After a long night, the aroma of bacon frying was like a shot of adrenaline. I sat up, still groggy, and rubbed my face to wake myself up. Newman and Redford were at the bedroom door, whining and wagging tails, anxious to follow the delicious smell to its source.
I stood from my bed and stared down at my sweatpants. The entire night came back to me in one dizzying swoop. I sat down hard on the mattress. Redford trotted over and scratched me sharply on the shin.
"Ouch, yes, I know, bacon, bacon, bacon. Whatever you do, don't worry about your favorite dog mom looking peaked and lightheaded." I walked to the door and opened it. The dogs raced out. I returned to the bed and sat down. The rich smells coming from the kitchen assured me that Lana was already taking care of the guests. I'd wisely mentioned to Parker that I'd be in late because the Applegate Society was staying the night.
I flopped back on the mattress and stared at the ceiling. I had my work cut out for me, and not just in writing a glowing article about a group of paranormal experts who nearly fainted during a brief encounter with a ghost. The kicker was that they didn't even realize it was Edward. No proof showed up on any of their equipment. The entire strange event could have been easily explained away by a sonic boom or rapid change in barometric pressure. Those were two of the theories being bandied about when their equipment found no evidence of paranormal activity. On top of making sure to write a compelling article, I had now taken it upon myself to find out what happened to Bonnie Ross and her baby. I was glad to have a place to start, but it seemed that a quick and easy 'ah ha' moment to explain Edward's situation was not going to be quick or easy.
A light knock on the door was followed by Lana's smiling face. Her skin glowed and her eyes sparkled as if she'd slept through a long, glorious night. Which she no doubt had after she left the inn. "I'm making omelets and I forgot my shallots. Do you have any?"
I sat up. "You're at the wrong sister's house. You might as well ask if I have any truffles. I wouldn't know what to do with a shallot if I had one." I lowered my feet to the floor.
Lana walked inside the room and put her hands on her hips. "Why do you look like you just returned from an all night rock concert? Nice sleepwear, by the way."
"Not in the mood for big sister sarcasm this morning. It was a long night." I tromped over to my dresser.
"Oh, why was it so long? It seemed everyone was getting settled in after the odd air pressure thing. Did you ever find the source of it?"
"No. It's an old house. Every day is an adventure of oddities. I just meant it was long because I'm not used to having strangers in the house. I didn't sleep well."
Lana came over and hugged me. "I know and I appreciate the sacrifice. Now get dressed and come out to breakfast so you can see your guests off. They are packing up to head to Dandelion Inn right after a shopping excursion in town."
I pulled a pair of pants and a sweater out of the dresser. "I sure don't have much for an article yet. I might have to visit them at Dandelion Inn. Maybe there'll be more suitable ghost activity there so I can watch the experts in action."
"Thought you weren't in the mood for sarcasm," Lana quipped before walking out.
I quickly showered and changed. If nothing else, I needed to get to the kitchen to make sure a certain ghost wasn't skulking acting broody and mad. He didn't seem terribly convinced that I'd be able to find out what happened to his baby. It was possible he didn't even want to know. Pregnancy and giving birth were dangerous back then. I'd hate to discover that Bonnie died in childbirth. Then Edward would be saddled with the knowledge that his sordid affair with Bonnie resulted in her death. That thought sent nervous flutters through my stomach as I headed toward the voices in the kitchen.
Angela looked up from her cup of coffee. Barbara, Kenneth and Rex had joined her at the kitchen table. Naturally, Barbara was glued to Kenneth's side, gazing starry eyed at him as he drank his coffee.
There was no sign of Edward. My shoulders sank a good two inches with relief. As usual, Lana had pulled out all the stops. Fresh blueberry muffins sat on a platter in the center of the pine table. Her freshly churned butter was mounded into a silver chafing dish.
"By the way, Sunni—" Lana pointed to a large envelope on the corner of the counter stamped 'do not bend'. "The mailman couldn't fit that in the mailbox."
The return address was from Lola's Antiques in Port Danby. My pictures had arrived. I left them on the counter. As much as I wanted to look at them, I decided to wait for my visitors to leave. I was just about to reach for a cup of coffee when I heard Raine's familiar giggle through the kitchen window. I leaned over the sink and peered out. If I tilted my head just enough, I could see the right half of the front porch. Raine was leaning against the railing talking animatedly to Jamie. He was wearing a red and blue flannel shirt over a black turtle neck.
I returned to my pursuit of hot coffee. I needed to ingratiate myself this morning to make sure I could join APPS on their next adventure, or my article would be a few, skeletal paragraphs.
