Chapter 8 #3
“And then again … you two need to take a tour!” Gavin asserted. “I mean, they’d know me. I’ve been around too long. But they don’t know you, and it’s unlikely that any tourists who sign up for a tour will know you. You’re a cute couple; you’re in Salem! Naturally, you’ll want to take a cool tour.”
Skye groaned softly.
“And you … no shenanigans, Special Agent Erickson!” Gavin said lightly.
Zach frowned. It’s almost as if Gavin Bruns knew what I’d been thinking when we had parked before walking the last few steps to see Justin and Alicia Bolton.
Interesting.
“All right, I’m looking up tour information now, except …” “Except?” Zach asked.
She looked back at him apologetically. “Sorry, I went down the old rabbit hole.” She glanced over at Gavin as he drove, explaining, “Since we’ve come here, I’ve tried learning everything possible—from different sources—about the trials.
This is kind of sad. Tituba was arrested first. The girls probably blamed her because she’d told them stories to entertain them, and since she hadn’t been raised a Puritan, her stories might have been a bit ghostly.
They really aren’t sure about Tituba’s background.
She might have been taken as a slave from Barbados …
No one really knows. She was married to an indigenous man named John Indian.
But, okay, think about it. Winters without our modern heating devices, dark as dark can be.
The Puritan hardcore belief in evil, in the devil …
So she confesses to witchcraft,” Skye continued, paraphrasing from her phone.
“Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne are accused—by Tituba, according to many sources. Okay, now as far as the girls went … Betty Parris and Ann Putnam. They started having fits. The doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Really? Shocking that a doctor in the late 1600s didn’t have every available diagnostic tool possible.
Of course, if he couldn’t cure them, it had to be something evil! And so, it all began.
“But I’m reading a great article that stresses how much these trials had to do with the way we learned that we had to create laws that stopped mass hysteria, possibly fueled by wrongs, imagined or real, that could bring about the executions of so many.
Oh, yes, nineteen hanged, Giles Corey pressed to death—and at least five, possibly many more, who died in the disease-ridden and filthy jails!
Here’s what I don’t get: Why wasn’t anyone worried about the fact that, if they were indeed witches, they could have struck all their accusers down with a bolt of lightning? ”
“They were afraid of their powers—thus the many people in jail who were chained—and charged for their chains,” Gavin reminded them.
“No spectral evidence,” Zach murmured, looking at Skye. She turned to look back at him and smiled. “Law enforcement. Even if their gifts allowed them to suspect someone or even see the truth, they needed proof.”
And thus, they made their way through the academy; they worked cases with other agents before they might be approached by Jackson.
And it was right. No innocent man or woman should ever be condemned. Being in Salem brought that home more than ever.
“Okay, we’re here,” Gavin said, drawing into a parking lot.
There was a large convention center–looking building in front of them. It appeared to be relatively new, and, of course, nice—a great place for a senior dance.
“They didn’t have the dance at the school?” Skye asked, exiting the car.
“The school is older, decent, but the rooms here are larger, better suited for having a DJ and the crowning of the king and queen for the year, all that,” Gavin told them.
“There’s nothing going on this morning; but by tonight, employees of a giant tech firm will be taking over. So we need to see what we can see now.”
“Great. Thanks for arranging this so quickly,” Zach told him.
“Of course,” Gavin said. “This way. I have the code to the side door. Come on in, follow me.”
They didn’t go through the large entry doors, handsomely flanked by columns and a sign that welcomed people to the new facility. Instead, they walked around to a side entry where Gavin used a code to open a door, keying in a second code once they were inside to prevent any alarms from sounding.
Every move they made seemed to cause an echo.
“Wow!” Zach commented. “I have never been in a place this size with no one else in it before.”
“Hey, Gavin and I are in it!” Skye corrected.
“Eh, you know what I mean,” he retorted.
“This is just a breakout room,” Gavin told them. “Come on through here; I’ll show you the main convention hall, the stage, and the side kitchens.”
He took them through. The place was sparkling clean.
“They must have the best pickup detail known to man,” Skye said.
“Yes, they do a good job,” Gavin said. “All these are breakout rooms, then that archway just ahead leads into the main hall.”
They stepped through the archway. The hall was huge, with a high stage that appeared to be well-equipped.
“I spoke to the local police chief,” Gavin told them. “They have a giant party here Halloween night with costumes, prizes, music, food, cash bars … He said that it’s insane, but it brings people here when they don’t fit in Salem for the holiday.”
“I guess a big Halloween party in the area is a moneymaker,” Skye remarked. “It really is a great place. That stage is huge. And I’m willing to bet that it’s equipped with the best in lights, curtains, rigging, you name it. Do they have a theatrical company—”
“A local community theater is involved right now, and very happily involved. They’re looking forward to becoming professional.
And, of course, it can be rented out for concerts and all kinds of venues.
Follow me. We’ll take a look at the kitchen and prep rooms and then we can split up and wander at will, if you like. ”
He walked them through the kitchens first, then an enormous pantry, then a prep room that also contained numerous refrigerators and freezers—and even microwaves.
The main kitchen offered ovens, stovetops, and grills, and numerous counters that sat under lights for plates ready to be taken out to guests who were seated for an elaborate dinner, or for servers to carry out on appetizer trays they might offer around the room when the dance floor had been cleared and the setup was for a more casual evening.
“It’s an amazing place,” Skye commented.
Zach wondered how they were going to shake Gavin. There was little he could do here—the place had obviously been scoured since the teenage dance. But Skye …
“So you should wander at will,” Zach murmured.
“Right,” Skye replied. She wandered out of the kitchen and into the main hall.
She stood for several seconds, staring ahead. Then she turned toward the stage, but she didn’t head toward the steps that led up to the raised floor.
She just looked ahead, keeping her back to both Gavin and Zach.
Then she turned around and said, “We’re parked in front. But is there a back alley, loading docks, anything like that?”
“Yeah, sure, of course,” Gavin told them. “We need to go back through the kitchens. Right behind the area with all the equipment, there’s a sliding door that leads to a wide entry; when necessary, a truck can drive up a ramp and right in to make deliveries.”
“Nicely done,” Zach whispered.
They followed Gavin as he showed them where a ramp could be set up and a truck could drive right on up to the concrete.
“Interesting, considering the weight of a truck,” Zach said.
“The ramp is concrete—it comes up from beneath the ground,” Gavin explained.
“Okay, that makes more physical sense,” Zach agreed.
“The door opens back there; and to the side, you can find some steps. I’ll get the sliding door—wait!” Gavin warned as he saw Skye heading to a handle on the metal doors. “Let me put the code in!”
“Oh, thanks, I’m sorry!” Skye said quickly.
She looked back at Zach as Gavin went to open the delivery doors for her.
She had seen something; out here, she would see more.
“Okay, thanks!” she told Gavin, heading for the steps.
“Hey, Gavin, maybe you could show me—” Zach began.
But Gavin was already following Skye. Swearing softly beneath his breath, Zach swiftly followed Gavin as he followed Skye.
There was a wide alley in the back, framed by a scruffy field. There were scattered trees about, but not thick enough to allow for the ragged field beyond to be called a forest.
But Skye wasn’t looking at the empty growth to her side.
She was starting down the length of the alley.
He’d need to be alone with her, somehow, and soon.
“Gavin, I think we should head back in and take a look around the main hall,” Zach said. “Or the loading area, see if anything was left anywhere—”
“No, the action is here. They disappeared from this alley,” Gavin said with a grin, turning to look at Zach. “Here, right here. Skye is seeing something—and we need to know what it is, when she’s ready to tell us.”