Home Sweet Home - Ch.45 - A Tragic Tale (Patreon)

** content warning: brief mention of mental illness, death **

"Here you go Vikki," Ms. Vaughan said as she held out one of the two mugs for me.

"Thank you," I replied as I accepted the beverage.

She continued past me then slipped into the chair behind her desk, before taking a sip of her coffee. Then she set the mug down and sighed, "Are you sure you want to hear all this? I'm warning you up front, it's not a happy story."

"I don't imagine these sorts of situations ever are," I replied with a little grimace. "But yes, I'm sure. I know what I saw Jessie, I need to know what happened."

It was about half past eleven and the two of us were back at Jessie Vaughan's office again. I had quite a few questions after my surprise encounter with the mysterious young woman at the house, but it seemed like Ms. Vaughan wasn't comfortable discussing that subject while we were still at the property.

She had another sip of her drink then sighed, "The woman you described sounded a lot like the last occupant of that home. Her name was Robin Tanner. She was only thirty-two years old when she passed away last month."

"Wow," I slowly shook my head. Then I admitted, "When you told me the place had been owned by a single woman who was a shut-in and passed away alone, I'd been picturing an older lady. Like someone in her sixties or seventies? It never occurred to me you were talking about someone so young."

Jessie grimaced, "In a way you're not wrong. The situation was actually a little complicated."

"Oh? How so?" I asked as my eyebrows crept up.

Suddenly I found myself wondering if the owner was some sort of supernatural being, like maybe she was actually as old as I expected but used magic to make herself look younger. I couldn't help wondering if maybe she was some sort of witch, or an alchemist brewing potions to grant eternal youth. Then it crossed my mind that perhaps she was a vampire, or some other kind of undead. Maybe she 'died' in her thirties, but that happened three or four decades ago and death only just caught up with her now.

After another long sip of her coffee Ms. Vaughan finally answered, and it turned out that the situation was a lot more mundane than any of my silly supernatural theories. And a lot more poignant too.

"Robin was the last occupant of the house, but she was not the last owner," the older woman explained. "The house was owned by Robin's mother, Caroline Tanner. Caroline was my client, up until she passed away last year."

I frowned, "Wouldn't the house have been transferred to Robin's name then, after her mother passed away?"

Ms. Vaughan sighed, "It would have, under normal circumstances. Caroline left almost everything to her daughter, so it should have been a relatively straight-forward process."

"But?" I asked. "Something happened?"

Jessie sighed again, "I've only met Robin a couple times, and that was about six years ago, when I first started working with her mother. She seemed like a bright girl, but she suffered from poor mental health. I think the worst of it was some sort of anxiety disorder, but she may have also had agoraphobia too. Among other things."

"Caroline took care of her daughter," she continued quietly, "But I don't think she ever encouraged Robin to seek professional help, or treatment for her problems? I got the impression Mrs. Tanner was one of those people who saw mental illness as taboo, something to be ignored or shunned rather than talked about or treated."

I sighed and slowly shook my head, "That sounds rough. So she relied on her mother for everything, but after her mother was gone...?"

"I could never get Robin in here to finalize the paperwork," Ms. Vaughan admitted. "And every time I tried to make arrangements to go and see her at her home she'd come up with some reason to cancel at the last minute. So the house and the rest of the estate remained in her mother's name."

She paused there to finish the last of her coffee, before finishing up her story as well.

"I did manage to make some arrangements with Robin via email, so I'd been looking after the estate for her. Now I have to go through it all again but for both Caroline and Robin. However like I said earlier, the nearest next of kin is a few thousand kilometres away in another province."

"That really is a sad story," I frowned. After another hesitation I asked, "Do you know what happened to Robin? Or do I not want to know that?"

Jessie replied quietly, "The official cause of death was heart failure, caused by a mix-up with her medication. Unofficially, I believe there was some suspicion that may have been intentional."

"Robin was unemployed," she added sadly, "She couldn't afford to look after the house, and it looks like she was falling behind on some of her bills. It's not hard to imagine the poor girl felt lost and overwhelmed, perhaps she didn't know where to turn or how to deal with her situation."

"Damn," I slowly shook my head. I sipped my coffee in silence for a minute or so before my thoughts finally turned back to work again. I gave Jessie an apologetic look and said, "You know I'm going to have to include 'possibly haunted' in the disclosure for the property, right? It's unfortunate, but that can scare away some potential buyers."

Ms. Vaughan shrugged, "We'll see. I might try and argue the point with you Vikki when the time comes. After all, it was a single unsubstantiated sighting."

"Fair enough," I nodded. "Anyways I suppose I should get back to the office. And I'm sure you have a lot on your plate as well. Thanks for the coffee, and thanks for calling me in to look at the property with you."

She got to her feet to see me out as she replied, "You're welcome Vikki. Please give Erin my regards."

When got to the door she added, "I'll be in touch regarding the Tanner property, but I think my next step will be to have the contents appraised and liquidated. Then I'll have the place cleaned top to bottom, so you can take all your pictures and measurements for the listing."

"Sounds like a plan. See you later Jessie," I said as I headed out.

She waved then disappeared back into her office while I made my way to my car. And less than ten minutes later I was heading in through the back door at the agency.

"Hello Erin," I greeted my boss as I moved past her office door.

She called back, "Hi Vikki! how did it go with Jessie?"

I paused at her door and gave her the condensed version, "The property wasn't great, Jessie asked me some awkward questions about you, and I saw a ghost."

A few different expressions crossed my boss's face before she finally gestured to the guest chairs in front of her desk and asked, "Do you have a minute to elaborate on some of those things?"

"Of course," I replied. I'd pretty much expected that reaction, so I closed the door behind me then took a seat. "Where should I start?"

