Ghost of Halloween Past

by McIntyre, Anna J

  “Yes, I remember she doesn’t always carry a purse. I teased her about it once.” Joe pulled out a pad of paper and started jotting down notes. “So what time did you come home yesterday and realize she wasn’t there? I’m surprised you didn’t call us last night.”

  “I went to Ian’s house when I returned from Astoria. I needed to use his computer. He’s in New York on a business trip. The reason I went to Astoria was to pick up a flash drive he forgot at Emma Jackson’s. I picked it up, went to his house, and uploaded it to his Dropbox. I lay down for just a few minutes and fell asleep. It was late when I woke up—middle of the night. I figured Dani knew I was at Ian’s because I’d parked her car in his driveway, so I didn’t think anything about it when she didn’t call to ask me where I was.”

  “So when did you realize she was missing?”

  “Not until this morning. Late last night I went back to Marlow House. Figured Dani was asleep in her room. When I got up this morning, she wasn't there.”

  Joe stopped writing, set his pen on his desk, and looked up at Lily. “So it’s possible she was in her room when you got home last night and she got up before you did this morning and went somewhere.” Joe glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s not even noon yet. I’d hardly classify that as a missing person.”

  “No Joe.” Lily shook her head. “Her bed hadn't been slept in.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I just know!” If the chief was here, he would understand!

  “Lily, go home. Danielle is probably already there, wondering where you are.”

  “No, Joe, she’s missing!” Lily said frantically.

  “Lily, unless Danielle has been missing twenty-four hours, there is really nothing I can do. And it sounds to me like she’s only been missing for a couple hours. Hardly anything to panic over.”

  Lily wanted to cry. She stood up. “So you aren’t going to do anything?”

  “I’m sure Danielle is fine. Go home, you’ll see.”

  Without saying another word, Lily turned and stormed from the office.

  “Why was Lily Miller here?” Brian asked a few minutes later when he entered Joe’s office. “She about knocked me over in the hallway. Looked like she was crying. I tried talking to her but she just ran past me. What’s up?”

  Absently, Joe picked up his pen and repeatedly tapped its end against the pad of paper sitting on his desk. Looking up at Brian he said, “I think she may have gotten a little too dependent on Danielle.”

  “What do you mean?” Brian sat down on the chair Lily had occupied just minutes earlier.

  “I would imagine she’s dealing with some emotional issues over all that happened to her. I know she’s relied heavily on both Danielle and Ian to get her through it. If you remember, Danielle was like a protective mother hen.”

  “If it wasn’t for Danielle, we may have never found Lily,” Brian reminded.

  Joe sighed. “Strange to hear you say that, considering your feelings for Danielle.”

  “I can admit when I am wrong. But I still don’t understand; why was Lily here today?”

  “Ian is in New York, on a business trip. Apparently, Danielle was gone when Lily got up this morning, and Lily is convinced she’s missing. I think Lily irrationally panicked. She just needs someone with her.”

  “Are you saying Lily came down here just because Danielle left this morning without telling her where she was going?”

  “Not exactly…” Joe then told Brian about his conversation with Lily.

  Officer Brian Henderson had left the police department to grab some lunch. Instead, he pulled his police car up to the sidewalk in front of Marlow House and parked. Sitting alone in the vehicle, his hands still gripping the steering wheel, he debated with himself about going up to the house and ringing the bell.

  He owed his freedom to Danielle Boatman. The very least he could do was check and see if she was okay. Joe was convinced Lily was simply overreacting out of irrational fear stemming from her recent trauma. Maybe that was true, yet it didn’t explain the inexplicable gut feeling Brian had that Danielle was indeed in trouble.

  Five minutes later Brian stood on the front porch of Marlow House facing Lily Miller.

  “Oh my god, you found Dani? Somethings wrong?” Lily teared up.

  “No,” Brian said quickly. “I just stopped by to check on you, to see if you’ve heard from her.”

  Blinking away unshed tears, her right hand still holding the door’s edge, she asked, “Did Joe send you?”

