1 The Ghost in the Basement

by SUE FINEMAN

  Cal spit the words, “Jefferson’s bastard.”

  “No, Cal. Andrew and I were never lovers. You murdered your own child.”

  Cal moaned. “Get the doctor.”

  “You’d better pray you never get your sight back, because if you do, I’ll kill you,” Charity said firmly. “Did you hear that, Cal? I’ll kill you. I’ll shoot off one part of your body at a time until your blood stains every floor in this house.”

  The vision faded and Hannah opened her eyes. “It wasn’t an accident. Charity shot Cal on purpose, and he lost his sight.”

  “When was that?” asked Pop.

  Donovan had seen the vision, too, and he was still stunned at watching the dramatic scene in the living room of this house. “They wore black, so it was probably after they buried the baby. He’s the one who killed the baby. He called her ‘Jefferson’s bastard,’ but the baby he killed was his own daughter. Charity was the one who hid Cal’s clothes in the fireplace. She was keeping them as evidence, to keep him in line.”

  Hannah gaped at Donovan. “You saw it, too?”

  He nodded. “It was amazing.”

  “Why didn’t she just kill him?” asked Pop.

  Hannah looked up at Pop. “Because she wanted him to suffer.”

  “Can’t blame her for that. What year did he die?”

  “Nineteen twenty-something, I think. His death certificate is with the others.”

  “Was he blind when he died?” Donovan asked.

  “I don’t know. Nobody in my family ever talked about him. Grandpa talked about his mother, but not about his father.” She looked at the stack of goodies on the desk and floor. “Do you want to open all this tonight?”

  Donovan stood. “Tomorrow is soon enough.”

  The four of them scooped up all the treasures from the study. Pop looked stunned when Donovan opened the panels under the stairs. “When did you find this?”

  “A few weeks ago,” said Hannah. “I guess I forgot to tell you.”

  “I wonder how many more of these places we’ll find.”

  “None today,” said Donovan. They’d check the study out again before they put all the books back, and then someone would have to go to the bank with all those coins and whatever else was in the bags. “Charity must have cornered the market on velvet bags.”

  “They’re hand-stitched. She probably made them herself,” said Hannah. “She couldn’t keep anything in a bank or Cal would have known.”

  Charity had done what she had to do to survive, including shoot the man who’d murdered her baby and the man she loved. Interesting woman. Hannah had the same strength, although right now she seemed beaten down. Charity fought back against the injustice in her life, and Donovan knew at some point, Hannah would find the will to fight back, too.

  It was time for him to make some changes in his life, to do what he should have done after Maggie died. He couldn’t give Pop’s house back, but he could give his family a better life from now on. So what if he didn’t make captain?

  First thing Monday morning, he’d call Thornton Clapp’s office and made an appointment to talk about filing for bankruptcy.

  <>

  Three days before Christmas, the mailman brought a letter from Monique. Hannah stared at it for several minutes, knowing she had to make a choice between her mother and the man she loved. The decision wasn’t a difficult one. She wrote RETURN TO SENDER across the front and put it back in the mailbox.

  Hannah no longer had a mother.

  <>

  After finding the stash in the library, Hannah felt free to shop without worrying about how to pay for it. They’d found at least two hundred thousand dollars worth of stocks in the library and so many gold coins she had to rent a bigger safe deposit box.

  For the first time since she was a little girl, she had a family to buy presents for. She filled the trunk of Pop’s car with gifts, then shopped some more.

  She bought Billy baseball cards for his stocking, and Pop and Donovan a bunch of new clothes. The watch she and Donovan had found under the fireplace mantel would go in Pop’s stocking, and she bought Donovan a new Rolex for his. Nothing was too good for her new family. She even bought a few things for Trevor.

  “You didn’t buy more, did you?” Donovan asked when she came home from her third shopping trip.

  “It’s the first time in my life I’ve had money to spend, Donovan. It’s a one-time thing.” She looked at the disgusted expression on his face and narrowed her eyes. “You can get that thought out of your head right now. I’m not Maggie.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “You didn’t have to,” she snapped. “This is the first real Christmas I’ve had since before my father died. Don’t spoil it for me.”

  “Hannah—”

  “I am not your wife, and I never will be, because you don’t trust me not to turn into her.” Hannah ran up the kitchen stairs before he could see the hurt on her face.

  “What in the hell are you trying to do?” asked Pop. “That woman is the best thing that ever happened to you. She doesn’t have anyone left except us, so let her do what she wants. Lord knows, she can afford it, and it makes her feel good. It’s probably the first time in her life she’s had extra money to spend.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Hannah no more behaves like Maggie than you behave like your brothers. Your obsession with money is going to drive her away. Is that what you want?”

  “Don’t lecture me, Pop.”

  “Yeah, well, somebody needs to.”

  Donovan grabbed his jacket and walked outside. Was he obsessed with money? What if he was? Since the day he married Maggie, money – or the lack of money – had dominated his life. Maggie spent like he had an endless supply of it, and now Hannah was spending like she had an endless supply. At least it was her money she was spending, not his.

