Unwelcome

"We'd do our best of course, but realize that we can't be out here all the time."

"That fact alone is enough to keep a sane person away from here, and unfortunately from the whole local area."

"Sadly there's a lot of truth to what you say Ben."

Once outside again I looked around and said, "There are a number of upgrades I'd consider very important, and they would be pretty expensive, but not prohibitive, and I'm sure any other buyers would have many of the same thoughts. Oh well, I'm just rambling anyway. Next time you talk to Noah, give him my best."

Ennis handed me his card and said, "I'll do that, and sorry if I'm not more supportive of you buying the place, but I'm just being open and honest."

"And I appreciate that Ennis." I waited until he backed out of the driveway and then I did the same, and headed in the opposite direction, back past Noah's place and on toward home in Hendersonville, some ninety plus miles to the west.

Chapter Four

Ted and Dee were at my place by seven along with Rob my nephew, and all three were eager to hear my story. We got comfortable at the kitchen table, and sweet Dee made sure we were supplied with coffee before she sat down. "You need to find yourself a woman Ben."

"Maybe someday I will, but not until I settle down a little."

"Whoever your lady might be, just might enjoy having you gone every so often."

"That wouldn't be very flattering."

"A lot of couples are like that. They love each other totally, but the occasional absence really can make the heart grow fonder. So okay, tell us your news."

"Well, I had a flat tire and the farmer talked to me."

"Wait, what farmer?"

I smiled and then told them about Noah and how he shared a little information about our relatives, the house and the rumors.

Nephew Troy was all smiles as he asked, "Is this real? They think the place is haunted or has a spell cast on it?"

"Well something like that anyway. Then the sheriff..."

"Wait Uncle, did you get arrested?"

"No," and I told them the next part of my tale.

"This is so cool, I have nutty or dangerous relatives."

"Now wait," I said and then added, "We're dealing with rumors and accusations only. They left in the night I guess, but we don't know the details."

"Well something was screwy and they did run off like crooks."

"It would seem that part is right, but I still don't know where this business about the hex signs, talk of witches and witchcraft comes from. It's like fear spread like a virus and nobody is using common sense."

"So what now," Ted asked me.

"I don't know. The house and barn appear to be in great shape, and hell, the price would be amazingly sweet."

"But what would you do with it?"

"There's the rub. I like the place and I like the location, but like you said, what would I do with it?"

"So you get a great bargain for something you have no use for. On top of that, it might not even be safe for you to be there."

"Well there is that to consider as well, but I do have some thoughts in that area. I think it's the young ones that are tagging the place. Those messages spray painted across the front of the house have the look of a New York subway."

"And that means what safety wise?"

"Don't know yet."

Rob smiled and said, "Uncle, you've decided to buy that haven't you."

"Not yet, but by damn I'm thinking hard about it."

"But to do what with it," Ted asked again.

"This is the tricky part. I'd have to buy it, improve it and make it safe to be there, and then I'd have to find a way to prove to the locals that the place isn't haunted or cursed. Once that's done I could turn a nice profit when I sold it."

"That whole line of thought is rife with ifs or maybes, and you'd need a whole lot of luck."

"Well I'm sure that Noah and the sheriff don't see me as some kind of nut come back to haunt them again, so I might have two allies right there."

"An old man and then a cop that will see to his town and his friends long before he'll worry about you."

"The town is out maybe...well I think Ennis said eight grand in taxes is all, so whatever they can get out of that place beyond that is pure profit for them. For people like you and me, sixty acres is a whole lot of ground, but for a farmer it's hardly worth bothering with. If I could have sixty acres, a nice house and a big barn plus another outbuilding for say...well twenty cents on the dollar, I could get well over half a million even considering it's inconvenient location. Hell, the house alone is worth close to two hundred thousand."

"Right or wrong, you've talked yourself into buying it, so you might as well get to work figuring out how you'll keep it from being torched or you shot when you go out there."

"Dee, what are you thinking?"

"I think it would be great for you, if you can keep it in one piece and if you don't get hurt and if..."

"Okay, I get your point."

"I'm serious. I agree that there is money to be made there and a lot of it, but you better accept the fact that nothing about your venture is going to go smoothly, and no I'm not just being negative."

