The Haunting Of Bechdel Mansion by Roger Hayden Page B

stood there in
wonder. The man looked up at Mary, clean-shaven with a smile on his
face. He had thick white hair, neatly brushed to the side. His
dark-blue three-piece suit was a stark contrast to the woman’s
tattered and oversized clothes.
    “Hi, I’m Phil,” he said, extending his
hand.
    Mary nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Mary.
Nice to meet you.”
    The woman looked down and mumbled to
herself, her train of thought broken.
    “I apologize if ol’ Evelyn gave you a scare.
She wandered from the retirement home again.” He squeezed the
woman’s shoulder. “She’s been gone all night. The staff has been
worried sick.”
    Mary smiled. “Well, I’m glad she has
somewhere to go.”
    The man narrowed his eyes in curiosity at
her. “You and your husband just moved here, correct?”
    “Wow. Word gets around,” she said.
    “It sure does,” Phil responded.
    “That’s correct,” she said. “We arrived
yesterday.”
    “And you’re staying in the old mansion,
eh?”
    “We are. It—It’s been interesting so far,”
she said.
    Phil smiled again, exposing bright white
teeth. “I certainly hope you get settled in okay.” He paused for a
moment and stepped closer to Mary as Evelyn rocked in place
muttering. “I’m the pastor at the First Christ Church of Redwood.
Pastor Phil they call me. I sure hope you and your husband can
attend our services sometime.”
    Mary nodded politely with a smile.
    Realizing that he may have been a bit
forward, Phil backtracked. “That is… if you’re practicing members
of the faith.”
    “I’m sure we’d love to check it out
sometime,” she said.
    Phil snapped his fingers as though recalling
something. “We’re having our annual summer Barbecue next week.
Y’all should come on out and see everyone.”
    “That sounds… really nice,” she said.
    Seeming satisfied, Phil turned back to
Evelyn and took her by the hand. “It was nice meeting you Mrs.
Malone, but I gotta take ol’ Evelyn here back home.”
    “Pleasure meeting you as well,” she said,
though she didn’t recall telling him her last name.
    He waved and walked off with Evelyn in tow
and then turned around, calling out to Mary. “I look forward to
meeting your husband!”
    Mary waved back and watched as they moved
across the crosswalk to the other side of the road. A few cars
passed as she stood there thinking about the woman’s words. They
could have been the ramblings of a mentally damaged woman, or they
could mean something more. She turned back to the library, reading
to investigate and uncover whatever was behind the creeping
strangeness that seemed to follow her wherever she went.

Chapter Seven
    Unearthed
     
    Mary was glad to see that the library was,
in fact, open. There were a few rooms with rows of old bookshelves
and several empty chairs and tables in the center for patrons to
sit and read at. There was an older man at the check-out table
sitting on a stool reading a newspaper. He wore a checkered
button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and looked up at Mary
as she walked in with his rectangular-shaped glasses resting on the
tip of his nose. Inside, the library was eerily quiet as sunlight
shined through the cracks of blinds of surrounding windows. She
found the vintage aesthetic of the white plaster walls and faded
red carpet before her comforting but also felt nervous being the
only person there—so she thought.
    “Good morning,” she said to the man,
approaching his counter.
    His wrinkled face gave her a polite smile
and he eyed her like the complete stranger she was. His black,
thinning was slicked back and his skinny neck hung down in folds.
He appeared frail and skinny, and when he spoke, she detected a
northeastern accent. Like her, she assumed that everyone in town
was from somewhere else at one point, or maybe families had been in
Redwood for generations. It was exactly what she intended to find
out with the time she had to look around.
    “Morning,” he said back. “Welcome