A ghost story (FrUK)

Chapter four

"Do you remember the year you died?" I asked him "yes, it was in 1651," he said, confused. "Great! Tomorrow I promise I will go to the library," I smiled at him, standing up. "Thank you," he cheered. Knowing the year, he died can eliminate a lot of years. So I needed to ask. "So, is it my turn to ask you something?" He questioned. "Yes, if you want," I smiled, sitting back down. "How come you decided to live in this old house?" He asked. I looked at him for a second before answering. "Well, I want to be a novelist, so I decided that living in an old house could help give me inspiration." I smiled at him. "You should write about me then!" He laughed out. "Maybe," I smiled back at him nicely.

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As promised, I went to the library the following day to examine some of the death records. Francis was extremely sad that he was not able to follow along, though. I felt a little bad that he could not come. I arrived at the library in the late afternoon, which meant it was extremely cold outside. I can not even imagine how cold it will be in December.

"Can I help you, sir?" The desk lady asked. "Yes, I wanted to look at your death records?" I asked nervously, seeing her face become curious. "The last floor, in the basement" she pointed to the stairs making me nod.  I had to walk down five flights of stairs before getting to the basement. This was torture. Once I made it downstairs, I placed my hands on my knees to take a breath. "Sir, there was an elevator," a woman pointed in the direction past me. I looked at her, then to the elevator, and wanted to die. Now someone tells me.

I stood up straight and started to walk into the shelves that were filled with hundreds of death records but stopped. "Excuse, What is the latest these dates back to?" I asked the woman. "The latest recorded is probably the early 12th century," she said in an unsure tone. "So the 17th is here?" I asked. "Yes, definitely, that section is right over there, section A511" she pointed to the opposite direction I was about to head to. "Thank you," I smiled, following where her finger was leading me.

I walked for a minute until I finally found the section that I was looking for. However, the section looked limited to only a few record bundles. I bent down on the ground to reach the records and took them all out. Trying to find the year Francis was killed. "1651....1651" I repeated to myself, looking through the files. "Found it!" I smiled happily, taking out the bundle labeled by that year. I set all the files back and looked through that file. If I can find some news articles, it can help me find out what happened to his sister and lover.

Suddenly, I was able to find it. "Yes!!!" I cheered. "Sir, there is no shouting in the library," the lady got mad at me. "Sorry," I whispered back to her; she nodded, looking at me as she sat back in her chair. I took out the year, and my bundle was getting smaller. If I remember correctly, he said it was December when he died. That narrows my choices down. I went to that section and pulled out a smaller file.

I opened it up, started looking at the articles there, and flipped through it. "Bonnefoy, Francis" I looked down at the B section and finally was led to a tab. I quickly opened it and took out the newspapers in the tab. I held it up to my face reading the headline "gazette de nice" the newspaper was so old I thought it would rip from touching it. I started to read the article slowly, squinting my eyes.

"December 10th, 1651. A village mob arrived late at night at the bonnefoy estate. On a tip, the master was mentally ill with homosexuality, Which is a crime. Francis Bonnefoy was sentenced to death by the town late last night. His sister Lucille bonnefoy who reported the crime, was granted full access to the estate and money inheritance. Her fiancé, Antonio Fernández Carriedo, plans to get married two weeks from now. ......."

I stopped reading, angry about the information. I looked down at the year and saw something else. "What?" I said, shocked. I quickly took out another file, reading the name. "Lucille...bonnefoy?...." I said, horrified. "What the fuck?!" I yelled but was immediately shushed. "Sorry," I apologized, starting to read that article.

"December 31, 1651. The wedding night of Lucille and Antonio Fernández Carriedo turned cruel as Antonio's wife was found murdered with a knife through her throat. Signs of rape and molestation were present, along with beatings. Antonio Fernández Carriedo's body was not there, and he is presumed not dead. Authorities say it was a marriage for money. All inheritance goes to Antonio Fernández Carriedo, yet he is nowhere to be found. All money from the bonnefoy estate was also reported stolen. Antonio Fernández Carriedo is the most wanted man in France."

I stopped reading, falling back to the floor. He had them killed for their money. I wonder if I could find out if he were caught. I picked up the files of Francis and Lucille and walked back to the desk to ask for information. "How May I help you, sir?" The lady looked at me smiling. "Can you find a ...... Antonio Fernández Carriedo's death record on the computer?" I asked, looking at the reports. She nodded and started to type some stuff into her computer.

"There is a record of him in London, England. If you wait a few days, it will arrive from request," she smiled. "Yes, please, that will be great," I smiled. "Alright then, would you like to take those as well?" She asked. "Yes, please," I added, handing her the papers.

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