Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
“Matt?”
“You don’t hear that high-pitched sound?”
I focused on listening. “I don’t hear anything.”
“It sounds like laughter.”
Reaching into my pocket, I said, “Hold on, I need to take this call.”
It wasn’t until I was staring down at my phone in my hand that I realized it wasn’t ringing. When it did, I jumped, nearly dropping the phone.
“What in the hell?”
I answered the phone and cautiously said, “Hello?”
“Lucas, it’s Hannah from the Gable’s dig.”
“Oh, hey Hannah, what’s going on?”
“We have the doll out.”
My eyes widened. “I’m on my way.”
I hung up and looked at Matt. “I need to go. They got the doll out.”
He straightened. “Hey, can I come? I don’t have any meetings for the rest of the afternoon. I’d love to see an actual dig site.”
“Sure, come on. I need to get there quickly.”
The drive to the site only took a few minutes. The house was on the outside border of modern Salem. During the short drive, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d known my phone was about to ring. Ever since I’d married Hollie, the strangest things had been happening to me. Now it seemed like I could sense something before it even happened.
Hollie’s words from dinner replayed in my mind. A witch? There was no way. Or was there?
“I could go for an apple pie,” Matt randomly said. “I just got a legit craving for it.”
Laughing, I pulled in and parked. “Stop at Salem Pie House and get one on the way home.”
He nodded. “I might do that.”
“Remember, don’t touch anything while you’re here.”
“I won’t.”
As we walked toward the site, I noticed someone sitting at a table nearby.
“Would either of you be interested in an apple pie?” the woman asked with a smile. “We’re having a bakery fundraiser for the Salem Witch Museum.”
Matt nearly sprinted over to her. “I was just telling my friend I wanted apple pie!”
She smiled up at him and slid him a piece that was wrapped in plastic.
Matt gave her a twenty. “Keep the change since it’s for a good cause.”
I frowned while he made his way back over to me, removing the wrapper and picking up the pie as he walked. He took a large bite, closed his eyes, and moaned in delight.
“Good?” I asked.
“Best apple pie of my life.”
“You do realize you just donated to the Salem Witch Museum, Matt, don’t you?”
He paused a moment then said, “It’s still part of our history, right?”
Rolling my eyes, I started back toward the site. As soon as I got there, I saw a group of people bending over to look at what I assumed was the doll.
“Tripp,” I called out, causing him to look up.
A wide smile played across his face. “You’ve got to see this, Lucas.”
A few people parted and I stared down at the doll. It looked almost perfectly preserved.
“How is it in such good shape, Lucas?” Hannah asked.
“Was it wrapped in anything?” I asked as I examined the venetian doll.
Tripp nodded and said, “It appears it was wrapped in a blanket, though only bits of the fabric were still intact under the doll.”
“The crazy part is that nothing was broken. How do we have a two to three-hundred-year-old porcelain doll that was buried in a burnt-down home still in near-perfect condition? The hair wasn’t even burned,” Tripp stated.
We all stood there, staring down at it.
I looked up and glanced around before looking at Tripp. “I saw its hair yesterday as well as the side of the face. I knew it would be in decent shape, but this is crazy.”
Matt leaned over and looked down at the doll too. “That doll looks familiar.”
All eyes turned to Matt.
“What do you mean?” Tripp asked.
“I’ve seen it in an old picture, though I can’t place where.” He looked up from the doll and shrugged. “Man, it’s hot. We could use some rain.”
Before I could even say a word, someone walked by carrying a bucket of water to clean off any artifacts that were found. The guy tripped, and the entire bucket of water went flying right towards Matt and drenched him.
Hannah gasped, as did a few other people, while Tripp laughed. “Bet you’re not hot now,” he said.
Matt looked at Tripp and slowly shook his head.
“Get this bagged up before anything happens to it. Has it been cataloged?” I asked.
Someone from the back of the group confirmed that it had.
Turning to Tripp, I asked, “Anything else?”
“We covered the site up; weather’s calling for some rain.”
I nodded and glanced back at the area. A group was in the process of putting a tent over the site now that we had most of the foundation exposed. “I want to focus back on the wall once the rain passes. I’m going back to the office to see what I can find out about this house.”
I stopped and looked back at Tripp. “How do you know the house burnt down?”