The Ghostly Hideaway Page 15

  ***

  Ed and Johnny went to work on Monday and the work was going well until they ran out of finishing nails. Johnny volunteered to go to the lumberyard and get some. He found what he needed at the store and waited in line to pay for them. Something was strangely familiar, he thought, about the man just ahead of him in line. When he reached around behind his back to get his billfold to pay for his items, Johnny noticed a tattoo of a hammer on his right forearm. That rang a bell, but he couldn’t remember from where. When he walked out of the store, he noticed he was walking with a slight limp and suddenly it hit him. That was part of the description given in the newspaper article Ed had shown him about his former partner. While he did wear glasses, though, he didn’t have a moustache. Of course, he could have shaved it off to help hide his identity. He sure did look similar to the picture of Ed’s ex-partner. The same partner who had framed him for burglary and testified against Ed in court. He looked to be in his late thirties; his hair was too black to be natural and was pulled back in a ponytail. Johnny hurried outside to his car and watched as the man he was almost sure was Norman Jones got into a white Honda and drove out of the yard. The door on the passenger side was dented deeply and the back bumper was missing altogether. He found a piece of paper and a stub of a carpenter’s pencil and scribbled down the license plate: JEA-915 and it was a Kentucky plate.

  Now Johnny didn’t know what to do again. Should he tell Ed what he had seen or keep it to himself and try to investigate on his own? He hated to get Ed upset when this guy could turn out to be somebody who had been born and raised here and just happened to resemble Norman Jones. He finally decided not to worry Ed until he was sure he had cause for concern.

  Thanksgiving finally arrived and Johnny pulled into the driveway at Ed and Penny’s house at precisely eleven o’clock. Everyone ran out to meet them and Chrissy and Penny helped Lydia into the house. Johnny and Ed each carried in a pumpkin pie that looked delicious and smelled even better.

  Andy and Candy had been warned in the strongest possible words to be on their best—very best—behavior and they were trying to keep their natural high spirits under control at least most of the time.

  “Sit down right here, Grandmother, and let me take your coats and gloves. I’ll go put them in the living room until later.”

  “Are you warm enough, Lydia,” Penny asked and Lydia assured her that she was. Everybody, including Lydia, was all smiles. It was obvious that Lydia was a trifle nervous but everyone was determined that she should have a good time and soon she seemed completely at ease.

  “Dinner will be ready in about a half hour. Chrissy, dear, you need to mash the potatoes while I make the giblet gravy. Andy and Candy, you need to go wash your hands and peel the hard-boiled eggs. Quickly, now. Johnny, would you please bring in another load of wood for the fireplace in the dining room and Ed, we need another load of wood for the family room and the living room as well.”

  “What can I do, Penny?” Lydia asked.

  Penny grinned at her. “I told you I would need you to make the coffee, if you will. There’s the coffee pot; the coffee and filters are in the cabinet above it. And the ‘secret ingredient’ is in the drawer below it. Take care the kids don’t see you get it out. We may need more coffee later.”

  They both chuckled and Johnny, as he was coming through the back door with the load of wood, almost dropped the whole bunch when he heard his grandmother’s laugh. He sighed happily and went on into the dining room, shaking his head in amazement at the change in her. He still had a difficult time believing it, but it was something he was most definitely happy to have the chance to get used to.

  As they took their seats at the table, they clasped hands around the table and Ed asked the blessing. “Dear Father, we are very thankful today for many different things. We thank You for Johnny and Chrissy’s new found love; we thank You for a new friend and neighbor, Lydia; we thank You for making this place our home; we thank You for the chance to work and earn our daily bread; and dear God, we thank You for this meal and the hands that prepared it. Keep us all in Your love and protection. Thank you, Father. Amen.”

  The meal was scrumptious and everyone enjoyed it immensely. After they had gone into the family room, they noticed that Candy and Andy were conferring in whispers over near the fireplace.

  “What are you two whispering about?” Penny wanted to know. “I think I’ve told you that it isn’t nice to whisper in public, haven’t I?”

  “Yes, Ma’am, but we have a question for Mrs. Thorne, if it’s alright.”

  “I suppose it will be okay unless it’s something too personal."

  “That’s what we were trying to decide—if it was too personal.”

