Fixing To Die

“What happened to you?” Benjy asked. His eyes widened in alarm, and An’gel hastened to assure him that she and Dickce were fine.

“There were two incidents of my clothing being moved from one place to another in the French room.” An’gel related the details to Benjy.

Dickce said, “The only thing I’ve experienced so far is that cold sensation on the stairs. Did you feel it when you came up here?”

Benjy shook his head. “No, ma’am. Thank goodness. I was kind of expecting to, but it didn’t happen.” He indicated the doorway where An’gel stood. “Can I see inside the French room? I’m really curious to see what it’s like.”

“This isn’t the French room,” An’gel said. “I’ve switched to this one so that Mary Turner’s cousin can have that room.”

“My distant cousin, Nathan Gamble. My fifth cousin, I think. At least that’s what my grandmother always told me,” Mary Turner explained. “Anyway, he’s having work done at his house—or so he says—and needed a place to stay for a couple of nights. He thinks the French room is his by right.”

“What does that mean, his by right?” Benjy asked, obviously confused by Mary Turner’s explanation.

“Tell you what,” An’gel said before Mary Turner could respond. “Instead of standing out here in the hall, why don’t we all go back downstairs to the parlor, where we can sit down and be comfortable. Then we’ll explain.” She pulled her door shut and headed around Mary Turner and Benjy to the stairs.

They all followed her into the parlor. Dickce and An’gel chose one sofa while Mary Turner and Benjy took the other. Now that they were seated comfortably, An’gel looked at Mary Turner. “Do you want to explain, or shall I?”

“You go ahead,” Mary Turner said. “You’ll do it more succinctly than I will because I usually get annoyed over the stupidity of it all and start digressing.”

An’gel nodded. “Very well.” She proceeded to give Benjy a précis of the story of fourth great-grandfather Turner and his young sister. When she’d finished, she rested against the back of the sofa and waited to hear what Benjy might say.

“This cousin of yours reminds me a little of my stepfather’s mother.” He glanced at An’gel and Dickce. “She was a friend of Miss Dickce’s and Miss An’gel’s. Anyway, she had an obsession, too, so I kinda know what you mean when you say your cousin is obsessed with the room.”

“He’s talking about our friend Rosabelle Sultan,” Dickce explained. “You might have heard your grandmother talking about her. They knew each other at one time.”

“Vaguely,” Mary Turner said. “What was her obsession, Benjy?”

“Herself,” he responded promptly. “I found out later, after reading about it in a psychology book, that she was a narcissist. Do you know what that means?”

Mary Turner nodded. “Yes, I do. Nathan is somewhat like that. He’s really only concerned about himself and his bank account.”

“Even if it is an obsession, and maybe he can’t help himself,” Benjy said, “the whole thing seems useless to me. Why would anyone in that family think the stuff in that room really belongs to them after all this time?”

“That’s what comes from nursing a grudge, generation after generation,” An’gel said. “I agree the whole thing is pointless on Nathan Gamble’s part. But that doesn’t mean people still don’t feel that way. Dickce and I know two families in Athena that haven’t spoken to each other if they can help it for over sixty years.”

“I don’t get it,” Benjy said, “but I don’t have to.” He turned to his hostess. “Does he know about the weird things that happen in that room?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Mary Turner said. “I’ve certainly never told him, and I don’t intend to.” She glanced quickly at An’gel and Dickce. “I’d rather no one else did either. Let him experience it for himself.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe nothing at all will happen while he’s in the room. He has little imagination that I’ve ever seen, so he probably won’t even notice if something gets moved.”

An’gel felt that Mary Turner was wrong not to tell her cousin but she figured it would do no good to argue with her about it. “Very well,” she said. “We won’t say anything, but I think you should be prepared for the backlash if anything does happen and he is injured, for example.”

“I really don’t think anything serious is going to happen,” Mary Turner said. “Nothing really terrible has happened so far, after all. It’s been annoying and occasionally creepy, but neither Henry Howard nor I has been physically hurt.”

“That’s reassuring to hear,” An’gel said. “Until we know what or who is behind all this, however, we can’t take it for granted that no one will be hurt. It depends on the motive, I think. If the person responsible doesn’t get what he or she wants, then the incidents could escalate.”

“Now you’re making it sound like one of those horror movies where the family moves into a house and starts getting attacked.” Dickce shivered.