Ghost Walk

by Laurel Pace

  Dani tilted her head to one side, pressing her cheek against Ken's hand. "Let's hope the Chinese-delivery fellow can," she quipped. At this point, joking about the phantom threat seemed the best way to diminish some of the power it held over her imagination. Then, too, she was determined not to allow anything to mar the relaxed, cozy feeling of this special time with Ken. -

  Seated on the side of the bed together, they perused the selection of Oriental dishes, finally settling on Moo Goo Gai Pan and shrimp with lobster sauce. While they waited for the order to arrive, Dani prepared hot jasmine tea and Ken arranged cutlery and napkins on trays and carried them to the bedroom. Dani had just removed the ceramic tea ball from the pot when the Golden Dragon's delivery man rang the doorbell.

  "All set?" Dani smiled around the edge of the bedroom door, her arms laden with enticingly scented paper bags.

  Ken proudly surveyed the two lacquered trays positioned on the bed, right next to the freshly fluffed pillows. "I even checked the paper and discovered we have an old Tracy-Hepburn movie for dessert."

  "Great! I've got the answering machine on, so the drawbridge is officially raised for the evening. We are not to be disturbed." Dani grinned as she sidled onto the bed and began to open the white paper cartons of food.

  They had never had much time just to focus on each other, Dani reflected as she and Ken laughed and chatted over the delicious dinner. Discounting the all-too-brief lunch near Trumbull Island, they had never even had a date. The entire span of their relationship had been overshadowed by nerve-racking and often dangerous events. And yet, somehow they had managed to—Dani's mind pulled up short, stymied by the appropriate conclusion to her last thought. Get attached to each other? Well, yes, but there was certainly more going on between them than that bland phrase suggested. Become very close? That went without saying. Fallen in love. The idea glowed in her mind like a newly polished gem just released from its obscuring stone.

  "'A happy heart shares its joy.'" Ken held up the strip of paper he had excavated from one of the fortune cookies. "Well, I'm certainly not opposed to that." He leaned over, cupped Dani's chin with one hand and bestowed a leisurely kiss on her lips. "What's your fortune cookie say?"

  Dani pulled back slightly and cracked the crisp-baked crescent. '"While you're sharing your joy, be careful not to spill sweet-sour sauce on the sheets,'" she pretended to read.

  "Oh, sure!" Ken snatched for the paper slip that Dani held just out of his reach.

  Giggling, Dani backed off the bed. It really says, "The man of joyous heart dumps the empty containers into the trash can."'

  "I get the message," Ken grumbled good-naturedly as he began to gather up the remains of their meal.

  "If you like, I'll make some more tea," Dani offered, collecting the blue-and-white china pot.

  "Sounds terrific." Ken managed to sneak a quick kiss as they headed for the kitchen. The sound of the door-buzzer stopped both of them in their tracks.

  "I'll get it," Dani volunteered, eyeing Ken's full hands. Actually, she would have preferred to ignore the intrusive buzz in hope that the unannounced visitor would assume no one was home. She couldn't turn a deaf ear, however, to the possibility that one of Officer Simpson's patrolmen had stopped by for some reason.

  When Dani peeked through the peephole, she was startled to see Sam Butler glaring at the closed door. The ruddy flesh of his face looked even heavier through the distorting fisheye lens.

  Dani opened the solid door, but not the storm screen. "Good evening, Lieutenant Butler. What can I do for you?"

  The detective regarded the flimsy barrier separating them with annoyance. "I heard about the interesting note you supposedly received this afternoon, Miss Blake, and I decided to lend Simpson a little hand in his investigation."

  Dani bristled at the word supposedly. Perhaps Butler had only been watching too many tough-cop movies, but she definitely didn't like the way this conversation was starting out. "There's nothing to suppose. Someone put that note in my mailbox today between the time I left my house at a quarter of three and my return at four-thirty." Butler stroked his bulbous chin. "Yeah, but it's funny. We've been questioning people in this condo development, and not one person saw anyone fooling around your mailbox."

  "I'd be curious to know how many of my neighbors were even home during that time," Dani remarked evenly. "Most of the people who live here are at work during the day. Just what are you getting at, Lieutenant Butler?"