  Lydia spoke up. “We’re all friends, here, so ask whatever you want to, Kids.”

  They looked at their mother and waited for her nod of approval. “Well, since Johnny and Chrissy are getting married and we’re all going to be sort of related to each other and—“ Candy began.

  “And since we don’t already have one and Chrissy will—“ Andy took over.

  “Well, we were wondering if we—“

  “—if you could be our grandmother, too?" They both looked hopefully at Lydia who by this time was smiling brightly through unashamed tears of joy.

  “I think that is undoubtedly the most wonderful idea anybody ever had. Yes, yes, yes. I want very much for you to call me ‘grandmother’ and I will be proud to have such wonderful kids for my grandchildren. I think this is absolutely the happiest day of my life." Of course, there were hugs all around and more sniffing than at a snuff-users convention. The box of Kleenex was passed around and used generously.

  Before long, Johnny and Chrissy had wandered off to the living room and were busy making plans of their own. After a while, they came back to the living room and said they had an announcement.

  “We’ve set a date for the wedding." Johnny started.

  “We want to get married on February fourteenth if that works for everyone. And do you think we could have the wedding here in the living room? We thought Daddy could walk me down the stairs,” Chrissy looked up toward the upper regions of the house, “if the ghosts will allow it, that is." Everyone laughed but each of them rather expected a door to slam or something. Lydia looked a little nervous but they had explained to her earlier about the weird events that had taken place since their arrival.

  “I don’t know of anything that would keep that date from being perfect.”

  “I have one question,” Lydia said hesitantly. “Will that leave enough time for your parents to get here from Ireland?”

  “Oh, Grandmother, you truly won’t mind if we invite them? I was so afraid their being here would make you uncomfortable. Chrissy, now I know our wedding will be absolutely perfect.”

  “It’s high time I put all that nonsense behind me. With any luck, I still have a good-sized chunk of life yet to live and, by golly, I’m determined to live it. Just think, I’ve got two new grandchildren now, a new granddaughter come February, and who knows, maybe one of these days I’ll even have a great-grandchild to spoil. If it’s alright, I’ll practice on these two." Lydia reached out for Andy and Candy and pulled them close. Chrissy and Johnny were looking at each other being a bit embarrassed but with enough warmth that they didn’t actually need the fire in the fireplace. “We’ll get in touch with Bruce and Janet as soon as possible so they have time to plan.”

  “This is just too good to be true. You’ve made me so happy, Grandmother.”

  “Oh! Enough, already. Hey, did anybody figure out the secret ingredient in my pumpkin pies?” Lydia was desperate to change the subject. Her new attitude was something she still hadn't become accustomed to and she wanted to go slow.

  “Hey, I almost forgot about that." Penny was thinking about it. “I tasted nutmeg and cinnamon, I’m sure.”

  “Sugar,” the twins said in unison.

  “I’m figuring milk and butter,” Ed guessed.

  “Mayb
e cloves or allspice,” Chrissy suggested.

  “Pumpkin,” Johnny laughed.

  “So far you’ve got the recipe down pretty good. But you still haven’t come up with the magic touch." Lydia was obviously enjoying this. “I think I may as well tell you. I use equal parts of regular field pumpkin and striped or crookneck pumpkin. I think it gives it a milder or softer taste.”

  “It was soft, alright,” Candy chimed in.

  “And delicious, too,” Chrissy agreed. Everyone laughed. “Maybe Grandmother will share a bunch of her recipes with me as a wedding gift. Wouldn’t that be wonderful, Johnny? It would take me a while, I know, to perfect them as she has, but I could have the basics from her and that would be a great start.”

  “I’ll tell you what, Chrissy, why don’t you come help me and you and I will fix dinner at my house for all of us? Maybe we could do Christmas dinner for everyone up on Thorne Hill."

  “Oh, Lydia, are you sure that won’t be too much for you to do? After all you are over fifty, I think and that’s quite an undertaking.”

  “It’s been thirty years since I thought about being fifty but if Chrissy will help me, I can give her a sneak preview of those recipes she seems to want so badly. Yes, I’d like that very much. Will you do that, Chrissy?”

