Emory followed the powder blue Mercedes as it wended along a narrow road with illogical curves. On either side, a dense spring-leaf forest embanked the pavement and filtered out all but the most stubborn specks of sunlight.
“I’m not staying in that house,” Virginia said from the backseat.
Jeff tilted his head to see her in the rearview mirror, holding up fingers as he counted. “One, you’ve been saying for months how you wanted to do more field work. Two, you sided with Emory about taking this case. Three, if we’re staying, you’re staying. Fair’s fair.”
“Why do any of us have to stay?” asked Emory. “That motel we passed would be great if you’re concerned about the driving time.”
“Your fiscal carelessness astounds me. Not only are we investing heavily in an office space just for you, but now you actually want us to put you up in a hotel—”
“It was a motel.”
“Whatever. You want us to put you up in a hotel instead of taking accommodations we’re being offered at no cost to us. Virginia, what were you able to find out about Blair Geister?”
“Nothing.”
Jeff frowned into the mirror. “What do you mean, nothing?”
Virginia poked his shoulder. “I told you I needed to sit in the front seat. You know I can’t read while I’m sitting in the back. I get carsick.”
“It’s all right. I’ll do it.” He pulled out his phone and searched the internet for information about Blair Geister. “I found a wiki page on her. She was born in Calhoun, nineteen blah, blah, blah. Father was a teacher. Mother worked in a paper factory. Never married. No kids. She was an architect before she began constructing her own buildings in Nashville, Atlanta and Knoxville.”
“Offices or residential?” asked Emory.
“Both.”
Virginia scooted up and rested her forearms on the front seats. “Any buildings we might know?”
“Let’s see.” Jeff scrolled down. “The Somerset—”
“Ooh, I like that place,” said Emory. “I wouldn’t mind living there.”
Jeff gave him a look of mild but impressed surprise before returning his attention to the phone. “She had focused more on environmental issues in the past few years, although she owned a coal mine.”
“A coal mine?” asked Virginia.
“That’s what it says.”
Emory said, “That’s a bit incongruous.”
Jeff continued reading. “She formed a foundation. Her crown jewel is The Monolith, a new forty-four story, eco-friendly commercial complex opening next week. It’s now the tallest building in Knoxville, surpassing previous record-holder Godfrey Tower… Whoa! She was worth $625 million when she died!”
Virginia looked at Jeff’s face in the rearview mirror. “You can almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.”
Emory laughed. “His eyes are green for a reason.”
“Very funny. It’s just such a waste we didn’t reach out to Blair before she died. Someone this rich I’m sure could’ve used our services for something. Kept us on retainer.” Jeff gasped as he swatted Emory’s arm and gleamed at Virginia through the rearview mirror. “That’s what we need! We need some rich people keeping us on retainer. Virginia, you should work on a business model focused on that.”
“I’ll get right on that. You know, it couldn’t have been easy for her. A woman entering a man’s world of construction. Anything else on her death?”
“Not much. She was found dead at her twelve-acre estate near Calhoun, Tennessee. The cause is currently under investigation.”
Emory’s eyes landed on a marker ahead on the right. The only patch of color on the grey sign with black letters came from a red-encircled blue field of three white stars – symbolic of the Tennessee state flag. Underneath it was a header and text too small to read in passing. “What does that sign say?”
“The Trail of Tears,” answered Jeff. “I can’t make out the rest.”
“I’ll slow down.”
“Don’t do that. We’ll lose Juniper.”
“Just long enough to take a pic.”
Jeff stuck his phone out the window to snap a picture, and he read from the image as Emory regained speed.
THE TRAIL OF TEARS
In the valley to the south, that part of the Cherokee Nation which took part in the enforced overland migration to Indian Territory rested for three weeks in 1839. About 15,000 persons of various ages took part in the march. Several who died while here were buried in this area.
“Seriously?” Jeff pocketed his phone. “Not only did people die in the house we’re going to, but it’s also near an old burial ground.”
Emory scolded him. “Hey, don’t joke about that. Almost six thousand Cherokee died on the Trail of Tears.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of that. It’s just all that’s missing now is a shady real estate developer and a little blonde girl.”
Emory slowed down when he saw Juniper’s Mercedes coming to a stop at the gate of a wrought-iron fence that extended on either side at least two hundred feet before disappearing into the surrounding flora. The vertical posts in the fence rose ten feet from the ground into spikes, but the gaps between were large enough for a coyote to slip through. The word Geisterhaus fanned across the top of the gate in twisted metal letters. Juniper reached a hand from her window to punch a code into the keypad, and the gate crept open.
