Chapter 1
I was working at Perilgate Cemetery before we retired. It is a large cemetery with a crematorium in the city of Tymesup. I enjoyed my job at Perilgate. You would think it a depressing place to work, but the office was in a serene location, with trees, grass, and manicured gardens. I didn't think I could be in the cemetery after dark, but Hector, my boss, persuaded us to move into the beautifully renovated cottage. For some strange reason, Darryl, my husband, was keen. I must admit the cottage was gorgeous with its sandstone facade and modern interior, so we moved, and I kept my doubts to myself.
I didn't mind working in the cemetery during the day, but nights were a different kettle of fish. I had visions of the residents coming out after dark, getting up to mischief. Despite being in the cemetery, the interior of the cottage was warm and inviting.
We then started having ghostly visitors who needed help to move on. Fortunately, the ghosts who visited us in the caretaker's cottage were more like Casper and his friends, but my husband could not see them. He could only see objects moving around the house on their own and me doing strange things, which was not completely out of character. These same levitating objects were the reason my phone rang this day.
Early March, after our December retirement, my phone interrupted the Monday morning peace. I wasn't expecting a call. Eve's name popped up on the display, and memories flooded back. After my retirement, Eve assumed my position at work and residency in the caretaker’s cottage.
Eve and Larry, her husband, were in their early forties and into sport in their spare time. Hector enticed them to move into the caretaker's cottage, as he did us. The cottage was hard to resist with its architecturally modernised interior and sandstone exterior. Hector, her/our boss, was easy to get along with and Eve excelled at the job, so I was puzzled over her call.
“It's Eve, from work.” I said to Darryl before answering.
“Hello, Eve. What can I do for you?”
“I have a strange question?”
“Okay.”
“Did you ever see objects levitating in the cottage? It is freaking us out.”
Oh NO! It’s started again!
“Don't worry about it, Eve. There is some sort of static electricity in the area.” I lied.
“How weird. Can you make it go away?”
“If you like, I can come over and settle it down. I will get the key from you while you are at work and go work my magic.”
“Does it happen often?”
“No, it is very rare.” I hoped.
“You might have to show me your trick.”
“If it happens again I will, but I don't think it will.”
I drove to the cemetery and walked into the office. My ex-workmates greeted me as I walked through and tapped on Hector's door.
“Hello Hector, how is life in the cemetery now that I have gone.” A bit of a pun on words .. “life” in a cemetery.
“Quieter, Shelley.” He grinned.
“No more murders, then?”
“None, thank goodness. What brings you here?”
“Just helping Eve with something.”
“Nice to see you again.”
“You too. How is Margaret?”
“Fighting fit now. Is Darryl enjoying retirement?”
“Yes, we both are.” I continued on to see Eve and retrieved the key.
After some chit-chat, she handed me the key. “I will bring it back soon.”
When I arrived at the house, I opened the front door and walked through to the living area. This is where I saw the reason for the levitating objects.
“Hello, who are you?” I.confronted the visitor.
“George. Can you see me?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Finally. The other two were just freaked out when I tried to show them that I was here.”
“Do you blame them? They can't see you.”
“Yeah, I s'pose so.”
“Okay George, you have to leave these people alone. Please pass the word around the cemetery's underground network that the new residents cannot help you to move on. Will you do that for me?”
“Only if you do something for me.”
Here we go again. I thought I was past this when I retired and moved from the cottage! “Let me guess. You can't move into the light until I rectify something.”
“How did you know?”
Been there, done that! “What is keeping you here, George?”
“It's me wife. She is buried in the wrong grave.”
I took a seat opposite George. “George, that is a tall order. We can't just go around digging up graves and moving bodies, there is a lot involved with an exhumation. It is not musical chairs, you know.”
“The icy wind whistles through me when I go across to visit her and the air chills my bones. It is not right that I have to travel to see her. It is not like we are dating teenagers rendezvousing for time together. She is my wife and belongs with me.”
“I understand George. Is there someone else in with you?”
“Yeah. It is some foreign woman. I can't understand a word she says. She is driving me nuts with all her chatter. My wife says she has the same problem. The man she was buried with doesn't speak English either.”
“I don't know if I can help you, George, but there does seem to be an error.”
“My wife told me that crazy Charlie at Omega Funerals swapped the two women into each other's coffins.”
I shuddered. His story reminded me of when I used to walk in my lunch break and stumbled upon a string of dead bodies. One of these bodies was Michelle, the woman Charlie murdered.
At the mention of Charlie, my hackles rose and so did my goose bumps. He was the one who threw me into the cold storage at Omega Funerals, and, I wasn't alone. Thank goodness I had a dinner date that night with Darryl, otherwise I would have remained there all night with the other temporary residents.
“I believe Charlie is capable of doing what you say, but we need proof before we can go about opening graves.”
George tapped his bottom lip and his brows furrowed while he thought.
“My wife, Beryl, she said there was a young bloke with Charlie who tried to tell Charlie what he was doing was wrong.”
“Okay, that helps. There is a witness. What is your last name, George?”
“Nyles.”
“Does your wife go by your name?”
“Of course, she does.” George looked at me as though I asked a stupid question.
“Where is your grave and where is your wife buried?”
“We are both in the lawn cemetery, number three. You will find my headstone easy enough, but my wife Beryl is buried at the headstone for Joseph and Maria Farrugia.”
“Okay George, I might be able to work with that information, but you need to stay away from this house and tell the others not to visit either. I will meet you at the fountain if I need to talk to you again.”
“Thank you for listening.”
After George departed, I took a moment to savour the surroundings, and I was reminded of the reason we took up residence. The blend of old and new was in perfect harmony, shutting out the cemetery beyond its walls. Well, mostly. With a sigh, I turned and locked the front door before leaving.
I drove back to the cemetery office and gave Eve her keys back. “All sorted, Eve. You shouldn't have the problem again.”
“Wonderful. Larry and I will both appreciate that. We are loving the home.”
“Yes, it is beautiful.” As I walked out, my old workmates waved goodbye.
Since I was in the cemetery, I drove to the children's graves and spoke to Maddi in her resting place. I still had her colouring book and remembered fondly the hours she sat at the bench colouring while I cooked dinner.
I visited other children’s graves abandoned over time, then I stopped at the fountain and sat in the shade of a tree. It was such a peace place with birds chirping and the sound of the water trickling from the fountain into the pond below.