  “Of course, Grandmother, if you’re sure you’re up to it. I’d love to help and I’m sure we can put our Johnny to work, too." Chrissy squeezed his arm and he grunted in mock pain.

  Later on, Chrissy went with Johnny to take his grandmother home and they took their time getting back home. It was a long way around by the road that went up to Thorne Hill. They were almost to the bend where the Wroe’s SUV had run out of gas when Johnny stopped the car and pulled Chrissy into his arms.

  “Just think, Sweetheart, in a little less than three months, we’ll be getting married. Then you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours for the rest of our lives.”

  “Oh, Johnny, I already belong to you in my heart. I love you more than you can imagine. I always thought my Mom and Dad had a perfect marriage and I was just waiting until I could find someone who I thought could be the other half of a perfect marriage with me. I wasn’t sure I could ever find that someone but I’m so glad I did. That first day I saw you coming across the yard, whistling, I thought you were the cutest guy I’d ever seen.”

  “You talk too much, Baby. Be quiet for a few minutes" He effectively silenced her with a deep, intimate kiss and though the late November chill was quite uncomfortable outside, the sparks that were flying inside the car made it seem warm and cozy. Johnny worked his hand up under her jacket and cupped her small firm breast, caressing it gently. Chrissy gasped audibly when he rubbed his thumb across her already taut nipple. His other hand was massaging the quivering muscles of her stomach and working its way lower. Her hands were tangled in his unruly red hair and her tongue was tangled with his in their own little dance of love.

  He swallowed her moan of pleasure and pulled her closer. As his fingers touched her pleasure center, she cried out in an ecstasy she had never felt before. “Oh, Johnny! What are you doing to me? I’ve never felt this way before, ever. I’m not sure what to do, Honey. I don’t want you to stop, but I’ve never—been with a man before and I’m kinda scared.”

  It cost Johnny, big-time, to put on the brakes but he suddenly realized that Chrissy was as innocent as he had first thought she was. And he just couldn’t see the woman who would be his wife being taken for the first time in the front seat of a car. So he backed off, got several long, uneven breaths, and shifted his winter clothing that had become uncomfortably tight in several spots.

  “Oh, Johnny, please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean to—“ Chrissy was very close to tears.

  “It’s okay, Sugar. I didn’t realize—everything will be fine. Just give me a moment to change gears.”

  It was at that moment that Johnny sensed movement in the road behind them. The other car’s lights had been extinguished and the only thing visible was the brightly burning tip of a cigarette. Oh, shit, he was thinking. I hope that’s not Ed back there. But this is a dead-end road; who else could it be? Where would Ed have gone, though, at this hour of the night? It couldn’t have been Ed anyway because this driver was smoking. He saw the back-up lights come on when the other driver put the car in reverse. Johnny knew there was a wide spot in the road just at the bend and he threw his car in gear, slid around in the road, and headed in the other direction. The other car had got turned around and was speeding away. Johnny couldn’t get close enough to get a good look at the license plate before it got out of sight. But he did see that the rear bumper was missing. It was the same white Honda Civic that the man he was sure was Norman Jones had been driving.

  It was becoming more and more difficult for Johnny to convince himself he was justified in withholding this information from Ed. What in hell would Norman Jones be doing sneaking down the dead-end road to Ed’s place with his headlights off at this time of night? It was after eleven o’clock. Speaking of that, it was past time he should be getting Chrissy home, too. Her folks might be genuinely worried about her.

  “Johnny, what on earth is going on, anyway? Why did you turn around and go after that other car and what was he doing sneaking up behind us? You’ve been so quiet. What are we going to do now? Oh, Honey, I’ve messed up everything, haven’t I? I’m so sorry. I do want to belong to you all the way. It’s just that I got scared and—“

  “Chrissy, Baby, everything is absolutely alright. I’ve been quiet because I was worried about that car that came up behind us. I think I may know who it was and if I’m right, the guy is undoubtedly up to no good. And I don’t know what to do about it. Don’t say anything just yet to your folks. Let me think about exactly how it needs to be handled. Okay? Don’t worry about us, Sweetheart. We’re fine and we will finish what we started tonight; but I definitely want it to be right for you, too. I love you more than you can possibly imagine. Now, give me a little kiss and go on in. Just a little kiss, Babe. I don’t want to have to take more than one cold shower when I get home. Goodnight, my love, and lock the doors when you go in.”

