The Ghost Who Wasn't (Haunting Danielle Book 3) (16 page)

“
C
hocolate cake for breakfast
, really Danielle?” Walt chided good-naturedly.

Shamelessly, Danielle took another bite, savoring the treat. Wearing red plaid pajama bottoms and a pink T-shirt, she sat up on her bed, leaning against a pile of pillows. She’d forgotten to take out her braid the night before, yet most of her hair had already managed to escape while she slept. Wayward curls and tendrils gently framed her face.

“And this is why…” Danielle waved her chocolate smudged fork and held up her now empty plate. “I will never lose that last fifteen pounds.”

“Thank god for chocolate cake,” Walt muttered to himself as he eyed Danielle appreciatively. He’d given up the notion that she might start wearing silk negligees to bed or trade her jeans for feminine dresses. While the flannel pajamas weren’t sexy in the traditional fashion, he could imagine himself—if he were a flesh and blood man—snuggling under the covers with a flannel clad Danielle, as a fire roared in the nearby fireplace. Perhaps they might even share a piece of chocolate cake. It had been years—no, decades, practically a century—since he had enjoyed chocolate cake or the warmth of a woman.

“You know, I could have chocolate cake every day for breakfast if I just met a man who liked to dance.” Danielle licked her fork. “Well, maybe not every day. But a couple times a week.”

“Why is that?”

“I’d be dancing off all that cake.” Danielle chuckled.

“Did Lucas like to dance?”

“Lucas? Hardly. No, Lucas would barely dance at our wedding—that should have been a red flag, I suppose.”

“Does Joe like to dance?”

“I don’t know.” Danielle shrugged and tossed her fork on the plate. “Wouldn’t want to dance with him anyway. At least not now.”

“I enjoyed dancing. Back when I could still hold a woman in my arms.”

“What kind of dancing?” Danielle asked curiously. “Ballroom…or something like the Charleston?”

“I like both.” Walt smiled. “What about you?”

“I suppose if I want to burn off chocolate cake, something that gets me moving. I think it would be fun to learn the Charleston, especially dressed in one of those cute flapper outfits with the fringed skirts!”

Walt laughed. “I’d love to see you dressed as a flapper.”

“I imagine that won’t be happening.” Danielle sighed. She set her plate on the nightstand. “Well, the cake was yummy.”

“Do you intend to feed Lily’s parents cake for breakfast?”

“They already left.” Danielle leaned back on the pillows and tossed the blanket over her feet. “They told me last night they planned to get up early and go out for breakfast before heading to the hospital. They were leaving when I was getting my cake.”

“Does Lily plan to tell them today that she intends to stay here?”

“She says she’s going to.”

“I can understand why she didn’t mention anything yesterday.”

“Yeah, it would have seemed strange if she just popped out of the coma and announced she was going to stay at Marlow House. But then, she practically did that with Joe standing there.”

Walt smiled. “You told me.”

“It was embarrassing. But I thought about it later and figured it was probably the least crazy thing he’s seen me do. It’s not like I’m the only person whose ever held a seemingly one sided conversation with a comatose patient. If he’d shown up an hour earlier he would have caught Mrs. Miller in the act.”

“True. But how many of those comatose patients suddenly wake up and remember what was being said to them?”

“Yeah, that kind of freaked him out.” Danielle grinned. She grabbed a pillow and tossed it at Walt. It flew through his body. “Out, I need to get dressed.” Danielle jumped out of the bed. Walt vanished.

Thirty minutes later when Danielle came down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Walt appeared in the foyer, standing by the parlor door. “Someone’s here,” he announced.

“I heard,” Danielle said, walking past Walt to the front door. Before opening, it she peeked out the window. “It’s Joe. Please don’t talk to me while he’s here, it’s distracting!”

“A social call?” Walt smirked.

“I seriously doubt it. He’s in his uniform.”

“Morning Danielle,” Joe greeted when Danielle answered the door.

“Morning Joe, what can I do for you?”

“Can I come in for a moment? I need to talk to you about Jimmy Borge.”

“Sure, we can go in the parlor.” Danielle opened the door wider and stepped aside for Joe to enter. Once in the parlor Danielle took a seat on the sofa while Joe sat across from her in a chair.

