Keanna had called within 30 minutes. She had asked some questions about the painting and then finally asked to meet Drew. They lived six hours apart. She offered to pay for his gas if he was willing to drive that far.
He was now sitting across the table from her. She looked a lot like the woman in his painting. She had already wired him the gas money for driving there and back home again. She really wanted the painting.
"Can I see it?" She asked.
"That depends," he answered. "I paid money for it. With the story about it being haunted and what happened to her, I can make a lot of money on it. How much are you willing to pay?"
She stared at him and shook her head slightly. She couldn't believe the nerve of this man.
"That painting rightfully belongs to my family," she said.
"You can't prove that," he smirked.
She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. He picked up his glass of water and emptied it. He was sure she would come around. Instead she twisted a sideways smile that made him feel anxious. She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward.
"Every woman in our family looking like that is born with magic. You have no idea what I can do," she said.
"Are you threatening me?" He asked.
"There's no need for me to do that. Leinani is handling you fine on her own. But I will make sure no art dealer will ever touch it," she said.
"You can't do that," he said.
"Try me," she said. "I know you're in town for the night. I can smell the old inn on you so you stopped by there. That means you're staying for the night. That also means you got the painting with you. Come see me once you've had enough."
She got up and walked out of the diner they had met at. He didn't believe her. He took out his phone and googled for art galleries. He called the first one that came up.
"Tiffany Stratton's art gallery," a voice sounded.
"Hi, my name is Drew McIntyre," he said. "I got a painting you might be interested in. It's of a woman named Leinani Māhoe and..."
"No!" She cut him off. "We don't touch anything from the Māhoe family."
She hung up and he was left feeling puzzled. It had to be a coincidence. He called the next art dealer only to experience the same. The third one cut him off as soon as he had introduced himself.
"Save it," the guy said. "A mail has already been sent around from Tiffany Stratton. We all know what you're trying to sell and none of us want it. Save yourself the trouble and get rid of that evil thing before you end up in a padded cell banging your head into the wall."
He sighed and gave up on calling anyone else. Of course every art dealer had a system to contact each other. He wasn't even surprised. He got up, paid the bill, and went back to the old inn. He left the painting in the trunk of his car and walked to his room. He was tired. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He threw himself on the bed fully clothed and closed his eyes.
"I'll figure it out. I'll always do," he spoke to himself. "I'm gonna take it back to the thrift store and demand they buy it back."
The same creepy sound from the night before started. He opened his eyes and stared in horror at Leinani floating above his bed. It was a new level of scary and he was frozen in place.
"Please," he whispered. "I've done nothing to you. It wasn't me who killed you. I've done nothing wrong."
She slowly moved downwards, closer and closer to him. He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. He had no idea what this ghost woman could do to him so he did the only thing he could thing of.
"You win!" He screamed. "I'll take you home!"
She disappeared and he was able to move. He jumped out of bed and looked around. He could feel her watching him but he couldn't pinpoint from where. He ran out of the room and down the stairs to the woman Brie Bella running the old inn.
"Good evening," she smiled.
"Hi," he tried sounding as calm as possible. "Do you know where I can find Keanna Māhoe?"
"Of course," she said.
"Would you care to tell me? I have something important that belongs to her," he said.
"You found the lost painting, didn't you?" She smirked.
Apparently the entire town knew about this story. He didn't know what he had expected when he drove here. Not this but it was what he got.
"I can already tell it's giving you a hard time. You look tired," she said. "Continue down the road until you see the mansion. You can't miss it. Only mansion around here, and their name is on the sign. I'm sure she's waiting for you. She always knows when someone is on their way."
"Thank you," he said.
He ran out to his car and took off down the road. Ten minutes later the road took a curve to the left. If he continued forward, he entered a private road leading to a mansion. There was a sign hanging by the end of the road with the name Māhoe on it. He drove down the private road and wasn't even surprised when he found Keanna standing on top of the stairs waiting for him.
"That thing is fucking evil!" He growled.
"She just wants to go home," she said.
He pulled the painting up from the trunk, walked up the stairs, and handed it to her.
"Take it. I don't ever wanna see it again," he said.
"Thank you," she said. "Come with me. Let me show you something."
He followed her inside the mansion and down to a long corridor where painting after painting of women with black hair and piercing green eyes were hanging. She stopped by the empty spot and hung Leinani's painting back where it had always belonged.
"You're home, Leinani. You can rest now," she said.
She continued down to the end where her own painting was hanging.
"Once I die, my soul travels into my painting. If someone ever steals me, I'll haunt their ass too. We all belong in this mansion. We still communicate with each other. Death is no obstacle," she said.
"How many years does this go back?" He asked.
"Thousand," she said. "My niece is next in line. She's born with the same hair and eyes. I don't know why we all look like that. We stand out from the rest of the family. I can't tell you why our magic only chooses a few lucky ones. We are what we are, but I can't explain it to you no matter how much I try. I can however do certain things, and I will make it up to you."
"How?" He asked.
She smiled secretly and walked back down the corridor. He followed her back outside. Clearly he was not welcome to stay any longer.
"Go back to where you found her. There's a picture of your liking. It costs the same and the owner of the shop will gift it to you for free since you're his customer number 5000 since he took over," she said.
"You expect me to believe that?" He asked.
"I do. And you already believe me. I can feel it. You just wanna stay and talk for some reason. I don't think we got anymore to say to each other, Drew. I'm very grateful that you brougth Leinani home. She can finally rest now," she said.
"My pleasure," he said dryly.
He walked back down the stairs and got into his car. He turned the car around, gave her a wave, and drove back to the old inn. He needed to stay the night and catch up on his sleep before driving six hours home. The owner Brie greeted him when he came back.
"Was she happy?" She asked.
"Yes," he answered.
"Anything else I can help you with tonight?" She asked.
"No, thank you. I just need to sleep," he said.
"Breakfast is served from 6 AM to 11 AM," she said.
"Thank you," he said.
He walked up the stairs, got into his room, and once again threw himself fully dressed on the bed. He closed his eyes and waited. Nothing happened. No creepy sound and no woman lurking around his bed. He yawned and rolled over on his side. Sleep was very much welcome tonight.