The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (4 page)

Danielle was just
getting off the phone when Lily entered the kitchen.

“Did
she
leave?”
Danielle asked.

“She went with Ian to
the beach,” Lily said.

“Ian? You let her go
with Ian?”

“Well, I don’t exactly
own him.” Lily shrugged. “Although I admit, the idea did make me uncomfortable
at first.”

“It should. I never
told you, but she hit on Lucas at our rehearsal dinner.”

“You’re kidding?” Lily
glanced at the door, wondering for a moment if she should get down to the
beach.

“That was before Lucas’
wandering days—at least I think so. He was pretty horrified and she claimed
she’d had too much to drink and it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Has she always been
like that?” Lily asked.

“Cheryl and I are only
a month a part. Growing up our families did a lot together and I think our
parents—our mothers particularly—thought we should think of each other as
sisters. In their minds sisters were supposed to share everything—and I’m
afraid Cheryl took that message to heart. Of course, only when it applied to
what I had. When we were teenagers I hated it when she’d come over when I had a
boyfriend at the house because she’d shamefully flirt with him.”

Lily grabbed a plastic
tumbler from the cabinet and started making herself a glass of iced tea. “I
can’t imagine my sister ever flirting with one of my boyfriends. Violation of
the sister code.”

 Danielle leaned back
against the kitchen counter and watched Lily. “I guess since we were cousins,
there was no code.”

“So did your parents
ever say anything about how Cheryl behaved around your boyfriends?”

“They never saw it.”
Danielle shrugged. “I think the hard part for me back then, by the time Cheryl
was fourteen she was already built like Marilyn Monroe, while I barely had any
boobs and looked more like a little girl. I’m afraid the boys lost interest in
me pretty quick once Cheryl set her sights on them. Of course, once they dumped
me she really wasn’t interested in them. One time I said something to her, and
she told me if I was dating a guy who would drop me so quickly over the first
pretty girl who flirted with him, he was the wrong guy for me.”

“No wonder you two are
so close.”

“It wasn’t just the
boyfriend thing. When she came over to our house she thought it was perfectly
acceptable to borrow my things without asking. If I tried to complain my mother
told me not to be so selfish—
Cheryl was family
.”

“Did you ever do that
with Cheryl’s stuff?”

“No. But since she was
always bigger than me, even though we are practically the same age, Aunt Susan
always gave mom the clothes Cheryl outgrew. So in Cheryl’s mind she was already
sharing her stuff with me. Fact was, I hated it when I had to wear one of her
hand-me-downs. By the time something actually fit me it was not only out of
style, but also it wasn’t really age appropriate.”

“Were you guys together
a lot when you were growing up?”

“Pretty much. Our
families took vacations together. Every summer we’d get a place at the beach
for a few weeks. I remember Aunt Susan would always let Sean, Cheryl’s little
brother, bring a friend along. But our mothers wouldn’t let us invite friends;
they said we had each other.”

“Didn’t your parents
ever see how you two didn’t really get along?”

“Oh, to them it was
because we were more like sisters—at least in their minds. And you know,
sisters fight. They would laugh about our squabbles. In some weird way they
found it endearing. I know that sounds odd, but I think that’s how they
rationalized our relationship while maintaining this fantasy that we were as
close as sisters.”

“Sisters that didn’t like
each other, I guess.” Lily shrugged. “I wonder how Cheryl felt about it all.”

“You mean being stuck
with me, like I was with her?”

“Yeah.”

“I assumed she hated it
too. By the way, I just got off the phone with Mr. Renton.”

“He’s back in town?”
Lily asked.

“Yes. And he said if I’d
come over to his office now, I could talk to him.”

“I thought you wanted
to take Cheryl with you.”

“No. I’d rather see him
first without her. Cheryl has a way of wrapping men around her finger, and
while I haven’t met Mr. Renton in person yet, I assume he is a man.”

“Well, if you’re lucky
he’s gay,” Lily teased.

“That would be nice.”
Danielle chuckled.

“I’ll stay here and
work on that to do list. Plus, I’m dog sitting for Ian.”

“I thought I heard
Sadie rush upstairs.”

“She’s probably with
Walt….yikes, I almost forgot.”

“Does it bother you,
being alone in the house with…with a ghost?”

“No, not really,” Lily
lied.

“Well, don’t worry
about Walt. He’s a good guy.” Danielle glanced at the plate with Lily’s second
partially eaten sandwich of the day. “You never finished your lunch.”

