#AtoZChallenge - Blackwood Manor #Cozy Mystery - Part D #BlogBoost

There's a giveaway for those interested being held by my PA - HERE

"What do we even know about Oliver Blackwood?" Claire asked, finally breaking the silence of the ride home.

Ryan continues driving silently for a few minutes.

"Ryan?" Claire inquired

"I guess I'm not really sure," Ryan stated clearly in thought, realizing just how little he knew about Oliver Blackwood and why he may have purchased the asylum in their town.

"Why? Is something bothering you?."

"How long has the asylum been empty?" Claire realized that she only knew that it had been empty for a long time. Ryan had lived in Willow Creek his entire life while she hadn't arrived until after college, wanting a change from living her entire life in the big city. All those years ago she had thought Willow Creek was the answer. Then she met Ryan and knew she'd probably never leave.

"Oh let's see now." Ryan furrowed his eyebrow as he considered how long it had been abandoned. "I graduated in 2004 and the rumor was it had been abandoned for 25 years already. But people were still somewhat taking note of it and upkeeping the landscape until around the time I graduated from college in 2008."

Claire shamelessly used her fingers to get her math correct.

"So you're 35 and that would make Blackwood Manor being abandoned for 55 years?" Claire paused and watched Ryan nod. "Why do you think the outside of the property was taken care of for so long?"

"I guess I never really thought about it. I mean we'd known it was empty all through high school. It wasn't anything out of the norm. What became curious was when they stopped taking care of the landscape in 2008. But while some of us wondered there was never any answer."

"Who took care of it for all those years?"

"Why are you suddenly so interested in the asylum? We've been together for years and you've hardly ever mentioned it."

"I don't know" Claire admitted. "There's just something peculiar and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I just hadn't thought much about it until someone purchased the property and showed up in town."

"What do you think of Oliver?" Ryan asked.

"I can't get a read on him. Can you?"

"No. He's quiet. Reserved. I can't get a read on him but I imagine he only allows very few people into a select small circle that are close to him. He's definitely guarded." Ryan was entering full detective mode again.

Claire let out a deep breath. "There's just something dark about the place." She said softly.

"Claire, sweetheart... The place was never a happy place. An asylum isn't meant to be. The people that worked there never lasted very long because of their own mental status after working a number of years. People in the asylum have many problems and they're difficult to treat. It's a place of treachery... Mind treachery. A lot of medication. A lot of unhappiness. A lot of pain." Ryan stopped to glance over at his wife. 

"A lot of suffering." Claire finished for him. "What about Adelaide Blackwood?"

"What about her?" Ryan asked, giving off an emphatic shrug as he pulled into their driveway.

"Oliver sounded ominous when speaking of her being the lady of Blackwood Manor and mentioning that her spirit is still there." Claire grabbed her bag, slammed the car door, and started up the sidewalk, next to Ryan.

"Come now Claire, You don't believe in ghosts, do you? Are all the rumors and silliness that teenagers have spread for decades about the asylum finally getting under your skin?" Ryan chuckled and unlocked the front door, allowing Claire to enter ahead of him.

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