by Krista Davis
I beg of you not to honor my father. I trust you will find an adequate excuse to abandon the plans for naming the street in his honor.
Faithfully,
Rebecca Wraith
“Unbelievable!” Ben reached for the letter. “Pretty impressive that old Elmer sat on this information. It almost died with him.” He sat back. “Makes me wonder how many huge secrets have died with the lawyers who knew the truth. But Elmer kept the letter. He must have thought he might need it one day.”
“Poor Becca and Obadiah,” I said. “I’m going to take this to the interim mayor—I have an in with her, you know—and ask for Obadiah’s remains to be moved inside the cemetery. It’s time people knew the truth.”
“I suspect you’re right,” said Ben.
* * *
The sun shone on Wagtail on November first. I walked out on my balcony and gazed down at the town. People were walking their dogs and cats as if nothing untoward had transpired.
I dressed in a salmon colored turtleneck and a pleated skirt. My feet still ached from the ruby slippers, so I wore comfortable Keds—not exactly a fashion statement. I missed the tea and croissants that Mr. Huckle usually delivered, but their absence today would only make me appreciate them more tomorrow.
Twinkletoes rubbed against my ankles in the kitchen. I picked her up for a quick good morning snuggle. Mrs. Mewer meowed at me for food. I fed them a creation called Harvest Halibut, which they ate with great gusto.
After all the late nights he’d had, I didn’t have the heart to wake Ben.
Trixie zoomed out of the door ahead of me and scampered down the stairs. She waited by the door to be let out.
Minutes later, we headed for breakfast. Oma and Dave were already sitting at a table with Gingersnap at their feet. “Mind if I join you?”
“Of course, liebchen.” Oma stood up and hugged me fiercely. “Oh my. What you went through last night! Are you sore? Dave tells me Doc hit you quite hard.”
“I’m a little achy and bruised.” An understatement if ever there was one. “It’s nothing that won’t go away.”
Oma placed her warm hand on top of mine. “I was friends with Doc. I believed him when he said Mallory’s death was an accident. I’m ashamed to say that I was also angry with you because you did not believe him. Ach. When I think what could have happened to you.” She clasped her hand over her mouth in horror. “There I was, going out with Doc and Rose. All the time, he was calculating to harm my granddaughter. I am sick when I think of this.”
“It’s okay, Oma. We all hoped Doc was correct and it was an accident.” I peered at their plates. “What’s for breakfast?”
“Crab Cakes Benedict.” Dave sipped his coffee. “And I recommend it.”
It must have been Shelley’s day off. Her replacement took my order.
“Did Grayson reveal anything of interest last night?” I asked.
Dave leaned back in his chair. “He’s being very cooperative. Lillian bailed him out. He’s already back at the inn. I was just telling your grandmother that it appears it was Mallory who tried to break into the inn. She meant to lie in wait for Mark and Eva to return. When that didn’t work, she went to plan B.”
“Do you know why she dressed as Becca Wraith?”
“It’s only a guess, but I would assume so that anyone who saw her would think she was Becca’s ghost.”
Oma dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “She put a lot of thought into her evil intention.”
The Crab Cakes Benedicts arrived, along with hot tea for me.
Trixie snarfed her breakfast before I had finished adding sugar to my tea.
For once, I didn’t feel guilty eating a rich, wonderful breakfast. I tried to eat slower than Trixie, though. I unfolded the letter Becca Wraith had written to Elmer and handed it to Dave, who read it aloud while I ate.
“I never would have imagined such a thing,” gasped Oma.
“Dr. Wraith got away with two murders. Incredible.” Dave flipped over the letter and examined it.
Oma bestowed a smile on him. “They didn’t have Dave Quinlan on the job.”
I set my tea down. “Oma, do you think we could move Obadiah’s remains? Maybe next to Becca’s grave?”
“Holly, I like this idea. It is the right thing to do. We will make it an event and honor them. Yes?”