  When Johnny got the car back home, he was still worried about what might be going on at the Wroe place. He decided to make a quick trip back down the hill on foot and make sure everything was okay there. As he was coming down the hill, he had a clear view of the road to Ed’s house all the way from the mailbox to the house. And, sure enough, he could see car lights pulling up to where he and Chrissy had been parked. Johnny turned off his flashlight and made his way carefully and quietly past the house and through the little wooded area almost to the road where the white Honda was again parked. No lights were visible in the house, which probably meant everyone was asleep.

  He watched the man he was now positive was Norman Jones as he sat in the car looking toward the house. After a few minutes, Jones got out of the car and used a match to light a cigarette. He stood and puffed on it for a few minutes, then tossed it away and went back to the trunk of the car. The trunk lid obstructed Johnny’s view but when Jones closed the lid, he picked up a plastic jug from behind the car and started down the road toward the house. He was close enough to hear liquid sloshing inside the jug.

  He’s planning to burn down the house with the whole family inside. What should I do? If I tackle him and I can’t stop him, there would be nothing to keep him from doing his dirty deed. Then he remembered Old Man Coy’s shotgun in the root cellar. Ed hadn’t found the root cellar, yet; but Johnny knew exactly where it and the shotgun were hidden. He had to hurry but he also had to be quiet. If he frightened Jones away, he might come back when Johnny wasn’t there to stop him. On the far side of the hen house in the back corner of the yard still overgrown with weeds, Johnny found the root cellar door and opened it quickly. Just inside were the shotgun and the box of shells. He pulled them out and loaded the double-barreled shotgun then slipped silently toward the front of the house.

  Oh, God! He could smell the kerosene and
he could just barely make out Jones’ shadow as he moved forward to add more fuel to another spot along the house. At that precise moment, a window on the third floor at the front of the house descended with a loud noise which caused Jones to straighten and look up. Johnny turned on his flashlight and shined it in Jones’ face, blinding him.

  “Hold it right there!" He spoke loudly hoping to awaken Ed. “I’ve got a gun and I know how to use it. Put down the can of kerosene and step back away from it! Do it now!”

  “Who the hell are you? And what business is it of yours what I do?" Jones set the jug down but he hesitated to move back and Johnny decided that one shot would serve two purposes: it would let Jones know he meant business and it should awaken Ed so he could call the sheriff.

  “Right now, Mr. Jones!" Norman still didn’t move back so Johnny pointed the gun up in the air, pulled one trigger and watched as Norman took several steps backward. Almost immediately, the lights came on inside and in another minute, Ed appeared at the front door. When Ed turned on the porch light the panorama it revealed would have been funny if it hadn’t been so serious. Norman Jones was on his knees begging not to be shot; Johnny O’Reilly was holding a shotgun pointed at the wet place between Norman’s legs where he had pissed himself when the gun was fired and halfway between them was the jug of kerosene that told the tale of intended activities.

  “Ed, call the sheriff and tell him we’ve got a prisoner for him. He’s a wanted felon who was in the process of trying to burn your house down around you and your family.”

  “Penny, call Sheriff Lampton and tell him to get here as fast as he can. I’m going to give Johnny a hand." As Ed stepped off the porch, he could see for sure that the man blubbering on his knees was indeed his erstwhile friend, Norman Jones. “How in the hell did you get here, Norm? And why would you want to do something like this? I’m still trying to figure out why you framed me for robbery and now I find you trying to kill me and my whole family. I can’t believe this." Ed was careful not to get between the two men but he did want answers. “What did I ever do to you to make you want to hurt me? I gave you a job; I made you a partner. I tried to be your friend when you didn’t seem to have any. I need to know why, damn it, why?”

