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Author's Chapter Notes:

Brian decides to do a little research on his new house . . . but isn't sure he likes what he finds out. Read & enjoy! TAG

*****Chapter dedicated to my mother, who was also an outspoken 'Penny'*****



Chapter 4 - A Penny Worth of Thoughts.


Staying with Michael for two nights had been good to the extent that Brian managed to catch up on some sleep. But it also meant that he’d been inundated with the man’s crazy theories about what exactly was ‘haunting’ Brian’s house. And those theories seemed to get more elaborate - and less rational - by the hour. In the end, Brian was glad to return to his house, even if it WAS haunted, just so he could get away from Michael’s flights of fantasy.


However, Brian WAS taking Michael’s advice about researching the house to heart. It wasn’t that he was looking for connections to witch trial venues or satanic cult mass suicides or anything, but that he was curious about who had owned the place before him. It just seemed odd that they’d left so much property here. Boxes and boxes of things that he would have thought someone, somewhere, might want.


The situation was underscored as Brian had begun to go through all the boxes of personal stuff that were waiting in the basement. He’d found lots of family keepsakes and other items that he was convinced someone might want to hang onto. There were photo albums, jewelry, baby clothes and toys, and other items that Brian felt bad about just throwing out. Some of these things might have monetary value, and he could just sell that stuff then toss whatever was left over, but even the unsentimental Brian Kinney felt bad about just dumping a whole family’s history into the landfill. He hoped there were relatives around somewhere that might want them. So he decided to start his research by introducing himself to the neighbors and seeing if anyone in the area knew anything.


Early in the afternoon the day after he returned from his exile at Chez Novotny-Bruckner, Brian walked over to the next house down the street. It wasn’t a long walk, but the way the houses were situated, he couldn’t see the neighbor’s house from his own and, even once he’d reached the driveway, he could only just barely see the residence. When he did see it, though, he almost changed his mind about this plan of his. The house looked even more run down than his own had been when he moved in. It was more of a shack than a house, to be honest. To make matters worse, there were two rusted-out old beater cars in the yard and a big dog lying on the ragged patch of browning grass, chained to a nearby tree. Brian had flashbacks to ‘Deliverance’. It did NOT look like the kind of place that would welcome someone of his ilk.


He had just started to turn away, intending to hot foot it back to the safety of his own house, when the door opened and a grandmotherly looking older lady came out of the house shouting a cheery ‘Hello, neighbor’ at him. Reluctantly, Brian turned back and headed closer. The woman waved him on, yelling to the dog to hush when the big monster started to growl just as Brian took his first step onto the lawn. Brian swallowed hard and put on his most charming Kinney smile in the hopes that he would survive this meeting.


Luckily, it turned out that his neighbor was a perfectly nice old lady. She introduced herself as Penny Landis and shook Brian’s hand with a firm grip despite the apparent frailty of her appearance. Penny then quickly ushered him into her home, which was much nicer looking on the inside than it had seemed from out in the yard, and offered him a seat at a well-polished wooden table.


“It’s about time you came calling ‘round about, young man,” Penny admonished him jovially. “We were all giving you time to settle in, but if you hadn’t come over soon, I would’ve been over there with the rest of the Welcome Wagon girls. It’s not often we get new blood in these parts, so we like to savor the experience.”


Brian chuckled at the idea of himself being referred to as a ‘young man’, but found the easy familiarity and homey demeanor of the older woman comforting. Brian had never known his own grandmother, who had died before he was born, but he liked to imagine she would have been something like this woman. Penny was brash and plain spoken but friendly. She seemed like someone he wouldn’t mind knowing.


“Now, don’t mind the mess around here. I do my best to keep the place up, but since my husband died, I’m afraid that I’ve been slacking off a bit,” she said with a self-conscious chuckle as she cleared away a small stack of mail from the table. “My poor Roddy’s been dead for almost six years now, you see. And, as if that t’weren’t bad enough, I had back surgery a couple years afterwards, and I just haven’t been able to keep the place up very well since. My two boys moved away years ago, you know - Billy lives in New York and Tommy just bought a place up in Philadelphia - and they help whenever they come to visit. But they’re both busy professionals, and all, so they don’t have much time for their old mom anymore. I’m lucky if I see them twice a year these days. Which just leaves little old me to do everything and I’m not as spry as I used to be.”