  The burly detective feigned a shrug, but bis beady eyes had lost none of their hard luster. "Maybe you want to think over your story, Miss Blake. See if you've left out any important details..."He broke off as Ken appeared in the doorway behind Dani.

  "Any problems, Dani?" Ken settled a hand on her shoulder, but he was staring straight at Butler's belligerent face.

  Dani shook her head, but she was grateful for Ken's supportive presence. "Not as far as I'm concerned. Lieutenant Butler, I gave Officer Simpson a complete account of my discovery of that note. If I think of anything else, as you suggest, then I'll be in touch with him. Now unless you have specific questions, I have other things to do."

  Butler looked as if the storm door were the only thing preventing him from pouncing on her and Ken like a rabid bulldog. "You'll be hearing from me, Miss Blake." He made no effort to disguise his parting comment as anything other than what it was: a blatant threat.

  Dani closed the door and then leaned back against it. "What on earth does he want from me? Maybe all this stress is making me paranoid, but he sounded as if he thought I had made up the whole incident with the note." A chilling possibility suddenly grabbed at her. "Remember how closely Butler questioned me the night Richardson was murdered? You don't think he still suspects me and believes I constructed that note to deflect attention from myself, do you?"

  Ken's protracted silence was an answer in itself. "Butler is anxious to wrap up his investigation," he finally said, "and I imagine he's grasping at just about any straw within his reach. But he'll never be able to fabricate enough evidence to pin phony charges on you."

  Never before could Dani have imagined she would find comfort in such a dubious consolation. "You know, there's one surefire way to put a stop to Butler's scheming."

  "I've thought of a few, but they'd all land us in even hotter water," Ken remarked drily.

  Dani gave him a grimly resolute smile. "We need to find out who sent me that note."

  Ken whistled under his breath. "That's a tall order. Any candidates?"

  Dani frowned. "I didn't tell you last night, but Sapphira tried to bribe me to keep Richardson's secret buried. I know it sounds farfetched that she would pull a stunt like this, but-"

  Ken interrupted, shaking his head. "After what we've been through during the past two weeks, nothing is unbelievable. I suggest we give Miss Sapphira Whyte a chance to prove us wrong."

  "ARE YOU SURE you want to be involved in this?" Dani had posed the question at least a dozen times since she and Ken had hatched their plan the previous evening to call on Sapphira Whyte. Although he had remained adamant, she was still concerned that the vindictive old woman might create problems for Ken in retaliation.

  "You sound as if you don't trust me to behave myself." Ken smiled as he leaned over the dashboard to get a better view of the stately Federal Period house. When he looked at Dani seated next to him, in the car, his handsome face so- bered. "There's no way I can't be involved, Dani, not until we have a clear explanation for all of the bizarre, terrible things that have been happening. Besides, kid—" he patted her hand, which was curled into a little fist at her side "—we're in this together, aren't we?"

  Dani opened her hand to give his a grateful squeeze. "Yes, and I think we'd better get on with it before I lose my nerve. Sapphira isn't someone I'd ordinarily seek out for company."

  Ken's grin helped to lighten the tension. "Come now. We've given her a chance to have her morning coffee. Who knows? She may be downright hospitable."

  Dani chuckled
at Ken's wholly improbable forecast, but as they climbed the steps to the mansion's front entrance, a flurry of uneasiness stirred in the core of her stomach. The doorbell was the old-fashioned kind, a pulley cord that jangled a real bell mounted somewhere inside the entrance hall. Dani rubbed her palms together, trying to dispel the nervous film of moisture as the sound of evenly paced steps on polished hardwood drew near.

  "Yes?" A tall, slim woman clad in a black dress and starched white apron opened the door just enough to make the uninvited callers feel acknowledged but unwelcome.

  "Please let Sapphira Whyte know that Dani Blake is here to see her." Summoning all the dignity she could muster, Dani took a step toward the door. There was nothing they could do if Sapphira refused to see them, but she was determined not to be kept waiting on the porch like an itinerant vacuum-cleaner salesman.