“Borge is cutting a deal with the DA, so you’re not going to have to testify.”

“Are you saying he’s going to get off?”

“No. It looks like he’ll be going away for a while.”

“Good.”

“So how’s Lily doing?” Joe asked.

“I haven’t talked to her this morning. Her parents left about an hour ago. They were going to stop for some breakfast, but they should be at the hospital about now.” Danielle stood up suddenly and touched her back pocket. “Would you mind if I run upstairs real quick and get my phone? I left it up there, and Mrs. Miller just has my cell number.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Danielle flashed Joe a smile and dashed from the room.

“You and Joe seem rather friendly,” Walt said as he followed Danielle up the stairs.

“He has his moments.” Danielle shrugged.

“He’s still interested in you. I can tell.”

“He thinks I’m crazy, and I’m not interested.”

A
lone in the parlor
, Joe stood up and stretched. Resting his hands on his hips, he looked around the room, surveying the walls. Walking toward the window, he noticed several new framed photographs sitting on a curio shelf. He picked up one of the pictures and looked closer. It was of Lily and Ian at the beach with Sadie.

While setting the picture down, an antique teapot on a higher shelf caught his eye. It reminded him of a teapot his grandmother owned. Reaching up, he picked it off the shelf. When he did, something inside the pot rattled around. Curious, Joe looked inside. He couldn’t see what it was, so he reached his hand inside the small opening and pulled out a gold and sapphire bracelet. Holding it in his hand, it took him a moment to realize what he was looking at. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Isabella Strickland’s missing bracelet. If it wasn’t hers, then it was one just like it. But how could that be possible? The bracelet was supposedly one of a kind.

Joe heard Danielle coming down the stairs. He quickly shoved the bracelet back inside the teapot and returned the pot to its shelf. He was still standing by the shelf when Danielle walked back into the room.

“This is a great picture of Lily and Ian,” Joe said, turning to Danielle.

“Yeah, I love that picture.” Danielle walked to Joe and looked at the framed photograph.

“I noticed that teapot up there.” Joe pointed to the top shelf. “My grandmother had one just like it.”

“Lily picked that up at a yard sale,” Danielle explained.

“Can I look at it?” Joe asked.

“Sure.” Danielle shrugged.

Joe reached up to the shelf and brought the teapot back down. As he did, the bracelet slid from one side of the pot to the other.

“Seems to be something inside,” Joe said.

“There shouldn’t be,” Danielle said. In reply, Joe handed Danielle the pot. Curious, she tucked her hand inside and pulled out the bracelet. “What the heck?” Danielle stared at the gold and sapphire bracelet in her hand.

“I thought women kept their bracelets in a jewelry box.”

“This isn’t mine.” Danielle shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

Joe studied Danielle’s face. She continued to stare at the gold and sapphire bracelet. Finally, Joe said, “I have.”

“What do you mean?” Danielle looked up at Joe.

He reached over and took the bracelet from her, holding it in his open palm. “Susan Mitchell showed me a photograph of a bracelet and necklace set Isabella Strickland commissioned. Supposedly, she designed it herself, see the little dragon clasp?”

Danielle picked up the bracelet and looked closer. “It looks sorta like the dragon in the tattoo.”

“We found the necklace on her body. We didn’t know what happened to the bracelet.”

“How did it get here?” Danielle asked.

“That’s what I was wondering.”

Something about Joe’s tone gave Danielle paused. She looked up into his face and noticed the intense way he studied her.

“Did you put the bracelet in the teapot?” Danielle asked, dumping it back in his hand.

Her question shocked Joe. “Of course not!”

Danielle stared at Joe. “You knew it was there. Didn’t you? You looked when I was upstairs.”

“Do you have any idea how it got in the teapot?”

“No. I told you I’ve never seen it before,” Danielle said angrily. “What, were you looking at the teapot, found the bracelet and put it back because you knew you needed permission from me to search my property?”

“Danielle, I believe you. I can tell you didn’t know it was there.”

“But you were testing me, weren’t you?”

“You have to understand how this looked.”

