the sound I’d heard, and I turned to see if you had caused the noise, and that’s when I saw him.”

“It’s a good thing you did or I might be taking you to the hospital right now.”

“Yes, I was fortunate that he wasn’t able to pick up the hammer quietly, because that’s what saved me. I just don’t understand why he disappeared when I grabbed his arm.”

“It’s possible he did that because he realized he wasn’t going to be able to do what he’d planned.”

“Yes, I guess that makes sense, but I have no idea why he decided to attack me in the first place. We only saw him for the first time this morning and we didn’t do anything to him, so why was he being so aggressive? At least now that we know he’s dangerous, we’ll have to be more observant when we’re in the house from now on.”

“I agree that we’ll have to be extremely vigilant so he can’t attack either of us while we’re here.”

Hayden then returned to the kitchen and continued working on dinner and I went back to what I’d been doing, but only after I’d put the hammer away first. As I continued working, I continually glanced around and looked for the boy as I placed the various decorative items on the mantel.

“Hayden,” I said as I entered the kitchen after I’d finished working in the living room, “I’m going to take the remaining items upstairs and arrange them on the fireplace mantel in our bedroom.”

“Maybe you should wait until I can go up there with you.”

“No, I’m not going to let the boy intimidate me and make me feel unsafe in my own home. I’ll just be more alert from now on.”

“Ok, just make sure you are.”

Nothing more happened for the rest of the day, although I thought I saw the boy lurking in the shadows a couple of times as I glanced around the room. I didn’t let that stop me and I continued working, because I didn’t want the boy to think I was scared of him. If he sensed weakness, it might cause him to become even more aggressive.

I only stopped when Hayden called for me to come down to eat. While we were enjoying the meal, I told him that I had seen the boy lurking in the dark corners of the rooms as I was working upstairs.

“Did it appear that he was getting ready to attack you again?”

“No, he never made a move that would indicate he was going to do more than just observe what I was doing.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but it doesn’t mean he won’t try again in the future, so keep your guard up.”

“Don’t worry. I will.”

After dinner, we cuddled on the couch as we watched a movie, but it wasn’t as romantic as it might sound. That’s because we both kept glancing around the room to see if we could spot the boy as we were watching the movie. We felt we had to do this, since we had no idea what he might do next.

When the movie ended, we went upstairs. As we got ready for bed, I made a suggestion.

“Maybe we should put the fireplace tools in the closet so the boy doesn’t try to use one of those items to kill us while we’re sleeping.”

“That’s a good idea, but is there anything else in here that he might use to do that? Hell, is there anything on this entire floor that he could use against us?”

“There’s nothing else in our bedroom that would do serious damage to us, at least nothing I can think of other than the fireplace tools, but it might be wise to close the bedroom door as well.”

“Ok, you can do that while I put the fireplace tools in the closet.”

“Do you think closing the bedroom door will be enough to stop him?”

“Yes. He may be able to move through the walls and doors as he roams about the house, but I don’t believe he’d be able to bring any objects with him as he passes through those places.”

“Do you think he might be able to open the closet door so he can get to the fireplace tools?”

“I haven’t seen any evidence that indicates he might be able to do that, although you witnessed that he’s capable of picking up things that are left lying around. That might mean he’s also capable of turning a doorknob or opening sliding doors. If we see any signs that he’s actually capable of doing those things, then we might have to place those items in a room we can lock, possibly with a padlock.”

“Ok, but for now we should make sure both the closet door and our bedroom door are closed, maybe even locked, in case he’s able to turn a doorknob. That way he won’t be able to carry a fireplace tool or something else from downstairs so he can attack us.”

“Good idea, but if he’s capable of opening doors, then he may also be capable of unlocking the simple locks on the doors as well. After all, if he’s outside the locked door, he could always pass through to the other side and unlock it first, and then open the door and bring in whatever he’s planning on using to attack us.”

“Wonderful! Now I might not be able to sleep at all.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“If we’re both sleeping, he could kill both of us before we knew what was happening.”

“Then let’s pray he isn’t able to open these doors.”

Thankfully, nothing happened while we were sleeping, although I dreamed about the boy and envisioned how he might have died. In one scenario, his death was due to an illness, but in another dream, he died when he accidentally fell off a ladder while he was cleaning the windows on the upper floors. My final dream had him being murdered by a classmate who was jealous of his family’s wealth and status in the community. I’m not sure if any of those scenarios are what actually happened, but they’re all very possible for that time period.

