The Estate in the Woods

By Luci

A wealthy family lives in large mansion in the Northern Adirondack Mountains.
A girl of 13 and a boy of ten moves there with their mother after the death of their father.
They discover their uncle Arthur has been abusing his wife, dealing in drugs, and wanting a gambling chip that the girls father had, but where is it now?
Sara has found paranormal happenings are on the estate.
Murder,betrayal, and mystery hit the family on the Sommers estate.
A journal is found and Sara, found secret rooms behind walls where a ghost walks the walls. What does she want with Sara? Time will tell. Will her brother and cousins help her discover the truth behind the mystries?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465355430

Luci

I am 72 years and have spent most of my life working in the health field. Besides that have had many children in my care. I have four children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. I have a degree in freelance writing, an associate in Nursery Education. I have received a degree in the highest from Stratford Learning direct, for in creative writing. I ran a daycare for three years then worked with the mentally and physically handicapped for ten years. I have written many short stories and poems. I also have written a picture and written history of my families. I live in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains with my husband, and our pet, a rat terrier.

Book preview

Copyright © 2005, 2011 by Luci.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011915473

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4653-5542-3

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-5543-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Afterword

Mystery, betrayal, and murder hit the family on the Sommers’s estate in the 1960s.

Sitting back in the woods in the town of Gooseneck, located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, is a forty-room mansion. Sara Jane North; her brother, Sam; and their mother, Geri, stood in front of the mansion they would call home. After the death of the children’s father, Geri didn’t have a choice but to come back to the family estate.

In tears, Sara’s mother told her children, Life is like an open door. When one door closes, another one opens.

The first thing Sara did was to open a new journal and record the lives of her loved ones on the estate. There were nineteen residents on the Sommers’s estate. The estate consisted of a riding stable, a garden nursery, a lumber mill, a sugar bush, and a hill named Heaven’s Gate.

Sara would discover a picture of a woman that she had dreamed of over the years in a secret attic. It was the ghost of Sarah Sommers, the first lady of the estate. What did she want of the young Sara North? She would guide Sara to riches that she had hidden in secret panels on the estate. There would be golden snails that would open doors for Sara. Wondering why the house seemed larger on the outside than on the inside, Sara would find secret rooms, passageways, and stairways behind the walls. Sara would discover many journals telling the history of the estate and the ancestors that started the estate in 1814. With the help of their cousin Andy, Sara and Sam were bound to find out what caused the death of their father and why. They were certain that their uncle Arthur was involved.

Two bumbling men that Sara and Sam’s uncle Arthur hired would try to find a gaming chip the mafia wanted hidden on the estate.

A legend that their great-grandfather Samuel told the children was about a black marble statue in the woods that would protect the estate and all who lived on it.

After a break-in, their grandfather Harold bought a tan-and-white collie for the children—to protect them. The children would teach the collie to sound as if it talked and to search, rescue, and protect.

A snowstorm nearly takes the lives of the children. The dog, Boozer, after being shot, made his way back to the mansion for help. He helps Nathan McCabe, a friend of the children, find them.

Sara and Sam’s mother, Geri, finds love again. She will marry Colt Brady.

Wendell, the son of Sally and Arthur, reveals about domestic violence in their home. His mother, Sally, died of a broken heart, and his father died in prison. Did the ghost of Sarah Sommers cause his death?

After the great-grandparents die, the family struggles to cope.

Will Sara finally discover the true meaning of the resident ghost? Does Joe tell her?

Is it ghosts, or is it alter egos that fill Sara’s mind?

The characters in this novel are of my own imagination.

This fiction can be a spellbinding mystery/murder novel.

Respectfully,

Luci

Acknowledgments

I want to thank my family for their support and belief in me:

To my husband for putting up with me at the computer and for his memories of the North Country.

To my youngest granddaughters, Sarah and Melissa, who inspired me to give the book its name.

To the Saint Regis Falls Historians Association newsletters for the snippet of ideas I extracted from them.

I give my thanks to my niece, Sally Powell Hardin, for all her help.

To my readers, the mistakes in this book are unique—they are mine.

Like branches of a maple tree

Stretching out, dropping its seeds

Blowing them in the wind

To the four corners of the earth, sprouting its seedlings

To give birth

To rise again

To take shape

For a new beginning

Chapter 1

SPRING OF 1966

Robins gathered along the sides of the mile-long driveway, hunting for food. Geese sang songs of return, and tulips popped their heads up from the ground. Soon they would show their colors of beauty. Buds on maple trees springing to life stopped the sugar season. It was the first time on record that spring weather sprung in the eighties.

Geri drove in, and she, Sara, and Sam stepped out. They stood before the forty-room mansion they would call home. Sara North let out a gasp, thinking this looked like a picture postcard. She thought that every time they came here.