“Joe, just go. And take the bracelet. I have no idea how it got there. I’m not in the habit of stealing jewelry. I have a million dollar necklace sitting in my safety deposit box at the bank that I’d love to sell. Not because I need the money, because it’s just too much of a pain in the butt.”

“We need to figure out how this bracelet got into the teapot. Who’s had access to this room?”

“People come and go all the time. Can you give me a time frame?”

“When did you put the teapot on the shelf?”

“I don’t know, before Lily went back to California I guess.”

“Is it possible the bracelet was in the teapot when Lily bought it at the yard sale?”

“No. It was empty.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I washed it before I put it up. You don’t think I’d stick it up there without washing it?”

“Can I take the teapot with me?”

“Why?”

“There might be some fingerprints on it.”

“Yeah, like yours and mine,” Danielle grumbled. “Go ahead.”

Joe looked at the teapot, trying to decide how best to pick it up without compromising the evidence any more than he already had. Danielle let out a sigh and told him she’d be right back. She returned in a few minutes and handed him a large plastic bag.

Walt was in the library when he heard voices from the foyer. Going to the doorway, he looked down the hall and saw Danielle opening the front door for Joe, who was carrying something in a plastic bag.

“Was that your teapot Joe was taking?” Walt asked after Joe left.

“You’re never going to believe this,” Danielle said. “Joe found a bracelet belonging to Isabella Strickland in my teapot.”

“How would something like that get there?”

“I have no idea. You’re here all the time, any suggestions?” Danielle asked.

“I’ve never seen anyone so much as look at that teapot. Do you think Joe planted it?”

Danielle laughed. “That’s what I asked him. But no, I can’t see him doing that. Although I’m a little annoyed about how he handled it.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I went upstairs to get my phone he must have picked up the teapot to look at it and found the bracelet. Apparently, he recognized it. But he couldn’t just tell me he found it. I assume the bracelet would be inadmissible in court had he found it while snooping around on his own. Improper search.”

“But you let him take it?”

“I didn’t really have a choice. And I certainly didn’t want to make a scene. It’s strange enough the bracelet was in this house. I’m surprised our treasure hunters didn’t find it.”

“They were more interested in loose floor boards and old books with secret compartments,” Walt said.

“The only thing I can think of, someone planted it here to make it look like I’m someway involved with Isabella’s murder. I am the one who found her body, and if she was wearing its matching necklace when she was killed, it’s possible the killers took the bracelet.”

“Danielle, if someone broke into this house, I’m sure would have seen them.”

“Then we need to remember who’s been in this parlor over the last few weeks.”

“The only ones I can think of recently are our treasure hunters.”

“No, it has to be someone else. I can’t believe they’d leave the bracelet.”

“But they did mention an Isabella. Perhaps it was Isabella Strickland they were talking about all along.”

D
anielle called
Sadie to the kitchen. She wanted to let her out one more time before putting her back in the house with Walt. Then she planned to go to the hospital and see Lily. Sadie raced through the house into the kitchen and out the back door. Danielle followed her outside. She had locked the back gate, which was why she was surprised to find a woman walking toward her, down her back drive. How the woman got through the gate, Danielle had no idea, because from where she stood, she could see the padlock hanging in the latch, still locked.

Sadie had run off to the trees by the back fence and was now busy investigating possible new smells.

“Can I help you?” Danielle asked as she walked toward the thirty-something woman. The stranger wore faded baggie denim overalls and a tie-dyed tank top.

“I’m looking for Hunter and Claire. They’re supposed to be here,” the woman said.

Danielle stopped in her tracks and eyed the woman suspiciously. “Are you talking about the Stewarts?”

“Is that what they’re calling themselves now?”

“They’re not here,” Danielle said. “They left last night.”

“I was supposed to meet them here.” The woman sounded disappointed. “Do you know where they went?”

“You were meeting them? I understood they were on their honeymoon.”

“Is that what they told you?” The woman began to laugh.

Just as she started to laugh, Sadie raced over from the back fence, charging headlong in the woman’s direction. By the way she was running, Danielle was sure the dog was going to plow the woman down.

“Sadie, stay!” Danielle blurted out. Instead of stopping, Sadie flew through the woman’s body—in the same way she had done with Walt countless times—and then in the next second the woman disappeared. Danielle’s eyes widened as she stared at the spot where the woman in overalls had been standing just moments before. Sadie quickly circled back and began sniffing the ground.