“I sort of gave up on
the idea of eating. Anyway, Ian asked me out to dinner tonight, so I’ll go with
a healthy appetite and order everything on the menu—a payback for him taking
Cheryl to the beach.”

“I guess that means
I’ll be alone tonight with my dear cousin.”

“Sorry, afraid so.”

“Oh well, maybe Mr.
Renton will have good news for me and I’ll be able to convince Cheryl there’s
no reason for her to stick around.

• • • •

After Danielle left for
Mr. Renton’s office, Lily went back upstairs to retrieve the croquet set she’d
left on the second floor outside the Red Room. The set, including the mallets
and balls were crammed into a large canvas bag Lily had found in the attic.
Alone in the hallway, she heard what sounded like Sadie running back and forth
in the attic overhead. Looking up at the ceiling, she stood silently and
listened.
What is going on up there?

Cocking her head ever
so slightly, her attention focused on the sound overhead, she heard Sadie let
out a bark then run across the length of the attic, and then back again. Sadie
barked a second time, and repeated the series, running back and forth across
the attic, before coming to a stop and barking.

Curious, Lily left the
croquet set on the floor and walked to the staircase leading to the attic. With
her hand on the banister, she trod lightly, not wanting to alert the attic
occupants of her arrival.  

Just as she entered the
top floor, a tennis ball hurled by her head and smacked the wall as Sadie raced
in her direction. The dog snatched the ball in her mouth just after it hit the
floor and bounced up. Turning from Lily, Sadie raced back across the attic and
dropped the ball in the far corner. Sitting down, the ball on the floor before
her, Sadie looked up and barked, her tail wagging excitedly.

Motionless, Lily stared
across the room. Sadie’s playmate was not rushing to throw the ball, much to
the dog’s disappointment. Sadie stood up and barked again. 

Is he watching me?
Lily wondered. Clearing her throat, Lily mustered her courage and said, “Hello
Mr. Marlow.”

There was no response,
although she didn’t really expect one. She hadn’t been able to see or hear him
before, there was no reason she would be able to now, just because she was
aware of his presence. She took several more steps in Sadie’s direction. The
dog continued to wait for Walt to toss the ball.

“I think Sadie’s
getting impatient. I don’t mind. You can throw the ball if you want.” Lily
said, her voice shaking.

She took two more steps
toward Sadie, when the ball seemed to rise on its own from the floor, and then
flew across the room and hit the wall. Sadie was already racing for it, and
once again grabbed the ball mid-air before it hit the floor for a second time.

“Holy crap…” Lily
muttered, her eyes wide in disbelieve. It was one thing to say you believed in
ghosts, it was quite another to bear witness to paranormal activity. Lily
gulped nervously, her heart felt like a war drum beating wildly in her chest.

“You two have fun!”
Lily called out, her voice no more than a squeak. She turned to the attic door
and raced from the room.

Walt leaned over and
picked up the ball from the floor. Sadie sat down and looked up at him, her
tail wagging.

“I believe we may have
frightened poor Lily,” Walt told Sadie as he stared at the doorway. He could
hear Lily’s footsteps racing down the wooden stairs. He tossed the ball across
the room again. Sadie raced for it.

“I must say,” Walt said
aloud, “I would rather not have frightened her. Wasn’t a bit satisfying, like
with those two thieves.”

When Sadie returned
with the ball and dropped it on the floor, Walt leaned down and looked Sadie in
the eyes.

“I think that’s enough
for now, girl. Why don’t you go downstairs and check on Lily.”

Sadie continued to
stare at Walt, her tail wagging. She barked once.

“Go on. We can play
later.”  Walt pointed to the doorway. Sadie let out another bark, then turned
from Walt and raced from the room, heading downstairs to find Lily.

Lily was just going out
the kitchen door to the back yard, the canvas bag with the croquet set in her
arms, when Sadie raced into the room.

“Where’s your friend?”
Lily asked nervously, glancing around the kitchen, sniffing the air. There was
no hint of cigar smoke.

“You want to come
outside with me Sadie, and help me set this up?” As if Sadie understood the
question, the dog raced out the doorway to the back yard, pushing Lily to one
side.

