Carridelle – Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: The Governor’s Mansion

Carrie felt sure she would find something out when she headed to the Governor’s Mansion late Monday afternoon. She was hurrying. It was near four already and it closed at five. She made her way through the rooms searching for something but she was not sure she would know it when she found it. She knew though that she would find a clue in that building. After all, she had mumbled a silent prayer to Susannah the night before asking her to help her solve the mystery that still haunted her.

Carrie roamed through the local history rooms, stopping to stare at every picture and every plaque that she encountered. And yet it was almost an hour before she found anything. The last room of the museum on the second floor was like stepping back in time through some eerie portal. Carrie knew the room as if she had seen it before and yet she logically knew that is was a place she had never been to. It was a replication of the Governor’s Bedroom. Cold chills swept over her. His portrait seemed to glare down upon her, watching her every move. She moved to a case on the far side. It contained personal items of Governor Hughes. The amulet was there… the one that was traced on the onionskin that she found in the trunk. And from here she could see the side. She could see the hole big enough for the pin. She knew it was a clue, one of vital importance and she had to get to it but how?

Her answer came through the door in the form of a pimply-faced boy in a security guard uniform. He was all of sixteen or so. His voice was cracking when he spoke. “Umm miss, you will have to go now this museum is closing.”

She turned and surveyed him with her cool green eyes and she gave him her most winning smile. He recognized her immediately and fell over himself to take off his hat. “Ms. Stenson? Oh my gosh, I am such a huge fan of yours! I’ve read all your books. It is such an honor to have you here.”

“Why thank you,” Carrie replied in her sweetest voice. “But you have me at an advantage sir. I don’t know your name Mr…. umm?” She said prompting him.

“Oh, my name is Jones. I mean Freddy, well my friends call me Freddy that is.” His words tumbled out from his mouth so fast he was tripping over his tongue. Carrie decided then and there to play this little crush for all that it was worth. She would be cautious of course but she had to see that amulet.

“So Freddy it is then. Will you walk me out Freddy? I would certainly feel so much more secure and safe with you as an escort.”

Freddy squared his shoulders and righted his hat. He offered her the crook of his arm and he stood about nine feet taller when she accepted it.

“I bet you have lots of girlfriends just because you have this job?”

“Umm no ma’am, I mean yes ma’am well maybe one or two but none of them are as pretty as you.” He blushed at the last words and could not believe they fell out of his mouth.

The closer to the door they got, the more aggressive her tactic became. “So Freddy, I bet you know all sorts of little tidbits about this museum that no one else knows.”

“I guess I do ma’am,” he said as he took his hat off of his head and rubbed the brim of it between his fingers.

“Well then, perhaps you could help me. I’m writing a book about this very place, and I would love a private tour. Think you could wrangle one for me some night after work?”

“Well I’m not supposed to but I close by myself on Friday so I could give you a tour then.”

“Alright then Freddy. It’s a date.” She told him to seal the deal and blew him a little kiss as she walked off. Sometimes being a woman has advantages.

Carrie longed for Friday. There were no visits from Charlie this week, not even a phone call. It was as though he was deliberately keeping her at bay. And perhaps upon consideration he was indeed.

It was a slow week but as she closed her eyes on Thursday night, all she could think about was that on the next evening she would hold another piece to her puzzle. Sleep came easy for her. She was exhausted, but the night has a way of terrifying you. And in the middle of the night, Carrie shot up with a start. She thought she was dreaming at first. Then as her senses came alive, she realized there was something in the room with her. It was dark, very dark, but she could just make out a figure looming in front of her. Carrie could not breathe. It came closer still, a dark shadow of a man… huge. He stood over her and his hands came down over her mouth and throat. She could feel his touch pinning her to the pillow, but she was sure he was not real. She could not scream, she struggled to open her mouth, but no sounds came. Her limbs were heavy, immobile. Her blankets felt like they were lined with weights, paralyzing her. Carrie continued to fight, thrashing about until she could free her hands from their cloth prison. She reached up and pushed back against him, but nothing was there. Just freezing cold air lingered. She struggled to catch her breath, finally vocalizing a small scream.  It was so real, so frightening. Had she been able to see her reflection in the mirror, she might have seen the swollen red marks around her mouth and neck. Carrie timidly turned on her bedside light. Exhausted, she rolled over and hugged the extra pillow, trying with all her might to push that experience out of her head.