“Walt!” Danielle shouted as she ran back into the house, Sadie on her heels.

Walt appeared in the kitchen. “What’s with all the shouting?”

“I saw another spirit, in the back yard.”

“Spirit as in ghost?”

“I thought you hated that word.”

“Only when applied to me. So who was it? Isabella Strickland? Whatever you say, don’t tell me Angela figured out how to get here.”

“Not Isabella or Angela. I’ve never seen this one before. But she asked for Hunter and Claire.”

“Claire called Hank Hunter sometimes,” Walt said.

“I remember you telling me. When the woman first started talking to me, I thought she was alive. It wasn’t until Sadie decided to charge through her that I figured it out. But then she disappeared.”

“Did she say what she wanted?”

“Only that she was looking for Hunter and Claire, that she was supposed to meet them here. And if I can believe her, I think you were right. Their name wasn’t Stewart and they weren’t newlyweds.”

“I suppose if she comes back, you can ask her about them.”

“I’d rather she not come back. I didn’t get a good vibe.” Danielle glanced at the clock on the wall. “I better get going, I told Lily I’d be there before lunch.”

Five minutes later, after Danielle had opened the back gate and was preparing to back down the drive, her cellphone began to ring. She picked it up off the console and looked at the caller ID. It was coming from the Frederickport Police Station.

“What now?” Danielle grumbled as she put her car in park and answered the call.

“Ms. Boatman, this is Chief MacDonald, I was hoping you could stop in at the station. It’s important.”

“Now? I was on the way to the hospital to see Lily.”

“I’d really appreciate it if you’d stop here first. But if you want me to come there, I suppose I can do that.”

“No,” Danielle said with a sigh. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

After disconnecting the call, Danielle immediately called the hospital and asked for Lily’s room.

“Hello?” came Lily’s voice.

“Hi. This is Dani.”

“You on your way over?”

“I was. But I just got a call from Chief MacDonald. He needs me to stop by the station first.”

“Now?”

“Apparently it’s important, because he told me if I didn’t go there, he’d come to me. And if I’m at the hospital, I don’t really feel like talking to him with your parents there.”

“What do you think he wants?”

“I have a hunch, but I’ll explain later. It’s too involved.”

“Okay. Hey, Ian called this morning. He is so sweet.”

“When is he coming back?”

“Not right away. He’s still getting over whatever crud he has, and he doesn’t want to get me sick, especially with my current condition. But he said it Dani. He told me.”

“Told you what?”

“He loves me!” Lily burst.

Danielle smiled. “Yeah, I know. Did you tell your parents yet, about you staying here?”

“Yes. Funny thing, they took it a lot better than I thought they would.”

“Are they there now?”

“No. They went down to get some coffee.”

“So they’re okay with it?”

“I think Mom was a little relieved. That whole IV thing sorta freaked her out. But Dad insisted he wants to pay for the nurse.”

“No. Please, he doesn’t need to. I want to do this, honest Lily.”

“We can work out the details later. When do you think you’ll be able to come to the hospital?”

“As soon as I’m done at the police station.”

“See you later.”

“Love you Lily.”

“Love you too Dani.”

Danielle drove directly to the police station. Upon arrival, the receptionist showed her to an office where the chief waited. Sitting behind the desk, the chief stood up and motioned for Danielle to take one of the two empty chairs facing his desk. He then told the receptionist she could leave and asked her to close the door on her way out.

“I appreciate you coming in,” the chief said as he sat back down behind his desk.

“What is this all about?” Danielle asked nervously, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“Stoddard Gusarov insists you are in some way involved in his niece’s death.”

“He what?” Danielle sat up straighter in the chair. This wasn’t what she expected to hear. “I didn’t even know the woman.”

“He didn’t come up with a motive, aside from implying there might be something between Isabella’s old boyfriend and you.”

“Are you talking about Adam Nichols?” Danielle couldn’t help but laugh.

“You did call Adam to pick you up after we brought you in the other day.”

“I’m good friends with his grandmother. Hell, Gusarov’s the one who was holding Lily prisoner!”

