Cedar Hollow (9 page)

“Ben brought me my clothes.” Cassidy beamed happily.

“Well wasn’t that thoughtful. I guess you won’t be needing anything else.” The nurse said acidly and then turned on her heel leaving the room without another word.

“That was weird.”
Cassidy said confused by the tension.

“That’s Kaitlyn
.” Ben shrugged as way of explanation, he seemed unfazed by the nurse’s reaction. Cassidy was surprised that he knew the nurse by name, but then again she’d known his name too. She’d actually warned Cassidy against him. She wanted to ask Ben about that, but it would have to wait for another time. She’d already set him on edge with the comment about him coming back and she wanted to smooth it over.

Cassidy scooped up the remaining clothes on the bed putting them back into the tote bag that Ben had brought.

“I guess we’re ready to go.” She said cheerfully swinging the bag over her shoulder. Ben nodded and led the way out.

There was a heavy silence in the truck as they drove back toward Cedar Hollow. Cassidy wasn’t sure how to break the ice. Over the last couple days she’d thought that they’d made some progress in their relationship, gradually transitioning from compulsory roommates to the beginnings of a friendship, even a little flirtation, but now she didn’t know what they were. She supposed accusing someone of attempted murder really did put a kink in a friendship.

“Are you hungry?” Ben asked finally breaking the tense silence.

“Sure.” Cassidy agreed.

“There’s a restaurant coming up in the next town that’s pretty good.
If you want to stop.”

“That sounds great.” Cassidy smiled over at him but his eyes were fixed on the road. “So how far
are we from Cedar Hollow?” Cassidy asked grasping on to the conversation so that they didn’t slip back into awkward silence.

“About twenty
miles now, there’s only one town between Montgomery and Cedar Hollow.” Ben hesitated briefly. “Hangman’s Ridge.” He reluctantly told her the name of the small town he was taking her to. Irrationally Cassidy giggled. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she cleared her throat nervously.

“So is Montgomery the closest city?” Cassidy asked.

“The closest with a hospital.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of a shopping mall.”

“Oh, yeah, they have one of those too.”

“I need to make a trip, so at least now I’ll know what direction to head.”

He looked over at her concern clear on his face.

“If you need something I can get it for you.”

“I just wanted to do a little clothes shopping.” Cassidy explained feeling a little anxious under his protective gaze. It reminded her that there was something out there that she needed to be protected from and she’d rather not think of that right now.

“I’ll take you.” Ben declared and then looked back at the road.

“I have my own car.” Cassidy reminded him gently.

“You shouldn’t go alone.” Ben’s tone left no room for argument. “So you don’t get lost.” He added on as an afterthought. Cassidy had a sinking suspicion that wasn’t his real concern.

His unease opened the floodgate of questions that Cassidy had been holding at bay. Was someone trying to hurt her? Were they just trying to scare her off, or worse? And Why? Who? How much did Ben know? She stared blindly out the truck window into the darkening forest consumed with haunting questions. She didn’t even register the small town that had emerged from the woods until Ben pulled the truck to a stop.

“We’re here.” He told her. She wondered how much time had passed, how long had she been staring out the window lost in thought.

Ben climbed out of the truck and crossed around to the other side, extending his hand to help Cassidy step down. She felt that same jolt of awareness that she’d felt the last time he’d held her hand. It erased all other concerns for the moment. She smiled up at him and he tentatively smiled back.

The restaurant was small and dimly lit, with a nautical theme. Fishing nets were suspended in corners and watercolor paintings of fishing boats decorated the walls.

“Benjamin Riley!” A woman’s voice squealed and Cassidy and Ben both turned to face the middle aged hostess who was approaching them with her arms extended and a warm smile on her face. Cassidy stepped to the side to allow them to embrace. The woman hugged Ben tightly and then held him at arm’s length. “Been too long, boy.” She admonished.

“I’m sorry
, Sarah.” Ben hung his head looking abashed. Cassidy had never seen him look so young. “It’s been a busy planting season.” He explained weakly.

