Chapter Six
As soon as they crossed the threshold into the foyer, the front door closed behind them. Sam took a deep breath and led the way forward. “So what are we thinking here? He dumped her and she dumped herself in to the lake?”
“You said it looked like a suicide, and the ghost did warn of a she…”
“You’ve got it all wrong.” The ghost voice boomed off the walls. Star turned and marched into the cream painted parlour before Sam could stop her.
“You’re Lord George, aren’t you?” She said to the ghost who had reappeared and stood with his back to them. He gazed into the flames of the fire that burned in the old log fireplace.
“Yes, and Hattie didn’t kill herself, nor did I kill her.” Sam stayed beside the door, his stance ready for anything while Star edged closer.
“Tell us what happened, why did Hattie kill old Lord Backwater?” George turned and stared at her with dark glistening eyes.
“Hattie didn’t do it. It was my wife, Mildred.”
“You mean there are three ghosts in this house?” Sam gasped. George glanced at him briefly then settled into a brown armchair.
“Not exactly. The minute I married Mildred I knew it was a mistake. My parents thought it would be a smart match, my feelings didn’t enter into it.” He snorted bitterly. “She was a cold woman with a dead heart. The only thing Mildred cared about was money. Then I met Hattie Jamison, she was so warm and kind, not to mention beautiful. We fell in love…”
“You could have just divorced your wife.” Sam piped. George shook his head.
“If I did that Mildred would receive half of my estate! I refused to give the snake what she wanted. When Hattie told me she was with child I was overjoyed. I made plans for her to give birth away from Angel Crest…but Mildred found out, she was a very intuitive woman. While I was away on business she poisoned my Hattie, in the disguise of a good meal. I returned early and saw Mildred along with her lover, throwing Hattie’s body into the lake.” The room fell quiet and it was a while before anyone spoke.
“I couldn’t live without her so I shot myself, and Mildred…well she got everything…”
“But then why is she still here? Why kill the Backwater’s?” Star asked more to herself than anyone else. “She got what she wanted…she should be at peace…”
“He raised her spirit.” George whispered, the room was bathed in darkness as the sun disappeared, and the fire crackled with the draft coming in from the old windows. George’s words struck a chord in Star, and she instinctively knew who he was talking about.
“What?” Sam asked. “Who raised her?” George turned to Star and their eyes met.
“The devil in black.” He answered. “You know of whom I speak?” Star’s throat had dried up making it hard to speak so she simply nodded.
“Star? What’s he on about?” Sam crossed the room and stood in front of her, demanding the truth with his hard glare.
“He’s back Sam.” She told him quietly, getting to her feet. She knew he got her meaning by the look on his face. The man in black had appeared straight after the accident. He followed Star everywhere but never spoke a word or tried to contact her in anyway. He was just there. After finding out that the brush with death had changed her and Sam, Star began to understand that the figure in black was a ghost, but was unnerved by her brother’s inability to see him.
She had tried everything to converse with this strange entity but all to no ends. Eventually he simply disappeared altogether, which was fine with her. A little over a year ago when they were on case in Pennsylvania, he had mysteriously reappeared. Only now he was frightening. Since his return Star hadn’t been sleeping too well, her rest plagued with nightmares and now he spoke to her, told her dreadful things. Star had been secretly searching for a way to get him out of her life…but had had no such luck.
“Is that what happened in the library?” Sam asked in a tight voice, his face pale in the moonlight. Star pushed her hair behind her ear and Lord George gasped. He was in front of her in a heartbeat grabbing her arm and pulling up her sleeve. The bruise around her wrist looked worse than ever, the bruises had faded overnight leaving a red ring that seemed to glow on her pale skin.
“The devil’s mark…” George breathed.
“What?” Sam barked.
“He’s marked you child.” George muttered staring at her with wide eyes. “He has laid claim to you. This mark brands you as his.” Star’s heart hammered, battering her rib cage and Sam stared down at the mark around her wrist. Suddenly there was a loud primal scream that literally shook the house.
“It’s her!” George shouted. “Oh dear God protect us!”
“Clam down.” Sam instructed. “The Backwater’s are safe.” George looked at him with pity. “Ghosts can’t hitch rides. Mildred’s confined to the place where she died.”
“Yes ghosts are restricted to their death sites, but Mildred is not a ghost. She’s a spirit called fourth by the black devil. She has no such restraints!” Sam and Star looked at each other as the scream died down and was replaced by the banging of the front door as it swung open.
“Shit! Sam yelled as they both bolted for the Chevy. As he spun the car round and gunned for town he prayed that they could reach the office before Mildred, but he didn’t like his odds …