Tangled Up (16)

"Is this a freaking joke?" Kara Baylor asked in disbelief.

"Oh, believe me, I wish it were," I responded tiredly, rolling my eyes. Duke grabbed my elbow and pulled me closer to the door.

"I know this is weird, but if you could just tell her that we're here... or, you know, you don't have to give names. Just say a few friends stopped by," he suggested.

"What is this, some dive into country life? You want to bother everyone's grandmother?" Kara snapped at me. "She's not some sideshow for you to come look at!"

"Kara-" Duke began.

"I can't believe you, Duke Elliot," she exclaimed. "You're always so high and mighty, takin' the upper road, and you come here and ask to talk to my grandma?"

"We need to talk to her," he insisted. "I'm not here to make a scene or anything."

"In fact," I butted in. "I would prefer if you didn't mention this to anyone. At all." Kara shifted her eyes from Duke's face to my face and back again.

"You have a half hour. Once you leave, then I'm gonna forget that y'all were here, and you're gonna forget too, okay?"

"Okay," Duke agreed.

"Come in, then," Kara grumbled. I followed first behind her. Her parents, it seemed, were pretty well off. The Baylors lived in a big white farmhouse with a wraparound porch that was lined with rocking chairs. I could just picture Kara and her friends sipping sweet tea on hot summer days like this one.

"Is anyone home?" I asked.

"My dad's at work, my mom's at book club, and I don't know where my brother's at, but he's not here and he probably won't be until the pool closes," she replied. Duke glanced at me and I shrugged. The whole arrangement gave the the heebie-jeebies, but the secrecy of the matter seemed pretty guaranteed.

According the Duke, Kara's grandmother was the only person in Corbin who could be considered to have any type of connection with the supernatural. In a place like this, psychics weren't quite welcome and, even if they did resist church petitions, would probably garner little to no business from the staunch Baptists in the area. Kara's mother, Deborah Baylor, was from a small town in Louisiana, just outside Baton Rouge, where such pagan practices were not frowned upon and often even sought out. Mrs. Baylor, previously Miss Deborah Landreneau, met Mr. Baylor at college, married him, and promptly moved to Corbin to start a new life. Mrs. Harriet Landreneau was a sort of godmother to the entire town until she fell off a ladder fifteen years ago (she was trying to clean her bungalow gutters at age sixty-three) and broke her hip. After getting her hip replaced at a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, Mrs. Landreneau moved into the Mother-in-Law Suite in the rear of the Baylor home. Mrs. Landreneau's presence was largely ignored by the town as Mrs. Baylor was not inclined to talk about her mother's taboo parlor tricks. Since the whole of Corbin felt obligated to do the bidding of Mr. Baylor's wife, the whole of Corbin did not talk about Mrs. Landreneau's mystical habits.

I'd been told more than I really cared to know about Kara's grandmother, but Duke had given me the background story nonetheless. Outside of driving to Lexington, which neither Nora nor Mrs. Elliot would give the okay to, Mrs. Landreneau was the only source of information on ghostly matters. The main question we had concerned the quality of our Holy Water. If it was truly potent, as Duke suspected, then there were more layers to the mystery than previously thought.

"Nonny?" Kara called. We stood before a short hallway that led to a tightly shut wooden door. "Some people are here to see you."

"That's a first," someone muttered from behind the door. I heard a few scuffling noises before the voice responded louder. "Bring them on in!"

"Not a word, remember?" Kara whispered to Duke and I with clenched teeth. I nodded. She took a step forward. I looked at Duke. He motioned for me to follow here, while he brought up the rear. Kara grabbed the handle of the door and held on for a moment as if she were considering calling the whole thing off. I held my breath. After a few seconds, she turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Mrs. Landreneau was standing just behind her coffee table, propping herself up on a cane, waiting to greet us as if she were just a normal Southern hostess. A pitcher of iced tea perched on a silver tray next to a few glasses. Her sitting room was decorated in a decidedly blue and white French style that reminded me of my friend Holly's living room. A small bit of a floral scent wafted around the air, but it wasn't overwhelming in the least. The room looked remarkably normal, with the exception of a few strange prints on the wall. All of them contained strange, unfamiliar symbols. A few decks of cards sat on a dresser, which could be innocent, but I guessed that Mrs. Landreneau wasn't playing Canasta back here often.