The Apparition Apprehenders trickled in for breakfast. Mr. Luciano and Eva arrived first. Eva wore an autumn gold dress with long sleeves and a matching headband. Her engagement ring glittered on her left hand. Lillian, Grayson, and GloryB soon joined them. It wasn’t long before Brian, Felix, Casper, Ben, and Mark arrived.
I whispered to Oma, “Do you think Aunt Birdie has a chance with Mr. Luciano?”
Oma looked aghast. “Please. Mr. Luciano is a very fine man. Let us hope he can escape from Wagtail today without Birdie running behind him.”
Trixie evidently realized that food would soon be coming for the other dogs. As soon as their breakfasts were served, she tried to help them eat. Casper gave her a little snarl that sent her to GloryB’s bowl.
I had brought the leash, just in case, and I latched it on her until the other dogs had finished. The way she whimpered and cried, you would have thought she was starving. I felt terrible and kept giving her teensy bits of cookies.
When their bowls had been removed, I took off the leash.
Oma patted my arm. “She will learn soon.”
Not soon enough.
Brian sat near us, and Trixie would not leave him alone. She kept trying to bury her nose in his pocket.
“I’m so sorry.” I tugged her away and told her to sit.
She did. For two minutes. And then she went back to Brian’s pocket. She placed her paws on the edge of his chair and wriggled her nose into the pocket opening. By that time, everyone was laughing.
“What have you got in there, Brian?” asked Felix. “Dog treats to snack on?”
Brian lifted his hands. “I don’t know what she wants.”
Trixie was obsessive.
I latched the leash on her and picked her up. But this time, she had what she wanted—the black cat toy she had found near the bonfire. “Where did you get this? I’ve been looking all over for one.”
“I brought it with me. It’s my good luck charm.”
With dread, I lifted my eyes to meet Brian’s. “Hasn’t been very lucky for you, has it?
“Sure it has.”
“You lost it.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yeah. And I found it out on the porch. Must have dropped it there.”
He might have found it there, but I knew good and well that wasn’t where he lost it. “You did see Mallory the night she died.”
His face flushed as red as the raspberry jam on the table. “What are you talking about?”
Maybe I was overstepping. He could have lost it at the bonfire without knowing it. Or he could have returned to the bonfire later, maybe with a stick he wanted to burn. “It was you who started the fire again.”
“You’re out of your mind. Are you in love with Grayson too, and now you want to get him off the hook by blaming me?”
“You burned the stick to get rid of the evidence. Grayson didn’t kill Mallory. You did. And you tried to pin it on Eva. How could we be so blind? That was the real reason for the handbag and the jewelry in Eva’s room. You didn’t even hide it well, because you wanted it found. You were trying to pin the murder on Eva.”
Eva’s coffee mug landed on the table with a thunk. “Nooo,” she breathed.
“Brian, what have you done?” cried Felix.
Brian glanced around furtively, as if in search of an escape route. He jumped up and dodged through the tables with Dave in hot pursuit.
Sensing excitement, GloryB, Trixie, and Casper ran toward Brian, who stumbled and fell over the d
ogs.
Dave caught up to Brian, latched handcuffs on his wrists, and helped him to his feet.
Felix walked over to his friend. “Aw, Brian. What happened?”
Brian swallowed hard. “Mallory said she was coming to my room that night and that I should watch for her and let her in. I stupidly thought she was finally interested in me. But she never showed.” He glared at Eva. “As soon as I saw Eva here, I knew this was my chance to get back at her. To make her change her mind about the existence of ghosts. For once, I wanted the upper hand. I wanted to discredit her. After I tricked Eva with the light, I walked over to the Wagtail Springs Hotel to see if I could find any ghosts, and there was Becca Wraith. Man, was I excited. Except it turned out to be Mallory. She was really nice to me and invited me to dangle my feet in the water with her. But then she tried to talk me into helping her murder Eva by bludgeoning her with a stick.”
