A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) (6 page)

L
in and Viv
had lunch on John’s boat and then headed a few blocks to a side street tucked off the main section of town.

“I can’t believe I’ve never been to this shop.” Viv smiled. “I can’t wait to go in.”

“Remember why we’re here though.” Lin spotted the small shop tucked between a gift shop and a clothing boutique. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

The girls entered the tiny, cozy store. Nantucket baskets and trays and purses lined shelves and hung from the low ceiling. The golden wood floor nearly sparkled in the sunlight. An older woman with a long gray braid curling over her shoulder sat hunched at a table in one corner of the place. Lin was surprised that this woman was Mary’s mother. She looked so much older than Lin expected.

Despite the woman’s arthritic knuckles, the fingers of her hands moved skillfully weaving the reeds into an oval basket. Viv watched from across the room as the woman performed her craft.

Without lifting her head, the woman spoke. “You can come closer.”

Viv smiled and moved over to the table.

“Do you work the baskets?” The woman lifted her eyes to Viv for just a second and then returned her attention to her work.

“I do.” Viv watched the woman weave. “I’m always trying to learn.”

“So am I.” A grin lifted the corners of the older woman’s mouth. “There is always something new to discover from the wood.”

Lin walked over and stood next to her cousin.

The woman’s gnarled hands stopped moving the strips of ash and looked up at Lin. She blinked several times. Her eyes seemed to bore into Lin and for a moment, Lin felt like the woman could see right through her.

“Are you sisters?”

Lin wondered what the woman could sense about them. The two cousins didn’t look alike until you got to know them and then, a resemblance might be noted, but it wasn’t really a physical sameness that the girls shared. Lin had long brown hair, was taller then her cousin, and her physique was slim and fit. Viv had chin-length light brown hair with golden highlights. She carried a few extra pounds and was shorter. They both had the same blazing, bright blue eyes though.

Lin shook her head.

“But you’re like sisters, aren’t you?” The woman cocked her head still studying the two young women before her.

Viv smiled. “We’re cousins.”

“What are your names?”

“I’m Vivian Coffin and this is my cousin, Carolin Coffin.”

Lin spoke up. “Everyone calls me Lin.”

“I’m Lacey Frye.” The woman gave a nod that was very much like a slight bow. “What brings you in today?”

“I love the baskets and I’ve never been in here before, even though I’ve lived on the island my whole life.” Viv chatted amiably. “I can’t understand why I never came by. Your place is sort of tucked away, I guess.”

“My hours are often limited.” Lacey gave a sigh and a shrug. “I have some health problems. I don’t have the stamina I once had. But, I love what I do and I need to keep busy.”

“We’re like that, too. We like to be busy.” Viv nodded to her cousin. “We both run businesses.” The conversation went on for a while as Viv told Lacey about the bookstore-café, her band and the gigs they performed, and how Lin worked part-time as a computer programmer and also ran a full-time landscaping business.

Lin eyed Lacey to gauge her interest in Viv’s monologue and was relieved to see that she was enjoying the chat.

Viv went on. “Lin is about to get a new contract to do the landscaping at the cultural museum.”

“Well, maybe.” Lin gave a little shrug. “We’ll see how the proposal is received.”

Lacey gave Lin a look that was hard to decipher. “Who invited you to bid on the job?”

“One of the board members is a client of mine. She asked me if I’d be interested in the work and told me to contact someone about it.”

“Who was the board member who asked if you’d be interested in the job?” Lacey asked.

“Claire Rollins.”

Lacey narrowed her eyes. “Who did she tell you to speak with?”

“Nathan Long.”

“I see.” A strange look flickered over the woman’s face.

“Do you know Mr. Long?” Lin asked.

“I know him.” The words sounded icy and brittle.

“Have you worked with Nathan?” Viv seemed oblivious to the tone in Lacey’s voice. “I took a class with him recently.”

“I worked with Nathan a long time ago. He’s made a quite a name for himself, hasn’t he?”

Lin couldn’t put a finger on the emotion that was emanating from Lacey. Someone might think it was jealousy over Nathan’s successful career and notoriety, but Lin was sure that wasn’t the reason. It seemed to be something else. She concentrated trying to understand the currents that were floating on the air. Was it anger? Regret? Sadness? Lin had almost grasped the feeling when the sensation seemed to break apart and slip away.

