AN EERIE TWIN-TOWERED CASTLE of white stone on an ice-bound island on a frozen winter lake, a nearby English manor house haunted by a flute playing ghost who roams the halls at night accompanied by a wolf, and a mysterious kidnapped girl from the p...
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The Dana girls were shocked.
"Amnesia!" Louise exclaimed. "Heaven forbid! But yet, that does explain everything."
"Indeed it does," agreed Jean. "No wonder she runs away and does not communicate with her parents. She is afraid. All she remembers is the mansion and how to get inside it, but not the people who live there."
Chakwanna nodded her head slowly. "That is exactly the case. Lorraine does know who she is because of newspaper clippings Eddie and Tina kept and Lorraine found when she was older. But she does not remember any of it."
"The trauma of the kidnapping may have caused her to lose her memory," Louise suggested.
"I believe so, too," said Chakwanna. "But let us not stand out in the cold. Please come to my home and I will tell you all I know about Lorraine. You then can decide what is to be the best course of action."
"Is Lorraine not here?" Jean asked, as they began to walk up the road.
Chakwanna shook her head. "She took off early this morning in search of the wolf. Chatchaat stays out in the woods at night for he does not like to be inside a dwelling. The people here would be afraid of him anyway. We have not had wolves amongst us in many years. She said she had a couple places to go, and I suspect one of them was the mansion at Bleak Acres. Something she saw there last night jogged her memory a little bit. I think she wanted to see it again."
"What was it?" Louise asked.
"Lorraine saw a Christmas tree in the parlor with several people sitting around it. It brought back to her a small memory of Christmas as a child. But, of course, it frightened her terribly and she ran away."
Jean looked at Louise knowingly. "The Christmas tree! Perhaps the slight recall will open her mind to further memories. How fortunate that the holiday decorations have not yet been taken down."
She explained to Chakwanna that the Christmas decorations at the mansion were still on display because Lorraine's nightly visitations with the wolf had scared the Symingtons away to New York.
Chakwanna chuckled. "She told me about sneaking into the mansion at night and playing the flute song. I knew it was a meager attempt to communicate with those inside, but I also knew it would frighten them." She stopped in front of one of the small log homes. "Here, this is where I live. Come inside and we shall have a warm beverage by the fire."
The girls followed Chakwanna into the cabin and were immediately comforted by the warmth emanating from the central hearth and from a wood stove near a narrow hall that led to back rooms. The log home was attractively furnished with comfortable contemporary pieces, native art and artifacts, and animal heads and skins displayed on the walls.
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