by Marja McGraw
Mother packed sandwiches and drinks in a cooler so Pete and Frank wouldn’t feel like they were on a schedule. They could investigate the small mountain all they wanted to, and the rest of us would keep ourselves busy. She included some treats for Bubba, and a small bag of kibble just in case they were late getting home.
“That should hold the bugger,” Frank said.
Felicity and my mother left Stanley and me to do the dishes while they walked to Tyler’s house to ask about the other neighbors.
“Okay, Sandi, you’re a private investigator. You have the skills with which to catch the blonde woman. You and I really do need to devise a plan.” Stanley dried a plate while I washed another one.
Sometimes Stanley spoke more formally than the rest of us, although he often tried to be one of the guys nowadays, and it endeared him to me. The cutesy names he’d been calling Felicity were so out of character, but I loved that side of him, too.
“Okay, we’ll devise a plan. Let’s finish the dishes, and then we’ll sit down and I’ll tell you everything that’s happened so far. I don’t think you’re aware of all my blonde sightings.”
The look on his face told me he was taking it very seriously. And, truth be told, I was thrilled that someone was taking me seriously.
We finished the dishes and sat at the table, ready to plan how to catch a blonde woman who seemed to want to remain anonymous.
“I have no idea what this woman wants, but it’s obvious to me that she wants something,” I said. “Don’t you think it’s odd she only shows herself to me?”
“I do. I know you don’t believe in ghosts, but there is something decidedly odd about this entire situation. Is there any specific place where she shows herself? What I mean is, could she be trying to lead you to something?”
“So far I’ve seen her in several places. Last night, when we pulled in, I’m sure I saw her at the living room window. I think she might have been in the upstairs bedroom and we came home and scared her off. I have a gut feeling there’s something about that bedroom that she wants us to see.”
“Alright,” Stanley said, “then let’s start with the bedroom. We’ll search it to see if anything out of the ordinary rears its head at us. Is it the room you and Pete are using?”
“No, it’s at the front of the house. Pete and I are in the rear bedroom. You’ve been upstairs, haven’t you?”
“Just once, and it was only a brief look at that part of the house.”
I glanced toward the stairway. “Shall we get started?”
“Lead the way,” he replied. “No, as a gentleman, I should lead the way.”
“No, if she sees you first, she may hide. Follow me.” I stood and found that as I climbed the stairs, Stanley stayed a short distance behind me. He’d taken my comment seriously and apparently hoped she wouldn’t notice him.
I smiled, realizing how happy it made me that my friend was taking an interest in my dilemma. My dilemma stemmed from the fact that I had no idea what this woman was up to and why no one had seen her except me.
Pointing at the side of the stairs nearest the wall, I let Stanley know there was less chance of creaking if we walked there. He understood and gently placed his feet on each step.
We reached the front bedroom and found the door closed. I was fairly sure it had been open the day before, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Maybe Pete had closed it. I pushed it open.
A small piece of paper rested on the floor in front of the window. I approached it slowly, looking inside the open closet and in the corners as I moved.
Stanley marched past me and picked it up. “It’s a photograph.”
So much for keeping quiet. Oh, well, she wasn’t in the bedroom anyway.
“Let me see it,” I said, reaching out.
Instead of handing it to me, he motioned me to his side to look at it with him. I tried to give him a questioning look, but he was concentrating on the photo.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Surprise, surprise. It’s a photograph of a blonde woman.”
I hurried to his side, all pretense of being quiet set aside.
“Is this the woman you’ve been spying around the house?” Stanley asked.
I studied the picture. It was old and the colors were fading. There were three people in the photo, and their style of dress could have been from the late sixties, or maybe the early seventies. There was a man, a woman and a child. They appeared very serious, not like they were out having fun in the sun.
“It looks like the same hairdo, and she appears to be about the same size, but I’ve never seen the woman’s face. I don’t know if it’s her or not. I wonder who the other two people are.”
“What type of clothing is the woman wearing when you see her?”
“Why, Stan, you’re turning into quite a private eye. You’re asking the right questions. She always has on the same clothes. They’re rather nondescript, but if I had to guess I’d say they’re from about the same time period as what the people in this picture are wearing.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
“I’ve only had glimpses of the blonde, but you’re making me remember things with your line of questioning. Her slacks are a bit too short for her, although they could be capri pants, and they’ve got vertical stripes. Her blouse is long-sleeved and white with a large collar. That’s all I can remember.”
“Something else will come to you. And if you see her again, you’ll be more conscious of her mannerisms and the little details. So many times the story is in the smaller details.” Stanley handed me the photo. “Obviously she wanted you to see this.”
“Stan?”
“I’ve been reading everything I can find on detecting, and I’ve been considering taking a class at the community college.”
“You have a lot of hours in, working for us, and with the right credentials you could become a P.I. Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
He’d accompanied Pete on a few investigations, but mostly he’d done research for us. He was a computer wiz.
