Gabby's Haunted House 2 Read online

  Martha went straight to the kitchen and came out with a kettle of hot water and a little tin of coffee and another tin of sugar. And as she was busy making the coffee for her, Gabby was busy staring at her house.

  The house had the old design alright. But Martha had managed to make some facelifts here and there, making the whole interior look very modern. Then there was a huge chandelier hanging from the middle of the room, and it looked very old and needless to say, very expensive. Martha finished fixing her coffee and offered it to her. She couldn’t help but notice that she was taken aback by the beauty of her home.

  “That chandelier is the only one of its kind in the world. It was crafted in the seventeenth century and its worth millions on the black market today.”

  “Wow.”

  Gabby wanted to tell her how on earth was she having such an expensive piece of antique and keep it in the house? If it were up to Gabby, she would have sold it for a fortune and go for a vacation in the Bahamas, and maybe get Henry a Lamborghini. But after a while, she remembered that Martha was almost eighty and things such as swimming in lots of cash didn’t make any sense to her anymore.

  And that was why she settled on saying just “wow.” “Wow” seemed like the better word at that moment.

  “I know that you didn’t just come here to thank me for attending your party and bringing me the cookies. You want to know what is going on with your house.”

  Gabby had prepared lots of excuses to use as scapegoats if whatever she was planning on squeezing out of her old and sweet neighbor backfired. But now that Martha had cut to the chase, she thought it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for her to jump on the bandwagon and get to find out more.

  “Yes, Martha. I came here to find out more about this house. I was very excited to get it at a very amazing and competitive price. And now that I have it, I don’t think it is a very good idea that I did it since its all come back to bite me in the neck.”

  “… and it all started when you invited us, and only a handful of us showed up, right?”

  “Yes, my doubts started surfacing right about that time. And needless to say, many things have been happening. First of all, my cat has been behaving funny of late. And I also feel as though there is some presence in that place. I don’t know if you can help me out with this.”

  Martha smiled and poured some hot water into the fine china cups that she looked as though she only kept away for distinguished guests only. The light that got refracted from the expensive antique chandelier hanging above them landed squarely on her old face, accentuating her wrinkles in the process.

  Gabby sat bolt upright on the fabric couches and glanced dreadfully at the coffee that was boiling in her cup. She was never a fan of drinking very hot substances. And at that moment, she thought that her refusal would be an act of defiance. So she decided to conjure up an excuse.

  “Can I wait until the coffee cools off a little? I have a sore throat.”

  “We can wait. And it's ok, I also hate hot coffee. I just boil to take care of the germs. I am very fragile at this age. My body doesn’t handle infections as effectively as it used to back in the day. So, where were we?”

  “My haunted house?”

  “Oh yes, your haunted house. Well, at this point, I am sure you have been looking for answers left right and center. But all I can assure you is that you will never find the answers by checking out online. All those stories were fabricated about a decade ago when the story was very hot in the media.”

  Gabby thought for a moment. There was no way she was going to remember such a story because a decade ago, she was busy overseas fighting crime while still working with the FBI before retiring and coming back home to a desk job.

  “So, what is the story? The real story I mean.”

  “The truth of the matter is that nobody knows what happened in that house. It is true that some of the things that these blogs mentioned are true. Things such as disappearances. But the haunting part is what I am finding very hard to believe. I am agnostic. And I think these are the kinds of hallucinations that the person in fear can create on their own.”

  From where Gabby was standing, it seemed as though the good woman was speaking in code. And what she gathered was that Martha was pushing her to investigate the issue on her own. And at that point, Gabby didn’t want to add anything on top of that. She already heard everything that she needed to hear.

  “I totally understand what you are saying Martha, and I am very grateful.”

  “I am glad that you have. Now, the coffee is getting cold.”

  Chapter 4:

  -Henry’s Little Secret-

  As usual, Henry was up on the kitchen countertop just looking out for her master and purring. Gabby took a look at her beloved cat and smiled. It was finally an amazing thing that he had finally come around and didn’t have a problem getting accustomed to the new place. The last time he disappeared, Gabby almost broke down.

  And yes, the cat had been behaving strangely and to think that something was wrong with the place was just Gabby being paranoid. It was sad to think that Keith had a valid point saying that the house was haunted. But thankfully, the evidence had come through in a very big way, and now Gabby Macklemore could take a deep breath and just see to it that she was enjoying her life in her new house.

  The only reason that the house was sold cheaply had been sorted out and in the end, she also understood the history. And that aside, Gabby figured out that it was up to her to ensure that she was picking up the pieces and moving on with her life.

  “Meow!”

  “Oh, I see someone is getting a little bit hungry huh? Don’t worry Henry. The sausages are almost ready. And you know mama loves you so much right?”