"Nonny, this is Duke Elliot and Tegan Smith. Duke's parents own the greenhouse down the road, and Tegan is Nora Green's niece from Texas," Kara said. "Tegan, Duke, this is my grandmother, Mrs. Landreneau."

"How do y'all do?" Mrs. Landreneau said with a sweet smile. She looked like a dear old woman, contrary to the dark and mysterious hallway leading to her quarters. Her accent was thick and syrupy with a hint of French. I suspected that either she or her mother had immigrated to the United States. Mrs. Landreneau's hair was thick and dark, pulled back into a neat twist. Her eyes were nearly black. She was small in stature, just like Kara, but didn't exude quite the force that Kara did through her presence. Instead, she sort of gently but strongly pressed her aura into you. I was quite sure that I would always know if she had entered a room, even if I were deaf and blind.

"Fine, thank you, and how are you?" I replied, smiling in return.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Duke greeted.

"Nonny, if you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen," Kara said, warily looking between the three of us. "You just yell."

"Of course, darling," Mrs. Landreneau replied. Kara pulled the door shut behind her, and Mrs. Landreneau turned to look at Duke and I. "Would either of you care for a glass of sweet tea?" A Ouija board rested on a small table next to the sofa. I'd never used one before, but in our junior high years back in Houston, some girls had fooled around with Ouija boards at sleepovers. I wondered how well they actually worked. I'd heard scary and funny stories alike. I wondered if we would be using the board today. The planchette, the little pointer heart, sat right next to it. I reached out to pick it up.

Duke grabbed my arm and yanked me away.

"Yes, please, ma'am," Duke replied to Mrs. Landreneau. Oh. Yes. The tea.

"I'd love some." Three tall glasses were filled, topped with a mint leaf garnish, and handed around as we all settled around the coffee table. Duke and I sat next to one another on the couch and Mrs. Landreneau sat to Duke's right in a wing chair. Mrs. Landreneau took a long sip of her tea and sighed.

"Now what can I do for you two?" Although she had addressed the both of us, she gazed expectantly only at my face. Duke pulled a small plastic container from his jacket.

"Is that... potent?" I asked as he handed her the container. She popped off the lid, smelled the water, dipped her finger in, and politely dabbed it to her lips.

"Holy Water?" she inquired. I nodded. "Did you use this on somethin'?"

"Her home," Duke interjected. "But the, uh, spirit didn't go away."

"Then it's a good spirit," Mrs. Landreneau laughed. "And you shouldn't try to chase those away."

"Well, it tried to kill me after the blessing, so I'm a little hesitant to give it a halo," I explained. Mrs. Landreneau frowned and tasted the water again.

"What did it do?"

"It tried to choke me."

"How did you get it to stop?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "It just did."

"Then it's not tryin' to kill you," Mrs. Landreneau replied, shaking her head. "It's tryin' to warn you about something. If a spirit who wants to harm you finds itself in a position to do so, it won't stop just because. If its harmin' you like you say it is even after a cleansing, then it just wants your attention."

"Well, it's got our attention," Duke pointed out with frustration.

"What does it want?" she asked.

"We were hoping you may have some insight," I ventured, tilting my head forward.

"I can only guess from whatever you can tell me." Duke looked at me expectantly. I sighed and tried to recall all that I could.

"I've had a few... visions, I guess," I began. Duke raised his eyebrows. "Both have involved, uh, hanging men. One of them, the worst of the two, was caused, or at least encouraged, by a gold chain I found in a guest room. I was also walking by some barns, which may have had something to do with it..."

"Why's that?" Mrs. Landreneau inquired.

"I smell something sometimes when I'm near our barn."

