Christmas by the Sea (Haunting by the Sea Book 6)

by Kathi Daley

  There were several totally precious photos of the boy with the puppy before the boy’s father had called him to leave. I’d captured an image of two sisters, maybe five and seven, sharing a laugh while they built a snowman. There were a lot of happy families looking for the perfect tree, but none stood out as any better than the others. The photos of people drinking hot cocoa and shopping in the Dooley’s Farm gift shop were nice as well, but again not really outstanding.

  And then I came across the photo I’d taken of the woman with the dark hair that I’d noticed at the tree farm looking in our direction. She seemed familiar, yet I didn’t think I’d never met her. She had dark hair that hung straight from a baseball-style cap. She had sunglasses on, so I couldn’t really see what she was looking at, but there was just something about her that gave me the chills. I saved the image to my desktop and moved on to the photos taken at the park. The faces of the children as they watched the mechanical bears, penguins, raccoons, and deer were simply magical. I selected a few of my favorites and transferred them to the folder. I moved on to the photos of couples walking in the park and selected one of an older woman sitting alone feeding the seagulls.

  It was then that I noticed a woman standing in the background. She was the same woman I’d seen at Dooley’s Farm. Coincidence? Maybe. Both the tree farm and the park were Christmas themed attractions, so if she, like me, had been looking to enjoy everything that Cutter’s Cove had to offer during the holidays, I supposed she might have been at both locations I had. I created a new file labeled: Dark-haired Woman. I transferred both the photo I’d taken at Dooley’s Farm and the one I’d taken at the park into the file. I tried to tell myself that I was just being extra suspicious after Donovan’s call, but as hard as I tried to convince myself that the woman was simply a spectator, I couldn’t quite shake the churning that had settled deep in my stomach.

  Chapter 6

  After Trevor arrived, we set out to conquer the next photos on my list. I had to admit there was a part of my mind that was on the lookout for the woman I’d photographed in two different locations yesterday.

  “I would still prefer to capture the ice skating at dusk, so let’s start with photos of the snowmen in the park and the sleigh rides being offered in town,” I suggested. “I did take snowman photos yesterday, but none of them really spoke to me. I’d like to see if I can find an image that makes a statement.”

  “A statement about snowmen?”

  “A statement about childhood innocence and the magic of Christmas,” I corrected.

  “Ah. That would be awesome. It might be a good idea to capture photos of families passing by in a sleigh as well as photos of the scenery taken from within a sleigh,” Trevor suggested.

  “I wouldn’t mind a sleigh ride. I guess once we do that, we can grab lunch and then head over to the Santa House. I still need to take shots of the interior. It’s too bad the carnival won’t be open until Thursday. I need to turn the collage in by the end of the day on Thursday, so I won’t have a lot of time to add photos taken after dark, which I’m sure will be spectacular.”

  Trevor pulled his truck into the town’s public parking lot. The sleigh rides loaded just two blocks down, and the park, where I suspected we could find a good selection of snowmen, was only a block further than that.

  “Even with all the photos I have planned, I feel I’m going to need something more,” I said.

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure, but I suspect there will be a lot of photos of Santa and snowmen and even tree cutting and sleigh rides. What does Cutter’s Cove have that will help it to stand out?”

  “The boats in the marina,” Trevor suggested. “Many of them have been decked out with colorful lights. We could head over there after dark when everything is lit up.”

  “I like that idea. In fact, quite a few of these shots will be best if captured after dark. The nativity on the wharf is always a hit, as is the Christmas Pageant, although that isn’t until after my deadline. I still feel like something is missing, but let’s go ahead and shoot what we can and then see what we have.”

  Trevor opened my door, and I slid out. We’d left the dogs home with Mom today, so I only had my camera bag and tripod to worry about.

  “Should we start with the sleigh ride?” Trevor asked.

  “Yes, let’s.”

  Given the fact that it was a weekday, there was no line at the sleigh rides like there had been over the weekend. The man offering the service sold us the deluxe package, which included hot cocoa and a ride through town and the forest. Mac, Trevor, and I had taken a ride together more than a decade ago, which turned out to have been one of the best memories of my life. At least my life to date. Hopefully, I had a lot more living to do.

  “This is really nice,” I said as I snuggled in next to Trevor. I snapped several photos as we rode through town, but I’d pretty much decided the photos of Main would be best if taken after dark, so I planned to focus most of the sleigh ride photos on the scenery as we meandered through the snow-covered forest.

  Trevor laced his fingers through mine once I’d set my camera aside and settled in for the ride. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve fantasized about doing exactly this with you over the past decade. After you left, I thought you’d come back right away. When you didn’t, I feared I’d never see you again.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t stay in touch. But I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. You and Mac are my best friends. I simply can’t imagine a life without you.”

  Trevor put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth of his body, the tiny specs of moisture from the snowflakes on my face, and the gentle motion of the sleigh gliding over the snow. I knew I should be busily snapping photos, but in this moment, life seemed perfect.