“It is what I want to do. It makes me feel wonderful to figure things out. Each case and each piece of information is like solving one of life’s puzzles. Although, I don’t believe I’d become involved in some of the cases you and Pete have handled.”
“You’ve already been involved in some of our more insidious cases,” I reminded him. “Remember the thugs who were after me because they thought I knew where a buried treasure was located? And what about the time you accompanied Pete on a murder investigation at Lake Tahoe? Then there was the time – ”
“Yes, Sandi, you’re right. I can handle myself.” There was a note of pride in his voice.
I smiled at him. “Sometimes your methods are a little off the wall, but you manage.”
He grinned in return. “I have my moments.”
The picture we’d found was important. I could feel it in my bones. It weighed heavy in my hand simply because I knew I should be able to figure something out based on the significance of it being left in this bedroom, in front of the window.
I studied each person in the photo, the blonde in particular. There was definitely something about her that seemed familiar. There was a niggling thought in my head that I couldn’t quite make sense of, but I’d figure it out in time. I shook my head, almost as though I was trying to shake the thought out of the shadows.
Stanley raised his eyebrows at me without asking why I was shaking my head.
“I know I should be putting things together, based on the photo,” I explained. “But I can’t quite put the sightings and this picture together. I know there should be a connection, and yet there’s not. Yes, the blonde I’ve seen reminds me of this woman, and yet she doesn’t. Does that make sense?”
“It does. You’ll figure it out. In the meantime, did you notice there’s a handprint in the dust on the window? It looks like someone leaned against it, maybe while they watched us pull in last night.”
“Why, Stan, I’m a
stonished at how savvy you’ve become.” I turned from him and studied the window. He was right. Someone had leaned against the window and left a right handprint. Too bad I didn’t have the means to check the fingerprints. I could call the police, but for what purpose?
No, I couldn’t involve the police because I was pretty sure they didn’t believe in ghosts either.
Chapter Thirty-three
“What now?” Stanley asked.
“Let’s go downstairs and I’ll show you every location where I’ve seen Blondie. Maybe something will come to me.”
“Is there any pattern to the places she’s shown herself?”
“Not that I can figure out.” After taking another quick glance at the photo, I carefully placed it in my jeans pocket. I didn’t want to lose it, and next time I saw her I wanted something to compare her to.
“Any other ideas?”
“Yes,” I replied, “I’ll show the photo to Tyler. Maybe he’ll recognize her. He was going to borrow his mother’s photo albums, so I’ll see if he’s done that yet.”
“Let’s take a look at the locations and when we’re done, we’ll go see Tyler. You’re right, it would be beneficial for us to meet with him and have him examine the photograph.”
“I have a feeling this bedroom is somehow involved in what’s going on. I’ve seen her here twice, and she left the photo. I need to sit quietly and try to use logic to put it together. I guess I’d better gather more information first.”
Stanley nodded his agreement.
We visited each place where Blondie had shown herself, which didn’t take long. It didn’t spark any ideas on Stanley’s part, but he reminded me about our visit to Tyler.
On our way to his home I saw my mother and Felicity knocking on the door of a neighbor’s house. I waved but, of course, they didn’t see me.
We approached Tyler and Racheal’s door and heard laughter coming from inside.
I knocked on the door. “It sounds like they’re having a good time.”
Stanley smiled. “We’re the individuals having a grand time.”
Zoë opened the door and when she saw us she pushed open the screen door. “Come on in. We’re looking at some old family photos.”
“I guess we’re just in time,” I said. “It sounds like Tyler must have picked up the photo albums from his parents.”
“He did, and he and Micah were a couple of dufuses when they were kids. You’ve got to see some of these pictures.”
Stanley and I entered the house with smiles on our faces. The good moods of these people were catching.
Tyler glanced up. “Sandi! Come on in and see what we’ve found.” He nodded at Stanley. “Good to see you, man.”
Stanley nodded back, grinning. Tyler sounded so welcoming.
“I take it these are the pictures you were going to pick up from your mother?” I stepped over to the couch and glanced down at one of the albums.
“Yes, and I’m glad I picked them up. Check this out.” He turned the album toward me and tapped one of the pictures. There were two little boys – one on a bicycle and one on a tricycle.
“I don’t know how the heck you two could ride bikes on these dirt roads,” Stanley said.
“It wasn’t easy. Our dad put a cement trail through the yard for us,” Micah said. “And he’d drive into town to the park for the day. Well, he drove me in. Tyler was too young.” He slapped his brother on the back of the head.
It was good-natured and Tyler didn’t look annoyed. He simply reached back and swatted at his brother over his shoulder.
“Would you two like some iced tea?” Racheal asked.
“Please,” I said.
“And thank you,” Stanley added.
I sat down on one side of Tyler and Stanley sat on his left. He began turning pages, showing us other pictures of an earlier time, including photos of his parents.
“Now they’re a good-looking couple,” I said.
“Thanks,” Tyler said.
Micah picked up another album and handed it to his brother. “Ty, get down to business. You know she wants to see the pictures of Francine Stockholm.”
