Читать книгу Haunting at Remington House - Laura V. Keegan - Страница 38

“Cassie, what’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet!” Tom ran down the hallway.

“The old woman startled me. Where is she?”

“Who? There’s no up here except you. What woman?” Tom asked, trying not to show his alarm.

“The old woman. I saw her in the mirror. She’d been crying. I was going to help her, but I don’t know where she went. Who is she?”

“Did you actually see her, Cassie?”

“I saw her reflection in the mirror. I just told you that!” Cassie was getting annoyed with Tom. “Where did she go?”

“No clue. Did she talk to you?”

“No! I told you I saw her in the mirror, and when I turned around, she was gone. You didn’t see her?”

“No I didn’t and, unless she went into another room, she would have passed me in the hall. Was it Nellie?”

“No, it was not Nellie! I know Nellie. This woman was really old. Not anyone I’ve seen before. Please, let’s look around. This is crazy. I know what I saw. Come on.” They looked in every upstairs room; their search proved futile. Tom went downstairs to ask Nellie and her nieces, but no one had any idea who it could have been.

Tom went back upstairs to get Cassie. “Michael and Lizzie just got back. I had Michael look around outside, but he didn’t see anyone.”

“This is so strange, Tom. I saw the woman very clearly. Creepy.” Cassie giggled uneasily. “Think you have ghosts in the house?”

“What an imagination you have. Probably just shadows from the tree outside the window or something. Forget about it, Sis. Come on. Lunch is on the table.” Tom gently pulled her toward the stairs. Now what? Cassie couldn’t expect him to believe there was an old woman roaming around here. He wouldn’t put up with her ghost-talk for long. She would upset everyone. She’d always had an over active imagination. He wouldn’t encourage her. And he didn’t want anyone else to either. As he descended the staircase, he took a deep breath. In the dining room he faced the questioning eyes of everyone with a quick shrug saying, “Ghosts! My sister is seeing ghosts. Better watch out, next thing you know, she’ll be talking to them, too.”

Cassie shot him her famous “if looks could kill” glares and stuck her tongue out.

Tom suffered through lunch, skillfully leading the conversation away from the topic of the old woman. “Nellie, thank you,” Tom said as she began gathering up the dishes. “That was a great lunch. We’ll go to the living room now. You too, Mary. We have a few things to talk over. Come on, it won’t take long.”

Cassie looked at Mary and said, “We’ll look at my designs after while then. Tom, don’t keep us too long. Mary and I have plans, and Michael and Lizzie want to go down to the beach before it gets too cold.”