Viv’s voice brought Lin out of her focused state. “I’ve been learning to make the baskets for a few years. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it, but maybe someday.” Viv pulled up a chair to Lacey’s table. “May I sit and watch you work for a little while?”

“That would be very nice.” Lacey picked up a splint of ash and started to weave.

Lin stood by the table. “We met your daughter. Mary.”

“Did you? At the museum?” Lacey bent over her work. “Or at the breakfast shop?”

“At the museum,” Lin replied. “We didn’t know she worked at a breakfast place.”

“Mary works at the shop over on Newcomb Street. She’s as busy as a bee, that girl. It’s nice to have her on-island in the summers. She works with me some evenings and we weave together.”

“We took a class with her last night out at her friend’s place.” Viv leaned forward to watch Lacey as she fiddled with a piece of the wood.

“Mary’s a good teacher.” Lacey nodded.

Lin decided that now would be a good time to bring up the stolen basket. “I was at the cultural museum the night they discovered that the antique basket was missing.”

“Were you?” Lacey slowly raised her face to make eye contact with Lin. “Did you notice anything amiss when you were there?”

“Not really. We’d only just arrived when one of the workers rushed over to the man I was with to tell him the basket was missing.”

“Who were you with?”

“Anton Wilson, a local historian.”

“I know who he is.” Lacey gave a nod. Her expression seemed to imply a favorable impression of Anton. The woman’s brown eyes narrowed. “Who reported the issue to Anton?”

“Martha Hillman.”

A scowl pulled Lacey’s facial muscles down.

“Do you know her?” Lin hoped to get Lacey to say something about Martha.

“I know her,” Lacey said, her voice was tight. “She shouldn’t have that job.”

“No?” Lin cocked her head.

Lacey ignored Lin’s question. “What room were you in when they noticed the missing object?”

“The first exhibition room. Your daughter was in that room as well.”

“What did Martha say to Anton?”

Lin thought that Lacey would make a great detective. “She whispered, so I couldn’t hear what she said, but Anton blurted out a question. Well, it was more like an exclamation about the basket being missing. We hurried into the next room and the pedestal was empty. I suggested that Martha call the police right away.”

Lacey seemed to be pondering the information.

Lin said, “Your daughter told me that the employees use the rear entrance during working hours to enter the museum. It’s a staff entrance, I guess. It seems it might be easy enough for someone to come in that way and make off with the basket. I’m sure the police must think the same thing.”

“Yes.” Lacey’s brow furrowed. “That door should have been locked when such a valuable piece as the basket was present in the museum. They’ll never be able to acquire something like that again. It won’t happen if the sending institution feels security in the museum is lax.”

Viv had been listening to the conversation, but now asked a question. She looked at Lacey. “Why do you think it was stolen? To sell it and get the money?”

Lacey put her materials down and wiped her hand on a small towel. “I’m sure the police think the basket was stolen for the money which has them running down the wrong path and barking up an imaginary tree.”

The door to the shop opened and three women entered and began admiring the baskets on the store shelves.

“You don’t think it was taken to sell it off?” Lin kept her voice soft.

The older woman’s face clouded. “I do not.” When one of the customers asked her a question, Lacey rose from her seat and crossed the space to where the customers stood looking over a large woven tray. “Nice talking with you girls.”

As Lin and Viv left the shop, a cold breeze blew over Lin’s skin and she shuddered. “Wow, the ocean breeze must have changed direction. It’s really cold.”

“You’re cold?” Viv was surprised that her cousin felt cold in the heat of the day. She stopped short and turned to Lin. “
I’m
not cold. It isn’t cold out.”

“Oh.” Lin took in a breath and then shifted her gaze across the cobblestone street.

On the opposite sidewalk, dressed in eighteenth-century garments, the ghost of Lin’s ancestor, Sebastian Coffin, stood glimmering in the sunlight.

“
W
ho is it
?” Viv gripped her cousin’s arm. “Where is it?” Even though she couldn’t see ghosts, her head moved from side to side scanning the area.

Lin made eye contact with the ghost of her ancestor. “It’s Sebastian,” she whispered. “He’s standing across the street.”

“Thank heavens he’s on
that
side of the road.” Viv’s grip on Lin’s arm loosened a bit. “Tell him to stay over there.”

