The Ghost Who Wasn't (Haunting Danielle Book 3) (9 page)

D
anielle pulled
the car up next to the sidewalk in front of the Gusarov Estate and put it in park. Lily was nowhere in sight. Danielle was just getting ready to turn off the ignition when Lily appeared in the car, sitting in the passenger seat.

“Drive down the street,” Lily ordered.

“What do you mean?”

“Just drive down the street; I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Danielle drove a half a block when Lily ordered her to pull over and park the car near a wooded area between the street and the ocean, adjacent to the Gusarov Estate.

“What’s going on Lily? Were you able to communicate with Isabella?”

“Isabella wasn’t there.”

“Have they moved her?”

“It wasn’t Isabella in the hospital bed—it was me!”

Danielle swung around in her seat and stared at Lily.

“I found my body, Danielle. No wonder I returned to Frederickport—my body is here!”

“Are you sure?”

“I feel a little foolish that I didn’t recognize myself immediately, but my head is all bandaged. Stupid me, I kept thinking how much Isabella looked like my sister. It didn’t dawn on me that I was looking at myself.”

“Are you sure? I remember from Isabella’s picture, she was also a redhead. Maybe she just looks like you.”

“What, are you saying all redheads look alike?”

“No but—”

“And they cut my hair! They hacked it off like a boy!”

“It doesn’t make sense; why would Stoddard Gusarov identify your body as his niece? Is it possible he really thinks you’re Isabella? If that’s the case, at least we know you’ll be getting the best of care while they have you.”

“Why in the world would you say that? They were talking about killing me!”

“Killing you?”

“Yes, the aunt said something about putting a pillow over my face.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense.” Danielle shook her head. “According to Adam, Isabella revised her will and left her estate to some cult—the estate includes half of the family business. There is no way Stoddard would hasten her death.”

“Well that explains what else I heard. They talked about Isabella changing her will—and then killing me!”

“So they actually believe you’re her?”

“It sounded that way. But I don’t know how that’s possible. I don’t think I look anything like her picture. Aside from the hair color.”

“What do we do now? I can’t very well call the police. Like Joe would believe me!”

“He would believe a picture.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you have your cellphone with you?” Lily asked.

“Sure. Why?”

“We go back to the house, sneak up to the bedroom where they have me and you take my picture. Then we can show that picture to the police.”

“And how am I supposed to get in the house? I’m sure it has an alarm system.”

“It does, but I noticed it was disarmed. And there is a back door we can use, it takes us up the back stairs. It wasn’t locked. I can go in first, and make sure the coast is clear.”

Danielle took a deep breath then said, “Okay. Let’s do this.” As she took the key out of the ignition, she turned to Lily and asked, “Why did you want me to drive down the street?”

“Well I figured, if I talked you into breaking into the Gusarov house, it wouldn’t be a great idea to be parked right in front of it.”

Danielle locked her purse inside the car and tucked her phone and keys into her back pocket. Instead of walking back down the street, Danielle and Lily entered the wooded area and raced toward the rear section of the Gusarov Estate.

Lily went inside first, while Danielle hid behind some trees near the back door of the house.

“It’s safe to come in,” Lily said when she returned a few minutes later. “Gusarov and his wife are in the kitchen eating, and the maid is in there too. There are two nurses, but they’re in a room down the hall from where they have me, playing cards. Looks like they just started their game, so hopefully they’ll be there a while.”

“Yeah hopefully,” Danielle mumbled under her breath as she followed Lily into the house. Together they raced up the back stairs, Lily leading the way. The two managed to slip into the hospital room unnoticed.

Once in the dimly lit room, Danielle hesitantly approached the bed. She looked down at the sleeping woman. Ever so gently, she reached down and touched her face, turning it slightly in her direction. It was Lily.

“Oh my god, you’re right,” Danielle said in a hushed whisper. “It’s really you!” Tears filled her eyes.

“Can you believe it, they cut my hair!”

“Oh Lily, you look beautiful!” Danielle said with a sniffle. “I wonder what would happen if you could simply reconnect with your body?”

“No, not while it’s here. I don’t trust them.”

“But if you came to, you could tell the nurses who you are.”