  “Meow!”

  “And I do love you too. It's just another minute until the sausages are ready. I am sure you will like them. But as we wait on them, would you care for some milk?”

  “Meow!”

  “I knew you would like some. Here, let me get your bowl and pour you some. Is that ok with you handsome?”

  “Meow…”

  “Great. I will only be a minute.”

  And with that, Gabby put her hands on the sink and opened the warm water, letting it pour all over her fingers for a moment before rubbing them clean with some soap. Gabby was a fun of whistling, and as she was going about the business of making Henry and herself some breakfast, she couldn’t resist the urge to whistle a little.

  Henry was pacing up and down the kitchen countertop while waiting for her caring master to fetch her bowl and pour her some milk since he was starving. He had spent the better part of the evening just doing some random walks and figured that it would be a nice thing for him to have a big breakfast before going to sleep.

  Henry had been doing some rounds all over the property, and he was getting to discover some things that Gabby didn’t know existed in the first place. But since he was a cat, there was no way he would get a hold of her hand and drop that “we need to talk” phrase for her to take him seriously.

  But that didn’t mean that Henry couldn’t try. So he continued pacing and purring on the kitchen countertop as though he wanted to tell Gabby something very important. But as usual, Gabby always mistook this as Henry being impatient and wanting his milk served. And as usual, Gabby was dead wrong.

  From his escapades for a couple of days, Henry had discovered a pathway in the basement. He was able to do so by sniffing his way into that place and needless to say, came out with some interesting findings that he thought her master had to check out. But from the look of things, it seemed as though it would take just more than purring and acting strange to get her master to act.

  Henry looked at the kitchen countertop for something that he can drop and finally get the attention he needed from Gabby. Thankfully, there was an empty bowl right there and needless to say, Henry thought it would be a nice thing to break it. And so using his nose, he pushed the bowl down to the floor, breaking it into smithereens.

/>   Startled, Gabby came rushing back into the kitchen with a bottle of milk in hand and stared hopelessly at the bowl lying pieces on the floor and let out a long, disappointed sigh.

  “I always tell you that patience pays. I was already getting you the milk henry. Why did you decide to drop the bowl?” Gabby grumbled with her hands akimbo.

  She was pissed, but she knew there was nothing she could do to punish the cat since she loved him too much. Gabby then made a point of checking around the kitchen and once she located where the broom was; she made sure that she had gone to pick it up. And once she got back and started sweeping the floor, she realized that something was wrong with her cat. Henry was still purring and pacing up and down the kitchen counter. Was he trying to tell her something? But what the heck was it?

  It was at that moment that Gabby wished she could speak fluent cat. She stopped sweeping the broken glass on the floor and just maintained focus on the cat. For the first time, Gabby started taking her cat seriously.

  And seeing that his master had paid him the attention that he needed. Henry jumped off the kitchen countertop and started pacing, occasionally zigzagging through Gabby’s legs. And once he was sure that Gabby was still looking at him with a perplexed pair of eyes, he decided to lead her.

  “Are you trying to show me something, Henry? Come on dear. If only you could talk, I would have been the happiest person ever. Now please, lead the way.”

  Henry looked delighted and wanted to go past the kitchen door and lead Gabby all the way to the basement. But the door was locked, and the cat just stood there and waited for his curious master to open the door.

  But Gabby didn’t quite get the message. She just stood right there and took a look at the cat without uttering a word. And just like that, Gabby knew that there was no way she was ever going to convince herself that she had been following a cat. That was crazy even by her very low standard.

  “Gosh, what the hell is happening to me? Am I following a cat?” Gabby thought as she shook her head and went back to the kitchen countertop and continued fixing her breakfast.

  She then fetched a clean bowl from the cupboard and poured some milk on it right before calling Henry to come over and have a good time. Gabby then went ahead and continued making her breakfast while humming one of her favorite tunes. She always felt Henry purring and running up and down the area between her feet, but this wasn’t happening. And it was very strange indeed.

  “Henry, are you sure you are ok? Because ever since we got to this queer place we have been having a fair share of problems communicating. Is there anything you would like to tell me? I am here just in case you want to open up to me you know.”

  Every time she talked, Henry used to respond in a certain way. But now, it seemed as though he was a little bit defiant and didn’t want to spend much time with his master. And though Gabby couldn’t admit this to anyone, she found this to be rather hurtful. She had tried to link his behavior with the new environment but still this was unnatural.

  The only thing that could make sense at this point was Keith’s theory, but that was one theory that she didn’t want to follow at any given moment. After spending a very terrifying few nights in that place, she had made up her mind to keep her mind away from anything that insinuated ghosts or supernatural acts.