“You don’t need to fuss over me, Ma’am,” Brian assured her and then pulled out one of the chairs for her like a true gentleman.


“Why, thank you, kindly,” Penny smiled at him and sat . . . but only for about half a minute before she was back up on her feet and puttering around the kitchen. “Where ARE my manners? I haven’t offered you anything to drink. How about some coffee, young man? It’s fresh brewed, just now. And I happen to have made a nice coffee cake this morning too. I had a premonition that I’d have company today, so’s I made it special and it just came out of the oven not even a half hour ago.”


Brian tried to protest against the offering of coffee cake, laden with brown sugar and dripping with the butter she slathered on the top of it, but Penny wouldn’t listen. She just lectured him for being far too skinny and shoved the plate closer to him. Brian shook his head, smiled, and accepted his fate. He was glad too, when he took the first bite of the warm cake and it literally melted in his mouth. Damn that was good!


“Now that we’re all settled, tell me ALL about yourself, son,” Penny ordered, taking her own cup of coffee and resuming the seat adjacent to Brian.


“There’s not much to tell, I’m afraid,” Brian started off, giving a brief synopsis of his life between bites of cake. “As you know, I just moved in a few weeks ago. I’m from Pittsburgh, so it’s not like I moved here from far away or anything. I’m taking a year off from my Advertising job so I can write a book. And I bought this place so I could be out of the city and have a peaceful place to work on my novel. I didn’t realize how much work I’d have to do though, just to get the place in a livable condition. It’s a bit of a mess.”


Penny was shaking her head in sympathy. “That’s too bad, you know. I can’t believe Craig let that place get so damned run down. It was such a pretty house back when Jennifer was around.”


“So, you knew the prior owners?” Brian asked, happy to finally be getting to the information he’d wanted. “I was hoping you could tell me something about them. I’ve come across a lot of personal items that they left in the house and I would really like to be able to find them so I can return it all.”


“Well, son, I’d be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know, but it’s not a happy story. And I’m afraid you won’t find anyone who’s gonna take all that stuff off your hands . . .” Penny leaned forward, her voice dropping into a more conspiratorial tone, looking eager to have company to gossip with, despite the purportedly sad nature of the story she was about to relate.  


Brian smiled at the woman, who was obviously hungry for a fresh audience, and let her talk.


“You see, the family that used to own that place - the Taylors - well, they’re all gone now . . . least ways as far as anyone around here knows.” Brian was surprised, not to mention curious to hear the whole story, so he didn’t interrupt Penny’s tale of woe. “Like I said, it’s a long and very sad story. It was near on twenty-five years ago when Craig and Jennifer first moved in. They were a lovely young couple back then. I was quite friendly with them, you know. My Roddy and I were a lot younger then too, and our kids were just finishing up high school at the time, not that much younger than the Taylors, mind you. Jennifer was just a sweet little thing, as I remember, and she and I struck up quite the friendship, seeing as she was fond of quilting, just like me. Craig seemed to get on pretty well with Roddy most of the time too. So, I knew them all pretty well, you see.”


“Everything had been just wonderful for a number of years after the Taylors first moved in. They put in a lot of work on that old place and really had it looking nice. A few years later, Jennifer got in the family way and they was just so happy about it, you know? Well, to make a long story short, they eventually had two children, a son named Justin, who was just the apple of his parents’ eyes, and then about ten years later, a beautiful daughter they called Molly. They were both just lovely children. Adorable little blond angels. And so kind. They were always doing stuff for us neighbors and such. I just loved those kids, you know, almost like they was my own.” Then Penny’s voice took on a saddened tinge as she moved on with her tale. “Unfortunately, right about the same time my Roddy passed from a heart attack, the Taylors had a run of bad luck. First, poor Jennifer and little Molly were killed in a horrible car accident out on the I-70. Killed on impact, the sheriff said, poor things. And, after that, Craig took to drinking far too much and he really let the property go to hell.”


“Now, you see, I was dealing with my own grief over Roddy at the time, so I’m afraid I wasn’t much help to Craig and poor little Justin. I still feel bad that I wasn’t around for them in their time of need, but I was just THAT stricken myself, you know?”