“That’s the house?” Jeff tilted his chin toward the windshield. On a hill a few hundred yards inside the fence stood a sprawling stone house with a grey roof.
Virginia craned her neck between the front seats. “It’s huge.”
The driveway emptied into a large parking area built from brown and tan pavers and big enough for two dozen cars. The parking area connected to an eight-car garage and the steps to the raven-hued front door. Juniper parked and hurried out of her car to confront two men leaving the house with a plastic-wrapped king-size mattress.
Emory pulled in behind Juniper’s car, and the PIs exited the vehicle in time to hear her tell the mattress movers, “Drop that this instant!” The men complied, lowering the mattress onto the driveway as Juniper turned her attention toward the open front door.
A fortyish woman with straight black hair brushing the shoulders of her cranberry knee-length dress appeared in the doorway. She squinted her stringent face at the movers and waved at them to keep moving. “Get that out of here.”
Juniper met her at the front step. “Eden, what do you think you’re doing?!”
“Replacing the bed.”
“You can’t do that! It’s Ms. Geister’s bed.”
“I’m keeping the frame. It’s real gold. They just delivered a new mattress, and now they’re taking away the old one.”
Juniper pointed to the mattress. “That’s not yours to replace.”
Eden crossed her arms. “You don’t expect me to sleep on the same one my cousin died on.”
“I don’t expect you to sleep here at all!”
As the movers again picked up the mattress, Emory stopped them. “Guys, we need to have a look at that.” He faced his partners. “It’s where she died.”
Once the movers again dropped the mattress, Jeff asked them, “Can you take this plastic off?” One of the movers pulled a boxcutter from his pocket and slit the plastic up the middle, slicing part of the black, satin sheet fitted over the mattress along the way.
“This estate is not yours to alter in the least,” said Juniper.
“Of course, it is!” countered Eden. “Who else would it belong to?”
“We’ll find out once the will is read tomorrow.”
“I’m the only family Blair had. I have more right to be here now than you do. As a matter of fact, you’re fired.”
With the plastic peeled away, the three PIs gathered to inspect the mattress.
“Who has black sheets?” Virginia pointed to the small slash the movers had cut into the sheet. “Is the mattress black too?”
Jeff pulled a corner of the fitted sheet and removed it to expose the bare mattress. The PIs gasped at their first glance of its quilted top. Like an old photograph negative, a shadow had been transferred to the fabric. The captured image appeared to be a freeze-frame of a running woman, with one hand above her head, one behind her and legs in a running stance. A small crimson stain was visible in front of the shadow’s face as though she had sneezed blood.
Virginia asked, “How on Earth did this happen?”
“I don’t have a guess,” replied Jeff. “Emory?”
Emory snapped pictures with his phone before kneeling for a closer look.
A few feet away, Juniper told Eden, “You can’t fire me. I oversee this property for Ms. Geister’s estate.”
“Not after tomorrow, you don’t.” Eden huffed past her, toward the PIs.
“I hate to break it to you, Eden, but the estate attorney called me this morning to let me know Ms. Geister appointed me executor of her will. It’s going to be up to me to carry out her wishes – at any pace I deem necessary.”
“Why would she make you the executor? And who are these people?”
“Because I’m organized!” Juniper joined the others at the mattress. “They’re private investigators, and they’re here to figure out what happened that night.”
Eden smirked at her. “We know what happened. Blair had a heart attack, and that handyman… Well only you know for sure what really happened to him. But the sheriff will find out soon enough.”
Emory asked, “Is a heart attack the official cause of death for Ms. Geister?”
Juniper answered, “The coroner hasn’t released an official one yet, but the sheriff told me the doctor who pronounced her thought that was what killed her.”
Eden gave Emory’s car a side-glance. “Why do they have suitcases?”
“They’re staying here.” Juniper’s eyes fixed on the figure in the mattress. “What’s that?”
Jeff replied, “We don’t know.”
Eden told Juniper, “I’m not sleeping in a house with strangers.”
“Then don’t stay here!”
Virginia waved toward the mattress. “It could just be an old stain, built up over time from natural body oils and sweat.” She extended a hand to Eden and introduced herself. “I’m Virginia.”
Eden didn’t reciprocate. “I don’t care who you are.”