“Excuses, excuses.”
The woman waved her hand in the air dismissing his explanation. “Been having so much fun up on that old mountain you’ve forgotten all about me.” She lamented playfully.

“I could never forget about you
, Sarah.” Ben assured her.

“And who is this beauty?” The woman asked turning to Cassidy hooking one arm through Ben’s.

“This is Cassidy, she’s staying with us at the Inn.” Ben explained and Cassidy thought it seemed like he was intentionally being vague about her. “Cassidy, this is Sarah Davenport, she owns this restaurant.” Ben introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Cassidy said extending her
hand, Sarah Davenport smiled as they shook hands but eyed her shrewdly. “Ben doesn’t usually bring guests to town.” Sarah observed as she showed them to a table.

“I told her she couldn’t miss your famous clam chowder.” Ben interjected quickly. Cassidy felt like she was missing something but decided to trust Ben and
follow his lead.

“I love clam chowder.” Cassidy said smiling sweetly.

Sarah continued to scrutinize the two of them. “Odd time of year for guests at Miller’s. Leaves haven’t started changing yet.”

“I was just passing through and was lucky that Ben had a room.” Cassidy offered quickly.

“People don’t usually pass through Cedar Hollow.” Sarah challenged openly. Cassidy had no idea what was going on but she was getting more uncomfortable by the moment.

“I got lost.” She shrugged innocently.

“Do you still serve food around this establishment or just grill your customers?” Ben asked playfully.

“Two clam chowders?”
Sarah asked. Ben nodded. “Coming right up.” She smiled and left them at the table.

“What was that about?” Cassidy whispered as soon as they were alone.

“Sarah is just a nosy old gossip, she’s harmless, but I don’t think it’s wise to publicize your presence until I have a better idea of what’s going on.” Ben explained in hushed tones. “So it was just easier to call you a guest, otherwise the entire east coast would know who you were by tomorrow.” Ben rolled his eyes.

“Doesn’t all of Cedar Hollow already know who I am?” Cassidy whispered back.

“All three hundred of them.” Ben laughed. “But most of them don’t know what you look like.”

“Well that’s easy
enough, I’m the girl they’ve never seen before.”

“That’
s true.” Ben looked frustrated. “I’m probably just being overly cautious.” He admitted.

“Ben
, promise me something?” Cassidy asked, still whispering. Ben’s expression became guarded.

“What?”

“When you figure out what’s going on… will you let me know?”

Before he could respond a waitress approached the table. They both sat back in their seats, Cassidy hadn’t even realized how closely they’d leaned in toward each other until she pulled away. She looked up at the waitress who was steadily glaring at Ben. She was young and beautiful and obviously not a big fan of his. He glanced at her briefly and then looked away unconcerned. She practically dropped the bowls of clam chowder on the table and stormed away.
That reminded Cassidy.

“Ben did you know the nurse from the hospital?” Cassidy asked as she tried her soup.

“Kaitlyn? Yeah, we went to high school together.” Ben explained.

“And the waitress?”
Cassidy gestured with her head in the direction the waitress had gone.

“Amanda…
we used to work together.” Ben confirmed.

“I’m guessing the girl who works at the hardware store…” Cassidy trailed off.

Ben nodded slowly. “Why do you ask?”

“None of them seem to like you too much.” Cassidy shrugged.

“How many of your exes sing your praises?” Ben laughed.

“Oh.” Well
that definitely made sense of a few things. “Not too many I guess.” She admitted smiling weakly.

Cassidy tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that shot through her. Of course he had
exes, he was a thirty year old man who’d grown up in a small town. He’d probably dated most of the women his age at one time or another. It made sense, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Cassidy felt herself nodding off as they finished the drive back to Cedar Hollow. It was too dark to see much out of the windows anymore and she could feel the exhaustion overtaking her. The only thing that was keeping her awake was her racing mind. Too many questions, she wondered how many answers Ben had.

“Can I ask you something?” She asked sleepily. Ben glanced over at her and nodded.

