by Bobbi Holmes
Lily was already on her way up the stairs. On route she raced headlong into Walt Marlow, never realizing what she had just done. Walt paused a moment and looked down, as Lily effortlessly moved through his ghostly form. Shaking his head he glanced up the stairs and watched as she continued on her way—a girl on a mission.
Downstairs he found Danielle in the library, surveying the damage. Earlier Walt had watched Greg Simmons board up the window and clean up the glass off the floor.
“They broke in,” Walt announced.
Danielle turned from the boarded up window and faced Walt.
“Your gardener cleaned up the mess and called the police,” he told her.
“So I heard. Do you know who it was? Did they take anything?”
“It was Marie’s grandson and that friend of his. The man who came with him when he brought you the photographs of Brianna. It was the grandson’s friend who actually broke the window.”
“Why in the world would they break in? And what did they take?”
“They didn’t take anything. I made sure of that,” Walt said smugly.
“What did you do?”
“I did what you suggested. I harnessed my energy.”
Studying Walt, Danielle narrowed her eyes, wondering what sort of ghostly powers he managed to employ.
“My iPad is still here!” Lily announced as she barged into the library. And your laptop is still in your room. It doesn’t look like anything is missing. The televisions are still here. But something strange went on in the attic.”
“Something strange?” Danielle looked from Walt to Lily.
“Remember I told you there was a croquet set up there? Well it looks like someone had a good time tossing the balls and mallets all over the room. One of the balls must have hit the wall, because there is a dent by the attic door with a little red paint in the middle of it—same color as one of the croquet balls nearby on the floor.”
“Damn, I dented the wall.” Walt frowned. “I guess I need to practice my aim.”
“Yes, that is strange,” Danielle agreed. She glanced at Walt and then back at Lily. “Lily, why don’t you run across the street and let Ian know you’ll be going out to dinner with him tonight. I imagine he’s wondering.”
“Oh, I’ll call him later. You think I should get out that inventory list and take a closer look? It’s possible they took something I didn’t notice.”
“No, I’m pretty sure it was just kids horsing around. The croquet set confirms it for me. Go see Ian. If you guys are going out tonight, he may need to make reservations.”
Lily considered the suggestion a moment and then said, “Okay, I guess I should let him know what’s going on.”
“Not-so subtle way to get rid of her,” Walt said with a chuckle after Lily raced from the room. Danielle didn’t respond. Instead she walked to the doorway and looked down the entry hall and watched Lily leave through the front door.
“You threw the croquet set at them?” Danielle asked, turning back into the room.
“I tried scaring them away with the television. But apparently televisions can operate without being plugged into the wall.”
“They can?”
“That’s what Marie’s grandson thought.” Walt shrugged.
“So why were they here?” Danielle had no idea what he meant about a television not needing electricity. However, she was more curious as to why Adam and Bill broke into her house.
“They were looking for something.” Walt sat on a leather chair and waved his hand slightly, summonsing a lit cigar.
“What?” Danielle sat down across from Walt.
“I don’t know…” He took a puff off the cigar and then added, “…that is not entirely true.”
“Not entirely true? What do you mean?”
“They were looking for something left in this house prior to your arrival.”
“How do you know that?”
“The grandson’s friend said something about how he wished they had searched the house before you moved in.”
“Do you think Joanne left something of value in the house?”
“I don’t think they were looking for something left by Joanne.” Walt took another puff.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because when the grandson started taking the books out of the bookshelves, checking to see if any had a secret compartment, his friend asked, do you think he hid them in a book? Or something like that. Whoever hid whatever they were looking for was male.”
“Do you remember any men coming into your house since you died?”
“Not really.” Walt shook his head.
Danielle studied Walt’s pensive expression. Finally she asked, “Was it something you hid in the house?”
Walt didn’t answer the question. Danielle glanced over to the bookshelves, and then back to Walt.
“If they were looking for something that could be hidden in a book, it would have to be small.”
“I suppose so.” Walt studied the cigar in his hand, watching the smoke curl and rise.
“Marie told me about that necklace. It was never recovered. Is that what they’re looking for?”
“Why look for it now?” Walt asked. “This house has been vacant for almost ninety years. If George told her about the necklace before he died—and I assumed she shared that information with her grandson—why didn’t he look for it before?”
“Then what did you mean when you said you didn’t know what they were looking for, but then said that’s not entirely true?”
“I’ll admit the thought occurred to me—that they were looking for the necklace. But, I took it almost a hundred years ago. Ten years before I died. The moment the thought occurred to me, I put it aside. If it was the necklace, he would have already searched for it.”
“Maybe…” Danielle paused and considered the possibilities. “Maybe she just recently told her grandson. It’s possible she never really discussed Marlow House with him before, but with me showing up, she might have told Adam what her father had told her.”
