'I'm real sorry to keep you waiting… I've been closing a deal over at West Point.'
'That's all right, Mr. Van Buren. I've got all the time in the world.'
Walter Van Buren sat down, spilled part of his coffee, and tried to mop it up with a sheet from his tear-off notepad. 'I was very sorry to hear what happened. Your husband, I mean. Tragic.'
'You think so?'
Walter Van Buren frowned at her. 'Of course I do. Tragic.'
'You know what happened, don't you?'
'Well, yes. Your husband slipped. Fell on some railings.'
'The same railings that Gina Broughton fell on, in 1937.'
'Excuse me?'
'Come on, Mr. Van Buren, you know what's been happening at Valhalla, right from the very beginning. All of those tragedies, all of those suicides. All of those so-called hauntings. You know why Valhalla was built the way it was, and you knew what was going to happen if the right couple just happened to come along to buy it.'
'I'm not sure I know what you're talking about.'
'Oh, sure you do. Because I do. My friend Pepper Moriarty and I have been doing some research into the history of Valhalla. Newspapers and county records and such; and Mr. Harry Rondo's been very helpful, too. Do you know him? He's thinking of writing a book about Jack Belias. It's long overdue.'
Walter Van Buren rearranged his pens and his pencils and looked intently down at his blotter.
Effie said, 'We weren't trying to track you down or anything. We were just interested in what happened after that night at Valhalla, when Gina Broughton died. We were interested in what happened to her baby, and whether it survived.'
'Oh, yes?' said Walter Van Buren, coldly.
'We checked county records. The baby did survive. It was fostered to the Berrymans, who used to run Red Oaks Inn, up near Valhalla. But they had difficulties with it, according to the records. The baby wouldn't sleep, and was always distressed; so in the end they passed it on to another family, in Albany. Obviously, Albany was sufficiently far away for the baby to escape the influence that surrounded Valhalla. He grew up fit and well, and graduated from high school with honours. Maybe his career hasn't been too distinguished since. But then, we can't all be high-flyers, can we, Mr. Van Buren?'
Walter Van Buren said nothing at all, but watched his coffee steaming.
'What was it, Mr. Van Buren? You wanted revenge on Jack Belias, for killing your mother? Or you blamed him for abandoning you, and disappearing, even though you knew that he was always there? You could sense that Craig would fall for it, didn't you? You hooked in, didn't you, and you hauled him in.'
Walter Van Buren took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry about your husband,' he said, 'I'm just real glad that his fingerprints didn't mch any of those homicides. It's sad enough to lose a loved one, without finding out that they might have done wrong.'
'Yes, Mr. Van Buren,' said Effie.
He looked up at her with his colourless face. 'I suppose you'll be wanting to sell the land?' he asked her. 'May I help you with that?'
Effie said, 'Of course. We were almost related, weren't we, when you come to think about it?'
Walter Van Buren nodded. 'Strange, isn't it, this business of time and memory? Do you think that, now it's burned down, Valhalla will still exist?'
Effie stood up and firmly held out her hand. 'Even if it does, Mr. Van Buren, I'm not going back there.'
She walked out into the street, where Pepper was waiting for her, wearing a black kaftan.
'Everything sorted?' asked Pepper.
Effie nodded; and together they started walking up the street.
Pepper suddenly stopped. There were tears in her eyes. 'Do you know something?' she said. 'We look like widows.'
EPILOGUE
Seven months later, Pepper sent Effie an advertisement clipped from the
Poughkeepsie Messenger
.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF BALAM
This newly-formed brotherhood will be holding inspirational meetings Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 P.M. Come join a close circle of friends who believe in tolerance and forgiveness and the wholeness of the Universe. We have recently acquired the historic Benton House from the Hudson Valley Historical Society and all meetings will be held in these famous and hallowed surroundings.
Underneath, she had scrawled in red ballpen,
They came back!