“You said that everyone in my family had died of unnatural causes. Is that true?” It was time to face the hard questions. They weren’t going to disappear.

Ben sighed.
“Everyone but your great-uncle. He was 92 years old and died in his bed, I think it’s safe to say that it was his time.”

“And the others?”
Cassidy pressed.

“Every death was ruled accidental, but they were all suspicious.
” Ben answered solemnly.

“How do you know that?” Cassidy was whispering again, even though they were alone in the truck.

“It was practically legend around Cedar Hollow. Kids said the old Miller place was haunted. That your family was cursed. No one has that much bad luck.” Ben shook his head and Cassidy felt a chill.

Just then they pulled to a stop in front of the old house. It was another dark night, just like the night she’d arrived
, the moonlight smothered behind a heavy cloud layer. The house loomed in front of them dark and foreboding. Cassidy had to rub away the goosebumps on her arms. It did look like a haunted house. Suddenly she wondered how many of those “accidental deaths” had actually occurred inside the house.

Cassidy stared at the ceiling for nearly an hour before she got out of bed. She had tossed and turned all night, but she’d made the decision not to get out of bed until she’d made a decision about what she was going to do. She should leave. She knew she should. Someone was trying to hurt her. She should be running as far away from here as quickly as she could. But why? Why did someone want to hurt her? Was there some sort of connection to the mysterious deaths that had befallen her family? What had happened to her family? She had too many questions to leave now. She needed answers.

Supposing the decision was made
, Cassidy climbed out of bed, ignoring the saying about what curiosity did to the cat. She dressed in a khaki skirt with a white blouse accessorizing with nude pumps and a broad tan belt. It was a little too formal for what she had planned for today, but it was all she had. She pulled her hair into a French twist and added a little mascara before brushing her teeth and heading downstairs.

It was late morning and she’d expected Ben to already be out in the gardens, she was surprised to find him sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Good morning.” She said nervously, not sure where they stood at this point. Would he be hostile? Would he be friendly? Her stomach twisted with anxiety.

“Morning.”
He said casually and she exhaled in relief. “How did you sleep last night?” He asked conversationally, placing the paper on the table.

“I’ve slept better.” Cassidy admitted.

“Want some coffee?” He offered standing from the table.

“Love some!” She agreed eagerly pulling up a chair.

“You look all dressed up.” Ben observed casually as he set the cup of coffee in front of her, he placed some cream and sugar on the table for her as well. “Do you have some big plans for the day?” His tone was casual but when Cassidy looked up into his face she saw the curiosity burning in his eyes.

“I was hoping to do a little research today.” Cassidy told him adding the cream and sugar to her coffee. He took his seat again and picked up his paper, but he didn’t look at it.

“Research?”

“About my family.
I was hoping I might find some old newspaper records at the library.”

Ben nodded his understanding
“I’ll take you.” He informed her. It wasn’t really an offer so much as a declaration.

“That’s okay, I’m sure I can find the library without getting lost.” Cassidy laughed nervously. “Besides I’m sure you have a lot of work to do.” She added.

“Actually I’ve finished up the harvesting for now. All set for the farmer’s market which isn’t until tomorrow, so my day is free.” Ben smiled, but it was strained. There was something he wasn’t telling her.

“I doubt you want to spend your day off sitting around a dusty library with me.” Cassidy wasn’t sure why she was arguing, spending a day sitting around a dusty library with him actually sounded kind of nice.
Especially if he was being nice.

“I don’t mind. I’m actually curious myself. I’ve never really looked up the records, just heard the rumors.” He shrugged as if it didn’t really matter to him, but she could
see that it did.

“Ok, well I’m ready when you are.” She agreed.

It was an overcast day. Dark gra
y clouds swirled in the sky and wind whipped through the dense forest as they drove down the mountain. There was a chill in the air today, even though it was late summer the wind was cold.

