Maple Dale (Maple Dale Series) Read online

  Matt nodded, making a mental note of the request, and motioned for him to have a seat.

  Klaus remained standing. "First of all," he said. "Let me tell you, I don't believe in any of this bullshit about a ghost up at Maple Dale."

  Matt sat down at his desk. "You mean Leah Oliver's ghost?"

  "Anybody's ghost!" Klaus spat.

  "I see," Matt said. "Then why are you here?"

  "Why? Because I believe you started this."

  Matt motioned again for him to have a seat and, studying him when he finally did, noticed his hands. "That's interesting, Mr. Bukener. But tell me, do you have an objection to all ghosts, or just Leah Oliver's?"

  Klaus refused to answer that. "I want you to put a stop to it. I want you to call it off."

  Matt nodded nonchalantly. "Sure thing. I'll just wave my magic wand."

  Klaus sneered. "Is this how you normally fix your patient's problems? By mocking them?"

  "Wait a minute," Matt said. "In the first place, you're not my patient. Secondly, I don't fix anyone's problems. Therapy is a combined effort."

  "Yeah, and you get paid."

  Matt glanced at the man's hands again. "It's a living. What about you?"

  Klaus narrowed his beady eyes. "What do you mean?"

  "Making money," Matt said. "Isn't that the name of the game?"

  Klaus shrugged. "My father thought so."

  Matt nodded slowly, studying him again, and motioned to his hands. They were raw. "What happened to your hands?"

  "Nothing. They're fine."

  "They don't look fine."

  "I said they're fine."

  "All right." Matt sat back, waiting. "So now what?"

  "Now what?! I already told you why I came here!"

  Matt nodded. "And I'm supposed to do something about her ghost."

  "There is no ghost! I told you I don't believe in that shit!"

  Matt sighed impatiently. "And yet..."

  "Why did you get involved anyway? You never even knew her!"

  "True."

  "So why do you care?"

  "I don't know. Why do you care?"

  "I don't!"

  "What about your father?"

  "What about him?"

  "Did he care?"

  Klaus clammed up.

  "I'm sorry. Does it bother you, the relationship she had with your father?"

  "Bother me? Does it bother me?!" Klaus jumped to his feet, his eyes bulging. "What relationship? They didn't have a relationship! Don't you see? They didn't need anyone! Neither one of them! Oh sure, father had his women. God knows he was always beating his rod somewhere! But needing someone? No! Never!"

  With this, the encounter came to an end. Klaus stormed from the room, looking over his shoulder. After sitting there for a while, thinking, Matt phoned a colleague, then Richard.

  "Are you aware of the exact cause of Leah's death?" he asked.

  "Yes, heart failure," Richard said. "Why?"

  "Because there's more to it than that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, her heart burst. Richard, she died of a broken heart. And not only that, according to the Coroner's report, there wasn't a mark on her."

  "The Coroner's report?"

  "Yes. Klaus Bukener paid me a visit today, with hands that have been washed a thousand times. Guilty hands."

  "Wait a minute."

  "I can't. I don't have time. But tell me, didn't you say that Bethann and some of the other students found her in the barn on the cement floor?"

  "Yes."

  "Then doesn't it seem odd that she didn't have any bruises anywhere from the fall?"

  Richard's blood drained from his face. "Are you implying Klaus had something to do with her death?"

  "I don't know. What do you think?"

  * * *

  Leah kept a vigilant eye on Bethann as she warmed up Persian Son. She had an audience inside as well, Christine, Walter, and Richard, and she was enjoying the attention. So much so, that like most adolescents, the attention went to her head. Waving, as if to say watch this, she started toward the in-and-out set of jumps, but took the turn much too tight and with a loose rein. Persian Son, consequently, even being the veteran that he was and fully capable of taking the jump on his own, dropped his shoulder at the last second, and ducked out on it.

  Bethann almost landed on the ground.

  "Serves you right!" To the untrained eye, Persian Son was just being a handful, and rather exciting to watch. But Leah had a fit. "You weren't even looking at the jump until the last second, and off half a stride! What did you think you were doing?"