  “Oh, think back, Ed. In school, who was the smartest kid in class? You were. Who was the ‘athlete of the year’? Edward Wroe. Who were all the girls after, hot and heavy? It was always you, Ed; always you—not Norman Jones; never Norman Jones; always you. And even though we were ‘partners’, you were always the boss. You were the one who negotiated terms and prices with the clients. You had the nice normal family life while I had the divorce and the support payments. When I went over to Stokes County to find a little romance for myself and Sally Denham had come on to me, I thought maybe my luck was changing. She took me right up to the edge and then tried to back out. I had been cheated out of too much already and the idea of having a virgin was too much to give up. So I took her anyway and, of course, she called it rape. That meant I had to get out of the area, pronto. Of course, I needed a nest egg to be able to leave and I figured I had some time since Sally had no idea what my name was or where I lived. But I knew it was a matter of a short time before they found me. I stole the stuff, and blamed it on you. Hell, you had everything else; I figured you might as well have the criminal record, too. When I moved here, I was sure this would be the last place anyone would ever look for me. Then one day in Fordsville, there you were. I knew if I was ever to have any peace and security, I had to get rid of you. Besides, I wasn’t through getting even with you. Not nearly through. I’d have had my revenge, too, if this idiot with the shotgun hadn’t shown up when he did. Damn it! Damn it. Damn it!" By this time, Jones was blubbering again.

  Ed turned and walked slowly back to the porch where his whole family were huddled together, shivering with cold and fright. He turned to Johnny and suggested he bring the prisoner into the house before everybody froze to death.

  They came into the family room and Penny poked up the fire and added some wood to the fireplace.

  “Chrissy, will you get a garbage bag and spread it over that chair, there so it won’t get wet while Norman sits in it?" They all sat silent with Johnny still holding the gun on the prisoner until the sheriff showed up about fifteen minutes later and took Jones into custody.

  “What’s the charge, Johnny? Since you’re holding the gun, I’m assuming you made the citizen’s arrest.”

  “Sheriff Lampton, I caught him in the act of distributing kerosene in various places around the house. I heard him admit to rape, grand theft, perjury, attempted arson, and attempted murder. I’d be glad to show you the kerosene can he was using to make the area more inflammable and I’m sure you’ll find his fingerprints on the can.”

  “It would have made such a pretty blaze. All those beautiful orange and yellow, and red tongues of flame shooting up high into the sky. And it would have been such sweet revenge. Why, Ed, why did you have to move to this part of Kentucky? You just had to ruin my life, as you always have, didn’t you? “Norman unexpectedly made a lunge toward Ed before the deputy could restrain him and knocked Ed to the floor. His wrists were handcuffed behind him so Norman began to butt his head against Ed’s face. He tried to bite him on his nose, too, before they could regain control of him.

  “Get him out of here, Ken, put him in the back of the cruiser, and leave the restraints on. Take him on into town and lock him up tight. I’ll be on in a few minutes." Norman was taken out kicking, screaming, and cursing every breath.

  When everything was quiet again, Sheriff Lampton looked at Johnny. “From the beginning, Johnny, and don’t leave anything out.”

  Johnny began to tell the story but he was pretty sure there were two or three things he would be leaving out. “Well, when I was bringing Chrissy home after we took Grandmother back to her house, we stopped out on the road and talked a few minutes. Uh….While we were talking, we noticed this car coming up behind us with its headlights off. —Well, I guess I need to start back farther than that— Ed had shown me the clipping and newspaper picture of this man who he said had been his partner back in North Carolina. Ed told me how this guy, Norman Jones, had framed him for robbery and skipped town before they figured out Ed was innocent.

  “I had seen a man in town a few days ago who looked a lot like the man in the newspaper clipping. He walked with a limp and the picture of a hammer was tattooed on his forearm. I got the license number of the Honda he was driving and had asked the girl at dispatch to see if she could find out who owned it; but she hadn’t had time to get back to me.

  “Now back to the car that pulled up behind us. When he realized the road wasn’t deserted as he expected, he gunned the car backwards and turned around to leave. I swung my car around and went after him. I got close enough to see that the back bumper was missing just like the white Honda I had seen before. Then I turned around again, brought Chrissy home, and drove back to my house. But I couldn’t rest thinking about what if that car had decided to come back.As I walked back over the hill, I did see car lights on this road out of sight of the house and then the lights went off. I hurried on down here and saw him when he took the jug of kerosene out of the trunk of the car. I knew he had matches because I saw him light a cigarette. I knew I had to stop him if he was planning what I had every reason to think he meant to do. I knew where Cliff Coy had kept his shotgun. Lorraine wouldn’t let him keep it in the house, so he kept it in the root cellar by the hen house. I ran to the little underground building, got the gun, and loaded it and when I got back near the front of the house I saw him saturating little spots around the house with kerosene. I told him to stop, set the jug down, and step back. He set the jug down but he wouldn’t step back; so I fired one shot up in the air hoping to stop him and wake Ed to call you.

