The Haunting of Bonner Springs Read online

  “There is. I sometimes try and skirt around it, but what with the internet and all these days, I think that unwise. Plus, you seem like a wonderful family. You should know the background on it.”

  Matt and Darby leaned in as Cynthia went through the story of the Crisp family and the tragedy of Charlie. She put as soft a touch on it as she could, but did not gloss over what had actually happened.

  “How horrible!” Darby exclaimed. “They never knew why?”

  “No. It came as a real shock to everyone. Seemed like such a close-knit family from what I have been told. Like a bolt from the blue…”

  Matt was shocked as well, but in the back of his mind, the idea for a new book began to percolate.

  “Just thought you should know before we go out and take a look. For some, it’s enough to ward them off.”

  “Thus, the long vacancy?” Matt asked.

  Cynthia just nodded.

  Matt looked at Darby, who shrugged.

  “Might as well take a look, Matt. The town looks delightful, and it seems as if we want to consider Bonner Springs, there may not be a ton of options. The price is good, even if it does need some work.”

  “OK, Cynthia…” Matt replied. “Let’s run out there…”

  Farm Life

  Bonner Springs, Kansas

  May 17, 2018

  After looking the house over, Matt and Darby agreed that considering all the time the place had sat empty, that it was in pretty good shape. It was just mostly in need of cosmetic touches as the overall structural skeleton was sound. At the time, Matt was between books at Verdant, and looked back on his summer jobs with the carpenter he had worked for with admiration now. With just a couple of exceptions, he could take on most of the needed fixes required, getting a professional contractor to tackle the ones he could not. If pressed for some deadline or another, this might have pinched him, but he had an unusual open block of downtime at the moment. As for new ideas…well, he was still mulling several over, but had not been able to get one going.

  “You have any other thoughts on the eerie background surrounding this place?” Darby asked him one afternoon when the kids were off choosing which bedroom was whose, as he was sanding down some rough edges on new molding he had just installed.

  “Not really…” Matt replied as he raised his goggles to talk to her. “Bonner Springs hardly seems the place where what we just avoided in Topeka might happen. But I guess it just goes to show you how any kid anywhere can go awry.”

  “Think maybe he was getting bullied? Sometimes that pushes kids to that decision these days?”

  “Maybe…maybe. Hard to say. From all indications, he was a happy and normal kid. Cynthia said without exception that everyone in town was in total shock.”

  Darby just nodded, but the incident made her a little nervous all the same.

  “I saw that look in your eye when Cynthia spilled the story, Matt. Tell me you’re not considering some sort of book on it.”

  “The thought did occur to me, Darby. But the more I think about it, the less I like it. Being new in town, I think it might get us shunned. Even if I made it so vague that the associations would be hard to link up.”

  “I’d second that motion.”

  Just then, a loud commotion arose from upstairs that drew their attention away from their conversation. It was Jasper and Melody going at one another like cats and dogs. Neither Matt nor Darby could ever recall the kids having a disagreement of this magnitude.

  “Got time to calm down that Arab-Israeli conflict upstairs?” Matt asked as he smirked at her.

  “I’m on it…” she replied. “This is a new one for us…”

  Matt nodded in agreement and went back to his sanding as Darby fled the room to try and broker peace between the kids. The racket continued on as Darby went upstairs taking the steps two at a time where she found Jasper and Melody in full dispute in the bedroom nearer the staircase. In an act that was a first for her, Darby had to physically separate the squabbling siblings as it seemed the argument was just getting worse by the minute.

  “Knock it off, you two!” Darby yelled as she pulled them apart and set the smaller Jasper on the bed and walked Melody across the room. “Just cool it and tell me what this is all about.”

  Jasper just looked out the window as Melody was still breathing hard and fuming in her shoes.

  “Someone want to start?” Darby asked again, but neither said a word.

  “OK…” she went on, “Let me guess. Can’t rationally agree on who should get what room? That it?”

  Jasper and Melody exchanged a quick glance and Melody finally just nodded, realizing how petty it must have appeared.

  “Let’s hear the big problem, guys…”

  “I’m older…” Melody finally said. “I should get the bigger room.”

  But, Mom…” Jasper began before Darby put up her hand, cutting him off.

  “I see. That may be, Melody, but maybe you can lay out a better case for yourself than you happened to have been born first.”

  Melody relaxed and took a breath before indicating she thought she needed the larger space to possibly prepare to study for college entrance exams…that the other room would not accommodate her desk properly. Darby nodded, indicating she had heard her.

  “Does that seem fair to you, Jasper?”

  He looked at the floor, his face full of disappointment but even at his young age looking as if this was a logical argument.

  “All she had to do was say that, mom. Not just, I’m older, this one’s mine…”

  Darby looked to Melody who reddened in shame.

  “Sorry, mom.”

  “OK. If we have settled this, how about you two bury the hatchet and we put this behind us? Shake hands, and we will get both of you settled in your new spaces, alright?”

  They both nodded in agreement and did as she asked, with Melody going the extra step to apologize to Jasper for what she had said. Darby smiled and left them to go report to Matt. He laughed softly as she told the tale.