  The maid gave them a disdainful look as she allowed them into the foyer. Dani and Ken watched her walk down the corridor past the winding stairs and then disappear behind a closed door. This was Sapphira's private domain, Dani reminded herself, a tiny principality within the city where the older woman's word ruled supreme. If the imperious spinster did not deign to receive them, they would be summarily dismissed without recourse. Their only hope was the chance that Sapphira would believe Dani had come to bargain for money.

  "Miss Whyte will see you in the conservatory." The uniformed woman made her announcement from a haughty distance halfway down the hall.

  Dani and Ken exchanged glances as they followed her to white double doors. The maid grudgingly held one of the doors open for them, ushering them into a large-windowed room filled with tropical trees and orchids. When Dani caught sight of the spare, erect figure seated in the high-backed chair flanked by two palms, she wondered if Sapphira Whyte consciously planned her dress and surroundings to overawe her guests or if intimidation simply came naturally to her, like the blue blood flowing in her veins. Encased in a high-necked black silk dress garnished only by a single jet brooch, she reminded Dani of a dowager empress holding court.

  "I was expecting you to be alone." Sapphira cast a scornful eye on Ken, rearranging the floury-white hands folded in her lap.

  Good, Dani thought. Surprise was always a useful element. "I think you may have misunderstood my reason for being here."

  Sapphira tilted her head slightly. "I have offered no conjectures regarding the purpose of your visit, Miss Blake."

  She was being cagey, due in part, no doubt, to Ken's presence. Dani realized that if she wanted the cards laid on the table, she was going to have to do it herself."I think you were expecting me today. You realized I wouldn't ignore your note."

  "Note?" The sparse, silver eyebrows rose in question. "What are you talking about?" Dani studied Sapphira's face, trying to second-guess the real feelings concealed behind the pallid mask. "The note you had delivered to my home," she replied calmly. Whatever Sapphira's intentions, her attempt to appear puzzled was having a steadying effect on Dani's nerves.

  "I did not have any note delivered to you, Miss Blake." A sudden spark of indignation flared in Sapphira's flinty eyes.

  Dani shook her head. "When we met at the shipyard yesterday, you asked me to leave well enough alone, to keep my secret. When I receive a threatening note demanding the same concessions, only a few hours later, what do you expect me to think? I'm sorry, but it's just too obvious. I suppose you chose to model it on the extortion threat Richardson received because you thought another cut-and-paste note would frighten me. It hasn't, however." This last statement smacked a bit of bravado, but Dani knew Sapphira would be looking for any sign of weakness—and was willing to exploit it.

  Sapphira's fleshless hands gripped the arms of the chair as she half rose in her seat. "I know nothing of this ridiculous note!" Her aged voice quavered, threatening to crack.

  "We'll see what the police have to say after they've concluded their investigation," Ken interposed.

  The old woman's gaze settled on Ken with the ferocity of a predator sinking its claws for the kill. "How dare you suggest I have violated the law in any way, you—you contemptible meddler!" Sapphira was out of her seat now, jabbing the air separating her from Ken with one crooked finger. Then she pivoted unsteadily toward Dani. "And as for you, no one accuses me in my own home. Do you hear me? No one!"

  Both Dani and Ken were stunned by the violence of Sapphira's eruption. Her icy equanimity had shattered much more readily than either of them had suspected. Surrounded by her retinue of servants, she was no doubt unaccustomed to dealing with direct confrontation—and thoroughly unhappy with the new experience.

  "I want you out of my house! Now!" Before Dani or Ken could move, Sapphira reached for an embroidered bell pull hanging on the wall behind her chair. Not waiting for her servant to respond, she tottered to the double doors and flung them open. "Monette! Thomas!" Her shrill voice bounced off the hall's hard surfaces. Dani heard feet rushing down the hall, one pair scurrying lightly on low pumps, the other heavy and purposeful. When the two servants appeared in the door, Sapphira pointed a shaking arm at her visitors. "Get them out of here!" she shouted, as if Dani and Ken were a couple of mice that had the misfortune of putting in an appearance at the wrong time.

  Dani recognized the chauffeur from the previous morning, a great, hulking red-haired fellow who wore his uniform like a suit of armor. He took a menacing step toward Ken and reached for his elbow.