  “After Ed came out Jones cursed at him and tried to explain his actions. It was obvious that Jones had always been jealous of Ed and resented that Ed had always seemed to have better ‘luck’ than Jones
did. Jones’ envy seemed to cry out for revenge and this was apparently his stab at retribution. He was also concerned that if Ed discovered his whereabouts, he would turn him in. He figured he would never be safe since his hideaway had been endangered by Ed’s relocation here to this area. Mrs. Wroe called you, we brought him inside so, with his wet clothes, he wouldn’t freeze and you know the rest. I think that about covers everything.”

  “Do you have anything to add, Mr. Wroe?"

  “Only that I’m shocked and stunned by what happened. And I’m eternally grateful to Johnny for his diligence and good work in stopping Norman from accomplishing his goal. I’m still dazed thinking that right now my family and I could be dead, burned alive, by that crazy man if not for Johnny. Thank you, Johnny, even if I do realize you were parked and making out with my daughter when this started." He grinned slightly at the look that passed between the two young people and the blush that bloomed on Chrissy’s face echoed the embarrassment on Johnny’s. “Since you’ve already put a ring on her finger and set your wedding date tonight—oops!—last night, I guess I won’t be too upset.”

  “Sounds as if ‘congratulations’ are in order, Johnny, and best wishes to you ma’am. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a reward coming to you for the capture of the wanted felon, Johnny. Well, I’ll be going to make sure Mr. Jones is totally subdued and incarcerated properly. Good luck to all of you and goodnight.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff Lampton and goodnight to you.”

  Since the excitement was all over, the twins had piled up on the couch and were totally out of it again. The four adults looked at each other and the two men hugged their ladies. The sighs were long, deep, and tremulous.

  “Oh, by the way, I’m sure glad somebody left a window up on the third floor. It slammed down at the exact moment when I needed Jones to look up so my light would blind him when I shined it in his face.”

  “I haven’t been on the third floor lately and I didn’t leave a window up when I did go up there." Penny’s response was echoed by Chrissy and Ed. “I don’t think either of the twins is strong enough to raise those windows and as far as them falling down, they seemed almost swollen shut. The one time I tried to raise the windows, I had a hard time getting them up even an inch or two. I guess we’ll have to blame the ghosts, again, right?”

  Johnny looked up to the ceiling and tipped his hat in gratitude to ‘whatever or whoever.’ “Thank you,” he said solemnly. Guilt pricked his conscience and he decided it was time for confession. He straightened his shoulders and let out a long breath. “Ed, and all of you, there’s some other things I need to tell you, too. I probably should have said something a long time ago. It started out as a joke but I let it go too far and then I felt silly about it.”

  “What on earth are you talking about, Johnny?”

  “Well, I had been on my way down here when you all ran out of gas on the road. I was worried about Mr. Coy and I decided to make sure that he wasn’t being exploited or possibly robbed by strangers. I came on down and made sure he still wasn’t here. He hadn’t been home for two or three days and I was very concerned about him. There’s a secret passage on the west side of the house and I made my way into it and I listened to you all talk. I’m ashamed to say, I’ve done that many, many times since you came here. Again, I was trying to protect Mr. Coy and then it turned out to be fun to hear you make wishes and be able to fulfill those wishes. I sneaked your car keys out of your pocket and got the suitcases out of the car. I went and got a five-gallon can of gas for your empty gas tank. I found the picture album for you and, Chrissy, I left the flowers for you.

  “I realize I should have told you all this before but…well, anyway, I loaned you some chickens and eggs and the milk cow was one of ours. I heard you sounding sad about the Fourth of July so I killed the rabbits and dressed them for you and sneaking through the secret passage, I left them on the kitchen table. I did the fireworks hoping you would enjoy them. When I open the outside door to the secret passage, sometimes it creates a draft that will cause some of the doors to bang shut.