It didn’t take long to reach the small library in town. The elderly woman at the front desk showed them down to the basement where old newspapers were kept on microfiche. There was an old dinosaur of a computer in the corner of the room that cataloged the newspaper articles.

“I’m not really sure where to start.” Cassidy admitted once the old woman had left them alone in the dim basement. The overhead fluorescent lighting was flickering, struggling to stay lit from long periods of disuse. There were cobwebs in the corners and it smelled dank and dusty. Of all the places Cassidy had been in Cedar Hollow, this place was definitely the creepiest.

“Your grandfather’s name was Curtis Miller. I think that’s probably the best place to start.” Ben suggested, turning on the old computer. Cassidy was grateful that he’d come along, partly because he knew her grandfather’s name and mostly because she wouldn’t have wanted to sit alone in this basement.

Finally after several minutes the old computer wheezed to life and Ben typed the name Curtis Miller into the search field. Several results popped up on the screen with identifying numbers for the sheets of film that contained articles about Curtis Miller. Cassidy searched through file drawers until she located the correct films.

Ben followe
d her to the viewer where they loaded the films and flipped through looking for the appropriate articles. The first was a wedding announcement, from which Cassidy learned that her grandmother’s name had been Elizabeth Greene and that her grandparents had married on July 14, 1953 after her grandfather had returned from fighting in the Korean War. A small picture accompanied the announcement. Her grandfather had been a tall handsome man in his twenties, he was dressed in an army uniform. Her grandmother wore a simple white knee-length 50’s-style dress with a sash tied around the waist. She held a bouquet of daisies with a lace veil draped over her long blonde hair. Cassidy was shocked at how much she looked like her grandmother, who in the picture was younger than she was now. She felt a pang of regret at never having had the chance to know them.

The next
hit was a birth announcement. Kimberly Anne Miller and Janet Elaine Miller both born January 15, 1963. Cassidy recognized the name Kimberly Miller, that was her mother. Apparently she also had a twin sister named Janet, Cassidy had never even known that she had an aunt. She wrote down the names of her family before scrolling on to the next article. Seeing their names in black and white suddenly made them more real. Cassidy felt anxious as she scrolled to the next article. It was the one she’d been looking for.

Local war hero Curtis Miller was found dead at his family home in the early morning hours of Saturday May 16, 1980. His body was discovered by his brother Robert Miller. It appeared that he’d fallen from the top of the water tower, although the official cause of death has yet to be determined. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth Miller and two children, Kimberly Miller and Janet Miller, both age 17.

Cassidy sat back from the viewer and allowed herself a moment of grief for the grandfather she’d never known. He’d died a few years before she’d even been born. Ben had left her at the viewer and had crossed back over to the old reference computer.

“The first few hits under your grandmother’s name are for the same wedding and birth announcement that came up for your grandfather.” He told her. “But there’s also this one.” He said handing her a slip of paper with an identification number written on it. She took it and crossed over to the files. She located the film and carried it to the viewer. She found the article and felt her blood run cold as she read the words.

Only two weeks after the death of her husband Curtis Miller, Elizabeth Miller was found dead on Bartlett Beach, an apparent accidental drowning. She is survived by her two children Kimberly and Janet Miller, age 17. It is reported that the children will be sent to live with their maternal grandmother in Connecticut, although the children’s paternal uncle, a Mr. Robert Miller, is petitioning for custody.

“They died within two weeks of each other.” Cassidy whispered staring at the screen.

“Most people figured she killed herself out of grief.” Ben said quietly.

“And just left her children?” Cassidy asked appalled. “What happened to them?”

“From what I’ve heard they did get shipped off to
Connecticut, but Kimberly came back here a year later after she’d finished high school.”

“Why would
she come back?” Cassidy wondered aloud.

“Her boyfriend
was here.” Ben shrugged, and Cassidy realized he was talking about her father.

“They died together in a fire.” She whispered.

“When I moved here I heard the stories about the Miller Curse, about how everyone who lived in that house died.”

“You didn’t grow up in Cedar Hollow?” Cassidy asked
, surprised and momentarily distracted.