On our way home from work the following evening, I wondered if the boy might have damaged any of the rooms or our belongings while we were gone. We never figured out his motivation when he attacked me, so he may be upset enough to destroy our furniture or damage the paintings and mirrors that I’d hung on the walls.

I also thought he might be capable of doing other things to us. If he can pick up objects, then why couldn’t he physically attack or even strangle us? I didn’t mention my dreams or suspicions to Hayden, since I didn’t want to alarm him. I merely wanted to get home so I could see if the boy had done anything while we were gone.

As soon as I walked through the door, I began looking around, but I didn’t notice anything that was damaged or out of place. Hayden was doing the same thing, and since nothing seemed to be amiss, he went to the kitchen to start working on dinner. While he was doing that, I walked around the other two floors to see if there was any damage there, but I found nothing wrong. Satisfied that my fears had been unfounded, I went downstairs to help Hayden with dinner.

As I was walking down the staircase, I heard Hayden speak in a very loud voice. “You’re not catching me off guard either,” he bellowed, and this prompted me to hurry down the remaining stairs and rush to the kitchen to see what was going on.

“What’s the boy doing now?” I screamed.

“I’m glad you warned me that he isn’t exactly friendly,” Hayden huffed as his eyes bulged in their sockets. “I was staying alert and noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, and when I turned in that direction, I noticed he’d lifted one of the large knifes off the counter and was preparing to stab me with it.”

“What did you do?”

“I did something similar to what you had done. When he came at me, I stepped aside quickly so he’d miss me with the downward thrust of the blade, and then I grabbed his arm. As soon as I did that, he released the knife and disappeared, since he realized he wasn’t going to be successful.”

“So, the boy didn’t harm you then?”

“No, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. I apparently acted quickly enough to defend myself, but I almost got injured when he dropped the knife, because it landed next to my foot.”

“I can’t figure out why he keeps doing these things to us or what he thinks we did to him to deserve being attacked.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like gay men living in his house.”

“I guess that’s possible, but I have a feeling it’s something more than that.”

We were on full alert for the rest of the night and we took the same precautions as the night before when we went to bed. I believe we both slept with one eye open and one ear listening for even the slightest sound. Because of this, I don’t think either of us allowed ourselves to slip into a deep R.E.M. sleep, so we were both groggy when the alarm went off in the morning.

On the way into work, Hayden turned his head toward me and spoke. “We made it through another night without incident, but I don’t believe the problem has ended. There must be something more to explain why the boy is doing these things – something we’re just not unaware of.”

“Yes, and it makes me wonder what the boy might try to do when we get home later.”

“We’ll just have to remain vigilant for any and every situation, and we’ll also have to see if we can find whatever information we can about the boy and how he died. With that in mind, on Friday let’s go to the library after work to see if we can find any newspaper articles or other material about him. We’ll go out to dinner after we finish doing that, and then we’ll go home and relax.”

“Ok, it sounds like a good idea, and hopefully the boy won’t have planned anything else to spring on us once we get home.”

Later, as we were heading home after work, Hayden surprised me when he announced that he’d found someone who knew something about the Bickford family.

“I happened to be talking about seeing a ghost in the house when one of the guys in my department told me that he had heard stories a few years ago that the house was haunted.”

“Did he know anything about the boy?” I practically shouted, cutting him off. “Did he know anything at all about how the boy had died?”

“No, but he was able to tell me why the price of the house was so low. He said the house had sat vacant for several years before the guy before us purchased the house. In fact, that guy had just moved into this area from another state, just like us, and he was able to purchase the house because none of the locals were willing to buy it since they’d heard the house was haunted. It seems the guy we bought the house from had purchased it without knowing anything about it being haunted either.”

“I wonder if he had any problems with the boy or with any other ghosts while he was living there.”

“My source said the man we bought the house from had encountered some strange things happening while doing renovations on the house. The different crews and individuals he’d hired to do certain jobs around the house were getting freaked out because they would find their tools missing or in a completely different area than where they’d been working. Sometimes they never found the missing tools at all, and a few of the workers claimed they had seen the boy while they were working. One pair even claimed the boy had even attacked them.”

“Did you find out what the boy tried to do to them?”

“The guy wasn’t very clear about the facts, but he said the two men the boy attacked were each slightly younger than me, and they’d been sitting together eating lunch when it happened. From what he said, it sounded as if the boy had picked up a broken two-by-four and came at them with it. He said they claimed the boy was swinging it wildly, first at one and then at the other, and when one of the men attempted to tackle the boy, he vanished.”