  Trevor drove up and parked Hannah’s pickup on the side street. “Hey, Donovan, you look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

  Maybe he had, but he wasn’t about to discuss his love life with Hannah’s ex-husband, so he changed the subject. “Where should we put the new garage?”

  Trevor pointed. “Off the alley. I thought we could put an apartment upstairs, with the entrance off the side street. It’ll bring in some money every month, and with a university here in River Valley, you won’t have any problem renting it.”

  Donovan nodded. “Good idea.”

  “Is Monique coming back?”

  “No, she’ll probably spend the next few years in prison.”

  Trevor gaped in surprise. No one had told him Monique had been arrested. Donovan explained what she’d done. “Hannah doesn’t ever want to see her again, and I don’t blame her.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “How’s the new job?”

  “It’s great, but I have to work Christmas day. I didn’t think you’d mind, since you have company coming, and the guy I’m filling in for has three kids. He really wanted to spend Christmas at home this year.”

  That was a considerate thing for Trevor to do.

  “Look, Donovan, I’m sorry I haven’t been pulling my weight on the house lately, but with the extra hours I’ve been putting in—”

  “No problem. The carpet was installed in the attic this morning. Could you use some help moving furniture?”

  “Sure. You don’t mind me using your furniture?”

  “It’s Pop’s, and I’m sure he doesn’t mind. I don’t own anything.”

  Trevor cocked his head. “You own Hannah’s heart, and that’s more valuable than anything else in that house. I didn’t know what I had until I lost her.”

  If Pop’s words didn’t make him feel bad, Trevor’s did. Hannah wasn’t anything like Maggie, yet since he found out they were related, he’d been comparing them, looking for similarities. It wasn’t fair to Hannah.

  Time to swallow his stupid pride and apologize. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

  Pop met him at the
kitchen door and handed him a tiny box. “Your mother’s rings. I had them cleaned and polished for you. Hannah might want something different, but I thought you might want to use them when you pop the question.”

  Donovan opened his mouth to ask who said he was going to pop the question, then closed it. It was what Pop expected, what Billy dreamed of. They all loved Hannah, and they were already a tight family. After he took care of the bankruptcy, they’d talk about the future. He had to get that out of the way first, so Maggie’s spending didn’t ruin Hannah’s credit.

  He went up to the attic to help Trevor move furniture. When they moved the bed, the cap came off the bedpost and rolled across the floor.

  “Leave it,” said Trevor. “I’ll fix it later.”

  They put the furniture Trevor had been using in his room and Pop’s old bedroom furniture in the other room. Trevor arranged Pop’s living room furniture on one side of the attic facing the television. “Too bad we can’t get a pool table up here. There’s plenty of room.”

  “We’d need a crane and a hole in the roof to get it in here, and then I’m not sure the structure would support the extra weight.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll get the rest. Thanks.”

  With a wave, Donovan walked down the attic steps and bumped into Hannah.

  She asked, “Is the new carpet in?”

  He opened the door wider and she stared at the steps. “I thought it would be lighter, but that’s okay.”

  “Go up and see.”

  Hannah walked upstairs. “Oh, Trevor, this looks nice.” He’d wired in ceiling fans and recessed lights, and they’d left the ceiling peaked along the roof line. There were big walk-in closets in both bedrooms, and he’d even put a little wet bar near the bathroom. Trevor had spent his own money to buy a small refrigerator and microwave for the bar. When they talked about finishing the attic, she never expected it to look so good.

  Hannah looked behind her, but Donovan hadn’t followed her upstairs. Was he avoiding her?

  Trevor said, “I’ll pick up the exercise equipment tomorrow, but it’s going to take at least two people to carry it upstairs.”

  “They won’t deliver it?”

  “No, and we’ll have to assemble it. It’ll give Donovan and his brothers something to do. It’s a guy bonding thing and from what Pop tells me, Donovan doesn’t see his brothers very often.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Yeah, it is. I sent a package to my sister, with a letter of apology. Mooching off other people is no way for a man to behave. I can’t see Donovan doing that, can you?”

  “No.” Donovan was too proud to take anything from anyone, especially from her.

  Interesting that all her nagging didn’t change Trevor. It was Donovan’s example that had impressed him. Trevor respected Donovan. Everyone who came in contact with Donovan respected him.

  Trevor handed her the yellowed envelope he’d found in the bedpost, and she took it to her room and tucked it in Charity’s diary. She’d read it later.

  While Donovan did the dinner dishes, Hannah wrapped the last few packages and carried them down to put under the tree. Billy was trying to figure out what was in the packages. She’d bought some toys appropriate for a kid his age, gifts from Santa, and she had some little things to put in his stocking. Whether he believed in Santa or not, he was still a kid, and he was excited about Christmas.

  She spent most of the evening baking Christmas cookies. Donovan’s brothers’ wives were bringing pies and salads for Christmas dinner, but with all the kids in the house, they’d want something to snack on.

  Pop said they no longer exchanged gifts in their family, except for the kids, and she respected that. Except for the stockings. She had one made for every member of the family, and bought little presents for the kids and boxes of chocolates for the adult members of his family.

  She’d just taken the last tray of cookies out of the oven when she looked up to see Donovan standing in the doorway. “Don’t you ever quit?”