“I don’t think that would work.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think they speak English. Not sure what they were speaking, but it wasn’t English, Russian maybe.”

“Perhaps they’re bilingual. I can’t imagine Gusarov would hire someone he couldn’t communicate with.”

“Umm… Gusarov, isn’t that Russian?” Lily asked.

“So? It doesn’t mean he can speak Russian.”

“I can’t take the chance. What if they only speak Russian? They won’t be able to help me. And if I could communicate with them, how do I know they would?”

“Okay, let’s do this, and get out of here.” Danielle walked toward the window.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked.

“It’s kind of dark in here,” Danielle said as she started to pull back the curtain, letting in the sunlight.

Just as Danielle finished opening the curtain the bedroom door flew open.

“Oh crap,” Lily mumbled.

Before Danielle could react, the two nurses rushed into the room, charging straight for her.

“I thought you were supposed to stand guard!” Danielle cried out as she attempted to run in the opposite direction.

“You have to take the picture, take the picture!” Lily called out hysterically.

Danielle did not have sufficient time to pull the phone from her back pocket and snap the picture. Her attempts at dodging the nurses failed, and before she knew what happened both of her arms were seized—one by the male nurse and one by the female nurse. As they dragged her from the room, down the hall and to the staircase, they talked excitedly to each other, in a foreign language.

Halfway down the stairs she noticed five people standing in the foyer, looking up the staircase at her and the two determined nurses. Two of the people she recognized—it was Joe and Brian from the local police department. She felt an instant sense of relief. Maybe this wasn’t how she wanted to handle the situation, but it would work. Once Joe had a look at Lily, this would end.

“Danielle, you’re the one who broke in?” Joe said when Danielle reached the landing.

“Why aren’t I surprised?” Brian said under his breath.

Danielle tried to pull away but the nurses continued to grip her arms.

“You can let her go,” Joe told them. Stoddard repeated Joe’s instructions in Russian, and they released her.

“You know this woman?” Stoddard asked.

“I’m afraid I do,” Joe said with a sigh.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m happy to see you!” Danielle said, rubbing her forearms, still stinging from the rough handling.

“The silent alarm went off. Since we were in the neighborhood, we took the call.”

“And here I thought the alarm hadn’t been set,” Danielle said under her breath as she glared at Lily who flashed a sheepish grin.

“Breaking into houses now, Ms. Boatman? What is it, the thrill? You certainly don’t need the money,” Brian said as he removed his handcuffs from his belt.

“Wait, I can explain!” Danielle said in a panic. “It’s Lily, they have Lily up there! It’s not Isabella! It’s Lily!’

“What is she talking about?” Darlene asked.

“I’m afraid Danielle has been under considerable stress, since her best friend was killed,” Joe said, looking at Danielle with pity.

“That doesn’t give her an excuse to break into our home!” Darlene snapped. Stoddard wrapped his arm around his wife and glared at Danielle.

“Please Joe, just listen to me! Go see for yourself. If it’s not Lily in that bed, then go ahead and arrest me. Throw the book at me if you want. But please, just go look!”

“You honestly believe I wouldn’t recognize my own niece?” Stoddard asked.

“All I know is, that’s Lily upstairs.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Darlene scoffed.

“I want you to arrest her,” Stoddard demanded. “And I want a restraining order against her. She’s not to come near my niece again.”

“Perhaps I could just go look in on Isabella,” Joe said.

“Are you suggesting this woman may be telling the truth?” Stoddard asked incredulously.

“Can I speak with you alone for a minute, Stoddard?” Joe asked.

Stoddard nodded, and the two men walked away from the others.

“Danielle isn’t dangerous, she’s just a little—well, a lot of things have happened to her. She’s the one who owns Marlow House.”

“Her cousin was the one Clarence killed?”

“Yes. And Lily is her best friend. She was killed in a car accident. They have the body, but Danielle refuses to believe the truth. If I could just see Isabella and have something to tell Danielle so she’d give up this notion.”

“I don’t suppose her friend has a tattoo.”

“Lily? Not that I know of. Ahh…Isabella. Right. She has that tattoo on her right arm. A dragon, wasn’t it?”

