by Bobbi Holmes
“What’s with the frown?” her husband, Craig, asked when entering the room.
Tori glanced up from her iPad and watched as Craig sat in the recliner next to hers.
“I was looking at the pictures I took over at the museum. Do you realize how bizarre this all is?” she asked.
“It is pretty weird.”
“I thought putting something together on Joe’s family history would be a cool shower gift. A way for her to learn more about our family. Especially if they have kids someday.” Tori let out a sigh.
“Have you told your brother?” Craig asked.
Tori flashed her husband a frown. “No.”
Craig chuckled. “Come on, you’re making way too much of this. I imagine everyone has someone in their family tree they would rather keep hidden. Go back, like, ten generations and we have over a thousand great-great-grandparents. What is that, seven greats or something? What are the chances none of them are crazy?”
“This is a great-great-grandmother. Joe and I only have sixteen of those, not a thousand.”
Craig shrugged. “Still, one out of sixteen, seems like reasonable odds.”
Tori looked back to her iPad and started flipping through the photographs again. “I looked them all up. They were all wealthy. Just like Caroline.”
“What is it they say, money doesn’t guarantee sanity,” Craig said.
Tori looked to him and frowned. “Nobody says that.”
“They should. It’s true. Considering what you’re looking at.” He nodded to the iPad.
“What I find strange, their pictures were all together.”
Craig shrugged. “Why is that strange? They were patients of Marymoor, right? You got those from the Marymoor file at the museum.”
“Yes. But I don’t believe all the patients at Marymoor were wealthy. And why did they keep these photos in a separate envelope? Millie told me the museum didn’t put them in the envelope. They were like that when the museum got the files.”
“Think about it, Tori. Marymoor administration probably considered those women special patients. All from wealthy and influential families of the time. Like VIPs.”
“VIPs in a mental institution?” she said with a snort.
Craig shrugged again. “Something like that.”
“I wonder if I should show these to Ian,” Tori muttered, still focused on the images.
“Why?” Craig asked.
“His parents did buy Marymoor; I imagine he’s interested in the property. There could be a story here.”
Craig laughed.
“What?”
“One minute you act like you don’t want anyone to find out about her; the next you’re talking about turning the story of your great-great-grandmother dying in a mental institution over to a famous journalist.”
Twenty-Seven
“That was an interesting dinner,” Walt said when he and Danielle were alone in their bedroom later that evening. Downstairs, their guests had gone to their rooms for the night.
“I was proud of Tammy. There were a couple of times tonight I thought she wanted to smack June,” Danielle said as she sat on the edge of their bed and slipped off her shoes.
“Heather surprised me, standing up for Lily like that,” Walt said.
“I noticed Lily gave Heather a hug when they said goodbye at the restaurant. Lily and Heather normally don’t hug,” Danielle said with a chuckle. “At least, not each other.”
“It was hard for me to keep up with everything.” Walt sat on the end of the bed, next to Danielle.
“There was just too much going on tonight. I feel like my head is going to explode.”
Walt reached over and gave Danielle’s knee a pat. “Something a good night’s sleep will fix.”
“I can’t go to bed right now; I have an idea.”
Walt groaned.
Ignoring Walt’s reaction, Danielle asked, “Can I use your computer? I left mine in the parlor, and I really don’t want to go back downstairs and chance one of them getting up and asking me what I’m doing. With Ian’s parents staying in the downstairs bedroom, with my luck it would be June.”
“Can’t this wait until tomorrow? When we go over to Chris’s in the morning, you can share your idea with everyone.”
“It won’t take long,” Danielle promised.
With a sigh, Walt looked at Danielle. “Okay, what’s your idea? What are you so determined to look up?”
“It’s about Rupert. I have an idea how to figure out who he is,” Danielle said.
“I thought we already determined he was Lily’s imaginary friend.”
“I mean before that. Something that might help him move on.”
Walt studied Danielle for a moment and then said, “Go on.”
“I was thinking about what Rupert told Marie. He first met Lily when she was a baby. Younger than Connor, he said. Somewhere where women were wrapping up other babies. What does that sound like to you?”
Walt stared at Danielle and then shrugged. “Where?”
“A hospital, silly. The maternity ward. That’s where Rupert first saw Lily. And why does a ghost typically hang out at a hospital?”
“Because they died there?”
“Exactly! So I was thinking, one of the genealogy sites I use has a comprehensive California death certificate data base. I could look for someone named Rupert who died around the time Lily was born. And if he died in the same hospital—well, not sure the death certificate will say the hospital, but it will the county—then maybe we found our Rupert.”
“Danielle, while you’re probably right, what Rupert described to Marie is likely a maternity ward, and it stands to reason he died in that hospital. It doesn’t mean he died around the time of Lily’s birth. He might have been wandering the halls of that hospital years before Lily was born.”
“No. I remember Tammy once telling a story about Lily’s birth. The hospital was brand new, and when she went into labor, Gene was so flustered, he started driving to the hospital Laura had been born at, and Tammy had to tell him to turn around. That hospital opened the year before Lily was born. Now, it is possible Rupert died in the area, and for whatever reason, got stuck in the hospital, like Lucas did in that office building. And considering his name—not exactly a name my parents’ generation commonly named their kids—so it is entirely possible I won’t find anything helpful. But I want to at least try. I doubt it will take thirty minutes.”