  “No. I talked to Joe after you left his office, he told me what was going on. He doesn’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  Lily studied Brian for a moment. “But you don’t think that…do you?”

  “I’ve learned recently that maybe you can’t be too careful. I hope Joe is right and Danielle comes walking in here any minute, but if she hasn’t…I wanted to see if I could help.”

  Lily opened the door wide, silently ushering Brian inside.

  “Would you like some coffee?” she asked.

  “I walked up and down the beach.” Lily sat with Brian at the kitchen table, each drinking a cup of coffee.

  “You said she was going to visit a neighbor?”

  “Yes, Heather Donovan, couple doors down. She just moved in. But according to Heather, she wasn’t home yesterday so even if Dani had stopped by, she wouldn’t know.”

  “You’ve checked with all her friends?”

  “Dani has a lot of acquaintances in town but no real close friends, except for Marie. Nobody she really hangs out with.”

  “Marie Nichols?”

  “Yeah, I think she’s become sort of a surrogate mom or grandmother for Dani. Dani doesn’t have any family, and Marie was friends with Dani’s aunt, the one who left her Marlow House. I called Adam, asked him to check with Marie, see if she’d talked to Dani yesterday afternoon, but she hadn’t.”

  “Danielle’s close to Adam too, isn’t she?”

  “Adam?” Lily chuckled. “I suppose they’ve become friends. But he hadn’t talked to her either. Although he did seem concerned, reminded me that because of Danielle’s money she might be a target for kidnappers.”

  “I would expect a kidnapper who targeted Danielle would want her free so she could get to her money. Someone like you might be a more likely target if they wanted to extort money from her.”

  “Adam was thinking more of the Missing Thorndike—if the kidnappers forced her to take the necklace out of the bank. But I called the bank, after I got home from the police station. I figured Joe wouldn’t do it if I suggested.”

  “I assume the necklace is still there?”

  “Yes. I made up some story, that I was looking for Dani, that she mentioned she might be taking the necklace out but that I needed to talk to her first before she did. They told me she hadn't been there but promised to call me if she came in.”

  “Did you call anyone else?”

  “I called Joanne, but she hadn't seen her since she was here last, cleaning the house.”

  “You mentioned she left her cellphone here. Did you check it to see if she’d made any calls before she left?”

  “Yes. She made just one; she called the museum, talked to Millie Samson.”

  “About what?”

  Lily shook her head. “Didn’t make a lot of sense to me. According to Millie, she just called about the museum hours, but Dani already knew what the hours were.”

  “Ahh, Millie Samson. I have seen a lot of her this month.”

  “Millie? Why?”

  “She lives down the street from Presley House. This time of year she practically stands guard on the old house.”

  Lily’s eyes widened. “Presley House?”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Gripping her ceramic mug with both hands, Lily stared down into her coffee. Presley House? Was it possible? No…Dani wouldn’t go back over there without the Chief. She said so.

  “Fortunately it usually settles down aft
er Halloween and Millie stops calling us, at least until next October.” Brian took a sip of his coffee.

  Lily looked up from her cup to Brian. “Because the ghost leaves after Halloween?”

  “I suppose that’s how the legend goes.” Brian shrugged.

  If Dani wanted to talk to Harvey, she couldn’t wait for the chief to return from his vacation. According to Max, Harvey leaves every year right after Halloween. Did Dani forget that when she told me she would wait for the chief before going back—or was she just saying that to make me feel better?

  Abruptly, Lily set her mug on the table and looked at Brian. “Would you do me a favor?”

  “What?”

  “Can you check Presley House?”

  “You think Danielle went there? I can’t imagine why she would, considering the last time she was there she found Bart Haston.”

  Licking her lips nervously, Lily wished it were the chief sitting with her instead of Brian. Chief MacDonald would understand. “Dani was…well curious about Presley House. She sort of has a thing about…well…old houses.”

  Brian studied Lily a moment without comment. Finally, he said, “Because of the ghost?”

