The Ghosts of Aquinnah Read Online Free PDF

her reservation, learning that it had originally been built in the early 1800s by the Hammett family, who were sheep farmers. The house had now been restored and painted a beautiful shade of pale yellow. The Hammett House was surrounded by rolling green farmland lined with charming stone walls, and its secluded country setting made it a perfect destination for honeymooners and anyone else looking for peace and quiet. It sounded like heaven to Hannah.
    Within a half hour, she had arrived at Hammett House and checked in to her room. She quickly unpacked her bag and hung up her clothing before sinking down onto the four poster antique bed and running her hands over the blue and yellow patchwork quilt that covered it. The room was a perfect combination of past and present, and of 21 st century comfort mixed with 19 th century charm. Hannah was tempted to curl up on the bed and stay there, but she knew she couldn’t waste time. She hadn’t come here for a vacation.
    Hannah splashed some water on her face and removed her cap long enough to run a comb through her windblown hair. She grabbed a bottle of water from the room refrigerator and a granola bar from her backpack, and headed back outside to her car.
    She opened her windows and let the cool sea air engulf her car as she drove the winding road up to the cliffs. The sun was just beginning to sink towards the horizon, and Hannah knew she only had a few hours left to search for her mystery woman before nightfall. She hoped to find answers at the Gay Head lighthouse itself.
    The parking lot next to the stairs that led to the cliffs overlook was crowded when Hannah arrived, and she considered herself fortunate to take the last empty space. Getting out of her car, she turned and stared at the stairs and the webcam that looked down on them. She wondered if someone was watching her now from the comfort of their home, just as she had watched the mystery woman from her Boston apartment.
    Instead of going to the overlook, Hannah bypassed the crowds milling around the restaurants and shops and headed for the red brick lighthouse. She knew the lighthouse was open for tours during the early evening hours, and she hoped to find a tour volunteer to speak with. All of the overlook businesses were closed during the hours she had seen the woman at the cliffs, but she knew that lighthouse volunteers and maintenance workers could be found at the cliffs at odd times. With luck, someone else had seen her mystery woman and knew her identity.
    Hannah walked into the interior of the lighthouse and found a young man arranging brochures on a wooden table next to the door. He wore the standard Vineyard apparel of jeans and a faded hooded sweatshirt, and his long, stringy brown hair was pulled back into a thin ponytail. Sporting a Boston Red Sox cap and rectangular glasses, the man turned to look at Hannah as she walked through the door.
    “ Hi,” he said, not even trying to be subtle as his eyes ran from Hannah’s face to her feet and back again. Apparently pleased with what he saw, he held out his hand and smiled. “Are you here for a tour?”
    Hannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the once-over she had received. She was used to being admired by men, and she knew she had received an excellent combination of genes from her white father and her black mother. With her tall and willowy frame, she had often been told she could have been a model. Her large brown eyes and high cheekbones added to her unusually good looks.
    She smiled back at the man and shook his extended hand. “I’m not, but thank you. I just wondered if I could ask you a few questions.”
    “ Sure. What about?”
    “ Do you know if there have been any historic reenactments up here recently? Maybe some sort of show or festival?”
    The man put down his brochures and shook his head. “No. We never have that sort of thing on the Vineyard as far as I know.”
    Hannah knew that too, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.
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