An Oriel of Death

By Adam Volrath

In the autumn of 2003, the rich farming community of Cumberland, Maine, has finally settled down from the constant motion of a massive harvest season. A young man by the name of Haines Bishop lived with his parents and family dog just outside of town.

But Haines is not a normal young man; he possesses what some call a sixth sense. He senses what others cant, such as emotions and pain that are not his own. To this point, hes managed his gift well and has even partially blended in with society.

However, a series of dreams and events throws his life into a chaos that places him and the people he loves in jeopardy. He thinks hes witnessed a murder. As the clues are collected, Haines continues to walk the line of danger. Will he connect the dots in time? During his search, he discovers there is much more involved than he originally thought.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781491787687

Adam Volrath

Adam Volrath was born and raised and currently lives in Michigan. He works in online sales. This is his first book.

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Copyright © 2016 Adam Volrath.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-8769-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-8768-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016902466

iUniverse rev. date: 02/18/2016

Contents

Chapter 1 Meet Haines Bishop

Chapter 2 The Haunted Field

Chapter 3 Only You Can Save Her

Chapter 4 Lance Mullins

Chapter 5 Tubby

Chapter 6 Death Surrounds the Water

Chapter 7 Evidence

Chapter 8 Good-Bye, Old Friend

Chapter 9 Was It That Obvious?

Chapter 10 The Real Mastermind

Thank you to all who have supported me.

For Marie

CHAPTER 1

Meet Haines Bishop

Have you ever experienced something so terrifying that looking upon death’s face would have been a relief? Or perhaps looking upon death’s face was the experience that brought forth the immense terror. Death is a mystery parceled in a package, and unfortunately, certain individuals haven’t any choice but to unlock and examine its contents. The realness of a situation gets lost in the shuffle, and minds decide the outcome. The generations look to the elders for the answers they have never possessed, and finally it leads back to the few—the ones who can see past all the distractions that divert the mind from all the minute features.

We will begin on a fairly shivery day in the autumn of 2003. The rich farming community of Cumberland, Maine, had finally settled down from the constant motion of a massive harvest season. To the eyes of most, barren fields and little bodies of water filled the landscape of the modest country town. The grounds were bare, but the leaves on the trees had turned, creating an exuberance of colors that even the most prolific painter couldn’t capture. A tranquil breeze wobbled a branch, causing a leaf to litter the ground with its splendor. Squirrels raced around as they searched for important nuts to store for the extensive, frosty winter. Moos could be heard from a cluster of cows returning to their barn for the night. Several hundred birds started their lengthy journey south in an attempt to evade the cold. A fox came back to his den with a captured field mouse to consume. Lastly, the almighty sun had already begun its path to becoming a beautiful sunset. Within hours, darkness would take over the land, and a new set of nature’s elements would take the stage. Unfortunately, these details often go unseen. Well, to most people, at least.

On the southeast side of this quaint agricultural town lay a yellow two-story house on a three-acre property. Half-grown blue spruces lined both sides of the thirty-yard driveway that led to a two-car attached garage. From there, a pathway guided visitors to a sizable porch with three lawn chairs that, unfortunately, saw very little use. Four apple trees sat in the backyard along with a miniature goldfish pond stocked with fish. Just to the right of the back of the garage was a sturdy doghouse, which was home to Moira, the family dog. The upkeep was much, but everything was maintained to a reasonable level. Although the abode wouldn’t be considered luxurious, it was anything but shoddy.

In between the stout brick walls that anchored the structure lived a family of three—a hardworking father, an understanding mother, and their son, Haines Bishop. Haines had just returned home from the godforsaken hellhole the majority of individuals referred to as school. Like most days, it had been a short, uneventful drive with nothing out of the ordinary. After a sharp turn into the driveway that made the slightest tire squeal, Haines parked his car in front of the garage to the right. There was a perfect rectangle of dead grass where his car sat. He had to park there because he couldn’t block either of the two entrances to the garage. Being lowest on the totem pole, he didn’t get one of those spots, which was understandable.

As he stepped from his vehicle, the wind changed its course of direction, stirring up leaves and other items that dwelled on the ground. This did not go unnoticed. Haines stood in the brisk breeze and absorbed the feelings the wind cared to share. His eyes scanned the distance with a look of utter bliss and rapture while a zephyr moved his hair to what seemed like a melody only he could hear. He was somewhat small for a teenager of his age, shorter than most, and had wavy brown hair and matching dark eyes. Style wasn’t an important aspect in his life. The simple brown shirt and generic blue jeans he wore proved that.

A pleasant depiction, he uttered as he closed his car door and watched what was left of the leaves dance on one of the trees. The creative side of the weakest stream shows the real sides of life, and existence is never appreciated for its outstretched wonders. His words came easily, despite the absence of another soul to take notice of them. Speaking to himself was quite the normality; he would often catch himself having whole conversations with no one other than himself.

Haines was the son of Bill and Amy Bishop. Bill was an educated businessman who served as an adviser to a successful business that operated all over the world. A job of this magnitude was something most individuals could only dream of—a high-paying position that allowed him to travel the globe and see and experience things most would never encounter. Bill was one of those citizens who truly loved his career, but it also had many negative factors. Haines couldn’t recall the last time his dad had been home for more than a few days before he had to depart again. He’d be in Texas today, maybe home tomorrow, and perhaps Oregon next week. Their relationship suffered, but Haines totally understood his father’s position and never once held malice toward him for his absence. Instead, he gladly accepted the monetary blessings that his father’s job provided. Bill missed his family but put his role of provider above any feelings he had.

Amy had been Bill’s high school sweetheart and had stayed with him through the tough college years. Most of that time, Amy had been the provider with a waitress job that paid very little. She often referred to this time period as the hard days, but she always said their sacrifices were well worth it. Now she spent most of her days just being a homemaker and doing basic things, such as grocery shopping, cleaning, and working in her flower beds. The normal family life was perfect for her. It was what she had always desired. Amy loved her family with all her heart, and her down-to-earth personality made it easy for her to talk to Haines, even when she hadn’t any idea as to what he was trying to say.

Haines was an abnormal young man who seemed to possess what several individuals would call the sixth sense. As he entered a room, he could sense what others couldn’t regard—feelings from another life or perhaps just figments of his imagination, no one really knew. Maybe it was spirits, ghosts, or possibly some other anomaly from the afterlife that took delight in seeing him react. Whatever it was, he felt it, and anyone who knew him could tell. The boy’s eyes never lied, and often his mother would talk about the pain she could see. He couldn’t explain it and really didn’t care to try. It was just a part of his life. Up to this point, he had gotten used to it. Sure, the constant bullying and name calling from others his age never missed the mark, but his lack of care about others’ opinions had lessened the blows. Despite these things, Haines had lived life about as ordinarily as someone in his situation could. In fact, very few even knew about his talent, if you can call it that; most just thought he was weird.

However, most didn’t include Haines’s girlfriend, Macey Coneloft. She was better than the world. A pretty girl, about five three, which lined up perfectly with Haines’s five-foot-six-inch frame. She had curly blonde hair that perfectly complemented her bright blue eyes. Her style was somewhat the opposite of Haines’s. She liked to look high quality, just as much as any young woman her age. She was popular but consciously strove to stay down to earth. Her caring side was one of her best qualities and a foremost reason why their relationship was successful. She didn’t understand his pain but recognized that there was pain and stood by him through the trials. Her love was the main source of bliss in his life, and happiness was a far cry from where he had been before her. Macey had turned his life around; she was the morning star he had never seen. She was the piece of something easy to believe in, and he latched to her as if she was his breath. They