Gem of a Ghost: A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery (23 page)

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’ll miss her over the summer, but I have to let her go sometime, right?”

Quinn made no move to start down the path toward the town but stopped studying the local foliage to look at her. “So, are you and Phil going to visit her in the Hamptons?”

Emma put on her jacket against the growing evening chill. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to process on the fly—Kelly’s job, Addy, Lainey’s safety…” She let her words drift off on the breeze that had picked up.

“And me?”

Emma met his look. It wasn’t challenging, but it wasn’t meek and submissive. Quinn’s eyes were brimming with the pain of decision.

“Look, Emma.” He reached out and stroked her upper arm. “I haven’t been so captivated by a woman in years.” A small, sheepish smile crossed his face. “In the past, I’ve not had much integrity when it came to poaching other guy’s girls, but for some reason I can’t be that guy. Not this time. Not with you. What I feel for you isn’t flirtatious sport.”

Emma eased away from him. “I’ve been seeing Phil Bowers for almost two years, and I love him deeply; I’m sure of that. During that time, not once have I been attracted to another man. Not once, until now. I’m not a flighty woman.”

“I know that. That solidness is part of what makes you so disarming and this so difficult. I’m not the sort to settle down, Emma, but you make me want to put down roots as deep as this tree.” He rapped his knuckles on the thick tree trunk next to him.

“We haven’t known each other very long, Quinn. We’ve been thrown together by this situation, and one thing led to another.”

His face turned dark. “Is that what you think this is? A passing road-trip fancy involving ghosts, goblins, and a little slap and tickle?”

“I don’t know.” Emma’s voice sharpened with frustration. “I just know I’m confused. I feel guilty one minute and don’t give a damn the next. I need time to process it.”

As Quinn reached for her again, the tinkling of a piano sounded from the cell phone still clutched in her hand. Emma didn’t have to read the display to know the caller was her mother. The piano was her mother’s personal ring tone. “That’s my mother,” she told Quinn, not taking her eyes from his. “It might be about Lainey.”

“Your family has remarkable timing.” He moved away to give her privacy as she answered the call.

“Hi, Mother, what’s up?” Emma’s eyes followed Quinn as he walked to one of the tables and dropped his backpack on it. His shoulders were tense and his jaw tight. He looked like a statue with clothes. She closed her eyes and turned away to concentrate on the call.

“It’s just awful, Emma,” Elizabeth gushed in tones of horror.

Forgetting her own dilemma, Emma went on alert. “Is it Lainey?”

“The story just broke on TV. We’re all in shock.”

“I’m nowhere near a TV. What’s going on? Is Lainey all right?”

“Physically Lainey’s fine, but we’re on our way back to Los Angeles.”

“Mother, what’s happened?” The fear in Emma’s voice caused Quinn to snap his head around in her direction.

“It’s Linwood Reid, Emma. He’s dead. Joanna’s been taken into custody for his murder.”

Before Emma could react to the news, Addy Ames appeared in front of her. Just behind her was the ghost of Edward Kelly. “You were right, Emma. It is time for me to move on.” Addy glanced back at her ill-fated lover. “Thank you for bringing me back to Edward.” She faced Emma again, her face smooth as alabaster. “And don’t worry about Lainey. She’s safe. I made sure of that.”

The hand holding the cell phone dropped to Emma’s side as she put her mother’s news together with Addy’s words of goodbye. From the phone came Elizabeth’s voice. “Emma, are you still there?”

On autopilot, Emma raised the cell to her mouth without taking her eyes from Addy’s face. “Let me call you back, Mother. Stay by the phone. It’ll just be a minute.” She cut off the call and stared at the spirit.

Quinn, seeing Emma’s distress, stepped quickly to her side. “What’s happening, Emma?”

“Linwood Reid was just murdered by his wife, Lainey’s mother.” The news caused Quinn to stagger back a step.

Emma asked the malicious ghost, “What have you done, Addy? Did you entice Joanna Reid to kill her husband?”

“I told you I didn’t need the ring to carry out my plans.” The ghost gave her a slow, smug smile. “Think of it as my final farewell to the Dowd family and an apology to Lainey.”