Momentarily losing her
balance, Lily awkwardly held onto the canvas bag as she shifted her weight and
repositioned her hands to get a better grip. One of the wooden balls rolled out
and hit the floor with a loud cracking sound. Lily cursed and leaned down to
get the ball, without setting the bag down. She was afraid if she did, the rest
of the balls would tumble out. Unfortunately, before she could snag the errant
ball, it rolled under the kitchen table.

Trying to juggle the
load, Lily attempted to reach the ball with her toe and nudge it in her
direction. When that proved impossible to do because of the bulky and heavy bag
in her arms, she cursed again. Preparing to set the bag down and let all the
balls roll out, she stopped when she smelled it…cigar smoke.

Glancing around the
kitchen, she wondered where he was. Then she saw it: the wooden croquet ball
rising slowly from under the table—floating effortlessly in the air—coming
toward her. Yet, it wasn’t hurling in her direction as had the tennis ball
earlier.  She watched, mesmerized as the croquet ball returned to the canvas
bag, slipping inside with the rest of the set. Lily stood there a moment, her
heart again pounding.

“Thank you Mr. Marlow,”
Lily said at last. Swallowing nervously, she flashed a weak smile and turned to
the door leading to the back yard. When she reached the door, she paused a
moment and turned back to the kitchen.

“I think I understand
why I found this croquet set scattered all over the attic after the break in.
You threw it at them, didn’t you? Like you tossed the ball for Sadie a few
minutes ago.” Lily’s smile broadened. “Wow, I bet they wet their pants when you
pelted them with the croquet set.” Lily giggled at the thought. “Good work Mr.
Marlow. Good work.”

Lily flashed a final
grin before turning back to the door and going outside with Sadie.

Walt walked to the
kitchen window and looked outside, watching as Lily tossed the bag on the lawn
and removed the croquet set. When Lily and Danielle first arrived, the back
yard was overgrown in bushes and trees, and the lawn was a wild jungle of
wildflowers and weeds. The gardener Danielle hired tamed the yard in a matter
of days, returning it to the way Walt remembered it—back when he was still
alive, and sharing the home with his bride, Angela.

Smiling, Walt watched
Lily arrange the croquet set while Sadie ran around the yard chasing birds and
barking at the croquet balls that lay silent on the lawn. When Lily left the
kitchen minutes earlier, she seemed less nervous than she had been in the
attic, and that pleased Walt. He had no desire to frighten the residents of
Marlow House—at least, not Danielle and Lily.

Cheryl studied Ian as
they crossed the street. She liked tall men, and he had that going for him. She
wondered if he intentionally wore his t-shirt a size too small to show off his
impressive abs. If so, she had no complaints. It was a nice view. The Cubs
baseball cap needed to go. She assumed his hair was short, although she
couldn’t be certain because of the cap.

After Ian and Cheryl
reached the sidewalk in front of his rental, Cheryl asked, “Is it always this
cool here?”

 Ian’s gaze swept over
Cheryl, she was now shivering. “You’re cold. You want to go back so you can
grab a sweater?”

“I didn’t bring a
sweater with me. Didn’t occur to me the beaches would be so cold up here this
time of year.”

“I’ve a sweat shirt you
can use.” Ian nodded toward his house.

“If you don’t mind.”
Cheryl smiled up at him.

“Sure, come on. It’ll
probably be huge on you, but it will keep you warm. Lucky for you, I just
washed it.”

Still smiling, Cheryl
followed Ian up the walkway to his house. Her smile vanished when he headed
toward his car parked in the driveway, instead of the front door.

“What are you doing?”
Cheryl asked when Ian unlocked his car’s trunk.

“Getting you that
shirt,” Ian explained as he opened the trunk.

Cheryl stepped closer
and looked into the back of his car. Inside were two laundry baskets, filled
with folded clothes.

“You keep your clothes
in the car?” Cheryl frowned.

“No,” Ian laughed and
grabbed a sweat shirt from one of the baskets. He handed it to Cheryl. “I took
my clothes to the Laundromat. Just hadn’t gotten around to taking them in the
house.”

Cheryl glanced up at
the house and asked, “The rental doesn’t have a washer and dryer?”

“Sure it does. But it’s
quicker to take them down to the Laundromat and do them all at once.” Ian slammed
the trunk shut.

“So we aren’t going
into your house?” Cheryl sounded disappointed.

“I don’t see why. You
going to put it on?”

