by Bobbi Holmes
“How sad,” Danielle murmured.
“One blessing I had by staying here, I watched my granddaughters grow up. They were good girls. They had a good mother. She knew nothing about her husband’s family. She only knew he had a cousin he didn’t like.”
Danielle started to ask a question, but Earl hushed her and said, “It’s Wilbur. He’s back.” The next moment Earl disappeared.
Turning to Walt, Danielle ran her fingertips down his face and silently prayed Wilbur would help her. Several minutes later Earl appeared back in the barn, with Wilbur by his side.
“What happened?” Wilbur asked when he took in the sight of Danielle and Walt, both with head injuries and chained to the floor, and one unconscious. Before she could answer, he said, “I came back here looking for you. I saw him again, the one with the hook nose who I overheard at the pier. He was with the man who took the gunnysack and threw it in the ocean.”
“Hook nose? You never mentioned the man at the pier had a hook nose,” Danielle said. Had Wilbur thought to mention that before, she might not be here now, Danielle thought.
“I didn’t? Well, that doesn’t matter now. I saw them driving down the street and recognized him. So I followed them. They ended up at a house in Frederickport. The younger one—the one I’ve seen here before—he was on his way to Portland. And they said something about hook nose’s wife and daughter already being in Portland, and him wanting them to stay a few extra days.”
“Hook nose, as you call him, that’s Beau Stewart. He’s the great-great-grandson of Beauregard Porter Senior,” Danielle explained.
“Beau Porter murdered me!” Wilbur growled.
“Yes, and the other Beau wants to murder me and Walt. Please help us. Go find Marie or one of the mediums on Beach Drive. Tell them Walt and I are being held prisoner at the old Barr place in the barn, and that he plans to murder us. Hurry. Tell them Walt needs medical attention. I’m so worried about him.”
The next moment Wilbur agreed to help and vanished.
Chris cancelled his drive to Astoria when Danielle and Walt never showed up to watch Hunny. Heather returned to Lily and Ian’s house to discuss their missing friends. Chris joined them. Marie had taken off to look for Walt and Danielle, yet when she returned to Ian and Lily’s, about thirty minutes after Chris and Heather’s arrival, she only had Eva with her.
“Any news?” Marie asked when she and Eva appeared in the middle of the living room.
“Marie and Eva are here,” Chris told Lily and Ian.
“None. We were hoping you’d know something,” Heather said.
“I’m sorry I’m barging in like this,” a male voice said. Yet only the spirits and mediums could hear him. “But I saw Marie through the window.”
The spirits and mediums turned to the voice and found a man standing just inside the living room.
“Wilbur?” Marie said.
“Danielle sent me. She and Walt are in trouble.”
Thirty-Seven
It didn’t take Lily and Ian long to figure out another ghost had joined them. Chris played interpreter while Wilbur explained the situation.
Once realizing Danielle and Walt were in danger, Lily said, “We need to call the police!” She stood up to grab her cellphone off the coffee table, but Chris stopped her from making the call.
“We don’t have time, and if the police charge up there, sirens on, it could get them both killed. Plus, if we can’t reach the chief, how do we explain to the dispatcher how we know where they are?” Chris said.
“We have to do something!” Lily cried.
“We will. We’ll do what Danielle wanted.” Chris looked at Marie. “Marie can get up there faster than anyone. Heather and I will follow.”
“Where exactly are they? I need to hurry!” Marie said.
“They’re in the barn, but I’ll go with you, show you where they are,” Wilbur offered.
“Wait a second,” Chris said, looking from Wilbur to Eva. “Eva, please go with Marie and meet us at the road to let us know when it’s safe for us to come up.”
“I should probably go instead,” Ian suggested.
Heather shook her head. “No, Chris is right. You won’t be able to communicate with the spirits.”
“And stay here, try to get the chief on the phone; let him know what’s going on,” Chris told Ian. “We’ll figure out what we need to tell the police if you can’t get ahold of him. But first, we need to make sure Danielle and Walt are safe.”
As the three spirits prepared to leave, Wilbur paused a moment and smiled at Eva. “You’re really Eva Thorndike. I’m an enormous fan.”
“You are?” Eva said with a smile as the three spirits disappeared.
When Danielle had been trapped in Presley House, almost four years earlier, she had been unbelievably thirsty—as thirsty as she was now. But back then she didn’t have Walt to worry about, and she could not dwell on her own discomfort, not when the man she loved remained so still next to her. She kept praying he would wake up. While there was some comfort in knowing their death was not the end, and they would still be together, she was not ready to move on. Life was precious, she told herself, even when death provided new adventures. She was not ready to say goodbye to this world and to her friends.
Danielle glanced down at her stomach and touched it lightly with one hand. “Walt,” she whispered, “we need to get out of this mess, and then, I think you’re right, time to stop using birth control.”
A creaking sound interrupted her thoughts, and she looked over to the barn door. Someone was opening it. Danielle’s heart lurched, and for a moment she imagined their rescuers had arrived. But the silhouette that appeared soon proved to be foe, not friend. Beau Stewart stood in the doorway, and he carried a pillow.
