A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4)

by J A Whiting

  Lin’s brain zinged. “Avery.”

  Lacey nodded.

  The word repeated in Lin’s head. Avery. Avery. I won’t tell you why Martha fired me. Watch your back. Some people aren’t what they seem.

  Lin’s heart pounded. Avery was warning me about Nathan. She leapt to her feet. “Do you know if Avery is in her apartment?”

  “She isn’t,” Lacey said. “She gave me the key. She’s leaving tonight on the late ferry. She’s moving back to the mainland.”

  Oh, no. Is Avery going to try and hurt Nathan?

  Some of the puzzle pieces had fallen into place.

  24

  Lin took off running from Lacey’s apartment. She yanked her phone out of her pocket and placed a call to Viv. The phone rang and rang until Viv’s voicemail came on. Lin called again and got the voicemail a second time causing her to curse. She yelled a message into the phone. “Viv, if you’re still at the museum, get out of that building. Now.”

  Lin ran as fast as she could. The class had to be over. Viv must have left already. Please let the class be over.

  Avery Holden had been fired. She and Martha had argued so fiercely that Mary Frye had been frightened by it. Nathan Long told Mary to forget what she’d seen and heard.

  Lin feared that Avery Holden had been romantically involved with Nathan and that Martha and Avery found out that they were both in a relationship with Nathan. Was Avery on the way to the museum to get revenge on Nathan before leaving on the last ferry to the mainland?

  As Lin approached the museum, she could see that all the windows were dark. Breathing hard and trying to catch her breath, Lin moved around the building trying to see if there was any light on in any of the rooms.

  Moving into the rear garden, she almost missed it. There was light at the back of the basement and she could see several shadows moving about. Lin crept to the basement door and took out the key she’d received in order to store her tools in the basement. She turned the handle. It clicked and she froze, afraid that whoever was inside had heard it. Lin crouched down and waited.

  After a minute passed and no one came to investigate the noise, she crawled into the cellar on her hands and knees so no one would see her moving about. Shuffling silently to the back room, she could hear a woman’s voice. Lin slid across the floor to hug the wall and inched closer to the open door of the back room.

  Nathan Long spoke, fury dripping from his words. “You were at Martha’s house. You saw me.”

  “I didn’t. I wasn’t there,” Mary Frye cried. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Lin didn’t know what to do. Her legs trembled and her body flooded with fear. She stayed in her crouched position, waiting.

  “You saw me. You saw what I did.” The man’s voice cracked with anger.

  Still on her hands and knees, Lin shifted an inch closer to the doorway and peeked inside. Nathan Long, his back to her, was holding a gun on Mary. Lin’s heart dropped. Viv was standing next to Mary with her arm around the young woman’s shoulders.

  Lin was just about to rush into the room when she saw Avery Holden appear behind Mary and Viv. She walked with purpose and stood in front of the two young women. Avery glared at Nathan. “You’ve ruined so many lives. You get away with it every time. You aren’t getting away with it this time.”

  She took a step forward. “I thought you loved me.” Avery’s voice dripped with venom. “You used me. You told me to keep the employee entrance unlocked during the exhibition. You were going to steal the basket and frame me by telling the police I deliberately kept the door unlocked so I could steal it.” Avery shook her head. “You and Martha were working together. Martha told me that unless I left the museum and kept my mouth shut, she would tell the police I was the one planning the robbery.” Avery sneered. “I told Martha that you and I were involved. That’s why she turned on you. I followed you that night … the night you went to Martha’s house. It was me, not Mary, who saw you. I looked in the window. Martha was already dead. I saw you carrying her away to the garage.”

  Nathan’s shoulders were rising and falling with rage.

  Lin wished Avery would stop talking. She was sure that Nathan was only moments away from shooting the three of them. What to do? What to do? Lin’s brain was racing so fast she couldn’t think straight. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Viv. She had to take the chance.

  Just as Lin rose to her feet and burst into the room, her phone rang. The combination of her rushing forward and the noise of the phone startled Nathan and he wheeled around to face Lin.

  Before Nathan knew what was happening, Avery, Mary, and Viv were on him wrestling him to the floor. The gun dropped from Nathan’s hand and Lin kicked it across the room. Avery removed her belt and tied Nathan’s hands behind his back. Kneeling on the man’s back, she said in between gasps for breath, “Who wants to call the police?”

  With tears of relief running down her face, Lin hurried to Viv and held out her hand to help her cousin up off the floor. They stared at each other for a moment, and then wrapped their arms around one another in a hug.

  Lin’s phone rang again.

  Viv looked at her cousin with a wan smile. “You better answer it.”

  Lin removed the phone from her pocket. The call was from Leonard. It went to her voicemail. She listened.

  Leonard’s voice sounded frantic. “Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, get out. I think you’re in danger.”

  The corner of Lin’s mouth went up. She sent her partner a text. Thanks for the warning. Everything’s okay.