  Bethann blushed bright red. She could practically hear Leah in her mind, knowing exactly what she would say, what she was saying. She circled the arena, in hand, focused, and took the jumps beautifully. "Yes! Much better!"

  Bill came into the office and joined everyone watching. Soon though, it was back to business. Richard had been in negotiation with Klaus and Leah's lawyers, and passed along the news.

  Walter was elated. "Then this means we can sell some lots?"

  Richard nodded, smiling. He had mixed feelings about going ahead, but compromising at this point allowed them what they'd decided for Leah's sake. "Everything except for the lots in this area." He circled the arena, barns, and paddocks on Walter's map. "These remain unattainable for the time being."

  Klaus's house was right in the middle of the circle, but there was nothing that could be done about that. He was still insisting on his intent to move there upon completion.

  Bethann came in after cooling out Persian Son and was filled in on the latest developments. Her father had told her this was more than likely. He'd explained it all to her, yet met with the same resistance.

  "What w-w-will Leah th-think, with p-people looking around and t-t-talking?"

  Richard sighed. He couldn't stop thinking about what Matt had said, not exactly something he could use to stop legal process. But once Matt put a thought into your head...

  "Honey, for all we know she's gone. There hasn't been a lot of..." Richard's voice trailed off as he looked at Bill. She wasn't gone. "Did you see her again?"

  Bill shook his head. "No, but I can feel her. She's still here."

  Richard glanced at Christine, who gave him one of her what-do-we-do-now looks, and he smiled, thinking about the past few weeks, making love and holding on to each other.

  Bethann's impatience quickly brought him back to the matter at hand. She was glad her mom and dad were back together again, it felt good. But as is also rather typical of adolescence, she had taken it for granted already. "But w-what if th-they scare her?"

  "We've got some time, don't worry. She's obviously been content lately, or we'd have seen some signs. So let's make her happier. Remember what Matt said?"

  Bethann nodded. Matt said her personality was the key, and to think about what would make her happy. "Let's p-p-put her tack back in th-the tack room. She was r-r-really p-particular about her t-t-tack."

  Richard exchanged glances with Walter and Bill, one shrugged, the other nodded. Bill thought it was a good idea, so that's what they did. Less than a half hour later, Leah's saddle and bridles, hard hat and schooling chaps were back in their customary places. Bethann walked away with a satisfied smile. Leah would be pleased, she knew she would. And she was. That night, after everyone had gone and the barn was all quiet except for the sounds of Persian Son nestling in his straw, she went into the tack room and looked around.

  "Perfect," she said. It was as if she were alive. Her bridles were hung in figure eighths, the neck strap wrapped around and through the reins. Her saddle was covered with the sheepskin pad, the way she always left it to dry, and her chaps were hung by the door.

  She saw a room full of bridles and saddles, and in passing Persian Son, saw a stable of horses. Shad was fine, the sign in the hayloft reminded her of that, and Phoenix was free to roam. "Perfect."

  * * *

  Over the next two weeks, the second floor w
as roughed-in on Klaus's home, three building lots were sold, Bethann passed all her quarterly exams; she'd had her doubts, and Maple Dale, along with all of northeast Ohio, received its first measurable snowfall of the season.

  With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Walter, Christine, and Bill discussed their holiday plans. Bill was looking forward to having dinner at his favorite aunt's and watching football all day. Christine talked about having dinner at home, what she was making, who all was coming, all the shopping she had to do. And Walter and his family were driving to upstate New York to ski.

  Leah watched and listened from the corner, with Phoenix directly above her, sleeping in the rafters. Holidays meant nothing to her. They never had. She was always alone. But she enjoyed listening to them planning theirs, and envisioned it, the turkey, the dressing, the sweet potatoes...

  Bill said something to Walter about digging three more wells up on the north end, and Christine told him about a young couple interested in a certain lot, and how she had to double talk, so as not to let on there was any problem.

  "Did they buy it?" Bill asked.