“I bet you didn’t expect to see me back so soon.” He sauntered toward her, carrying the pillow in his left hand while absently giving it punches with his right fist.
“Beau is back,” Earl announced when he appeared a moment later. He looked at Beau and cringed. “I see he’s already here. I saw his car parked out back.”
“Why are you here?” Danielle asked him.
“There’s a change of plans,” Beau said, giving the pillow another punch. “When we first chained you up, my son wanted to get his pistol and take care of you. I had to explain to him, we really don’t want the coroner to find your charcoaled skull with a bullet hole. Rather defeats the purpose.” He laughed.
“I don’t feel good about this,” Earl groaned. “I hope Wilbur gets back here soon with your friends.”
“And now?” Danielle asked, feeling sick inside.
“Before he took off to Portland to get his scuba gear—oh, and I do want to thank you for pointing out that minor flaw in our plan. You probably saved us from getting caught. Anyway, he really didn’t like leaving you alive. He tends to be a worrier, like his mother. He had a point, and I realized, who needs a gun when you have one of these?” He held up the pillow.
“You plan to smother us?” Danielle asked.
“You catch on quick. I’ll do you first. I figure you’ll put up a fight, and with Walt there, he’ll be easy.”
Motion behind Beau caught Danielle’s attention. Standing in the open doorway, a scant distance from Beau, stood the image of Dolly Porter, a confused and troubled spirit. She was also a spirit who could harness energy.
“Dolly! Please help me! He plans to kill me! Like Ambrose killed you!” Danielle called out frantically.
“Oh, shut up. Stop with your hysterics,” Beau said, moving to Danielle with the pillow.
“Dolly, please!” Danielle pleaded.
“Help her, Dolly!” Earl cried out. “He is just like Ambrose!”
Now standing over Danielle, Beau said, “Why don’t you make this easier on yourself and lie still. Less painful than burning alive. You should actually thank me. It’ll be over in a minute.”
“Dolly, please!” Still sitting on the floor, her ankle chained to the pipe, Da
nielle raised her arms to shield herself from the attack.
Beau laughed as he forced himself on her, covering her face with the pillow and pushing her head down to the concrete floor while using his weight to hold down her body. He was there only a moment when the pillow was ripped from his grasp and sailed across the barn while his body flew in the opposite direction, landing violently against one barn wall, knocking all the breath from his lungs as his body fell to the hard floor in a battered heap.
Her heart racing, Danielle lowered her arms and looked up. Dolly hovered over her, bathed in a golden glow, wearing a somber expression.
“Will you see I have a proper burial?” Dolly asked.
“I promise,” Danielle said as a groan came from Beau. She looked to him and watched in horror as he stumbled to his feet, a determined look on his face as he glared in her direction. He did not understand what had just happened, but he was damn sure going to finish it.
Dolly didn’t need to intervene again, for in the next moment Marie, Eva, and Wilbur appeared in the barn, standing between an angry and dazed Beau and his intended victim.
“Thank God you’re here, Marie!” Danielle called out, relief washing over her.
“I don’t know what your problem is, lady, but if you believe making me think you talk to imaginary people will save your neck, you’re crazy.” Beau took one step toward Danielle but soon found himself flung upward to the high ceiling, where he remained, looking down at everyone. However, the only ones he could see were Danielle and Walt. He did not understand the spirits of Marie, Eva, Dolly, Wilbur and Earl curiously watched him. Had there been more lighting in the barn, they would have seen the color in Beau’s face drain away. Terror filled his now wide eyes as the hands on his outstretched arms tried desperately to grasp for anything to keep him from falling, yet nothing was there.
Gripped with fear, Beau cried out, “Someone help me!” A more rational Beau, one not floating at the ceiling of a barn, would understand making such a plea was futile when the only people within hearing were the two he had attacked, restrained, and whom he had moments earlier prepared to smother. Sobs followed the plea.
Those gathered in the barn were more concerned with the two people bloodied and restrained than the man hovering overhead. Marie urged Eva to check on Walt and Danielle while she kept her attention on Beau to keep him from plummeting to the concrete floor. Not that she cared about the horrid man’s safety, but she had no desire for him to avoid the punishment of the living world by escaping to the spirit realm, and a splattered Beau would be difficult for Danielle and Walt to explain. Of course, once Beau moved over to her side, he would probably find the consequences for his actions dire.
Eva knelt by Walt and Danielle’s side.
“We need to get Walt to the hospital. He’s been unconscious for hours. I’m so worried about him!” Danielle sobbed, no longer able to maintain her composure.
“Chris and Heather are on their way. They’ll call for someone. I need to see if they’re here yet. It will be okay, Danielle, I promise,” Eva vowed in a gentle voice.
After ghostly introductions, Dolly stayed by Walt and Danielle’s side while Eva went to find Heather and Chris. Earl and Wilbur stood with Marie, looking up at Beau Stewart, who hovered overhead.
“I’m impressed,” Wilbur said. “How do you do that?”
“Watch this,” Marie said. Beau started spinning like a top for several moments and then stopped. They all laughed.
“Be careful with that. He might puke,” Earl said. “While it would go right through us, it would still be gross.”
