"Guess what? We're moving." Steve waited for his wife's response. It didn't take long.
"Moving? Where? Why?"
"We're moving out of Schuyler Square and back to Chicago. I'd rather put up with the traffic, noise and expense that stay in this house and try to sleep every night with you lying next to me as rigid as a board."
Dee Dee looked at her husband steadily. "Are you serious?"
"You bet I am. I've even found a buyer for the house. We'll make enough money to buy a small condo in the city. It will be better, Dee Dee. This town hasn't been a good fit for us since Day One."
Dee Dee considered what her husband was saying and had to agree with him. Small town living really wasn't what it was cracked up to be. While many of the people they'd met in Schuyler Square were perfectly nice, it was clear that Steve and Dee Dee were never truly going to belong. They'd always be outsiders. At least back in the city everyone else was an outsider too. "Who is going to buy the house?"
"Mike Olson made me an offer. A pretty good one too. We can close whenever we want to."
"Who is Mike Olson?"
"Some guy I met at the coffee shop. His wife works for the Schuyler's. She must have told him about your visit to Mavis the other day."
"And he just offered to buy our house out of the blue? Isn't that a little odd?"
"Honey, at this point who cares? I'm tired of things that go bump in the night, I'm tired of living with a ghost and I want to be able to go out for a cheeseburger at two in the morning of the mood moves me. In other words: I'm tired. So what do you say: are you willing to give up this Green Acres fantasy we both had and move back to where we belong?"
"I do hate to give up on figuring out who killed Mary Austin," Dee Dee fretted.
"Think about sleeping all night long," Steve instructed. "Try to remember what it's like to wake up and not find something smashed in front of the fireplace. Unloading a haunted house isn't always easy, Dee Dee. I say we take the money and run."
"All right," Dee Dee agreed, "but before we move I'd like to have a party for the people we've gotten friendly with. A farewell party for us. We can invite Mike and his wife too and it can be a kind of housewarming party for them."
Steve looked around the house they had occupied for less than six months and grimaced. "They're welcome to it," he replied.
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Schuyler Square Day 84 Welcome to the Neighborhood
Steve Robertson liked being retired. After years and years and years of battling traffic, dealing with obtuse bosses and clueless co-workers, he loved not having a schedule and never having any place in particular to go. He even liked living in Schuyler Square, although he had to admit that small town living took some getting used to. It was certainly different from their life back in Chicagoland but so far Steve was finding the change refreshing. Now if DeeDee would just give up on her whole haunted house theory, Steve knew that he could sink into retired bliss quite happily.
"Did you hear that noise last night?" DeeDee asked. She was making oatmeal for breakfast, something Steve loathed but tolerated because of his cholesterol level.
"What noise?" Steve asked, keeping his eyes on the newspaper. He was reading an editorial on the late Ron Schuyler that was so fawning that he thought he might throw up. Although Steve had never met Ron, he doubted that anyone other than a saint deserved the write up that one Mindy Cooper had given him. Man among men. Outstanding, committed citizen. Impossible to replace. None of those descriptions went with what Steve head heard about Ron around town since moving in. Despicable, skirt chasing, booze soaked creep would be more accurate.
"I woke up around two in the morning and I heard the strangest sounds coming from downstairs," DeeDee reported. "At first it sounded like someone crying and then it sounded like someone choking and finally I thought I heard a scream."
"Probably Chelsea next door," Steve said. "She looks like she does all three of those things on a regular basis."
"It wasn't Chelsea," DeeDee said. "I got up and looked out the window and her house was dark."
"People can cry, choke and scream in the dark," Steve pointed out. He stopped reading the editorial. What was the point of such a blatant suck-up piece? Ron Schuyler was dead. That Mindy Cooper must have some other angle in mind.
"It was coming from out living room, Steve."
Oh, no. DeeDee was starting again. "Are you saying Mary Austin was down in our living room gnashing her teeth last night?"
DeeDee set a bowl of oatmeal down in front of her husband. "You tell me," she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her bathrobe pocket. Steve stared at it.
"What the hell is that?"
"I found it on the mantle. Did you put it there?"
Steve picked up the paper and squinted at it. "Why would I leave an article on the break up of Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson's marriage on our mantle?"
"I don't know but I do know that I didn't leave it there."
"Then who did?"
DeeDee's eyes met Steve's steadily. "Don't you know?"
"DeeDee, a ghost can't leave clippings from old issues of gossip magazines on our mantle!"
"Then you tell me what's going on."
Silently, Steve picked up his spoon and began eating oatmeal that tasted even pastier than usual. He didn't answer his wife because he honestly didn't know what was going on but he didn't like it. "I'm sure there's an explanation."
