The Ghost Who Stayed Home

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “Your uncle?” He frowned.

  “That primitive dirt airstrip—the one where the kidnappers landed your plane—it was on the Seligman property my cousin Jimmy owned.”

  “The cousin you told me about? The one killed in that car accident?”

  Andrea nodded. “Jimmy left that land—along with some property in Havasu—to his father, my uncle Herman.”

  “Havasu?” Mason frowned. “Isn’t that where they found everyone?”

  Andrea nodded again. “Everyone but the hijackers. That Havasu property where they were being kept also belonged to my cousin Jimmy. And well, now it belongs to my uncle Herman.”

  Mason narrowed his eyes and studied Andrea. “What are you telling me?”

  “I need you to know I had absolutely nothing to do with the hijacking. I would never do something like that.”

  “But you did know about Chris Glandon.” Mason’s expression was less friendly than it had been when Andrea had stepped into his office.

  She stood up and reached for Mason’s hand. Before she could grab it, he pulled it out of her reach.

  “You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with this!” she insisted.

  CAROL ANN SHOWED up at the Frederickport Police Station bearing gifts—freshly baked cinnamon rolls from Old Salts Bakery. She sat with Joe Morelli in the break room while the chief poured them all a cup of hot coffee.

  When the chief sat down with them at the table, he told Carol Ann, “This was sweet of you.”

  She smiled at the chief and then picked up a sticky roll. “I figured we need to celebrate now that Chris has come out of the coma.”

  “That is something to celebrate,” Edward said before taking a bite.

  Carol Ann glanced toward the open doorway and then looked back to the chief. “Where’s Brian? I thought he’d be here this morning.”

  “Brian’s taking a few days off. He hasn’t had a day off since we went on vacation,” the chief explained.

  Joe let out a snort and then said, “Some vacation.”

  “At least we all survived the ordeal, even Chris,” Carol Ann reminded him.

  “Always the optimist.” Edward chuckled.

  “I was so worried about Chris. I’m just relieved he’s awake and coming home. Do you know when they arrive?” Carol Ann asked.

  “Ian’s picking them up at the airport this evening,” Joe told her.

  “In Portland?” Carol Ann asked.

  “No,” Edward said. “The airport we used. Danielle rented the same plane we flew back on.”

  “When I talked to you the last time, you told me they aren’t checking him in to the hospital here?” Carol Ann asked.

  Edward shook his head. “No. But he isn’t going home. He intends to stay at Marlow House for a week or so until his own doctor says it’s okay for him to be at home alone. I’m going to stop over there tonight. You want to come with me?”

  “I’d like to. But my brother’s coming in tonight,” Carol told him.

  “Aww, I knew it!” Edward smiled. “He needs to see for himself his little sister is okay.”

  Carol Ann smiled. “Something like that. Tell Danielle I’ll call her later, after they’re settled in. Let her know if she needs me for anything, just call.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  “How did she sound?” Carol Ann asked.

  “I haven’t talked to her since Chris came out of the coma. We’ve been playing a bit of phone tag,” Edward told her.

  “I talked to her,” Joe said. “She sounded pretty good. Happy to get back. I think she was anxious to talk to the chief about the case, but I told her the FBI is handling the investigation.”

  Carol Ann delicately licked frosting residue from her fingers and then said, “I suppose I can understand that. It would probably be something of a conflict of interest, since both of you were hostages.”

  “Not to mention the cost to our department. We’re not really equipped to cross state lines—not with two different crime scenes in Arizona,” Edward added.

  “I wonder if Chris will be hiring some sort of bodyguard now,” Joe speculated.

  Carol Ann frowned. “Bodyguard?”

  “Considering what happened. I think most people in that position have one.” Just before Joe popped the last bite of cinnamon roll into his mouth, he looked at Carol Ann and asked, “I bet you never expected Chris Johnson to be some Richie Rich named Glandon.”