“I’ll take you up but only you. And only if I can go in the room first, and make sure Isabella is modest. I want her treated with respect.”

“Of course, Stoddard. I understand.”

“This doesn’t look good,” Lily whispered to Danielle after listening in on Joe’s private conversation.

Danielle frowned at Lily, afraid to ask her anything for fear Brian would overhear her seemingly talking to an imaginary friend.

When Joe and Stoddard reached the bedroom door leading to Isabella’s hospital room, Stoddard entered first. Lily lay on her back. Hurriedly, Stoddard rolled her over onto her stomach, careful to not unhook any tubes. Very gently, he turned her head so that her face was looking away from the door. He then rolled up the right sleeve of the hospital gown, exposing the tattoo. Before letting Joe into the room, he closed the curtains and rearranged some of the lighter pieces of furniture, making it difficult to walk around the bed in order to get a closer look at the woman’s face.

Stoddard opened the door. “You can come in now. But I think this is all ridiculous.”

It took Joe’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dimly lit room. Walking toward the bed, he saw it immediately—the tattoo on the woman’s right arm. With his attention focused primarily on the exposed arm, he glanced toward the face. From his angle, all he could see was a bandaged head and wisps of shortly cut red hair. Isabella wore her red hair short.

“That’s definitely Isabella,” Joe said, looking back at the tattoo. “It seems to be peeling.”

“Yes. I’m afraid she got a little sunburned in the desert. We’re lucky it wasn’t in the dead of summer when they dumped her out there. Or it would be worse.”

“I’m sorry I put you through this,” Joe said as he turned from the bed.

“No!” Lily cried out. “You didn’t even look at my face!”

“I’d like to have that woman arrested,” Stoddard said as they walked down the hallway. “But I’d be happy if I just never see her again. I don’t want her coming here again.”

“Don’t worry Stoddard, I will take care of it,” Joe promised.

Danielle could hear Lily coming down the staircase, and by her words, it was obvious Joe failed to identify the body correctly.

“Those crazy people tattooed my arm!” Lily shouted to Danielle when she reached the first floor landing. “I have a freaking dragon tattoo on my arm! He didn’t even look at my face!”

“You didn’t even look at her face!” Danielle glared at Joe.

“Interesting how you already know I didn’t find Lily up there. If you honestly believed that was your friend upstairs, I’d expect to be greeted with something like
I told you so
—not some excuse as to why I didn’t find her,” Joe said angrily.

“I take it, that was Isabella upstairs?” Brian said as he reached for Danielle’s wrists, handcuffs in hand.

A
lone in the interrogation room
, Danielle wearily rested her head on the desktop. Pillowing her head on her folded arms, she thought of Lily, who had stayed back at the Gusarov Estate to keep an eye on her body. Danielle wasn’t sure how that was going to help.

Joe and Brian had refused to stop at the car so she could retrieve her purse, and they had confiscated her cellphone and keys. Even if they had let her keep the phone, she wasn’t sure who she would call. Ian was in California, and Joanne was out of town on vacation.

The door opened. She lifted her head briefly and opened her eyes. Joe walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Taking a deep sigh, Danielle sat up straight and looked at Joe, who was now sitting down across the table from her. In his hands was a manila folder. He dropped it on the desk.

“So, am I under arrest? Do I get to make my one phone call?”

“Stoddard doesn’t want to press charges.”

“Well that’s generous of him, considering he’s kidnapped my best friend.”

“It wasn’t Lily, and you know it,” Joe picked up the folder and began shuffling through the papers.

Danielle looked at the folder in Joe’s hand. “What’s in there?”

“Your file.”

“I have a file?”

In response, Joe closed the file and set it on the desk. When Danielle reached for it, he pushed her hand away.

“If I’m not under arrest, does that mean I can go now?”

“I said Stoddard doesn’t want to press charges. Not that you can leave quite yet.”

Danielle glanced over to the two-way mirror. “So tell me, who’s listening in on us? Brian, the chief? The whole gang?”

“You’ve quite an attitude for someone who’s just been caught breaking and entering.”

“And you don’t think it is a bit odd that I’d break into someone’s house? It’s not like I need the money. Last I heard I’m quite rich.”

