The Ghost and the Muse (Haunting Danielle Book 10)

by Bobbi Holmes

  “This looks beautiful,” Danielle said as she took a seat at the small table. The first thing she noticed was the colorful bouquet of flowers tucked in a sterling silver pitcher at the center of the table. Gently removing the cloth napkin from its place under the fork on the left side of her octagonal luncheon plate, she placed it on her lap as she watched Marie dish up a slice of quiche and set it on her plate.

  “It’s spinach and ham,” Marie explained.

  “Oh my, you made quiche?”

  Marie chuckled and scooped up a slice for herself. “I warmed it up. Adam picked it up for me this morning from Old Salts Bakery.”

  “Yum. I’ve never had their quiche before. But if it’s anything like their cinnamon rolls…”

  Marie set the plate with the remaining quiche on a hot pad she had already placed on the table and then took her seat across from Danielle.

  “It’s the only way to bake,” Marie said as she picked up her tea. “Order from Old Salts!”

  Danielle smiled and then took a bite.

  “I still can’t believe about Steve Klein.” Marie shook her head and took a sip of tea. “And Hillary Hemingway too? The same night!”

  “A week ago today, assuming Hillary passed away on Thursday night and not early Friday morning,” Danielle said, taking another bite. “This is really delicious.”

  Marie nodded to the plate of extra quiche. “There’s plenty more.”

  “Thanks. Your house looks great, by the way. Adam mentioned you were having it painted.”

  “I’m just glad it’s done. I was a little concerned about the rain, but it all worked out. So you don’t have any guests staying with you right now?”

  “No. We’ve been having some issues with the furnace. We decided to have it replaced after Hillary left. She was supposed to check out on Friday morning—the morning we found her.”

  “The poor dear definitely checked out.”

  Danielle cringed and speared another bite of quiche with her fork. “It was a shock, that’s for sure. But she went peacefully. I suppose that’s what we all want.”

  Marie looked over at Danielle and smiled. “Perhaps, when you get to be my age. But when a body is your age, it’s best to hold on tight and refuse to go out without kicking up a ruckus.”

  “Adam tells me your birthday is coming up.”

  Marie shook her head. “Please, I’m too old to keep counting birthdays. But I suppose I should be grateful. Poor Steve Klein. I think he was in his early fifties. Too young.”

  “I feel sorry for his wife, kids.”

  Marie shrugged. “It’s sad to lose a parent, but I don’t think those two were very close with their dad. I heard Steve cut off Steven Junior, that’s why the boy joined the military. Of course, can’t really blame the kids, parents spoiled them shamefully. Can’t let your kids run wild and expect them to grow up into responsible adults.”

  “Funny, for some reason I thought they had small children. I guess because Steve’s wife looks so young.”

  “Well, she is a good ten years younger than her husband.”

  “I’ve seen her a couple times since the accident. I feel so sorry for her. She seems devastated.”

  Marie let out a snort. “Beverly will do okay for herself. She’s young, attractive, and I imagine Steve’s insurance will set her up for life.”

  Danielle picked up her goblet of tea. “Yeah, but still, losing her husband like that, so sudden.”

  “You mean losing a husband who can’t keep his zipper pulled up?” Marie shook her head. “Never understood how a woman puts up with that.”

  Setting her glass on the table, Danielle looked over at Marie. “Steve fooled around?”

  Marie let out a chuckle. “Wasn’t exactly a secret. At least not in some circles.”

  Danielle cocked her head slightly and studied Marie. “What circles are that exactly?”

  Taking a bite of quiche, Marie chewed slowly and considered how to answer the question. After washing down the bite with a sip of tea, she said, “When they first organized the historical society, I naturally joined. Steve was one of the people instrumental in getting it going. There were a lot of meetings back then; Beverly wasn’t particularly interested in the project. One of the early members—can’t recall her name—she has since moved from town—but let’s just say she and Steve had more than a few private meetings supposedly to work on the museum project.”

