by Bobbi Holmes
“A ghost? I have to hear this,” Phoebe urged with a giggle. “Sounds exciting.”
“It was nothing,” Teddy said.
“You were as white as a sheet,” Jackie said. She looked around the table and added, “He was utterly speechless. When have you ever known Teddy to be without words?”
“What happened?” Seraphina asked.
Danielle and Walt exchanged glances, and then each looked around the dining room. There were no ghosts in sight.
“Nothing happened. I was just distracted when Jackie came out of her room,” he said. “Can we please change the subject?”
“What is the plan for tomorrow?” Birdie asked. “I would like to do a little sightseeing.”
“Since we need to look around the area anyway, I think sightseeing would be in order,” Jackie said.
“I was hoping you and I could go over a few things, alone,” Teddy told Jackie.
“There is no reason some of us can’t go sightseeing while you two do whatever you need to do,” Birdie said.
“Is there anything in particular you want to see?” Walt asked.
Birdie turned her smile to Walt. “Actually, there is. I would love to stop by the Glandon Foundation. I don’t imagine it’s open on Saturday, but do you think your friend might give us a tour? You did say he’s staying there.”
Walt arched his brow at Birdie. “The Glandon Foundation, you want to see that?”
“Yes. Like I mentioned, I knew the Glandons. He was a good friend with my husband, and while I never met their son, I would be most interested to see what he’s doing over there.”
“Umm, you do know Chris Glandon isn’t in Frederickport,” Danielle lied.
Birdie looked to Danielle. “Yes, I understand. But I was hoping I could get your friend to give him a letter from me. I would like to reach out to him. I feel quite negligent, as I haven’t tried contacting him since the funeral. We missed the funeral. Randy and I were in Sweden at the time.”
“Can I go too?” Phoebe asked excitedly.
Birdie looked to Phoebe and said, “I assumed you would drive.”
Phoebe grinned. “Yes!”
“You seem rather excited to go over there,” Bentley said dryly.
Phoebe gave Bentley a shrug.
Bentley laughed.
Phoebe frowned at him.
“Come on. Ever since you heard Chris Glandon is an eligible billionaire, you can’t wait to find out more about him,” Bentley whispered to Phoebe.
“I’m sure Chris would be willing to pass on whatever letter you have for his boss,” Danielle told Birdie. “And I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you a tour of the headquarters. They’ve recently done some remodeling over there, converting existing rooms to office space. The building is rather impressive, not my style—very modern and sleek, located right on the ocean. It was once the home—or should I say mansion–of a wealthy family. It’s not just the headquarters for the foundation, but for other Glandon business interests.”
“Then I imagine Chris Glandon must have reason to visit Frederickport frequently,” Phoebe suggested. “Any chance he might be coming while we’re here?”
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Bentley snickered.
“He just sounds quite fascinating—and generous,” Phoebe countered.
“I wouldn’t mind going too.” Seraphina spoke up.
“That Chris Johnson did seem like a nice fellow,” Birdie teased.
“Oh, please, Seraphina can do much better than him.” The moment the words slipped from Phoebe’s mouth, she blushed and looked to Danielle and then Walt. “I’m sorry, I know Chris is a friend of yours. I didn’t mean that as it sounded. But you see, in our business, handsome men—like your friend—are rather common. And well, someone like Seraphina has certain standards.”
“I didn’t know you were in the acting business,” Teddy said sharply. “I thought you were an assistant?”
Phoebe flashed Teddy a glare. “You know what I meant.”
“I’m afraid I do,” Teddy muttered before picking up his wineglass and taking a sip.
“I’m not planning on marrying anyone,” Seraphina said with a laugh. “I just think Chris is a nice guy, and I’m curious to see where he works. It sounds like a fulfilling job, working for a foundation like that. They must do so much good.”
“Which is why his boss fascinates me,” Phoebe said.
“Right. Has nothing to do with all his billions,” Bentley said under his breath.
Fourteen
Phoebe stepped out of the bathroom adjacent to her room on Saturday morning and almost plowed into Teddy. On reflex, he extended his arms, and his hands landed on her shoulders, bringing her to an abrupt stop. His hands remained on her, and they stared intently into each other’s eyes. The pair was alone in the hallway—alone except for the two ghosts who had arrived minutes earlier and were watching them with curiosity.
“Oh my, I remember that look,” Eva observed, still watching the pair.
“Do you now? How long has it been?” Marie teased.
“A hundred years, more or less.” Eva snickered. “But I still remember what it means when a man looks at a woman like that.”
“The man is an ass,” Marie said dryly, also watching the pair’s intense silent exchange. “You should see how he treats his poor wife in private.”
“When a man looks at a woman like that—a woman who is not his wife—we shouldn’t expect he will treat his wife with respect in other regards,” Eva noted.
“Why did you come here?” Teddy whispered harshly, dropping his hands from Phoebe’s shoulders.
“Because Seraphina wanted me to come,” Phoebe told him. “I’m her assistant.”
“After Barry, you have a lot of nerve coming here. I have a good mind to tell Seraphina you lied.”
