Page 26 of Dead Rattled
“Well, ridiculous or not, here we are.”
“Hey, Ten,” Jace said, walking into the living room. “Fitzy said you wanted to see me.”
“I do.” Ten took a deep breath. “When you started the process to buy this house, did you have someone trace the title?”
Jace nodded. “Yeah, I have it on my phone. I scheduled the inspection after the title came back clean. Why are you asking me this?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. In the meantime, can you read the last name of people who owned this house tracing back to 1900 or so?”
“Sure, the house was bought brand new in 1945 by Anthony Savini. The title was transferred to Andrew Savini in 1970. The house stayed in his name until he sold it in…”
“1973,” Jude, Ronan, and Ten said together.
“How the hell did you know that?” Jace asked, looking dazed.
“Has Fitz told you about the case we’re working with the empty graves at Angel of Mercy Cemetery?”
“Just bits and pieces. Something about a baby being sold and the mother being told it had died.”
“Right,” Ronan agreed. “We were doing some leg work on the case this morning, researching people who worked at St. Agnes House around the time the baby was stolen.”
“A woman named Kitty Maxwell was the nurse present at that child’s birth,” Jude said. “In the process of uncovering her history, I found an article written after Kitty went missing in 1973. No one has seen or heard from her until today.”
“Son of a bitch,” Fitz muttered under his breath. “What the hell have we stumbled onto here?”
“For the last fifty-three years, this house has been Kitty Maxwell’s final resting place. The reason I know this for a fact is because Kitty’s spirit told me.”
“What else did Kitty say?” Ronan asked. “Does she know who killed her or what happened to the missing babies from the St. Agnes House?”
Ten shook his head. “She’s scared of all the men in the house. Is it possible to get everyone out of here but us?”
“You got it.” Ronan left the room. Moments later members of the crime scene unit left the house. “It will just be for a few minutes.” Ronan closed the door behind them. “Okay, Ten, it’s just the five of us and Kitty.”
Ten took a deep breath. “Kitty, these men are my friends. Ronan, Jude, and Fitzgibbon are members of the Salem Police Department and Jace is looking to turn this place into a homeless shelter for kids.”
Slowly, Kitty’s form began to materialize. She was blond with blue eyes and was wearing her nurse’s uniform complete with the paper hat. “I’ve met Jace,” Kitty said, her voice barely audible. “He’s a lovely man.”
“I agree, Jace is lovely.” Ten cleared his throat. “I hate to be so direct, Kitty, but time is of the essence here. I don’t know how long we’ll all be able to see you. Do you know who killed you and hid you in this house?”
Kitty began to cry. The paper hat melted away, as did her perfectly styled bun. Her hair cascaded to her shoulders. When she turned, Ten noticed dark purple bruises on her throat. He didn’t need to be a doctor to know Kitty had been strangled. “He told me he loved me. That we’d run away together. We would have a fabulous life away from his wife and kids and responsibilities. He had money. More money than I’d ever seen at one time. More money than we could spend in a lifetime.”
“Who loved you, Kitty?” Ten asked, not quite able to see the face of Kitty’s killer.
“Andy. My sweet Andy.” Kitty set her face in her hands. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I thought Andy would be happy. As happy as I was in our little love nest. I hoped he would be as excited as I was at the thought of starting our new life together as a family of three, but he hit me. Told me to get out. That I was a whore and my child wasn’t his.” Kitty wiped away her tears. “The babywashis. I’d been a virgin when we met. I believed him when he told me he was divorcing his wife. I walked to the door intent on getting the hell away from him, when I turned around and told him I was going to the police, then the medical board over what he had been doing.”
Ten’s eyes widened. He could see Ronan, Jude, Fitz, and Jace were hanging on Kitty’s every word.
“Andy roared and came at me. We knocked into the door, shattering the glass. I fell to the floor and could smell the metallic scent of my own blood. Before I knew what was happening, he wrapped his hands around my throat and started to squeeze. I fought hard, until my strength gave out. I couldn’t save my child or myself. I watched from the window as Andy picked up my body and threw it into the fireplace. I was still here days later when he bricked me up, just like in that Poe story. Here I stayed. Andy moved out, but kept the house. Of course he would. He couldn’t risk anyone discovering me. This house was empty for a long, long time. Students moved in. Drank beer. Had loud parties.” Kitty shrugged. “I thought I was going to be trapped here forever until this morning, when my remains were found.” She reached out toward Tennyson. “Make sure I’m buried in our family plot at Angel of Mercy. I want to be with my sisters, Lucy and Candy. Tell them how much I love them.”
“I will, Kitty, I promise.” Ten set a hand over his heart. “Before you go, I have one question. What happened to the babies who died at St. Agnes House. Their graves are all empty. Please, you’re our only hope.”
“Anthony Savini sold the babies to desperate families. When he was ready to retire, he passed the scheme on to Andy. I thought they were doing the Lord’s work, but I was wrong. The girls that wanted to keep their babies should have been allowed to do so. It was cruel to tell them their babies had died. Andy only ever cared about the money. He always told me that those babies would have a better life in a rich household than they ever could living with women who spread their legs for any man who asked.” Kitty shook her head. “Please forgive me for what I’ve done.”
Ten watched as the white light appeared behind Kitty. “You’re forgiven, Kitty, and thank you for all you did to help us today.”
Without another word, Kitty turned and walked into the light. It vanished behind her.
“What do we do now?” Ten asked, feeling exhausted. He needed to get the hell out of this house before he lost his mind.
