The Ghost of Herbert Grezley Read online

  “Doesn’t seem to be letting up none yet.” Daniel rose and went to the window. The rain came down in a vicious downpour, so hard he couldn’t see past the front of the cabin. “Are we still thinking about going to the graveyard?” he asked.

  “Sure, if the rain lets up, and I can find out more about it.” Brody popped open a can of beer and put two of the same on the table for the others. He sat down beside Nathan. “I’ll do a little research when the power comes back on and I can fire up my laptop.”

  Daniel strolled back over to the table to join them. “It may be a while before this storm passes over. I just hope the power comes back on soon and we aren’t stuck for hours or days with no electricity.” He sat, opened his beer, and took a long draw from it.

  The light above the sink flickered and came on. “Well, you got your wish.” Nathan peered over at Daniel. “And let there be lights.”

  “I think the storm is moving on.” Brody took another swig of beer and set the can down on the table. “I’ll finish this and I’m going back to bed, or to my lumpy cot. You guys can sit up if you want, but we still have tomorrow—oops, today—to use up our time here.”

  “Yeah, it’s now officially Halloween.” Nathan pushed back from the table and rose to his feet. “Some shut-eye sounds good to me.”

  Chapter Two

  Daylight broke with the chirping of birds outside the cabin. The rain had left a blanket of fog over the land, so thick Brody couldn’t see the gravel in the driveway when he peered out the front window. Nathan strolled into the room, yawning. “There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen,” Brody told him.

  “Guess we slept in too long for an early-before-the-others outing today.” Nathan stretched his arms above his head, his undershirt lifting to expose a rounded bare belly. “That storm last night was something. I had a hard time going back to sleep once it was over.” He strolled over to the window. “I see it deposited a nice fog so we can’t see our way around. It’ll take plenty of sunshine to lift it out of here.”

  “It’s still early, give it time. Go have some coffee and wake up, for goodness’ sake. You look terrible.” Brody moved to the sofa. He picked up his own mug from the coffee table. “I’ll check out the story on the cemetery as soon as I have me another cup of java. I’ll bring my laptop out to the kitchen.”

  Daniel sat at the table with a bowl of cereal in front of him when Brody walked in with his laptop. “I see our young attorney here has his breakfast already, and he’s ready for the day.”

  Nathan shook his head and went for the coffeepot. “I’d rather have bacon, eggs, and home fries if I had my choice.” He poured his morning pick-me-up and brought it to the table.

  Brody set his computer on the table and opened it. “From what Rose said last night, this ghost only comes out on Halloween, or so it was reported. She remembered the article and made light of it.” He punched in his password and sat back. “From what I know, this guy who tangled with the supposed ghost didn’t show up for months after it happened. No one knew where he was.” Brody started to type on his keyboard. “I’m sure I can retrieve the article from the archives. They keep them for several years.”

  “So what are you looking for?” Daniel asked.

  “Information, of course. The article about the incident says it took place last year, in the cemetery we want to visit tonight.” He moved his curser down a page he’d found. “I think I got it.” He licked his lips. “Yep, this is it. Seems Mr. James Peterson showed up at his house and didn’t know what had happened to him. The only thing he could say was he encountered a ghost in the cemetery and nothing else.” Brody read on. “The report tells about others who claimed to have seen the ghost on Halloween night, but ran away before it got close to them. Kids, mostly. The police took it as a childish story told by a couple of frightened teenagers.” Brody took a sip from his mug. “I think we need to make a trip over to the graveyard today while it’s light and make an assessment of things before we can make a decision about whether or not to visit tonight after dark.”

  “Good idea,” Nathan said. “I’d rather know what we’re looking for instead of getting there later and finding it impossible to wander around at night. It’s an old cemetery, and who knows how well it’s been kept up? Besides, our chances of bagging a deer are pretty slim. No sense in wasting our time trudging through the forest to come up empty-handed like we’ve done all week.”