  When we returned to town, we headed to the park. As there had been the previous day, the park was filled with couples walking hand in hand, children playing, and senior citizens feeding the birds. I paused to take photos of a woman who looked to be in her eighties, having what appeared to be a very serious conversation with a little girl standing in front of the bench she was sitting on. The child, who looked to be three or four, was wearing a bright red coat. It occurred to me that the image portrayed would be spectacular if rendered in black and white, with only the child’s red coat to add color.

  As I snapped photos, I had to wonder what the pair were chatting about. The conversation seemed friendly, and no one looked scared or upset. Still, based on the intent look in the eyes of both the woman and the girl, it seemed obvious they weren’t talking about something causal like Santa or Christmas wishes. Perhaps the woman was related to the girl in some way. Maybe she was telling her a story, or perhaps she was conveying news that was important to both of them.

  After a few minutes, the girl leaned forward and whispered something in the woman’s ear. The woman hugged her, and then the child walked away. I stopped to see where the child was going. She seemed much too young to be alone. After a moment, she joined a woman with two young children in the playground. I assumed the woman was her mother or maybe her babysitter. I was about to move on when I noticed the same woman with dark hair I’d seen yesterday watching from a distance.

  “Do you see that woman with the dark hair standing behind the swings?” I asked Trevor.

  He looked where I’d indicated. “Yeah. What about her?”

  “I saw her twice yesterday. At least twice. I have a photo of her at the tree farm and another in the park.”

  “Maybe she’s just out enjoying the holiday atmosphere like we are.”

  “Maybe.” Trevor didn’t know about the second text, and I didn’t plan to tell him. “Let’s check out the ice skaters. I’d love to get some shots later in the day, but there might be some pretty wonderful shots to be had now as well.”

  Chapter 7

  By the time the sun set on Cutter’s Cove, I had photos of famil
ies in sleighs, children building snowmen in the park, couples walking hand in hand, and ice skaters gliding to carols of the season. It had been a fun day, a productive day, a day I was sure I’d remember for a very long time.

  “So, what do we have left?” Trevor asked.

  “Just the interior of the Santa House, the nativity, the boats in the marina, and the lights in the park and along Main.”

  “Let’s head to the park and the Santa House now. Then we can view the lights on Main and in the marina, take some photos of the nativity, have dinner, and then maybe we can head back to my place. I have a really good bottle of wine just waiting for someone to drink it.”

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Trevor on the cheek. “That sounds perfect. I’d say we could walk, but it is getting cold. There should be parking closer to Santa’s Village, so maybe we should just drive to the Santa House.”

  There was actually a pretty long line by the time we arrived at Santa’s Village and the Santa House. Parking wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but Trevor managed to find a spot. Once we’d parked, we headed toward the crowded building where Santa was holding court. I was actually looking forward to the shifts in the Santa House Trevor and I had signed up for later in the week.

  “There isn’t a lot of room in here,” Trevor said. “Maybe I should stand off to the side while you get the shots you need.”

  “I think we have a problem,” I said.

  “Oh. And what is that?”

  “A woman is standing behind Santa.”

  Trevor looked in the direction I indicated. “I don’t see anyone behind Santa.”

  “That’s because the woman I’m looking at is a ghost.”

  “Holly?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Go outside and call Woody. Tell him what’s going on. It’s too crowded in here to talk to the woman. We need to clear the place out or figure out a way to get her to move to a more secluded location.”

  “I’ll call Woody while you try to make contact. Maybe she can move to another location. If not, then we’ll look at clearing the building. If nothing else, I can pull the fire alarm.”

  I nodded and headed toward the front of the room. The line to see Santa was long, and I was willing to bet that there were children who’d been waiting for hours. I really hoped we didn’t need to clear everyone out before they got the chance to share their holiday wishes. Holly was standing behind Santa, looking toward the crowd that had come to see him. I made my way around to the back of the Santa chair, so I was standing next to her. I turned to face the wall and not the crowd and took out my phone. I’d decided that I was going to pretend to be on my phone while I tried to make contact with Holly. People were probably going to think I was rude for chatting on my phone with my back to the room, but at least they wouldn’t think I was crazy for talking to myself.

  “Holly,” I said in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

  “You can see me?”

  “I can.”

  “Thank goodness. I have been trying to find someone who can see me for the longest time.” Her look of relief quickly turned to concern. “Why can you see me?”

  “I can see ghosts.”

  She looked down at her hands. “And I’m a ghost?”

  I nodded. “I’m afraid so. It’s going to be hard to talk in here. Can you leave?”

  “No. I tried to leave several times, but every time I try to walk out the door, I end up back here in this exact same spot.”

  “Okay. I am going to try to get ahold of someone who can help you. Stay right here, and I’ll be back.” I pushed my way back through the crowd and headed toward the door. Once outside, I found Trevor. He shared that Woody was on his way, and I shared my intent to try to find Alyson one more time. I found a quiet place away from the line, closed my eyes, and focused.