“He won’t come closer if you’re with me.” Lin closed her eyes for a second trying to clear her mind in the hopes the ghost would send her a mental message. She tried to relax her muscles and calm her thoughts, but her brain was jumping from thing to thing trying to determine the reason for Sebastian’s appearance.

Lin sighed and opened her eyes. The ghost was still standing in the same spot. She marveled at how beautiful the atoms were that made up his form, both transparent and shimmering at the same time. Lin smiled, amused by the fact that tourists and island natives bustled by the ghost with no idea that a spirit stood so close to them and for a moment, she felt lucky to be able to see the ones who had passed. She gave Sebastian a slight nod.

“What’s he doing?” Viv’s voice sounded less shaky.

“Just looking over here.”

“Is he communicating with you?”

“No, just looking.” Lin kept her eyes locked on Sebastian’s. “Let’s stand quietly in case he tries to tell me something.” Her hand went to her necklace and she ran her finger over the horseshoe on the pendant. The necklace was once owned by Sebastian’s wife, Emily.

As Lin watched, it seemed that the particles that made up the ghost’s body started to glow brighter and she couldn’t tell if it was just the daylight and the way the sun was striking the atoms that made him glow or if it was the atoms themselves that sparkled so brightly. She felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off of the ghost even though the gleam was becoming so glaring that it almost caused pain to look at him.

Unconsciously, Lin raised her hand to shield her eyes and then the ghost’s light started to dim. The atoms began their now familiar swirling and Lin knew Sebastian was about to disappear. The first time the ghost had shown up in her yard several months ago, he had frightened and alarmed Lin and she hoped that he would never appear again, but now, when he made one of his rare appearances, her heart filled with happiness and when he left, a twinge of sadness pinched her.

“He’s gone.” Lin blinked several times at the spot where the ghost had stood.

“Did he tell you anything? Why did he come?” Viv let go of her cousin’s arm.

Lin shrugged. “I’m not sure why he came. He didn’t tell me anything.”

“These ghosts,” Viv huffed. She led the way up the sidewalk to the center of Nantucket town. “Why can’t they be more straightforward? Everything’s a guessing game. Everything is a puzzle. What if we’re not good at puzzles? Well, you’re good at puzzles, but you know what I mean.”

While her cousin continued with her fussing, Lin couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t matter that Viv was right about the spirits, the ghosts did things in their own way and in their own time.

The only thing Lin could do was try to figure out what it all meant.

* * *

W
alking
up the street to Viv’s bookstore, Lin spotted Anton hurrying down the sidewalk towards them. The historian had his head down and looked deep in thought as he stepped briskly around the people strolling along. Anton carried a black leather folder under his arm and was about to enter the bookstore, when Lin called to him. He stopped abruptly and glanced around suspiciously not realizing who spoke his name.

Lin and Viv approached.

“It’s just us,” Viv told the short, wiry man. On her way inside to check on her employees, she said, “Lin saw Sebastian Coffin.”

Anton looked wide-eyed at Lin. “Where did you see him?”

“Are you going in?” Lin gestured to the bookstore entryway. “Are you meeting Libby?”

Anton shook his head. “I’m not meeting anyone. Libby’s gone to the mainland. I was going to get a coffee and do some paperwork at one of the tables. I have a meeting later on in town.”

“Can you spare a few minutes to talk?”

“Absolutely.” Anton stepped back for Lin to enter. They found a table in the corner, got cups of tea at the counter, and settled in their chairs.

“Tell me what happened with Sebastian, Carolin.” Anton’s eyes were like lasers.

Lin explained her and Viv’s visit to Lacey Frye’s basket shop. “When we stepped outside, Sebastian was across the street watching us.”

“Did he communicate?”

“No. I didn’t get any sensations about why he might have appeared. He stood for only a few seconds watching me and then he was gone.” Lin gave a shrug. Whenever she saw a spirit, she always wished she had more information to share with Viv and Libby and Anton. Her experiences with the ghosts often felt inadequate and unhelpful to whatever needed to be solved.

“Hmmm.” Anton stroked his chin. “Why today? Why right then and there?”

“I have no idea.” Lin hoped to get some information about Lacey. “Do you know Lacey Frye?”

“Yes, I know her. I haven’t seen her for some time. She’s had health problems all of her life. The poor woman looks much older than her years. I think she’s in her mid to late fifties, but her illnesses have aged her at least ten years. I’m impressed that she’s still working.”