“I’m not sure what you’re up to.”

“I told you. Lily is in that house. If you would have taken just a minute to get a good look at her face, you would know I’m telling the truth.”

“I told you, it was Isabella. I recognized the tattoo.”

“Right. The tattoo. Like two people can’t have the same tattoo.”

“I don’t remember Lily having one.”

“She doesn’t. Or she didn’t. They obviously tattooed her so people like you would believe she’s Isabella.”

“Do you hear how you sound, Danielle?”

“Well tell me this, what condition was the tattoo in? Did it look like it had been there a long time?”

“It was hard to tell, the skin was peeling.”

“Ah ha! A fresh tattoo! They always do that after a couple days.”

“No. Stoddard explained she got sunburned in the desert.”

“Now do you hear yourself?” Danielle snapped.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Of course Stoddard is going to come up with some plausible excuse for the tattoo peeling. Did you happen to look at her other arm? It was scratched up, but it wasn’t peeling.”

“Danielle, I think it would be a good idea if we put you under observation for a few days.”

“What? Are you crazy? No wait—you don’t have to answer that. You think I’m crazy.”

“I just think you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. And breaking into Stoddard’s house like that, insisting he has kidnapped Lily, the fact that you don’t see how that makes you look convinces me you need help.”

Danielle closed her eyes for a moment and told herself to count to ten and calm down. When she opened her eyes again she looked into Joe’s. “I have guests staying at Marlow House. You can’t just lock me up while they are all alone over there, wondering where their host has disappeared to. Plus I’m babysitting Sadie.”

“I suppose you should have considered that before you broke into Stoddard’s home.”

Danielle studied Joe’s expression for a moment. The brown eyes she once found warm and friendly now seemed judgmental. “You never can give me any slack, can you?”

“I think the fact you’re not sitting in a cell right now disproves that.”

“I’d like to make my phone call,” Danielle said abruptly.

Joe studied her for a moment. “Fine, I’ll let you make one call.”

“I’d like to make it on my cellphone.”

“Okay.” Joe stood up and pulled Danielle’s cellphone from his pocket. He set it on the desk. “One call. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He picked up the manila file and headed to the door.

Hesitantly Danielle picked up her cellphone and stared at it. Looking up, she watched Joe leave the room, closing the door behind her. She glanced over to the two-way mirror and wondered who was watching her.

“I don’t want you holding her for observation,” the chief told Joe a moment later when he entered the office next to the interrogation room. Brian stood with the chief by the window watching Danielle. They’d turned the sound off. “I think you should cut her loose.”

“But we caught her red handed!” Brian said.

“And Stoddard refuses to press charges. He had me on the phone the minute you left his house. He doesn’t want this in the press. And I can’t blame him. He’s dealing with enough right now, with Isabella’s attack and the coma. He just wants us to make sure Danielle doesn’t bother her again,” the chief explained.

“Then shouldn’t we hold her for observation?” Joe asked.

“You forget, Danielle Boatman is a very wealthy woman and she can make our lives miserable if she puts her mind to it. She’s probably calling some high priced lawyer right now,” the chief explained.

“I don’t know, she’s just staring at that phone,” Brian noted as he watched Danielle. “She looks as if she’s about to cry.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” the chief said. “Shake her up a bit. She did get caught breaking into a house. Just because Stoddard doesn’t want to press charges now, doesn’t mean he won’t…let’s say, tomorrow.”

“I thought you said he was emphatic about not pressing charges?” Joe asked.

“Well we don’t have to let Danielle know that! Maybe the way to keep her in line—and away from the Stoddard’s estate is to let her believe possible arrest is just around the corner.”

“How is that helping her?” Joe asked. “If she’s put under observation she might get the help she needs.”

“She’s not your responsibility,” Brian said.

“Brian’s right, Joe. The girl has some emotional issues, but it really isn’t your problem. Stoddard refuses to press charges. I’m not going to hold her. I want Brian to wrap this up. You’re too emotionally involved.”

“What do you want me to do, Chief?” Brian asked.