Emory shook his head. “No. Maybe if she slept in exactly the same position every night for months on end. Regardless, we shouldn’t get rid of the spot where she died until we know more about her death.”
“We’ll store the mattress in the supply closet in the basement.” Juniper asked the movers, “Would you mind taking it back inside and down the back stairs at the end of the hallway? It’s next to the theatre. Thank you.”
Jeff grinned at his partners. “There’s a theatre.”
“This is ridiculous!” Eden jumped ahead of the movers and retreated inside the house.
Juniper turned a forced smile toward the PIs. “Welcome to Geisterhaus. I apologize for the scene. That woman showed up the day after Ms. Geister died and started barking orders like she already owned the place.”
Virginia glanced at the front door. “We’ll be staying here with her?”
“Unfortunately, it looks that way.” Juniper pulled a key and an envelope from her purse and handed it to Virginia. “Here’s a key to the house, and the code to the gate is 0422. I’ve also sketched a layout of the floors to map out where everything is and where you can sleep.”
Emory frowned at their client. “Aren’t you going to show us around?”
“I’m not stepping foot in that house again. I’m heading back to Knoxville.”
“But we really need you to take us through exactly what happened that night.”
“I’ve told you—”
Jeff widened his bright green eyes. “We’re visual people.”
Virginia touched their client’s arm. “Nothing is going to happen to you with all of us here.”
Juniper hesitated, but Virginia’s reassuring face seemed to convince her. “All right, but I’m running for the door at the first sign of trouble.” With Virginia at her side, Juniper led the PIs into the house. “I’ll just show you where Tommy…” She cut herself off, gaze growing distant, before she continued. “Explore the rest of the house on your own.”
As they approached the door, Jeff touched the rough exterior wall. “Wow, blue stone.”
Juniper nodded. “Brought in from the Shenandoah Valley.”
“Will we be able to see Ms. Geister’s bedroom?” asked Emory.
Juniper opened the front door and shuffled inside, followed by the PIs. “I guess Eden is squatting there, but feel free to go in as you need. I should call the sheriff and have her removed, but I don’t want the headache.” After a few steps through a glorious atrium of marble, they entered a majestic, bright rotunda. “This is the locutorium, Ms. Geister’s primary room for indoor entertaining.”
“I can see why.” Jeff gawked at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, centered above a brown circle of flourishes in an otherwise white-tile floor. Furnishings included four gold-silk sofas, two Chippendale end tables, a white grand piano and five pedestals supporting bronze sculptures depicting pre-Columbian life in America. Three Western paintings hung from the gilded white walls. “Did she have a lot of parties?”
“Ms. Geister didn’t have any family she was close to, so she loved having company.”
Emory followed Jeff and Virginia into the locutorium. “I had the impression she was more of a private person.”
Juniper kept one foot in the atrium. “She was, in the sense that she didn’t openly share aspects of her personal life, but that didn’t keep her from being a generous host. Her usual guests fell into one of two categories – business associates, out of necessity, and those who shared her passion for the environment and science.”
Virginia clinked a far-right key on the piano, causing Juniper to jump. “Sorry.”
Juniper exhaled a shaky breath. “It’s okay. I’m just a bit skittish being back here.”
Virginia wiped her hand on her pant leg, as if to remove the piano faux pas. “This is really a beautiful home.”
Juniper smiled as if the compliment were meant for herself. “Ms. Geister renovated most of what you see.”
Jeff stood before a white stone fireplace, admiring the grazing buffalo painting mounted above the mantle. “Judging from the craftsmanship and the furnishings in here alone, that must’ve set her back a pretty penny.”
“Four times the purchase price of the house. This place used to be a convalescent home, if you can believe that. Ms. Geister rehabbed the hell out of it. If you walk around the property, you’ll notice, in spite of how much land surrounds three-quarters of the house, the neighbor’s house is actually really close to this one.”
“Seriously?” asked Virginia. “Why wasn’t it built closer to the center of the property?”
“This all used to be one huge property, owned by a surgeon. He lived in the house next door, and then he built the convalescent home here to treat his patients so he didn’t have to drive. Apparently, he had a horrible car accident when he was younger and vowed never to drive again. After he died, they had a hard time selling the property with two houses on it, and they ended up dividing it into two lots. The Strands bought the one next door, and then Ms. Geister bought this one and erected the fence.” Juniper raised her fingers to her lips. “I forgot where I was going with this. Oh yes. This place was more of a standard four-walled structure when Ms. Geister bought it about five years ago. She built out the locutorium shortly afterwards to add some character. Then after moving in, she would renovate a different room just about every quarter. Up until a few months ago, she oversaw all the construction herself. For some of the renovations, she would even relieve the crew before they were done so she could put the finishing touches on each room by herself.”