  Brody closed his laptop and turned to them. “All right, then. We’ll head out right after breakfast and check things out. I’ve been past that cemetery; it’s only about mile from here. The article referred to it as the Peaceful Rest Acres.”

  Daniel pushed his bowl aside and picked up his mug, but before taking a swallow of his coffee, he peered over the brim. “I don’t know what you expect we’ll find there besides a bunch of graves and maybe a few varmints. But I’ll go along; there’s nothing else to do.”

  “Better wait until the fog dissipates before we wander off,” Nathan told them as he walked across the front of the kitchen and stared out the window over the sink. “It won’t take long, maybe another hour. It’s already thinning out.”

  Brody went to the stove and pulled out a frying pan. “I’m going to scramble a few eggs. Whoever wants some, speak up now, and I’ll throw more in the pan.”

  Nathan gave him a thumbs-up and nodded. “I’ll have two, and make sure they’re well done.”

  Daniel shook his head. “No thanks. I’m fine with my Cheerios.”

  After the men finished breakfast, all three put on their gear, took along their rifles, and headed out for Peaceful Rest Acres. The brisk fall morning held a chill in the air as a whisk of wind swept over the field they traveled. A hint of the mist still lingered on the ground, but the sun peeked out from the drifting clouds overhead.

  Brody led the way, with Daniel and Nathan right behind. “There’s a clearing up ahead,” Brody told them. “I think that’s the path we need.” He pointed ahead.

  The field ended after just a few more yards, and they were on a paved road. As they came closer to their destination, they could see the tall monuments and the old iron fence surrounding the land that was the resting place of many.

  “The place already looks haunted,” Nathan said as they entered the front gate. “When was the last time they repaired this road? It’s all pitted and rough. Good thing we didn’t drive over, the car would’ve gotten damaged with all these potholes.”

  “This old cemetery has been here ever since I can remember,” Brody said. “I came here when I was eight or nine with my parents to visit my grandpa’s grave, now as I think about it.”

  Stopping in his tracks, Daniel asked, “What in the world was that?” His mouth hung wide open as he scanned the area.

  Brody turned to him. “What?”

  “I saw a dark figure go across the wall over there.” He pointed in the direction of the long wall of niches that housed cremated remains. “It was too big to be a bird. I swear, it was huge!”

  “You’re crazy, man. There’s nothing there.”

  “Maybe it was a shadow?” Nathan suggested. “Vultures cast pretty big shadows.”

  Brody shook his head. “Already we’re getting the willies, huh? Let’s not let our imaginations get the best of us. We want to make this trip tonight with an open and unbiased mind. I don’t want to let my mind play tricks on me. I want the truth. My guess is we’ll see nothing and that’ll be the end of it.”

  A screeching hawk overhead had them all jerk and turn their gazes upward. “Stupid bird scared the crap out of me!” Nathan wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Even though it was cold, he’d broken out in a sweat.

  “See, it was just a stupid bird after all.” Brody laughed at them. “Come on; let’s take a look around and get back to the cabin before you guys wet your pants over the next ant crawling in front of you.”

  Rows of monuments, some tall and others flat, filled the cemetery all the way to a building in the rear. A single car parke
d out in front let them know someone, maybe the caretaker, was there. To the side a bit further back was a mausoleum. Brody stopped and stared up at the building. “This is where this Herbert Grezley character is supposed to be buried. The newspaper article said he’s been here for over a hundred years.”

  Daniel walked up to him. “So this dude comes out every year? Or was it only the past few years?” He stepped closer to the wide front door, which was padlocked shut.

  Brody shrugged his shoulders. “As far as I know, it’s been more than a few.”

  Nathan came forward. “Okay, guys. We found it; now let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

  Their inspection over, and plans made for a return visit in the dark of night, the three of them headed back to the cabin. Brody led the way. As they entered the cabin, Nathan held his head up and sniffed. “You left the coffeepot on, Brody! Smell that? Man, all we need is to burn the place down.” He hurried to the counter and took the pot off the machine, switching it off. “Whew! This’ll need some serious soaking to get it clean again.” He put the blackened pot in the sink.