“Wait until she makes the call. Give her a little time to stew. Then go back in there, lead her to believe Stoddard may press charges. When she leaves here, I want her feeling grateful she’s not in jail. And hopefully, she’ll realize it’s in her best interest not to bother Isabella’s family again.”

“Since we’re going to let her go anyway, can I turn the sound back and listen to who she calls?” Brian asked.

“No,” the chief said. “We’ll turn the sound back on after she makes her call.”

“This is not going to help Danielle,” Joe said.

“That isn’t our problem,” the chief countered.

“
T
hey are cutting you loose
!” Lily said when she popped into the interrogation room a few moments later. Danielle looked up in surprise and then glanced at the two-way mirror.

“They are watching you,” Lily explained, “but they have the sound turned off. The chief said to leave it off until you make your call.”

Threading her fingers together, Danielle lowered her head and rested the bridge of her nose against her hands, obstructing her mouth from view of the men watching in the next room.

“Are you sure?” Danielle asked.

“Stoddard refuses to press charges. He was adamant. If he had caught you breaking in, I don’t think he would have called the police. The only reason the cops were there was because you set off the silent alarm.”

“I thought you said it wasn’t armed.”

“It wasn’t. Someone must have turned it back on.”

“They’re going to let me go, after I make the call? Why even have me make a call if they’re planning to cut me loose?”

“Joe wants you put under observation.”

“Yes, he told me that. I am crazy, you know.”

“But the chief is afraid of your money.”

“My money?”

“Sure. You can afford the best lawyers to go after them if they don’t dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. Isabella’s uncle refuses to press charges, so there is nothing to hold you on.”

“That still doesn’t explain why they’re allowing me to make a call instead of just letting me go.”

“He’s trying to play some mind game with you so you’ll stay away from Isabella.”

“If Isabella was really in that house, there wouldn’t be a problem.” Danielle peeked up at the window.

“After you make the call the chief is having Brian come in and play bad cop with you. He’s afraid Joe is too emotionally involved.”

“I guess I better make that call. You say they won’t be listening?”

“They said they wouldn’t. But I’ll go over there, and if they turn on the sound, I’ll let you know.” Lily disappeared.

Danielle dropped her hands and sat up straight. She picked up the cellphone and began to dial. When the party answered the phone she said, “Hello, this is Danielle Boatman.”

“Danielle? This is a surprise.”

“I wondered if you would like to make a quick hundred bucks.”

“Why, sure. What do you need?”

“Could you pick me up in about five or ten minutes at the police station, and then drive me over to where my car’s parked, on the south side of town, about a half a block from the Gusarov Estate.”

“The police station? Are you okay?”

“They have me in that lovely room with the two-way mirror; what do you think?”

“I’ll be right there.”

Danielle turned off her phone and set it on the desk, waiting for Brian.

“Miss Boatman,” Brian said when he entered the room.

“Officer Henderson,” Danielle said primly, folding her hands on the desktop.

“You got yourself into quite a mess this time, didn’t you?” He sat down across the table from her.

“If Joe would have actually looked at the woman’s face, he would have seen it was Lily and not Isabella.”

“So Lily has a tattoo just like Isabella? Tell me, did they use the same tattoo artist?”

“Lily never had a tattoo—until someone gave her one to help her pass as Isabella. Of course, you would know that had Joe just taken a moment to look at her face—like he promised!”

“The thing is, Miss Boatman, you can’t just go around giving into whatever delusion you might be under. There are consequences for your actions. If Stoddard Gusarov decides he wants us to arrest you, I don’t think any of your high price attorneys will be able to get you off. You will be serving some time. It might only be six months—but do you think you’d really be up to that? Six months can be rough for someone like you.”

“Oh I don’t know,” Danielle said calmly. “My defense would be that he was holding Lily—I don’t think he’d want that sort of publicity. You seem to forget, I’ve a marketing background, and you’d be surprised what sort of publicity my money can buy.”

“Even if Stoddard doesn’t press charges, we could hold you over for observation,” Brian threatened. “Only mentally unstable people see ghosts.”

“Ghosts?”

“Your friend is dead, Ms. Boatman. If you think you saw her at the Gusarov Estate, then you’ve seen a ghost.”