  “Way to go Kissinger!” Matt retorted as Darby laughed as well.

  “Very funny. You were an only child, Matt. My brother and I went through the same thing. Fortunately, our kids were much more mature about this than Danny and I were at that age.”

  “Maybe take a break and help them get their furniture set up?” Matt offered as he set aside his tools and sandpaper and googles.

  “Thanks. I think that would help ease any tension that might be left over. Maybe talk to Jasper as well? He agreed, but I’m not sure if he was feeling browbeaten into it or not.”

  Matt nodded and headed off. Darby listened from below as the footsteps of the three went back and forth across the floor above. It seemed as if all was well again. The next time she peeked in, both rooms were set up, and Melody was already at her desk working away on some papers while Jasper had found his bicycle in the garage and was already out exploring the neighborhood. She found Matt back at work on the woodwork in the kitchen when she came back down.

  “Détente?” she asked.

  “Seems so,” Matt replied with a shrug.

  “Jasper really OK with this?”

  “Yeah. Once he got a rational explanation for the decision, he was fine. Just did not like being bossed by his older sister, I guess.”

  “Seems about right for him.”

  Matt nodded and went back to work.

  ……….

  Melody sat at her desk, leafing through the various material that would be required if she did, in fact, decide on applying to any colleges. She still had a tinge of shame over how she had gotten the larger bedroom, but when her mom had backed her up, she did not want to admit that it had just been that she wanted this room since she was older. She actually admired Jasper for his conciliation on the whole thing…although she would never admit it to the little squirt. She gazed out the window over her desk as Jasper shot off down the dirt lane toward town with a feeling of envy and jealousy. Jasper had always be
en the more outgoing and extroverted of them, and she was still feeling conflicted about this move to Bonner Springs. It had taken her longer than most kids to make friends back in Topeka. Not that she was unapproachable, but more that she just often preferred her solitude to a crowd. Even though most of the friends she had back there had already gone off to school, she was feeling out of sorts. She wondered if Bonner Springs had any kids her age? And if so, how would they feel about this new girl who was a foreigner to the life on a farm? Melody was trying hard to stave off this foul mood that was beginning to overtake her, but she was not having much luck…

  Meanwhile, Jasper was well down the lane they lived on and was shooting into the town to see what might be up. He had been OK living in Topeka, but while Melody saw the move as negative, Jasper was bubbling with excitement. He knew she loved routine and avoided change whenever possible, but all he could think of was all the new opportunities and possibilities that a new home in Bonner Springs might offer. As he had grown older, Jasper was finding the confines and limitations of living in a city stifling his growing love of the outdoors. Bonner Springs seemed to him to be the answer to this interest, and he could not wait to connect with some other kids his age to explore all around the county. It still bugged him a bit that he had given up on the bedroom he had really wanted, but when his father had come to talk to him, he felt much better. He had explained to Jasper that it was likely that Melody would be going off to college in the next year or so, and then he would have the run of the house. He even threw out the idea of he and Jasper building a clubhouse out back…maybe a Royals theme or even one featuring the Kansas City Chiefs, Jasper’s favorite NFL team.

  As time went on, the Crawford family began to fall back into more of a routine akin to what they had been observing back in Topeka, and the previous clash between Jasper and Melody seemed long forgotten. Jasper seemed to be thriving in the rural setting, making new friends every day and coming in each afternoon to regale them with some new place he had discovered. Melody, on the other hand, was still in a funk. She tried to cover up her moods, but Matt and Darby could see through her façade and began to worry a bit about her.

  “I think she’s just having a hard time adjusting, Matt.” Darby said as they talked over coffee one morning.

  “Seems so…” he replied. “I know she was not too keen on the move in the first place, but maybe once she makes some friends that will help.”

  “Hard to do that when you just stay cooped up in your room.”

  “She’s always been introverted, Darby. We can’t make her Jasper, you know?”

  “I know…I know. It’s just hard to watch. Just her and that obnoxious parrot.”

  The parrot. Bertie. It had been Melody’s best friend since she had been just four or five. She loved the thing immensely, but both Matt and Darby had to admit the damn thing was just annoying. It never seemed to shut up during the day, and the move to Bonner Springs had not alleviated that, much to Matt’s chagrin. Even though the move to rural Kansas had been calming for everyone, Bertie seemed to have not figured it out yet. Melody still doted on the bird, even as they had given him a special place in the family room downstairs under the kitchen. But even with all her attention, Bertie found it necessary to announce his presence all day long.

  “You have any recipes for filet of parrot, Darby?” Matt asked one evening after Jasper and Melody had gone to their rooms.

  “Not funny, Matt. You know how she loves that bird.”

  “Sorry. I know…I know. Bad joke…”

  Bye Bye Bertie

  Bonner Springs, Kansas

  July 2, 2018

  After an evening of studying to get herself re-familiarized with some basics from high school, due to her hiatus from school work, Melody took one final look at the college applications arrayed on her desk. She was still not sure about it all, but as Bonner Springs seemed to have little to offer in the way of kids her own age, she thought this might at least be a way to generate some new pals. Also, after the break, she was definitely sure she did not want to work at some menial job bagging groceries, or slinging burgers, or working in of the generic retail outlets available. She had no idea what she might even study, but perhaps, she thought to herself, at least getting going at some school might give her some ideas and direction.