  Ken jerked his arm free of the chauffeur's paw. "Hands off, buddy!"

  "Out, I said!" Sapphira repeated her command, this time accompanied by a stamp of her foot.

  The chauffeur regarded his enraged employer and then looked back at Ken and Dani, apparently weighing the line of least resistance. Whatever he decided, there was bound to be trouble, and that was a commodity Dani had already seen enough of in the past two weeks.

  "Come on, Ken. Let's go." Dani tugged at his sleeve, urging him toward the door.

  As they walked past Sapphira, Dani would not have been surprised if the old woman had reached out to strike them, so consumed with fury was she. Mercifully, she only chose to follow them down the hall, hurling a barrage of verbal abuse after them. "liars! Troublemakers! You'll rue the day you set foot in this house! Accusing me of pasting together an idiotic note! Who do you think you are?"

  "Stop! Oh, please, just stop!" a frail voice pleaded from the top of the winding stairs.

  Everyone in the corridor halted simultaneously and looked up, including Sapphira. Dani was startled to see a wraithlike apparition clinging to the bannister.

  "Enough. Enough." The wizened creature repeated the word like an incantation as she edged down the steps.

  For the moment, Sapphira was distracted from her task of expelling Dani and Ken from her home. "Monette, see Adele to her room." She gestured urgently to the maid.

  The tiny crone relinquished her hold on the bannister long enough to hold up a hand, warding off the maid's advance. "No, not until I've had my say."

  Sapphira decided to take matters into her own hands. "Adele, you're going to overexert yourself," she insisted, reaching for her sister's sticklike arm. She looked shocked when Adele pulled away from her.

  "You people came here about a note?" Adele's voice had an undulating, scratchy quality to it like an old phonograph record. When Dani nodded, the ancient woman pressed her thin lips together and looked down. As she lifted her head again, her withered cheeks glistened with tears."I only did it to make things right."

  "What do you mean?" Dani asked. Of all possible developments she could have anticipated during her visit to the Whyte household, this was one that never would have occurred to her in a million years.

  "Poor Richardson! I only wanted to help him, you see." Through the film clouding her faded eyes, she blinked at Sapphira. "When you said he was going to tell this girl he was her father, I could only think of the scandal. How awful for Rebecca and Theo! And you, dear sister. So I thought about it. A lot. And I decided the best way to settle matte
rs once and for all was to get enough money to give this girl so that she would leave town and be out of Richardson's mind. I pasted my note together from letters I cut out of a magazine so no one would recognize my handwriting, and then I hid the magazine. And when we visited Richardson one day, I just slipped the note into the mail box when Thomas wasn't looking. He should have listened to my note. I would have just taken that money and given it to the girl. He should have listened to my note," she repeated, shaking her pink-white head. "I never intended for someone to hurt him. Who would have wanted to hurt our dear, good Richardson... ?" Her voice trailed off.

  The astonishing realization that Adele was talking about the original extortion threat against Richardson jolted Dani. "Did you send me a note, too?"

  Adele's milky blue eyes widened. "Oh, no. I only sent one note." She held up a single, pathetic finger. "Just one."

  " STRAIGHT UP OR WITH a splash?" Ken held up the bottle of Chivas for Dani's inspection.

  Hunched over the nondescript Formica-topped table that filled one corner of Ken's efficiency apartment, Dani frowned at the bottle of Scotch. "My weaker instincts say 'just hand over the bottle,' but my better sense says 'in a small glass with a very generous dose of water.' I'm going to listen to better sense for now."

  Ken rummaged beneath the pass-through separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment and then mixed the drinks before joining Dani at the table. "I think we both need to hang on to our senses at this point. I never dreamed Adele was behind that note Richardson got." Shaking his head, he took a sip of the diluted Scotch.

  "And the weirdest part is that she couldn't possibly have killed him." Dani cradled the glass between her hands and stared blankly across the room. "Poor little soul, I guess she really believed he would just put the money in a bag and leave it in the church where she could retrieve it. Then she would have handed it over to me, and I would have conveniently resettled in Tibet or somewhere equally out of reach."