Beach House Mystery

Chapter 2

Morgan Seaver stood and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of her back. She"d been in a stooped-over position for far too long and knew she would pay for it later. But it was worth it; the gardens were looking beautiful. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. She was filled with a sense of pride in the accomplishment. The debris from the winter storm that had centered its attention on Pearl Island a few months earlier had long been cleared away. And the gardens were flush and full. Mother Nature had given the plant life a natural cut back, cleaning out all the deadwood and old, weak plants. Not that there had been very much to clean out. Morgan"s Aunt Meredith had taken pride in her garden, and it was always beautiful. Morgan had had little to do, but it was a wonderful excuse to get outside, and she grinned over at the young girl who sat next to her, tracing a stem across the walkway for the kitten to chase. The kitten"s front paws gave the appearance of being larger than the average cat.

"That doesn"t look like you"re working very hard to me," Morgan teased Cordelia as she watched the two of them for a moment.

The little girl grinned back up at her, her smile infectious. There was a slight gap between her front teeth that promised future dentist visits, and her long curly ringlets were pulled up in a ponytail. They both wore colorful shorts, T-shirts, and the standard island flip-flops.

"I"m just keeping Misty entertained, so she doesn"t bother the peacocks," Cordelia explained.

"Those peacocks can take care of themselves, and they are used to Misty by now. If anything, I think she amuses them. Here, hold this bag open so I can throw the trash in it and then we"ll take a break."

Morgan shook the plastic bag to open it, and Cordelia jumped to her feet to help. Between the two of them, they made quick work of the cleanup and together hauled the bags of trash to the side of the house. Firmly closing the lid of the trash can, Morgan nodded to the little girl and watched, ready to help as Cordelia lifted the steppingstone used to keep the lid on tight to stop the raccoons from digging in the trash in the twilight. Satisfied with herself, Morgan laughed as Cordelia slapped her hands together to get rid of the dirt. Putting her arm around the child"s shoulder, Morgan led the way to the front porch where she had a covered tray of cookies and bottles of cold water waiting.

"That was hard work," Cordelia said as she plopped into one of the wicker rocking chairs that faced the ocean.

Morgan handed her a drink and looked around, enjoying the soft breeze that ruffled her hair, dropping a strand of aqua over her eyes. The bright streak of color was her talisman, a whim that she never expected to last.

"Yes, it was. Thank you for helping. It’s always easier with someone pitching in."

Morgan took a deep swallow of her water and then looked around, closing her eyes for a moment, appreciating the peacefulness of the Florida mid-morning. It was her favorite season of year, spring in early April, before the heat started and the humidity rose to unbearable levels. This was the time of year when everyone"s garden was full of color and beautiful flowers. The scent of the sweet almond growing along the side of the house blended with the Confederate Jasmine that wrapped its way around the mailbox at the end of the walkway. The breeze brought in the smell of sea salt as well and the smells mixed, creating a scent only found in the south. Morgan sighed, savoring the few moments of relaxation.

"You"re Meredith Seaver, aren"t you?"

Morgan heard the breathless whisper from the little girl next to her, and her eyes popped open. Standing in front of her was the glowing figure of her Aunt Meredith. Morgan was used to her aunt"s sudden appearance, but she glanced over to Cordelia to see her reaction.

"Yes, I am Cordelia. I thought it was time I welcomed you to the Seaver house," Meredith answered the young girl affectionately, as if it was an everyday occurrence for a ghost to be standing in front of the eight-year-old.

"Thank you. I"m glad I finally get to meet you. I"ve heard a lot about you. Winnie talks about you a lot. I love the Seaver House, especially the library. I think I might"ve even seen you a few times. Do you sometimes sit in the rocking chair in my bedroom?"

Meredith smiled as she nodded, and then turned to her niece. "The gardens are looking lovely. Thank you for taking care of them, Morgan. And I see, Cordelia, that you helped a lot today too."

For a second Morgan wondered if anyone would ever believe that she and Cordelia were sitting on the front porch talking to a ghost as if it was nothing unusual. But then again, there were a lot of things that were unique about Pearl Island, so it was doubtful this would catch anyone by surprise.

"Your gardens were always your source of such great joy; it would break my heart to let them go wild. Besides, it"s excellent exercise and I"ve got a good helper," Morgan answered, smiling at Cordelia, measuring to see if the girl felt uneasy.

But Cordelia simply grinned back at Morgan and then with typical childlike candor questioned Meredith. "So, what"s it like to be a ghost? Do you come back to the Seaver house because you are supposed to haunt it, or because you like it here so much? Are you keeping an eye on Morgan? Do you help her with the battles against Cora?"

Morgan drew her breath in sharply at the last question. She wasn"t aware Cordelia knew so much, especially about the ongoing battle between her and the sea witch, Cora.

"There are so many books in the library. Can I read all of them? Would it be okay if I read the Seaver journals? I love anything to do with the island and the legend. I promise to be very careful with them." Cordelia barely even took a breath as she continued to question Meredith.

The shimmering form made her way over to another empty chair and sat down, rocking as she often did in the rocker upstairs in Cordelia"s room.

She smiled at Morgan before she answered Cordelia. "I think it would be wonderful if you explored the journals. Maybe you could help Morgan, because she sure hasn"t been very good about reading them." Meredith held her finger to stop Morgan"s protest. "I knew perfectly well that you only seem to go to the journals when you feel you need answers. But I keep telling you, Morgan, you need to study them now rather than later. There"s so much information there that can help you. So, maybe if the two of you tackled it together, you will learn all the answers."

Cordelia clapped her hands in glee, happy with the answer she"d gotten. The girl loved to read as much as Morgan did, and the library was her favorite room in the house, just as it had always been Morgan"s. Meredith grinned back at the child"s enthusiasm and then gave her niece a cautioning look before she faded from view.

"Wow, does she do that often? Just come and go with no warning? That"s pretty cool." Cordelia"s amazement over the occurrence of a ghostly visit didn"t stop her from scolding Morgan. "I think she wants you to read those books, Morgan. You could treat it like homework, just like I do, and we could do it together."

Morgan frowned for a moment, not liking that her aunt was getting Cordelia involved. Now she was being nagged at from multiple sources. But maybe they were right.

"Okay, we can treat it like homework and work on it together,” Morgan conceded. “Maybe the two of us will uncover some great secrets."

"Or maybe we"ll just find out what made Cora into such a mean sea witch." Cordelia grinned back at her.