Part 3
Morning broke bright and early, dragging Joshua from a hard sleep. Only the sunshine remained in the room with him, Mary and Rupert having slipped away hours before. The time on his phone read seven a.m., much later than he usually slept, but it had been a rough night. First, with the fearful events and then the struggle to sleep. All three had piled into the parental bed, hoping that sticking together would ward off the specter. Since Rupert’s room looked out over the old car and seemed to attract the spirit, they decided to take Rupert into their room for the night.
Joshua sat on the edge of the mattress, rolling his shoulders and trying to work the kinks from his muscles. His body, stiff and sore from the night before, protested each movement. A shower would do him good. And a shave, he thought scrubbing a hand over his bristly face. With a groan, he worked his way to his feet, gathered some clean clothes, and headed to the bathroom.
The shower was hot and calming. By the time he’d finished, his muscles felt relaxed and his head clearer. A plan had formed, and he didn’t want to wait for another night like the last one, to set it in to motion. It was time to act, but he needed some information first. With a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye, Joshua joined his wife and son at the table.
Breakfast was already waiting when he arrived. The smell of the coffee, mingled with the delectable scent of eggs and bacon fried to perfection. It had his stomach growling before his foot touched the last step.
Rupert, still in his pajamas, was setting the table while Mary, wrapped in her flannel robe, poured milk into glasses. Both looked up when Joshua walked in.
“Good morning, Pops.” Rupert grinned at his father as he plopped onto his chair.
“Good morning, Dear,” Mary said, handing him a mug of coffee. Her smile was strained. Joshua leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips.
“Good morning,” he said taking his place at the table.
Normally meals were accompanied by a lot of talk and laughter, but this morning no one had anything to say. Not even Rupert whose chatter usually drowned out every possible silence. Today, they ate in silence until, towards the end of the meal, Joshua cleared his throat and spoke.
“So, the rest of the family will be here today,” he began. Rupe’s eyes grew large.
“Cool! I can’t wait to show everyone the barn and the old car and the broken fence!”
“Slow down, Rupe,” Mama said, but Rupert was too excited.
“Can I be done? Please, Mama?” Rupe pressed his hands together and gave his mother a pleading look.
“Ask your father,” Mama said with a heavy sigh.
“Pops, please?”
“I guess,” Pops answered. “Make sure you clean your spot.”
“Finish your milk,” Mama added, softly.
Rupert guzzled it down then gathered his dishes and took them to the sink. It took three trips, but he hopped merrily back and forth happy as a lark.
Joshua and Mary waited silently for their son to finish. They listened to his footsteps thump up the stairs followed by the slam of his bedroom door. The sound made Mary wince.
“I’ll talk to him about that,” Joshua said quietly, patting her hand.
“What are we going to do, Joshua?” Mary asked, setting her napkin next to her plate. The stress of the night before had left her stomach feeling queasy and sour, squelching her appetite.
“I’m not quite sure yet,” he answered, keeping his ideas to himself. There was research to be done before he offered his wife a possible solution. There was no sense getting her hopes up until he had more information.
“I don’t have experience in these things,” he continued. “And the car thing -”
“What car thing?” Mary asked, sharply.
Too late, Joshua remembered he hadn’t told Mary about any of the other instances. Now he’d have to come clean. Choosing his words carefully, he told her about Rupe’s first sleepwalking incident, the way he seemed drawn to the car, and finding him over and over again in a trance-like state, staring at the vehicle. Joshua left out the part about the feeling of being watched each time he removed Rupert from the field.
Mary stared at him, eyes wide, her hands twitching on the tabletop. Joshua looked down at his own as he waited for her to speak.
“Joshua!” She said, her tone hushed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought I was imagining things,” he said, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Last night proved me wrong.”
“We’ve got to do something. It’s bad enough Rupert is in danger, but we can’t bring the rest of the kids into this. And my parents. I don’t know how they’ll handle this.”
“I know, Mary, but I don’t know what to do about it, or who to turn to.”