Walt let out a sigh and said, “Go on, use my computer. Do you want to take your shower first?”
Danielle shook her head. “No. Go take yours. I’ll take mine after you.”
When Walt got out of the shower, he found Danielle sitting at his computer, intently focused on the monitor while her right hand fiddled with the mouse. Shirtless and wearing plaid pajama bottoms, his hair wet and combed back, Walt sat in a chair next to her and said, “You can take your shower now.”
She looked at him. “I found something.”
“Really?”
Danielle nodded and looked back to the computer. “Yes. I found the death certificate for an eight-year-old boy named Rupert Peterson, who died the same day Lily was born, in the same county. I’m looking for anything else on him. Considering when he died, there really wasn’t the internet back then. At least, not like it is today. So I’m looking in one of the newspaper archives. I had to renew my membership.”
Walt silently watched as Danielle continued to surf for information. After a while, Walt stood up and walked to his nightstand. He picked up his cellphone and looked at the time. Danielle had been at the computer for over forty minutes now. He was about to suggest she call it a night when she cried out, “Oh my gosh, it’s him!”
Walt walked to the computer as Danielle turned the monitor slightly so he could get a better view. On the screen was the image of a newspaper article with a black-and-white photograph of a little boy. He looked just like the ghost they had met across the street.
“It’s so sad,” Danielle s
aid. “His name was Rupert James Peterson. He was just a few weeks shy of his eighth birthday when he died. He died at the hospital the same day Lily was born.”
“How did he die?” Walt asked, sitting back down.
“He had some sort of congenital heart condition. Reminds me a little of Eva. Except in his case, it had gone undetected. He was playing baseball with some friends and collapsed. They brought him right to the hospital, but they couldn’t save him.”
“And that poor boy got lost at the hospital,” Walt said. “I wonder if his parents are still alive.”
“It’s entirely possible. He didn’t have any siblings. But his parents could have had more kids after he died. If his parents are still alive, there may be grandparents who’ve moved on, waiting for him.” Danielle stood up from the computer and walked to the window. She pulled open the blinds and looked outside.
“What are you doing?” Walt asked.
“I’m hoping Lily is still awake.”
“Why?”
Danielle turned to Walt. “Eva is right; Lily is the best one to reach him. She needs to do this now before he wanders somewhere else and stays lost.”
“How is Lily supposed to do that?” Walt asked. “She isn’t a medium.”
“But she can talk to him,” Danielle reminded him. “The lights are on over there. I’m going to call her.”
Walt didn’t try arguing with Danielle. She had made up her mind.
“Are you coming to bed?” Ian asked Lily when he walked into the living room and found her sitting on the sofa.
“I can’t sleep. Not after what Dani told me tonight,” Lily whispered, looking toward the nursery.
Lily’s cellphone rang. She picked it up off the coffee table, looked at it, and said, “It’s Dani.”
Ian let out a sigh, walked to his recliner, and sat down.
“Hi, Dani,” Lily said a moment later.
“Where are you?” Danielle asked.
“I’m sitting in the living room with Ian.” Lily glanced at Ian and smiled.
“Where’s Connor?” Danielle asked.
“He’s sleeping. Marie’s in there with him. I assume Rupert’s in there too.” Lily let out a groan and said, “I don’t believe any of this.”
“I have his picture,” Danielle blurted.
“Whose picture?” Lily asked.
Danielle told Lily all she had learned that night. Across the room, Ian curiously watched as Lily listened to what Danielle had to say. He wondered what Danielle was telling his wife.
When Danielle finished her telling, Lily blurted, “Send me the picture!”
“Rupert’s?” Danielle asked.
“Yes. I still have a hard time believing this.”
“Okay. I’ll text it to you. After you look at it, call me back on my cellphone and tell me if it’s your Rupert.”
When Lily got off the phone, Ian asked, “What was that all about?”
“Danielle is sending me a picture. Hold on. I’ll tell you in a minute.” Lily looked at her phone, waiting for Danielle’s text to arrive.
Ian wanted to go to bed. It had been an exhausting day. He watched as Lily stared at her phone. After whatever Danielle had sent arrived, she hurriedly opened her messages. She stared at the cellphone, not saying a word. Suddenly, Lily broke into tears.
Ian jumped from his chair and rushed to Lily. “What is it?” She threw herself on the sofa, facedown, and cried unconsolably. Her cellphone rang. Lily ignored her phone, but Ian answered the call. It was Danielle.
“What the hell did you send Lily?” Ian asked angrily.
“What’s wrong?” Danielle asked.
“Can’t you hear her? She’s sobbing. What did you send her?”
“I’ll be right there,” Danielle said.
Lily, Ian, and Danielle sat in the Bartley living room. Lily had finally stopped crying, and now sat next to Ian, his arm wrapped around her shoulder.
“Please tell me if he comes in here,” Lily whispered.
“Who?” Ian asked.