“I’m enjoying seeing you and your brother as kids,” I said.
He had a half smile on his face. “I want to see the look on your face when you see Francine.” Did he have something up his sleeve or would it turn out to be morbid curiosity?
Tyler grabbed the album from his brother. “You’re right, bro. I’m keeping her waiting for nothing.”
There was a piece of paper marking a page. He pulled out the paper and handed me the album. There were five pictures which included a pretty blonde.
I glanced from the pictures to Tyler and back again, and then up at Micah. “Are the man and child in the pictures Harry and Barbara?”
“They are,” Micah said in his loud, deep voice. “Is this the woman – ”
I held up my index finger, cutting him off and indicating he might want to wait a moment. Standing up, I pulled the picture we’d found under the window out of my pocket.
I took a quick look at Stanley and he had a knowing look on his face as he watched.
Micah looked over my shoulder at the photo. “Where’d you get that?”
“Someone, apparently the blonde, conveniently left it in the upstairs bedroom under the window. She’s been in that bedroom at least twice now.”
Tyler sat up straighter. “I think you’re on to a real mystery.” He took the picture out of my hands and laid it on the page of the album. “This is definitely Francine.”
I hadn’t noticed Racheal and Zoë return with the tea. They set the glasses in front of Stanley and me along with a sugar bowl and spoons.
Zoë picked up the picture from the album page. “Well, this is eerie. Who would have left this in your house?” She looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure you don’t believe in ghosts? Ahh, there’s no such thing as a ghost. Someone is putting you on, trying to get your goat. I don’t know why, but that’s got to be the case.”
“I agree.” Stanley spoke a little too quickly. “Why, I’ll bet your mother found it and left it there as a joke. You know your mother. She’s been trying to scare you since we first got here.”
Racheal’s eyes were opened in surprise while she studied the picture. “He’s probably right. It must be your mother just fooling around.” She didn’t sound convincing or convinced.
I studied the pictures without replying. There was a definite resemblance between my blonde and the one in the pictures. “I can’t swear this is the woman I’ve seen because I’ve only caught glimpses of her from behind, but the hair style, color and general build are about the same.”
“And no one else has seen her?” Micah asked.
“No.”
“Well, hell, it’s probably just your imagination.” He patted my back but the look on his face belied his words.
“Okay,” Tyler said. “We’re going to keep a closer watch. Micah and Zoë are going to be here all week.”
Racheal nodded her head. “If you see us watching you, just remember we’re not being nosey or spying. We’re trying to help.”
I almost laughed, but it caught in my throat. “I know this woman wants something. I just can’t figure out what it could be. And I didn’t mean to drag all of you into this situation.”
“No, she didn’t, but if you’d be kind enough to keep your eyes open we’d certainly appreciate it.” Stanley seemed to feel he had my back.
I stood and handed the album to Tyler, holding back the picture we’d found under the window. “I guess we’d better get moving. At least, thanks to all of you, I have some ideas rolling around in my head. I still don’t believe in ghosts, but there does seem to be some connection between Francine and my blonde.”
“Don’t leave yet,” Racheal said. “I’ll copy this page of pictures for you on our printer so you can study them later.”
“Thanks. That might help.”
“So you and your mother are trying to scare each
other?” Micah asked.
“I know it sounds silly, but yeah. Just for fun.”
“Come back later and talk to me. I think I’ve got just the thing to make you the winner.”
Tyler looked at his brother and grinned. “I know what he’s talking about, and he’s right. Now where is Racheal with those pictures?”
“Sandi will have them as a frame of reference,” Stanley said. “We’ll work this out. She and her mother can frighten each other, but I’m not going to let some ghost harass Sandi.”
Micah grinned down at Stanley and slapped him on the back, almost knocking him over.
Stanley did kind of a two-step to keep his balance.
“Sorry, pal, but you’re the man. You’re kind of a little guy and yet you’re ready to come to your friend’s defense.”
“I do my best.” Stanley’s chest puffed out, just a little. Or maybe he just stood straighter.
“Let’s find this ghost,” Zoë said.
I sighed. Why wouldn’t people believe me?
“I don’t believe in ghosts.”
Chapter Thirty-four
Stanley and I returned to the llama ranch. I’d have to ask my mother if she’d come up with a name for the place yet. “Llama Ranch” wouldn’t be fitting for the bed and breakfast/dude ranch she’d planned.
We stood in the living room and I called out, but apparently she and Felicity hadn’t returned from the neighbor’s house yet. Maybe they’d moved on to another one. Pete and Frank were still gone, too, out ATVing. I hoped they were having a good time.
“What now?” Stanley asked.
“I simply don’t know. This is so different from any other case I’ve ever handled that I feel kind of lost. I think we need to figure out a way to catch the blonde. Any ideas?”
Stanley looked at me, at the ceiling, and at the floor. You could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. “We need some kind of signal. You only see her when you’re alone or the others aren’t looking. You need to be able to signal me so I can come in a hurry.”