  “He was fooling around with another member from the historical society?”

  “Oh yes.” Marie nodded. “Everyone knew, but just ignored it. I think Millie Samson was relieved when the woman and her husband moved from town.”

  “He was fooling around with a married woman?” Danielle gasped.

  “Why not? He was married.”

  Danielle speared a chunk of melon, looked over at Marie, and shook her head. “So you think Beverly knew?”

  “Honestly, I always figured she had to have. But I suppose it’s possible she didn’t.”

  “So you think he fooled around after that?” Danielle knew he had, but she asked the question anyway.

  “I’m sure it wasn’t his only affair. I’ve heard rumors over the years.”

  “Hmm…” Danielle looked down at her plate and silently ate her quiche. I suppose that’s why Jolene so easily figured out Steve and Carla were having an affair. He was a serial cheater.

  “So tell me about Hillary,” Marie asked.

  Danielle then went on to tell Marie about how they had found Hillary on Friday morning and how she had cleaned out her room, leaving out the details involving Hillary’s lingering spirit.

  “You didn’t even peek at her new book?”

  Danielle looked up from her plate to Marie and smiled. “No. I just wanted to get the stuff sent off. And frankly, I’ve never read any of her books. Please don’t tell her.”

  Marie chuckled. “Dear, I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about her finding out now.”

  You’d be surprised.

  Adam Nichols sat alone in his office, feet propped up on his desktop, eating a meatball sandwich. He had muted the speakers on his computer; he didn’t need them for what he was watching—and he certainly didn’t want Leslie to walk by and overhear the heavy breathing and foul language from the nude actresses featured in the soft porn film he was currently watching on his computer.

  A knock on the open office door caught his attention and he looked up, startled. It was Baron Huxley, a previous client. He stood in the hallway just outside Adam’s office door.

  Adam hurriedly fumbled to turn off his monitor before Huxley caught a glimpse of what he was watching. A meatball fell from his sandwich and landed in the middle of his chest. It rolled down his powder blue golf shirt, leaving a trail of tomato sauce from his chest to his crotch.

  Standing up abruptly, his feet landing on the floor at the same time as the meatball, he grabbed a napkin and glanced at his now black monitor.

  “I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Huxley entered the office, his eyes on the trail of sauce staining the once spotless shirt. “There wasn’t anyone out front; I thought it would be okay if I just came in.”

  “No, that’s fine.” Adam glanced at the wall clock. Leslie wouldn’t be leaving for lunch for another fifteen minutes. He guessed she was probably in the bathroom. Using the napkin to wipe off the sauce, he took a step and his shoe promptly landed on the meatball, smashing it into the carpet. Looking down, he lifted his foot up and glanced at the bottom of his shoe now coated with smashed red meat.

  “I really am sorry,” Huxley said as he looked from Adam’s shirt to the meatball divided between the floor and Adam’s shoe.

  Adam shook his head and laughed. “No problem. Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you. Hope you don’t mind if I don’t shake your hand.”

  Baron chuckled and sat down. “Not at all.”

  Removing his right shoe, Adam sat back down on his chair. Reaching over to the trash can, he scraped
off the shoe on the can’s edge and then used another napkin to wipe off the shoe’s sole.

  “Can I buy you another sandwich?” Baron offered.

  “Nahh, it’s what I get for not paying attention.” Giving his shirt another swipe with a napkin, he then picked up meatball remnants from the floor and tossed the napkin into the trash can. Sitting back in his chair, he asked, “What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about selling my house here.”

  “Seriously? I thought you loved that house. I mean, hey, I’m more than happy to list it for you. I’m just surprised.”

  Baron let out a sigh. “I have a lot of things going on right now. I don’t have the time to use it, and I don’t want it to just sit.”

  “Have you considered putting it into my rental program? I wouldn’t have a problem keeping that house rented, and I could get you a great price.”

  Baron shook his head. “No, I’d rather just sell it. And I’d like a quick sale.”