“I suppose that’s possible. Whatever they were looking for, they assumed it was hidden—not sitting out in plain sight. I really can’t think of anything else they could possibly be looking for that’s small and might be hidden.”
“So is it here someplace?” she asked.
Walt looked her in the eyes but did not respond.
“Come on Walt, what did you do with the necklace? Is it here?”
“I told you before it no longer matters.”
“I think it does! If some valuable necklace is stashed somewhere in my house—and if those idiots were looking for it, what’s to say more idiots won’t show up and start looking?”
“Why would they? No one has for a hundred years, until now. And I chased them off. I don’t think they’ll be back.”
“If this necklace is as valuable, as Marie said, then I can’t believe they won’t be back. Or at least, hire someone to look for them. And what happens when I open for business? If Marie happens to mention that story to others, especially with the promotion I’ll be doing for the B and B, she’ll be more apt to tell those old stories to whoever will listen. Will I have to worry about guests taking down the paneling in their rooms, looking for some hidden treasure?”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” Walt vowed.
“I thought you were leaving when I tell the world you didn’t kill yourself?”
“You really want to get rid of me, don’t you?”
“It doesn’t matter if I want you here or not. If it’s time for you to move on, you will move on, but please don’t leave me here with a house that attracts criminals looking for some hidden treasure.”
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
“Walt, is it here? If you want me to tell the world the truth about you, I want to know if that damned necklace is in this house,” Danielle said angrily.
Walt was silent for a few minutes before he said, “Yes, it is.”
Surprised by his admission, Danielle did not immediately respond. She had assumed he had done something with the necklace long before his death—sold it or given it to a lover. But to hide it in his house? Why?
“Where is it?” she asked at last.
“That I will not tell you.” Walt stood up. “It does not concern you. And please do not blackmail me again for answers. I will remind you I have learned to harness my energy—thanks to your advice. I don’t believe it will be good for your business to have the furniture regularly flying across the room.” Walt vanished.
“Damn,” Danielle cursed, glancing around the library. She sat there a moment wondering what to do next when she heard the doorbell ring.
“Did Lily forget her key?” she asked the empty room as she got up to go answer the door. A moment later she discovered it wasn’t Lily; it was Craig Simmons, the landscaper.
Holding a sweat-stained baseball cap in his hand, the fortyish-something sandy-haired man stood on the front porch, still wearing his work boots, faded denims and stained T-shirt. “Hello, Ms. Boatman, I just got back from lunch, noticed your car in the back drive and wondered if you had a chance to look through your house. I wanted to make sure everything is alright.”
“Yes, we went through the house and nothing seems to be missing.” That wasn’t entirely true. She had only been to the library and kitchen, but according to Walt, Adam and Bill left empty handed.
“That’s good, I was worried. We don’t hear about many break-ins around here, it’s always been a safe neighborhood.”
“I suspect it was kids just fooling around. It is summer and all. They could have easily swiped my friend’s iPad—it was out in plain view. But they didn’t steal anything. I noticed the croquet set we have stored in the attic was tossed about the room. Looks like they were playing up there,” Danielle improvised. If she was going to point the finger at innocent children, she wanted to downplay the break in. The last thing she wanted to do was get some poor kid in trouble. She just wished there was a way she could prove Adam and Bill had broken in, yet she didn’t think that possible. “Fortunately they didn’t break anything. Well, aside from the window.”
“We noticed that croquet set in the attic.”
“I wanted to thank you for taking the time to board up the window, and for calling your brother-in-law to check things out.”
“Oh, no problem. And that reminds me…” Craig pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Danielle. “Joe asked me to give this to you. He wanted you to give him a call when you have some time. He filled out a report, but he wanted to go over it with you, in case anything was taken.”
“Sure, I’ll be happy to.”
“I better get back to work.”
“Thanks again. The back yard is looking good, by the way.”
Craig responded with a smile and nod and then made his way down the walkway to the side of the house, where he had parked his truck. Danielle stood at the open doorway for a few moments, then shut it and went back into the house. She glanced down briefly at the business card in her hand. Tucking it in her back pocket, she walked to the parlor and was startled to find Walt there on the sofa, flipping through Lily’s magazines.
“I really hope Lily doesn’t walk in here some day and find her magazines floating in mid air.”
“Why did you lead your gardener to believe children broke into the house? You know who did it.”
“Because there’s no way for me to prove it. And I don’t want to freak Lily out. She’ll sleep a little better believing the break-in was just a childish prank.”
“Perhaps one of the neighbors witnessed those two fools running down the street.”
“Do you remember what time it was?”
“No, why?”
“If I knew what time they charged out of here, I could go talk to the neighbors up and down the street, and see if anyone saw anything around that time.”
“I’m afraid I’m not very good with time,” Walt confessed. “What about Ian? He’s just across the street, and I’ve caught him looking over here often enough. Chances are he saw something.”