  With all these thoughts buzzing in her head, she turned out the light on her desk and called it a night. However, as hard as she tried, she simply could not shut off her brain and sleep was just not coming to her. The thought of having to take aptitude tests, which she had never done well on, plus a series of essays to go along with the applications seemed a significant hurdle. She tossed and turned, and just as she was about to get up and read something mindless to calm her emotions, she stopped with her hand on the light switch of the lamp next to her bed. Something about this house in Bonner Springs had been making her feel uneasy, but now in the dark of the night, she was sure that she was hearing odd noises.

  She sat unmoving for a few seconds, and sure enough, she was picking up on what sounded like the creaking of floorboards, as if someone was taking slow and measured steps around the house. Assuming it was just one of her parents, Melody eased herself from her bed and moved silently down the hall. Her parents’ room was dark, and the forms of their bodies were clearly visible in the night light. Plus, her father’s gentle and regular snores were drifting out of the room. As she turned to retreat, the subtle but distinctive sounds of a child’s laughter were filtering up from below. Jasper, she figured. But when she made her way down to his room, he was just as fast asleep as her parents had been.

  Wondering if her unease of the house was making her imagine things now, Melody just shook her head and began the few paces back to her room. But just as she reached the door, the laughter started up again. It was definitely not her imagination. And it was giving her the creeps. She moved closer to the staircase that led downward, and the laughter grew just a tad. It was only when the loud and nonstop squawking of Bertie chimed in that she threw off her trepidation and hurried to the family room. She knew her Dad was none too fond of the talkative parrot, and she did not want to give him any more reason to complain. The other odd thing was that Bertie never spoke up during the night since she had gotten him. She even made sure his cage was covered during the night to keep this from happening as she had been instructed by the pet shop owner where they had bought him.

  The closer she got to the family room, the louder and more upset Bertie sounded before uttering one final very loud cry before falling silent again. Melody flipped on the overhead light in the room and stepped to the cage to remove the light flannel cover she used to cover Bertie’s cage. She stared in utter horror as the cover fell away, seeing Bertie lying dead in the bottom of his cage in a pile of his brightly colored feathers. Melody was sure she must be seeing things and slammed her eyes shut only to see that nothing had changed when she reopened them. With tears pouring from her eyes, she let out a blood-curdling scream as she rushed to the cage and lifted the poor bird’s lifeless body to her chest. Soon both her parents as well as Jasper appeared behind her, all rudely aroused from sleep by her outburst. They looked on in disbelief as Melody cradled the limp form to her and cried like she had not since she had been a little girl. Errant feathers fluttered around her, sticking in her hair and on her T-shirt as she kneeled and mourned the death of her best friend.

  Though he had not been especially attached to the parrot, Jasper grew immediately distraught at the site, and Darby interceded and led him away from the grisly scene. She was sure this was Jasper’s first encounter with death of any kind and wanted to limit his exposure to what had just happened. Matt went to Melody’s side and kneeled next to her.

  “Can I have a look, honey?” he asked.

  With puffy red eyes, and still blubbering uncontrollably, Melody offered up the body to Matt and then knelt back into herself and shook with great sorrow and loss. Matt looked over the parrot, and though it seemed impossible, it
was immediately evident that the poor thing had been squeezed to death after many of its feathers had been roughly plucked from its body. It was as upsetting a site as he had ever seen in regard to a household pet and he was baffled. For sure Bertie had not been done in at the hands of either Melody nor Jasper, which left…what? The only logical possibility was that someone else must be responsible. Had some stranger broken in and murdered the beloved bird?

  He laid the parrot down gently on the cover for his cage, laying folds of the cloth over the corpse to offer as much dignity to the situation as he could. Just then Darby returned to the family room and went to console and comfort Melody. Matt looked at her with a flash of anger in his eyes.

  “Jasper?” he asked.

  “Back in bed. He’s a bit freaked but OK for the moment.”

  “Stay with her. I’m going to have a look around the house.”

  “Someone break in?”

  Matt shrugged.

  “No other answer. Someone killed my little girl’s pet. Time to take a look.”

  “Be careful, Matt. No hero stuff, OK?”

  He nodded, but in his heart, he had no idea what he might do when he found whoever it was that had done this. Darby cradled the still sobbing Melody to her as Matt conducted a thorough search of the entire house. He found no one anywhere inside and as far as he could tell nothing else had been disturbed nor were there any signs of a window or door having been vandalized to gain entry. Matt then retrieved a flashlight and a length of pipe from some unfinished plumbing work in the kitchen and did an extensive tour around the outside of the house, including the storage shed out back. But just as he had found inside, all seemed normal. He exhaled partly in relief and partly in unresolved anger as the adrenaline drained from his system, and he returned to the family room where Melody was better, but still highly agitated.

  “Anything?” Darby asked.

  Matt just shook his head no.