The Girl in the Wych Elm (II)

 

II. Two Ghosts & a Woman Named Wysteria (re-upload)

Not even mid-morning yet and Hollis was already on his fourth glass of liquor. He had never been much of a drinker, ironically, because the taste of alcohol usually made him ill. Hollis became an alcoholic because of the comfort it served. Drinking helped the broken man tolerate the ghosts that stalked him night and day. Their hollow, melancholic stares drove him to the brink of insanity. While the alcohol dulled his mental anguish, it also killed him slowly.

Hollis pleaded desperately with the ghosts to leave him alone countless times. No matter how many apologies he gave or threw at them, they refused. Wherever Hollis went, the ghosts followed him like two extra shadows. He couldn’t even escape them in the pits of his sleep.

“Hey, Nicolai. What do you think that slimy bastard James is up to these days? You remember him, right?” He laughed on the verge of hoarseness. Hollis accepted that he had finally lost his mind conversing casually with ghosts. “He and that insufferable partner of his were the worst. We were always getting into it with them. What was that guy’s name again?” He tapped the glass’ rim. “Argh! Can’t remember right now!” Hollis shook his head out of frustration. “But what I do remember is that he had a smartass mouth.” He swallowed the last swig of his drink and pushed the glass to the side. Hollis was done drinking, at least for the moment. Soon as he felt the effects of the liquor wearing off, he would start up again.

The restless man closed his eyes; his mind began drifting off to a darker place. Hollis reeled himself back from that place, from those painful and traumatizing memories. He shouldn’t have drank that last glass of liquor. The large quantities of alcohol began having crippling effects on him mentally and emotionally. Sadly, Hollis was forced to relive those haunting memories no matter how much he didn’t want to.

About fifteen or so years ago, Hollis Alexander was once a detective. His partner was Nicolai Aardsma, one of the two ghosts that haunted him. Because of an incompetent and last minute decision made on Hollis’ part, Nicolai was killed. However, he wasn’t just responsible for Nicolai’s death, he was also responsible for another one. Karlee Penn. She was the second ghost.

Karlee had been the unfortunate victim of a kidnapping conspiracy that ended terribly. The poor child was only nine when she died. Hollis was pressured to resign from his position, which he did so out of guilt. Since his resignation, Hollis made his living doing freelance work. The requests and tasks were painfully simply such as, collecting owed debts, following around cheating spouses, and searching for lost pets. Easy work that was also meaningless to Hollis. It kept him afloat for the time being though.

“Hmm? How much longer do you intend to view the world through the bottom of that glass?” Hollis’ eyes popped open. He was baffled to see an unfamiliar woman leaning against his kitchen counter. The trespasser was no older than her late teens, at least. She could have been in her early twenties, but Hollis didn’t care enough to ask. The young woman’s black, kinky hair fell to her shoulders. She had a beauty mark under her left eye. Her black, uncanny eyes reminded Hollis of dark chasms. She was a beautiful young woman, but the somber aura around her made Hollis more anxious than usual.

Hollis demanded to know how she sneaked inside his home. He had been caught heavily off guard by her silent entry. “How-how…? How did you get in here?” The ghosts of Karlee and Nicolai watched the interaction between the two from the sidelines.

Hollis’ uninvited guest chuckled at the question. “Sneaking into a run-down shack of a house isn’t as hard as you think it should be.” The young woman pulled up a chair and made herself comfortable at the table with Hollis. “My name is Wysteria Graves.” She said with a soft smile.

He scowled at the response. “That’s not what I asked you. I asked how you got in here.” Hollis responded, his anger rising. “And what do you want from me?” Wysteria looked around at the deplorable excuse of a shelter Hollis called his home.

“Nothing in here, that much I can tell you.” Hollis brought his fist down on the table, rattling the glass cup and empty whiskey bottle. Wysteria was neither startled nor intimidated.

“Just answer my damn question!”

Wysteria folded her arms on the table. “I need your services, Det. Hollis Alexander.” The drunken man chuckled out of bitterness. His days as a detective were long gone and over. He was simply Hollis Alexander.

“I’m not a detective…anymore… Call me Hollis.”

“I don’t care if you’re Det. Alexander or Hollis. It’s not important. As long as you get this job done for me, I’ll be satisfied.”

Hollis told the young woman to back up; he hadn’t agreed to anything. Actually, Hollis had no intention of helping Wysteria given that she trespassed into his home. Nope. It wasn’t happening. “You can leave now Miss Graves. I’m not interested in accepting a job from you.” He wasn’t desperate for Wysteria’s money at that time. He was fine until next month. “I’d show you the door, but you’re already familiar with its location.”

Hollis thirsted for another drink and reached for his glass only for Wysteria to slap her hand over the mouth. She brazenly stared into Hollis’ eyes. Wysteria’s presence unnerved Hollis greatly. Something about her to him was unusual, but he couldn’t exactly put his finger on it. Hollis needed the strange woman out of his house, immediately.

“Hollis Alexander,” Wysteria addressed him formally, “if you agree to help me, I’ll evict those ghostly squatters over there as compensation.” He straightened when she mentioned Nicolai and Karlee. Hollis always assumed only he could see the ghosts, that they were only manifestations of his guilty conscience.

“What-?”

Wysteria interjected. “You heard me clear as day, Hollis.” Those black eyes of hers never broke contact with Hollis’ bloodshot eyes. “Their presence in your life is why you started drinking, no?” She stated omnisciently. Hollis moved away from the table slowly; Wysteria freaked him out to the point he was forced to sober up.

How does she even know about that? Who-who is this woman? Hollis demanded Wysteria go.

Wysteria, however, reiterated her statement with more authority. “Complete this job, and I’ll get rid of your ghosts.”

Hollis debated on whether to threaten the woman with harm if she didn’t leave his home. Yet somehow, the man had a feeling that threats of violence wouldn’t have worked on her either. Hollis saw no other alternatives other than to take on Wysteria’s job. “Fine… I accept your job.” The sooner he completed the request, the sooner he could get the persistent woman out of his hair and (hopefully) never see her again. “What do you need me to do?” He asked, leaning his chair back off the ground.

Wysteria’s face lit up with a wide, devilish smile. She asked him to solve a murder.