Penny got up, retrieved the coffee pot and refreshed both their cups while she collected herself before continuing with her story.


“In the meantime, I’d heard rumors that Craig had developed quite the temper - I mean, he was always a little volatile, you know, but not so bad as you’d know it unless you was around him a lot. Being as we was neighbors, I HAD seen a hint or two of that over the years, but I didn’t pay it no mind. I didn’t ever see him out of control or nothing, but . . . well, we all suspected as much.” Penny looked aslant at her guest with a knowing look that Brian took as code for the unpleasant fact that Neighbor Craig was probably an abusive bastard who’d simply been smart enough to hide the fact from most people. “He did seem to be a little hard on Justin sometimes, though. That boy was such a sweet young thing. So sunny and kind. I remember how much he liked to sing - he was in the church choir when he was little, you know - and he was quite the budding artist even at that young age. Jennifer used to brag on that boy like you wouldn’t believe.”


“But, Craig, well, he seemed to think the boy wasn’t pulling his weight and was always disappointed that Justin wasn’t interested in sports or anything Craig considered ‘manly’.” Penny said this with a wink towards Brian, making him wonder if she suspected he wasn’t as manly as some might have preferred either. “Lordy, I don’t know why Craig couldn’t just be happy with the son fate had given him and appreciate the boy’s true talents. Besides, Justin had always been small and slight and the poor thing would have gotten pummelled if he’d ever tried to go out for football like his daddy wanted. Anyways, like I said, Craig was always hard on that boy and it only got worse after Jennifer died.”


“All that being said, the two of them muddled on pretty well for a bit after the accident. I’m sure it was hard for them though - losing a mother and wife like that. Then, about the time the boy turned seventeen, there was this huge blowup. I never did hear tell exactly what all it was about, only that my friend, Tracy, who’s a teaching assistant at the high school in Wheeling, told me that Justin got suspended for fighting with another boy and that Craig had gone ballistic when he’d had to come in to talk with the Principal.”


“After that . . . well, that’s when things got a bit strange.” Penny looked sideways at Brian and paused as if sizing him up before she told the rest of her story. “Well, I’m not sure what all happened over there, but I never did see the boy again after that . . . .” She looked at Brian conspiratorially and her voice lowered to just above a whisper, despite the fact that they were all alone in Penny’s little house. “In fact, nobody ‘round here rightly knows WHAT happened to sweet little Justin. He just seemed to disappear after that. Of course, nobody noticed anything for a few weeks - life has a way of keeping you distracted, you know - so, it wasn’t until about six weeks later, when Tracy told me that the boy hadn’t been back to school since the altercation with the Hobbs boy, that I even realized anything was wrong. The story the school had been given was that Craig was so angry at the boy, he sent him away to relatives somewheres. But, you see, that didn't strike me as right, seeing as Jennifer had told me a while back that neither she nor Craig had any relations still alive. So, I got myself up and went over there to try and talk to the man, so’s to figure out what the heck was going on. Unfortunately, Craig was already three sheets to the wind when I got there, even though it was only ten-thirty in the morning. Things really went to pot after that, let me tell you.”


Penny went on to detail how Craig had lost his job a couple months later, after he repeatedly showed up at work either hung over or downright drunk. As a result, he’d fallen behind on paying just about everyone. Craig held on for a few more years, living hand to mouth and doing odd jobs for folks around the neighborhood, but he'd turned into such a mean old drunk by that point that he eventually drove off even the most loyal of his former friends.


“Near the end, the only visitors he ever got were debt collectors. Nobody wanted nothing to do with Craig Taylor anymore. Things got so bad that most of the utilities were even shut off from time to time, which was the only time I would see him, ‘cause he'd come crawling over and ask to use the phone or fill up some buckets with water, or some such,” Penny related, clearly scandalized. “Then the county started foreclosure proceedings on account of his unpaid property taxes, and that seemed to be the last straw for the poor man.” Penny again leaned in towards Brian, physically and emotionally pulling him into her confidence with the action. “A week later, the police got an anonymous call telling them to get over to the Taylor place right away. When they got there, they found Craig sitting in his car in the driveway, his brains splattered all over the backseat and the gun he'd used still in his hand.”


