by Bobbi Holmes
“You mean this was your room.” Danielle tossed the suitcase on the bed and opened it. She began to unpack, moving her clothes from the suitcase to the dresser.
“No, it’s still mine.” Walt sat on the edge of the bed and watched her.
“Then why don’t you have any clothes in your dresser?” Danielle filled one drawer then opened another.
“You know why.”
“Yes, about that.” Danielle stopped unpacking and looked at Walt. “I thought you left. I told you to follow the light. Did you get lost or what?”
“There was no light, Danielle.”
“Then where did you go?”
“Back up to the attic. I found your departure speech tedious.”
“Sorry. I was just trying to help. So what is it I need to do before you can leave?”
“I need you to find out how I died. What happened to Angela?”
“Angela, your wife?” Danielle closed her now empty suitcase and sat on the bed with Walt.
“Yes. None of this makes any sense to me. I can’t leave until I find out what happened.”
“You mean you can’t—or you won’t?”
“I…I don’t think I can.”
Danielle studied Walt’s sober expression. After a few moments considering his request she let out a sigh.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can find out. Unfortunately, the Internet isn’t hooked up yet so I can’t go online. I guess I’ll have to do it the old fashioned way and take a trip down to the local newspaper office.”
“Internet?” Walt frowned.
“Oh….that’s right. I guess you missed the television too.”
“Television?”
“Wow, you really have been trapped in this house for a long time. Okay, I’ll see what I can find out. But I’ll have to do it tomorrow. And then you’ll leave?”
“You seem very anxious to get rid of me.” Walt pulled his feet up on the bed and leaned against the headboard. Folding his arms across his chest he studied Danielle.
“Don’t take it personally.” Danielle stood up. “But sharing the house with you and Lily… she would eventually catch me talking to you, assume I’m talking to myself. And, well, things tend to get uncomfortable after something like that happens.”
“How many others have there been?”
“You mean spirits—ghosts?” Danielle asked.
“Is that what I am, a ghost?”
“I suppose it’s the most common term.” Danielle picked the empty suitcase off the bed and set it on the floor.
“So how many?” he asked again.
“I don’t know, ten maybe.” Absently, Danielle wandered around the bedroom looking at the furnishings as she talked with Walt. Along the far wall was a fireplace, and near that a small sofa. Walking along the backside of the sofa she ran her fingertips over its satiny upholstery.
“I take it your friends and family are unaware of these…communications?” Walt’s eyes fixed on Danielle. Instead of farmer pants, today she wore fitted short slacks, showing off shapely calves. Instead of wearing her hair loose, it was pulled back in a fancy braid. When he had first met Angela he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world—fair, petite and everything he believed a woman should be. Danielle looked nothing like Angela, yet he found her oddly appealing. It wasn’t lust—exactly—this stranger stirred in his loins—for if he understood things correctly, he no longer possessed loins. Whatever the sensation, he found it compelling.
“The first time was my grandmother. I was just a child.” Danielle sat down on the sofa. She looked up and found Walt was no longer lounging on the bed. Instead he stood by the fireplace, leaning casually against the mantle, smoking a slender cigar as he had yesterday. She could smell the sweet scent of tobacco. While she abhorred the stench of cigarette smoke, she found this scent pleasant. Reflexively, she glanced back at the bed, where he had lain moments before, then to the fireplace where he now stood.
“And you never told anyone?” he asked.
“I told everyone. My cousin Cheryl called me a liar and my parents didn’t take the incident too seriously, considering my age and the fact it was my first experience with death. It wasn’t until the next time a few years later that I learned sharing my experiences wasn’t a good idea. A neighbor boy was killed, and he desperately wanted me to tell his parents he was sorry for disobeying them, and taking his bike out. He wanted me to tell them he was okay.”
“And did you?” Walt puffed the cigar and then exhaled. White gray smoke curled around his face before dissolving into the air.