"What does it smell like?"

"I'm not sure," I shrugged. "It's a sort of unpleasant, sweet smell."

"Anything else about that guest room?"

"No, just the-" I paused and thought back. "Well, when I first got here, I tried to vacuum that room, but my iPod started getting a lot of static." Mrs. Landreneau nodded and took another long sip of her tea.

"Mr. Green used to wear a gold chain," Duke stated, staring at Mrs. Landreneau, waiting for her to offer some sort of advice.

"Well, I suppose you know your uncle killed himself in that barn about a decade ago," she began slowly. I nodded. "And I suspect, as I'm sure you do, that something drove him to commit such a deed."

"We'd guessed as much," Duke said impatiently. She shot him a dissatisfied look and turned to me.

"Was there anyone stayin' at his home around or before the time of his death?"

"I don't know, I was seven," I snapped.

"My recommendation is that you leave the house immediately." Mrs. Landreneau poured herself another glass of tea, not looking at either of us. A million things to say raced through my mind, none of them happily formed.

"That's impossible," I finally said, shaking my head incredulously.

"Actually, you'd be surprised. It's quite possible."

"Excuse me, ma'am, but-" Duke interjected.

"The thing with the supernatural is that getting caught up with them is like getting caught up in a bunch of string," said Mrs. Landreneau firmly. "You might not think it's a big matter, but if you start getting involved, you'll get so tangled up in a nasty knot that you won't be able to get out."

I clenched my jaw. This was not going to cut it.

"Mrs. Landreneau, I am accustomed to fixing problems. There is something wrong with the house I am currently staying in, and we've come here to consult you on how to adjust the situation to a more agreeable state," I growled, flashing my eyes at her. "I hope you have a better recommendation than your previous try."

"Tegan Smith, you're stickin' your nose where it don't belong," Mrs. Landreneau smiled. "I'm not sure what you've done in your short life that makes you think you can defend yourself from a spirit that killed a grown man. How old are you anyway?" My shoulders tensed with anger.

"I'm eighteen, and I'm not sure what you've done in your illustrious career that makes you so unable to patch up a little country haunting."

"I protect myself and my friends from danger. I don't go lookin' for it."

"I'm more the aggressive type," I retorted. Mrs. Landreneau tilted her head slightly and gazed at me through narrowed eyes.

"You're askin' for a heap o' trouble."

"Then be a friend and tell me how to protect myself as I fix this problem," I said firmly. She stood from her chair and walked over to a bureau. From the top drawer, she pulled out a thick, white candle and a silver cross necklace.

"Wear this all the time," she said, dipped the cross into the Holy Water before hanging it around my neck. I picked up the charm and tucked it beneath my shirt. The metal was cold against my skin. "If you want to have clearer communication with the spirit, pull together everything that has connected you to it before and fall asleep. But before you do, you must light this candle. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I promised, gently placing the candle in my bag.

"Yes, ma'am," Duke echoed. Mrs. Landreneau shook her head.

"You're bein' foolish and hardheaded, you know," she declared. "Hasn't anybody ever told you that curiosity killed the cat?"

"I've heard it a few times," I smiled.

"Now, make sure if you do this seance, don't pull anything out that may have an evil tint to it. Be particularly careful about that blue room, you hear me?"

"I will."

"And if you have a guest who you don't know," Mrs. Landreneau warned, shaking an ominous finger in my face. "You get out of that house like a cat out of water. Someone could be comin' back to finish up a job."

"I will," I repeated.

"And you," she continued softly, turning on Duke. "had better look out for her." My cheeks flushed as Duke shifted his eyes to me.

"I will, ma'am," he replied. "Thank you for seeing us."

"Of course. You two had better be going."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Landreneau," I said as we walked back into the hallway. She sighed, shaking her head, and closed the door.

Back out in the Baylor's house, I felt like we'd left one world for another. The sun shone effortlessly through the windows and splashed off the light decor of the Baylor's kitchen. Mrs. Landreneau's room perfume must have grown stronger while we were visiting without my noticing. The air in the kitchen felt much clearer as it flowed through my lungs. A lawnmower growled in the distance.