“So, how long did this guy live in the house?”

“Just a couple of years, but my coworker said that he’d also heard the guy was exaggerating the status of his parents’ health problems. It seems he was using it as an excuse so he could move and sell the house without any questions.”

“Shouldn’t the realtor have told us about those things?”

“Possibly, since the rumors about it being haunted have been around for a while, but I doubt the guy had ever told her or the agency about this. Since he hadn’t said anything, she couldn’t very well tell us what she wasn’t sure about. The seller might have felt he wouldn’t be able to unload the house if he mentioned the fact that the place might be haunted.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“In fact, it might have had something to do with why he was willing to sell all of the furniture and other items as well. It’s possible that he feared the boy or other spirits might have attached to those items and they would go with them when he moved. If that happened, then he wouldn’t have gotten rid of the problem and only taken it with him so he’d still have to deal with the boy or other ghosts later.”

“He’s lucky that we’re willing to try to solve the problem, rather than suing him for not disclosing that information, but things are beginning to add up now. Did the guy you spoke with know anything about who the boy was or how he died and became a spirit?”

“Nothing specific, but he gave me the name of a local historian who might be able to give us more information about the family. I thought we could give her a call later.”

“Do you think she’ll be willing to speak with us outside of working hours?”

“I’ll just tell her where we’re living and that we’ve seen the ghost of a young boy to see if that might entice her to speak with us. I’ll also ask if she might be able to locate any information about the boy and how he might have died. And if she’s willing to speak with us, I’ll make an appointment with her on the weekend so she can tell us what she’s found out.”

“Ok, that sounds like a good approach.”

 

While Hayden went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner, I thought I’d go up to check the second and third floors, just to make sure the boy hadn’t done anything there. Since I hadn’t spotted anything, I headed down the main staircase and reached the landing, but just as I was starting down the longer flight of stairs, I received a powerful shove. It caused me to lose my balance, but before I tumbled down the stairs, I was able to grab ahold of the banister. It prevented me from failing all the way to the bottom of the staircase, although it left me completely shaken.

As soon as I regained my composure, I righted myself and walked down the remaining stairs, while also holding onto the banister the entire time. When I reached the bottom, I hurried to the kitchen to tell Hayden what had happened.

“As I was coming down the main staircase, I was pushed from behind and nearly fell down the staircase. If I had, I might have suffered a serious injury.”

“Weren’t you watching for the boy?”

“Yes, I was, but he must have appeared behind me after I’d looked around. It was a good thing I was able to grab ahold of the banister, or you might be scraping me off the foyer floor right now.”

“We’ve got to call the historian after dinner, and hopefully she’ll be able to give us some information about the boy.”

I helped Hayden finish fixing dinner, and then we sat down to eat. As soon as we finished, I helped him with the cleanup, and then we waited a little longer before Hayden made the call, because we didn’t want to bother the historian during her dinner. When Hayden finally punched her number into his phone, he put it on speaker so I could also hear what was being said.

“Hi, my name is Hayden May-Morelli and I understand you’re the county historian.”

“Yes, I am. How may I help you?”

“My husband and I recently purchased the old Bickford house and we’re having trouble with a ghost. It appears to be that of a boy in his mid to late teens and we’re wondering whether you know if anyone that age might have lived here and died in this house. If you need time to research it, we’re willing to set up an appointment with you a week from tomorrow so you’ll have time to learn more about this.”

“There’s no need because I’m very familiar with the Bickford family history and I’ll be happy to help you. Your house was built for Colonel John Bickford Sr., who was quite wealthy from managing his father-in-law’s textile mill, which he inherited after his father-in-law died. Construction on the house was completed in 1889 and John, his wife, and their children moved into the house at the end of that year. The textile factory operated for many years, and besides owning and managing it, John was also mayor of Franklinville for several terms. During his time as mayor, the village grew quickly and eventually became large enough to become a city, which was simply renamed Franklin.”

“Did any of his children die in the house?”

“No, but after John died in 1923, he left his textile business to his two oldest sons, and the house went to his eldest son, John Jr. He and his wife had four children, three sons and a daughter, and Angus, his youngest son, died in the house in 1935.”

“Do you know how he died?”

“Yes, John Jr. and his family were planning to visit his sister Emily’s family so they could see her new baby, but Angus wasn’t feeling well and thought maybe he shouldn’t go. You see, he didn’t want to pass whatever he had on to the baby, and since he had turned fifteen a month before, his parents agreed to let him remain at home alone. Unfortunately, he was killed while they were away.”