“Wow. I . . . I hadn’t expected that,” Brian said, stunned to hear of the death. “Nobody told me that the former owner had killed himself. I thought they had to disclose that kind of stuff when they sold a house.”


“Normally, yes,” Penny stated officiously. “But, seeing as he did himself to death in the car, out in the driveway no less, the realty board ruled it wasn’t, technically, a death IN the house. My friend, Mary Ellen, told me there was quite a kerfluffle about it when the realtors board was talking it over, but since the county really wanted the place sold as soon as possible so’s they could finally get the taxes paid and all, they pushed it through. I’m sorry about that, son. I don’t abide by their decision. I think you should have been told.”


Again, not that Brian was superstitious or anything, but this really was disconcerting. Maybe Michael’s theories about a history of deaths in the house really weren’t that far off the mark. At the very least, it certainly explained a lot about the state the house was in when Brian bought it.


“The funny thing is,” Penny continued on with her story, “the sheriff never did find those relatives that Craig had supposedly sent his son off to live with. They tried their darnedest to find ‘em, so as to say they'd notified the next of kin, and all, but nobody could find a single soul related to either Craig or Jennifer. Some folks, after that, got all heated up about trying to find the boy again. Everything about poor Justin’s disappearance was just so odd, you know? ‘Course he’d been missing for nigh on two and a half years at that point, so it would have been a long shot anyways. My friend, Connie, whose son is a deputy sheriff, told me that there was serious discussion about searching the property for a shallow grave, but the sheriff wouldn't let them do it without some real evidence of foul play. ‘Sides, the county didn't want the property all dug up right before they was scheduled to auction it off for the taxes, and all. So, everybody just agreed to let it go. I still wonder though . . . I hope nothing untoward happened to that boy. He was so darned sweet. It would really be a terrible shame.”


If Brian had been upset at hearing that Craig Taylor had blown his brains out in the driveway, he was even less thrilled to hear that there was likely a body buried somewhere on the property. Fuck Mikey and all his B-Movie horror stories - now that Brian had the Taylors’ back story, even he was starting to believe in some of that crap. What the hell had he gotten himself into?


As that seemed to be the end of Penny’s story, Brian got to his feet and started to make his goodbyes. He thanked Penny for the refreshments and the information, adding in passing that if she ever needed anything to feel free to come by and ask. Penny, however, halted him from leaving, with a hand on his arm.


“Do you really mean that offer, son?” she asked, with a mischievous sparkle in her watery gray eyes. “If so, would you maybe help an old lady with a tiny little chore I can’t do by myself?” Brian smiled and nodded. “My, my. You sure are a sweet one, aren’t you now. Thank you so much.” Penny led Brian over to the corner where there was a shelf that was coming loose from the wall. “I’d have fixed it myself, but it’s too high for me to reach, what with my bad back and all.”


Brian knew he was cornered, of course, but took it with good grace. He ended up spending the next hour or so doing several small chores for his new neighbor, thoroughly earning his cup of coffee and piece of cake before he was through. Penny was very appreciative though, and she really did seem like a nice old lady, so he didn’t mind too much.


When he had finally done as much as he could, Penny let him escape with a promise to come back and see her soon. Brian thanked her for the coffee and the information and then made a hasty retreat. As he walked back down the lane to his own place, Brian contemplated everything he’d heard earlier. It certainly gave him a new perspective on his predicament. He still didn’t believe in ghosts, but then again, the horror story of the Taylors didn’t help dispel any of his uneasiness. And it didn’t help him with the problem of getting rid of all the junk in his basement either. He resigned himself to the idea that there wasn’t anyone left who might be interested in the boxes of memorabilia after all, and that he’d have to go back to digging through it himself. So much for that plan.

 

 

Brian made it back to his own home just before sunset, and knew that the chill he felt as he went inside through the garage door wasn’t only because of the dropping temperature outdoors. The feeling of unseen eyes tracking his return undoubtedly had something to do with it as well. Damn it! He hated this. He hated feeling so creeped out in his own fucking home.

 

And he hated to admit that, maybe, Mikey’s theory about ghosts wasn’t so far out of the realm of possibilities as he’d originally thought.

Chapter End Notes:

9/13/17 - Have I got you all totally confused yet? No? Darn. Okay, I'll keep working on that then. Lololol. TAG

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