With those words echoing in Emma’s ears, Addy and Edward disappeared.

twenty-nine

Emma sat in the
living room of a lovely and spacious beach house in Malibu. Across from her sat Joanna Reid. Beyond the glass wall that opened to spill onto a large deck seamlessly marrying the indoors with the outdoors, the Pacific Ocean sparkled like a field of teal taffeta. The house was set up on pilings. Looking out, one couldn’t see the sandy beach below, just the blanket of shimmering water. The great room of the house had several clusters of furniture arranged in conversational groupings but was dominated by a large white sectional sofa reminiscent of an uncooked crescent roll. It was situated on an area rug of looped wool in a natural shade. Anyone sitting on the sofa was rewarded with the grand view of the ocean. The house was furnished in a modern minimalist style, yet it didn’t feel sterile. Each of the furnishings was impeccable and appeared chosen specifically for the house. The home seemed more suited to Joanna than the sprawling mansion she’d shared with Linwood Reid and was even a better fit than the charming beach house she’d owned with Max Naiman.

“I love this house, Joanna. It’s perfect for you.”

Joanna looked around in a detached manner, almost as if seeing it for the first time. “It is nice, isn’t it? Lainey leased it for us until the trial is over. What happens then depends on the outcome.” The cockiness was gone from the former studio executive. She seemed smaller and softer, like an inflatable doll with a pinprick leak. She also seemed more at peace, even with a murder charge hanging over her head.

“I hope you don’t mind that I wanted to come by,” Emma told her, “but I wanted to see how you were doing. Lainey thought you might like the company.”

“Actually, Emma, I was thinking of giving you a call and inviting you for a visit, but it’s such a long drive to Malibu from Pasadena, and … well,” she hesitated and looked out at the sea. “I’m not going out in public much these days. Seems everywhere I go, people gawk at me like I’m some sort of sideshow.”

“I understand, Joanna. It was no bother at all coming to you.”

A maid entered with a tray of refreshments. It was Bonita, the maid Emma remembered from the Reid mansion. Emma gave her a smile of recognition. The maid returned it, seeming much more relaxed in her new environment. “Nice to see you again, Bonita.” Bonita smiled and offered Emma a glass of iced tea.

It had been a month since Linwood Reid was killed by two bullets to his chest fired from a gun held by Joanna. She was currently out on bail awaiting trial. Lainey was standing by her mother. She never went back to the condominium in Westwood. She and Keith Goldstein had patched up their relationship, and the two of them were living at the beach house with Joanna. The condo was up for sale.

“I understand Lainey and Keith are engaged again.”

Without looking at Emma, Joanna answered, “Yes, I am very pleased. He’s a nice young man and loves her very much.”

Joanna’s answers seemed stilted, making Emma wonder if she was under the influence of a mild sedative. As if in answer to Emma’s thoughts, Joanna turned her head and gave her a sardonic smile. Emma could see her eyes were clear and her mind unclouded.

“He loves her in spite of her crazy family,” Joanna said with amusement. “Can’t get much more loyal than that.”

Joanna took a sip of tea and replaced her glass on the tray set on the coffee table. She folded her hands in her lap, ready to move forward with purpose. “I wanted to apologize to you and explain what was going on.”

“You don’t owe me any explanation or apology, Joanna.” Emma was eager to hear Joanna’s side of things but didn’t want to push the issue. Lainey had filled her in on much of it, and some she’d learned from the media.

“Yes, I do. When I asked you to help me with Max’s ghost, I think I knew he was here for Lainey, but it seemed so farfetched. A father coming back from the dead to help his daughter? That’s the stuff that makes great Sunday night TV, not real life.”

From her throat came the sound of a small wounded bird. She cleared it and continued. “I was hoping you’d tell me it was all bunk, but instead you only confirmed my suspicions. And when it all started tying in with Lainey and Linwood, I was afraid you’d find out everything—that Lin was broke and had taken me down with him. I had nothing of my own but the income from my job, and now that’s gone.”

Emma felt embarrassment on Joanna’s behalf. The news media and tabloids had not been kind or subtle about the studio firing Joanna. “I saw that the studio let you go.”

“Yes, doesn’t matter that I’ve worked for them for sixteen years and championed many of their hit shows. They enforced the morals clause of my contract after I was charged.” Another sound, a half choke, half laugh, escaped her lips. “Considering the behavior of over half the executives at the studio, that was a real kick in the pants. Morals clause, my ass.”

