CHAPTER 1
Bridgetown, New York
Present day
Lee and Miranda stood side by side in a room that only seconds ago seemed to have more air. Taking a deep breath, Lee scanned the den and loosened his shirt collar. He knew their eyes were following him everywhere, but he didn’t know who they were or what they wanted? In one graceful step forward Miranda moved away from Lee, crossed the room and stopped by the door.
“I told you to stay with me.” He whispered.
“I’ll be okay.”
“That free will is going to get you into some real trouble someday.” He took another deep breath. Outside the wind sighed under the eaves, rattling the glass window panes. He shivered, then shoved his hands into his pants pockets, “don’t be afraid Miranda the sounds we hear are the moaning’s of an old house trying to settle into its new body.”
“I hear the noises all the time, they wake me up at night.”
“Are you sure you’re okay over there?”
“Yes, and stop pestering me.” He wondered why he said anything.
“Do you hear the whispering?” He paused to listen, his skin tingled with a pricking sensation before the hair on the back of his neck stood straight.
“No Lee I don’t hear anything except you.”
“I know, they’re close,” Lee said, “they’re always with me looking over my shoulder, examining what I’m learning, leaving clues they know will waste my time and fill my head with useless information.”
“Okay, anything you say, maybe we’re chasing ghosts from the past?
“I’m not sure. What I do know is they won’t stop me.”
“I’m counting on you to help me find the truth,” she said.
He wondered if the constant whispering he heard was real, or his mind eavesdropping on his thoughts, he couldn’t be sure. He wondered if the tell-tale smell of mint could be from them. He didn’t know, and started to believe he could be growing paranoid, or going crazy. Had the good guys become the hunted, being stalked day after day, night after night by apparitions?
“I think they’re trying to discourage me, hoping I’ll give up, stop investigating, pack up everything and run back to South Carolina.”
“Will you?”
“Don’t worry I’ll stay until this is finished.” If Lee realized the danger waiting for him around the next corner he didn’t show it, he refused to be intimidated. He learned about fear in Miami.
“You know how unsolved mysteries get my mind and soul riled up until I solve them one way or the other,” he said.
Glancing across the room, he noticed goose bumps covering her arms, indicating she heard it too. Never mentioning it to him; he assumed she was trying to be brave as he witnessed the dread weave its way up her delicate, graceful, pale cheeks, and into her steady eyes, playing with his emotions. His first thoughts were to cross the room, sweep her into his arms, and tell her she had nothing to fear. He was torn. Asking himself if the price he would have to pay was worth the effort. He had endured more than enough of her caustic remarks. She was his wife’s best friend and confidant and she would never let him forget that Joan died before her time because of him.
He wondered how anyone so beautiful could be as obnoxious and sharp-tongued as she was. He tried many times to remove the soft spot still beating in the corner of his heart for this polished, smart woman whom he loved like a kid sister, and hoped she would someday lose her know-it-all attitude. Instead of moving toward her, he said, “it’s okay, don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll find out who they are.” She turned in Lee’s direction without a word, shot him an icy stare, and nodded. He smiled remembering the many phone conversations after receiving her letter in the mail. She pictured herself an amateur sleuth on the constant hunt for a mystery to solve.
He was persuaded by her many pleas for help eventually convincing him he should want to do this for Joan.
Joan’s memory and the way he treated her, tormented him. He decided this would be his chance to do the right thing and maybe end the mental anguish. Two days into the investigation, Lee said to Miranda. “I’m worried I may have made a mistake getting involved with this and maybe putting our lives in grave danger. When I agreed to help you, it looked like a simple research project, but the deeper we go into this the less I like what I’m learning. Three questions keep rolling around in my mind, keeping me up at night.”
Secret Keepers and Skinny Shadows Description:
How far will some people go to forget and protect a tragic secret, even when its only remains linger in the haunting memories of the distant past? But when one seeker embarks on a dogged pursuit of the truth, scratching and picking at the scabs that cover those long-held secrets, the results can prove extraordinary-forcing the truth to finally emerge, and making it impossible for those memories to remain buried any longer. After fifty years, is it possible for a murder case to receive closure, and for a killer to receive the justice he or she deserved? A relentless seeker Lee Perkins, a 20-year veteran researcher and book editor, becomes consumed by letters he receives from an old friend.