“
We moved here after my dad lost his business. I was in high school.” Ben explained quietly, but his eyes became shrouded. He didn’t want to talk about himself. “Let’s see if we can find any articles about your parents.” Ben quickly changed the subject.

He went back over to the computer and typed in the
name Kimberly Miller and waited for the results. He read off the number to Cassidy and she crossed back over to the files, locating the proper one. The result was for a wedding announcement.

“My father’s name was Billy Patterson.” Cassidy recited quietly. Ben typed th
e name into the search engine and it produced another file number. He gave it to Cassidy and she quietly crossed back over to the file cabinet.

“That can’t be right.” She said asking for the number again, Ben repeated it to her and she thumbed through the sheets again. “It’s missing, that entire page of microfiche. It’s not here.”

“It has to be.” Ben said joining her at the file cabinet and scanning through the pages with her.

“All the other pages are here, the ones before it and after it
, but the page with the articles that mention my parents, it’s gone.” Cassidy flipped through the sheets again, frustrated.

“Maybe somebody misplaced it
.” Ben suggested. “I’ll go up and ask if anyone else has been down here recently. I’ll be right back.”

Ben left her sorting through the files and jogged up the stairs. Cassidy felt deflated.
She knew so little about her birth parents, and she had been hoping for any little bit of information that might give her insight into who they were. What they were like. Now that she was here, living in this little town where they had once lived she was consumed with the curiosity that she’d been able to keep at bay for the last thirty years.

She decided while she waited for Ben to come back down she might
try to look up her aunt. She went to the computer and typed in the name Janet Miller. No results were found. That was odd. No announcements, no articles, it was like she’d never existed. Cassidy had seen her birth announcement cross-referenced with each of her grandparent’s names, but nothing was linked to the name Janet Miller. It was as if someone had tried to erase all trace of her. Cassidy wondered if maybe she was still alive somewhere, maybe they just couldn’t find her.

Just then something shifted in the room. She wasn’t exactly sure where the sound had come from but she’d heard it, and it was definitely bigger than a rat. She looked toward the stairs that
Ben had gone up and she listened for his voice. Vaguely she could hear him talking with the librarian upstairs. Then she heard it again, a shuffle, something moving in the shadows.

She whipped her head around the room scanning the dark corners. Her heart began to pound, her breathing accelerated. She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her fight or flight reflex had been triggered. Some instinct was telling her that she was not alone in this
room, something or someone was watching her. She bolted up the stairs.

She reached the top of the
staircase in two seconds flat, panting to catch her breath as she emerged into the well-lit, sedate room. The librarian and Ben both stopped abruptly and turned to face her, Ben’s expression immediately turned to one of concern.

“Are you ok
ay?” He asked stepping away from the desk and reaching out to grasp her arm.

“I’m fine.” She said cheerfully, a little too cheerfully. “Let’s not worry about that article today. It’ll turn up. I’m starving.” She insisted pulling him toward the door. Some survival instinct was telling her to get out of here and she was going to listen.

Ben scrutinized her closely as she pulled him toward the door but he didn’t question her, he simply followed her outside.

“Mind telling me what that was about?” He asked once they were in the truck pulling away from the building.

“I don’t know, I guess I just got a little spooked. You know, sitting in a basement reading articles about how my whole family is dead, guess it kind of got to me.” She tried to shrug it off.

He nodded his understanding.
“Lunch?”

They ate lunch at Jenny’s Diner. It was an interesting experience. If Cassidy thought people had stared before when she’d eaten alone it was nothing compared to eating with Ben. Everyone in the restaurant watched them with open astonishment. Even Melissa, the younger waitress who had been friendly to Cassidy on her first visit, was very reserved. Cassidy wondered if she was one of Ben’s exes too. She realized it was petty to be annoyed that he had so many exes in the immediate vicinity, but it didn’t change the fact that she was. Cassidy was all too grateful when it was time to leave. Jenny’s was not her favorite place in Cedar Hollow.