The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor (22 page)

H
eath went to his office and I drove back to Peppernell Manor. I had a meeting with the steeplejack to determine what had to be done to restore the fireplaces and chimneys in the slave cabins.

He was right on time. I showed him the slave cabins and explained what I had in mind for the restoration. His recommendations were encouraging, and he told me he could start the brickwork immediately. We made plans for him to return the next day to begin. I spent the rest of the day working on the staircase in the manor and I had completed it by the time I had to go pick up Lucy at school. The stairs looked magnificent; the family would be very pleased.

When Lucy and I arrived back at the manor, Graydon was in the kitchen taking a break from his work.

“Any word on the g-a-t-o-r?” I asked him.

“Animal Control should be here tomorrow. Apparently we're not the only property with that problem,” he said, recognizing that I didn't want Lucy to know there had been an alligator on the property. “We're the only ones that experienced a casualty, though. How is he?” he asked cryptically.

“I'll fill you in later,” I promised him. As we spoke Lucy looked from me to Graydon with a blank look on her face. Graydon tousled her hair and tickled her, making her forget that the adults were having a conversation she didn't understand.

Heath joined the rest of the family for dinner that night. Vivian had evidently spoken with someone during the day who had piqued her interest in once again having investors look at the property.

“Graydon, you have to speak to a man who came into my store today. We got talking about old properties and of course I told him about Peppernell Manor, and he thought his investment group would love to learn more about it,” she told him excitedly.

Ruby looked at Graydon. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but she closed it again. Heath glanced at me as if to say, “Uh-oh. Here it comes.”

Graydon raised his water glass to his lips and took a sip, then slowly folded his napkin on his lap as Vivian looked at him expectantly. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Finally he spoke.

“Vivian, my dear, I don't want to argue with you at the dinner table, but since you keep bringing up this subject in front of everyone, I feel you've left me no choice. You know very well how I feel about investors coming into this house. Mother didn't want outsiders with a financial interest having a say in how this property is used, and I feel strongly that we should honor her wishes. Not only that, but I happen to agree with her. Now I hope that closes the subject.”

“It most certainly does not,” Vivian answered in a huffy drawl. “This is my home, too, and I believe
I
deserve a say in how it is run in the future. I am a businesswoman, Graydon, and I know better than you do how to run a successful venture. And I am telling you that we should go with the smartest way to provide a profitable future for this manor!”

She turned on Heath. “Heath, honey, you agree with me, don't you?”

“Mom, you know that I don't like getting involved in these discussions.”

“What kind of man did I raise, that won't support his mother?”

“A smart one.” Heath winked at me.

“Y'all make me so mad,” Vivian seethed. “You need to learn how to run a business.”

“This isn't a business, Vivian! It's a home!” Graydon exploded.

“Why you can't—” Vivian began.

From the other end of the table came a sharp, piercing scream. All eyes turned on Ruby, who was sitting with her hands over her ears, her eyes squeezed shut. The scream went on, Ruby only stopping once for a long, ragged breath.

“Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it!” she screamed, repeating the phrase over and over until, spent, she slumped forward in her chair, sobbing. Lucy started crying and I jumped up and whisked her upstairs. I couldn't imagine what was going on in the dining room, but I was thankful to have escaped. I gave Lucy a bath and read to her, trying to soothe her, until she finally fell asleep in my arms. Heath came up to our room after a while. We talked in whispers.

“What happened?”

“Ruby cried and cried until Evie finally got her to talk. She's upset about the fighting. She feels that it dishonors Gran when Mother keeps insisting on bringing up the subject of money and how Peppernell Manor will be run in the future. And she finally reminded everyone that she is half-owner of Peppernell Manor, too. I'm afraid we've all kind of overlooked that. Dad is such a strong personality, and it's easy to forget that he's not the only owner.”

“I've wondered sometimes how Ruby feels when people talk to Graydon as if he's the only one in charge here. I wonder if she's upset or if she's relieved that her brother is the one dealing with the business side of things,” I replied.

“I'm embarrassed to say I never really thought about it,” he said.

“How did your mother and father react to what Ruby said?”

“Mother was indignant and told Ruby that she can't see beyond the end of her nose. But I think the truth is that Ruby embarrassed her and she was just being defensive. Dad apologized to Ruby and told her that he thought she wanted him to take charge.”

“What did Ruby say?”

“She told him she doesn't mind if he takes charge, as long as the people who live here continue to honor Gran's memory and as long as people remember that she is a co-owner.”

“I don't think anyone is likely to forget it again,” I noted.

He sat down on the bed and Lucy, still asleep, shifted and flung her arm across his lap.

“Isn't this great?” he whispered, nodding down at Lucy.

I nodded, smiling at her chubby face. “She just adores you,” I replied.

“We make a great trio,” he told me, winking.

“I agree.”

He removed Lucy's arm slowly and carefully so she wouldn't wake up, then kissed me. “I should get back to my place,” he said. “I have files to review tonight. Court in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow.”

When I returned to the manor in the morning after taking Lucy to school, Animal Control was parked in the drive and four men stood around the pond with all kinds of implements that I assumed they would use to try to catch the alligator. They were talking to Graydon. I was thankful they hadn't arrived while Lucy was still there, or I would have been fielding her questions for days. I was surprised when they all got into their van and drove off, leaving their equipment behind.

“What's going on?” I asked Graydon when he came in the house.

“They'll come back tonight and set the traps for the alligator.”

“Why don't they do it now?”