  Christine nodded. "For the time being, yes."

  Leah didn't understand.

  "But come spring," Walter said, "when the barn's leveled and a house goes up..."

  "Right. How do we explain it then?"

  Leah clutched her chest. "Oh no! It's still happening! They're destroying Maple Dale!"

  Dust whirled suddenly, whirled and whirled, rattling the windows and quaking the walls. The lights blinked. The cat ran. And as Christine, Bill, and Walter turned in horror, the door flew open.

  "Oh my God!" Walter gasped. "She was here and overheard us! She knows!"

  Christine looked helplessly at Bill. There was such sadness in his eyes, such despair. Later that afternoon, Leah's anger manifested itself. Lunch boxes came up missing, hammers were broken, tires were flattened, and tractor keys disappeared.

  Bill sent his men home early, wanting to get them out of there before her activities were actually witnessed by someone, and a meeting was set at Christine's for later that day to decide what to do.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  They had no sooner assembled, Matt included, when Walter started blaming himself. "Everything was fine till I opened my big mouth."

  Christine passed pumpkin bread around. "We were all talking, Walter, so..."

  "Besides," Matt said. "Things obviously weren't fine. You just brought it to a head. She's no closer to leaving now than she was before."

  Walter shook his head. "But she's been quiet. She could've been doing things, and she hasn't."

  "Complacence," Matt said, and drew a deep breath. "Complacence." Everyone was quiet for a moment. No one knew what to say. "Ours, as well as hers."

  Silence.

  It was true.

  "Even if we could change everything back to the way it was, the horses, the students, all of it. Looking at it now, do you think she'd leave?"

  No, they decided. Not judging from her recent behavior. If she'd become content...

  Christine sighed. "It's a shame we can't have it both ways. Enough of the old to make her feel secure, but enough of the new to..."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, even Bethann. But agreeing on what to do was a different thing. Whatever they decided, had to be drastic.

  "Had you planned on working throughout the winter there?" Matt asked Bill after a while.

  "About half my crew, yes. Why?"

  "I was just wondering how much it would hurt to pull out entirely."

  Walter's eyes widened. "Indefinitely, or for just a short time?"

  "I don't know. A week, maybe two, a month, what with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming."

  "Why?" Richard asked. "What's the point? It was shut down before and didn't accomplish anything."

  "I know. But I mean completely. Barricades in the driveway, no electricity, everything."

  "You m-mean even P-P-Persian Son?" Bethann asked.

  Matt nodded. "Even Persian Son." He was thinking that if Leah had absolutely no reason whatsoever to stay, then maybe she'd finally face the reality of there being nothing here for her anymore. "And for her sake, I think we have to do it."

  * * *

  Richard phoned Klaus the following morning, left a message on the answering machine, and they proceeded as planned. Walter and Christine cleaned out their desks. The contents of the tack room and store room were taken to Richard and Christine's garage. The construction equipment was moved to another site. Persian Son was shipped back to Manchester Farms. The pipes were drained and the utilities were turned off. All that was left was Phoenix.

  He was everywhere, everywhere they looked. Watching, purring, stretching, licking his paws and yawning. Fortunately, Bethann had been excluded from this part of the plan, and even now, Bill and Richard hesitated going through with it.

  "It has to be done though," Richard said. He and Bill both agreed on that. But looking at him now, curled up in a little gray ball at the end of the barn, it seemed so cruel.

  Bill sighed. "I just hate to think of him roaming around here cold and hungry. He's grown to depend on us, you know."

  Richard nodded. Everyone was gone and it was just them now. The two of them, and Phoenix.

  And Leah. She'd been watching them for some time, wondering what was going on, and now hovered near so she could hear what they were saying.

  They'd discussed the issue well into the night about what to do, and why. Funny how it came down to him, a cat not much bigger than a kitten.

  "Don't let his size fool you," Matt had said. "He'll find his way. But not if you leave the food. He can get water by the lake."

  "Yeah, until it freezes over."

