The story of a voicless ghost

Chapter nine

We had searched every single place on the third floor where we were sure that there was something else hidden, but didn't find anything. It didn’t make sense to look at the second floor neither the first floor, there was only furniture so we only had left the fourth floor. We climbed those stairs and stood there for a moment remembering that night when Abel had confessed that he was unable to remember his life. The room looked very different than it had been that night, I had never realized how big the place was, it was bigger than the ballroom. The only thing similar to walls where white columns that where all over the place.

It was very similar to a green house, there where plants everywhere and also furniture, I guess this was where they celebrated their annual winter gala. I'd kill if I could get a chance to be in a gala like that, mostly in places like this, but my thoughts where interrupted suddenly and stopped walking. Abel faced me looking confused, I didn't say anything, I just pointed to a place far away from were we where, it looked like an office of some kind. Abel immediately recognized the place.

"Its my mothers office, she loved this place and also plants" he explained smiling" I used to love going there and playing while my mother answered letters"

"Well lets go" I said excited.

It was a spacious place, the walls where also glass unless one where the chimney was. I liked the place very much, it was inviting to come in. There was a couch in front of the chimney, a bookshelf the right side of the place and at the end was beautiful light brown desk and also a chair made out of clear white fabric. Just coming in Abel started smiling looking at the place with nostalgia.

"I have one question Abel"

"What is it?"

"You've been roaming around this place for many years now but I just don't get that now that you're with me you start remembering, why is that?"

"Honestly...I don't know. I don’t even remember anything about roaming around, I just remember forgetting and that was it. I think that I was somehow in a trance and you woke me up, you where the first person that I had seen in a long time"

I nodded in silence, how hard must it had been having to live in solitude for so long.

"Aren't you curious" he said smiling, I gave him a small smile and headed towards the desk and told Abel to look at the rest of the place.

The desk had only three drawers, I started with the left one. I opened it and found sketches and notes about the gala of the year 1821, it specified that it would be here and the theme was tropical, I guess it meant feathers and animal skin. There was also a beautiful design of a emerald green dress with feathers, and a guest list, I watched this one closely and hoped that what Charles had said in the letter wasn't true but it was, there were the three names of the Hughes family. Something odd that I noticed was that the organization of the sitting places at the tables was weird, Cora and Raymond Hughes where sitting both in a different table where Julien was and the suspicious thing was that Abel was also sitting where he was instead of where his brother and sisters where, why would he sit there?

Melodie did say that she had seen Abel with Julien together  most of the time, maybe they just had fun together and all I'm doing is worrying. I move to the middle drawer where I find a bunch of letters, I take them and I read them carefully. I decide to head towards where Abel is but he is lost in his thoughts looking at the wall where the chimney is.

"What is it?" I say a bit confused.

"I feel like there is something missing, here precisely. Don’t you think that this would be the perfect place to hang a painting? Yet where is it? I know that there is something missing" he said not taking his eyes off the wall

"It does seem like there used to be a painting here" I said, but why would someone hide it?

"I found some letters" I said handing him the letters

"Its a discussion between your parents. Walter wrote to your mother Helen complaining about why did she changed her mind about inviting the Hughes to the gala. She said that she didn't like them and didn't trust them at all, she told Walter about how Melodie and Charles tried to tell her that they were up to no good and after that she was more attentive. She realized how mean Cora was, how weird Julien acted around people except for Abel and how Raymond spent far too much time with Walter. Helen was also offended that he rather discuss this by cards than in person. 

In the second letter she agreed inviting the Hughes but told your father that she would sit you, Charles, Melodie and specially Lula away from the Hughes but you apparently came here and asked her to change your place and Julien's to the same table. Your mother started getting worried and she was still hurt and a bit mad towards Walter."

I faced him and asked:

"Why would you ask your mother to move your place and Julien's to the same table?"

He started breathing heavily and his cheeks were getting redder every second, he looked confused with himself, probably wondering why was he reacting like that. He looked lost trying hard to remember but then his face went white like if he had remembered something. Unexpectedly he grabbed my hand and guided my running down the stairs.

"Abel where are we going? What is going on?" I said not getting where we were going.

"I think I have something"

We went down towards the first floor where a pretty hidden door Abel was near the stairs. He opened it, there was more stairs. We went down in a hurry and reached the place where I guessed the staff lived, we went past a huge kitchen until we reached a hallway with doors. We got in the first room that looked like an office, I supposed this was the gatekeeper's. Abel looked through the drawers until he found a key and left the room.

"What are you doing?" everything was happening so fast I could barely keep up.

"I don't know" he said, well that was great.

He hurried towards the last door of the hallway and opened it, I had to run to reach him. I entered the place, it was huge also and it looked like an attic. The place had very little light but I could see that there was furniture and paintings covered in blankets. We started wondering around the place until I stopped and found two paintings that weren't covered. I started looking at them and I realized something, the first one that was very big had the entire Dawson family painted, the grandparents, Walter and Helen and their children. The second one was a portrait of Helen, it clearly looked like it belonged in her office. Why would someone hide this paintings in here?

"Abel, you were right, a painting was missing" he ran as soon as he heard me and looked at the paintings furious and sad at the time. He started pacing around like if he wanted to organize his thoughts.

"What are you thinking?" I said looking at him. I didn't get why was he angry

"Don't you see? This was Raymond Hughes fault, I'm telling you. My brother and sister suspect him and even my mother does. I think that he had reasons to somehow tear us apart"

"But why would he do that? Why in all the people in the world would he want to make your family miserable?"

"Charles said that Raymond and my father became close friends in very little time, we also found out that he wanted my father to invest in his company but we never knew if he did"

"Where are you going with this?"

"What if he was such a greedy man that he slowly deserted my father from us and our opinions? Far away from our warnings and concerns? What if somehow Raymond manipulate my father and told him that we betrayed him. He would only trust him. He would be in such a state of vulnerability that he would agree to do anything now that he had his full trust on Raymond"

I thought of it, it did make sense but what about all the other clues that we had found? They just couldn't be coincidences, it didn't make sense.

"But what about these paintings for example? Why would they hide these? Maybe I get that he wouldn't want to see the family portrait but why hide the portrait of his wife that was hung in her office?"

I reached to get a closer look but the room was too dark, I headed towards the office we had found with Abel behind me. When I faced to see the painting my voice faded as my eyes saw with horror.

"What is it?" Abel said concerned, I handed him the painting with trembling hands. The painting was full of blood, like if someone had killed a person in that painting. He just gave it a quick look and let go of it, unable to hold it any longer. He fell to the floor breathing fast looking as pale as ever.

All that he could manage to say was the name of the person who the instant that came into this house ruined everything, Raymond.