Cheryl glanced down at
the blue sweat shirt in her hand.
Men can be so dense sometimes,
she
thought. Here she’d given him the perfect opportunity to get her into his house
where they could be alone—and he was totally clueless. She wasn’t stupid. She
saw how he had looked at her when they first met, the way his eyes seemed
incapable of looking away from her breasts. Some women might find that
insulting, which she could never understand. To her it just meant the man had
fallen under her spell, and that if she wanted something from him, he would be
willing to give it to her. She wasn’t sure what she wanted from Ian yet, but
she found him very attractive, and according to what she’d read online he was
something of a celebrity. Some of his books had been made into television
documentaries;
how cool was that
?

“Here,” Cheryl said as
she handed the sweater back to Ian.

“What? You don’t want
to try it on? It’s clean, I promise.”

“I’m not really cold
anymore. But thanks for the offer.”

“Okay, but you want to
take it along, just in case?”

“No. That’s okay.”
Cheryl smiled up sweetly. Ian gave a shrug then opened his trunk again and
tossed the shirt back on top of the basket. After he slammed the trunk close he
led Cheryl to the pathway beside his house, leading to the beach.

“Wow, you’re right on
the beach!” Cheryl said when they reached the sand. She stopped a moment and
slipped off her sandals.

“I know. It’s a great
rental. Awesome location.”

“I thought Marlow House
was one of the first houses in Frederickport,” Cheryl said as she and Ian
walked along the beach. In one hand she carried her purse and in the other her
sandals.

“It is.”

“Then why didn’t they
build it where yours is? Didn’t the guy who founded the town also build Marlow
House?”

“Yes. Frederick Marlow,
he was Walt Marlow’s grandfather.”

“Well if I founded a
beach town, I’d build my house right on the ocean!”

“So, you’re familiar
with the history of Marlow House?” Ian asked.

“Just from your
article. When you introduced yourself back there, I recognized your name.”

“Ahh, so you read my
article.” Ian smiled.

“Yes. It was very
interesting.”

They walked in silence
for few moments before Cheryl asked, “So, you and Dani’s friend are…you
know…are like a couple?” 

“I suppose,” Ian
shrugged.

“How long have you been
going together?”

“Going together?” Ian
chuckled. “I can’t say we’re going together exactly.”

“So how long have you
known each other?”

“Umm… three weeks.”

“Only three weeks?”

“That’s almost a
month.” Ian grinned.

“So you just met each
other.” Cheryl beamed at the news. “For a minute back there I thought it was
something more serious.”

Ian glanced over at
Cheryl and arched his brow. “Who says it isn’t?”

“Oh, silly,” Cheryl
giggled, playfully pushing Ian’s hip with hers. “You’re walking on the beach
with me, not Lily.”

Ian stopped and looked
at Cheryl. “So?”

Holding her shoes and
handbag, she stopped walking and looked up into Ian’s face and smiled. “So…I
could see how you were looking at me back there,” Cheryl said in a breathless
whisper.

“Cheryl, if I gave you
the wrong impression, I apologize.”

“No, that’s okay.”
Cheryl stepped closer, her body almost touching his. “You’re being loyal to
Lily. I think that’s sweet.”

“Umm…” Uncomfortable
with the turn of the conversation, Ian glanced down, his gaze landing on her
cleavage. Startled by the sight, his gaze shot up into Cheryl’s smiling face.

“You two have only
known each other for a few days, so it isn’t like you really owe her loyalty.
You just met. But I understand if you’re a little confused right now. I just
want you to know, I’m interested. Very interested.” Cheryl pressed her body
against his before taking a step back. Flashing a coy smile, she turned and
started walking down the beach. When Ian didn’t follow and just stood mute,
watching her walk away, Cheryl looked over her shoulder and yelled playfully,
“Are you coming or not?”

Shaking the cobwebs
from his head, Ian caught up to Cheryl. They walked silently side by side for
about five minutes. Finally Ian spoke. “Are you always so bold?”

“Now you’ve hurt my
feelings,” Cheryl said with a pout.

“How so?”

“You make it sound like
I come on to every man I meet, which is not true. But I felt something between
us, Ian. Admit it, you felt it too.”

When Ian didn’t respond
Cheryl said. “Did you know my parents were killed with Danielle’s? And my
brother.”

“No. I didn’t know
that.”

“They were killed in an
airplane accident. It taught me how short life is. Now when I see something I
want, I go for it. I want you.”

“I’m sorry about your
parents—your brother. But, you don’t even know me,” Ian said quietly, still
walking alongside Cheryl.