I had trouble getting to sleep later because their words and concerns kept haunting me. I had no reasonable argument for buying that real estate, but I had a very strong urge to do just that. Common sense told me to never even go back there again, let alone buy the damn place. Financially it was about as risky a venture as anything I could dream up. If I lost the money I invested in the property I'd survive, but it would hurt me a whole lot and I'd be furious with myself.

Then there was the house itself. I lay there and tried to mentally construct plus and minus columns for the house and barn. Both structures appeared to be very solid and overall in very good repair so that was a plus. The house was fully decorated with pretty decent furnishings and window treatments so that was another plus. The barn seemed to be in almost pristine condition. I rolled to my left and then my right, and kicked the blanket off and then pulled it halfway up again as I continued with my mental exercise. There were things that weren't really in either the plus or minus column. Things like I'd want to pave the driveway and the landscaping would need serious attention. The first thing I would do however is put in a very good security system. Actually, the first thing I had to do was have another chat with Sheriff Ennis Ensley before I went any farther. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night and it showed when I got to the office in the morning.

"Morning Hugh," I said as I strolled into the office.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Ben. Did you get any sleep last night Romeo?"

"Some, but I had to show up to keep you happy since you're my boss."

"I hope you don't expect me to believe that line of bull."

"When did you get back from Phoenix?"

"Yesterday, and damn was it hot there."

"And don't I know that."

"Oh right, you lived there for a short time."

"That I did." I went on to my office and pushed myself hard, skipping lunch except for a candy bar from the vending machine, but took a long break about three o'clock. During that long break I talked to a couple of contractors in Cookeville, about twenty miles north of Sparta, and then called one of them back and arranged to meet with them at six o'clock. Then I called Ennis. "Afternoon Sheriff, this is Ben."

"Afternoon to you."

"I'd like to have another look at the farm. A much more serious and thorough look."

"You're kidding me."

"That remains to be seen. I want to bring a contractor down and get his opinion."

"We have an excellent contractor right here and I could make a call for you."

"I appreciate your help, but it's...well it's family, you know what I mean," I lied.

Ennis paused for just a moment and then said, "Yes, of course."

I didn't even know why I said that, but as I thought about it later, I was glad I had. Then I added the truth saying, "Besides, with the town folk not exactly in love with that property or anybody having anything do with it, I might do much better if I leave them out of this as much as I can."

"I guess you're right. Something to consider for sure." He paused again and then said, "Because of what you just said, rather than get the local realtor involved that is handling all of that, just give us a call when you come and we'll open it up for you."

"Thanks Ennis, I appreciate you going out of your way for me."

"Not a problem, we'll just keep all of this private. See you soon."

I was really getting into my project now, and I'd told Ted and Dee how things were going. They were much less excited than I was, but even at that, they were very curious, so I invited them to join me on my Friday drive to Sparta.

Chapter Five

Collin Perkins, the contractor that I had chosen was standing on the porch talking to Ennis, and they waved as we pulled up close to the garage door. I expected a younger more burly looking guy, but he was tall and lanky and stood there in his bright orange hunting cap and jeans. It took us a few minutes to shake hands and introduce ourselves, and then I told Collin, "I know this isn't the typical way to hire a contractor, but I did some research before I talked to you."

"I appreciate your trust in me and I'll see that it wasn't misplaced."

I made it a point to turn to Ennis saying, "This won't take a long time for us to do, so maybe you'd consent to show Ted and Dee around and tell them the horrors of the previous owners."

I thought he was going to pout when he learned that he wouldn't be privy to what Collin and I would talk about. "I'll do that," he said and then reluctantly turned to Ted and Dee.

As Collin and I walked away, he held out his clipboard saying, "I have the list of things you want to consider, but if you think of more, just let me know."

"And I'll be sure to do that. I know a couple of those things listed aren't in your area, but with you agreeing to be my general contractor that saves me a whole lot of grief. To the extent possible I want to keep what you do secret. I'll explain some of that as we go along. That's especially so with some of the wiring that you and I talked about."

"Right, I talked to a guy this morning and he's putting some things together for us to consider."

