“Is the coast clear?” Murphy asked.
“Yes, I can’t lock the door, but I’ll put my trash can in front so we’ll hear if someone tries to sneak in,” she said, fetching the trash can. “Everyone in this wing is probably watching The Crown.”
“Cid tried to get me to watch that, but I have a lot of trouble with the historic references. They were after my time.”
“What was your time?”
“Before the Civil War mostly,” Murphy said.
“A challenging time in which to live,” Sally said, arranging the chairs so they could sit across from each other.
Murphy adjusted the consistency of his form so he could make contact with the chair and sat. He found this was easier for people who weren’t used to a ghost simply floating in front of them. “The Martins met Mark Leighton when they had rented a cabin on Wolf’s Head Lake to be alone with Brian. No Cid, no PEEPs, and no me.”
Sally detected a bit of resentment.
“Mark was staying with his grandparents, the Whites, when he met the Martins - they are Sarah’s parents. Sarah was away at a course so she could earn more money to support Mark and pay for decent care of her veteran husband who suffers from locked-in syndrome. At that time, Mark’s father was in a facility not as nice as this one. Mark immediately saw that Mia was special. He kept her secret which was appreciated. He was drawn to an old house that was haunted by a negative elemental.”
“We have that in common!” Sally said.
“The Martins knew it was better to investigate it with PEEPs’ help, so they asked PEEPs to join them at Wolf’s Head Lake. I was allowed to come too.”
“Allowed?”
“Mia and I… Sometimes I overstep myself. But this time, she wanted to concentrate on saving her marriage – the particulars are something I would rather she share with you.”
“I won’t say a word. Back to Mark.”
“Mark really wanted to save the house, but it was too far gone. A tornado took it and the man who owned it, believe it or not, owned this mansion. His name was Wyatt Wayne. During the course of the investigation, Mia and her grandfather…”
“I met his wife Audrey,” Sally told Murphy. “Sorry, go on.”
“Mia and her grandfather, Orion, met Wyatt Wayne. He was so impressed by Mark that he gave the land the old house rested on and his strawberry fields to the boy. When he passed on, he gave Mia his books and money to build a library on my… our land. I helped design the building.”
“I would love to see it.”
“I’m sure Cid will bring you. May I finish?”
“Please.”
“Mr. Wayne gave this very building to his butler, Norton, who had served him well. Long story short, Norton wanted to sell the mansion. Mark, with his mother’s help, sold the fields and purchased the mansion for the purpose of creating a clinic where Mark’s father Glen could be cared for and Sarah could be with him, instead of working elsewhere.”
“All this wonderment happened because of a negative elemental.”
“I guess so.”
“What happen to the negative elemental?”
“That’s something Mia would need to tell you.”
“No problem. This story gives me hope. Maybe when the problems at Walnut Grove House are looked back upon, we’ll see that the negative elemental being there brought the right people together, not only to fight it but, in Cid’s and my case, meet and fall in love.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“I love him. I know it’s quick, but I think it was meant to be quick. I hope it’s a lasting love. That’s why I’m going to fight my illness, so I can enter a relationship with Cid with the confidence that I’m going to be good for him. I already know he’s good for me.”
“I wish you well,” Murphy said getting up. “If you will excuse me, I have a farm to protect and deer to scare away from my little trees. I’ve tried feeding them, scaring them, putting foul-smelling coyote urine on them, and just about everything people have used successfully.”
“Those trees are important to you.”
“I started out trying to make amends to the land that I had stripped of trees when I cleared it and built my farmhouse and barn. Then I saw that the planet needed trees, and it became a goal to reforest any land that isn’t being used, like old farmland where the soil has played out, failed subdivided land, and places where old factories were.”
Sally stood up. “You are a noble knight of the forest. I’m honored to meet you and so happy you spent some time with me. Wherever I end up, you will be welcome in my home.”
Murphy’s eyes glistened. He tugged his hat and disappeared.
Sally sat back down and thought about all she had learned. “Even if Cid and I don’t make it, I’m going to settle here,” she promised herself.
Chapter Twenty-two
All weekend, the contractors labored steadily, still working in pairs, and those who had to venture into the basement did so with Faye. Lists were completed and rooms were made ready for inspection. Typically, Kiki would bring in professional cleaners, but this was left up to Cid and Jesse. They moved from room to room with their cleaning supplies. The new bathroom suites shined, and after Jesse fixed the old vacuum, the fibers of the rugs gave up years of imbedded dust.
Sunday evening, they walked into the library to find a pile of books on the desk. Next to them was a one word note, Mildew.
Cid picked up a book and lifted it to his nose but didn’t detect the moldy smell. He fanned the pages and saw Daniels neat hand between the lines.
“I think we’re supposed