“My husband is,” I said vaguely.
She nodded. “He’s strange, I think. My mom says stay away from him; he’s an odd one.”
“I think your mom is right,” I agreed. “He is an odd one.” Well, it was good to know I wasn’t the only one who found John unsettling. Rachel’s mother sensed it too and warned her daughter. I still didn’t understand why Archie couldn’t see it.
My cell phone rang shrilly and I glanced at it. Poplin National Bank. I wondered what they wanted. “Hello?”
“Hello, this is Alice calling from Poplin National Bank. Is this Aimee Greencastle?”
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Greencastle, there is an overdraft on your checking account this morning in the amount of two thousand, seven hundred twenty-three dollars and forty-five cents. Will you be able to cover that today?”
“Overdraft, what? How has that happened?”
“Give me a moment,” Alice said. A minute or two passed.
“Okay, your husband transferred fifty thousand dollars from the business account to the personal. That is what caused the overdraft.”
“Oh, um, I thought we had overdraft protection with our savings account.”
“No, I don’t see that you signed up for that. Do you think you could stop in and sign that agreement authorizing us to pull funds from your savings? You could do it online too if you choose.”
“I’ll come in. I’ll be there soon. Thank you, Alice.” I clicked off my phone.
I called Archie.
“Hello?”
“What’s up with the fifty-thousand-dollar transfer from the business account? It overdrew the account. The bank just called.”
“Oh, shit, sorry. I thought we had more in that account. I had to pay for that side-by-side ATV we ordered. Remember we talked about it?”
“It cost fifty thousand dollars?”
“No, but close to thirty. Then we had other expenses coming up like insurance bills and those repairs for the barn, that kind of stuff. I just thought it would be easier to transfer enough for everything.”
“Oh, okay, when do we get the ATV?”
“This weekend. It’ll be so much fun to drive around. We can even drive it into town.” Archie’s voice was tinged with excitement; it was nice to hear him so jolly.
“Okay, well I have to go to the bank to sign a paper,” I said.
“Sorry, babe. Look I’ve got to go, but I promise it’ll be worth it.” Archie hung up.
I stared at the phone, walked out to my car, and headed to the bank.
THIRTY-FIVE2023
Aimee
Blanketing the world outside my window was the first frost of the year. Icy little pockets covered the dead grass and the fields beyond creating a magical looking fairyland. A fire crackled from our living room fireplace, the mantle decorated with bright orange pumpkins, yellow gourds, and creamy white candles, softly flickering.
Archie and I nursed our coffees and ate buttered toast with apple jam. Nothing too heavy since we’d be eating a large meal later. I’d planned to make Thanksgiving dinner here, just the two of us, but John had invited us to dinner with him and his grandma, and Archie accepted, much to my annoyance, without checking with me first. I decided to brush it off and enjoy the day, even if spending time with John wasn’t something I relished. I hadn’t met his grandma yet, so hopefully she was pleasant. I told Archie I was spending two hours there, tops, and then we’re out of there. And this would be the only holiday I’d be spending with John. I could only imagine him wanting us to get matching Christmas jammies and opening presents together on Christmas morning.
Oh, hell no.
I had some serious concerns about Archie’s lack of insight toward John. He thought he was such a great guy. A good friend. But if Rachel and her mother could recognize that John was odd and to keep your distance, how was he oblivious to it? Is it only women who hold a particular instinct about certain men?
Archie got up and put another log on the fire. He settled down next to me on the sofa. “This is nice.”
“Mmmm… it is,” I agreed, sipping my coffee.
I took another bite of toast while Archie flicked through TV channels and settled on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I watched the floats travel down the street, but my mind wandered to the last two months.
So quiet.
So very quiet.
No strange gifts, or photos had arrived. Nothing unusual at the house. Life was normal, and that was weird, given the circumstances. Why would someone go to the trouble of doing those things, with the intention to scare me, I’m sure, just to disappear. All of it appeared so pointless.
And also… why disappear after Robin’s death?
I had entertained the idea, briefly, that Robin had something to do with the things that were happening to me, even though my gut told me it was Dream, but that theory held no logic. She had no ties to Listening Lark, I was certain. She would have been sixteen or seventeen and showing animals at the 4-H fair when I lived in the commune with Dream. There was no way she was leaving the strange items for me to discover. There was another possibility about the unknown individual.
That maybe they were in mourning.
For Robin.