"Great."

"It won't be a cheap undertaking though Ben."

"I'm sure you're right, but we can tailor that if the numbers shock me too much. First of course, I have to get the county to accept my offer."

"Good luck with that." Once we had inspected the house, I led the way to the barn and for the first time went inside and stopped.

"Damn, this is a big building."

"It is that, but I'll bet at some point this barn was full of hay and equipment."

"It's hard to imagine that. You know, you could use this to put your equipment in to keep it all safe."

"That would be a smart thing to do."

The ladder to the loft was of heavy wood and nailed to the wall. The rectangle rungs were worn almost round and they had a dark and shiny patina, no doubt from hundreds of feet and sweaty hands as the farm hands went up and down, and we added our hands and feet to that process.

I stood a few feet away from the edge of the loft and looked straight up to the peak of the gambrel roof, and then allowed my eyes to follow the roof beams down. "I don't see signs of weather damage."

"It's solid enough. So all we're doing in here is the wiring right?"

"Right. I have no need for a barn, but I want to keep it in good shape so I can get a good dollar on my investment."

"Absolutely."

Then I saw something, but didn't comment. I continued to look a lot closer then as I walked the perimeter of the loft, noticing little oddities here and there. There was no floor down the length of the center going from the large front barn doors on out through the back, but at each end there was a wide walkway joining the two halves of the loft. Collin was looking around as he said, "The previous owners did some modifications in here for some reason that I don't grasp. For one example, look at the flooring here. It's been sanded nice and smooth, and farmers would never spend the time and money for that."

"You're right. I wonder what the reason..." and then I stopped. Maybe I knew the reason for sanding the wood planks, but I left it at that. Combined with what I had noticed, the pieces were fitting together nicely.

"Okay," Collin said, pulling me from my reverie. "I think I have enough to put a rough estimate together for you, but bear in mind that this will be just accurate enough to help you decide on your offer. Based on what you were telling me, I'd say that if they accept your offer, you'll do very well for yourself."

"There are a whole lot of things that could complicate things, but I'm ready to take a chance that I'm right. It might take me a couple of years to sell this place, but I can live with that."

We found Dee and Ted standing in the front yard talking to Ennis, and I told him, "We're done Sheriff, and thanks for sticking with us."

"I just hope you realize what you're getting into."

"So do I, but even if things take a lot longer than I'd prefer, in the end I'll do just fine."

Ennis locked up the house, and with a wave we headed toward home. "Well, what do you think of the farm?" I asked Dee.

"It's very nice. A few areas that could stand some updating, but I like the house."

"Ted?"

"I'm with Dee. I'm still skeptical about getting your money out of the place, but it does have an appeal. I like the open feeling from having so much land around it. I like the barn a lot too, but what that would ever be good for I don't know."

"Right, the barn. So did Ennis tell you some of his stories?"

"Oh yeah, and he seemed to glory in sharing that whole witch and curse thing. How lame is that?"

"Well I'm told the locals seem to agree with him totally. Okay, so while we're on that topic, did you two look inside of the barn?"

"Yeah, but what's to see in an empty barn? A huge empty space that will never be used."

"You missed some things then."

"Like what?"

"The loft floor. Sanded very smooth. Attractive even. I couldn't tell if they put some kind of finish on it, or oiled it or what, but it looked like you could throw a rug up there, add furniture and have a great area for entertaining."

Ted laughed and said, "Yeah, hey let's gather upstairs in the barn and raise some hell and get high on the odor of hay."

"What about the things in the wall and ceiling?"

"What kind of things?"

"Small eye bolts in the wall studs and rafters and the two pulleys fastened to one of the rafters down toward the end of the loft. Things like that."

"What the hell?"

"Well, what comes to my mind is ceremonies. You know, like pagan rituals. I've decided they weren't witches in the traditional sense, but maybe they were into some strange pagan belief."

"Like human sacrifices?"

I smiled and said, "Well it could have been animal sacrifices and things like that. The pulleys would have been used to hoist the animal up and they would place a bucket or tub on the floor and do their thing while they had their ceremony on that smooth sanded floor in their bare feet, or maybe even bare assed."

"Kinky."