  Lily looked up into Brian’s eyes. “Why do you say that?”

  “Come on Lily, I know the stories about Danielle. Cheryl told her attorney, her attorney told us. When Danielle was younger, she claimed she could see ghosts. Her parents sent her to a psychologist.”

  “Does it really matter why Dani is curious about Presley House?”

  “I don’t think it matters as far as the law is concerned. Breaking and entering because you’re curious about an old house—or if you think it’s haunted—it’s still against the law either way.”

  “I know. So does Dani.” Lily fidgeted with her cup.

  After a moment of silence Brian asked, “What do you want me to do?”

  Lily took a deep breath and then exhaled, attempting to calm herself. She felt ill inside—helpless—and Brian Henderson, the man who had once been so eager to lock Danielle up seemed to now be the only one willing to help her. “Go over to Presley House, make sure Dani isn’t there. Old houses can be dangerous. She could have fallen through a broken floorboard—anything. Maybe she’s trapped.”

  “Are you sure you want me to do that? If she’s there, I’ll have to arrest her, even if she’s tripped and broke her leg.”

  “That’s okay.” Lily smiled at Brian. “I just want to find Dani, make sure she’s okay. And if she broke into Presley House and got herself trapped, then go ahead and arrest her. It will serve her right for making me worry like this. Wouldn’t hurt her to spend a couple nights in jail.”

  Brian laughed. “You’re a good friend, Lily.”

  Harvey stood in the upstairs bedroom looking out the window. He watched as the cop parked his car and started walking up the stone pathway to the front door. It was the same police officer who had been to the house on numerous occasions since Harvey had returned.

  What had the other officer called him? Oh that’s right—Brian. His name is Brian. Brian had carried the lamp out of the house. He had helped carry the trunk out of the basement, and while he hadn’t actually been the one to carry the body out, he had been the one who had called for the people to remove it. I don’t know why you’re here today, but you aren’t going to be taking Danielle out of the house!

  Moving from the window to the doorway, Harvey made his way downstairs. He reached the entry just as Brian unlocked the front door and let himself in.

  “Aren’t you kind of old to be doing this?” Harvey asked. He watched as Brian turned on a flashlight and began searching through the rooms on the first floor. Trailing behind Brian, he followed him down the hallway by the door leading to the kitchen. Harvey smiled when Brian walked past the hidden door.

  Harvey didn’t follow him down to the basement, where he had originally hidden Bart’s body. Nor did he follow him upstairs. Instead, he waited for Brian to finish his little exploration and then he followed him to the front door and watched him lock up the house and leave.

  After Brian drove away in the police car, Harvey went back down to the hidden basement to tell Danielle about their recent visitor and to commend her for being such a quiet and well-behaved prisoner. Had she made a ruckus and attracted Brian’s attention, he might have been forced to trap Brian in the room with Danielle, and frankly, he wasn’t sure it was within his power to do so. As it was, he could barely keep the lights going for her. He had exhausted his powers by repeatedly opening and closing the secret door—first to trap Danielle and then to give her the coffee can. Of course, he had no intention of telling Danielle that.

  Brian stopped at Marlow House to give Lily the bad news. He then picked up a take-out burger and headed back to the police station. Once he entered the front office, Marsha told him Joe wanted to talk to him. Brian went directly to Joe’s office, knocking briefly before walking in.

  Joe spied the takeout bag in Brian’s hand. “I thought you were eating at the diner.”

  “I had some other things to do. Marsha said you wanted to see me?”

  Joe stood up from his desk. “I’ll have some coffee with you while you eat, if you don’t mind.”

  A few minutes later, Joe sat alone with Brian in the break room. Joe had yet to take a sip of the coffee sitting before him. Instead, he absently fiddled with the mug, gently pushing it from side to side on the tabletop. Looking up, he watched Brian unwrap his burger.

  “So what did you need to talk to me about?” Brian asked just before he took a bite.

  “Someone moved Bart’s body, and we know it wasn’t Chuck.”