Two years before, she had an unexpected, earth-shattering experience when her father died. After his death, Sara knew her life was about to change. Now she was going to live in a town with a population of 1,500. What will the school be like back here in the sticks? She wanted to return to Spokane where she had had friends.

Sara looked at her brother, Sam, as he did a 360 turn and sputtered about, naming the place the Big House. Then he stopped and stared when Mrs. Fish stepped out onto the wraparound porch. She was short; her hair was gray and pulled back into a bun. Gold wire glasses sat on the edge of her nose.

Mrs. Fish, her mother said and smiled as she climbed onto the porch. I’m so glad to finally make it home. She turned to her children, who were behind her.

Sara whispered, Does she remember us?

Geri nodded. Mrs. Fish took care of me when I was your age, and she’s a great cook.

Sam spoke, Like you, Mom?

She’s better, Sam.

He smiled.

Mrs. Fish’s laughter and voice sounded like the tinkling of bells. I’ll be your friend for life. Her periwinkle-blue eyes seemed to smile as she spoke. She turned to Sara. It has been over seven years ago since you were here.

Sara squeezed her eyes closed for a moment then opened them slowly after they walked into the foyer. She took in the sight. She pushed her honey-blond hair from her eyes and looked at the high ceiling. Sara glanced to her right at a walk-in closet and remembered. She had studied about the furniture in homemaking class. She had pictures of her in the foyer. There was a Tiffany lamp sitting on a tulipwood table. An eighteenth-century Salone armchair was pushed back into a corner. A blue scatter rug lay on the hardwood floor. Pictures of mountains and streams dotted the walls.

She followed her mother down a hall to a kitchen where a table was set with green-and-white Old English china. Glass goblets were lined up with silverware in front of blue napkins. Salt and pepper shakers in the form of cows sat in the middle of the dark maple table. To the right of the table was a doorway to the hall, and to the left was an archway to the dining room. There were floor-length cupboards, a refrigerator, and a combination gas/woodstove. A door went to the apartment where Mr. and Mrs. Fish resided. A sliding glass door opened to a back patio, and to the right of the door was a pantry.

While Geri and the kids slid into the chairs at the table, Mrs. Fish pulled out a tray of egg-and-olives sandwiches. Then she went back for a pitcher of milk.

Sara asked for a sandwich with her hands pointing at the tray.

Aha, Mrs. Fish explained, she talks with her hands like Lance did.

Geri laughed. Lance could never keep his hands still. They can’t either.

As Sara ate, she could almost hear her father saying, Sometimes all good things have to end. However, why did his life have to end? Sara remembered hearing her mother talking to a friend that something was fishy about the way her father died. After she heard that, she was bound to find out the hows and whys of his death. First things first, they needed to move back to Gooseneck. Her mother said they didn’t have a choice but to move. They needed her family.

Will she still have the dreams of a woman on a white horse here in New York? Will she be frightened when she sees the woman’s eyes and the wolf beside her? Then she let out a deep sigh, thinking maybe she’d see her cousins more now.

Lisa and Wendell were at the funeral with her aunt Sally and uncle Arthur. Her uncle Joe, aunt Sherri, and cousins Lori, Rose Marie, and Andy were there too. Maybe they’d all visit now. She brought her attention back when she heard Mrs. Fish speak.

My mister will be happy now there are kids here again. He loves kids.

Geri set her glass down on the table and glanced up. Where is everyone?

Ah… I think your grandfather is at the sugar bush, and your grandmother is resting. You knew your mother and father are on vacation, didn’t you? They’ll be back in a couple of days.

Forty minutes later, Sara followed Geri and Sam to a side parlor. On the back side of the room was an open stairway that widened at the top to an open room. As they walked upstairs, Sara listened to her mother as she was remembering.

I used to slide down this banister when I was young. Unlike Joe and Sally, I never got caught.

As they walked into the open room, Sara glanced at the walls done in a knotty light pine with darker pine woodwork. A light-blue carpet covered the floor. On one wall was a gallery of pictures. She recognized them.

Looking out the large bay window, she could see the side lawn and a dirt road flanked by trees. She looked at the steps going to the attic.

Maybe we’ll go up there this time, she said, pointing to the stairs. Mom never let us go before without Grandpa Sam.

It’s a storage attic, Sara, where Grandpa used to have a train. I doubt it’s still there though. He did take good care of it, Geri said as though she knew what Sara was about to say.

Geri showed them a bath just off the room and two bedrooms. She walked across the room and opened a door that led them to a long hallway.

Wait, Mom, Sara said and stopped by a door mirror by the bathroom. I like this, she said as she touched the rocaille scrolls running down each side of the mirror.

Don’t touch that, Sara, she said when Sara started to rub the side.

Oh, okay. And she followed her mother down the hall. She never let her touch that mirror. I might now that I’m here to stay.