  Finally, that taste of cooked sausages hit her nostrils, and Gabby immediately forgot everything about the cat. She loved sausages with all of her heart and soul. James had once teased her that these sausages were going to make her fat and out of shape, but Gabby brushed his concerns away and continued her longtime relationship with the sausages.

  If James were worried about how the sausages were going to make her look like, then Gabby would only increase her time in the gym, and everything would have been sorted out without a shred of problems. And at the end of the day, it surely was all sorted out without a problem at all.

  As soon as soon as Gabby was done with her miniature celebration, she hit the shower and prepared for work. But before she left, she made sure that she was able to track Henry down and scooped him in a heartfelt embrace before giving him instructions as she always did whenever she got the chance to.

  “Look here boy, I don’t want you to leave the house. I know and understand that you want to meet some cute female cats out there. But this can wait until I take you out for a walk. But if you feel as though you want to scare me the way you are doing of late, please send me a memo so that I can prepare. Stay put! Understood?”

  “Meow!”

  “Good boy. Now mama has to go to work. I will check up on you in due course.”

  And at that moment, Gabby thought just how amazing it would have been if Henry could talk and text. She could be sending him text messages in the middle of the day telling him how boring work was and how much she missed him. But then again, Henry was just a cat. And that was the bottom-line.

  She then put him down and opened the front door, took another glance at him before shutting the door and leaving for work.

  ***

  “Are you ok? You look like someone who had just been hit by a car.”

  “Trust me, if I had been hit by a car, I would still look way better than this. I am afraid I haven’t been having enough sleep of late. Things just seem to be going wayward, and it's as though I don’t know how to control things anymore.”

  James looked at his long time friend and former partner and smiled a little. For all this time, it seemed as though Gabby had never lacked a proper response to any of their arguments and this was reaching a point where it was getting comical. But hat didn’t throw off James from his genuine concern for his friend.

  Gabby would have chosen to lie, but then again, she wasn’t such a good liar. And on top of it all, James was going to make sure that he found out, he always did. So Gabby took a deep breath and exhaled. And that was how James knew that something was bothering her. Gabby seemed to be having the same reactions over and over again, and it wasn’t that difficult for James to figure her out with so much ease.

  “Ok, come in my office, let's talk about it.”

  Gabby followed her boss into his office where they could drop the titles and talk as friends. She thought about how best she was going to approach the matter without coming out like an insane person. But if there was anyone who understood Gabby more than anyone else and did so without a shred of judgment, it was James. And once they got into the office, he locked up the door.

  “So, what is this all about?” James asked.

  And Gabby didn’t waste any more time. All she needed to do was come clean and let it all out before it was too late for her to do so. She figured that things were getting out of hand, and it was a high time she came clean and told a friend what was up. She cleared her throat first. That was her way of showing James that this was going to be a very long story.

  “Can you avoid the surround details and just get straight to the point?”

  “Ok James, it's not funny. Ok, I think my house is haunted. I have been having such bad mojo ever since I moved in, and there are some hair-raising neighbors who keep telling me stories about the house and people disappearing in it. I have searched every inch of this house, but I haven’t found anything that can substantiate any of these claims. But there is an aura of evil floating around my place. And to top it all, my cat has been behaving funny of late.”

  Gabby didn’t even finish her statement, and James was already busting out laughing. She didn’t understand what exactly he found funny at that point. James just couldn’t help it. Gabby was one of the most agnostic people that James had ever met. And to hear her insinuating that she believed in ghosts was just funny.

  Gabby was annoyed. For some time as she was following James to his office, she suspected something like this was going to happen. But for reasons she had no clue about, she decided to trust him. And now she regretted her decision since she felt very betrayed.

  “You know what? Forget about it!”

  And with that, Gab
by pushed a file from James’ desk to the floor before walking out. James was still laughing at her when she left. It was just too hilarious to pass, and James figured it would be nice to laugh at her friend and get to apologize later. At that age, hilarious moments were very hard to come by anymore.

  ***

  Gabby scooped him in a heartfelt embrace before giving him instructions as she always did whenever she got the chance to.

  “Look here boy, I don’t want you to leave the house. I know and understand that you want to meet some cute female cats out there. But this can wait until I take you out for a walk. But if you feel as though you want to scare me the way you are doing of late, please send me a memo so that I can prepare. Stay put! Understood?”

  “Meow!”

  “Good boy. Now mama has to go to work. I will check up on you in due course.”

  As soon as the door was shut, Henry broke into a run. He went from the living room to the kitchen and jumped through the open window that lead to the lobby and down to the trapdoor that Gabby had never known existed. It was just too good to be true. For a moment, it seemed as though he had been teleported into another dimension since the place was different from the rest of the house.