“We’ve got to do something,” she said again.
“Short of moving, I don’t know what we can do.”
“I’m not moving, Joshua. That specter or ghost or whatever it is, has to go.”
“I’m not sure it works that way.” Joshua smiled at his wife then gave her hand a squeeze. “When we go into town, I’ll search out some answers at the library while you get the kids registered for school. We can meet at that little cafe for lunch and discuss it.”
“What about Rupe? We can’t drag him around through all this. And I certainly don’t want to scare him with the details.”
“Good point.” Joshua tapped his fingers on the table while he gave this some thought. “What time will your parents be here?”
“Oh, yes,” Mary said, fishing the cell phone from the pocket of her robe. “That might work.”
Mary scrolled through messages on her phone.
“Mom, Dad, and the littles won’t be here until the afternoon, but Gloria will be here in the next hour or so. Jimmy will be with her.”
“That’ll be good. Rupe will be happy to see his big brother,” Joshua said with a wan smile. “We’ll just need to make sure they stay away from that car.”
Mary rubbed her husband’s hand gently. “We’ll figure this out, Josh. Starting today, we’ll have back-up for a few weeks, at least.”
Joshua leaned forward and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead. He wanted to believe that having Mary’s family here would keep the phantom away, but he knew better. However, if it gave his wife some comfort, he’d happily play along.
Rupert, fully dressed except for his shoes, came bumping down the stairs with a big grin on his face. While it had been cool, at first, to act like an only child, he was ready for his siblings to be home, so he had someone to share everything with.
“Can I go out and play?” Rupert asked, hopefully.
His parents exchanged a heavy look. It was Pops who answered him.
“No, Rupe, not right now.”
“Aw, Pops, please?”
“Rupe,” Mama said sternly, “listen to your father. When he says no, it means no.”
Rupert hung his head. “Okay, Mama.”
“Come here,” Mama patted her lap.
“Mama,” Rupert protested. “I’m too big to sit on your lap.”
“You’ll never be too big to sit on my lap,” Mama said, tapping her lap again. Reluctantly, Rupert crawled onto her knees and leaned his head against her chest. “Listen, Rupe. Pops and I need to go into town to register you and your siblings for school. I’m going to need you to stay here with Aunt Gloria when she arrives. Okay?”
“Just Aunt Gloria?”
“Jimmy will be arriving with her.”
Rupe sat up tall, his mouth gaped open.
“Just the two of us?”
“Well, and Aunt Gloria. You can help him set up his room. Gramps and Gram will be here with the rest of the kids this afternoon. Pops and I should be home by then.”
Rupert broke into a huge smile and clapped his hands. Mama smiled down at her son. It did her heart good to know how much he enjoyed being with his siblings.
Mary’s relationship with her only sister had been strained until she was in her twenties. It wasn’t until she’d married Joshua and had children of her own, that her relationship with Gloria had changed. Now, she regretted all those years wasted on sibling rivalry and jealousy. Gloria could have been her very best friend for all those years instead of her foe. Gloria was now her closest confidante, her shoulder to cry on, and the first person she shared her joys with. After, Joshua, of course.
“In the meantime, we need to get things cleaned up and ready.” Pops picked up the conversation. “Can you do that, Rupe? Can you help out?”
“Sure, Pops. Hey, when Jimmy gets here, can I show him the car?”
“No!” Pops and Mama said in unison.
Rupert looked at them curiously but didn’t ask any questions. Instead, he hopped off Mama’s lap and leaned against the table.
“Rupe, you stay away from that car today, you understand?” Pops leaned over to meet Rupert at eye level. Working to keep his voice even, Pops went on, “You need to promise me, Rupe.”
“Okay, Pops. I promise,” Rupert said, sullenly. All he wanted to do was have some fun. There was no other cool place to play except the old car. It really wasn’t fair. But one look at Pops’ face had him agreeing. If he didn’t, they’d probably make him stay in the house and that would be even worse. They didn’t even have the satellite or the internet set up yet. Inside was way worse.
