Out of the Frying Pan

Uncle Hayes at the Campbell Mansion, Part 5

“I went up to the front door and unlocked it. I remembered that at this entrance there were three light switches just inside the door, one for the hall, one for the top of the stairs, and one for the outside light. I flipped all three of the switches and was grateful to see that all three lights came on. I was especially glad the one on the outside came on, since the fixture was about twelve feet off the ground, hanging from the underside of the second floor balcony and inside of an iron and glass fixture. I looked up at it and noticed a wasp nest was right on one of the two bulbs. They won’t be there for long. I guessed the exterminator hadn’t thought to look up there.

“I had just turned around when I heard a noise from the driveway. With the light on above me, and having just looked up at it, I couldn’t see out into the darkness very far. Suddenly I was blinded by a bright light shining right into my eyes. I put my hand up to try and block it and heard someone yell, “Don’t move!”

“I liked to die. It was a police officer and I knew he had his gun drawn. Moving closer, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I told him I was hired to work here and offered him proof of who I was. He lowered the light and asked for my driver’s license. I was feeling edgy, but thought to myself, At least he’s a real person.

“He told me someone over a ways had seen lights going on and off over here and wondered what was going on, so they called the police. I would normally have thought of such people as busybodies, but in a way I guess I was glad they were watching and was happy to hear someone nearby had a phone. I was also a little glad to have the officer there, I even offered him a cold drink and said if he wanted, I could put on a pot of coffee. I was a little disappointed when he said, no, he had to go.

“He must’ve seen it in my face, that I really hated to see him go, because he asked if it bothered me to be here by myself.

“I said, ‘Yeah, just a little.’ I didn’t tell him about the haint. He just said, ‘Good luck with your work,’ and then he left.

“I headed back over to the garage and went on upstairs. I did feel a little calmer. I fixed a bite to eat and sat down at my makeshift table to go over my list. I wanted to get started on some of the projects I’d already listed but figured the following day I might as well go on ahead and finish my checklist, after all I still had the downstairs and the basement to go through. If I could just quit being distracted, I might actually get something done.

“Oh well, I didn’t want to start thinking about that again.

“I finished eating and decided to go to bed, this time in the bedroom. Who knows what else I might run into tomorrow that will take more of my time? I shut the light off in the front room, went into the bedroom, undressed, and laid down to read the newspaper. Before long I was starting to feel sleepy, so I put the newspaper up and turned out the light. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the dark, and that’s when I saw that there was light shining through the front room window. Oh yeah, I turned on all those outside lights. With no curtains or blinds, even the morning sun was blinding as it shone through those windows. I turned over and was just closing my eyes when a thought occurred to me.

Wait a minute. I’m up higher than those lights. They would only be shining on the ceiling, not the whole room.

“I got up and went into the front room and looked out the windows that faced the main house. In that small room off the master bedroom, the one I’d figured they’d used for a nursery, a light was on.

Yes, I was in that room. And yes, I remember turning that light on. Funny, I didn’t notice that it was on when I looked over and thought how dark the house was.

“As I stood there, puzzled, a shadow passed across the lighted window.”