"I was kind of hoping for a little more help than that," Duke admitted.

"Well, it was better than nothing."

"Yeah, because now you're probably going to hold a seance by youself."

I laughed.

"I'm not that stupid," I replied, bumping him with my shoulder. "I'll invite you over and we can dress up and everything."

"Y'all done?" Kara asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. Our banter stopped.

"Yes," I replied, still laughing slightly.

"I'll let y'all out."

"When's your brother headed back to school?" Duke asked Kara.

"Third week of August, but he's got an internship in Lexington that starts in two weeks, so he'll be gone for most of the summer."

"Where's he go again?"

"Brady Cullum. He'll be a senior."

"Well, tell him I said hi," Duke said. Kara nodded.

"I think Davidson's having some people over tomorrow night," she said. "Y'all should come."

"Sure!" Duke answered. Surprising myself, I echoed his sentiments. I remembered Davidson from Kyle Parsons' house, and he'd left a decent impression on me.

"See y'all then!" Kara said, waving as she shut the door.

"Bye!" we chimed back.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe she invited me out again," I laughed.

"I told you, she's not that bad!" Duke insisted. "There is a heart in there."

"What's Brady Cullum?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Brady Cullum College," Duke laughed. "It's a glorified high school. Drive into the Eastern Kentucky mountains until you can't go any further, then go three more miles, and you'll get to BCC. Not that you would ever want to."

"Sounds lovely." We climbed into Duke's pickup and he started the engine, but didn't back out. I looked at him, wondering if there was something wrong with the truck, or if he was waiting for another car to pass.

"Seriously, though, you promise not to try the seance without me there?"

"C'mon," I sighed. "I told you, I won't. I promise. And honestly, even if I did, it's not like my uncle would-"

"Tegan!" Duke laughed exasperatedly. "It's not your uncle!"

"After everything Mrs. Landreneau said, you still don't think it's Jack?" I asked disbelievingly. It was so clear. Jack had been led to suicide by something, and he was trying to protect me.

"And you think your uncle waited ten years for you to come so he could talk to you, his niece by marriage, that he met one time, instead of his wife?"

"Look, I don't know why-"

"Because to me, it would make sense for him to reach out to someone he knew," Duke pointed out hotly.

"Someone like you, Duke, his surrogate son," I snapped. Duke fell silent for a moment. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, leaning my head back.

"Someone like me," Duke repeated softly, moving the car into reverse.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand this any better than you do," I murmured, wanting so badly to grab his hand or touch his shoulder.

"It would have made sense if it had been me." I shook my head, embarrassed with myself, and turned to look out the window. He turned on some soft classic rock. The few clouds that were scattered across the sky earlier had multiplied since leaving Mrs. Landreneau's room, and the sun was blocked out. The wind, too, had picked up.

Duke stopped at the top of the hill, walked around to my side of the truck, and opened the door. I slid out of the seat as he stood back.

"I'm sorry," I said again. He nodded and stepped closer to me. I leaned against the truck.

"Maybe- maybe I'm the only one who is in danger," I began slowly, speaking as the words formed in my mind. "Maybe it's Jack, but he's not talking to you or Nora because y'all are already protected, somehow. Like if he set up something before he died. But now I'm here and the only thing he can do is warn me about it. Whatever it is."

"Are you wearing the necklace?" he asked. Silently, I lifted the chain out of my shirt and dangled the charm in front of him. He grabbed it as it swung in the wind, pressed it between his fingers, and dropped it.

"I'm all safe."

He nodded and started to step away. I reached out and took his elbow. He paused, waiting for me to say or do something. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, tucking my head under his neck.

"Thanks for helping me out," I murmured. He slid his arms around me, and placed a soft, warm kiss on my forehead.

"You're all safe."

A/N: A planchette is the indicator, or pointer, used with an Ouija board. Thanks for reading!