by Bobbi Holmes
“I’m not sure I understand. But I find it hard to believe random ghosts are just wandering around beside us. If they were, I’d expect objects moving by themselves would be a common occurrence. Which is one reason I had such difficulty believing any of this.”
“That’s the thing, if a ghost is wandering around—unlimited in where he’s going—then that’s pretty much what he’s using his energy for. There’s nothing left to move objects.”
“But Walt moves objects.”
“Exactly. Which is one reason why he can’t leave Marlow House. He’s confined there. If he does leave, he has to move on—to wherever we’re supposed to ultimately go when we die.”
“Why does Walt Marlow choose to stay at Marlow House?” Ian asked.
Lily shrugged. “I suppose in the beginning, before we arrived, it was because he was confused. He didn’t completely understand he was dead—or what had happened to him. Actually, no one knew what had really happened to him until Dani moved in. Dani explained to me that when a spirit is confused, it makes it difficult to move on.”
“He apparently understands now. Why is he still here?” Ian asked.
“I suspect he stays because of Dani.”
Ian cocked his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I think he’s in love with her.”
“But he’s a ghost?”
“Yes, he is. And please, when he’s around, don’t call him that. He prefers spirit.”
Ian considered Lily’s words a moment. He shook his head and then took a sip of his mimosa.
“So that’s why I want to get married at Marlow House. Walt is a dear friend. I want him at our wedding, and if you think about it, he’s partially responsible for getting us back together.”
“And one of the reasons we broke up,” Ian reminded her with a chuckle.
“True. But that wasn’t Walt’s fault.” Lily grinned.
“A wedding at Marlow House could work out. We could rent rooms there for our family. It does have a nice staircase you can walk down for the ceremony. The entry hall has a lot of room.”
“And it’ll be convenient, with your house across the street. I assume we’ll stay there.” Lily took another sip.
“That’s what I want to do.” Ian paused a moment and then set his glass on the table. “Oh crap.”
Lily frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I gave Adam my notice. He thinks I’m moving out at the end of July.”
Lily shrugged. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Ian shook his head. “No. Adam has a buyer for the house. I even signed some papers terminating the lease I had because the new owner doesn’t want a renter.”
“Adam sold the house?” Lily gasped.
“Not yet.” Ian glanced at his watch. “He told me the buyer wasn’t coming in until this weekend to close the deal.”
Lily picked Ian’s cellphone up off the table and handed it to him. “Well, call him!”
Ian dialed Adam’s number, but it went to voicemail. He left a message.
“Try the office,” Lily suggested.
“I don’t have that number on my phone. Let’s finish breakfast, and when we leave here, we can stop by Adam’s office. He told me the buyer wasn’t coming in until tomorrow.”
“What happens if Adam doesn’t want to cancel the deal? He doesn’t have to. You just said you don’t have a lease anymore.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to put an offer on the house.”
Lily smiled. “You want to buy it?”
“Yes. Actually, I do. I’ll simply offer more than what the other buyer offered.”
“If Adam is going to sell the house, doesn’t he have to sell to the person he’s already agreed to sell to?”
Ian shook his head. “Not if they don’t have a signed contract. One saying in real estate, an offer is only as good as the paper it’s written on. If there isn’t a written and signed contract, there is still a chance I can buy it.”
“We can buy it,” Lily corrected. “If Marie agrees to sell to us, I want to pay for half of the house. It’s about time I spent that settlement on something.”
WALT REMAINED in the parlor with Sadie while Danielle walked the chief out. She was standing in the entry hall, the door open, while the chief stood just outside the door, saying goodbye, when Agatha Pine appeared in the entry. If MacDonald had been like his son and Danielle, he would have seen her. But since he wasn’t, he had no idea Agatha’s ghost had joined them. It wasn’t until after Danielle had said her final goodbye, shut the door, and turned around did she become aware of Agatha’s presence. The ghost stood just four feet from her.
“Oh!” Danielle said in surprise. “How long have you been there?”
“Just a moment, I suppose. What was he doing here?”
“How about we go in the parlor to talk,” Danielle suggested.
“Why?” Agatha asked.
“Because Joanne is here, and I really don’t want her to walk in on me talking to myself.”
Agatha shrugged. “Fine. But then will you tell me why he was here?”
“Yes.” Danielle headed for the parlor, Agatha by her side.
“Where did you find her?” Walt asked when the pair walked into the room.
Danielle closed the door after them. “She showed up in the entry hall after the chief left.”
“So why was he here? Was it about me?” Agatha asked.
“He’s still trying to find out who took you upstairs.”
“I told you I don’t want to talk about it.” Agatha walked to an empty chair and sat down.
Sadie, who was still by Walt’s side, lifted her head and watched the unwelcome ghost.
Agatha glared at the dog. Sadie growled. Danielle didn’t know what the two had just said to each other, but whatever it was, she didn’t imagine it was friendly.
“It’s interesting you’re protecting someone in your family, especially after lying to them all these years,” Danielle mused.