  “Does it always have to be me to attend to everything around here?” Brody took the pot and filled it with hot water. “It’ll be fine once I clean it up. Let’s have a beer and talk about our trip back to the cemetery tonight. I don’t want anyone chickening out, so let’s figure out when we go and how long we stay.”

  “It wouldn’t be Halloween unless it’s near the witching hour, and the moon is full and high in the sky.” Daniel laughed and took a can of beer from the fridge.

  Brody nodded. “Right. Before we get started, I want to call Rose and let her know what’s going on here. She gets downright nasty if I don’t give her a ring.”

  He flipped his cell phone open and dialed his home number. “Rose, it’s me. I thought I’d let you know we went to the cemetery to investigate. We found the mausoleum where old Herbert is buried. No big deal, just an old block building with a big door. We’re back at the cabin now. Gonna have lunch and get ready to go back tonight.”

  “So you guys are going to do this. What else, Brody? I wish you would stop all this adventure nonsense. It only makes me worry.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I always am.”

  “Just be careful, and call me when you get back. I want to know what you guys find. But please, if you do see the ghost, don’t hang around to get acquainted. Get out of there. I don’t need to find you’ve lost your mind like that other poor schmuck.”

  “I’ll be okay, and I’ll call you. Promise. I love you.”

  She sighed, still sounding unhappy. “I love you too, honey. Goodbye.”

  “Bye.” Brody hung up and took his laptop back to the kitchen. “I wanna go over those articles about the episode last year in Peaceful Rest Acres again. Seems to me there should have been more about the guy who reported the sighting and how he disappeared for months. Wonder where he was?”

  But his search found nothing more than he’d turned up earlier, so he put his computer away and joined the others for sandwiches and more beer. Daniel took his plate to the counter and turned to face the other two at the table. “What are we doing this afternoon before we plunge into the unknown? I wouldn’t mind quiet time with a nice movie. We do have cable, and there’s always one of my favorite oldies on channel thirty-eight.”

  “I already checked to see what was on today.” Nathan laughed. “Of course it’s the movie Halloween, what else? Could get us in the mood to be spooked good when we take our trip to the graveyard.”

  “Better we take a trip down to the lake and see if we can catch something for dinner,” Brody urged. “We have all of our fishing gear with us, so let’s go.”

  * * * *

  The lake was not far from the cabin, and it only took them a few minutes to get there. Nathan threw out his lead first and then sat on the bank, holding his pole securely in hand. “It’s a bit cold for fishing. I wonder what kind of luck we’ll have with this?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Daniel replied, casting out his own line a few yards away.

  “Yeah.” Brody snickered. “When I land a big one, and you two have to clean and cook it because you both came up empty.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Nathan muttered. Suddenly the water darkened in front of him. Something tugged on his line so hard he could barely hold on.

  The line went taut and dipped deep into the dark blob in the water. Nathan struggled with it until his rod slipped right out of his hands and disappeared into the lake. He fell over backward. “What in the world?” He watched in awe as he watched his pole sink out of sight.

  Brody rushed over. “What was what?” He glanced into the water. “Why did you throw your pole away?”

  “Can’t you see the black spot?” Nathan pointed. “There’s something there and it took my rod! I couldn’t hold onto it.”

  “I don’t see anything. The water’s fine.” Brody frowned. “There’s no black spot where your rod went in.”

  Daniel glanced over. “You must have had a mighty big fish on your hook,” he soothed, seeing Nathan’s upset.

  Nathan scowled into the now clear water and rose to his feet. “Well, there has to be an awfully big fish or some other strong creature out there. It took my best fishing rod.” He shuffled over to where Daniel sat. Brody trailed behind, shrugging his shoulders and thinking better of joking about a mighty big boot.