  25

  The sun was nearly to the horizon and streaks of pink and blue and violet painted the sky. Lin, Jeff, Viv, John, Leonard, and Anton sat in the deck chairs of John’s boat sipping drinks and watching the tourists stroll by on the docks. Nicky and Queenie rested on the deck listening to the humans chatter.

  When the guys went below to check on the food, Lin stopped Leonard before he went below. “Thanks again for calling me with the warning. You have really strong intuition.”

  Leonard shrugged a shoulder. “It was just a feeling. I thought I should tell you.” He hurried down the steps to the galley. Leonard didn’t like the odd sensation he often got when Lin was in danger and he always tried to minimize it.

  Viv leaned towards Lin. “There’s something I don’t get. In the past, when what the ghosts have wanted is resolved, then they appear to you like they’re thanking you for having helped. The Wampanoag ghost hasn’t shown up. We took down Nathan Long. The basket has been found. Why hasn’t he shown up?”

  Lin looked out over the dark blue water. “I’ve been wondering that very same thing. Now I think that the ghost was concerned over two things, the basket being recovered and Mary Frye being safe from Nathan.” Lin whispered. “I’ve been wondering if the ghost is a long-ago relative of Mary and Lacey.”

  “Oh.” Viv sat up. “That makes sense.” A faraway look passed over her face. “How lovely, to have someone from long ago watching over you.”

  Lin smiled. “It’s also lovely to have someone from now watching over us.” She thought of all the people in her life she could count on for help.

  The guys could be heard coming up the steps with the food. Lin and Viv arranged the chairs around the deck table and everyone settled and dug into the meal. Discussion turned to Nathan Long.

  John said, “My friend at the police station told me that the police were close to arresting Nathan Long for the murder of Martha Hillman. A warrant for his arrest was going out the morning after all of you attacked him.”

  Viv’s voice was harsh. “We were defending ourselves from a monster.”

  Lengthy news articles and stories had been focusing on the events of the past weeks and most of the things that Lin and Viv had uncovered were now widely known.

  “I can’t believe that guy. What arrogance.” Jeff shook his head. “He wanted that antique basket for himself but enlists Martha to help him by making her think he cares about he
r and that they would sell the basket on the underground market and share the money.”

  “Nathan Long pretended to care about the history and craftsmanship of the baskets.” Viv’s brow creased in anger. “All he cared about was the fame and money the craft could bring him.”

  “What a sociopath,” Anton shook his head slowly. “The man had no empathy for anyone. I know that Martha Hillman was an awful person, but she didn’t deserve to have her life ended by that terrible man. When I think back on all of the interactions I had with Nathan over the years … and I never picked up on anything.”

  “It’s hard to know a person, Anton,” Lin observed. “Some people are masters of hiding their true selves and presenting a front to the world.”

  “So Martha was going to help Nathan steal the basket.” John reached for the platter of grilled chicken. “She must have been shocked to discover the basket missing the day before she and Nathan were going to steal it.”

  Anton looked at Lin. “It was no act when she came over to us distraught that the basket was gone.”

  Lin nodded. “Things were not going as Martha had planned. The basket disappeared before she and Nathan could steal it and then Avery tells Martha that she is romantically involved with Nathan. Martha’s plans were blowing up all around her.”

  Viv added, “Avery figured out that Martha and Nathan were involved with each other. Nathan told Avery not to lock the back door during the exhibition hours. Nathan and Martha would steal the basket and then tell the police that they’d discovered that Avery wasn’t locking the back door because she must have stolen the basket. Suspicion would be put on Avery. After the police investigated, they wouldn’t be able to pin anything on her, but Avery’s career in museums would be over. No one would trust her. She would never get hired again.”

  Leonard piped up. “And Nathan would have dumped Avery and Martha, probably would have sold the basket, put the money away, and gone on to the next thing that he wanted.”

  “Nathan probably planned to kill Martha all along.” Jeff sighed. “Otherwise she would have gone straight to the police after they stole the basket and he dumped her.”

  John said, “Unless Nathan made everything look like Martha stole it on her own. Nathan would sell the basket on the underground market and it wouldn’t be recovered. I bet Nathan had it all planned how he’d get Martha into trouble. Maybe say she and Avery were in on it together.”

  Lin filled her glass with seltzer. “Mary Frye got sucked into it because she overheard Nathan and Martha planning everything.” She glanced over at Viv. Viv was the only person she’d told about Nathan being Mary’s father and neither one would ever tell another soul. “When Viv and I were outside Martha’s office and overheard her phone conversation, Martha must have said to get “her” off the island, meaning Avery. Martha was probably concerned that Avery would go to the police with her suspicions.”

  Viv set her fork down and dabbed her lips with her napkin. “Avery was clever to send an email to the police telling them everything she knew about Nathan and that she’d seen him carrying Martha’s body into the garage to make it look like suicide. She sent the email right before she went to the museum to confront Nathan. She wanted him to know that his evil deeds were about to catch up to him and that she’d had a hand in bringing him down.”

  “She could easily have been killed,” John said. “Nathan might have shot her.”