Pops looked hard at Rupert for a moment, looking for any signs of deception. Joshua remembered being a young boy. He would have promised his father anything to be done with the conversation, and then he would go out and do what he’d just promised he wouldn’t. Not that he’d intended to be disobedient. Sometimes a boy just forgot. Rupert, he was sure, was the same way. The promise made, only time would tell if it would be remembered. Besides, the way Rupe’s mind glazed over every time he was around that old Pontiac, Joshua wasn’t sure if he could stay away. Something kept drawing him to it.
“Okay, Rupe, I believe you,” Pops said with a sigh. “Now, let’s get some work done.”
While Mary showered and dressed, Joshua got Rupert started on some chores. To make it more fun, he dropped a CD into the player and turned up the volume.
Mary didn’t waste time in the shower. There wasn’t time for luxury and, besides, she was afraid she’d open her eyes and find the ghost staring at her from somewhere. She washed quickly, pulled on a long sweater and a pair of leggings, applied a minimal amount of make-up, and ran a comb through her hair. In the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed to put on her black go-go boots and braid her long, dark hair. Joshua liked her to leave it down, but she couldn’t stand having it in her face all the time.
From downstairs she could hear Joshua’s music, the bass thumping at the floorboards. She smiled and shook her head. A loud commotion of voices suddenly overrode the music. Mary snatched up her purse and a large manilla envelope full of paperwork for the kids’ registrations and scurried downstairs.
Gloria stood just inside the door, looking as beautiful as ever in her flowery top and jeans. With her arms wrapped around Rupert, she chatted merrily away.
Mary’s eyes were drawn to her eldest son.
Jimmy stood next to his father, looking as awkward and embarrassed as a fourteen-year-old boy could. Her heart swelled. With tears pricking her eyes, she darted across the room to wrap her arms around her son.
“Jimmy,” she murmured against his dark hair. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Jimmy gave her a quick half hug then dropped his hands to his sides. “Mom, you’re squishing me.”
“I know,” Mary said with a smile. She gave him one more tight squeeze then released him.
Stepping up to her sister, she wrapped her arms around Gloria and held her tight.
“It’s so good to see you. How was your drive?”
“It went very well.” Gloria confirmed. “Of course, I had great company.”
“Mary,” Josh interrupted, “we need to get going.” He held open her coat and waited for her to step into it. Mary shuffled her purse and papers from one hand to the other as she put on her coat.
“Josh told us that you need to get the kids registered this morning,” Gloria said.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Mary said. “Mom and Dad should be here by noon. Hopefully, we’ll be back by then, also.”
“No worries, Sis, take your time. We’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Gloria,” Mary said giving her sister another quick hug. “Help yourself to anything you need; coffee, breakfast, there are snacks in the pantry.”
Joshua drew his sister-in-law aside while Mary kissed the boys goodbye and reminded them to mind their manners.
“Gloria,” he said. “It’s very important that neither you nor the boys go anywhere near that old Pontiac out in the field. Especially, Rupert. It’s very dangerous.”
“Alright, Josh,” Gloria agreed. “I’ll see to it.”
Relieved, Joshua ushered his wife out the door. Mary called goodbye again as she rushed along with him, reluctant to leave, but knowing she had to.
Though there was much to discuss, the couple found themselves riding the five miles in total silence. Both were nervous about what they might find out about the farmhouse and surrounding acreage.
Josh pulled up outside the District Office building. Mary gathered up her things, gave her husband a kiss, and slid from the car. From the sidewalk she watched him drive away. If there was anything to find, she was confident Joshua would find it. The car turned the corner and was gone.
Mary sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself for the task ahead. Even though she had all her papers with her, it could take a couple hours to get each child enrolled, depending on the District’s enrollment system.
The secretary greeted her with a smile. Mary explained that she was enrolling her five children in the district and presented her packet. In turn, the secretary presented her with a clipboard full of papers to be filled out. Mary sighed and took a seat. Sooner started, sooner done, her father used to say. Forcing all other thoughts from her mind, Mary went to work on the papers.