“Lily talked to him on the phone when we were on the way back from Astoria. According to Ian he got home after the gardener discovered the break in. In fact, he wasn’t aware of what had happened.”
“Or so he says. We all know how truthful he is.” Walt tossed the magazine he was holding to the floor.
“He didn’t really lie. He was once a teacher. And he gave us his real name. He just chose not to tell us he was an author. Plus, he has never threatened me. I can’t say the same about you.”
“You blackmailed me,” he reminded.
“But only because I don’t want more people breaking into the house. Of course, I really shouldn’t worry about it, since you’ll be terrorizing my potential customers by hurling furniture at them.” Danielle didn’t wait for Walt to respond. She turned and left the room, leaving him alone in the parlor.
Chapter Thirty-One
Lily and Ian followed the hostess, weaving their way through the busy dining room. They were led to a dimly lit table overlooking the bay.
“Gorgeous view,” Lily murmured as she removed the fringed shawl from her shoulders. The night air was too chilly to wear her sleeveless summer dress without a wrap, but she didn’t need it in the restaurant. Sitting across the table from Ian, Lily placed the shawl and her purse on the empty chair next to her.
“Can I get you something to drink?” the hostess asked as she handed them each a menu.
“Would you like some wine, Lily?” Ian asked. “Or perhaps a cocktail?”
“A martini sounds good,” Lily said with a grin.
“Martini? You don’t fool around,” Ian teased.
Lily smiled and looked up at the waitress and said, “I’d like a vodka martini, straight up and extra olives. House vodka is fine. And light on the vermouth—tell the bartender to just wave it over the glass.”
“Vodka tonic for me,” Ian said when the waitress looked to him for his order.
“I’ll get those drinks in for you. Your server will be right with you.”
“Sounds like you’ve ordered a martini before,” Ian teased when the hostess left the table.
“I don’t drink a lot of hard alcohol, but when I do, I do it right.”
“I like a gin martini once in a while.”
“Oh, I can’t drink gin.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “In college I got sick on sloe gin—just the smell…” Lily cringed then added, “You know what they say about martinis? That they’re like women’s breasts.”
“I have to hear this!” Ian laughed. “Why?”
“Because one isn’t enough and three’s too many.”
Ian laughed again and said, “When the server brings our drinks I’ll be sure to order your second one.”
“Just as long as I don’t have three, then I’m cool,” Lily quipped.
Ian opened his menu and asked, “Do you like lobster? I heard they have great steak and lobster here.”
“Lobster?” Lily glanced up at Ian. Truth was, she loved lobster, but she would never order it when on a date—especially one where her date was paying.
“You’ve had lobster before, haven’t you?”
“Sure.” Lily looked over her menu. “I love lobster. A couple years ago I went to Mazatlán with some friends and the lobster was so darn affordable—but the butter—yuck. Was a major disappointment. One of the best things about lobster is the butter.”
“I don’t think you‘ll have a problem with the butter here.”
“I think I’ll have the sole,” Lily said cheerfully, setting her closed menu on the tabletop.
“Do you like sole better than lobster?” Ian asked.
“Better than? No, why?”
“Then why don’t you order lobster?”
“I’m sure the sole here is delicious.”
A moment later a server brought over their drinks just as their waitress showed up to take
their order.
“Would you like an appetizer tonight?” the server asked.
“Yes, that sounds good.” Ian looked over the menu. “Lily, is there a particular appetizer you’d like?”
“Whatever you want is fine,” Lily said politely.
“Okay.” Ian closed his menu and looked up at the server. “We’d like the combo appetizer plate. And for dinner we’ll both have the steak and lobster. Lily, how would you like your steak prepared?”
“Steak?” Lily looked from Ian to the server.
“Steak, I remember when we went out to breakfast you mentioned you liked steak—so I know you eat red meat. How do you like it prepared? Rare, medium, well?”
“Medium rare,” Lily said softly.
“Good choice,” Ian smiled and picked up both menus, handing them to the server. “I’d like mine medium rare too.”
The server looked at Lily and asked, “Would you like soup or salad?”
“Salad, please. With ranch.”
“Baked potato or rice?” the waitress asked.
“Baked potato, please.”
“Same here,” Ian said cheerfully.
“Why did you order me steak and lobster?” Lily asked when the server left the table.
“If you really had your heart set on the sole, I’ll call the waitress back. But I heard their steak and lobster is awesome.”
And really expensive. Lily thought.
“Are you always this pushy?” Lily teased.
“Only when I can get away with it.”
“Well…I suppose I’ll let you get away with it this time. If I must, I’ll suffer through the steak and lobster.”
“Good. I don’t think you’ll be sorry.”
The meal proved to be as good as Ian had heard. Lily savored her dinner as she and Ian discussed her morning in Astoria.