“You won’t tell. Because then I’ll have to tell your wife about us.” Phoebe leaned closer and whispered, “It’s too bad you signed that prenup.” Phoebe laughed and then turned away from Teddy, leaving him standing red faced as she returned to her room.
“Oh my, that is interesting,” Marie muttered.
Eva shook her head and said, “Some things about this business never change.”
“Watch this,” Marie said with a giggle after Phoebe returned to her room, leaving Teddy still standing by the doorway to the bathroom.
“What are you going to do?” Eva asked apprehensively as she watched Marie move to Teddy.
“It’s called a wedgie,” Marie told Eva. “Adam and his brother were always doing this to each other when they were little; used to drive me nuts!”
Before Eva could tell Marie to stop, Marie reached her hand down the back of Teddy’s pants just as he turned toward the bathroom. Grabbing hold of his underwear’s waistband, she gave it a quick tug upward. The expression on the startled man’s face and the way he let out a holler set both Marie and Eva into a fit of giggles. The two ghosts watched as Teddy ran into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him.
“That was so juvenile,” Eva choked out between spurts of laughter. “But so amusing!”
“You gave him a wedgie?” Danielle asked Marie thirty minutes later. She stood with the two ghosts and Walt in the kitchen of Marlow House, while Joanne was in the dining room setting the table for breakfast.
Marie looked at Walt. “I don’t like your director, Walt. He is a womanizer, and he’s not nice to his wife.”
“What is a wedgie?” Walt asked.
After Danielle explained, Walt said, “I’ve never heard it called that before.”
Danielle picked up her cellphone and made a quick internet search.
“Naturally I could have done it without the illusion of my hands, but I wanted to show Eva what I was doing,” Marie explained.
Danielle put her cellphone on the counter and looked to Walt. “According to my search results, the term wedgie wasn’t used until around the time of your death or later.”
“I
think you should invite Polly to go with you today,” Marie suggested. “She seems like such a nice young girl, and her husband treats her atrociously.”
Danielle eyed Marie. “Tell me, what did you do to him yesterday?”
Marie looked innocently at Danielle. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. At dinner last night Jackie made a comment about Teddy acting strange upstairs—said something about him looking as if he had seen a ghost. What did you do?”
Marie shrugged. “He didn’t see me. I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. I imagine materializing would take up a great deal of my energy.”
“Marie?” Danielle urged.
With a sigh Marie said, “Okay. I sort of took down one of your paintings and made it fly around the hallway before rehanging it.”
Danielle shook her head and stifled a chuckle. “Marie, I know you don’t like how Teddy treats Polly. But please stop haunting him. He’s only going to be here for a week. And if you keep doing stuff like that, they might leave.”
“Fine. I know this is important to Walt. But I don’t like the man,” Marie said.
“Thank you.” Danielle smiled.
“Thanks for asking me to go with you,” Polly said from the back of the Packard. Bentley sat next to her. “I love your car, by the way.”
Danielle glanced to the back seat and smiled. Walt sat in the driver’s seat and was backing out of the garage while Phoebe waited in the rental car parked in front of the house, with Birdie, Seraphina and Julius. They would be following Walt’s car to the foundation headquarters.
“Certainly. No reason to hang around the house and get bored when your husband and Jackie are going to be locked up in the library going over things for most of the morning,” Danielle said.
“I know they plan to get out and look for some possible shooting sites, but knowing Teddy and Jackie, they don’t want any of us going along,” Polly said.
“I understand you’re an actress,” Walt said from the driver’s seat as he steered the vehicle down the alley.
“She is a very talented actor,” Bentley added.
Polly smiled at Bentley. “Thank you.” She then looked toward the driver’s seat and said, “Yes, but I haven’t been in anything for a couple of years now.”
“Are you giving up acting?” Danielle asked.
“I hope not,” Bentley said.
Polly let out a sigh and gazed out the window. They had just turned down Beach Drive, and up ahead was the rental car with Phoebe and the others, waiting for Walt to drive by so they could follow him. “I never planned to give up acting. Actually, I miss it. But I suppose life got in the way. Teddy—well, he is always so busy, and my acting does not always fit into his schedule.”
“Oh pshaw, he can stick his schedule in his ear,” Marie blurted the instant she materialized in the back seat, sitting between Bentley and Polly.
Phoebe stood by the side of the rental car and looked up at the massive building housing the Glandon Foundation. The modern structure—a mixture of glass, steel, and clean lines—sat on beachfront property. The neighbors were all residential houses, albeit impressive ones, with a few that might be described as mansions. Seraphina chatted with Birdie as she followed Bentley, Julius and Polly up the walkway, trailing behind Walt and Danielle.
Phoebe lingered, taking in the neighborhood and imagining herself living in these surroundings. By the time she entered the front gate, the rest of the group was already on the front porch. Phoebe was halfway up the walkway when she spied a pit bull barreling in her direction, full speed. She froze.
“Don’t worry, she’s a sweetheart,” came an unfamiliar female voice. Phoebe glanced to the right of the building and saw a young woman with long black braids, straight cut bangs covering her eyebrows, and purple lipstick walking in her direction.