You can have your pick of rooms, Geri said and pointed as she started down the hall.

When they stayed here before with her cousins, they all stayed in the rooms down this hall. Four bedrooms had a full-sized bed with a high maple headboard and footboard and two maple nightstands, a highboy dresser, an overstuffed chair, and a straight chair. Four bedrooms had twin beds with maple head and footboards and a highboy dresser. They also had two maple nightstands, and all eight rooms had walk-in closets. Each bedroom had a bath.

Sara picked the bedroom at the end of the hall. She stood back and studied the mauve wallpaper with tiny flowers. She glanced at the bedspread and drapes. Ugh! she thought. I’m changing them. She stepped out and went across the hall to Sam’s room. His room had little footballs and helmets on the light-blue wallpaper. Sara knew he’d keep his room clean now. She went back into her room, opened the drapes, and let out a squeal of delight. She had her very own balcony. When Sam dashed into her room, she laughed at his expression. Now aren’t you sorry you didn’t pick this room? Look, Sam, I can see the woods, a pool, and—what’s that? She pointed at the roof.

Are you looking out the bedroom window, Sara?

No, Mom, I’m on the balcony. I’m looking at… a tower?

Well, Sara, that’s because it is a tower. She walked into Sara’s room. And, Sam, no, you can’t go up there, you’ll get hurt. She watched him hunch his shoulders and flop onto Sara’s bed.

Sara walked back into the bedroom and over to the closet. She opened the sliding doors and gasped. Look, Sam, it’s bigger than my room back home. She couldn’t believe all the room she had in the dresser either. She’d never fill these drawers.

I know, Sam said and followed Geri out of the room and down the hall.

Sara followed and, at the door of her mother’s room, leaned against the doorjamb.

Really, Mom, what are we going to do here? We can’t even see the road from here. Why can’t we go home? It was always a great place to visit—but to live here?

Geri shook her head. Sara, haven’t we discussed this before? This is home now. You’ll be fine. When you go to school, you’ll find friends. She left the room and headed downstairs. Sam was right behind her.

Mom, wait for us.

Back in the kitchen, Sara slid into a chair, rested her elbows on the table, and cupped her hands around her face. She watched Sam pull out his chair and scraped the legs on his chair onto the floor. A smile started at the corners of Sara’s mouth when Geri glared and scolded Sam.

Sara followed him with her eyes as he stood and walked over to a man who had just walked in and sat in a rocker by the door. Sam asked him if he was a grandpa too.

The man chuckled. Ya want me ta be? Maybe be another grandpa ta ya? I bet you’re Sam. No, I’m just Mr. Fish.

Sara smiled. He would ask him the same thing every time they were here. Her mother had explained Mr. Fish came from the mountains in the south, or Sam would have said something to hurt his feelings.

Geri touched Sara’s arm. This kitchen hasn’t changed one bit. The furniture was made from trees out back. When the corners of Sara’s mouth turned down, her mother asked, Want another history lesson? Sara covered her face with her hands and groaned.

No, but I have a feeling I’ll get one anyway—again. Go ahead, Mom, I’m listening.

Geri laid her hand on Sara’s arm. Samuel Sommers made all the furniture in this place. I understand in eighteen hundred and sixteen, he sent to England for the plans. There’s a journal around here somewhere if you can find it. She laughed, making the laugh lines around her eyes deepen. Want more?

Geri moved her hand from Sara to Sam to stop him from slapping the prisms of light from the chandelier that was hitting the table. The sound was annoying. It never took much for Sam to annoy anyone. Geri glanced up at the light. Sally and I used to clean this one and the other ones in the house. I’ll help you two clean the first one, and then you’re on your own.

Sam punched his finger on his chest. Me! No way, Mom, that’s woman’s work!

That’s okay, Mom, Sara interrupted. You can clean them, and I’ll watch. Sara stretched her arm across the table and rested her head onto her arm. She snapped her head up when she heard a gurgling sound. What’s that?

Geri laughed. It’s the hot water in the pipes. Sally, Joe, and I used to make up stories to match the sounds.

What entertainment, Sara said as though she was talking to the air. She looked at Sam, Want to go outside or upstairs?

Upstairs, he answered and slid out of the chair.

Chapter 2

Mrs. Fish waited until they were alone before she turned to Geri. Let me get us a cup of tea and then tell me what happened. She went to the cupboard and pulled out two cups and saucers. I have a new kind, she said, holding up a box of orange-spice tea. It’s really good. She set the cups on the table, went to the stove, and turned on the burner. The flame flared up before it calmed down to an even flame under the tea kettle. She sat across from Geri, looking at the same honey-colored hair and sparkling blue eyes as Sam and Sara’s.

When Geri was Sara’s age, Mrs. Fish had been her rock. She wanted the same for Geri’s kids. She removed the wrapper from the tea bag and put it into the cup and poured in water. She would listen to Geri’s story. She raised her teacup to her lips and nodded.

