"So, what exactly is the plan?" Rochelle asked, stepping on the gas. "Calvert won’t reject the money just because we ask nicely."
Wilder grinned. "We improvise and discourage the buyer."
Maddy sniffled. "What if they buy it anyway?"
Wilder looked Maddy up and down. "Then pout and cry. Rochelle and I are too old to turn on the charm."
Maddy nodded. "I can do that."
"We know," the two old women said together, holding back their laughter.
Soon, Rochelle turned into the gravel entrance of the Calvert property. All the women nearly went flying out of the car, in their hurry to stop what Wilder had called the ’illegal sale’ of Claire’s land. It didn’t take long to see Mr. Calvert and the buyer who Rochelle identified immediately.
"That’s him," Rochelle whispered, pulling Wilder and Maddy to hide behind some trees. "That’s the land thief."
The buyer was dressed in a very nice suit and he looked wealthy.
Very wealthy.
The sort of wealthy that bought things because they happened to be standing nearby.
Maddy immediately disliked him. "That suit is easily twelve thousand dollars. Those shoes are another three thousand. Anyone that has such money to spend on a suit has more than enough to afford this land. Even if I rush in and offer, he could raise the price. I can afford it, but the moment I give the land to Claire, she will insist on paying me back. Buying overpriced land will not be worth it for her. She doesn’t have millions to burn."
Wilder cracked her knuckles. "Time to work."
One by one, they came out of hiding and approached the two men. They offered polite greetings to Mr. Calvert and then turned their eyes to the buyer.
"Can I help you ladies?" he asked, uncertainly.
Wilder smiled back. "Oh, we’re just here for the haunting."
Mr. Calvert blinked.
The buyer frowned.
And that’s when the ladies knew they had him.
"The haunting?" The buyer asked, cautiously. He turned his head to Mr. Calvert who stood frozen in shock, mouth wide open.
"Terrible haunting," said Wilder.
"Absolutely awful," agreed Rochelle.
Maddy gasped dramatically. "I still hear the screaming," she wiped tears from her eyes in a delicate way. "It keeps me up sometimes."
The buyer laughed nervously. "I’m sorry, what?"
"Oh, haven’t you heard about the ghosts?" whispered Rochelle.
"The what?" The buyer repeated with a bigger frown than before.
Rochelle repeated louder, "The ghosts that live here because of all the people that died."
Wilder nodded sadly. "Several people."
Mr. Calvert was turning pale. "We have never had any murders here. No ghosts...definitely no ghosts."
Wilder gasped theatrically. "I didn’t mention the murders Calvert, why did you shout it out loud?"
The buyer took a step back, away from Mr. Calvert. "Are you all serious?"
Wilder gazed toward the empty, dirty pond. "No."
The buyer relaxed.
Then Wilder continued. "We aren’t allowed to talk about it in this town. But I am terrified."
The buyer stopped relaxing.
Mr. Calvert looked ready to faint.
Maddy pointed out to the pond. "That’s where the baby cries come from."
The buyer glanced toward the pond.
"Why do you think this property has not sold for so long?" Rochelle whispered conspiratorially. "Look at its state. Do you see any employees? Even the family that lived here ran away. Only Calvert here stays, but he doesn’t dare to sleep here at night."
Calvert opened and closed his mouth. It was true he didn’t sleep here most nights, anymore. But that was because he preferred sleeping on his boat ever since his family moved to another city. Something about the water made it easier for him to sleep compared to the silence of his home. These crazy women were over here mixing the truth with lies and ruining his sale! What were they thinking? He had not crossed the Knitting gang! Why take revenge on him?
Wilder suddenly crouched and touched the dirt. "Oh my."
Maddy nearly laughed. "What?"
"The energy is worse than I thought," Wilder shuddered.
The buyer took a step even further back. It just so happened that he was one of those businessmen who believed in energy and luck for prosperity.
Wilder stood, dusting her hands. "The Feng shui is all wrong. Lemon was right about this place. It is a magnet for evil. No wonder all of your livestock died Calvert."
Mr. Calvert clutched his chest. "We killed and sold them for meat!" he exclaimed.
"Exactly, they died under suspicious circumstances," Rochelle whispered. She deliberately moved closer to the buyer when she was whispering, trying to give it a sense of mystery.
"What do you even know about Feng shui?" Calvert yelled to Wilder.
Wilder stuck her chest out and patted it proudly. "I know a lot. My granddaughter Lemon has a degree in witchcraft. If we call her right now, she will vouch for me."
Maddy nearly inhaled an insect that was flying by. "What?"
Wilder pinched her on the ass, because she was about to give away their sneaky intentions. The old woman continued, in the fake voice of an overly ambitious motivational speaker. "This property sits directly on a cursed shrimp line."
The buyer pinched the bridge of his nose. "A cursed what?"
"Shrimp line," Rochelle whispered in a thick, hoarse voice.
"I don’t think that’s real," the buyer said.
Wilder pointed at the sky. "Do you think clouds are real?"
The buyer nodded. "Yes. They are obviously real."
"Exactly," Wilder declared with a bit of arrogance.
Nobody understood what that meant. Not even Wilder. But she sounded so confident that they couldn’t question her.
The buyer looked uneasy now. "Can these issues be fixed if I hire a few experts?"
The women exchanged glances. It seemed like the buyer was determined. It was time to pull out their master card.
"Your turn," Wilder said to Maddy.
Then Maddy burst into tears. Real tears. Her hands grabbed the buyer’s coat, and she shook the man.
The buyer jumped. "Why are you crying? What’s happening?"
"It’s the energy, it is messing with her electrolytes." Rochelle whispered.
The buyer raised a brow, but he didn’t give up on the land. He just kept trying to dodge Maddy’s eyes and hands while muttering about crazy women. This went on for twenty minutes.
Mr. Calvert looked exhausted.
The buyer looked traumatized.
Suddenly, a scream came from the trees. A figure wandered onto the property and stared at everyone. It was a man with a thick beard and clothes stained with dirt. He carried a lantern that shone a little too brightly in the daylight.
The timing could not have been worse.
Or better.