  “Alyson. Can you hear me? I need your help. We have a ghost that needs our help.”

  I was afraid she wouldn’t appear, so I felt a huge amount of relief when she did.

  “Did you call for me?” she asked.

  “I’ve been calling for you since yesterday. Haven’t you heard?”

  She paused as if thinking over my question. “No, I guess not. Do you need something?”

  “We have a ghost to help. Her name is Holly, and she’s inside the Santa House.”

  “I take it she’s a new ghost?”

  “I found her body yesterday, and I suspect she died in the overnight hours of the previous night. She knows she’s a ghost. I told her as much. She can’t leave the Santa House, and there are a ton of people inside. I need to know if she knows what happened to her.”

  “What did happen to her?” Alyson asked.

  “We’re still waiting for the official cause of death, but it looks like she may have overdosed. There are a lot of variables at play here, and I really need to talk to her to see if she knows what happened. If you talk to her, I can stand there quietly and listen to her replies. No one will think anything about it as long as it doesn’t look like I’m talking to myself.”

  “Okay. You want me to ask her if she remembers what happened. Anything else?”

  “Find out if she remembers who she was with. She was at a bar before she died, but we don’t know where she went or who she might have been with after she left the bar. And I have no idea how she ended up in the Santa House. Also, ask her if she’s ready to move on. I suppose we should make sure she does that before she gets stuck here.”

  “Okay. I’m on it.”

  Alyson disappeared, and I headed back inside. Trevor was waiting outside for Woody. I hoped that by the time he arrived, we’d have some answers.

  “Holly, I’m Alyson,” she introduced herself as I stood nearby.

  “You look just like the other one, but you’re a ghost. Are you twins?”

  “No, not twins, and I’m not a ghost exactly,” Alyson replied. “It’s a long story. Listen, Amanda wants me to ask you if you remember what happened to you.”

  She paused but didn’t answer right away. Eventually, she spoke. “I don’t know. It’s all a little fuzzy.”

  “What do you remember?”

  She narrowed her gaze. “I was working here at the Santa House with Owen. I remember I had a date with a real estate agent I met a few weeks ago. I wanted to buy a house, and he was going to help me, so we were going to meet to talk about it. Owen noticed I had heels on, so he offered to drop me off at the bar on his way home.”

  “Okay, so walk me through what happened after you arrived at the bar,” Alyson said.

  “Chris was already there. He ordered me a drink, and we chatted. I guess we must have been on our second drink when Chris got a call about some sort of problem at one of his listings. He said he had to leave and asked me if I needed a ride home. I told him that I was going to stay for a while and would just call a friend.”

  “And then?” Alyson asked.

  “And then I went to the ladies’ room. When I came back, the bartender had made me another drink, so I sat there and chatted with him for a while.”

  “Do you know the bartender?” Alyson asked.

  “As well as anyone can know a bartender. I know his name is Dave, and he’s worked at the bar for a long time. The bar is close to where I live and work, so I stop by and have a drink sometimes, and we chat.”

  “Do you remember what you chatted about on the night you died?”

  She slowly shook her head. “I don’t remember. It’s all sort of blurry.”

  “One of the cocktail waitresses who works at The Rusty Nail said that she ran into you in the ladies’ room, and you told her you didn’t feel well. Do you remember that?”

  “No. I don’t remember talking to anyone in the ladies’ room, but I do remember feeling strange at some point. I remember wanting to leave. I’m not sure what happened after that.”

  I nodded to Alyson. She seemed to understand and nodded back.

  “We’re going to go outside for a few minutes. We need to discuss some thi
ngs,” Alyson said. “But we’ll be back, and after we ask a few more questions, I’ll help you move on.”

  “You can do that?”

  Alyson nodded. “I think I can. Wait right here.”

  With that, I headed toward the door once again. When I exited the building, I saw Trevor chatting with Woody. I walked to where they were standing and filled them in.

  “I’m hoping that with some prompting, Holly will remember what happened,” I added. “Alyson can talk to her without being overheard, so maybe we just need to come up with the right questions to stimulate her memory.”

  We chatted about what questions Alyson should ask, and then she and I headed back inside. Holly was still standing in the same spot I’d found her when we first arrived.

  “You came back,” she said.

  “I said we would,” Alyson replied. “We have a few more questions.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell you what I can.”

  “At some point on the night you died, you came into contact with some pretty powerful drugs. Had you taken drugs in the past?” Alyson asked.

  “No. Never. I like to go out and have a few drinks, but I don’t do drugs. I swear.”

  “We think you might have been drugged while you were in the bar. That’s probably why you started to feel strange. Do you have any idea who might have put drugs in your drink?” Alyson asked.

  Holly slowly shook her head back and forth. “I’m not sure. I can’t really remember.”

  “If you wanted to leave and needed a ride, who would you have called?”

  “One of my roommates.”

  “You live with four men?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you close? Have you known them long?” Alyson asked.