All Kira Mather wanted was to buy the perfect birthday gift for her husband. When her sister-in-law takes her to the old North Boston Calvinist Church, currently being demolished to make room for a condominium project, she had no idea her husband was a descendent of Cotton Mather, the fabled witch trial crusader from the mid 1600s. When the demolition contractor presents an ancient, chain-locked trunk discovered during demolition, the ladies decide this would be the perfect gift for Kira’s husband, Professor Aldo Mather, a lover of antiquity and a huge fan of mystery. Prof. Mather, an avowed Athiest, disbelieves Kira’s assertion that something dangerous lives within the centuries old box. He presents the box to his university class in an effort to once again disprove the existence of a spiritual realm. What happens next will forever altar his perceptions. But, is it now too late for Aldo?
LOOK INSIDE
Chapter One
Kristiane (Kira) Mather hurried toward the ring tones of her Android cell phone. She’d been looking for it for twenty minutes.
There.
She rushed to the stone mantle over her fireplace, grabbed her phone on the fourth ring, and brushed the answer icon. “Hello.”
“Kira? This is Beth.” Bethany was Kira’s sister-in-law. “Want to go for a ride?”
“Where to?”
“You know that old Calvinist church in North Boston?”
“That old brick building with all the homeless squatters?”
“That’s the one.”
“Why on earth . . .”
“I don’t know if you know, but that property belongs to us. Cotton Mather, our great, great, great . . . I don’t know how many generations . . . He was one of the old witch trial judges from the late sixteen hundreds. He wrote books about witchcraft and oversaw some of the witch trials. Aldo never talks about him.”
“Then why would I want to go there?”
“Come on.”
“I don’t know. I’m just about to start cooking dinner.”
A knock at her front door turned her toward the entry. “Hold on, Beth. Someone’s at the door.” Kira hurried into the entry and opened the front door.
Beth smiled and hung up her cell phone. “Get your coat.” Excitement leapt from her wide-open eyes. It grabbed Kira’s curiosity.
A typical January day in Boston pushed freezing air past Beth, chilling the entry.
“Get in here and close the door.” Kira hurried into her kitchen and shut off the gas flame under her slowly boiling tea kettle. She grabbed the house keys from the open shelf near the kitchen door and hurried back into the entry.
The antique grandfather clock clicked and chimed once, 10:30 a.m.
Kira grabbed her purse from the side table, followed Beth out, locked the front door, and stepped into a light sprinkle of snow under a dark sky.
White vapor rose from the exhaust on Beth’s dark blue BMW crossover. They climbed in opposite doors at the same time, closed the doors at the same time, and Beth looked at Kira. “I got a call from the demolition contractor.” She put the SUV in reverse and backed onto the recently salted street. She shifted into drive and drove slowly toward the intersection.
“You’re demolishing that old church?”
“Had to. It’s been condemned.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. It’s a beautiful old church. I’ve always wondered why it was abandoned.”
“A few years after the witch trials, the people of Boston felt guilty. Then the King of England outlawed religious persecution. Our guilt-ridden family sank into obscurity and spent two generations in seclusion. The church just never reopened. Calvinism doesn’t really exist anymore, anyway. I sometimes hear the term at High Rock Church. It’s not far from our North Church property. We’ve rented the property to some non-profit charities in the past.”
“Yes, I remember. You took me to High Rock Church on a warm Sunday morning. Aldo was over in New Haven.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot. A little over a year ago, right?”
“We should go more often. I love Evangelical churches. I can feel Jesus. I wish I could convince Aldo to go with us.”
“He’s an avowed atheist. He thinks it’s a bunch of superstitious nonsense, which reminds me. Did you buy anything yet for his birthday?”
Kira folded her hands over her purse. “I don’t know what to get him. I was going to call you and ask for help.”
“Here we are.” Beth parked across the street from the old brick church. Three large trash bins crowded the curb on the street. The whole property had been surrounded by a 6-foot-high chain-link fence. The antique windows and doors had already been removed.
Kira followed Beth through the open gate and into the high nave of the old church, where a smoke spewing generator hummed, powering an overhead string of work lights.
Beth led Kira toward the high altar, where four hardhat laborers stacked wood paneling. Another hardhat in an expensive looking suit stood behind the altar, examining the church’s stained-glass windows leaning against the back wall, scribbling notes on a clipboard.
Beth said, “Mr. Corrigan?”
The man turned toward them. “Bethany Cartwright?”
“Yes.” Beth fanned toward Kira. “This is my sister-in-law, Kira Mather.”
Mr. Corrigan took off his hat and nodded at the ladies. “The Mather?”
Kira blushed and smiled.
Beth said, “Of course. She’s my brother’s wife.”
Mr. Corrigan smiled and put on his hardhat. He shook hands with Kira and said, “Very nice to meet you.” He shook hands with Beth. “And you.” He took three steps to a steel desk, bent, opened a drawer, and gave them each a hardhat. “Please put these on. It’s required by state law.”
Kira shouldered her purse, took the hardhat, and put it on.
Beth put hers on and Mr. Corrigan led them down the hallway behind his desk. He said, “My contract requires me to offer your brother the opportunity to buy anything here by matching the top bid. Aldo already passed on all but one of the stained-glass windows. He had no interest in the carved oak paneling or the oak doors. They’re all stacked out front. You walked right past them. The brass bells are still up in the tower.” He stopped and turned back. “All three have a wonderful tone. The local Presbyterian synod bid $2,500.00 for the full set.” He waited for a response. “No?”
Beth glanced at Kira.
Kira shook it off. Her husband, Aldo would have no interest in church bells.
Beth said, “Aldo said you have something to show him. He asked me to take a look. He’ll try and stop by later.”
Mr. Corrigan nodded and turned down a long flight of stairs where lights had been strung on the right-side wall. The stair turned right at the bottom and they walked onto an old, unevenly-settled brick floor.
Two laborers shoveled old plaster into two barrels. Plaster had been scraped from three of the walls and had been partially scraped off the fourth, exposing a secret, framed-off chamber about the size of a side-by-side refrigerator.
Mr. Corrigan said, “We always take everything down to the bones. This makes final demo easier and safer. After we pull out all we can, we come in with the crane to pull it down from the top.”
Kira couldn’t make out what was inside the chamber.
Mr. Corrigan said, “Finding hidden rooms like this isn’t a surprise. Old buildings often have them. However . . .” He pulled a small Mag-lite from his jacked pocket and turned it on.
A small brick room with a low ceiling had been hidden behind wood framing and plastered over. Inside, resting on the brick floor, sat an ancient looking trunk with iron straps and an inset lock. Forged iron chains had been wrapped around it in both directions and secured with an ancient-looking padlock.
Kira’s curiosity ran wild, with no place to land.
Mr. Corrigan said, “I’m bidding $700.00 for this. I haven’t invited any other bids. $700.00 is enough to feed my curiosity. My wife would kill me if I paid more.”
Kira extended her hand.
Mr. Corrigan handed her his flashlight.
Beth stepped close behind Kira. “At the very least, it would make a fantastic piece of furniture. I think we’ve found the perfect birthday gift.”
A dark dread crossed Kira’s shoulders and sank into her belly. “I don’t . . .”
“Oh, come on. Aldo will love this. He loves mystery, and he loves antiques.”
Mr. Corrigan nodded and waved at his two laborers.
Both men stood back and stared, hesitant to help.
Mr. Corrigan said, “Come on. It looks too heavy for these ladies. Let’s tear out this framing and get that trunk out of here.”