  Brian picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “I’ve been thinking about that.”

  “I’m thinking it has to be whoever took those movies.” Joe pushed his mug aside and looked up at Brian. “I talked to the boys again, and they all insist there wasn’t anyone else with them.”

  “If we would have been more careful when confiscating the cameras from the house, we might have some usable fingerprints.”

  “That was stupid of us,” Joe grumbled.

  “What I’m trying to figure out, where did they put that body between the time the boys found it and Danielle did?” Brian set his partially eaten burger down on its wrapper and looked at Joe. “By the way, I went back over there today. That’s why I got take out.”

  Joe frowned. “Did one of the neighbors call?”

  “No. I stopped by Marlow House.”

  “Marlow House? Did you see Danielle?”

  Brian picked his burger back up. “She still hasn’t shown up. Lily asked me to check out Presley House, see if Danielle was there. Claimed Danielle was fascinated with the house, was afraid she might have gone back over there and something happened.”

  “Fascinated why—because they say it’s haunted?”

  Brian smiled. “I asked Lily that. Originally, she claimed Danielle’s fascination had something to do with the fact it’s an old house. But whatever the reason, she wasn’t there and there wasn’t any sign of her.”

  “She’s only been gone for a couple hours. Lily is overreacting.”

  “Maybe—maybe not...” Brian took a bite of his burger.

  “If I seriously thought Danielle was in some trouble, I’d be out looking for her,” Joe insisted.

  “I know you would.”

  They were silent for a few moments. Finally, Joe said, “Sometimes I wonder if that place is haunted.”

  Brian didn’t respond. Instead, he finished his burger, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stuffed the trash back into the sack, and tossed it into the trashcan. He leaned back in his chair and studied Joe, who stared off blankly.

  “It’s really bugging you, isn’t it Joe?”

  Joe looked Brian in the eyes. “Isn’t it bothering you, all these loose ends?”

  Brian shrugged. “A little, I suppose. But instead of ghosts, I’m thinking Bart and Chuck may have had a silent partner.”

  “We
’ve never found anything to indicate anyone else was involved,” Joe reminded.

  “Maybe there was someone else. Someone who was afraid Bart and Chuck were going to implicate him.”

  “The way Bart was singing I can’t believe he wouldn’t have done that already, if there was someone else.”

  “Maybe this someone else was a person Bart feared more than Chuck. I’m just saying, someone moved that body and we know it wasn’t Chuck. According to the coroner, he was already dead when someone was playing hide and seek with Bart’s body.”

  Joe sighed. “I suppose if there was a third person, he or she was working with Chuck, considering Chuck’s fingerprints were all over that gun, and he was apparently on his way to Canada before the accident, considering what we found in his car.”

  “And this person—with Bart dead and Chuck heading for Canada—wouldn’t have to leave town. But why would he be playing hide and seek with the body? What’s the point?

  “If there was someone else, what makes you so sure it was a he?” Joe asked.

  “Just an assumption, based on the fact whoever moved that body had to be pretty strong.”

  “But where did they move it to?” Joe asked. “Why couldn’t we find it?”

  “I keep thinking about that light bulb we removed from Presley House. Didn’t the chief take it to be tested?”

  “That’s what he said. I know it’s not in the evidence room.”

  “It has to be some sort of trick bulb—you know, the kind magicians use in magic acts. Maybe that bulb belonged to whoever moved Bart. Magicians know how to make things disappear. I’ve heard of acts in Vegas where the magician makes an elephant disappear on stage, in front of a live audience. Hiding a body would be a piece of cake.”

  “So you’re saying we should be looking for a magician?” Joe asked.

  “Either that or a ghost.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  No one could see Max nestled amongst the overgrown weeds under a dying tree in the center of Presley House’s front yard. The police officer hadn’t seen him. He had walked right by Max while taking the stone pathway from the street to the front porch. Max was headed for the house when he initially spied the police car pulling up in front of the house. Taking cover, he watched. The police officer had since come and gone, yet Max continued to crouch in the weeds.