Read Online The Haunting Of Bechdel Mansion by Roger Hayden - Free Book Online

to the
Redwood Public Library.”
    “Thanks,” she said, looking around. “I
wasn’t sure if you were open today or not.”
    “Seven days a week. My wife, Sheila, and I
hold the place down.”
    A mom and pop
library? Mary thought. Now she had seen everything.
“That’s great,” she said. She didn’t want to point out the empty
tables and aisles but the man seemed to have read her
mind.
    “Sundays are our slowest in the morning. Big
church community and all. By afternoon we usually get a good
crowd,” he said.
    Mary approached the counter and placed her
hands flat on its mahogany surface. “I’m Mary. My husband and I
just moved here from Chicago. I’d like to get a library card if I
could please.”
    The man nodded and leaned down, retrieving a
large, dusty binder and setting on the counter. “All right, Mary,
I’m Hal. I’m sure we can get you set up.” There was an old computer
next to him, but he didn’t seem interested in using it. He asked
her full name as well as her driver’s license.
    She pulled her pocketbook out from her purse
and opened it. “Oh. It still has my old address on it.”
    “That’s fine,” he said, taking her license.
“Just let me know the new one.”
    He began scribbling onto a sheet in the open
binder, taking down Mary’s name. The subdued quietness of the
library alone had her thinking that she’d be spending a lot of time
within its walls. “I live at 513 Weatherford Lane,” she said.
    Hal stopped writing as his looked up at her.
“Weatherford Lane? The old Bechdel mansion?”
    She was surprised that he made the
connection so carefully. Perhaps the mansion had a reputation all
its own. That much seemed evident in the few interactions she had
experienced so far in town. “Yes, that would be the place,” she
said.
    His eyes immediately went back down as he
continued writing. “Didn’t think that place would ever sell,” he
said.
    Curious, Mary leaned in closer. “And why is
that?”
    Hal looked up again, taken off guard. “Well,
it’s just… It’s an old place. Too big for most people. Not really
practical in today’s modern world.”
    “But it’s so inexpensive,” Mary said. “Hard
to believe they’d have a hard time selling it.”
    Hal tore a slip from the paper neatly around
the edges and handed it to Mary. “I wouldn’t know. Just seems it
was held up in probate for God knows how long.” He then handed her
a pen. “Sign the card here and you’re all good to go.”
    Mary took the card and signed it, not
entirely satisfied with what he was willing or not willing to
reveal. “Mister?” she paused waiting.
    “Hal. Just call me Hal,” she said, sitting
back down on his stool.
    “Hal. I don’t want to be too forward, but
part of why I came here was to get information.”
    Hal went for his newspaper and the paused,
looking up with an arched brow. “What kind of information?”
    “About the Bechdel mansion and its history.
The history of this town. I want to find out exactly what happened
there and why the murders were never solved.”
    Hal leaned back with his arms crossed more
reserved than before. “You some kind of reporter? We get some of
them from time to time, come around here asking questions and
all.”
    “No, I can assure you that—”
    Hal cut her off with one arm in the air,
pointing. “Because if you are trying to dig up some dirt under
false pretenses, I’d like you to kindly leave.”
    Mary shuffled on the carpet, eager to
set the record straight. “Sir. I am not a reporter. My husband
and I did just move into the
mansion. I’m just curious about its history.”
    “Oh…” he said, calming down. “I see. Well
you can’t blame me for being suspect. Folks at Redwood don’t bother
anyone. They just want to live in a nice, safe community. We’re not
spectacles for big city types to come down here and judge us. I
think you can respect that.”
    “I can,” Mary said. “This is the exact kind
of community my husband and I