The Ghost and Little Marie

by Anna J. McIntyre

“Oh, come on, Brian, you knew my mother. She wouldn’t have been happy at any assisted-care facility. But she had no business living alone. The woman was ninety-one. Hell, she broke her hip by just trying to answer her phone.”

  “I understand you had an argument the day before she died. She threatened to change her will.”

  “Yeah, well, the funny thing about that, she had already changed her will,” Warren scoffed.

  “Do you know what’s in the new will? Who inherits now?”

  “None of us will know until the will is read on Wednesday. That was what my mother wanted.”

  “Do you know who was to inherit before this new will?” Brian asked.

  “Yes. Mother had the trust set up where I would get half of her estate, and my sons would split the other half.”

  “So you had a vested interest in your mother not changing her will?”

  “She had already changed it,” Warren snapped.

  “But you didn’t know that.”

  Warren glared at Brian. “I told you, we all left the home together at nine that night. You can ask the staff there. Hell, I’m sure they already told you all about it, considering Mother wasn’t especially quiet when she started yelling at me. But that doesn’t mean I killed her. We all left at nine, went to my mother’s house, and went to bed. End of story.”

  “Was my grandmother really murdered?” Jason asked Brian. The two sat alone in the interrogation room.

  “Yes. It appears she was smothered. They believe with a pillow, considering the feather they found in her nasal passage. She also had bruising where someone held her down.”

  Jason shook his head. “I guess she was right.”

  “Who was right?” Brian asked.

  “Grandma kept saying anyone could walk into her room and kill her while she was sleeping. I thought she was just being paranoid.”

  Brian sat up straighter in the chair, the pen in his hand ready to jot down notes. “Did she ever mention anyone she was having problems with? Anyone she was afraid of?”

  Resting his hands on the tabletop, Jason’s fingers fidgeted nervously. “Not really. She used to say half the people who lived there were out of it, and the other half spent all their time complaining about how much pain they were in. But she never mentioned having a problem with anyone specifically.”

  They discussed the Seaside Village staff for a few more minutes; then Brian switched the direction of the conversation. “Did you have any idea your grandmother had changed her will?”

  Jason shook his head. “No.”

  “Do you think anyone knew?”

  Jason shrugged. “To be honest, I find it difficult to believe Adam didn’t know. I’m certain Grandma used to tell him everything, and he’s dating Melony. Well, I think he is. One minute he tells the family they’re good friends, but when they’re together, they don’t seem like casual friends.”

  “How did you feel when your grandmother threatened to change her will? I understand in her last will she was leaving you a quarter of her estate.”

  “Grandma was mad at Dad, not me. I honestly didn’t think Grandma would write Adam or me out of her will because of something my parents did. Of course, Mom was convinced Grandma might do something crazy like leave everything to that wacked cult that Adam’s old girlfriend was involved in.”

  “So your mother was concerned that Marie might change her will?”

  Jason frowned. “Sure, I can’t blame her. But it wasn’t like she was going to kill Grandma to stop her.”

  “I barely knew her, but to be honest…” Sondra paused a moment and glanced over to the two-way mirror. She was alone in the room with Brian. “Is anyone in there, watching us?”

  “You mean like Jason or his parents?”

  Sondra nodded.

  “No.”

  Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to Brian. “I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, and I certainly don’t want to say anything bad about Jason’s grandmother, not when she just died. And while I know his parents didn’t get along with her that well, she was still Warren’s mother.”

  “But?” Brian asked.

  “Well, she didn’t seem all that nice. She was kind of crabby. Her family came all this way to see her, and she didn’t seem to appreciate it. I feel bad for Jason. It was so important for him that I meet his grandmother now, before she passed away. He didn’t think she would make it to our wedding.”

  “Why was that?”

  “Her age, of course. Plus, the fact she had just broken a hip. You know, for a lot of elderly people, breaking a hip can be lethal. Jason was afraid his grandmother wouldn’t be around that long, and he wanted me to meet her. But I’m afraid she wasn’t that interested in getting to know me. But she seemed pretty fond of that Danielle Boatman.”

  “Danielle? Yes, Danielle and Marie were close.”

  Sondra shifted in her seat. “I don’t think Jason’s grandmother was that friendly to the people at the home. I guess that’s why one of them killed her.”

  “So you think someone from the home killed Marie?”

  Sondra shrugged. “If she was really murdered, then yeah. Had to be someone from that place. Maybe someone who was a little crazy to begin with, and Marie made them mad.”

  “When you went to Seaside Village on Monday, did you all drive together?”

  “Jason and I went in his parents’ car. Adam was already there. He had driven his own car.”

  “And you all left together?”

  “Yes. Everyone but Adam.”

  Pen in hand, Brian glanced from the pad of paper before him back to Sondra. “What time was that?”

  “It was nine when we left—me, Jason, and his parents. I don’t know how much longer Adam stayed. He was still there when we left.”

  “And where did you go?”

  “We went back to Mrs. Nichols’s house, that’s where we’ve been staying.”

  “And no one left the house again until morning?” Brian asked.

  Sondra started to say something and then shifted in her seat. “I guess that’s right.”

