"Murdered?" Veronica repeated. "Someone was murdered in my house?"
"It was ten years ago," Chelsea quickly said.
Veronica shivered. It didn't matter if the murder had happened a hundred years ago. The fact remained that someone had died violently under the same roof that was now over her head. Veronica realized that the news didn't really surprise her. The small house had always seemed uneasy to her, as if it wasn't comfortable having people living in it again. There were odd things that happened too--doors shutting when no one was in the room, lights on when Veronica knew she had turned them off. She had assumed that Kirk had been the culprit but suddenly she wasn't sure. "Who was she?"
Tom reached out and put his hand over hers. "Don't worry, Veronica, the house isn't haunted."
Veronica pulled her hand away from his even though she enjoyed the momentary flash of warmth Tom's hand offered. "How do you know?"
Tom laughed. "Because I don't believe in haunted houses. Do you?"
"I don't know. I never lived in one before. Did they ever find out who murdered the woman who lived there?"
"Mary Austin?" Chelsea shook her head. "No. For a while her ex-husband was the number one suspect but he was never convicted. He moved away from Schuyler Square and as far as I know, no one's heard from him since."
Veronica asked the next question even though she didn't want to. "How...how did it happen?"
"Veronica, don't torture yourself," Chelsea said. "We shouldn't have said anything."
"But you did so please tell me how Mary Austin was murdered!"
Tom and Chelsea exchanged regretful glances again. "She was strangled,"Tom said. "In the living room in front of the fireplace."
Veronica felt sick to her stomach as she thought about all the evenings she'd already spent in front of that fireplace. To think a woman had lost her life there--she had to move, that was all there was to it. Thank God Kirk was staying with her but now that he'd found a job she knew it was only a matter of time before he found a place of his own. It was a shame she liked the house so much. It was small and charming and apparently haunted. "I have to move."
"Veronica! You're blowing this all out of proportion. Yes, Mary was killed and even though they never pinned it on her ex, we all think he did it. Jack Austin was a lunatic--jealous, moody and a drinker. Everyone knew Mary was going to divorce him and he couldn't handle it. You're perfectly safe and the house isn't haunted. Let's talk about something else." Chelsea sounded reassuring but Veronica wasn't buying it.
Veronica tried to follow the change of conversation but she couldn't seem to get past the fact that she was living in a house where someone had died. She wondered how old Mary Austin was, if she had children, why she'd made the mural behind her garage. She'd have to look at that mural when she got home. Well, maybe not then. It would be dark out and Veronica didn't want to be alone in the dark. She really did have to move. As much as she liked the house and the neighborhood and the fact that her rent was only $300 a month, she had to move. Why didn't Ron tell her about the history of the house when he rented it to her? He had to know about it. The Schuyler's owned the house.
"We freaked you out," Tom said after several minutes of small talk that Veronica couldn't bring herself to participate in. "I'm sorry, Veronica."
"I'm sorry," Veronica replied. "I'm not much fun tonight. I should go home."
Tom got to his feet. "Would you like me to walk you home?"
"That's a good idea," Chelsea urged. "You two take off before it gets dark out and I'll see you later."
Veronica accepted Tom's invitation gratefully. She knew she was being a giant chicken but now that she knew about what happened at her house she'd never be able to feel comfortable in the small cottage again. Veronica shivered once more. She'd start looking for a new place to live immediately.
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