He looked down at his hands and his voice sounded almost like a little boy’s. “She had my good luck cat and my I’d rather be ghost hunting cap. She must have taken them when we were at the bar. And I realized that she planned to pin Eva’s murder on me. I know I’m not always the brightest guy, but this time I saw through her. That was why she wanted me to open the door for her. She didn’t like me or want anything to do with me. She just wanted to be rid of Eva and have me take the blame.”
Brian’s demeanor changed. His eyes blazed. It reminded me of the way he acted the night Mrs. Mewer jumped on his shoulder. The amiable guy was gone.
“I wasn’t going to take the rap for Mallory. I hate Eva. Man, I hate her. It was tempting to imagine her dead. But I knew what would happen. Mallory would pin Eva’s murder on me. She was only being nice to me to manipulate me. No one ever cares about me. Mallory thought I was just a big tubby dummy. Well, I’m not! I showed her!”
He stopped shouting. The room was completely silent. He scanned our faces. “So I used Mallory’s death as a reason to get rid of Eva. After all, they had a history. I borrowed Mallory’s purse and necklace and planted them on Eva. If she was in jail, she wouldn’t be mean to me anymore.”
He looked at me. “How did you know?”
“Trixie found your good luck cat at the bonfire and carried it back to the hotel. I thought it was a dog toy.”
“I must have dropped it when I threw the stick on the fire.”
“So Doc wasn’t lying about that.”
Lillian grasped Grayson’s arm. “Mallory was still alive! That proves Grayson didn’t kill her.”
Grayson’s shoulders relaxed. “Holly, I’m so sorry that Doc attacked you last night. He was convinced that I had killed Mallory and wanted to protect me.”
“Why did you try to conjure Mallory’s ghost with the Ouija board? If you really believe in ghosts, weren’t you afraid she might reveal your involvement?” I asked.
Brian’s face contorted. “Why does everything think I’m so stupid? I was going to make sure it spelled out Eva’s name!”
“Brian, did you attack Clementine?” asked Dave.
Brian took a deep breath. “I heard she could identify the killer.”
“Let’s go.” Dave crooked a finger at Brian.
Brian gazed down at Trixie. “Two more hours and I would have been out of here, and no one would have ever known.”
Grayson swung Trixie into his arms and Lillian fussed over her, promising to buy her the biggest dog treat she could find.
Trixie wagged her tail, thrilled with all the attention.
“I guess word will soon be out about your relationship,” said Eva.
Lillian squared her shoulders. “It’s just as well. I could never have stood on pride to Grayson’s detriment.” She smiled at him. “And now we won’t have to sneak around.”
I couldn’t help thinking how different Becca’s life would have been if her father had valued her more than his own self-importance.
* * *
At mid-morning, Eva stopped by the office. “I thought I’d go over to the hotel for a few minutes. Would you and Twinkletoes like to come with Mrs. Mewer and me?”
“Sure. On one condition. Would you mind if we took a golf cart? My feet are sore, and I’m a little bruised from Doc slamming me to the floor last night.”
“Of course. That must have been awful!”
Trixie and Gingersnap joined us on our outing. This time I didn’t latch leashes onto them. They hopped into the golf cart, and we were off.
When we arrived at the Wagtail Springs Hotel, Clementine and Parker stood outside. Clementine’s sons were chasing each other, but her daughter looked as though she might burst into tears.
“What are you doing down here?” I asked.
“Now that Brian is indisposed, I’m feeling a lot safer. Parker invited the kids for ice-cream cones to cheer up Emily.”
“What’s wrong with Emily?” I asked.
“We lost Lassie a few days ago.”
“Lassie! Emily, I have Lassie. I forgot all about him. Wait here.”
I handed Twinkletoes’s leash to Eva and walked back to the golf cart as fast as I could. Did I have the right golf cart? I peeked into the storage bag. And there it was—the bag containing Lassie.
I grabbed it, hurried back, and handed it to Emily.
She looked inside and screamed. Emily pulled Lassie out of the bag and hugged her. “Look, Mommy!”
“I see!” said Clementine.
“She dropped him the day I was trying to help you lose Parker. I’m so sorry. I forgot all about Lassie.”
