Haunted (Michael Bennett 10)

Chapter 40

As darkness closed in on Mildew Manor, I realized I was exhausted. I had only grabbed a couple of hours’ sleep since we’d left the city and visited Brian.

Now I found myself strolling hand in hand with Mary Catherine around the edge of the lake. This was anything but tiring. We walked at a leisurely pace, and I enjoyed hearing the sounds of the forest at night. Sometimes I forgot that, growing up in a place like New York City, I didn’t have a chance to hear those sounds on a regular basis.

We walked about a quarter of the way around the lake on a path made of pine needles and maple leaves that had been blown toward the lake from deeper in the forest.

I turned and looked back at the house, which was now about half a mile away. The ghost stories must’ve had an effect, because every light in the house was on.

We stopped at a little clearing and, like magic, Mary Catherine pulled a blanket from the big bag she seemed to carry everywhere.

I said, “What all do you have in there?”

She smiled and said, “Anything you ever need. Haven’t you noticed?”

“I notice everything.”

“Have you also noticed that we haven’t had any alone time for quite a while?” She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips.

I said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a rough time lately.”

“I’m not complaining, just commenting.”

I took her in my arms and said, “Comment on this.” I kissed her. I couldn’t have loved her any more. I started to speak, but she put her finger to my lips.

She smiled and said, “I don’t need you to talk. I just need you to look pretty.”

Somehow I found my second wind and wasn’t nearly as exhausted as I thought.

Chapter 41

When I woke up the next morning in the king-size bed, I didn’t want to admit that my back was a little sore from making love on the blanket by the lake. It was never a good idea to admit something like that to your younger

girlfriend.

As I stood in the kitchen, secretly stretching out my back and legs, I heard a car pull into the front yard.

Mary Catherine looked up from her coffee at the kitchen table. “Are you expecting any visitors?”

Before I could answer, I heard Shawna open the front door, and I heard a woman’s voice. I knew exactly who it was.

Mary Catherine followed me into the living room to greet our guest, who was still standing in the doorway, chatting with Shawna.

Sandy Coles turned her attention to me and said, “She doesn’t remember me at all.”

I stepped across the living room and gave my former partner from the Forty-Ninth Precinct a hug.

I said, “She was barely a toddler when you fled the city.” I stepped back and was amazed that this pretty, hard-nosed cop, who stood almost six feet tall, hadn’t seemed to age at all in the past eight years. I couldn’t help but say, “You look amazing.”

Then Mary Catherine cleared her throat.

I jumped to it and introduced them. I didn’t even stumble over the word girlfriend when I introduced Mary Catherine. I said, “Sandy is the one who found the house for us.”

Mary Catherine said, “So this is your old NYPD buddy?”

Sandy said, “Back in the Forty-Ninth, Mike and the other guys in the squad always treated me as an equal. Unfortunately, that meant I had to put up with all their juvenile jokes. We’ve been buddies ever since.”

I appreciated that she had the sense to realize the pickle I was in. She rescued me further by saying in a grave tone, “Mike, I could really use your help.”