Joshua pulled up to the library and parked. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but this was the place to start. If he couldn’t find it here, the librarian would know where he needed to go to find it.
The clerk was checking books out for a young woman burdened by three wailing children, when he entered. He cooled his heels by ambling around the library, familiarizing himself with the layout while the women finished their business. At last the mother and children gathered their things and left. Joshua approached the counter. The librarian, a gray-haired woman in a navy suit, greeted him with a smile.
“Hi,” Joshua said, returning the smile. “My family just moved to the area and I have some question about the history of the place. Do you have a local section to the library?”
“Welcome to Hobsen,” the librarian said. “We do have a local section, but I might be able to help with some of your questions. I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“Oh, good.” Joshua leaned against the counter. “We just bought the old Callohan farm and I’m curious about the place.”
The woman arched an eyebrow.
“Are you a farmer, Mr. -”
“Joshua,” he said, holding out his hand. The woman took it in her strong grip and pumped it a couple times.
“Matilda,” she said. “But everyone calls me Tilly. Do you Joshua? Farm, I mean.”
“No, ma’am. My wife and I have five children. The farmhouse is large, with ample acreage for growing kids to run around. Besides, I hear tell that Mr. Callohan didn’t farm either. He was a collector. Packards.”
“Right you are, Joshua.” Tilly called over her shoulder to a pretty, young blonde who joined them at the counter. “Amy, I need to help Joshua find some information. Take over the counter for me, please.”
“Of course, Tilly,” the woman said.
“Now, Joshua, follow me. I’ll help you find what you need.”
Tilly led him to the back of the library where she selected a few books before leading him to a large rectangular table in the middle of the non-fiction section. Spreading out the books, she began to talk about the history of the town and county. Joshua lowered himself into one of the high-backed wooden chairs while he listened. Ten minutes into her spiel, she handed him a book titled, Car collectors of the 20th Century.
“This man,” she tapped the photo of the author on the back cover of the book, “Aaron Cooper, made a special trip out here in the late 1970’s to interview Mr. Callohan and photograph the Packard collection. A lot of cars were in rough shape, but he was restoring the cars with the help of his youngest son and his grandson. Their pictures are in here somewhere.” She paused to flip through the pages. “Here we are. It’s an interesting story if you want to read it.”
Joshua took the book from her to study the pictures she’d pointed out. The first few were of the cars in various stages, ranging from total wreckage to pristine. Joshua flipped through the pages until he came to one that showed a familiar view. A wrecked Pontiac painted Phantom Gray, riddled with bullet holes, was being unloaded from a tow truck into a back field. Joshua studied the picture, then turned his attention to the facing page. On it was a small photo that, when he looked at it closely, chilled his blood.
“My goodness, Joshua, you look as though you’ve seen a ghost.” Tilly leaned over to see what he was looking at.
Joshua swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. A part of him had hoped the trip would prove only that some weirdness was going on. Instead, these pictures proved the opposite. Something evil was stalking his family. He gave an involuntary shudder.
“I do believe I have,” he whispered, pointing at the small photo. “This here man, who is he?”
Tilly looked where he was pointing. “Oh yes, Frank Callohan. What a trial that boy was. Not that I know firsthand. I may be old, but I’m not that old.” She gave a grim smile. “The old newspapers are full of his shenanigans. After young Frank was killed, old man Callohan spent decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars to track down that car and bring it home or die trying. He was like a man possessed. As it was, he died less than a week after this picture was taken.”
Joshua jerked his head up. “What happened to him?”
“He was old. The ticker gave out. Gave out before he could restore that car.” She tapped the picture. “The one his son died in.”
A shiver crawled along Joshua’s spine. Goose flesh erupted along his arms. Tilly nodded.