  “There’s something strange about this place today. All these shadows where they’re not supposed to be.” Nathan paused to catch his breath. “Could it be because it’s Halloween and we’re imagining things, or what?” He threw his hands in the air in disgust.

  Daniel’s brows drew together. “Don’t ask me; I’m just along for the fun of it. I’m not into ghosts or spooks of any kind. I never even paid much attention to that sort of thing when I was a kid. I went out trick-or-treating mainly for the candy.”

  “Hey, everybody,” Brody interrupted. “Let’s stop all this nonsense, and either try to catch our dinner, or go back to the cabin and play a few rounds of poker.”

  The afternoon sun traveled across the sky. After a few frustrating hours, they headed back with no fish to fry. Halfway back to the cabin, Brody paused and turned to face the others. “Don’t you think it’s odd? We haven’t seen one deer since we’ve been here—in fact, I can’t say I’ve seen even a rabbit or squirrel. A few birds, but nothing else.”

  Nathan scratched his head, pushing his orange cap back from his forehead. “I don’t believe I’ve seen many creatures, either. Kinda strange, now that you mention it. We’ve been coming up here for the past five years, and it’s never been like this. Could be because it got cold so early this year.”

  Daniel spoke up. “Nah, it’s because of that ancient aftershave lotion you use, Nathan.”

  “Oh, shut up. At least I don’t stink like you.”

  “Stink! I wear the latest colognes and have heard no complaints.”

  Brody waved them on. “Stop your moaning, and let’s go grab some grub. We need to get ready for tonight.”

  Chapter Three

  The sun sat lazily on the horizon, sending a red and orange glow from the mountain’s edge to lie mirrored on the lake beside the cabin. Brody stood, soaking in the view while enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee. His thoughts were now on his return home, and the grind of his job with the electric company. Being one of their top engineers meant huge responsibility, and it was great to get away from that every now and then. He looked forward to his annual trips with his buddies for just that reason. Of course he loved spending time with Rose, too, but being out here with just the guys let him really cut loose and relax, without having to worry about his wife’s sensibilities. And the beauty of the mountain retreat soothed his nerves in a way the city never could.

  With evening approaching, his thoughts shifted to their plans for that night. What they would find, or not find, was still a total mystery, one that held him fascinated. It
would either make him a believer or cement his theory that the whole story had been a big hoax.

  When the door opened, he turned to see Nathan coming out. “Ready for tonight?” Brody asked as his longtime friend approached. “You don’t seem to be in a very good mood. Maybe because you lost a whopping five bucks at poker this afternoon?”

  “Don’t be silly. I’m just a little tired, but I’m ready for tonight. When are we going?”

  “I thought we’d start out around nine-thirty or ten, so we’re in place well before midnight. Gives you time for a short nap. Why don’t you lie down? I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

  “Yeah, I think I will rest after supper. I set out what was left of the hot dogs so we can finish those off. I’m glad we packed the cooler with dry ice this year. Everything kept real nice. We still have five hamburger patties and a package of sausage links up in the freezer.”

  Brody nodded. “We only have, what, two days left? It’ll be more than enough. Come on, let’s get those dogs on. I’m getting hungry.”

  Daniel set out paper plates while Brody heated up an iron skillet to cook the wieners. Nathan went to the cabinet and opened it. “I’ll get the buns and the condiments out of the fridge. Any potato chips left?”

  “No. You bums ate them all,” Brody said as he popped the hot dogs into the pan. “I’ll open another can of those beans. They go good with dogs, and they’ll be ready by the time I heat these babies up.” Daniel poured beans into a small pot, and Brody set them on a back burner. “I’m looking forward to meeting Herbert Grezley tonight. Hope he’s in a good mood.”

  Nathan laughed along with him. “Imagine a ghost playing host to three stupid hunters. What could he possibly have to say to the likes of us? Things could be interesting if he does show up.”