“Unfortunately, yes. My parents were furious. His parents thought I was a horrible person, trying to mock their loss. When I became so insistent that I had talked to the boy’s spirit—that I wasn’t making it all up—well, my parents took me to a psychologist.”
“They committed you to an asylum?”
“God no—fortunately. But I suppose if I hadn’t learned to tell them what they wanted to hear, who knows what would have happened. After that, I pretty much kept it to myself. It seemed like the easiest thing to do.”
“And you never told anyone ever again?”
“No…” Danielle paused a moment. “No, not until Lucas.”
“Who was Lucas?”
“Lucas was the first person I opened up to about this….gift. I mean after that unfortunate experience. I suppose it is a gift. I don’t know, maybe a curse.” Danielle leaned back in the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.
“Weren’t you ever afraid, Danielle? Young ladies I know would be quite horrified to discover themselves alone with… a ghost.”
Danielle shrugged. She remained quiet for a few moments, still staring up at the ceiling, considering his question. “The first time it was my grandma, and I suppose it was more comforting than scary. Maybe if I had been older the first time it happened, maybe it would seem…I don’t know…more unnatural. A couple of times it was a little scary, but that had more to do with the spirit at the time.”
“I take it I’m not scary?” Walt smiled down at Danielle. She lifted her head and looked at him. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle.
“Not particularly.”
“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended.”
“I have a question for you.”
“Go ahead, ask.”
“Do you want to leave here? After all, you’ve been hanging out for almost ninety years. Didn’t you say your last memory was 1925? According to the attorney handling my aunt’s estate, this house has been vacant that long.”
“Yes, that’s my last memory.”
Wait a minute, Danielle told herself. If Walt died in 1925, and if the attorney is correct, the house has been vacant since then. Then my aunt probably didn’t move into the house with her mother. But why not? If her mother was a single woman, cleaning houses to support herself, then why wouldn’t she move into this house?
“What are you thinking?” Walt asked, noting Danielle’s look of concentration.
“Kathrine O’Malley obviously inherited this house. Does that mean she inherited your entire estate?”
“According to the terms of my will, yes. But that was only if Angela preceded me, which I don’t believe she did.”
“Let’s assume Kathrine inherited your entire estate—was that, well…a lot of money?”
“Some would consider such a question crude.”
“Oh please, don’t get all proper on me.”
“Yes, it was a considerable amount of money.”
“Enough to, say…keep this house and then pay for another place to live?”
“Certainly. I assume your question is about more than the size of my estate.”
“I was just wondering why Kathrine O’Malley never moved into this house. You don’t remember her living here. And the timeline indicates the house has been vacant since around the time of your death. I just figured a single mother struggling to support her daughter would move into the house she had inherited. I didn’t take
into account she’d also inherited your entire estate, which meant she could afford to live wherever she wanted to and still keep this house.”
“Yes, she could. However, I still can’t come to terms with the fact she inherited my estate. I know I would have remembered Angela’s death. I’m certain of that. It makes more sense to me that Angela eventually saw Roger for the man he really was, and that Kathrine O’Malley continued to work for my wife, and because of her loyalty, was left this house.”
“If that was true, wouldn’t you have seen Kathrine and Angela here?”
“I don’t know. Would I? Do you know for certain how this all works? And who knows, perhaps Angela decided to stay in Portland after my death. That makes more sense. After all, this was only her home for a few weeks.”
“I suppose you have a point. I’ll look into it tomorrow and see what I can find.”
“Who are you talking to?” Lily asked from the doorway.
“Lily…how long have you been standing there?” Danielle glanced from Lily to Walt. Walt gave her a little shrug.
“Long enough to hear you say you were looking into something tomorrow.” Lily walked into the room. She looked around and wrinkled her nose then asked, “Have you been smoking?”
“Smoking?”
“Yes. It smells just like the cigars my grandfather used to smoke.”
“You can smell that?” Danielle looked back at Walt.