"Good because I'm sure of that too. As a matter of fact, Mindy Cooper's going to help me figure it out. She's coming over tonight and we're going to have a seance."
"Mindy Cooper--the paper's editor?"
"Yes--you don't mind, do you?"
Steve continued eating his oatmeal, not bothering to reply since he knew that the seance--whether he approved or not--was already a done deal.
"Did you hear that noise last night?" DeeDee asked. She was making oatmeal for breakfast, something Steve loathed but tolerated because of his cholesterol level.
"What noise?" Steve asked, keeping his eyes on the newspaper. He was reading an editorial on the late Ron Schuyler that was so fawning that he thought he might throw up. Although Steve had never met Ron, he doubted that anyone other than a saint deserved the write up that one Mindy Cooper had given him. Man among men. Outstanding, committed citizen. Impossible to replace. None of those descriptions went with what Steve head heard about Ron around town since moving in. Despicable, skirt chasing, booze soaked creep would be more accurate.
"I woke up around two in the morning and I heard the strangest sounds coming from downstairs," DeeDee reported. "At first it sounded like someone crying and then it sounded like someone choking and finally I thought I heard a scream."
"Probably Chelsea next door," Steve said. "She looks like she does all three of those things on a regular basis."
"It wasn't Chelsea," DeeDee said. "I got up and looked out the window and her house was dark."
"People can cry, choke and scream in the dark," Steve pointed out. He stopped reading the editorial. What was the point of such a blatant suck-up piece? Ron Schuyler was dead. That Mindy Cooper must have some other angle in mind.
"It was coming from out living room, Steve."
Oh, no. DeeDee was starting again. "Are you saying Mary Austin was down in our living room gnashing her teeth last night?"
DeeDee set a bowl of oatmeal down in front of her husband. "You tell me," she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her bathrobe pocket. Steve stared at it.
"What the hell is that?"
"I found it on the mantle. Did you put it there?"
Steve picked up the paper and squinted at it. "Why would I leave an article on the break up of Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson's marriage on our mantle?"
"I don't know but I do know that I didn't leave it there."
"Then who did?"
DeeDee's eyes met Steve's steadily. "Don't you know?"
"DeeDee, a ghost can't leave clippings from old issues of gossip magazines on our mantle!"
"Then you tell me what's going on."
Silently, Steve picked up his spoon and began eating oatmeal that tasted even pastier than usual. He didn't answer his wife because he honestly didn't know what was going on but he didn't like it. "I'm sure there's an explanation."
"Good because I'm sure of that too. As a matter of fact, Mindy Cooper's going to help me figure it out. She's coming over tonight and we're going to have a seance."
"Mindy Cooper--the paper's editor?"
"Yes--you don't mind, do you?"
Steve continued eating his oatmeal, not bothering to reply since he knew that the seance--whether he approved or not--was already a done deal.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Schuyler Square Day 78 Kirk Packs His Bags
"So where are you going to live?" Mindy Cooper asked her soon-to-be-ex-live-in-boyfriend, Kirk Chandler.
Shrugging, Kirk tossed more of his clothes into a cardboard box. After the crazy conversation he'd had with his half-brother Tyler, a conversation that revolved around Tyler pressuring him to help murder Tyler's mother's boyfriend, Kirk felt like he was losing his mind. It plain sucked to finally have more relatives only to discover that they were all disgusting parasites. Disgusting rich parasites. Honestly, there were days when it seemed like there was absolutely no justice in the world. "I'm planning on moving from Schuyler Square as soon as I can."
"Where are you going to move?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll go back to Minneapolis or maybe I'll try some place new. Chicago or I might move out west."
Mindy was quiet for a few moments. "I'm sorry it didn't work out here, Kirk. For us and all the jobs and your dad getting murdered and everything."
"Yeah, well, no one ever said that life is supposed to be perfect." His life was so far from perfect at the moment that Kirk truly couldn't imagine it getting much worse.
"I saw you sitting with Tyler at the diner this afternoon," Mindy continued. "What did he want?"
What the hell. Why not share Tyler's lame brain idea with Mindy? Mindy would love to hear that his half-brother was certifiable. She might even want to write an editorial about the rich and shameless. "He wants me to kill Peter Van Husen."
"WHAT! Are you kidding me? He actually came out and asked you to kill his mom's boyfriend? Wow--what did you say?"
"What do you think I said? I told him that he's nuts and to keep away from me," Kirk said.
"Then what happened?"
"Then I finished my coffee, got up and left."
"Didn't Tyler say anything else to you?"
"Not a word. I think it might have been the first time in his life that anyone refused to do what he wanted them to do."
"My, my, my," Mindy remarked, "isn't that interesting? Are you going to go to the police?"
