Soul searching—that’s what Audrey Wyler calls her ability to communicate with the dead.
Now, a new lost soul in Vandevere Cemetery has reached out to Audrey for help.
Meredith Hayden was kidnapped and murdered fifty years ago, her killer long ago caught and buried in Potter’s Field.
Always intrigued about a new mystery to solve, Audrey and her husband, Jake, seek the help of ex-Chief of Police Arlo Skinner, who arrested Meredith’s killer in nineteen forty-six. Not only does Arlo shed light on the circumstances surrounding Meredith’s death, but also shares some surprises about the past that affect Audrey and Jake’s lives.
With Meredith’s killer dead, why is she so desperately asking for help?
Meredith Hayden won’t be at rest until her long buried secret is revealed.
Friday, October 25, 1996
Vandevere Point
I’ve been buried here for almost fifty years. Now she’s finally found me! I know this woman standing over my grave. I can feel her sadness. And that sadness is for me. I am no longer a forgotten soul. After so many years of death, finally, she senses me. I must find a way to reach her!
Help me! I’m Meredith Hayden! I must tell you who really murdered me!
* * * *
“Au...drey.”
The word floated on a waft of frigid air that swept softly by Audrey’s right ear. Her shoulder-length, light brown hair blew in the unnatural breeze. She pulled her black jacket tighter to her chest as a sudden icy chill seeped into her bones. Suddenly, the jacket, sweater, and jeans weren’t enough to keep her warm. But the chill didn’t last long. It never did. The cold had already vanished with the gentle breeze. It wasn’t the weather. Though the skies over Port Maine were a charcoal gray, the day was dry and cool, not at all cold.
Audrey wasn’t afraid. Just the opposite.
She listened intently, following whatever clue the deceased was able to impart. The bone-chilling cold was one of the usual signs that a ghost was attempting to reach out to her. Communicating with the dead was something she had been able to do all her life. Sometimes she heard a discord of whispering voices, never able to make out any distinct word.
Sometimes one of the spirits was stronger and could eke out her name or a word.
Suddenly, Audrey was freezing again.
“Help...me.”
The words were so soft they were barely there. Just as suddenly, she was warm again. As wispy as the words were, they left no question what they meant. Audrey looked down at the gravestone. It was utilitarian, plain, and ordinary. No fuss, no frills, just the facts, and nothing more. There had been others she had encountered here at Vandevere that were similarly plain, but something else was different at the resting place of Meredith Hayden. There was an overwhelming sadness.
This woman is reaching out to me for help. Meredith Hayden is not at rest. She wants me to do something for her. But what could it be fifty years after her murder?