“I’m not protecting anyone,” Agatha snapped. “I simply choose not to discuss it. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You mean about the lying? How you conned your family into believing they would someday inherit a fortune from you.”
Agatha shifted in her chair. “I didn’t lie about anything.”
“You certainly did. You claimed your husband had an invention that you made a fortune with, and someday your family would inherit. But first, they all had to do whatever you said, to keep in your good graces and not be written out of the will.”
“My husband was brilliant, as was his invention!” Agatha insisted. “We invested the money in land. It proved to be a wise investment. After all, it cost us less than fifteen thousand, and the last time I spoke to a real estate agent about it, I was told it was worth almost fifty thousand dollars. That’s not peanuts!”
“Maybe not, but it’s not millions,” Danielle scoffed.
Walt spoke up. “If you hadn’t exaggerated your estate, you probably wouldn’t be sitting here with us right now.”
Agatha glared at Walt. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A family member would not have been as anxious to push you down those stairs if they didn’t think they were going to inherit millions.” Walt flicked an ash off his cigar. It vanished. “Or maybe not. They might have done it anyway, considering your disposition.”
“I’M SORRY, Adam isn’t here,” Leslie told Ian and Lily when they walked into Frederickport Vacation Properties on Friday afternoon.
“I tried calling him, it went to messages,” Ian told her. He and Lily stood by the front desk.
“He’s in a class,” Leslie explained. “They make them turn off their phones.”
“Class?” Lily frowned.
“Real estate class. He has to take so many each year or so, to keep his license active,” Leslie explained.
“Any chance he’ll be out soon? I really need to talk to him,” Ia
n told her.
Leslie glassed briefly at the wall clock. “I imagine it’s just getting started. Adam’s had a busy day today. He left early this morning. He had a buyer come in, and then he had to get his grandmother to sign the contract. He was going to drop it off to the title company and open escrow before going to his class. And I think the class runs until around five.”
“Leslie, the contract he was getting signed, this wasn’t for the house Ian is renting, is it?” Lily asked.
Leslie’s eyes widened; she looked over at Ian. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot you rent that house. Are you leaving Frederickport or renting something else here?”
“I thought the buyer wasn’t coming in until tomorrow?” Ian said dully.
“I guess he showed up early. Said something about a change of plans back home,” Leslie explained.
“They’ve already opened escrow?” Lily felt sick.
“That’s what I have to assume. Adam told me he was going to have his grandmother sign the contract and then go pick up the deposit from the buyer and get it into escrow before he went to the class.”
“Maybe Marie wasn’t home to sign it?” Lily asked hopefully.
Leslie shook her head. “No. Marie was home. Before Adam left, he had me call her and let her know he was on his way over there. Is there some problem?”
THIRTY-FOUR
Joanne was just driving away from Marlow House when Ian and Lily pulled into Ian’s driveway on Friday afternoon.
“I really made a mess of this,” Ian grumbled as he parked the car.
Lily unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’m sorry I didn’t handle this all differently.”
Ian glanced at Lily. “You? How is any of this your fault?”
“I should have talked to you sooner about Walt—and everything. I should have figured out some way to help you understand.”
“I doubt that would have changed anything.” Ian got out of the car. “At least in respect to my stubbornness.” He slammed the car door shut.
“So what do we do now?” Lily asked.
“I need to find a house by August.”
“You could always move into Marlow House,” Lily suggested.
“I suppose that could be a short-term solution if I don’t find something by the end of the month. But before we get married, I’d rather we move in together—alone. Just the two of us.”
“I’d like that too.”
Standing next to the car, Ian glanced across the street. “Let’s go get Sadie and talk to Danielle. I need to see about renting a room.”
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT; Marie is selling the house?” Danielle said after Ian and Lily told her what had happened.
“It’s my own fault. If I hadn’t overreacted and given Adam my notice.” Dejected, Ian slumped down on the living room sofa, Lily by his side. She patted his knee.
“Of course you’re welcome to stay here until you find something.”
“If he does, he’ll be staying in his own room.” Walt piped up from where he stood by the fireplace.
Danielle glanced to Walt. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If Ian moves in here before those two are married, they each need to have their own room.”
Lily glanced from the fireplace, where she assumed Walt stood, to Danielle. “What is Walt saying?”
“He’s getting all Victorian on me.” Danielle rolled her eyes.
Lily wrinkled her nose. “Huh?”
Instead of explaining, Danielle looked at Ian and asked, “How about if I talk to Marie? I can’t believe she’d want to sell the house if she knew you still wanted it.”
“It’s too late,” Ian explained. “Once that purchase contract is signed by the buyer and seller, it becomes a binding contract. Marie could be sued if she tried to back out of it. The only thing that could happen now is if it fell out of escrow.”
“What could make it fall out of escrow?” Lily asked.