Emma didn’t want to wallow in Joanna’s personal tragedy like the bloodthirsty general public was doing, but she wanted to know about the ring. “Joanna, did you tell your attorney about the haunted ring?”

She shook her head. “No. Lainey and I discussed that and thought we shouldn’t because it would make everyone think I was insane, or at least my attorney might want to use it to get me off on insanity. Besides, I didn’t have the ring when I fired the gun. The shooting falls squarely on my shoulders.”

Emma thought about Addy Ames. The ghost had alluded to having a hand in the shooting of Linwood Reid, and Emma knew Addy didn’t need the ring to cause mischief. Still, Emma kept quiet. Joanna was right; it would be viewed as crazy talk.

Joanna stood up and walked to where the room met the patio. “Did you know I was having an affair with Lin while I was married to Max?”

“Lainey told me when she was at Serenity.”

Joanna turned back to Emma. A small look of surprise crossed her face like a passing cloud. “She always was a smart girl.” She turned back around to stare at the sea. “When I decided I wanted to try and make my marriage work, Lin was very supportive and said we would remain friends, no matter what, and we did stay in touch as friends only. When I told him about our renewal of vows, he insisted on taking me to his favorite jeweler. He said he saw the perfect ring there for Max. And it was. Max loved that ring.”

“Did Lainey tell you that Lin and his family owned the ring a long time ago?”

“Yes. She told me what you found out in Pennsylvania right after we moved to this house. Quite a story. I wouldn’t mind producing a TV movie about it.”

Joanna pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the pocket of her loose linen trousers. She held the pack toward Emma in invitation, but Emma shook her head. “Should have known,” Joanna commented. “No one smokes anymore. I only do it when I’m nervous.” She lit one and blew the smoke out toward the ocean, then leaned against the sliding door.

Emma got up, picked up their glasses of tea, and crossed the room to Joanna. “Why don’t we make ourselves comfortable outside while you smoke?” Silently Joanna followed Emma to cushioned chairs arranged around a patio table.

“When did you realize Lin had a motive in suggesting that particular ring?” Emma asked as she placed Joanna’s tea in front of her.

“The pieces started falling together the day I visited you in Pasadena, when you told me the ring was haunted. I remembered Lin insisting that was the ring I should buy Max, then later insisting we give the stone to Lainey to use in her engagement ring. When Lainey started having trouble, he suggested that awful facility in Cabo. As soon as I got home that day, I checked out what you said about that place, Emma, and it was all true.” Joanna took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in the direction of the breeze so it would not reach Emma. “Lin was going through a great deal of trouble to kill off my family for their money, and I never realized it until then.”

With her free hand, she picked up her glass and took a long drink of her tea. “That’s why I killed him, because he was going to kill Lainey.” Her voice was being corralled into an even, disciplined tone by sheer will. “I overheard him talking on the phone to someone. He’d put a hit out on her as if she were a common thug. That’s why I called you so frantic about her whereabouts.”

Emma was horrified. “A hit? He contracted to have Lainey killed?” This was something neither Lainey nor the news had mentioned.

“That’s what it sounded like to me. Of course this will all come out in the trial.”

“Was it someone named Jamal?”

“Is that the yoga instructor from Serenity?”

Emma nodded.

“No, not him. Apparently he was hired just to keep tabs on Lainey. He really did think he was helping reunite Lainey with her family and had no idea what Lin had in mind. But using the information Jamal provided, the killer was going to slip into the facility and murder her.” On the last several words, Joanna broke down into a series of choked, choppy sobs.

Emma was horrified. “Joanna, you don’t have to tell me this if it’s too difficult.”

The distraught woman waved the comment off and continued. “The next day, I overheard him talking again on the phone. He thought I’d gone to the office, but I returned because I’d forgotten something. After talking to you the day before, I told him Lainey was back at Serenity. Jamal had told him she’d left a few days earlier. If Lin thought she was still gone, he’d have hunted her down. This way, I thought he could just keep thinking she’d returned, and she’d be safe wherever she was.” Joanna’s voice cracked through her tears. “But when I heard him again talking about killing her—telling this monster on the phone to make sure it looked like a suicide—I snapped.” She dropped her cigarette butt into a small crystal ashtray before burying her head in her hands. “That was my baby girl he was talking about!”