“What happened to him?” I shouted excitedly.

“It seems that two brothers broke into the house to burglarize it. It’s important that you realize this took place during the Great Depression and the boys felt the Bickford family had more than they needed and wouldn’t miss whatever items they absconded with. After taking what they wanted on the first floor, they went upstairs and entered the parents’ bedroom. Apparently, they must have been talking loudly enough that they woke up Angus. He had been sleeping in his bedroom, which was at the front of the house and on the opposite side from his parents’ bedroom. He apparently got out of bed to see who was talking, because he didn’t recognize the voices, and that led to a confrontation.”

“He obviously had the second bedroom then, which is close to the staircase,” Hayden mused. “So, what happened when he confronted the brothers?”

“They tried to run off, but Angus caught up with them at the top of the staircase and attempted to grab the pillow cases they were carrying with the stolen items. Angus thought he could keep them from taking those items by holding on to the pillow cases, but the other boys tried to yank the bags away from him. When they did, and since Angus was weak from being ill, he fell down the first flight of stairs.”

“And that’s what caused his death?”

“Not exactly. It seems it merely dazed him, but when the boys tried to sneak past Angus while he was lying on the landing, Angus got up and attempted to take the bag away from the first boy before he got away. The boy was able to yank his bag away from Angus and then race down the stairs, but then the other boy had trouble getting past Angus. He took his bag and swung it at Angus so he could get away, and the impact from the bag caused Angus to tumble down the longer flight of stairs. This time, Angus fractured his skull during the fall and died before his parents arrived home.”

“Damn, that’s awful. Did those boys get caught?”

“Yes, they did, and that’s how they learned about what happened to Angus. The other boys were caught trying to sell some of the items in Hickory, which is the next town over, and they were arrested and held until the Franklin police could pick them up. Shortly after the police began interrogating the brothers, the boy who’d hit Angus with his bag had offered to confess to what had happened, if they wouldn’t charge his brother for murder.

It ended up that the police and the prosecutor agreed to this deal and the boy gave a very detailed confession. In the end the police only charged the other brother with burglary, while the brother that had confessed was charged with murder.”

“And what happened to them?”

“The brother that was charged with burglary spent two years in prison and the other brother was hanged for murder.”

“That’s awful, but why is Angus attacking us?”

“From what you’ve told me, I can make an educated guess about that. Seeing the house was being robbed by two young men, and even though you might be slightly older than they were, you are also two young men. He obviously believes you’re the burglars that caused his death and are now taking over his house.”

“Ah, now this is all starting to make sense, although it doesn’t make me feel any safer about being in the house with him,” Hayden said. “Do you happen to have a photo of Angus?”

“Actually, I have a photo of the entire family, which I believe was taken a year before Angus was killed. I also have the booking photos for the two brothers that were involved in his death, but all of these photos are black and white. If you want, I’ll send you a copy of each photo after we end this call.”

“Yes, that will be very helpful,” Hayden replied. “Thank you.”

“And thank you for sharing this information with us,” I added.

“You’re both very welcome.”

As soon as the call ended, Hayden brought up the photos on his phone and we looked at them. In the first photo, in addition to the John Jr. and wife, there were three boys and a girl. Angus was obviously the youngest boy, but his sister appeared to be even younger than him. We felt the older brother had one bedroom and Angus and the next older brother shared a bedroom, but one of them may have used one of the bedrooms on the third floor. Since we knew Angus had used the bedroom at the front right-hand corner of the house, we thought his sister must have used the fourth bedroom, which is no long there. After thinking about it, we felt Angus’ parents must have regretted their decision to let him stay home alone for the rest of their lives.

We then looked at the booking photos of the two brothers, which had a frontal and side view of each one, and below the photos was typed their name and other important information. As we looked at the second boy, we got a surprise. Although we weren’t sure if he was the brother that had hanged or spent two years in prison, but he bore a striking resemblance to me. And after reading the information below the photo, I discovered he was the same height and we had the same hair and eye color. That must be why Angus was attacking me more than Hayden.

“This definitely explains a lot, but what are we going to do about Angus?” I asked.

“First of all, we’ll continue making sure we don’t leave anything sitting out or lying around that he can use as a weapon. I’ll also post requests on message boards that deal with the paranormal to say that we’re looking for a female medium to help us get rid of a teenage male spirit.”

“Don’t you think he’d be more likely to listen to an older male medium instead?”