  “I hate to say this,” Adam told Brian during his questioning. “But according to my brother, one of my parents left the house Monday night after they returned from visiting Grandma. They got into a fight, and one of them stormed out. I don’t think for a minute whoever it was drove to Seaside Village and killed Grandma. My parents have always had a volatile relationship. It’s not uncommon for one of them to take off after a fight, drive around, and then come back as if nothing happened.”

  “Do you know which parent left?”

  Adam shook his head. “Jason didn’t know either.”

  “I thought we were done?” Warren asked when he was brought back into the interrogation room.

  “I have a few things I need to clear up,” Brian explained when he took a seat back at the table. “I understand you didn’t just argue with your mother that night, you had a fight with your wife after you got back to Marie’s house.”

  Warren frowned at Brian a moment before responding, “So? Who told you that? Jason? Sondra?”

  “I also understand one of you left your mother’s house.”

  “So?”

  “According to you, your wife, Jason and Sondra—none of you left the house that night after you got home from Seaside Village.”

  “Then how did you—” Warren didn’t finish his question.

  “It doesn’t matter. I just do, and you all lied about it. Why is that?”

  “We didn’t lie,” Warren said, shifting nervously in his chair. “It just had nothing to do with my mother’s death.”

  “I believe I asked if anyone had left Marie’s that night. You all said no. Sounds like you lied.”

  “We forgot. It was not a big deal. And I doubt Jason or Sondra even knew one of us had left for a few minutes.”

  “Just a few minutes?”

  Warren shrugged. “Yeah, you know, to drive around the neighborhood, cool off.”
/>   “Which one of you left the house?”

  Warren stared at Brian a moment, finally he said, “Chloe did. But she was only gone for a short time, drove around the neighborhood. She certainly wasn’t gone long enough to get to Seaside Village, kill my mother and get back to the house.”

  Twenty-Six

  Chief MacDonald was reviewing the notes from Brian’s interviews when Danielle stepped into the open doorway. She knocked lightly. He looked up from his desk and waved her into the office.

  “Adam called me. Said you interviewed his entire family.” Danielle closed the door behind her before taking a seat.

  “I was just going through the notes.” He set the paper he was holding down on the desk and said, “I thought of something.”

  “What?”

  “Where’s Marie? She’s not with you, is she?”

  Danielle shook her head. “No. She’s back at the house with Walt. He’s telling her old stories about her parents.”

  “Couldn’t we simplify things if she just hung around her family…eavesdrop?”

  “You think one of them did it?”

  “They have a motive, and I already caught them in a lie. Maybe she could overhear something—”

  “Serious? You want her to do your job? Wow, you’re getting kind of lazy, Chief.”

  He stared at Danielle, uncertain if she was serious or teasing.

  Finally, she smiled. “It’s not an option anyway.”

  “Why not?”

  “Marie doesn’t believe her family was involved—not even her daughter-in-law, who she’s not fond of. But Chloe is Adam’s mother, and Marie adores Adam. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. I actually did suggest she go over there, see if she could pick anything up. She refused.”

  “She’s afraid of what she might overhear?” the chief asked.

  “Marie didn’t actually say that. But she made some lame excuse why she couldn’t go over there right now. I talked to Walt about it. He doesn’t think Marie wants to know if one of them was responsible.”

  “But she’s the one who pushed for the autopsy.”

  “Yes. Because she thought someone from Seaside Village was involved. She still does.”

  MacDonald absently tapped the end of his pen against his desktop. “To be honest, that doesn’t surprise me. It’s why I didn’t ask Marie about the argument she had with her family on Monday night. If she did find out something, she probably wouldn’t tell you. Agatha didn’t when it was her grandson.”

  “True.” Danielle leaned forward. “So tell me, what do you have so far?”

  The chief picked up some papers from his desk and arranged them in a neat pile. “We have the time of death. Not from the coroner, but from Marie. Of course, Brian and Joe don’t know that, so the window for the time of death is broader for them.”

  “Yes, three in the morning.”

  “I know Adam’s parents, brother, and Sondra left together at nine that night. Adam left about twenty minutes later. Staff at the home confirms those times.”

  “Oh, did you know Sondra was from Portland?” Danielle interrupted.

  “Portland? I thought she was from Colorado?”

  Danielle shook her head. “No, she grew up in Portland, lived there all her life. She only moved to Colorado about six months ago, where she met Jason. Jason told us that yesterday. Anyway, you were saying?”

  “After they went back to Marie’s house, they got ready for bed, and Warren and Chloe went to their bedroom, and Jason and Sondra went to theirs. Adam’s parents got into a heated argument, and around midnight, Chloe stormed out of the house. She claims she just drove around the neighborhood for about fifteen minutes to cool off and then came right home. Warren backs up her story.”

  “Not enough time to drive to Seaside Village, smother Marie, and then go back to Marie’s house.”

  “My only issue with the story, they all lied about Chloe leaving the house. But Jason had mentioned the fight and the fact one of their parents took off in the middle of the night when Adam stopped by the house that morning, before finding out Marie was dead.”

  “Did they say why they lied?”

