Page 75 of The Guests on South Battery
“What happened?” she asked, clutching both of my shoulders after I stumbled into the bedroom. I was grateful for the support, not sure I could have remained standing without it.
“Anna,” I gasped. “It was Anna. I saw her—in the mirror. She had... bruises.” I couldn’t say it out loud. Instead I pointed to my throat.
“Bruises on her neck? Like a hanging victim?”
I nodded.
She brushed my hair off my neck. “What happened here?”
I touched the nape of my neck and my hand came back sticky with blood, the salt from my fingertips stinging the wound. “She scratched me. And told me to go away.”
Sophie grabbed my arm and began dragging me toward the door. “Let’s get you out of here. Can you handle the stairs?”
I paused, testing the air around me to make sure Anna was gone,then nodded. Sophie clutched my arm and walked with me down the stairs, then out of the house to her car. She blasted the air-conditioning and I sat down, catching sight of both boxes that were already in the backseat.
“So, what do you think that was all about?” Sophie asked, her eyes wide, her hair sprouting curly whorls around her head from the humidity.
“I’m not sure, but I do think I know one thing: Anna is the one who doesn’t want us there. It must be Hasell who balances her mother’s rage. I’ve heard of possessive spirits who didn’t welcome intruders, but Anna seems to have gone a little overboard. And I have no idea why Hasell is still here—unless it’s to act as a barrier between her mother and the living.”
“I’d be inclined to agree with you, except for this.” She reached behind my seat and pulled out a reusable grocery bag—one of several I knew she always kept in her car. She dumped it on my lap, and whatever objects were inside rolled against one another with a light clacking noise.
“Open it,” she said.
I did as she instructed, then reached inside and pulled out the base of a broken snow globe, the wordSACRAMENTOspelled out in plastic block lettering in bright green. The back two legs of a Pony Express pony stuck to the base, its front hooves broken off. “I found four smashed snow globes when I went up to the attic to instruct the guys where to move everything so we could begin the roof repair. They were in a neat circle, as if they were broken intentionally and for a purpose. I would even go as far as saying that they were broken in such a way as to cause the least damage. Like they were trying to send a message instead of being just destructive.”
“When nobody was up there?” I asked, fishing inside the bag. I pulled out two more, one from Indianapolis and another from Kalamazoo, then carefully let them drop.
“Yeah. Weird, huh? I thought it might mean something, so I picked up all the bases—including the three that were broken when you were up there with Jayne—and had one of my guys use pliers to make sureall the sharp glass was removed. I put them in here for you. Just in case one—or both—of the ghosts is trying to tell us something.”
“Thanks,” I said, and leaned my head against the seat, closing my eyes for a moment, then opened them immediately when the image of the hollow-eyed Anna flashed against the inside of my eyelids. I made the mistake of touching the back of my neck and I winced.
“Let me get you home,” Sophie said. “You’ll want to wash those scratches and put something on them. Should I call Jack?”
“He’s in Alabama. He’s fascinated with the Pinckneys and the whole flooded town and thinks he might be able to find out more about the family, and maybe something about any connection to Jayne. It’s a long shot, but he’s struggling with this next story idea and really needs a kicker. He’s hoping there’s more to Jayne’s story, and if there is, he’s determined to find out.”
She started the engine but faced me before putting the car in reverse. “You’re kind of pale and still shaking. Do you want me to stay with you? I can ask somebody to take my classes. And I promise not to read your tarot cards.”
“No, but thanks. I’m fine. Just glad to be out of that house.”
We both stared up at the imposing white house as Sophie backed out of the driveway onto South Battery. As she watched for traffic, I kept my gaze on the attic window, feeling the sense that somebody was there, watching us. Waiting for us to leave. Sophie pulled onto the street and put the car in drive, diverting my attention. I glanced back at the house as she headed north toward Tradd Street, and I caught sight of the black cat sitting on the front portico, staring at me with its one good eye from between two wrought-iron rails, its tail wagging slowly until it disappeared from view.
I sat on the floor of the nursery with the twins, stacking blocks for the babies to knock over again and again. They would dissolve into hysterics each time and I had a strong suspicion that we could do this all night long with two of us not getting tired of the game. It was Jayne’s nightoff and I’d dressed the children in matching pajamas and had taken the time to blow-dry their hair after their baths so it wouldn’t look as wild as Sophie’s on a humid day. I planned to get into the nursery first thing to put the bows in Sarah’s hair and lay out their clothes for the day before Jayne could intervene.
I glanced at the Humpty Dumpty clock and saw it was half an hour before their bedtime. I wondered if it would mess with their sleep schedule if I slept on the floor between their cribs for the next couple of nights. This was the first time Jack and I had slept apart since our wedding, and I could barely stand the thought of sleeping in our bed alone. General Lee didn’t count.
There was a brief knock on the door and then Nola came in, followed by the two bouncing puppies and General Lee at a more sedate pace. Porgy and Bess immediately tumbled into the blocks and sitting babies, making Sarah and JJ peal with laughter.
“You should make a video of the babies and puppies and put it on YouTube. You could make a fortune,” Nola said dryly. “That’s almost a little too much cuteness.”
“What’s YouTube?” I asked.
She stared at me for a moment as if unsure whether I was joking. “I’ll show you sometime.” She sat down next to me and drew both babies into her lap while the dogs began tumbling with each other until General Lee gave a disciplinary bark and they settled down in a heap by his side.
“I guess it’s Jayne’s night off?” she asked. “I can tell by the matching pajamas. Jayne’s not as OC... um, particular about what they wear, I guess you could say. I mean, it’s not like they need uniforms so we can tell they’re ours, you know?”
I narrowed my eyes but didn’t say anything. I was too tired from all the events of the day, not to mention being attacked by a ghost, and I just didn’t have the resources to defend myself or explain why I did the things I did. Probably because I wasn’t even sure myself.
“Since Dad’s not here, I took the dogs outside already so you don’t have to.”