“No. What I’m going to do on the message board is to give a brief description of what his mother looked like and hope we can find a medium that looks something like her. It might be easier for Angus to listen to his mother, or someone that looks like her, rather than either of us or an older male medium.”

“And what will this person tell him?”

“She’ll probably explain that the two boys responsible for his death are both dead and we’re not them, and that it’s time for him to move on and be with the rest of his family.”

“Ok, I just hope this works.”

“I do too.”

Hayden posted on several message boards that deal with the paranormal and announced that he was in need of a female medium, especially one who had children of her own. He received responses from three female mediums that were also mothers, and he sent each of them the photo of the family so they could see what the mother looked like. He also asked them to send us their photo, and then we looked at the photos to determine which one looked closest to Angus’ mom.

After we made our decision, we sent her a private message and asked when she would be wiling to do it, and this was her response.

“We could do it any day, but I suggest we do it on Halloween. That’s the day when the veil between the living and the dead is the weakest, and it will probably make it easier for your unwanted guest to leave.”

We agreed with her reasoning and made an appointment for her to come to the house on Halloween night. In the meantime, we hid every item that Angus might possibly try to use as a weapon. Each night we would also quickly clean up the kitchen and put everything away as soon as we fixed our meal, as well as after we had eaten, so he couldn’t swipe anything else.

When the medium arrived on Halloween night, we were impressed by her preparations. She had fixed her hair similar to what the mother’s hairdo looked like in the photo, and she was also dressed in clothing similar to what the mother had been wearing.

“I have a good friend who works in the theater department at the local college and he allowed me to borrow these items for tonight,” she explained.

“I’m impressed and I hope it helps,” I replied. “And you might want to take another look at the photos of the boys who were responsible for Angus’ death, because it might explain something about this case to you. It seems that one of the boys that burglarized Angus’ house, and possibly even killed him, happens to look a lot like me.”

After she looked at the photos and compared them to me, she agreed, and then she told us what she was planning to do. But before she began, she asked us where we had spotted the ghost the most times.

“The first time we saw him it was in our bedroom,” Hayden answered, “but then he attacked each of us downstairs. He attacked Nathan in the living room and on the staircase, while he attacked me in the kitchen.”

“Then let’s do this right here in your living room, since it seems to be in the center of the incidents” she suggested, and then she took a second to organize her thoughts before she began.

“I’m calling Angus Bickford. This is your mother and I want you to come here right now, this very second.”

She then waited a minute, and when he didn’t appear she spoke again. “Angus Bickford, you must respond when your mother calls you, if you don’t want your father to punish you.”

This time Angus appeared and she addressed him. “I believe you realize that you died when you confronted the boys who were trying to rob our house.” He nodded hesitantly. “Even though one of the gentlemen currently living in this house resembles one of the boys that broke into our house and killed you, both of those boys died a long time ago. These two men had nothing to do with what happened to you. Do you understand?”

Angus nodded his head again, while his eyes were focused on the floor. “Good, then it’s time that you join the rest of us, your father, your brothers, your sister, and me in the next world. Can you see a bright light?” He nodded again. “Good, then I want you to go toward it and keep walking until we greet you on the other side. Will you do that for me?” He nodded one more time. “Good, then stop dawdling and get moving,” she commanded, and Angus disappeared.

She chose to wait a while before we discussed what had just taken place in more detail, so we offered her a glass of cider and a donut while we waited. We all sat around the dining room table as we enjoyed these treats, and we only spoke about topics that weren’t related to what had just transpired. Eventually, though, she began to ask us questions before we talked some more.

“Although I don’t live in Franklin, I had heard this house was haunted. It’s common knowledge in my line of work, but was Angus the only spirit you’ve encountered?”

“As far as we know, he’s the only one here.”

“Then I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him any longer. I can understand why people were hesitant about buying this place, even though it is indeed a beautiful home and you’ve fixed it up quite nicely.”

“We’ve had to hide a few items so Angus wouldn’t get his hands on them and then use them on us, but we’d love to take you on a tour of the house, if you’re interested.”

“That would be wonderful.”

We gave her a complete tour of the house, from bottom to top, and then Hayden gave her a check in the amount they had agreed upon for her fee and to cover her travel expenses. Now that she’d seen everything and had been paid, we thanked her for her help and she left.

We haven’t seen Angus again since that night, and we hope he is happily reunited with the rest of his family. After spending more than eighty years being stuck in this house, much of the time completely alone, we felt it was long past time that Angus was finally able on.

 

THE END.