"Sick." Dee added.

"Well whatever, that adds credence to what Ennis has been saying. At some point before I try to sell the farm I'll have to get all of those bolts and pulleys down. Noah, the neighbor I told you about, said that on occasion there would be several cars there at the farm. I'm guessing that was when they had their rituals. I can just see them dancing naked in the loft while they chanted or whatever the hell they did."

"Well the naked part sounds like it could have been fun," Ted said as he smiled looked at Dee in the backseat.

Chapter Six

Collin Perkins faxed me his multi page quote and I spent quite awhile going over every detail and every dollar figure. The first thing I learned was, it was going to cost a lot to do everything I wanted to do, but going back through the list I knew that I wasn't going to eliminate anything. I gave myself a short time to ponder what I was getting into and then called the number that Ennis had given me. "Ellie Thayer," the nice feminine voice said.

"My name is Ben Whitehead, and Sheriff Ensley gave me your number."

"Yes Mr. Whitehead, how can I help you?"

"I'm interested in submitting an offer for the house and sixty acres out on..."

"You're kidding me," she said cutting me off.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, that was very unprofessional of me, but you so totally surprised me."

"So you know the property to which I am referring."

"Yes, I do know Mr. Whitehead, but don't you want to see it first?"

"Well Sheriff Ensley opened the house up for me and..."

"Oh, I see. He knows he's not supposed to do that. Sorry again. But Mr..."

"Call me Ben please."

"Thank you. Ben I'd feel better if I could meet you so we could talk."

"Okay, but it would have to be Saturday morning."

"That's fine, say ten?"

"Let's make it eleven because it's a long drive for me."

"Great, I'll be there at eleven Ben."

I sat there replaying our brief conversation, and wondered if she was so caught off guard that she was rattled, or was she just scatterbrained. Well either way, she was the one I had to deal with, and her role in this process would be a rather brief one, so it didn't really matter.

I saw her car first as I approached the house Saturday morning, but then I noticed her sitting on the step. It was hard for me to tell much about her as I turned onto the driveway, but I did notice she had long legs that were covered in milk chocolate brown slacks. She smiled and stood up and I changed my mind. Long legs, but not as long as I had expected. Her hair was brown and pulled back in a ponytail and her purse was multicolored leather. Nice smile too I noticed as I came to a stop.

We met halfway between the front door and the car, and she offered me her hand. "Nice to meet you Ben, and again I apologize for my unprofessional comments the other day."

"You're forgiven and nice to meet you too Ellie."

"I have iced tea for us inside and I've even dusted the dining room table and chairs."

I'm a guy that rarely misses a chance to observe a nicely proportioned and attractive woman, so I studied the swing of her hips as I followed her inside. We settled at the table and she opened her brown leather briefcase and smiled again as she said, "I confess to being curious why you're considering this property. I talked to Ennis after you and I talked, and he told me you live in Hendersonville just north of Nashville. He told me about your connection to this house, and yet you don't strike me as somebody that would be content to live here."

"He's right on all counts and so are you. Oh I could be happy here for awhile, but I'd get restless before long. My boss would have a lot to say about that too."

"I'm sure," and she dazzled me with her smile again.

"I am drawn to this place for reasons that I can't even grasp. Oh it holds a few memories, but not a lot of them. If we can't reach an agreement on the price I won't be crushed, but I would be disappointed. If, and I must stress that simple word, if I can manage to put it all together, I just might be able to debunk and cast off this whole irrational witch and curse business. Then I can sell this farm and be rewarded with a few dollars for my trouble and for my risk taking."

"So you are fully aware of the relatively recent history of this place."

"I am. Tell me how you see this place, and tell me how you really think the people in the area see this." I smiled and added, "Now be honest because I just bared my soul to you."

"Now Ben I'm sure there is much more to your soul than the little bit you've shared with me, but okay. I don't have any real thoughts or feelings about this place other than it's a nice house to say the least, and we both know that it can be bought very reasonably. By the way, I'm working on a flat fee contract with the county, so I gain nothing by trying to convince you that it's very valuable. What the people in the area think about this place ranges from near panic if they get near it, to scoffing at the very notion of witches and hexes or whatever."