“Do you know anything about her? She asked me a lot of questions about what I saw and heard the evening of the robbery.”

Anton shifted in his seat. “I don’t know much about her. I know her side of the family has some Wampanoag blood, but she only has one distant ancestor related to the tribe. She’s skilled at making the baskets, in fact, she’s better than Nathan Long … she’s had that shop in town for years … twenty years probably.”

“She doesn’t seem to like Martha Hillman.” Lin shared her observation with Anton.

Anton let out a sigh and leaned back against the chair. “There are many people who don’t care for Martha.”

“Do they have reason not to like her?” Lin watched Anton’s face.

Anton flapped at the air with his hand. “I can’t speak for others. Martha can be abrasive, forceful, demanding. She can rub people the wrong way. Martha has definite opinions which sometimes don’t jive with what others think or want.” Anton looked thoughtful. “Some people think
I
can be abrasive.” His eyes twinkled. “That might come as a surprise to you.”

The corner of Lin’s mouth turned up.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have strong ideas and opinions.” Anton went on. “I think it’s important to bring people together who think differently, get different perspectives and outlooks.”

Lin gave a nod. “Have you heard about some missing money at a non-profit that was never found? It happened years ago. Martha worked there.”

Anton’s right eyebrow went up. “I know about it. Marguerite Reed was let go from her position because of the incident.”

“Leonard’s wife.” Lin nodded. “She was cleared of wrongdoing though.”

“Yes.” Anton gazed across the café. “Leonard feels that the dismissal without cause led to his wife’s death. She was killed in an accident on the mainland when returning from a job interview.”

Lin saw the historian’s Adam’s apple rise and fall as he swallowed hard.

“The hand of fate.” Anton’s eyes looked moist. “Marguerite was a lovely woman. She did some volunteer work with a group of us when we were trying to start the cultural museum.”

Something pinged in Lin’s chest. “What kind of work?”

“She helped with the bookkeeping, did some financial projections. We were trying to raise money to start the new museum. There was a building that we were considering buying, but the numbers didn’t work, so we had to abandon the idea.” Anton rubbed his forehead. “We had to put the idea of the museum on hold for a few years.”

“So you were part of the original group that worked on founding the museum?” Lin sat up. “Who else was in the group?”

“Marguerite, Martha Hillman.” Anton paused. “It was so long ago and I’ve been on so many committees, let me think. Oh, Lacey Frye was involved as well … and Nathan Long. A few others you wouldn’t know.”

“All these people’s names come up when I ask about the robbery of the basket,” Lin observed.

Anton’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, these are all people who have been involved in the community for years, they’ve served on committees, volunteered, fundraised.”

Lin leaned forward. “Do any of those people have motive to steal the basket?”

Anton’s jaw dropped. “I … I,” he stammered. “I would never consider that these people would do such a thing. They care so much for the island, the town.” The historian seemed to be struggling with the idea that someone he’d worked closely with had done wrong. Little beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. “Oh, my. I suppose it’s possible, however disturbing the idea may be.”

“What about Martha Hillman? She worked at the non-profit when the money went missing. She works at the cultural museum and was the one who discovered the basket missing.” Lin made quotation marks in the air with her fingers when she repeated, “‘Discovered.’ Maybe Martha didn’t
discover
it was gone. Maybe Martha stole it.”

“Oh.” Anton blinked. “Oh.” He shook his head. “No, it couldn’t be Martha. She wouldn’t steal the basket. She works so hard.”

Lin made a face. “People who work hard are capable of wrongdoing.”

Anton pressed the small white paper napkin against his brow. “Next, you’ll be suspecting me.”

Lin hated to see the man in such distress and wanted to lighten the mood so she raised one eyebrow in mock concern and leaned closer. “Did
you
steal it?”

Anton nearly toppled from his chair. He gripped the table staring at Lin for a moment, missing the fact that she was kidding when suddenly it dawned on him that she was joking. “Carolin,” he chided her. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Lin grinned. “You reacted so strongly to my question about stealing the basket that I wondered if maybe I
should
put you on the list of suspects.”

Anton pushed his glasses up his nose, studied Lin’s face, and then relaxed. “I didn’t realize you had such a wicked sense of humor, Carolin.”

Lin couldn’t resist teasing the man one more time. She gave Anton a sly look. “Who says I’m joking?”