  “Are you complaining again?”

  “Honey, this is just my family.”

  “Just your family?” She turned away. “At least you have a family.”

  Hannah didn’t realized she was crying until Donovan handed her his handkerchief and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Hannah.”

  “For what?”

  “For sniping at you lately. Watching you spend so much money—”

  She wiped her eyes. “I didn’t buy frivolous things. Pop’s clothes are worn out, so I bought him some new things. You’re looking a little ratty yourself, and some of your work clothes needed to be replaced. I bought new linens, because the patches on Grandma’s old sheets are uncomfortable to sleep on, and I bought new towels for all the bathrooms. Yours are as bad as Grandma’s. When’s the last time you spent any money on clothes or linens?”

  “I don’t remember. Mom used to buy me things now and then, and she always took care of Pop’s clothes.”

  “Then just pretend half those packages under the tree are from your mother.”

  His arms tightened around her. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “You sure don’t.”

  “Ouch,” he whispered into her hair.

  “I came here with nothing but my clothes, and everything here is as worn out as the wallpaper. Things need to be replaced, and the stores have sales right now.”

  “Did you buy something for yourself?”

  “Two pairs of slacks, two sweaters, and a pair of sweats. And running shoes. I need to start running again. The more I cook, the more I eat, and I’ve been cooking a lot since I moved here.”

  “Which we all appreciate. What do you want for Christmas? Pop and I are going shopping tomorrow.”

  A little laugh slipped out. “You wait until the day before Christmas to shop?”

  “No self-respecting guy shops until Christmas Eve. So, what do you want for Christmas?”

  “A new cookie jar. This one is cracked.”

  “What else?”

  “New pillows for the bed. Thick ones.”

  “Feather?”

  “No, I’m allergic to feathers.”

  He nibbled on her ear. “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t unpack my feather pillows.”

  Donovan didn’t tell her he’d already bought her a present, the settee he’d found in the antique store. Pop had refinished those chairs and ottomans he’d found in the basement and they’d had them reupholstered for the sitting area in Hannah’s bedroom. And Billy had bought her a new cookie jar with his own money.

  “I probably bought too much for Billy, but—”

  “He didn’t get much last year. I had two collection agencies on my back and I didn’t have anything left to sell. I still owe Pop for bailing me out.”

  “He’ll be with you forever, won’t he?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s one of the things I love about you, that you take care of your family.”

  “Love? You love me?”

  She gazed into his eyes and told him the truth. “I’ve loved you since I was eight years old. Now I lust for your sexy body.”

  Her answer made him laugh, but the laugh turned into a longing so strong he wanted to devour every inch of her. So he kissed her.

  They were still kissing when Pop cleared his throat. “If you two want to go upstairs, I’ll clean up in here.”

  “Thanks, Pop. Don’t eat all the cookies.”

  “Eat all you want,” said Hannah. “I’ll make more tomorrow, while you guys do your Christmas shopping.”

  Donovan took Hannah’s hand and they walked up the wide staircase to her bedroom, their bedroom. She’d finally said the words, finally told him she loved him, and Donovan’s heart swelled with love. He wanted to tell her he loved her and put Mom’s engagement ring on her finger, but he couldn’t do it yet. Thornton Clapp was out of town for a few weeks and couldn’t see him until late January, and Donovan couldn’t make plans for the future until he dealt with the past
.

  He proposed to Maggie in the garden at her mother’s house. There was a full moon that night, the roses were blooming, filling the air with their sweet perfume, and he thought their marriage would be as perfect as the proposal. When Eleanor found out, she cried and carried on as if it was the end of the world. William calmed her down some, but he passed away long before Maggie died, leaving Eleanor to manipulate Maggie and ruin their marriage. The marriage probably wouldn’t have lasted anyway, but Eleanor’s interference killed any chance they had of making it work.

  Eleanor couldn’t interfere this time, and he knew Hannah wouldn’t allow Monique to come between them. If he messed up this time, he’d have no one to blame but himself.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hannah went to church on Christmas Eve with Pop, Donovan, and Billy. The church was dressed in poinsettias and evergreens with big red bows. A life-sized nativity scene on the front lawn reminded her of the reason they’d come. It wasn’t Santa’s birthday they were celebrating.

  When the collection plate was passed, she put a little velvet bag in. There were six gold coins inside, one each for Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Charity, the baby, and Andrew. Hannah considered him part of her family now. A note in the bag said to take the coins to a coin dealer to cash them in.

  Hannah signed the note Santa.

  <>

  Brendan and his wife, Louise, and their three boys arrived around three on Christmas day. They lived in New Carlisle. Kevin was their oldest boy, named after his grandfather. He was a senior in high school, a studious looking kid who wore wire framed glasses. Patrick and Tim were sixteen and thirteen. Louise taught high school English, and Brendan was the coach and gym teacher at the same school.

  The boys eyed the stockings on the fireplace, but didn’t say anything, so Hannah said, “Santa stopped by here last night. Go ahead. See what he left you.” She filled all the stockings early this morning and put one gold coin in the toe of each one. This was a special Christmas, the first one with Donovan’s family.