Jack grunted. “I think we can go up there but be careful of this step.” He tapped his knuckle on the second step. “It’s got a soft spot.”
Gus stood and cautiously climbed the flight, taking care to not put his full weight on each step. He stopped at the top and turned. “It’s okay for now, but it’ll need some work. I’ll have the guys start on the staircases first.”
Jack grabbed Charli’s hand. “Come on,” he urged as he drew her along with him.
At the top of the third floor, Charli turned to the left. “If I remember right, Aunt Dottie’s bedroom was down here.”
Jack followed Gus to the spiral staircase straight ahead. “Okay. I’ll be down there in a minute. Watch out for soft floorboards.”
Walking down that hall brought back so many memories to Charli and they flashed through her mind like highlights on a newsreel—memories filled with fun and laughter. She rubbed her chest as she slowly opened the door to the far bedroom. She cringed as the hinges squealed a protest, the noise echoing throughout the room.
Not surprisingly, like all the other rooms, it was completely bare except for one large antique picture hanging on one wall.
Charli stuck her head into the large walk-in closet, finding nothing. She walked to the window that looked out over the newly renovated garden, wondering what her aunt would think about the progress they had made so far.
She jumped and swiveled at a shuffling noise directly behind her, but nothing was there. She pursed her lips...probably a mouse infestation on top of everything else. They’d need to hire an exterminator once the restoration was far enough along.
Looking across the room, she eyed the lone picture hanging on the wall and stepped closer to get a better look. The picture was clearly very old and the girl in the photo had probably been seventeen or eighteen.She wore a flowing high-necked gown covered in lace. Her light hair had been styled in a loose bun with a delicate veil perched at the top of her head. She held a small bouquet of roses that may have been white or pink at her waist, making Charli believe that this was either an engagement or wedding photo. The girl was delicately beautiful and haunting.
But what truly made the photo compelling was the deep sadness in the girl’s eyes, as if the weight of the world were on her small shoulders. It was normal for subjects not to smile in most antique photos, but this felt different. This girl had experienced real loss, and Charli couldn’t look away.
She shrieked as hands closed on her shoulders. Jack chuckled softly in her ear. “It’s just me.”
Charli huffed out a breath and turned to peer up at him. She nudged his belly with her elbow. “You scared me. Do you always have to walk around so quietly?”
Jack’s eyes were on the photo as he responded. “I wasn’t quiet.” He glanced at Charli briefly before turning back to the girl in the picture. “I called your name several times.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is the only thing in here. Do you know who this is?”
Jack nodded and was quiet for a moment as he studied the photo. “This is Amelia, right before her death.”
A chill shot through Charli at his words and she turned back to the photo. For a moment, her throat constricted with anguish at the sadness etched into Amelia’s face. “She seems truly heartbroken. I can almost feel it.”
Charli rubbed her chest again as if to alleviate the ache. The tremendous sense of despair from this photo was palpable and she could practically feel this girl’s deep, gut-wrenching sorrow.
Jack sighed. “If my timing is right, she would have learned of her lover’s death just before this photo was taken.” He shrugged. “We really don’t know much about her.”
Just as she opened her mouth to ask Jack another question, a long, low, mournful sob echoed throughout the house. Charli’s eyes bulged and goosebumps popped out on her arms. She whirled into Jack and clutched at him.
Panic shot through her chest. “What the hell was that?” she whispered fiercely.
Jack’s mouth was a firm line and his eyes were somber. His gaze was intense and he studied her for a moment before responding. “I think that was Amelia,” he whispered back. His handssmoothed up and down her arms in a gesture that was meant to be soothing, but Charli felt anything but comforted.
A thundering of steps pounding down the spiral staircase made Charli shriek and pull herself even closer to Jack.
“Jack!” Gus shouted from down the hallway.
“Yeah?” Jack answered, keeping an arm around Charli.
“Holy shit, man! Did you guys hear that?” Gus asked, his eyes wide and panicked. In other circumstances, it would have been funny to see such a big man so frightened.
A frantic giggle bubbled up in her throat, but Charli fought it down as she bobbed her head, pressing her lips together.
“We did,” Jack answered. “I think Amelia is letting us know that she’s here.”
Gus scratched his head as he looked up at the ceiling. “Man, that was the weirdest damn thing I’ve ever experienced. I checked the stairs and got up into the Widow’s Walk. It was fine at first and then everything got cold—like fucking freezer cold, Jack—as if someone had cranked down the air conditioner as low as it could freaking go.” His face was pinched with fear.
Jack gaze narrowed, and he replied. “There’s no air conditioner in the Widow’s Walk and nothing has run in this house for several years.”