Jeff scoffed. “Sounds like she was a bit of a control freak.”
“You could say that. She did have to relinquish some control when construction of The Monolith began consuming all of her time. That’s why she brought Tommy down here from her company in Knoxville.” Juniper smiled and nodded toward the locutorium. “This was always my favorite part of the house. Ms. Geister’s too. It has standing room for one hundred guests and offers the best views on the estate.”
Emory walked to one of seven sets of French doors spaced at equidistant points around the circular room and looked at the narrow balcony wrapped around the exterior. Above each double door rose multi-paned windows that reached almost to the twenty-foot-high ceiling, drenching the room in late-morning sunlight. The room did indeed offer quite a scenic view of the backyard, where three distinct levels descended from the adjacent pool to the muddy bank of the river, on which a large boathouse protruded halfway to the other side.
Jeff approached the French doors to Emory’s left. “Is that the Tennessee River?”
“It’s actually the Hiwassee River,” replied Juniper.
Emory noticed the poolside furniture, including two cast-iron tables – one with a tied-down indigo umbrella. He saw the other umbrella open and upside-down halfway down the lawn. “One of the pool umbrellas has come loose.”
“What?!” Juniper’s tone jumped to panic. “Someone must’ve forgotten to close it, and the wind took it. Ms. Geister always insisted the outdoor umbrellas be closed and tied when not in use. I can’t believe one was left open. She would’ve run out there to close it herself if she’d seen it.”
Emory glanced at his partners to see both grimacing at Juniper’s overreaction at such a minor infraction.
“I’ll ask the gardener to retrieve it.” Juniper took a step back. “Please, I really don’t want to be here longer than I must.”
The PIs joined their host in the atrium, near a grand ascending staircase and an adjacent set of steps going down. “We could go down this way, but I’ll take you to the back stairs because it’s closer to my room.”
With Jeff at his side, Emory followed Juniper and Virginia into the wide hallway past the front stairs. “Who all had access to the house?”
“Tommy and I were the only staff members who lived here. Ms. Geister also retained a chef, a maid and a groundskeeper.”
Jeff asked, “Tommy’s job again?”
“Live-in facilities manager. He led one of Ms. Geister’s construction teams in Knoxville before she brought him down here to take care of the estate.”
Jeff shot a curious glance Emory’s way. “That seems like a step down. What exactly did he do here?”
“In addition to overseeing the room renovations, he was in charge of maintaining the house and all components. The original structure is almost fifty years old, so it needs constant attention. If something broke, Ms. Geister insisted it be fixed right away. As the head of a construction empire, she felt it reflected badly on her business if anyone spotted something amiss with the property.” Juniper paused as she looked at the dining room on the right, where the overhead light flickered. Her fists clenched, releasing when the light regained its composure two seconds later.
Emory distracted her with a question. “Why did you live here?”
“Convenience. As Ms. Geister’s assistant, she needed me to be available.”
Virginia said, “It must’ve been tough being constantly on call.”
“It took some getting used to when I first started, about ten years ago, but it got easier. She was such a dynamic person and a generous teacher. I learned so much from her about business, it got to where I knew her decisions before she did. She was always encouraging me to start off on my own, but I never had any interest in that. She depended on me, and it was nice to be needed. A couple of years ago, after my daughter moved out, Ms. Geister offered me the room downstairs, and I didn’t hesitate. It meant a lot less driving back and forth from Knoxville, and I had total access to the estate’s amenities, as long as she didn’t have guests.”
Jeff asked, “Wasn’t it difficult, always being around your boss?”
“Actually, it brought us closer. We became really good friends.”
“Yet, you still call her Ms. Geister.”
“Just a habit.”
Jeff gasped with a horrified look toward the kitchen they approach on the left. “What’s that?”
Juniper jumped and clutched Virginia’s arm with both hands. “What? What is it? A ghost?”
“Oh no.” Jeff relaxed. “My mistake. It’s just the way the sun’s shining off the tile.”
Steadying her breath, Juniper released Virginia’s arm and continued toward the back stairs.