“Thanks a lot.” Parker might have said it with a snarky tone, but he grinned. “Tell her what happened, Clemmie.”
“Someone called this morning about leasing the hotel. It’s like a miracle. After all this time with no one interested, a call came out of the blue. And Lillian Elsworth wants to rent the store!”
“The curse has been broken.”
We turned around to see Felix and Casper.
“Come on, Felix. You know that’s nonsense,” scoffed Eva.
“No, really. I saw the letter you found, Holly. Hiram said the Wraiths would never know true love, and they would lose their money. Misfortune and misery shall be the lot of the Wraiths until the day the truth be known.” He looked at Clementine. “Are you a Wraith?”
Her eyes grew large. “I don’t believe this. My father is a descendant of Becca’s brother’s daughter. That’s why Dad bought the hotel. He felt like it belonged in the family.”
“It’s all coincidence.” Eva chuckled. “There’s no such thing as a curse.”
Felix wobbled his head to the side. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Eva. Facts are facts. Brian’s black cat didn’t bring him luck, but in a way, Brian might have saved your life.”
It was good to hear them bantering again. I sucked in the clear mountain air. It was just about here that Eva had said two can play this game. Mallory and Brian had been playing games, trying to pin things on other people, and look what came of it.
Clementine’s boys zoomed around us with their arms outstretched, buzzing like bees, but I suspected they were supposed to be airplanes. Odd little balls like the one Trixie had found at the hotel were stuck to their foreheads. They zeroed in on Trixie, chasing her.
Emily scolded them, but when they persisted, she dropped Lassie and ran after them.
“What are those things on their heads?” I asked.
“Kids’ toys. They stick to each other and make all kinds of shapes.”
One of the boys tried to stick one on Trixie. She grabbed it in her mouth and ran from him. He chased her in a huge circle, and his brother and sister joined in.
Trixie sped by us, the children in hot pursuit, shouting, “I’m gonna get you. I’m gonna get you!”
Eva shrieked, “The ghost children! No wonder the recording was so clear.”
I gasped as things came together in my mind. “You were in the hotel the night the ghost hunters were investigating.”
“I thought we would be safer there. I was so absorbed in my own problems that I’d forgotten all about the ghost hunters. I shuttled the kids into the room that locks. The one where the snakes killed Hiram? I locked the door and rattled one of the kids’ toys when they tried the doorknob.”
“That explains the ghostly rattle.” Felix sighed. “Bummer. I guess those were your footsteps we heard, too?”
“Probably. I’m sorry if we ruined your investigation.”
Emily screamed. “Lassie!”
Gingersnap and Casper had hold of Lassie and played tug with the ancient stuffed dog. Trixie sprang to join them, leaping up to grab one of poor Lassie’s paws.
I ran to them. “Drop! Drop!”
They didn’t care what I said. None of the dogs wanted to give up the toy. I seized hold of Lassie and asked, “Who wants a treat? Sit!”
All three dogs sat like it was a magic trick. I rewarded each of them with a treat.
“I’m so sorry, Emily. Will you let me take Lassie to the vet for stitches?”
She nodded somberly and reached for her dog.
I handed the dog to her.
She cocked her head. “Mommy, Lassie has rocks in her tummy.”
We peered over Emily’s shoulder as she pulled a small bag out of Lassie.
Clementine took it from her, opened the drawstring, and shook sparkling diamonds into her hand. Her eyes opened wide. “I don’t believe it! Thank goodness all this nonsense will come to an end. I’m going to make sure the press is there when I turn these babies over to the feds. I want photographic evidence in all the newspapers so the diamond hunters will leave us alone.”
Parker smacked his forehead and moaned. “Your ex said he hid them in something you would never give away. How could I have been so stupid?”
“He was a complete louse but he called this one right. I could never have parted with Lassie. I guess he had this done when he took Lassie to be re-stuffed.” Clementine burst into a fit of giggles. “The ghost diamonds were with us the whole time.”