"I doubt it."
"But you were asked to be part of a murder plot! You have to go to the police, Kirk--it's your civic duty."
"Not my civic duty," Kirk responded. "Besides, can you really imagine that moron Tyler actually coming up with a plan to take out Officer Van Husen that would actually work? He'd have better luck planning on being the next Mr. Kim Kardashian."
"Ever heard of dumb luck? That's what the Schuyler family has in spades. He just might stumble on to something that works."
"It's not my problem." Kirk stood up and surveyed the bedroom to see if he'd left anything behind. Nothing. Not so much as a dust bunny. "Well, Mindy, it's been nice but I guess now I'll say good-bye and move on."
"You sound like a cowboy in an old movie starring Henry Fonda. You know, you still haven't helped me get an interview with your mom about the whole haunted house thing."
"That's not her problem anymore either. Remember Steve and DeeDee? They're living with Mary Austin's ghost and good luck to them." Kirk felt like he was tying up all the loose ends of his short, messy existence in Schuyler Square. One good thing: wherever he landed next it had to be better than this odd little town. "I'm through with everything in Schuyler Square, Illinois."
Mindy shook her head. "Never say never, Kirk. One thing I've learned about my hometown--it gets you by the throat and never really lets you go."
Shrugging, Kirk tossed more of his clothes into a cardboard box. After the crazy conversation he'd had with his half-brother Tyler, a conversation that revolved around Tyler pressuring him to help murder Tyler's mother's boyfriend, Kirk felt like he was losing his mind. It plain sucked to finally have more relatives only to discover that they were all disgusting parasites. Disgusting rich parasites. Honestly, there were days when it seemed like there was absolutely no justice in the world. "I'm planning on moving from Schuyler Square as soon as I can."
"Where are you going to move?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll go back to Minneapolis or maybe I'll try some place new. Chicago or I might move out west."
Mindy was quiet for a few moments. "I'm sorry it didn't work out here, Kirk. For us and all the jobs and your dad getting murdered and everything."
"Yeah, well, no one ever said that life is supposed to be perfect." His life was so far from perfect at the moment that Kirk truly couldn't imagine it getting much worse.
"I saw you sitting with Tyler at the diner this afternoon," Mindy continued. "What did he want?"
What the hell. Why not share Tyler's lame brain idea with Mindy? Mindy would love to hear that his half-brother was certifiable. She might even want to write an editorial about the rich and shameless. "He wants me to kill Peter Van Husen."
"WHAT! Are you kidding me? He actually came out and asked you to kill his mom's boyfriend? Wow--what did you say?"
"What do you think I said? I told him that he's nuts and to keep away from me," Kirk said.
"Then what happened?"
"Then I finished my coffee, got up and left."
"Didn't Tyler say anything else to you?"
"Not a word. I think it might have been the first time in his life that anyone refused to do what he wanted them to do."
"My, my, my," Mindy remarked, "isn't that interesting? Are you going to go to the police?"
"I doubt it."
"But you were asked to be part of a murder plot! You have to go to the police, Kirk--it's your civic duty."
"Not my civic duty," Kirk responded. "Besides, can you really imagine that moron Tyler actually coming up with a plan to take out Officer Van Husen that would actually work? He'd have better luck planning on being the next Mr. Kim Kardashian."
"Ever heard of dumb luck? That's what the Schuyler family has in spades. He just might stumble on to something that works."
"It's not my problem." Kirk stood up and surveyed the bedroom to see if he'd left anything behind. Nothing. Not so much as a dust bunny. "Well, Mindy, it's been nice but I guess now I'll say good-bye and move on."
"You sound like a cowboy in an old movie starring Henry Fonda. You know, you still haven't helped me get an interview with your mom about the whole haunted house thing."
"That's not her problem anymore either. Remember Steve and DeeDee? They're living with Mary Austin's ghost and good luck to them." Kirk felt like he was tying up all the loose ends of his short, messy existence in Schuyler Square. One good thing: wherever he landed next it had to be better than this odd little town. "I'm through with everything in Schuyler Square, Illinois."
Mindy shook her head. "Never say never, Kirk. One thing I've learned about my hometown--it gets you by the throat and never really lets you go."
Monday, June 11, 2012
Schuyler Square Day 73 DeeDee Starts to Dig
"Veronica, I feel very badly about all of this," DeeDee Robertson began. "You shouldn't have to move out of your own house. Steve and I wouldn't mind at all if you stayed on with us for awhile."
The two women were standing in the kitchen of Veronica's rented house, the house that Steve and DeeDee now owned. DeeDee watched as Veronica finished packing the few items she had left in the kitchen cupboard.
