Paranormal Mystery

  CHAPTER SIX Seaside, OR October 6, 2018, 8:00 AM     Morning came early.   My eyes were plastered shut.   “Great,” I thought.   “The perfect time to contract pink eye.   I probably caught it from the ghost.   I have a strain of haunted pink eye that won’t respond to medication and now I’ll go blind.”   I knew the thought was ridiculous, but didn’t think it was any more farfetched than the happenings of the previous night. I pulled my eyelids apart from the lower lashes, certain that I was ripping out half of them.   Getting up, I made my way to the only bathroom in the suite, turned on the light and looked at the mirror to assess the damage.   “Damn,” I thought.   “What am I supposed to do now?   Pink eye for God’s sake.   Just when I’m supposed to go back to the haunted tavern to find Megan.   Shit.”   This was not what I needed this morning. I padded out to the phone in the fr...

The next morning, things were quiet in the Benson household.   Daniel had gone down to the pool, and hadn’t come back up.   He must have slept down there in the guest room, mused Rosita.   “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she thought.   Rosita’s heart was still aching from the shameful news that had been made public last night.   Poor Matthew.   How humiliated the boy must’ve been.   And then, for him to handle it as well as he had.   Rosita knew that he was special, and she loved him all the more for it. Rosita forced herself to get dressed and go downstairs to the kitchen.   Both of her sons had school that day.   She needed to make breakfast for them, and make sure that both of them were dropped off at their respective buildings on time. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Nicholas sitting at the kitchen table with an icy stare on his face.   When she said good morning to him, he stared at her with a look com...

The doorbell rang promptly at 5:00 PM at the Benson mansion on that fateful evening.   Rosita asked Matthew to answer it.   Before he had a chance, though, Nicholas came bounding through the door, bringing the priest with him.   “Hey, Mom!” he shouted.   “Your boyfriend is here.” Rosita stuck her head out of the kitchen.   “Nicholas, don’t be such a smart mouth.   We don’t talk about a holy man that way.”   She went on.   “Father Olson, please forgive Nick for his rudeness.   It’s hard to keep two boys under control when their father is so seldom around. “I understand, Rosita,” said Father Olson with just a touch of a smile.   “I was once a young buck myself.” Matthew stood back and watched the short interchange between the three of them. “Father Olson, would you like me to take your coat?” he asked. Nicholas just snickered and walked away. “Nick, dinner is almost ready,” said Rosita.   “Please go and get washe...

  CHAPTER FIVE Oregon City, OR July 12, 2003   Nicholas and Matthew were the most unlikely of brothers.   Both took after their father, but neither was aware of it.   Nicholas was a hard-driven, frequently unkind young man with an intense energy that was difficult to lasso.   In his younger years, he played endlessly in the fields behind his house, where apple trees and pear trees now thrived.   He spent his time climbing those trees where he could watch everything that went on around him, out of the watchful eye of his mother.   Matthew, now age ten, loved helping his mother.   He took an interest in how things worked and was able to make small repairs for her in their large home.   Matthew had a protective nature and seemed to take pleasure in helping even the smallest living creatures.   One day, as he was carrying a spider outside to set it free, Nick ran up and knocked the spider out of Matthew’s hands.   ...

  CHAPTER FOUR Seaside, OR October 6, 1:00 AM             I was starting to get used to the beautiful diaphanous light in the Madam’s attic suite.   The room was mesmerizing.    It could have been photographed for a magazine.   “Maybe Victorian Homes ,” I thought.   The décor of the room went perfectly with her aristocratic clothing.   A little bit scary, but still beautiful. Madam and the Detective were staring at me as though they were waiting for me to speak, but any thoughts worth verbalizing had drained from my mind.   I moved my hand just to let them know that I was still conscious and breathing.    Finally, Madam spoke. “Let me explain what’s happened, Mrs. Edwards,” she began.   I half listened, still taking in my surroundings.   “You see, while I’m very much alive, I’m not exactly living in your realm.   There are parallel existences a...

  In 1972, when Daniel was 25 years old, his father died in a hunting accident, leaving his amassed wealth to his son.   There was no funeral for DeWayne Benson.   He’d never married again after Ruby’s death, so he had no wife to grieve his loss.    His son had been brought up to care nothing about anyone, including his father. Daniel wasted no time having his father’s body cremated.   He threw the ashes into the garbage and immediately moved into the large wing of the mansion where his father had lived. Daniel, too, acquired a law degree like his father.   He needed one, not because he cared about law, but because he had nothing better to do. He used his status as a lawyer to fill up his time.   He took on rich clients who didn’t want an ethical attorney looking into their business or finances.   In return, his wealth grew.   Caring noting about the lives he harmed while serving as a representative of the criminally rich, D...

CHAPTER THREE Oregon City, OR October 5, 11:45 PM             Nick Benson was seething.   He couldn’t believe that some schlemiel detective from Seaside, Oregon had the balls to call him and act like he’d done something wrong.   Nick had never been forced to answer for anything to anybody.   His mother and school teachers had generally treated him like a sacred artifact – something to be handled with fear and awe.   His younger brother had tried to get him in trouble with the police in the past, but it hadn’t worked.   “What a worthless little germ he is,” thought Nick.   “How dare anyone attempt to treat a Benson like such a commoner?” he asked himself angrily. Nick’s grandfather, DeWayne Benson made a fortune in illegal liquor and gambling clubs during Prohibition.   When World War II started, he began investing in various steel and munitions factories, further increasing h...