“Gives me the willies, also. Though I couldn’t say why, for sure. Anyway. The other son, Royce, hung on for another ten years or so trying to make a go of things. Then in, oh 1998, I believe, young Christopher – the boy in that picture – died. He was in his twenties by then, working hard to help his father restore cars. Official death was listed as a heart attack due to the malfunction of his heart valves. A genetic condition. But old Dr. Marsdan was first on the scene when the young man died. Before he drank himself to death two years later, he told me that Christopher looked scared to death. Quite literally, scared to death. Eyes wide open, mouth twisted as if a scream was on his lips. But the coroner disagreed. Listed the death as a heart attack. A short time later, Royce went the same way. The farm changed hands a few times after that, but no one stayed long.”
Joshua was still staring at the picture of young Frank Callohan.
“Where can I find more information on this man?”
“Well, we won’t find that in these,” she said gathering up all the books except the one in front of Joshua. “Follow me.”
Tilly stopped to drop off the other books at the end of the shelf, then led him to a room on the other side of the library. The sign outside the entrance stated, “QUIET!” It seemed everyone inside the room took that sign seriously. The room was very quiet. The only sounds Joshua heard were the tapping of fingers on computer keys and the hushed swish of book pages being turned.
They stopped in front of a vacant computer screen where Tilly typed a set of numbers into a box named: User. Then a four-letter code for the password. With a few deft taps of the keys, she pulled up a list of newspaper articles about the Callohan family.
“Start here,” she whispered. “Highlight anything you want printed out. It’s ten cents per page to print. If you need assistance, click this button here.” She indicated a red Assistance box at the bottom of the screen. “One of us will come to help you.”
“Thank you,” Joshua whispered back.
Tilly offered him a smile then marched away. Joshua slid onto the chair and began to peruse the articles.
Mary was already at the Café when Joshua hurried in and slid onto the bench across from her.
“I was starting to worry,” Mary said, sipping at her coffee. “I’ve been waiting for over an hour.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “There was a lot to sort through.” Joshua picked up the water glass in front of him, its ice nearly melted way, and guzzled half of it down. Who would have thought reading through newspaper articles could be so dehydrating?
“What did you find?”
“We’ve got a big problem.”
“How big?” Mary asked, her eyes wide with worry.
“Very big. As a matter of fact, we need to leave. We need to get home.” Joshua swallowed the last of the water. “I think Rupert may be in danger. But I need to make a quick stop at the hardware store first.”
Mary didn’t wait for him to explain further. She dropped a ten on the table to cover the check, slipped into her coat, and scooped up her things. Joshua led the way to where he’d parked.
In the car, he passed the book and articles to her.
“You need to read these. Then we’ll talk about what we need to do.”
Joshua fired up the Buick and headed towards the edge of town where the hardware store was located. He left Mary reading through the material and trotted into the store. A few minutes later he returned loaded down with his purchases which he stored in the trunk. Then they were on their way home, flying along as fast as Joshua dared to drive.
Back at the farmhouse, Rupert was bored. Hanging out with Aunt Gloria was fine but he was itching to show Jimmy around the farm. More than anything, he wanted to take him out to the old car. Rupert wasn’t sure why he felt such a strong need to take Jimmy out there, but there it was, nagging at him, causing him to feel restless. But every time he brought it up, Aunt Gloria shot him down. The last time he asked, she threatened to make him take a bath if he asked again. So, he stopped asking. Instead, he tried to concentrate on the movie, but his mind wouldn’t cooperate.
Aunt Gloria was once again telling him to “settle down” when the sound of a car pulling up to the house got everyone’s attention. As if to be sure, the driver of the vehicle gave the horn three quick honks.
“Who can that be?” Aunt Gloria asked, half in jest.
“Gram and Gramps!” Rupert shouted, hopping up and down.
“Come on! Let’s go give them a hand.” Aunt Gloria ushered the boys out the front door.
Gram and Gramps were stepping stiffly from the car, stretching and groaning. The twins, Betsie and Bethie, emerged from the backseat, squabbling over a couple of dolls. Gram reached in from the other side to hoist Rupert’s youngest sibling from his booster seat and set him on the ground. Little Joseph ran to Rupert first and threw his arms around the older brother he hadn’t seen for three days.