“I’m pretty sure she means Rupert,” Danielle said.
Lily nodded.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Ian asked.
With a sniffle, Lily turned to Ian. “He really was my imaginary friend. But he was never an imaginary friend. He was a ghost. And he was my best friend, my constant companion for the first six years of my life.”
Ian glanced toward the nursery. “It’s really him?”
Lily nodded. “In my head, I could visualize what he looked like. Of course, over the years, I believed my imagination made it all up. But when Dani sent me his picture… it was him. And he was just a frightened little boy. And they locked him in our attic for all those years, frightened and alone.” Lily began to cry again.
“Lily,” Danielle said gently, “spirits don’t have the same sense of time as living people. Not even little-boy ghosts. Ask Walt. You need to pull yourself together, because you can’t help Rupert move on if you keep crying.”
A few minutes later, Lily sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “How do I do that? How do I help him move on?”
“You need to talk to him,” Danielle said.
“But I can’t see him.”
“You talked to Cheryl and helped her. And you couldn’t see her,” Danielle reminded.
Lily smiled at the memory. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
“And with Rupert, you know things that no one else does. If you want to help him, this is how you can. Help him come to terms with his reality, and then he can move on. He will be happier.”
Lily nodded. “I can do this.”
Twenty-Eight
Marie heard them in the living room. Sitting on the rocking chair in Connor’s room, she glanced to the crib. Connor had fallen asleep before they had gotten home from the restaurant. Rupert had retreated to the cardboard box with Lily’s old toys. She heard him humming softly.
Frowning, Marie wondered what was going on. It sounded like someone was crying. Glancing back to the box and then to the crib, Marie instantly moved from the rocking chair to the living room just in time to see Danielle leaving. Danielle’s back was to her, and she didn’t notice Marie standing there. Marie was about to say something to Danielle, but she noticed Lily going to Connor’s room. Instead of following Danielle out, Marie returned to the rocking chair in the nursery. The next moment, Lily eased open the bedroom door and stood there, looking in. The room’s night-light provided the only lighting.
Connor stirred in the crib. Lily walked to it and looked down at her son. He fussed.
“I bet you need a diaper change,” Lily whispered. The next moment, a diaper floated over to Lily. “Thank you, Marie.”
Quietly, Lily changed Connor’s diaper. She picked him up and looked at the rocking chair.
“Marie, if Rupert is still here, please rock the chair.”
The chair rocked, and Connor fussed some more.
“Marie, I’d like to sit on the rocking chair with Connor,” Lily whispered.
“Certainly, dear,” Marie said, moving from the rocking chair. She watched as Lily sat down with Connor, holding him in her arms.
“Connor,” Lily said, “I would like to tell you a story about Marie and Rupert.”
Rupert popped out of the box. “Is she talking about me?”
“I imagine so,” Marie said. “Why don’t you come sit next to me, and we’ll listen.”
Rupert scampered out of the box and sat down next to Marie, his eyes on Connor and Lily.
“Once upon a time,” Lily began. She brushed her fingertips along Connor’s forehead as she gently rocked him in the chair. He looked up at Lily and smiled. “Before you were born, I moved to Frederickport and met your daddy. I also met a very nice lady name Marie. When Marie was a baby, like you, she lived in this house. This was her room.”
Rupert looked to Marie. “Is she talking about you?”
Marie nodded. “Yes, dear. She is
.”
“Marie became a very good friend to me and your daddy. She even sold us this house.” Lily smiled down at Connor. “But one day something sad happened, Marie died.”
Rupert looked to Marie and frowned. “What is she talking about?”
“Just listen,” Marie whispered.
“We were all very sad; we were going to miss Marie. When people die, they usually move on in their journey. They go somewhere—I guess it is heaven—where they see all the friends and family who died before them. It’s like a big reunion party.”
“I don’t understand,” Rupert said.
“Shh… listen,” Marie whispered.
“But Marie was not ready to move on in her adventure. No, she wanted to stick around because she has a grandson she wanted to see married. And she was afraid if she moved on, he might never get married.”
“That’s not exactly accurate,” Marie muttered.
“So Marie stayed,” Lily continued. “Her spirit decided to stick around with all of us. Some people call the spirit who sticks around a ghost. Some people think of ghosts as scary things, but Marie isn’t scary.”
Rupert looked to Marie, his eyes wide. “You’re a ghost?”
“Normally, I can’t see ghosts,” Lily said. “But I know Marie is here because we have some friends who can see ghosts. And sometimes, well, sometimes babies can see ghosts, like you can see Marie.”
Rupert looked back to Lily, fascinated with her tale.
“But guess what? When I was a baby, I could see ghosts, just like you,” Lily whispered to Connor.
“You could?” Rupert asked.
“She can’t hear you,” Marie reminded him.
Ignoring Marie, Rupert continued to stare at Lily.
“Connor, while Marie chose to stick around and watch you grow up and see that her grandson gets married, not all ghosts—or spirits—stay because they made a choice. Some stay because they’re confused, and they don’t realize they’re dead.”
Connor kicked his feet and let out a babbling sound. He stared up at his mother.