“He claims he sincerely thought Lily was his niece and insists that even Joe made the same mistake.”

“Stoddard had Lily tattooed so people would think she was Isabella. Ian talked to the authorities in southern California—she didn’t have a tattoo when they found her on Labor Day.”

“Yes, I know about that. But, Stoddard insists they simply don’t remember the tattoo. As far as he’s concerned, all it means is that they failed to note the tattoo. No one wrote down in the reports that she didn’t have a tattoo.”

“He’s just trying to throw suspicion off himself.”

“Stoddard says you put Isabella’s body in the crypt—insisting that not only were you caught with the body, you also had in your possession Isabella’s missing bracelet. According to her friend at the bank, Isabella told her she intended to never take it off. She was wearing the necklace when she was found, but the bracelet was at your house.”

“Why would I…” Danielle paused a moment. “How did he know Joe found the bracelet at my house this morning?”

“Stoddard was here this morning. I showed him the bracelet.”

“You did?” Danielle frowned. “But why would I keep the bracelet? I certainly can afford to buy my own jewelry.”

“Stoddard believes you kept it as a souvenir.”

“So now I am some thrill killer?”

“He believes after you killed Isabella and put her in the crypt, you took her car with you to California. For some reason Lily was driving it, when she got attacked at the rest stop.”

“So now Lily is involved?” Danielle snapped.

“Apparently, since she went out of her way to get a tattoo to match Isabella’s.”

“This is ridiculous!” Danielle fumed. “Do I need to get a lawyer?”

“I wouldn’t get one quite yet.” The chief smiled and leaned back in his seat.

“What is it you find so amusing?”

“I agree with you. Stoddard’s version is a bit—farfetched. And yet, I am left to wonder how it is you happened to stumble across both Lily and Isabella, and how that bracelet came to be at Marlow House.”

“But you don’t think I killed Isabella?”

“No.”

“So you believe me?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Then why don’t you think I killed her?”

“Because I know something Stoddard hasn’t been told yet.”

“What’s that?” Danielle asked warily.

“Isabella’s autopsy is back. She died of natural causes. She wasn’t murdered. Plus, we found fingerprints inside the crypt—they belong to two employees of Stoddard’s.”

“What are you going to do?”

“They’re bringing in Stoddard right now. As soon as he gets here, I’m going to see what he has to say. I suspect they may have planted that bracelet at Marlow House, but we weren’t able to get any usable prints off the teapot.”

“I don’t see how they could have planted the bracelet,” Danielle blurted out without thinking.

“Are you saying you know how it got there?”

“No. I just mean there hasn’t been any sign of a break in at Marlow House. And Sadie’s usually there when I’m gone.” Not to mention Walt.

“But maybe that’s how the dog happened to get out—perhaps whoever broke in to put the bracelet in your house inadvertently let Sadie out. If someone knows what they’re doing they can open a lock without you ever knowing.”

“Perhaps,” Danielle murmured, feeling foolish for arguing with the chief over a point that could cast doubt on her. “I suppose I can understand why he did it.”

“Why is that?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.

“According to Marie and Adam, Isabella left everything to Earthbound Spirits. That included half of the family business she owned with her uncle. It really was not in his best interest, financially, for her to die. So, if he happened to find her dead, he might have decided to keep her alive by hiding the body somewhere no one would look. She had a history of just taking off. Maybe he was trying to buy some time to figure out how to have her will changed. And in the meantime, he could continue to run the business as he saw fit. According to Adam, they had a written agreement giving Stoddard full control of the business, and she pretty much stayed out of it. But, she had the power to rescind that agreement at any time.”

“And if he instructed his people to hide the body, then he knew your friend Lily was not his niece.”

“Exactly.”

“There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Hopefully, I’ll get some of them answered after Stoddard arrives. In the meantime, I’d appreciate if you’d keep this conversation between us.”

Danielle stood up. “Can you tell me one thing, Chief?”

“I’ll try.” He stood up.

“Why are you telling me any of this?”

“Honestly?” the chief asked.

“Please,” Danielle said.

“I have my own gut feeling about you, Danielle Boatman.”

“I don’t understand.” Danielle frowned.

“Let’s just leave it at that,” he said with a smile.