It’s a long story. At eight that morning, a police officer came to the door, saying there had been an accident. Geri twisted the cup around in her hands. He always said nothing would ever happen to him. You know Lance, he thought he was invincible. That morning he was in a hurry because he had to pick up our friend Robin on the way. I told him to be careful because it had started to sleet and it was foggy. His brakes… failed, and he hit a car head-on. She twisted the cup around in her hands again. I know he was upset over President Kennedy dying, but I know that didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Lance. The FBI thought that it did. She shook her head. How stupid to think that.

Wait a minute, Geri, Mrs. Fish said, went to the stove, and brought back the tea kettle. She filled their cups with hot water and took the kettle back to the stove. She sat back down.

Geri dunked her tea bag then squeezed it and placed it on the saucer. She took a sip while glancing at Mr. Fish sleeping in his rocker. Suddenly, he let out a great snore and jerked awake. He started rocking as if he never were asleep and then dozed off again. Geri turned back to Mrs. Fish and sighed.

The kids were getting ready for school when they heard the officer. I thought Sara was going to pass out. Sam just looked at the officer for a minute and then ran for his room. The next days were a blur. I don’t remember calling Mom and Dad, but suddenly, they were there. Geri focused on a burn plant on a windowsill over the sink. It’s a good thing they were there because they calmed the kids down, especially Sara. She’s getting better now, but for a while, she was in her own world.

Mrs. Fish patted Geri’s hand and then wiped her own tears as she watched tears stream down Geri’s face. She pointed at the cup. You want another? Geri held her hand over her cup and shook her head. She pushed the cup back.

I wished the FBI could have told me more. However, they never do. All they’d say is his work is classified. I do know they were around a lot. They even followed us to Ohio for the funeral. The media hounded us day and night, so we had to get away. She held back a sob. Three months after Lance died, his parents died. It was as though they couldn’t cope with losing him. They were both in their late seventies and were ill. She glanced at Mrs. Fish. "Maybe I was wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to go back to Ohio for their funeral. I had my lawyer take care of everything. I talked to Lance’s sister and told her I’d sign off everything. She took care of them all the time anyway, they should have everything. His parents were well-off. They did leave Sara and Sam a little money in bonds, but I wouldn’t take anything.

Back to us, she said, there was one man that looked as if he came from… well, he was creepy. He scared Sam half to death. Sam kept saying he saw the same man on our way here. Of course, I don’t believe him. Some things Sam comes up with, well, I think he dreams things.

I’m glad you’re home, Geri. Samuel or your father won’t let anything happen to you or the kids. They’ll deal with whoever comes around. Now what about your friend, Robin, isn’t it? Geri nodded.

Robin and her husband were in the same division as Lance. They were good people. Geri sighed, ran her hand through her hair, and then folded her hands on the table. If only I could find out what they were working on, maybe I’d have some answers. She looked at Mrs. Fish. You know, the police said that there were suitcases in the car too. I don’t believe that for a minute because all that was returned was an empty briefcase. But what happened to the things in the briefcase? Besides, Lance would never leave us. She stretched her arms out in front of her and then hunched her shoulders. For the life of me, I can’t understand the way Arthur acted at the funeral. He was so distant—or guilty—over something. It was something he said, or the way he said it makes me feel that he was in Spokane when Lance died. When I questioned Arthur, he said I was crazy—going over the edge. He wouldn’t stay at the house or let Sally or the kids. They stayed at a motel and left right after the funeral.

Mrs. Fish rubbed the fingers of her left hand over her chin. What did he say?

That he didn’t do anything. Why would he say that if he wasn’t there? When I questioned Sally, she didn’t know. The corners of her mouth curved in a grin. Sally told me once she could tell when Arthur was lying. He’d blink fast. Well, he blinked fast.

Mrs. Fish frowned. Never did like that man. Sally could have done much better.

Geri let out a half laugh. I don’t like him either. She paused a minute or maybe two. "Sam told me he watched the men that talked to Arthur. They were the ones that had talked to his father once. He said his father was very angry and did a lot of pointing at them.

Arthur had called them Lector and Henry Simon. They were asking Arthur about a chip and who had the briefcase. When Arthur noticed Sam, he told him to get lost. She threw her hands up in the air. Enough of this. Sara is better. Sam is better, and I’m getting there. She turned her head slightly when she heard a noise in the dining room. It was an echo of footsteps on the hardwood floor.

When she looked up, she saw her grandfather walk in. He hadn’t aged a bit. He still had his full head of white hair, only the laugh lines around his deep blue eyes deepened a little. She never remembered him without his wide red suspenders. She jumped up. Grandpa Sam, hi.

I’m glad you’re home, Geri, he said and hugged her. Then he stood