Minutes later Eva returned with Chris and Heather. The pair rushed to Walt and Danielle.
“Oh no, Walt, is he dead?” Heather cried.
“No, he’s not dead,” Eva assured her, giving them a brief introduction to Dolly.
“Thank God you’re here,” Danielle sobbed.
Heather reached out and took Danielle’s hand while Chris checked Walt’s vitals. Danielle hastily told them what had happened. Chris pulled out his cellphone and said, “I’m calling for the police and paramedics.”
Heather glanced up at the man hovering overhead and said, “Yeah, well, while you do that, we need to get that sleaze down and tied up. I hope there’s some rope around here.”
There wasn’t.
Someone must have slipped him some hallucinogenic drugs, Beau thought. One minute he was preparing to get rid of the Marlows and the next he was up on the ceiling looking down. And then he started spinning. It was worse than carnival rides he had ridden as a child.
Once he realized this was all some bad trip, he pulled himself together and stopped sobbing like a little wimp. He would get through this, he told himself. The next moment he plummeted to the floor, stopping just inches from full impact.
Beau’s heart raced as he lay flat on the cold concrete, unable to move. It felt as if someone was restraining his arms and legs, but no one was there. He was no longer alone in the barn with Walt and Danielle. Chris Johnson and the woman Kathy thought looked like a witch had showed up, and the witch blabbered on about not being able to find any rope.
He heard sirens. They grew louder. Turning his head to one side, he watched as the witch jumped up and yelled, “I’ll show them where we are.” She raced out of the barn.
Chris Johnson stood over him, talking to himself, like he was trying to figure out what to do. The next moment Beau found himself flipped on his belly and his arms pulled behind his back. Squirming wildly, Beau still could not move his arms or legs.
Beau heard Chris say, “Marie, whatever you do, don’t let him go,” before climbing on his back and taking hold of his wrists. Several minutes later police and paramedics filled the barn, and he found himself being pulled to a standing position after Chris moved off him and allowed several police officers to take charge.
Still trying to grasp the series of events following his failed attempt to smother Danielle, Beau recognized one of the police officers in the group. It was Brian Henderson, who in the next moment asked, “What the hell is going on here?”
Thirty-Eight
The police did not understand the situation in the barn, yet the paramedics deemed it urgent to get Walt to the hospital, considering his condition. Danielle also required medical attention.
Before they could take either person to the waiting ambulance, there was the matter of removing the chains, which required keys to unlock the padlocks. When one officer asked Beau where the keys were, he yelled, “How would I know? I had nothing to do with this!” While it took more time, they freed Walt and Danielle without keys.
Beau demanded they remove his handcuffs. “I had nothing to do with what happened here!” he said belligerently. “Do you know who I am?”
“We know who you are, Mr. Stewart,” Sergeant Joe Morelli said politely as the paramedics removed Walt and Danielle from the barn. “But according to Mrs. Marlow, you were the one who attacked them.”
“Even if I did, which I didn’t, this is my property. They were trespassing!” Beau said. “I’ve been with my family in Portland, and I came back to check on things. We recently purchased this property, and we’re renting a house in Frederickport while we remodel this place. I worry about vandalism while we’re away.”
“Vandalism?” Chris interrupted. “You told us the other day you intended to tear all the buildings down. Why would you be so concerned about vandalism?”
“Because when vandals come on your property, people can get hurt, and obviously that’s what happened with the Marlows. But I had nothing to do with it! Now let me go!” Beau ranted.
“We’ll discuss this down at the police station,” Joe said, passing Beau to two of his officers. Beau continued to rant as they took him away.
Joe looked at Chris and said, “I’ve already told Heather I don’t want either of you to leave yet. I intend to interview both of you in a minute, you first and then Heather. So stay right there.” Joe turned away and walked to Brian.
“Yes?” Marie asked.
Keeping his voice down and turning so none of the remaining responders would think he was talking to himself, Chris said, “I need you both to listen to what I tell the police when they interview me. And then let Heather know before they interview her, so our stories match. And then one of you needs to get to the hospital and tell Danielle what I said.”
“You also need to tell them about the human remains,” Wilbur added.
Chris looked questioningly at Wilbur and Earl. The two ghosts began filling Chris in on what he hadn’t yet been told.
Brian and Joe silently listened to Chris’s version of the day’s events.
“Walt and Danielle agreed to watch Hunny today while I went to Astoria. But when I got over there, they weren’t home. And they weren’t answering their cellphones. I went over to see if Lily and Ian had heard from them; they hadn’t. So I asked Heather. She told me she was in the alley behind her house when they were driving away this morning. They stopped a moment to talk to her. Said they were taking a drive over here.”
“Why did they come over here?” Brian asked.
“At the party Beau had talked about all the work they were doing on the property. I assume they were just curious about what he had done so far.”
“Where’s their car?” Joe asked.
“I haven’t seen it.” Chris shrugged. He really didn’t know where their car was.
“Then what happened?” Brian asked.
“Heather and I drove over here to see if we could find them. We came up the back way, parked. We didn’t think anything about not seeing their car. Figured it could be out front. We got out for a moment, just intending to look around, when we heard screaming.”