  “Warren and Chloe insisted they didn’t think it had anything to do with Marie, it was a personal issue and she had only been gone for a few minutes, while Jason and Sondra claimed they forgot.”

  “Interesting,” Danielle muttered.

  “When Adam arrived at Marie’s on Tuesday morning, his parents’ car was parked in front of the house, and they were still up in their bedroom. Jason’s rental car was gone, along with Sondra. According to both Sondra and Jason, she left early that morning to go jogging and then to get something to eat.”

  “How early?” Danielle asked.

  “She said she left just before sunrise. Jason was still sleeping, so he didn’t know for certain what time she left that morning.”

  “Did Brian ask Sondra if Warren and Chloe’s car was parked in front of the house when she left that morning?” Danielle asked.

  “If Chloe was the killer, I’d assume she would have been back by then. But Brian did ask. Sondra said it was still dark, and that she didn’t notice.”

  “We know at least two of them left Marie’s house early Tuesday morning. So none of them have a terrific alibi. But maybe Marie is right.” Danielle let out a sigh. “Actually, I want Marie to be right. I don’t want Adam to learn someone from his family killed his grandmother.”

  The drive from the police station back to Marie’s house was uncomfortably quiet. It was obvious Chloe had something on her mind. When they got back to the house, Chloe tossed her purse on Marie’s sofa and turned around to face her husband, youngest son, and future daughter-in-law. Adam hadn’t returned to the house with them, but had instead gone back to his office.

  “I thought we agreed not to mention the fact I went out that night. There was no reason for anyone to know, and I certainly had nothing to do with Marie’s death.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Sondra insisted. “At least not the first time they talked to me. But then I couldn’t really lie, could I? As it was, I told them I forgot. Not sure they believed me.”

  “So it was you, Jason?” Chloe asked angrily.

  “No, Mother. It had to have been Adam.”

  “Adam? How did he know?”

  “I…I must have mentioned that one of you left the house that night after an argument.”

  “Wouldn’t it have been a good thing to let us know that?” Warren asked. “Before we all agreed not to say anything about your mother going out for a few minutes?”

  “I’m sorry, Dad, I forgot I told Adam.”

  “Great, just great.” Chloe plopped down on the sofa next to her purse. “If I had known that, I would have simply told the chief I’d gone out for a few minutes!”

  Ringing came from Sondra’s purse. She picked it up from the coffee table and removed her cellphone and looked at it.

  “If you will excuse me, I have to take this. It’s my mom.” Sondra dashed out of the living room, leaving her fiancé with his parents while they argued.

  “I told you not to call me. Please!” Sondra whispered into the phone. Standing in the kitchen, she glanced warily to the doorway. “This was all a huge mistake. No. I told you. Absolutely not! You don’t understand, now that the police know his grandmother was murdered, we’re all suspects, and what happens if they start asking me questions? What? You would like that, wouldn’t you!” Sondra abruptly hung up on the caller and turned off her phone.

  Twenty-Seven

  On Saturday morning, Danielle walked into the library, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in one hand and the morning newspaper in the other. She found Walt sitting in front of the guest computer, the tips of his fingers poised to touch the keyboard.

  “What are you doing, Walt?”

  “Nothing.” His hands dropped to his sides. He stood abruptly, facing Danielle.

  “I brought the paper in, if you want it.” She tossed the newspaper onto
the desk and took a seat on the sofa. “Have you seen Marie this morning?”

  Walt moved to the chair facing Danielle and sat down. “She left for Seaside Village about thirty minutes ago.”

  Cradling her warm coffee mug in her hands, she took a sip and then asked, “Seaside Village? Why?”

  “To look for clues on her murder, of course.” Walt waved a hand and summoned a cigar.

  “Ahh…I guess I can understand that. Last night she wasn’t happy the chief’s focus seemed to be on her family, but she has to understand they have to consider everyone close to her. I just wish she wouldn’t have gone over there this morning, at least not without talking to me first.”

  “Why’s that?” Walt took a puff off his cigar and then blew a smoke ring.

  Distracted by the smoke ring, Danielle watched as it drifted up to the ceiling and disappeared. “Could you do that when you were alive?”

  “You mean blow smoke rings?” Walt took another puff off his cigar and blew another ring. “Yes.”

  “If smoking wasn’t so bad for you, I’d think that was cool. And if that brand of cigar you smoke was as offensive as many of them, we’d have to have a talk about expanding your no-smoking policy beyond the bedrooms.”

  “Is it really that bad for you?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. But I’ve always said campaigns against smoking approach the problem all wrong.” She took a sip of coffee.

  “How’s that?” Walt flicked his cigar; it vanished.

  “I’m pretty sure my idea would work for girls. It might work for boys too. You see, some teenage girls can be very vain.”

  “Ahh…I see you grew out of that phase.”

  Danielle frowned at Walt. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  He shrugged and smiled. “Just that you seem very comfortable in your own skin. It’s actually a compliment.”

  Danielle glanced down at her clothes. She was still wearing the flannel pajama bottoms and T-shirt she had worn to bed the night before. The plaid pajama bottoms had seen better days. Perhaps I’ve grown too complacent about my looks, she wondered.