The Spite House(41)



Practical skepticism was something she and Dana had in common. Eunice seemed to prefer the company of disbelievers and even debunkers of the supernatural. She counted a famous skeptic among her closest friends. Lafonda surmised, based on what she heard during the interviews with the ghost hunters, that Eunice distrusted many professed believers. And, though she had no real proof of this, she also suspected that Eunice enjoyed feeling like she knew something those close to her did not. Lafonda had thought that was a relatively innocent quirk before.

Hearing Dana state that the Renners hadn’t just fled, that something had happened to them, and knowing that Eunice hadn’t disclosed this to Eric, made Lafonda think worse of Eunice’s fondness for secrets. Without knowing the whole truth of it, though, she could not be sure she wasn’t overreacting.

She thought of looking into it on her own, going to Millie Steen directly and asking her about the Renners and any other previous residents of the spite house. She doubted Millie would trust her, though, especially after Dana’s visit. She could try someone else in town, but who would talk? Who was going to risk their job at the factory, or their wife’s job, or their cousin’s? Almost anyone in Degener who didn’t work for Eunice was close to someone who did. Even the outliers who had a couple of degrees of separation between their livelihoods and Eunice’s business knew she could have them ostracized. Have their customer base dry up, their contract offers passed over. Make it a headache for their permits to get approved, or make sure their leases weren’t renewed. Lafonda had heard bits and pieces of stories about that sort of thing when people weren’t aware she was within earshot. She suspected this was at least part of what motivated Eunice’s generosity. She paid well, supported local business, was a great provider to the town, all of which gave the residents more to lose, and in turn gave her leverage over them.

The same applied to the Rosses. Eunice was giving them a one-of-a-kind opportunity, which meant she could take something from them that they couldn’t get anywhere else. Wasn’t that enough? She needed to keep them in the dark about what happened to the spite house’s previous occupants, too?

“Whatever did happen to the Renners?” Lafonda said, like they were old friends she lost touch with.

Eunice looked at her like she’d forgotten a third person was in the office, then looked away for a second, searching for her response, before answering, “They ended up hospitalized. Exhaustion or some such. The husband turned out okay, but the wife needed more time. She was eventually checked out too, as I understand it. They essentially overworked themselves, didn’t eat right or sleep enough. We won’t let that happen to the Rosses.”

Not one mention of ghosts, Lafonda thought, and that solidified for her that Eunice was hiding something. The entire point of putting people in the house was to gather proof of her beliefs. Once she had sufficient proof, she hoped to get some scientists interested and deeply involved. Surely many brilliant minds would want to devote themselves to the most important discovery in history, and if, in the course of their research, they uncovered a way for her to be rid of the curse, well, that was the true objective. Lafonda was aware of that much.

She glanced at Dana, who peeked back, and in that half second Lafonda understood that Dana invited her to the meeting so she could ask about the Renners and put pressure on Eunice to either come clean or commit to the lie. Dana must have thought it wouldn’t be easy for Eunice to lie to Lafonda. Eunice trusted Dana with her business affairs, but the business was just a means to her ultimate goal of not dying the way her aunt died. She trusted Lafonda with her health, with keeping her alive until a cure for the uncommon curse was found. That might take years. She and Lafonda understood this and had a different level of trust because of it. Dana wasn’t there during doctor visits, she didn’t lay out her prescriptions each morning, talk with her about the vital statistics captured by her watch each day.

Nonetheless, Eunice had lied to her without blinking. The closest thing she had to a confidant, who took the job to replace the previous caregiver and personal trainer, who retired after twenty years. Lied to her like she was a stranger.

“How about this, I’ll talk to him again tomorrow,” Eunice said to Dana. “Really make sure he’s taking it as seriously as he should, and remind him that we’ll take his girls in if he asks. Would that make you feel better?”

“I’d be good with that,” Dana said.

Eunice looked at Lafonda for her answer. “A reminder can’t hurt,” Lafonda said. She wanted to say more, press for more, but was still corralling her thoughts when Eunice adjourned the meeting.

She told herself that she would find a way later to bring the subject back up. After their late workout, perhaps, with Eunice tired and her defenses down. Or over dinner, if she got Eunice really rolling downhill telling stories, maybe then she’d be more apt to be honest. But Lafonda did not bring it up again that night. She kept it to herself, running through how the conversation might go in her head because she still wanted to find the right words and right time. That was what she told herself. A kernel of her knew, however, that the real reason she didn’t mention it was that she didn’t want to hear what Eunice might say.

You didn’t really tell Eric about the Renners, Lafonda imagined saying to her. Why not? And why did you lie about it to Dana? I know you’re scared to die, but enough to put someone else in danger? Are you really that scared?

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