  “Quick? It’s a great property, and I know I can find a buyer for it. But I can’t really guarantee quick. A house in that price range takes a little longer.”

  “How about if we underprice it?”

  “Underprice?”

  “As you know, there isn’t a loan on the property, I own it outright. So I can afford to price it a little lower than what it’s worth.”

  “Exactly how far under value do you want to go?” Adam asked.

  “Fifty thousand.”

  Twenty-Two

  Danielle arrived at Adam’s office a few minutes after his assistant, Leslie, left for lunch. None of the other property managers were in the front office, so she assumed they were all on lunch break. Adam’s car was parked outside and the front door was open, so she entered and headed down the hall to Adam’s office.

  Standing outside his open doorway, she started to knock when she realized he wasn’t alone. Hesitating a moment, she considered going back to her car and calling him on her cellphone, letting him know she had Chris’s papers, when he noticed her and motioned for her to come in.

  “Hey, Danielle. Did you bring Chris’s papers?” Adam asked as she stepped into his office.

  Waving the folder in her right hand, she told him yes, and then she glanced over to the other man. From the hallway, his back had been to her. But when he turned, she recognized him immediately; it was Baron Huxley.

  Adam took the file from her. “Danielle, I’d like you to meet Baron Huxley. Baron, this is Danielle Boatman. She’s the owner of Marlow House.”

  “I believe we’ve already met,” Baron said graciously, accepting Danielle’s hand for a brief shake.

  “Nice to see you again, Mr. Huxley,” she said politely.

  “Please, call me Baron. May I call you Danielle?”

  Danielle grinned. “Certainly.”

  Adam frowned. “When did you two meet?”

  Danielle swung around and faced Adam. “Wouldn’t you like to know—” She paused a moment, taking in the bold red trail of sauce streaking down his shirt. “What happened to you?”

  “He got in a fight with a meatball, and lost,” Baron said with a chuckle.

  “The polite thing to do would be to ignore the stain,” Adam said with faux primness.

  “Kinda hard to ignore that thing,” Danielle teased.

  “Did I hear that right, are you the one who owns Marlow House? I think I remember Beverly mentioning that,” Baron said.

  “Guilty.” Danielle smiled.

  “You still haven’t told me, when did you two meet?” Adam asked.

  “When Lily and I stopped by Beverly’s to give our condolences and take her a casserole, Mr. Hux—I mean Baron was there.”

  “Steve’s the one who introduced me to Baron,” Adam explained.

  “Adam here sold me my Frederickport home.”

  “Ahh, so you’re one of Adam’s clients. He’ll be nice to you. He’s mean to me,” Danielle teased.

  Adam rolled his eyes. “Danielle here is a close friend of my grandmother’s.”

  “Who I happened to have had lunch with a little while ago. Thanks for picking up the quiche, by the way, it was delicious.”

  “Danielle, I’ve always been fascinated with Marlow House. Would you mind if I stop by sometime and get a tour? I understand you turned it into a bed and breakfast.”

  “Yes, I did, and you’re more than welcome to stop by. At the moment, they’re putting in a new furnace, so you might want to wait until everything is put back together. But you’re more than welcome to stop by.” Danielle glanced at the clock. “Well, I should let you two get back to your business. I have a few more errands to run. It was nice seeing you again, Baron.”

  “So that’s the one who inherited Marlow House?” Baron said after Danielle had left the office. No longer standing, he sat on a chair facing Adam, one leg casually propped over the opposing knee.

  “And all that money.” Adam let out a low whistle as he took a seat behind his desk.

  Baron arched his brow, waving his right hand slightly. “So…are you two?”

  Adam frowned. “What, me and Danielle?” Adam laughed.

  “What’s so funny? She’s a very attractive young woman.”

  “No argument there. But like I said, she’s close to my grandmother. Grandma considers Danielle a surrogate granddaughter.”

  “Ahhh…so hands off?”

  Adam laughed again. “Just the opposite. If Grandma had even an inkling there was something between Danielle and me, she’d start planning the wedding.”