  Carol Ann smiled. “No. I will admit that one caught me by surprise.”

  “I hope you understand why I never told you about Chris’s real identity,” Edward said.

  Carol Ann reached over and patted his hand. “I understand.”

  “You probably thought the kidnappers had screwed up and grabbed the wrong people when they told us they expected Chris Glandon to give them fifty million dollars,” Joe said as he wiped his hands with a napkin.

  “Something like that,” Carol murmured.

  THIRTY-NINE

  Chief MacDonald promised his youngest son he could go with him to Marlow House and welcome home Danielle, Chris, and Lily, who were due to arrive home in a couple of hours. But first, he and his boys needed to have dinner. Since there was no food at his house—he hadn’t had time to go grocery shopping—he took the boys over to Lucy’s Diner. After dinner, he planned to drop Eddy off at a friend’s house.

  The waitress had just taken his order when Beverly Klein walked into the diner. The moment she saw him sitting at a booth, she headed in his direction.

  “Chief!” she greeted him when she arrived at the table. She then flashed a smile to the two young boys and then looked back to MacDonald. “I was so relieved to hear your trip had a happy ending.”

  “Thanks, Beverly. I am too.” He glanced around. “Are you meeting someone?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s just me. I find it’s a little lonely eating at home these days.” She smiled.

  “Would you like to join us?” the chief offered. He scooted over in the booth to make room.

  “That would be nice, thank you.” She sat down next to him and smiled across the table to Edward and Evan.

  “Boys, this is Mrs. Klein. I think you’ve met her before,” MacDonald introduced. Each boy said a brief hello, neither looking particularly thrilled with the added dinner companion.

  “You boys are sure growing up to be handsome young men. And Evan, you look so much like your mother!”

  “You knew my mother?” Evan asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, I did. A wonderful woman.” Beverly turned her attention to Eddy. “And you look just like your namesake. My, a spitting image of your father!”

  Eddy grinned.

  Beverly turned her attention to the chief. “And how are you doing? I heard you had quite an ordeal.”

  “Glad to get home, that’s for sure.”

  “I talked to Adam Nichols earlier today. I heard Chris Glandon came out of his coma.”

  Edward frowned. “I didn’t know the papers listed Chris’s real surname.”

  Beverly shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t notice.”

  “Did Adam tell you who he really is?” Edward asked, his expression serious.

  Before she could answer the question, a server showed up at the table and took Beverly’s order. When the server left the table, Edward repeated the question.

  “So I assume it’s still a secret?” Beverly asked.

  “How did you know who he was?” Edward pressed.

  Beverly picked up the water glass the server had just filled. “I sort of figured it out. Didn’t Carol Ann tell you?” She took a sip.

  “Carol Ann?” Edward frowned.

  “I ran into her a few weeks ago. She was shopping for cowboy boots for the trip. She mentioned where you were all going and how Chris was supposedly working for the Glandon Foundation. I’m naturally curious, so I did a little searching on my cellphone and came across a photograph of Chris Glandon. Even with the beard, it was pretty obvious who it was.” />
  “Did you happen to mention this to anyone?” Edward asked.

  Beverly took another sip of water and considered the question for a moment. Finally, she shook her head and set her glass back down on the table. “No. Only Carol Ann. I think she was surprised her host was a billionaire.”

  “NO. I don’t want to go lie down,” Chris told Danielle for the third time. They had arrived back at Marlow House thirty minutes earlier and were now in the living room. Lily and Ian had already gone across the street to Ian’s house. Ian assumed Lily just wanted some alone time—and he was more than happy to oblige—yet the truth was, Lily knew the chief was on his way over to talk to Danielle, and it would be easier to do if Ian was not around, considering Danielle needed to pass on information obtained from a ghost.

  “Stop hovering, Danielle,” Walt chided. “He looks fine to me. Although I’m not sure why he’s staying here. He has a perfectly nice house down the street.”

  “Walt, sometimes you don’t make me feel very wanted,” Chris teased.