  “I heard you the night you read Mr. Coy’s journal entry about Ms. Lorraine’s death. I heard the sadness in your voices down there and figured one of you had come upstairs because I heard crying on the second floor. I decided I’d better go on home.

  “I don’t know what else to say except I am sorry about deceiving you and eavesdropping on your conversations. I should have told you, Ed, that I thought I had seen Norman Jones when I first saw him at the Lumberyard but I was going to investigate some on my own and then tell you. Anyhow, please accept my apology. I sure would hate to mess up our friendship at this point.”

  After this long speech and his sincere apology, Ed didn’t have the heart to be mad at him. “I’m sorry, too, that you didn’t tell us all this a long time ago. You’ve explained away some of the weird goings-on around here; but there’s a lot of questions that haven’t been answered. One of them is the crying you mentioned. We heard it, too, and we were all in the family room. I guess we need to thank you for all the stuff you did for us. But, where in the hell is that secret passage? I want to see it.”

  “Come outside and I’ll show you and take you through it. Will Candy and Andy be all right on the couch? I’m sure they will, we can hear them clearly if they wake up.”

  Ed, Penny, and Chrissy followed Johnny outside and he took them around the house on the side next to the henhouse. “If you’ve noticed, there aren’t any windows on this side of the house and that’s because of the passageway. Right here at the end of the porch, there’s an indentation on the side of the wall that looks more like a dent but when you stick your fingers into the dent, it opens the door. You can’t see the hinges and the opening is narrow and completely disguised." Johnny shined his light inside to reveal the steeply slanted floor of a passageway about thirty inches wide. When they had followed it upwards, they saw what looked to be a regular door in front of them. When Johnny pushed it open, they went through the doorway and found themselves in the Coy’s bedroom.

  “You really crossed me up when you cleaned this room and put the rocking chair back in this corner. I almost fell on my face when I opened the door and bumped straight into it. I was afraid you had decided to start using it and that would have messed up my entryway. I mussed it up some hoping you might change your minds."

  “Over in this closet at the western end, there’s another secret door to a passageway that leads to the third floor." He opened this door and once again, they followed the upward slanting hall that opened into the third floor bathroom right at the top landing where the third floor stairway door was situated. “And that’s it,” Johnny finished.

  “Well, that does explain a lot of it but definitely not all of it,” Penny sighed. “Ed, I think we need to close this off completely. There could be other people who know of the secret entryway and I don’t think we need anybody else having access to our home. When Johnny wants in, he can come through a regular door, now. And while we appreciate what Johnny has done for us, there’s no need for that any more.”

  “I think we can all agree on that, Mrs. Wroe. I wouldn’t want to take the chance that someone could get in and maybe harm my Chrissy or the twins while they were asleep. Oh, I need to show you exactly where the root cellar is, too. There are some potatoes and other things in there that you can use. However, that can wait until morning. Well, actually, I guess it is morning but we all need to get some rest, I suppose.”

  “Yes, since this is the Friday after Thanksgiving, we hadn’t been scheduled to work so maybe we can sleep in a little while. Nevertheless, the cow will need to be milked fairly early.”

  “That’s true and so will mine. I’d better be heading home. Chrissy, will you walk me out, please?" Johnny took her hand and they walked out the kitchen door while Penny and Ed went up the stairs and to bed.

  “Honey, you’re not mad at me are you?”

  “How could I be mad at you, Baby? You saved my life at grave d
anger to your own. For all you knew, Mr. Jones could have had a gun, too, and would use it to keep himself from being caught. I’m still almost in a state of shock but I’m certainly not mad at you. Oh, by the way, thank you for all my flowers. Some way I must have sensed they were from you because my first thought each time I found fresh ones was of you. I love you, Johnny." They kissed and were both suddenly not cold any more even though they looked up and realized it was snowing.

  “I want you, Chrissy, and I love you, too. There’s a theater in Hartford. I have no idea what’s playing but would you like to go to the movies tomorrow night?”

  “Yes, that would be great.”

  “I’ll pick you up about six o’clock tomorrow night." Johnny kissed her lingeringly and took off for Thorne Hill. Neither of them realized how hard it was snowing.