“Hey, Joey,” Rupert said extricating himself from the boy’s arms.
Joey turned and threw himself at Jimmy who scooped him up. Holding the six-year-old on his hip with one arm, he gave the young boy a high five with the hand of the other.
“Mom!” Gloria rushed to the older woman, throwing her arms around her and hugging her tight. When she released her, Rupert wrapped his arms around his Grandmother’s waist.
“Rupert, I swear you’ve grown.” Gram said, holding him tight.
Gramps joined in on the hug and stated, “By George, I think you’re right. This boy has grown.”
Rupert swelled with pride.
Aunt Gloria stepped in to hug her father and the perfect opportunity presented itself to Rupert. He backed slowly away from the group. While they laughed and talked, Rupert slipped away; the pull of the car too strong to resist.
They were still passing out hugs when the Buick parked next to them. Joshua and Mary stepped from the car into an immediate bombardment of affection. Tears tracked Mary’s face as she hugged her children then her parents.
The children bounced around them chattering excitedly about their trip, wanting to tell every detail of what they had seen and done the last three days. Mary and Joshua humored them, while they helped pull the luggage from the trunk. Each child grabbed a bag and hauled it towards the house. No one noticed that Rupert was no longer with them.
Rupert had raced across the fields to where the car crouched waiting. This time there was no hesitation, no trance-like state. This time, he stepped right up, wrenched the driver’s side door open, and climbed inside. The thought of snakes under the seat or spiders hiding in the torn crevices of the fabric, never crossed his mind.
The hinges creaked and popped as he pulled the door closed behind him. The upholstery, dry and cracked from decades of weathering in the elements, broke open under his weight, sending puffs of rotting material to mingle with the dust in the air. The steering wheel felt gummy under his fingers, but he held tight to it, a smile playing across his lips. Wrenching it first one way and then the other, motor sounds bubbling from his lips as he imagined himself careening around curves, the cops in hot pursuit.
It was hot inside the car, the sun pushing heat through the windshield despite the cool fall weather outside. A smell of rot and decay filled the air as the boy bounced and played but he was lost to it. Deep inside his imaginary world, the sights and smells of the real one faded away.
Joshua was dragging the last suitcase from the trunk of his in-laws’ car, when it occurred to him they were short one child. Fighting down his fear, his eyes scanning the fields, he said aloud, “Has anyone seen Rupe?”
“He was here not a moment ago,” Gram said, also looking around.
Joshua and Mary exchanged looks. A frown creased Mary’s brow. Her hand sneaked into her husband’s, seeking solace in the warm curve of his palm.
“Rupert?” She called, turning in a tight circle as she searched for any sign of him.
“Now, Mary, you know he couldn’t have gone far,” her father said, patting her shoulder.
“Josh, you don’t suppose…” her voice trailed off, afraid to put into words what she was thinking.
“Pops, who’s that?” Bethie asked, pointing out towards the fields. “Do we have a farm hand?”
Both Mary and Joshua turned to see who she was pointing at. Joshua met the eyes of Frank Callohan, the long dead son of the former farm owner.
“Joshua,” Mary gasped, fearfully.
Her husband didn’t hear her. He was already tearing across the property towards the phantom that had terrorized his family since they had moved in. Had he glanced behind him; he would have seen his wife running along behind him.
For Rupert, it was all fun until someone pushed into the car saying, “Move over, kid. I’m driving.”
At first, Rupe thought it was his brother Jimmy sliding in next to him, having only seen a leg encased in denim. But then he noticed the heavy work boot, the button-down shirt, and the large callused hand on the steering wheel. This was not his brother. The man dropped onto the seat and turned his face toward the boy. A scraggly, dark beard grew along the jawline of the tanned face, the head capped with hair the same color, cropped close to the scalp. Piercing blue eyes stared at him from under a bulbous forehead; full lips twisted into a cruel smile.