“Because they still have other properties to visit and because the gators come out at night to feed. That's the best time to catch them. They'll set up traps by the pond and along the riverbank.”

“What happens if they catch an alligator?”

“Do you really want to know?”

I thought for a moment. “I don't know. Just tell me the gator doesn't get returned to Peppernell Manor.”

“Don't worry about that. If the gator is alive and unhurt, I think they'll send it to the Everglades, where there are endangered gator populations. If the gator is hurt, they'll have to euthanize it.”

I shuddered. I hated to think of the gator being killed, but on the other hand, I didn't want to ever see it alive at Peppernell Manor again.

I went to work in the slave cabins that day, cleaning out the brush and the rubbish that had accumulated in the corners and around the cabins' bases. I couldn't do any more inside the manor until the mason I'd hired to work on the basement floor had completed his work. He said it should only take him a few days. While I worked, the steeplejack arrived and began his work. I took some time to watch him to learn more about his job and the work he was doing. It was fascinating.

By the time I had bagged up all the refuse from the cabin sites, the steeplejack had finished his work for the day and it was time to get Lucy. We spent the afternoon and evening indoors since there was a gator lurking around somewhere outside, but I couldn't wait for the gator to be caught so we could once again enjoy being outdoors, visiting Addie and Heath in the evenings.

The men from Animal Control came back after dark and used large electric lanterns to see as they set the traps. Lucy was in bed, sound asleep. If I craned my neck I could watch their activities from my window. Graydon and Heath were outside with them; they probably were more of a nuisance than a help, but I'm sure they were fascinated with the process of setting an alligator trap.

I watched until everyone dispersed and Animal Control took their lanterns with them. In the morning I was awakened by the sound of voices outside. Moving quietly to the window so Lucy would remain asleep, I peeked outside. It wasn't quite light out yet, but I could see from my perch.

There was an alligator in the trap by the pond. It was attached to a long line that led somewhere—I couldn't see where. The beast was enormous—at least six feet in length. The men from Animal Control were outside and they used some kind of instrument to tranquilize it from a short distance away. I hoped, on second thought, that they hadn't just killed the animal before my eyes, but then when I saw them carefully lift the gator I figured it was still alive. They were probably taking precautions in case it should wake up too soon. It took the strength of all four men to move the alligator onto a large sling that was lying on the ground nearby. I noticed Graydon and Heath standing safely off to one side, allowing the people from Animal Control to do their work unimpeded.

After that the gator was loaded onto a sledge-like contraption and dragged out of my sight. When Lucy and I went downstairs to breakfast a short while later, Heath and Graydon were reliving the experience excitedly over breakfast, but they stopped talking about it when we walked into the room.

“Everything taken care of?” I asked.

“You bet,” said Graydon. “Did you see any of it?”

“Yes,” I answered. “Some of it.”

Heath took one last gulp of coffee, grabbed his briefcase, kissed me, and rumpled Lucy's hair saying, “Why don't you guys run over and see Addie before school? She's been lonely.”

Lucy let out a whoop of joy and I told her I'd take her over to the carriage house. Poor Addie hadn't had any visits from her best friend since the alligator attacked Brad. I had been afraid to walk anywhere on the property with her until the gator was caught.

After I had dropped Lucy off at school, I returned to Peppernell Manor, where Graydon was outside talking to the steeplejack and the mason about the alligator.

“Carleigh,” he called to me. “I got a phone call from Animal Control. Want to know more about our gator?”

“What did you find out?” I asked. The steeplejack and mason listened with obvious interest.

“It was a relatively young male, healthy, who was probably displaced or confused after the hurricane. He still had a piece of Brad's pant leg in his teeth. The guys from Animal Control think Brad was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The gator probably thought he was some kind of food and lunged at him from inside the pond.”

“I almost hate to ask this, but what are they going to do with him?”

“I asked them about that, and they are indeed going to release him into a threatened population in the Everglades down in Florida.”

“Good. I didn't want him to die, but I certainly didn't want to ever see him around here again.”

The conversation drew to a close and the hired men and I got to work on our respective tasks. I had a look at the work the mason was doing down in the basement; he seemed to be doing a beautiful job. As soon as he was done I could get started on the walls and storage rooms.

Before picking up Lucy from school that afternoon I went to the hospital to check on Brad's progress. He had shaved, but his eyes still had a haunted look.

“They're letting me out tomorrow,” he said by way of a greeting.

“Where are you going after you get out?”

“I'm thinking of staying right here.”

“Why don't you want to go back to Chicago?”

“Because my daughter is here. I want to be close to her.”

“You're still going to have to deal with the consequences of being at Peppernell Manor, spying on me, the other night. They caught the alligator, by the way.”

“Good. Did they shoot it?”

“No. They're sending it to the Everglades to introduce him into a threatened population of alligators down there.”

“They should have shot it.”

I cocked my eyebrow at him. “You wouldn't have been hurt at all if you hadn't been snooping around where you weren't welcome or permitted.”

He looked at me with a hangdog expression and I ignored it. “You are going to have to go back to Chicago to get your stuff,” I pointed out.

“I brought it with me. It's all in the back of my car. The rest I put into storage in Chicago.”

I was somehow surprised by this. “You were planning to stay all along?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't you just tell me, ‘Carleigh, I've decided to move to South Carolina to be closer to Lucy' instead of embarking on this crazy scheme of yours?”

“I don't know. I had to find out if you had a boyfriend and I couldn't trust Lucy to keep her mouth shut if I asked her.”

“She's three,” I reminded him. “I'm not sure how much information you could have gotten out of her anyways.”