  Baron laughed.

  “When I first met Danielle, we…ah…didn’t quite hit it off. But for some reason, Grandma had it in her head Danielle had some sort of crush on me. Truth was, Danielle wanted to crush me alright, with a heavy object.”

  “Seems like you two are friends now.”

  “Yeah, I like Danielle. She’s alright.” Adam glanced down at his shirt and absently rubbed his tomato stain.

  “From what I read, she found the Missing Thorndike?”

  “Found it and got to keep it.”

  “Yeah, I remember Steve telling me how she brought it over to the bank right after she found it and put it in a safety deposit box. That thing must be worth a fortune. Does she plan to sell it? Or has she already?”

  “I know she planned to sell at one time. But then she inherited all that money from her cousin, so it really wasn’t necessary.”

  “Ahh, you mean for the taxes?”

  Adam nodded. “Right. The taxes were going to kill her, and when she first found it, all she thought she had inherited was Marlow House and a little cash. Not enough to pay the inheritance tax without selling something.”

  “What did you mean, she thought she had just inherited Marlow House?”

  “You didn’t read about it in the paper?”

  Baron shrugged. “I must have missed that.”

  “Apparently her great-aunt intended to leave the bulk of her estate to Danielle, which was considerable. But Clarence Renton, her aunt’s lawyer, diverted the funds before the aunt died, leading Danielle and the courts to believe the estate was much smaller.”

  “And the aunt didn’t realize what he’d done?”

  Adam shook his head. “By then she had Alzheimer’s.”

  “Renton…” Baron pondered the name for a moment. “I think I had a couple dealings with him. I do remember now hearing about how he was arrested for embezzling from his clients. He was killed a while back in prison, wasn’t he?”

  Adam nodded. “At first they said it was a suicide, then it came back he was murdered. Prisons can be a tough place.”

  “No kidding. One place I intend to avoid.”

  “Not sure how well Danielle did regarding her aunt’s estate, but I understand she ended up with more than she first thought. And then she inherited her cousin’s estate, worth millions. That might still be going through probate, I’m not sure.”

  “My…” Baron arched his brows. “She certai
nly doesn’t act like someone who has that much money.”

  “Oh, then I forgot, there are those gold coins! Those are worth a couple million.” Adam laughed and shook his head.

  “Gold coins? Sounds interesting.”

  “This just happened about a month ago. Walt Marlow’s business partner stashed some gold coins in the house across from Marlow House—which happens to be owned by my grandmother. We found them, along with a will that left them to Walt Marlow.”

  “Walt Marlow, the one who built Marlow House?”

  “No. That was Frederick Marlow, Walt Marlow’s grandfather.”

  “Ahh, the one the town’s named after.”

  “Exactly. Walt Marlow left his estate to his housekeeper, who was the mother to Danielle’s great-aunt.”

  Baron laughed. “Are you telling me that little gal that just left here also inherited the gold coins?”

  Adam let out a dramatic sigh. “Much to my pain and sorrow. That’s still being handled in the court, but no one’s contesting, so I’m sure Danielle will get them.”

  “Hmmm…she sounds like a lucky little lady. I’m surprised you don’t have your sights on her. Hell, if I was you, I’d let my grandmother start planning the wedding.”

  Adam laughed. “Even if I agreed, I seriously doubt Danielle would go along with it.”

  “So she has a boyfriend?”

  “Not sure if I would call him a boyfriend exactly.” Adam paused a moment and then said, “I want you to know, I’d never talk about a friend’s—or client’s—personal business. But this is public knowledge. Hell, everyone in town knows. For a while, it’s all anyone would talk about. Surprised you didn’t know.”

  Baron shrugged. “I’d heard a little bit about it—her inheriting the house, turning it into a B and B, finding the Missing Thorndike. I’d also heard about Renton, but I didn’t realize he was connected to Marlow House. But I only come on weekends, and lately I haven’t come that often. Which is why I need to sell.”