“If, for instance, the buyer was getting a loan, and the house didn’t appraise for the selling price, or the loan fell through for another reason. In those instances, the buyer often can’t secure financing to finalize the deal. Or if an inspection is part of the contract and the buyer finds something wrong with the property, then he can cancel.”
“That’s the buyer cancelling. How can a seller back out of the deal?” Lily asked.
“The only way I know is if the buyer isn’t performing. Which would be something like failing to come up with the funds to purchase the property by the closing date.”
“Well, crap,” Lily grumbled, settling back on the sofa.
The doorbell rang. Sadie jumped up from where she had been sleeping and let out one bark before heading to the door. Before she reached the hallway, Walt called her back before Ian had a chance to intervene. Sadie paused, looked at the fireplace, and then reluctantly returned to where she had been napping.
Danielle stood up to answer the door while Ian glanced down at his dog. “Walt just told Sadie to stay, didn’t he?”
“Yep,” Danielle said as she disappeared into the hallway to answer the front door.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Ian muttered.
“I’m sorry, Ian. I didn’t take that into consideration,” Walt said. He then let out a sigh. “I suppose I shouldn’t waste my breath, you can’t hear me anyway.” He looked down at Sadie. “Stay here with Ian. I’m going to see if our new guests have arrived.” Walt vanished.
WHEN WALT ARRIVED at the front entry, he found Danielle at the open doorway, talking to three men. At closer inspection he realized who they were: Agatha Pine’s grandsons. He glanced around to see if Agatha Pine was anywhere in sight. He didn’t see her.
“What do they want?” Walt asked just as Danielle was opening the door wider, welcoming the men inside. He followed them and Danielle into the parlor.
“I imagine you thought you’d hear from our attorney first,” Henry said when the three stepped into the parlor.
Danielle motioned to the sofa and chairs, silently offering them a seat. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Shane and Henry each sat down on the sofa while Larry took one of the chairs across from them. Danielle sat down on the chair next to Larry.
“The wrongful death suit, of course,” Henry explained.
Danielle arched her brows. “Wrongful death?”
“When my grandmother fell down your stairs, of course. We thought it would be best if we could handle this out of court, without an attorney,” Henry told her.
Danielle leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment. “You intend to sue me?”
“We really don’t want to,” Henry insisted. “In fact, Mother wants to avoid going to court. For one thing, it would be horrible publicity for your business. Mother appreciates the fact you were so understanding about her mistakenly taking those coins.”
“Mistakenly?” Danielle said.
“She did come forward with the truth, which she didn’t have to, that helped you out of an awkward situation. Even though we’ve explained to Mother you’ve cleared that slate, she still feels a debt of gratitude toward you, which is why we’re here.”
“Umm…so why are you here, exactly?” Danielle glanced over to Walt, who arched his brows and gave her a shrug before conjuring up a cigar.
“Like I said, to settle out of court. In the long run, it won’t cost you as much. There won’t be any attorney fees. And without going to court, there won’t be all that bad press.”
“How much exactly are we talking about?” Danielle asked.
Just as Henry blurted four million, Shane blurted five million.
Danielle glanced from Shane to Henry. “Which is it? Four or five?”
Henry glowered at Shane and then reluctantly said, “Five million.”
“I’ll need to speak to my insurance company and see what they say,” Danielle said calmly. “But I’m still trying to figure out how exactly your grandmother got up those stairs and managed to start
up to the attic when her wheelchair was still downstairs.”
“Someone must have helped her upstairs and left her,” Larry explained.
Danielle turned to Larry. “I understand you were on the way to take her upstairs when you left suddenly.”
“Yes. I got a call from my ex-wife about our son. He had an emergency appendicitis.”
“I hope he’s doing okay,” Danielle said sincerely.
Glancing down to avoid eye contact, Larry shuffled uncomfortably in the chair and mumbled, “Yes, he is, thanks.”
Danielle looked to Shane. “You were right there when your grandmother fell. Did you see what happened?”
“I wasn’t there when she fell,” Shane corrected. “I came down the stairs from the attic after she was already on the floor. I found her at the bottom of the stairs. I had no idea she had come up to the second floor.”
Danielle turned her attention to Henry. “I understand you were the one who originally was going to help her up the stairs. Why exactly was it you didn’t?”
Henry shrugged. “I came inside to use the bathroom, got sidetracked, ended up talking to a few people. After I finally made it to the bathroom, I heard my brother screaming just as I was coming out. I was as surprised as anyone to discover Gran had gotten upstairs somehow.”
“Someone helped your grandmother up those stairs. I’d like to find out who.”
“Leave it alone, Danielle,” Agatha snapped when she appeared in the parlor the next moment.
“Which one of these upstanding ambulance chasers pushed you down the stairs?” Walt asked as he puffed on his cigar.
“Oh, shut up, Walt Marlow,” Agatha hissed.
Danielle stood up. “I’ll consider what you’ve proposed and discuss this with my insurance agent—and my attorney.”
As the four left the room, Agatha watched and then turned to Walt and asked, “What have they proposed?”