Walking behind the two women, Emory elbowed a grinning Jeff and mouthed, “Cut that out!”
Virginia pivoted the conversation to a stairwell ahead, with its walls of white brick and metal beams running the entire length from top to bottom. “How unusual.”
Juniper smiled. “Ms. Geister had such a great eye for beauty in utility. This used to be an elevator. She had the car removed, but she liked the walls so she kept them intact. It’s the only noticeable remnant of the home’s previous purpose.”
Jeff touched the wall. “I really like her style.”
Juniper led them down the stairs. “The rooms on the lower level were mainly administrative offices for the convalescent home, which is why you’ll see that our bedrooms are rather small. There was also a pharmacy down here, but it’s now a wine cellar.”
Jeff said, “I definitely want to check that out.”
“Help yourself to anything you want while you’re here. I do apologize if anything’s a bit messy. The maid took the week off.”
Emory asked, “You’re not convinced it was a ghost?”
“Ms. Geister wasn’t killed by a ghost. I know the sheriff thinks it might’ve been a heart attack, but he’s still looking into it.”
“We can help with that,” said Jeff.
“If you want, but your primary reason for being here is to prove that I didn’t see what I believe I saw when Tommy died.”
“Question for you,” said Virginia. “We read that Blair was an environmentalist. Why did she own a coal mine?”
“She bought that to turn it into a nature preserve.”
Jeff grunted. “I imagine the employees weren’t too happy about it.”
Juniper stopped when she reached the lower level. “They don’t know. Well, some of them practically rioted when they found out who was buying it. I guess they assumed, knowing who she was. Ms. Geister had to give them assurances that she wasn’t going to shut the mine down.”
“She lied?” asked Emory.
“Not technically. This isn’t public knowledge, but as soon as she purchased the mine, she signed it over to her foundation. The foundation is going to shut it down. Right now, the employees think the mine is temporarily closed to map out new tunnels, but it’s actually in the process of being restored to its natural state. Miners are still being paid, but that’s going to stop once the preserve is officially announced.”
Juniper waved to the first door on the right. “That’s Tommy’s room. One of you can stay in there. There’s also a guest room on the top level.” She opened the second door on the right. “And this is my room. Virginia, I thought you could stay in here.”
Emory held his palms over the floor just outside the room. “Is this where you said Mr. Addison died?”
Juniper’s eyes welled as she clutched herself. She walked across the room and touched the TV mounted on the wall. “This is where I first saw it. The spirit. It came out of the screen toward me. I was in bed. Tommy came in and got between us. That’s when it attacked him. Killed him.”
As Jeff inspected the TV, Virginia found the remote on the bed and hit the power button. From the screen erupted a loud POP!, flourished with sparks and smoke.
Juniper shrieked and ran from the room.
“Damn!” Jeff yelped and jumped out of the way, patting his head to make sure no sparks ignited his hair.
Emory watched Juniper run up the back stairs. “I guess that’s the last we’ll see of her today.”
Virginia dropped the remote. “Sorry.”
“If Virginia’s done trying to kill me, I need to show you guys something.” Jeff beckoned them to the TV. “Look at the power cord.”
Emory placed the side of his face on the wall so he could see behind the monitor. “The wire’s exposed. It looks like someone took a cigarette lighter to the sheathing.”
Jeff knelt to inspect the floor. “There are drops of melted rubber or whatever it’s made of.”
“PVC,” said Virginia. “Couldn’t that have happened when the TV blew just now?”
“I noticed it right before you tried to kill me.” Jeff unplugged the cord from the outlet and the back of the TV, and he held it so Virginia could see the exposed wire. “Someone has tampered with this TV, and it’s not a ghost. I bet Tommy touched it and electrocuted himself.”
Virginia walked to the spot where Tommy had died. “How could he possibly have reached the cord from here?”
Emory knelt in front of Jeff and rubbed his fingers across the small black blobs on the floor. “Witnesses get details wrong all the time. She said something was going on with the TV, and it scared her. Maybe she looked away, and he was actually standing closer to here. He reached up to fix the TV.”
Jeff continued Emory’s train of thought, “And the electricity threw him across the room, like that kid climbing the electric fence in Jurassic Park.”
Virginia said, “But that’s not at all how she described it.”
Jeff crossed his arms. “What’s more believable: that an angry ghost came out of the TV and attacked Tommy Addison, or he was electrocuted when he touched a deliberately exposed wire?”