“So you have been smoking up here!”
“No…I…well I smell it too. Thought I was imagining things,” Danielle lied.
“No….” Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. “Definitely cigar…but not a disgusting one. Some can be so gross. That is…well sort of spicy and sweet. But if you say you haven’t been sneaking cigars…”
“Don’t be silly. Of course I haven’t been smoking cigars. This is an old musty house. Probably some old scents lingering.”
“Or maybe a ghost!” Lily used the same tone she used for her students when reading a spooky Halloween story.
“Ghost?” Danielle squeaked.
“I will take that as my cue to leave. I hope you young ladies have a most enjoyable afternoon. I will anxiously be awaiting to hear what you have to say.” Walt then disappeared.
“Well, this is an old house. Remember I told you I had wild dreams last night?”
“Yes.” Danielle eyed her friend curiously. Lily seemed more amused than alarmed over the idea of a ghost.
“I dreamt this house was haunted—by that cute guy in the painting. What did you say his name was? Walt Marlow, yes that’s right. Walt Marlow.”
“You dreamt this house was haunted?”
“Yes. I wish I could remember more of it. Don’t you hate forgetting your dreams? Funny thing, I forgot about it but the cigar smoke—it triggered my memory. I can’t recall much of it, other than we were living in this house with Walt Marlow. It’s sort of a jumble, but then he was a ghost. Damn. I really should have written it down.”
“Well…I don’t think there is a ghost.”
“Are you sure? Sounded like you were talking to someone!” Lily teased.
“Oh, I was just thinking out loud,” Danielle lied. “I was thinking of all the things I need to do to get this house in order.”
Chapter Seven
Standing at his front window, Ian Bartley looked across the street at Marlow House. Movement in its attic window caught his eye. Glancing upward he saw what appeared to be two women. Just as they moved away from the window his cellphone rang.
“Yeah,” he answered his phone, still looking out the window. “Yeah…I’m settled in but just my luck, looks like I’m a few days too late…yeah she’s here…no there’s someone with her, another woman…I think they were watching me…through some sort of telescope, from the attic… I don’t think they know…I have no idea who the other woman is…right…I seriously doubt that, nothing in my research indicated she was gay…late twenties I would guess…yeah they’re good looking, why?...right, a threesome, you do have an overactive imagination. Please stay focused…perhaps…maybe it’ll work out better this way, but the fact is we really don’t have any other choice….right…I’ll be careful…I’ll check back later…”
Ian ended his call and tucked his cellphone into the back pocket of his denims. Moving away from the window he called out to his golden retriever as he grabbed a shirt he’d tossed on the back of the couch the night before. He slipped it on.
“Good girl, Sadie.” Ian leaned over and gave the dog an affectionate pat after she bound into the room, playfully leaping at his feet. “How about we play a little game, girl? You ready for a walk?” Sadie wagged her tail, dashed around in a quick circle and headed to the front door.
Following Sadie, Ian grabbed his Cub’s baseball cap from the coat rack, fitted it on his head, and then grabbed the leash off the floor. Without putting the leash on Sadie, Ian opened the front door. The golden retriever dashed outside, yet stopped when she reached the end of the walk leading to the sidewalk. She looked back at Ian, waiting for him to reach her.
Holding the leash in his hand, Ian walked down the street, Sadie close by his side. When they reached the intersection, Ian looked both ways then crossed the street, and walked back up it, in the direction of Marlow House. Just as he reached Marlow’s House’s side yard he gave Sadie a silent hand gesture. She dashed off, disappearing into the trees behind the house. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching, then hastily made his way to the front gate of the property. Finding it unlocked, he let himself in and made his way up the walkway to the front door. Standing on the front porch of Marlow House, Ian rang the bell. A few minutes later a petite redhead answered the door.
“Hello,” Lily greeted with a smile.