Joanna stopped crying and looked up at Emma. “I went upstairs and got the gun Lin kept in his dressing room. Lin was coming up the main staircase as I was coming down. Before he could say a word, I drew the gun and shot him—twice. Bonita heard the shots. She came running and screamed when she saw Lin’s body. I walked downstairs. When I got to the kitchen, I called 911.”

“I was there, Emma. She’s telling the truth.” The spirit of Max Naiman materialized next to the railing. In the sunlight, with the ocean behind him, it was difficult for Emma to make him out at first, but soon his image came into view. “Lin was making arrangements to have Lainey killed.” He shook his head. “Too bad ghosts can’t testify.”

Joanna looked at Emma with a mix of relief and fear. “Max is here with us, isn’t he? I can feel him.”

“Yes,” Emma confirmed. “He’s here, and he says he was there when you shot Lin.”

“I thought he might have been. I felt that heavy weight I always get when he’s around.”

Joanna twisted her head from side to side, struggling to make out her dead husband.

“He’s over there by the railing,” Emma told her.

Joanna fixed her eyes on where Emma indicated, her face contorted with emotional pain. “I am so sorry, Max.” She started to cry. “I should have protected Lainey better. I failed both of you.”

Max moved to stand in front of Joanna. “I forgive you, Joanna. For us it’s too late, but it’s not too late for you to make it up to Lainey.” He turned to Emma. “Make sure you tell her what I said.”

Emma nodded to the ghost, then relayed his message. Joanna put her head in her hands and quietly sobbed.

As Max’s image began to fade, he leaned down, putting his mouth close to Emma’s ear. “It wasn’t entirely Addy’s influence that caused Joanna to shoot Lin.” He spoke in a conspiratorial voice, as if someone else might hear. “I could have stopped it, as I stopped Lainey, but I chose not to.”

Emma jerked her head to stare at the ghost as he made his confession, but she said nothing.

“Instead, Addy and I joined forces. Joanna didn’t have a chance against us, especially with the emotional state she was in that day.” Max stood up, his image almost gone. “And I have no regrets. Lin needed to pay for what he’d done, and he needed to be stopped from hurting Lainey ever again.”

“Max,” Joanna began, straining to see him. “I am so very sorry,” she repeated, choking out the words.

“I’m sorry, Joanna, he’s gone.” Emma reached out and patted the distraught woman’s hand. “And I don’t think he’ll be back.”

Seeing Joanna shivering, Emma suggested they go back inside. Getting Joanna on her feet, she steered her back into the house and onto the large white sofa. Joanna looked beaten and frail after telling her story, and Emma wondered how she was ever going to make it through a full trial.

“I was going to leave Lin, you know?” Joanna said once she was settled comfortably. “Long before all this started.”

Emma was surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“That’s probably what you picked up on when you said I was different around him. I’d even visited a lawyer on the sly. That’s when I found out he was in a lot of trouble and owed a lot of money. He’d gone through his own fortune and most of my money. I’m sure it was his motivation for trying to get his hands on Lainey’s inheritance.”

“Is that why you tried to pay Keith to marry Lainey sooner than later?”

“Yes. If she were married, I thought Lin might quit dogging her, because her money would be lost to his manipulations. I wanted her taken care of before I filed for divorce.”

Emma looked around and saw a cashmere throw laid across the back of a chair. She retrieved it and arranged it across Joanna’s lap, pulling it up high on her chest. Joanna clutched at it like an invalid.

“I was a fool to give him authority over my accounts, but I thought he could expand them as he claimed he’d done with his own. After all, look at the house he owned—it screamed fabulous wealth, didn’t it? Turns out it belonged to a business associate of his who lives in the Middle East. I lived there for several years and never knew that. Turns out his money problems were starting about the time we started our affair.”

Her coral-stained lips were dry and cracked. “I was so enthralled by Linwood Reid when I first met him. It was at a party in Beverly Hills, some charity thing Max didn’t want to attend, so I went alone. Max may have been an action hero onscreen, but in real life he was a simple, laid-back guy who wanted nothing more than to spend time with his family, drive fast cars, and catch an occasional wave. Lin, on the other hand, was a powerful man with friends who made international headline news. Being with him was heady stuff. It blinded me to what he really was, and by the time I found out, it was too late to save myself, but it wasn’t too late to save Lainey.”