The Visitor(65)

The farther I traveled, the more convinced I became that I was in no real danger. Micah hadn’t made a move toward me in the cemetery nor had he threatened me that day in the Unitarian Churchyard. Maybe I’d overreacted, giving him exactly what he wanted.

I trudged on until the shrubbery thinned and I could see an archway just ahead. But I hadn’t found my way back to the road or my car, I soon realized. Somehow the wrong turn had taken me to another opening in the maze.

The first thing I saw when I stepped out of the hedges was a dilapidated house. It had once been white, but most of the paint had peeled away and the rotting boards had weathered to gray. Pieces of latticework clung to either end of the sagging front porch and I could see the jagged teeth of broken windows both upstairs and down. Beyond the yard, the remains of an outbuilding peeked up out of the trees, and the rusty squeak of a weather vane sent a shiver down my spine.

Despite years of neglect, I recognized the house from the stereogram. Rose had once lived in those shadowy rooms, sequestered from her family and tormented by a horde of angry, restless ghosts. She may even have gouged out her eyes and hanged herself because of their relentless pursuit. If ever a place could be haunted, it would be my great-grandmother’s home.

The tumbledown dwelling seemed to call out to me, but this was not the time for exploration. I needed to find my way back to the car and make sure Dr. Shaw was safe. Now that I was out of the maze, I had a better sense of direction and felt certain if I kept heading north, I would eventually come out at the road.

Checking the compass and the position of the sun, I set out once again only to freeze at a sudden noise. Somewhere in the maze, a ringtone had gone off. The sound of civilization beckoned even as I held back in alarm. As much as I wanted to believe that I was in no real danger from any of the Kroll relatives, I would be foolish to let down my guard, especially in such a remote location.

As I stood there with an ear turned toward the maze, the ringing stopped but I feared that Micah or one of the others was headed straight toward me. I could go back into the maze and try to elude him or I could hide out in the woods. But if he released the bees, my only hope was shelter.

I whirled back to the house. The stare of all those darkened windows was like a silent invitation.

Skirting the edge of the yard so as not to leave a path of flattened weeds, I made my way around to the back of the house where the woods had long since encroached.

Piles of bones from small prey littered the clearing and the putrid odor of a fresher kill drifted out from beneath the porch. As I neared the back steps, a feeling of oppression descended and the smell of rotting flesh turned my stomach. Kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, I peered up under the porch. I could just make out a small gate in the enclosure. As my gaze traveled along the fence, I suddenly had the sense that something was holed up in the shadows watching me.

I jumped to my feet and scrambled back into the yard. I would take my chances in the woods, I decided. Or I would go into the maze. I would seek shelter anywhere but inside that house. Bad things had happened there. It wasn’t just the smell emanating from beneath the porch or the skeletal remains that littered the yard. I could sense the creep of something cold and dark and inhuman from behind that fence.

The urge to retreat consumed me, but even as I backed away from the porch, a little voice reminded me that I had come here to find out why Rose’s ghost haunted me. To solve the mystery of her cemetery puzzle. The answer might well lie within the peeling walls of her long-abandoned home.

Not to mention that I still needed cover if Micah Durant decided to summon his bees.

Climbing the precarious steps, I carefully navigated across the sagging porch to the back door, which hung on a single rusted hinge. I slipped through and glanced around the dim interior, trying to quell the dread that something underneath the floorboards watched me through the cracks.

The house smelled dank and musty, but thankfully the death scent had faded. Mindful of cobwebs, I eased my way through the kitchen into a narrow hallway that led to the front entryway and a small parlor that looked out on the maze. Beneath the collapsing staircase was a locked door with a brass knob and back plate. I jiggled the handle a few times and then hurried into the parlor to glance out the front window.

Micah Durant had come out of the maze and stood staring up at the house. I could see the glint of sunlight in his hair, could feel the piercing stare of those pale eyes as he remained motionless at the edge of the overgrown yard.

Flattening myself against the wall, I inched back into the hallway. As I turned to cast another glance over my shoulder, my backpack caught on a nail. I heard a rip and then the ping of metal hitting the floor. I still wore the skeleton key around my neck, but the other two had fallen from the torn compartment and landed at my feet. As I scooped both up to stuff them in my pocket, my gaze lit on the plain brass door key. Each key served a purpose, I thought. Each opened an unknown door.

Slipping across the hallway, I slid the brass teeth into the lock beneath the stairs. The key fit perfectly. The door swung open and as I slowly rose, I found myself gazing into a small, windowless room.

I hovered on the threshold, an errant breeze from the broken windows stirring my hair and what I thought at first was a wind chime. Then as my eyes became accustomed to the gloom, I realized the tinkling came from hundreds of keys hanging from the ceiling.





Thirty-Seven

I caught my breath and started to back into the hallway, but the sound of footfalls on the front porch checked me. I lingered on the threshold of that tiny room, torn between the unknown danger that lurked within and the human threat that approached from without. Then, drawing a breath, I stepped quickly inside and closed the door, groping for and engaging the lock. I could see nothing now except for a beam of light streaming in through a tiny hole in the outside wall.