  Bill and Richard stood staring at him, no more than ten, fifteen feet away. "You want to try catching him again?"

  Richard shrugged, raising an eyebrow, and with that, the two of them started toward him.

  Leah screamed! It sounded like the wind. Phoenix bolted.

  And Bill and Richard froze. Leah was close by. They couldn't see her, but they could feel her. She was everywhere. In front of them, in back of them. Everywhere.

  "Now what?" Richard whispered.

  Bill gave him a look, a high-sign of sorts, and started talking. "It's supposed to be a cold winter. Colder than usual."

  Richard nodded, understanding. "It's good then that we're closing down."

  "Yeah, but like I said, it's a shame about the cat."

  "I know." Richard shook his head. "Without food..."

  Bill nodded sadly. "If he'd just let us catch him."

  Leah clutched her chest.

  "It'll be months before someone comes back up here."

  "Oh my God!" Leah gasped. "Poor Phoenix!" She swept past them in a gust of wind, and hid in the corner of the hayloft. The sign Bethann left had been a lie. "A lie!" she cried, petting. Phoenix desperately and cradling him tight. "A lie! What am I going to do?"

  Richard and Bill hesitated, then walked out and closed the barn door behind them. They'd done all they could.

  Tears filled Leah's eyes as she rocked back and forth. "Oh my God! How will I feed you? How will I keep you warm?"

  Phoenix purred against her heart.

  "How?"

  She heard a car start.

  "Oh my God!"

  Then a truck.

  "They're leaving you!"

  Phoenix nuzzled her face, as she frantically looked around, seeing what she had to offer. Nothing but her love. It wouldn't be enough. He'd be cold. He'd be hungry.

  She hurried down the loft and threw open the door. Richard and Bill were standing by Bill's truck.

  "Go with them!"

  She put him down, and turned, but he followed her.

  "I said go!" Leah cried. "Please! I can't take care of you! Don't you understand? I can't take care of you!"

  Richard and Bill watched in anguish. Phoenix kept turning around, and would get shoved back. He was crying. Then the barn door closed, and
he was left on the outside.

  Bill walked over and picked him up, shivering, his little chest pounding, and handed him to Richard. It broke their hearts, this tiny little cat, the way he looked up at them. Two grown men, with tears in their eyes.

  "Jesus, what this must be doing to her," Bill said.

  Richard nodded, his voice quivering. "I know."

  Long after they'd gone, Leah stared down the hill at the path they'd taken, all alone now. Totally.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Christine insisted Phoenix visit the veterinarian before settling in, and after being assured he was in good health, allowed him full run of the house. Bethann loved him. He was definitely her cat. But as happy as she was to have him home, she was sure this wasn't the way for Leah to pass on. And even if it was, she was afraid she'd be leaving more hurt than she'd been before.

  Richard had his doubts also, and was formulating another plan just in case. Being very careful not to overlook even the slightest detail, he and Bethann worked tirelessly in the basement workshop for hours on end. "My humble assistant and her dad," he called them. They wanted it to be a surprise, so Christine wasn't allowed downstairs.

  Over the next few weeks, what fears Christine had about Phoenix, vanished. He and Shad constantly entertained them with their antics, and many times she found herself just watching

  them and laughing. She couldn't imagine the two of them separated, and often, was close to tears just thinking about it. She was becoming as sentimental as her mother. Heaven forbid, she thought, just like her.

  * * *

  A northern storm front combined with the lake-effect dumped thirteen inches of snow across the area, with a promise of that much more to come within the next twelve hours. Schools were

  closed, parking bans were activated, and all the local ski areas were packed, despite temperatures hovering in the single digits.

  With endless time, Leah's existence closed in on her. The long days gave way to even longer nights as the windows frosted over, and she was beginning to think of Maple Dale as her tomb, her hell on earth. More and more, she wished she'd had the foresight to have seen it coming, to have known. But these thoughts were always followed by the ones where she was sure nothing would have changed anyway. Even if her life had been different, fate is fate, she'd tell herself. That's just how it is.