“Hunny, come,” the woman called out, giving her tight black leather pants a firm pat on the thigh, making a slapping sound. The dog stopped and looked to her, its tail wagging.
“You scared the crap out of me,” Phoebe said as she came in earshot.
“Sorry about that. But you are on her turf,” the woman said, now standing a few feet away.
Phoebe glanced up to the building and saw they had all gone inside. They’ve all left me out here with a pit bull and someone who looks like she’s auditioning for a role in a horror movie, Phoebe thought.
“I’m Heather Donovan. Chris Johnson’s assistant. I assume you’re with the movie crew?” the woman asked.
Phoebe relaxed. “I’m Phoebe Greda, Seraphina’s assistant.”
“Nice. Another assistant.”
“I guess this means you work for Chris Glandon?” Phoebe asked.
“Yeah, I suppose. Indirectly.” Heather shrugged and leaned down, giving Hunny a scratch behind her ears. The dog sat obediently by her side.
“Does he come to Frederickport often?” Phoebe asked.
“Often enough, I suppose.” Heather shrugged again.
“Walt told us he’s sort of awkward.”
Heather arched her brows and smiled. “Awkward? What else did he say?”
“That he’s socially inept—insecure. I find that sad.”
Heather grinned. “Yeah, that pretty much describes him.”
“And he doesn’t have a girlfriend?” Phoebe prodded.
“Girlfriend?” Heather laughed. “Hardly. I mean seriously, I don’t care how much money a man has, sometimes it’s simply not worth it. If you know what I mean.”
“Is he that bad?” Phoebe asked.
“Maybe if you could convince him to take a shower more than once a week, or at least wear deodorant. But he’s into all this natural stuff. And then his breath.” Heather cringed.
By the time Phoebe made it in the building, she found Chris Johnson chatting with Birdie and Seraphina in the front lobby, while Polly stood at the perimeter of the area with Julius, checking out the artwork hanging along the wall. She didn’t see where Bentley had gone. Walt and Danielle sat on one of the sofas with Heather, who had come into the building right before Phoebe. The three chatted, yet Phoebe could not hear their conversation. The dog, who had terrified her minutes earlier, now curled up by Walt’s feet on the floor.
Phoebe joined her employer’s small group just as she heard Chris promise to deliver Birdie’s letter to his boss. Standing quietly by Seraphina’s side, she observed Chris’s solicitous behavior toward both the older woman and Seraphina. They chatted for another ten minutes or so before Chris offered to take them on a tour of the building. While they did, Phoebe watched Chris. The way he kept eyeing Seraphina, it was obvious he was interested—just as she could tell Sera was attracted to Chris.
Perhaps I was hasty, Phoebe told herself. If Sera and Chris were to become an item, what better way to ensure an introduction to Chris Glandon? I don’t care what he smells like or looks like. By Heather and Walt’s description, I think I could handle him.
After touring the building, Chris took the group outside to enjoy the spectacular ocean view. He was with them for a good fifteen minutes when Heather, who had not joined the tour, sent him a text message about a phone call. Chris excused himself, leaving the group outside while he went to take the call.
“You told her I smell?” Chris asked Heather after he finished his phone call, and she recounted the conversation she’d had with Phoebe. The pair was alone in his office, the door leading to the hallway ajar, while they assumed the others were still outside.
“Only because you don’t wear deodorant and never shower,” Heather quipped.
“I shower,” Chris argued. “I even wear deodorant.”
“I didn’t give an explanation for your bad breath.”
Chris rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, you should probably talk to Walt. He started this. Although I’m not sure what he said about you—not you exactly, but about Chris Glandon.
“I am Chris Glandon.”
“You know what I mean.” Heather giggled.
Fifteen
When the group returned from the Glandon Foundation later Saturday afternoon, they found the screenwriter, Chase Wilks, in the library with Teddy and Jackie. Wilks had checked into the cottage he had rented for the week, before coming over to Marlow House. Walt joined the three to discuss Moon Runners, while Danielle went to the kitchen to make some coffee. Polly joined her.
As for the other guests, Julius left for the beach with his camera. Birdie retired to her room to take a nap, while Seraphina and Phoebe headed upstairs to their rooms. Bentley started to join the others in the library to take notes for Jackie, when she sent him upstairs to retrieve some papers he had left in his briefcase.
After sprinting up the stairs, Bentley made his way to the room he shared with Phoebe. Once there, he started to open the door when he heard voices. Phoebe was not alone. Instead of going inside, he gently re-closed the door, leaving it open a crack so he could hear what they were saying.
“This is a nice room too,” Seraphina said, glancing around.
Giddy, Phoebe sat on the edge of her mattress, barely able to contain herself. “Something exciting happened!”
Seraphina sat down on a nearby chair facing her assistant. “I thought you were dying to tell me something. You’ve been distracted since before we left the foundation office. I figured that’s why you wanted me to come see your room.”
“It’s about Chris Johnson,” Phoebe said.
Seraphina raised a brow. “Chris? What about him?”
“Remember when you guys were still outside, and I came in to use the bathroom?” Phoebe asked.
Seraphina nodded. “Sure. What about it?”