  Viv sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t think she thought he would be armed. Thank heavens Avery showed up looking for him. I stayed late at the class with Mary. Nathan came in and he forced both of us into the basement.” She looked over at Lin and Leonard. “And thank heavens that my cousin showed up, too. Leonard’s call came in right as Lin rushed into the room. The unexpectedness of those two things threw Nathan off just long enough for us to attack him.” Viv smiled and flexed her muscle. “And I must say, it felt pretty good taking him down.”

  Lin chuckled. “I guess moving crates of books around your store develops as many muscles as outdoor gardening and landscaping does. You did make the right career choice.”

  After dessert and another hour of sitting on the boat deck in the cool, clear evening air, the little party broke up and everyone headed home. With the streetlamps lighting the way, Lin and Jeff walked hand in hand through town with Nicky trotting after them. All the way to her cottage, Lin thought about how lucky she was to have such wonderful friends and such a unique skill as being able to see the ones who have passed.

  She thought about Lacey Frye’s friends and how they helped her get back on her feet when she’d lost everything and had a tiny daughter to take care of.

  Jeff squeezed Lin’s hand as they turned down her street. It filled Lin’s heart with warmth and then caused a pang of regret to wash over her. She didn’t want to keep secrets from him anymore, but thinking of telling him about the ghosts nearly caused her to be sick. She was sure he would leave her.

  Approaching the cottage, they saw a black Range Rover parked in front of Lin’s house. Nicky woofed and wagged his little tail.

  “Who’s that?’ Jeff asked.

  “It looks like Claire Rollins’s car.”

  Claire’s white-blonde curls sparkled in the moonlight. She looked up as Jeff and Lin came up to the house. A big smile spread over the woman’s face. “I was just going to write you a note.” She waved a piece of note paper and a pencil in the air.

  Lin made introductions and Jeff went inside to put tea on.

  “Everything worked out.” Claire’s eyes were happy. “Nathan Long got arrested and the basket has been recovered.”

  Lin nodded. “Why were you leaving a note?”

  “I’m moving.”

  Lin’s heart dropped. “To where?”

  “I’m moving to Boston. I’m selling the house. I know your friend, John, is a Realtor. I’m going to give him the listing.” She winked. “He’ll make a bundle on it.”

  “Why? Why are you going?” Lin wanted Claire to stay. She’d hoped that they would become good friends.

  “I need a change. Everything here reminds me of Teddy. People think I’m a gold-digger.” She shrugged and gave Lin a big smile. “I feel like making my own mark on the world.”

  “Well, do it here.”

  “I think I can make a bigger impact in other places.” Claire stepped forward and hugged Lin. “Thank you for being kind to me, for treating me like a friend. It meant a lot.”

  Lin frowned. “You are a friend. I wish you were staying. Keep in touch, will you?”

  Claire squeezed Lin’s hand. “You bet I will.” She headed to her car.

  “Hey. We were supposed to have dinner.”

  Claire laughed. “I’m only in Boston. It’s not that far away, you know.”

  As she watched Claire drive away, Lin’s phone rang in her pocket. “Anton? Hi.”

  “Lin. I’m so excited. Someone is making a deal with the Prentiss Museum to purchase the antique basket. The deal is almost finalized and the basket will be going to the Nantucket Historical Museum. It’s going to stay on the island.”

  Lin’s heart nearly jumped from her chest. “What? That’s wonderful. Who is the donor?”

  “Anonymous. It’s a fabulous gift for the island. Oh, and I’ve also heard that Mary Frye won’t be charged by the police for hiding the basket. I must call Libby now. I wanted to let you know. ” Anton clicked off.

  Still holding her phone, Lin looked up the road where Claire had just driven away. Lin smiled. Claire.

  Claire believed that the basket had been made on the island hundreds of years ago and that it shouldn’t be in a museum on the mainland, it belonged on Nantucket.

  With a whoosh, freezing air engulfed Lin and she turned to see the Wampanoag ghost standing across the road. She faced him and this time, the sensation that filled her was not sadness and loss, but joy. The ghost held Lin’s eyes for several seconds and he smiled at her. She nodded.

  The front door opened and the ghost’s atoms
shimmered and swirled and he disappeared.

  “Did your friend leave?” Jeff stepped onto the front stoop.

  Lin looked at the handsome man standing in her front doorway. “She had to go.”

  Jeff smiled at Lin. “The tea’s ready.”

  Lin walked over, walked up the steps, and stood in front of her boyfriend. She took his hand and said softly, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”

  Worry washed over Jeff’s face.

  “No worries.” Lin put her hand softly against Jeff’s cheek. “It’s all good.” She kissed him and the two walked into the house with their arms wrapped around each other.

  It was time to stop keeping things from him. It was time to tell him about ghosts.

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

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  BOOKS BY J. A. WHITING

  LIN COFFIN COZY MYSTERIES:

  A Haunted Murder (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 1)

  A Haunted Disappearance (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 2)