Veronica shook her head. "That's very sweet of you, DeeDee, but honestly, I'm fine with moving out. I'm going to stay with a friend of mine until I find something new. This house is all yours."
There was a definite tone of relief in her voice that DeeDee picked up on immediately. "It's the ghost, isn't it? You're glad to be moving out because of the ghost! Did you ever see her?"
"No, but after I heard about Mary's murder I've never been comfortable here. But please don't pick up on my paranoia, DeeDee. You have Steve and I was living here by myself. It was just a little spooky."
A knock on the back door interrupted them and made DeeDee jump. 'Stop it,' she warned herself. 'You can't get freaked out over every little noise and knock on the door. This is your new home. Start embracing it.'
A handsome man with brown hair and brown eyes stood on the back steps. "Hello," he said. "I'm Tom Hartman. I'm here to pick up Veronica."
DeeDee's eyes widened. Well, well! If this was Veronica's 'friend' then she totally understood why she didn't mind moving out. This guy was gorgeous. "How do you do? I'm DeeDee Robertson."
Tom smiled. "The new owner?"
"Along with my husband Steve."
"Welcome to Schuyler Square and good luck with your new house."
Okay, was DeeDee getting paranoid or did everything everyone say sound like a warning of some sort. "Did you know Mary Austin?"
Tom's face turned slightly red. "Schuyler Square is a small town. Everyone knew Mary."
"Do you have any theories on who might have killed her? I'm sorry to be grilling you like this but I promised myself that I'd try to get to the bottom of her murder. I know I'll sleep better at night if whoever killed her is at least accounted for."
"Good luck with that one. Mary died ten years ago. Besides, everyone thought her husband did it and he's long gone."
"I know but Mary doesn't seem to be at peace so I'm thinking that her husband didn't do it. I'm thinking that whoever killed Mary must still be in Schuyler Square and that's why she's still in this house."
A loud bang shook the house. DeeDee, Veronica and Tom stared at each other. "What was that?" DeeDee whispered.
"It came from the living room." They rushed out of the kitchen, down the hallway and into the living room. There a large mirror that had been hanging over the fireplace lay on the ground, shattered into thousands of pieces.
"See?" DeeDee said excitedly. "It's a sign! Mary heard me and she's telling me that I'm right!"
The two women were standing in the kitchen of Veronica's rented house, the house that Steve and DeeDee now owned. DeeDee watched as Veronica finished packing the few items she had left in the kitchen cupboard.
Veronica shook her head. "That's very sweet of you, DeeDee, but honestly, I'm fine with moving out. I'm going to stay with a friend of mine until I find something new. This house is all yours."
There was a definite tone of relief in her voice that DeeDee picked up on immediately. "It's the ghost, isn't it? You're glad to be moving out because of the ghost! Did you ever see her?"
"No, but after I heard about Mary's murder I've never been comfortable here. But please don't pick up on my paranoia, DeeDee. You have Steve and I was living here by myself. It was just a little spooky."
A knock on the back door interrupted them and made DeeDee jump. 'Stop it,' she warned herself. 'You can't get freaked out over every little noise and knock on the door. This is your new home. Start embracing it.'
A handsome man with brown hair and brown eyes stood on the back steps. "Hello," he said. "I'm Tom Hartman. I'm here to pick up Veronica."
DeeDee's eyes widened. Well, well! If this was Veronica's 'friend' then she totally understood why she didn't mind moving out. This guy was gorgeous. "How do you do? I'm DeeDee Robertson."
Tom smiled. "The new owner?"
"Along with my husband Steve."
"Welcome to Schuyler Square and good luck with your new house."
Okay, was DeeDee getting paranoid or did everything everyone say sound like a warning of some sort. "Did you know Mary Austin?"
Tom's face turned slightly red. "Schuyler Square is a small town. Everyone knew Mary."
"Do you have any theories on who might have killed her? I'm sorry to be grilling you like this but I promised myself that I'd try to get to the bottom of her murder. I know I'll sleep better at night if whoever killed her is at least accounted for."
"Good luck with that one. Mary died ten years ago. Besides, everyone thought her husband did it and he's long gone."
"I know but Mary doesn't seem to be at peace so I'm thinking that her husband didn't do it. I'm thinking that whoever killed Mary must still be in Schuyler Square and that's why she's still in this house."
A loud bang shook the house. DeeDee, Veronica and Tom stared at each other. "What was that?" DeeDee whispered.
"It came from the living room." They rushed out of the kitchen, down the hallway and into the living room. There a large mirror that had been hanging over the fireplace lay on the ground, shattered into thousands of pieces.
"See?" DeeDee said excitedly. "It's a sign! Mary heard me and she's telling me that I'm right!"
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