  “Sometimes you are rather perceptive,” Walt retorted. He leaned against the fireplace mantel, smoking a thin cigar.

  “I thought Chris would be a little safer here,” Danielle told Walt as she took a seat on the sofa next to Chris.

  “Safer?”

  “Walt is going to love this,” Chris mumbled under his breath.

  “The kidnappers haven’t been caught yet, and with Chris now conscious, he could be a target again. I just figured he would be safer here.”

  Walt stood up straighter, no longer leaning against the fireplace, and glanced from Danielle to Chris and back to Danielle again. “Safer, how?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Chris asked with faux innocence. “You’re here.”

  “You expect me to protect you?” Walt began to chuckle. He took a puff off the cigar and shook his head at the idea.

  “The truth is,” Chris said, the teasing tone replaced by seriousness, “it’s more about protecting Danielle and Lily.”

  The cigar vanished and Walt took a step toward the pair. “What do you mean?”

  “The kidnappers intended to hold us while they forced Chris to transfer money to their account. I don’t really know how they expected him to move that much money, but Chris and I just figured if he was here and we were here, it would be a little difficult for them to use our well-being as leverage,” Danielle explained. “Not with you here.”

  Walt considered the situation for a moment. Finally, he said, “Very well, but you can’t live your life out holed up in this house.”

  “You are,” Chris quipped with a grin.

  “That’s different. I’m dead.”

  “True.” Chris let out a sigh. “This is just until we figure things out. I’m still not one hundred percent, and maybe I do need to look into hiring some sort of security.”

  “You mean aside from a ghost?” Walt asked.

  Danielle chuckled. “Walt, you just called yourself a ghost.”

  Walt shrugged. “It just seemed appropriate in this instance.”

  The doorbell rang. Danielle stood up. “I bet that’s the chief and Evan.”

  A few minutes later Evan and the chief walked into the living room with Danielle. The first thing Chris did when they entered the room was thank Evan for all his help in bringing them home.

  “He’s my hero,” the chief said as he ruffled Evan’s hair.

  “Why don’t you let Evan stay in here and visit with Walt and Chris. I have a few things to tell you,” Danielle said.

  “YOU SAW PERCIVAL AGAIN?” the chief asked after Danielle told him about seeing Percival the day before. She sat alone with the chief in the parlor.

  “I asked him about our kidnappers. He insists he only saw three of them.”

  “Carol Ann said there were four,” the chief noted.

  “I know. But it’s possible the forth kidnapper wasn’t there when Percival was. He didn’t stay there the entire time we were there. The ones he saw were two men and one woman,” Danielle told him.

  “Carol Ann said they always had masks on, and she couldn’t tell for sure if they were all men.”

  “Percival heard their names. Unfortunately, only their first names. Although, I suspect one was a nickname, considering they called him Sky. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone named Sky—even as a surname.”

  “Sky?” The chief frowned.

  Danielle nodded. “I’m pretty sure he was our pilot. The way Percival described the man, sounded just like him. Fake beard and all.”

  “And the others?”

  “The other man was Clay. Which you already knew about. The woman went by Andy.”

  The chief stood up. “What did you say?”

  “Andy. I imagine that might be a nickname, too.”

  “What did she look like? Did he describe her?”

  “Yes, but it’s not much help. About my age, blond, average height and build. That describes a lot of women I know.”

  Edward dropped down into the chair, his hand now on his forehead as if he expected it to fall off at any moment and he needed to keep it attached. Whatever color had been in his face disappeared, giving him a ghostly appearance. Compared to him, Walt looked alive.

  Alarmed, Danielle leaned forward. “Are you alright, Chief?”

  Slowly shaking his head, he muttered, “No. I think I’m going to be ill.”

  Danielle jumped up from the chair. “What can I get you?”

  Waving for Danielle to sit back down, he shook his head and said, “There is nothing you can get me for this. Sit down.”