“I read your article
about the Missing Thorndike. I looked you up. You’re a very talented
journalist. I had no idea you were staying across the street from my cousin.”

“While I’m flattered,
you still know nothing about me. I imagine if you got to know me better you’d
find me quite boring.”

“Oh I seriously doubt it,”
Cheryl purred. “Anyway, it’s the chemistry between us. I felt it immediately. I
know you did too.” Cheryl reached over to take Ian’s hand. Just as she clasped
onto his fingertips he pulled his hand away from her, not commenting on the
gesture.

“You know, I own half
of Marlow House—half of the Missing Thorndike.”

“Lily mentioned
something about that. But I thought your aunt left her estate to Danielle.”

“Our aunt was suffering
from Alzheimer’s. There’s no way she would have left me out of the will had she
been in her right mind. Dani knows that.”

“Danielle never
mentioned your aunt had Alzheimer’s.” Ian glanced over at Cheryl.

“Of course she wouldn’t
mention it. Why would she? I have to thank you for writing the article about
the Missing Thorndike. Until I read it, I didn’t even know our dear Aunt
Brianna had passed.”

“You didn’t know?” Ian
stopped walking and looked at Cheryl.

She came to a stop and
looked up into his face. Shaking her head sadly she said, “No. Dani and I
haven’t been close for years. I tried, mind you, but after her husband made a
pass at me…”

“Made a pass at you?”
Ian interrupted.

“The night before their
wedding. Can you believe that? Dani didn’t. She should have, because what
happened? He cheated on her during their entire marriage. It all came to a very
public and embarrassing end when her cheating husband was killed in a car
accident with his lover. Of course, I am sorry he was killed, but he did cheat
on my cousin. And he was responsible for the rift in our relationship.”

“And you think
contesting your aunt’s estate will mend that rift?”

“Half of the estate
rightfully belongs to me. It’s not my fault Dani tried to cut me out of our
aunt’s will.”

“Are you taking
Danielle to court?”

“I plan to talk to our
aunt’s attorney first. Hopefully we can get this settled without me resorting
to legal action. But, I’ve already talked to an attorney who believes I have a
very strong case.”

Cheryl dropped her
shoes and purse to the sand and looked up at Ian, her eyes wide. “Let’s not
discuss this anymore. I’d rather talk about us.”

“There is no us,” Ian
said, shifting his weight nervously.

Never taking her eyes
from Ian, Cheryl licked her lips and whispered, “There could be.”

“Cheryl, I just met
you, you’re Danielle’s cousin…” Ian glanced around as if looking for an escape
route.

“Have you slept with
her yet?”

“Excuse me?” Ian
frowned.

“Lily. Have you two…you
know?”

“That’s really none of
your business.”  Ian combed his fingers through his hair.

“You haven’t. I can
tell. I’m glad.” Cheryl leaned closer. “Would you like to kiss me?”

“Excuse me?” Ian
frowned.

“Then we’ll know. Don’t
you think it would be much kinder for Lily if we simply got this out of the way
now? You kiss me and if there’s no chemistry, then you don’t have to keep
wondering. But if there is chemistry, you can let Lily down gently, before
she’s too emotionally invested in the relationship. It really would be the
kindest thing.”

“Who said I was
wondering?” Ian took a step back.

“Fine. Deny the
attraction if you want.” Cheryl leaned over and picked up her shoes and purse
from the sand. “I just wanted you to know how I felt about you.”

“I think we should get
back to Marlow House. I need to get Sadie.”

“Sadie? Who’s Sadie?”
Cheryl scowled.

“My dog. Remember, my
dog Sadie.”

“Oh. That’s right. Okay.”
They turned and started walking back to Marlow House.

“It’s nice they don’t
allow dogs on this beach,” Cheryl said a few moments later.

“Why do you say that?”

“The dog poop. People
with dogs always leave shit all over the beach.”

“I never do that. I
always pick it up.”

“Eww,” Cheryl cringed.
“That is gross. That’s something I can’t figure out, how people can just pick up
their dog’s poop with their hands.”

“A hand typically
covered with a plastic bag.”

“Still, that is gross.
I’m just glad they don’t allow dogs down here and I don’t have to see all the
poop.”

“Not far from here they
allow dogs on the beach. I didn’t notice any. It’s a clean beach.”

“Well, I’ll remember to
use this beach, and not that one.”