I sat down with the coffee and grabbed a blueberry muffin. "I hope everyone slept comfortably. I know the house moans and groans a lot."
Rex followed my lead and took a muffin. "Old bones make you do that," he chuckled. "I can't stand up from a couch without a chorus of groans."
Kenneth patted his flecked beard with his napkin before dropping it on his lap. "I've told you, Rex, you need to eat better. You're still eating burgers, fries and spicy food like you're twenty. A good healthy diet will take those aches right out of your bones."
Angela's pale skin looked extra translucent in the light coming through the window. She had pulled her black hair back into a ponytail. She seemed amused by her brother's condescending lecture. "Thank you for asking, Sunni," Angela said. "The accommodations were wonderful. Once we calmed our nerves after the unusual incident, I think we all slept well."
"Might have been easier if Rex hadn't snored like a buffalo," Jamie said as he walked into the kitchen. Raine was right behind him with a flirty smile still plastered on her face.
"Raine, could you help me carry the plates to the table," Lana called from the stove.
"Sure."
"None for me, Raine," I said. "The muffin is plenty."
After omelets were delivered, Raine sat across from Jamie and next to me. She wasted no time. "Jamie tells me there was a strange change in air pressure, like a quiet implosion, in the house last night." She buttered a muffin.
"Yes," I said.
"Is that all you can say about it?" Raine asked.
I wiped butter from my mouth and sipped coffee. "Yep. Pretty much. Not sure how to elaborate. Jamie's description is accurate."
"Was it Edward?" Raine asked.
"You know I don't much about that kind of stuff, Raine." I was desperate to move on to a new topic. I turned to Kenneth. "I hope you don't mind if I drop by Dandelion Inn today for a few interviews. As I mentioned, I'm the person assigned to writing an article on your society for the Junction Times. I've already met the owner of Dandelion—"
Kenneth nearly choked on his tongue. "You've seen her? You've communicated with Lauren Grace?"
Angela grinned meekly as she touched her brother's arm. "I think she means the current owner, Kitty Bloomfield."
Jamie hid a smile behind his napkin. Fortunately, since everyone was fidgeting from the awkward moment, he didn't take the opportunity to mock or tease Kenneth about his strange assumption. He certainly had the ghost of Lauren Grace caught firmly in his head and heart. What a ridiculous notion to have a crush on a ghost. Then I immediately wondered what Edward was up to.
Kenneth's face tinted red from embarrassment, which morphed into a grouchy response. "I certainly hope you'll mention to your readers the brief but alarming event that took place last night and how professional and skilled we were at handling it."
I was taken aback by the tone of his question. It was almost threatening. He knew, too well, that his entire team of paranormal experts had been frightened by Edward's stunt. It would have been difficult to label their response professional or skilled. Lana favored me with an imploring pair of puppy dog eyes. She'd worked so hard to make their visit wonderful, I didn't want to let her down.
"Why, of course. I'll mention how courageously and quickly you pulled out your equipment to gather data," I added.
Jamie puffed a sound from his mouth. "Lot of good that did us. Not one move of the dial. Not one blip on the screen. I'm not convinced it was a paranormal event at all. Maybe she shouldn't even mention it. I'd hate for Evanmore's Ghostly Heritage Society to find out we overreacted to a sonic boom, or worse, the settling bones of an old house."
"Nonsense. Of course it was something from the spirit world," Kenneth said confidently. "And you may visit us at Dandelion Inn. We'll try and make time for some interviews. As long as you don't get in the way of our research. The lovely—" He cleared his throat. "The lingering spirit in Dandelion Inn has a very strong presence, and we expect to be quite busy gathering data." It seemed the last comment was somewhat of a ding against my seemingly un-haunted inn.
After breakfast, Lola and Raine helped the visitors get ready to leave. I had a few minutes alone in the kitchen while luggage and gear was being carried out of the house. Curiosity got the best of me. I picked up the envelope of pictures from Lola's Antiques. I slid them out. The first picture was a bucolic scene of kids playing croquet on the front lawn with their mother watching on from the porch. I slid my eyes over to the smear and focused. I had not imagined it. It was Edward, staring back at me from the porch. The photographer had probably passed off the smudged image as a mistake in processing.
"Is that—" Jamie Nielsen's deep voice dribbled over my shoulder.
My heart raced as I jammed the picture back into the envelope. "Yes, it’s a picture of the inn mid nineteenth century."
"But it looked—" Again, I didn't let him finish.
"If you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready for work." I raced down the short hallway to my bedroom and put the pictures on the dresser. I stayed in my room until I heard their car drive away. My pulse slowed as I easily convinced myself Jamie hadn't seen enough to give it another thought.