“Let’s explain to Angela what’s going on, and then you can give us what you found.” Everyone nodded, and Callie waved at me to begin. “Jeremiah Bellowes was one of the Hawkhurst smugglers. He ran with them for about ten years before he disappeared. There were rumours he’d been murdered, but the body was never found. Many witnesses were questioned, including Thomas Kingsmill, who was rumoured to have killed him.”
“Okay,” Angela nodded.
“We believe Jeremiah was so shocked at his murder, he crossed over weak and was ignored by the living and the dead. Something triggered Jeremiah to become stronger. Once he got that initial burst of energy, Jeremiah kept growing until we’re where we are today.”
Callie nodded. “Sunny and I went into the archives. We discovered Bellowes had a family which still lives in Rye today. Sunny and I took a ride to visit them. They had a load of information. Jeremiah was well known to his family as a rogue and was indeed one of the smugglers. But where the Hawkhurst gang operated out of the Oak and Ivy pub in Hawkhurst, Jeremiah was recruited to work the Mermaid Inn.
“They operated here for fourteen years before being arrested. For six of those years, contrary to belief, Jeremiah ran the Mermaid Inn part under Thomas Kingsmill. But Jeremiah got greedy, and Thomas suspected he was skimming. He set up a trap, and Jeremiah tripped it. The family is convinced that Thomas killed Jeremiah for revenge. They’ve no idea where he’s buried. All they know is Kingsmill delivered a locked trunk tothem and told them never to open it, as it was cursed. The family still holds superstitions regarding it and kept it shut.” Callie broke off.
Maintaining eye contact, I sensed the hammer was about to fall.
Chapter Six.
Haunt
“They’ve fallen on some hard times and put the trunk up for auction. But a couple came along and offered a private sale at double the auction price. They took it because they needed the money. There was some emotional manipulation involved. The guy claimed that as it belonged to a little-known person, it wouldn’t fetch much at auction. And there were no authentication papers, etc. They did a number on the family,” Sunny continued.
“Chauncey and Gloria,” I said, and Callie and Sunny nodded.
“Bastards!” several of us exclaimed.
“Worried Chauncey might be right; they sold it to him,” Sunny finished.
“Let me guess, they brought it straight here?” I said.
Everyone glanced at Angela, who was pale. “Gloria stated she’d found the trunk at a car boot sale and believed it would be appropriate for the inn. I accepted the gift, believing it was genuinely meant.”
“Shit. What room is it in?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“Mrs Betts,” Angela replied.
“Angela, come on, show us which trunk it is,” I said, helping her up. Angela guided them toward Mrs Betts’ room, then opened its door. A frown crossed her face as she gazed around.
“It’s not here,” she murmured.
“Shit, I think I know what happened,” I ground out and left the room and headed for the Kingsmill suite. I opened the door, and it slammed back in my face.
I shoved back harder, and the door flew open. Tucked in a corner, a trunk sat with a lamp on it. It was ancient, easily dating back to the seventeenth century.
“Was that here before?” I asked Angela, pointing.
“That’s the trunk,” Angela confirmed.
“What an asshole. Chauncey stuck Jeremiah’s trunk in the room named after his murderer,” I murmured as I approached. I frowned at the heavy lock. “Was that there before?”
“Yes. Gloria said the family hadn’t ever removed it. I’ve no idea what’s locked inside.”
I swapped a glance with Ghoul, who was frowning at the trunk.
“Something dark is inside that, and Gloria knew it,” he said firmly.
“Guess we’ve gotta open it,” I muttered.
“No! I need to think about that first. There’s a reason it’s been locked for so long,” Angela interrupted.
While I really wanted to break that damn thing open, the trunk was Angela’s property, and I wouldn’t disrespect her. That led to us getting a bad reputation and having gigs cancelled.
“Okay.”