“I’m really sorry to bother you like this,” Ian told her. “But I was walking my dog and she must have seen a squirrel or something because she took off in your back yard. I didn’t want to trespass but…”
“Oh sure, come on in,” Lily said brightly, opening the door wider and motioning for Ian to enter. “Come on through the house and you can get her.”
Just as Ian entered the house and closed the door behind him, he noticed a brunette standing quietly behind the redhead. She glanced down at the leash in his hand.
“I guess a leash doesn’t work very well if it isn’t attached,” she said.
Ian glanced down at the leash and smiled. “She’s usually pretty well behaved.”
“Oh, she’s just messing with you. I’m Lily, and this is my friend Danielle. This is her house.” Lily flashed Danielle a glance, as if to say, lighten up girl.
“Nice to meet you Lily, Danielle. I’m Ian Bartley; I’m staying in the house across the street.”
“Really? Are you just visiting the area?” Lily asked.
“I’ve rented the house for the summer. I’m a teacher—you know, summers off and all that.”
“Really? I’m a teacher too! What do you teach?”
“Lily, don’t you think you should take him to the back door so he could get his dog, before it gets lost.” Danielle interrupted.
“Oh, you’re right.” Lily blushed, and then motioned for Ian to follow her as she led him to the door leading to the back yard. Ian flashed Danielle a smile and followed Lily. Taking in his surroundings, he attempted to memorize all that he could see.
When Lily opened the back door Sadie was waiting patiently on the stoop. Wagging her tail, Sadie gave a little bark then charged into the house when she spied Ian.
“Good girl,” Ian cooed as he dropped to his knees and secured the leash to Sadie’s collar. “But you shouldn’t have run off like that.”
“What a beautiful dog, can I pet her?” Lily asked.
“Certainly.” Ian released hold of the leash, allowing Sadie to walk to Lily. Dragging the leash behind her, Sadie sniffed Lily’s outstretched hand then eagerly accepted the caress. Lily dropped to her knees and playfully rubbed the dog’s furry shoulders. Sadie res
ponded with a sloppy kiss across Lily’s face.
“She likes you,” Ian announced.
“Interesting that she was waiting at the back door,” Danielle said. She stood nearby observing the scene.
“She must have heard my voice,” Ian suggested.
“What do we have here? A dog in my house?” Danielle heard Walt say. She turned and found him standing on the other side of the room. Sadie cocked her head at the sound of the new voice. Wiggling from Lily’s hold, she ran to where Walt was standing and started barking.
“Sadie, what’s wrong?” Ian frowned. He and Lily watched as Sadie appeared to be barking at the wall, her back to them.
“Shhhh…that’s okay girl,” Walt said gently, leaning down to give her a pat. Instead of his hand stroking her fur, it moved through her head. Pulling his hand back quickly, Walt cursed. Sadie tilted her head curiously, stopped barking and sat down. Looking up at Walt, she wagged her tail.
“Well that is the damnedest thing,” Ian grumbled. Walking to Sadie he picked up the end of the leash.
“Maybe she saw a mouse or something,” Lily suggested, walking to his side.
Danielle glanced curiously from Walt to Sadie. The dog can see him, amazing.
“I’m really sorry for barging in this way,” Ian said, now holding onto the leash. “Maybe I can make it up to you ladies. I understand they have great homemade ice cream at a shop on the pier. I’d be happy to treat if you’re interested. Sadie and I were just heading down there.”
“I haven’t seen the pier yet and I love ice cream.” Lily smiled.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to be pretty swamped. But don’t let me stop you two,” Danielle said.
“Actually, I should take a rain check.” Lily sounded disappointed. “We just moved in today, and I should probably finish unpacking and help Danielle get settled in.”
Ian glanced around. “Really? Looks like you’ve lived here a while.”
“No. We just started moving in today. Actually I’m just staying for the summer—like you. What grade did you say you teach?”
“I think your friend likes him,” Walt told Danielle. Danielle glanced at Walt and rolled her eyes.