After a brief hesitation she responded, "Let's do the business stuff first. Tell me about the house, what's your professional opinion?"

"Definitely a fixer-upper," I replied without hesitation. I went into a few more details about what I'd seen of the condition of the property, both inside and out.

I wrapped it up by adding, "I think Jessie's going to have the place emptied out then get it cleaned up, which should help a lot. Then we just have to list it as a handyman special or a project home. Assuming the foundation and structure are sound, it should do alright in that sort of category."

Erin nodded slowly, "Sounds like you have a good handle on the place, but I wouldn't have expected otherwise Vikki. Now what about this ghost you mentioned?"

"That was at the property," I sighed. "It happened when Jessie and I were getting ready to leave..."

I went on to tell her what I'd seen, and how I didn't even realize it was a ghost since the young woman looked solid and real. There was no trace of her when I followed her into the bedroom though. Then I went on to tell her the tragic tale Jessie shared with me, about the young woman who last lived in the place.

By the time I was done Erin had a sad look on her face as she shook her head, "That poor girl."

"Yeah," I frowned. "I told Jessie I'd have to mention the ghost in the property disclosures, but she didn't think that was necessary. As she put it, it was a single brief sighting, and nobody else experienced it but me."

"Hmm," my boss responded with a thoughtful look on her face. She didn't have anything else to say about that though, and instead moved on to what she was probably most curious about. She sounded a little wary as she asked, "You said Jessie asked you about me? I assume that was about my recent 'make-over'?"

I grimaced slightly, "Yeah. Don't worry, I didn't say anything. You know I'd never betray your trust, or Jenna's. I suggested she should talk to you directly."

"She has," Erin admitted. "I bumped into her last week and needless to say that was a very awkward and uncomfortable conversation."

She lowered her voice and continued, "Honestly I was really hoping she'd react more like Jason did that first day back here after it happened. I thought maybe Jessie would just accept it and move on? But out of everyone, Jessie Vaughan is the only one who's made a big deal out of it."

"Sorry Erin," I grimaced again. Then I suggested, "It might have something to do with the fact that Ms. Vaughan knows about this town's reputation for the supernatural, and she knows how you felt about it? She actually mentioned that when she was talking to me this morning, that she thought you'd never willingly be involved with any of that stuff."

My boss sighed, "Ah. You may have a point there Vikki. I'll speak with Sherry this evening, and see if we can come up with something to tell Jessie to put her mind at ease. Don't worry, we won't say anything about you and Jenna."

That was all the two of us had to discuss, so I continued on to my desk then got back to work. Although I was only at it for less than thirty minutes before Erin offered to treat both Jason and I to lunch.

We didn't do anything fancy, in fact we ended up grabbing some sandwiches from a nearby sub shop then we all came back to the office and ate at our desks. Not that I had any pressing work to take care of, but Jason was busy. And I did get a few calls and emails through the afternoon. Nothing exciting, but it was a fairly average day at the office.

By the end of it I'd managed to fill up my schedule for Friday, with some showings in the morning to a prospective buyer, and a meeting in the afternoon with a new prospective seller. Jason left early to take care of a showing, and I bid Erin a good evening when we closed up the office at five.

"Vikki!" my girlfriend exclaimed happily as soon as I got home. It sounded like she was in the living-room as she continued, "How are you doing how was your day did you sell any houses did anything interesting happen?"

She was obviously excited about something, based on her tone and the way she rushed through her greeting and all those questions. I closed the door behind me then stepped through into the next room, where I found her sitting on the sofa with her big pink plush pony on her lap. She had a huge grin on her face, and I was positive she was doing her best to sit still. But she looked a lot like she wanted to bounce up and down, so I knew she was definitely excited about something.

"Hi Jenna," I greeted her with a relaxed smile. "My day was alright thanks. I didn't sell any houses, but I did meet a ghost."

My girlfriend's eyebrows shot up and her grin faltered slightly. She asked, "Was the ghost friendly?"

I left my folio and purse on the coffee table then sat down next to her on the couch and shrugged, "She didn't stick around to talk, so I don't know that I'd call her friendly? She didn't seem unfriendly though. If anything I'd say she was shy. And she looked sad."

"Aww," Jenna pouted. "Shy and sad sounds like an unhappy combination."

"Yeah. I don't suppose you know much about ghosts?" I asked as I let myself relax next to her.

She was still pouting as she her head, "Not really? I've never had a chance to meet any."

"Oh!" she exclaimed as her excitement started seeping back into her expression and body language. "But I might know how we can find out more!"

Sure enough I could tell she was almost ready to start bouncing as she asked, "So I bet you know all about this traditional human celebration they call halloween, right?"

"I suppose so," I replied with a little smile. "I'm sure you know something about it too though? We've certainly seen enough commercials on TV lately, advertising candy and costumes and all that stuff."

Jenna nodded eagerly, "Yeah! And I know the actual event isn't until the thirty-first, on Monday? But apparently it's also tradition to hold some preliminary celebrations on the weekend before the official evening."

By that point she was obviously having trouble containing her excitement, and at the same time I couldn't help feeling some growing wariness. I had a feeling that whatever got my genie so worked up was probably something I needed to worry about.

"Ok," I responded cautiously. "What sort of preliminary celebration are you talking about?"

"We got invited to a supernatural college halloween party!" my girlfriend finally exclaimed. The big pink pony ended up on the floor as Jenna threw her arms up in the air then started bouncing in her seat, "It's this Saturday night and all my new friends will be there and it's going to be great!"

Jenna continued bouncing in excitement as she pulled me into a tight hug and half-shouted, "I have the absolute bestest most amazingest costume idea for the two of us and we're going to have so much fun and I can't wait! Aaaaaaah!"

** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Meg, who commissioned it! **