  Startled, Danielle obediently sat on the sofa and stared at the chief. He looked up at her; their eyes met.

  “What is it, Chief?” she whispered.

  “I ran into Beverly Klein tonight.”

  “And?”

  Edward licked his lips; they felt suddenly parched. “She knows about Chris. Who he really is. She figured it out when she ran into Carol Ann when Carol Ann was buying her cowboy boots.”

  “Are you saying Beverly had something to do with the hijacking?”

  “No. But I know now, Carol Ann knew who Chris really was days before we left on the trip.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re getting at?”

  “Remember I told you about Carol Ann’s brother, the one who was in the military? The one who raised her?”

  “Yes. Didn’t you tell me he was really into computers?”

  “He also flies planes. In fact, he can fly just about anything, which is why his friends call him Sky.”

  “Sky?” Danielle frowned. “No, you’re not suggesting Carol Ann’s brother was our pilot—our kidnapper. No. It’s just a coincidence.”

  “Carol Ann also has a nickname. Her brother gave it to her, because she was a bit of a tomboy when she was a kid. She doesn’t use it now, but I remember her telling me her brother still calls her that, as well as some of her old friends she grew up with.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Danielle, Carol Ann’s nickname is Andy.”

  FORTY

  Carol Ann’s porchlight was on, and there was a truck in her driveway. She didn’t drive a truck. MacDonald turned off his ignition and sat in his car a moment, studying her house. They had been dating for less than a year, but until tonight, it had felt longer than that. Now he wondered if he really ever knew who she was.

  After getting out of the vehicle, he made his way to the front door. Once there, he stood on the porch for a moment before ringing the bell. Several minutes went by and no one came to the door. Ed could hear voices from inside and footsteps. He rang the bell again. Finally, a moment later, the door eased open several inches.

  “Ed?” Carol Ann said with surprise, peeking out the door. “I thought you were going over to Danielle’s tonight.” She eased the door open a few more inches.

  “I was on my way home. Thought I’d see if you were still up, and I noticed the lights on and the truck in the drive. Is that your br
other’s truck?”

  “Umm…yes, yes, it is.” She smiled—a smile not reflected in her eyes.

  Edward grinned amicably. “I thought it was about time we met.”

  Carol Ann glanced nervously over her shoulder and then looked at Ed. She smiled again and stepped back from the door, opening it so he could enter the house. “Well, of course. Come on in.” By the way she initially had been hiding behind the door, one might assume she was wearing her nightclothes. As it turned out, she was wearing jeans and a pullover sweater.

  Edward stepped into the house and glanced around. There was no sign of her brother, yet there was a light coming from the kitchen down the hall.

  “Sky and I were just going to have some ice cream. Would you like some?” Carol Ann motioned to the kitchen and then started in that direction, expecting Ed to follow her. Instead, he paused a moment—hearing her use the name Sky felt like a punch to his stomach. While it was the name she always used when referring to her sibling, hearing it now after what Danielle had told him made him ill. He prayed that once he came face-to-face with her elusive brother, he’d discover he was short and fat—or exceptionally tall and skinny—anything but the body type of the man who had hijacked the plane. Taking a deep breath, Ed started to move, heading down the hall.

  “Sky, I’d like you to meet Ed,” Carol Ann said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.

  Her brother, who had been sitting at the kitchen table, stood up and smiled at Ed, extending a hand in greeting. “Well, we meet at last. Andy’s told me a lot of good things about you.”

  Ed felt ill. While the man standing before him had a different hair color than the pilot and was clean shaven, Ed didn’t doubt for a moment he was his kidnapper. It wasn’t just that Sky had a facial rash—as if it had been irritated by a fake beard—the man had the same body type and height as the pilot. However, he had to admit, had he not been aware of the nicknames when dropping by Carol Ann’s tonight, it never would have occurred to him that her brother was the pilot, even with the facial rash. We often fail to see what is right before us, he thought.