The Ghost of Valentine Past

by Anna J. McIntyre

  Chris silently watched Brian and the girls head back to his house. When they were out of earshot, he looked at the ranting man and said, “You’re Logan Mitcham.”

  Mitch startled and swung around to faced Chris.

  “You can see me,” Mitch said.

  “Yes.”

  “Why were they ignoring me? They acted like they couldn’t even see me.”

  “Because they can’t,” Chris explained.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Mitch snapped. Impatiently, he combed his fingers through his shortly cropped hair.

  Chris wandered over to the body and looked down. “Do you know who that is?”

  Angrily walking to Chris, Mitch looked down at the body.

  “I just know it’s his fault I’m in this mess.”

  “So, who is he?” Chris asked again.

  A flicker of confusion crossed Mitch’s face. “I’m not really sure.”

  “Doesn’t his face look a little familiar?”

  Mitch shook his head.

  “Why did you kill Peter Morris?” Chris asked.

  Mitch’s face broke out into an evil smile. His eyes narrowed and he looked over at Chris. “So, you know about that?”

  “Sure.”

  “I could kill you right now, before that cop comes back.”

  “I’m not the only one who knows,” Chris told him. “All the cops know you slit Morris’ throat. You left your fingerprint on Marlow House’s front gate.”

  “Big deal. I could have left my fingerprint there any time.”

  “Oh, did I mention it was a bloody fingerprint? Morris’ blood.”

  “Doesn’t prove anything. Everyone wanted him dead. If anyone knows that, I do.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about being arrested for Morris’ murder.”

  Mitch eyed Chris suspiciously. “Why do you say that?”

  Chris nodded down to the corpse. “Because, that’s you.”

  Thunderstruck, Mitch stared down at his corpse.

  “Why don’t you tell me who killed you?”

  Mitch vanished.

  “What do you mean you left Glandon with the body,” Joe hissed under his breath. He stood with Brian in the front entry of Chris’ beach house while another officer took statements from the teenage girls.

  “Johnson, not Glandon,” the chief reminded. He had just walked up behind Joe and caught his comment.

  “What’s the problem?” Brian asked. “I didn’t want to leave the body unattended, and I needed to get a statement from the girls. They told me their folks were here to pick them up, and I was afraid they’d just take off and not wait. Both of them are pretty shaken.”

  “Are you implying Chris had something to do with Mitcham’s murder?” the chief asked.

  “We know Mitcham probably killed Morris. And we know Morris was blackmailing Johnson. Maybe Johnson hired Mitcham to do the job and then decided to get the hitman out of the way, so it wouldn’t come back to him.”

  “What, and leave the body a short distance from his new beach house?” the chief asked.

  “Maybe he was getting ready to dump it in the ocean when the girls showed up.”

  “Stop trying so hard to pin this on Johnson,” Brian snapped. “It’s not like you, Joe.”

  “I’m just saying—”

  “I hear what you’re saying,” Brian cut him off. “And I don’t like it, plus it makes no sense. You haven’t seen the body yet. It’s been dead for a couple days. If he were going to dump it in the ocean, he would have done it already. And according to the girls, he was nowhere around the body when they found it. They went running to the first house they could find, and that happened to be Chris’. And by the looks of things in the kitchen, he had just come back from the grocery store. Didn’t even have time to put all the groceries away when the girls showed up. What killer takes time to buy groceries before disposing of a body that’s lying out in the open, not far from his back door?”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “This is a surprise,” Danielle said after she opened the front door and found Chris and MacDonald standing on the porch together.

  “The chief said I could tag along,” Chris explained.

  “Sounds interesting.” Danielle opened the door wider and showed them in. Together they went into the parlor.

  “Where’re your guests?” the chief asked as he took a seat on one of the chairs facing the sofa.

  “Arlene and David left about twenty minutes ago. She said you told them they could.”

  “I know where I can find them.” MacDonald removed his baseball hat and tossed it on the empty chair next to him.

  “Lily went to a show with Kelly, and I guess they ran into Heather at lunch, so she joined them.” Danielle sat down on the sofa.

  “Heather hanging out with Lily? What, did hell freeze over?” Chris asked.

  Danielle flashed Chris a smile and then looked at the chief. “So, what’s up?”

  “We found Logan Mitcham, or rather, Chris found him.”

  “Chris found the killer?” Walt asked as he appeared in the room, a lit cigar in his hand.

  “I didn’t find him. The girls did,” Chris corrected.

  “What girls?” Danielle asked. “Where was he?”

  MacDonald wrinkled his nose and took a sniff. He looked around. “Is Walt in here with us?”

  “Yes, he just popped in,” Danielle explained.

  “Hello, Walt,” the chief said with a grin.

  “That’s so weird,” Chris mumbled. He moved toward the empty place on the sofa next to Danielle, but Walt vanished from his spot by the desk and appeared in the next moment, sitting on the sofa where Chris was headed.

  Glaring at Walt, Chris moved instead to the desk and sat down.

  “Would someone please explain where you found him. Is he under arrest?” Danielle asked.

  “He’s dead,” Chris told her.

  “Dead?” Danielle looked from Chris to the chief.

  “His body was found on the beach, not far from Chris’ place. Some teenage girls found it.”

  “Hmm, by your place?” Walt looked over at Chris and smiled. “What have you been up to?”

  “Funny, Walt.” Chris rested his elbow on the desk. “I’d just come back from the grocery store and these two hysterical girls start pounding on my door. They both had cellphones, but at that point they weren’t in any position to use them.”

  “According to the coroner, it looks like he was out there for a few days,” the chief explained.

  “Those poor girls,” Danielle muttered. “Any idea how he died?”

  “Someone shot him. I asked him who killed him, but he didn’t say.”

  “You saw him?” Danielle asked.

  “His spirit was still hanging around. Not a particularly nice guy, by the way. I seriously think he would’ve killed one of us if he was capable of harnessing his energy.”

  “Oh, that’s lovely,” Danielle said under her breath.

  “Considering the way he slit Peter Morris’ throat, that doesn’t surprise me,” the chief said.

  “Are you certain he killed Morris?” Danielle asked.

  “He didn’t deny it when I told him I knew he killed Morris. He said I couldn’t prove it, and he even threatened me. Mitcham was in that state where the spirit doesn’t quite grasp the fact he’s dead. He was looking right down at his dead body—staring himself in the eyes—but it just didn’t seem to click with him that the body was his.”

  “So he didn’t tell you anything?” Danielle asked.

  “Not really, aside from confirming what we already suspected. He killed Morris.”

  “Now what?” Danielle asked.

  “Brian and Joe are on their way to Portland, to search his office and condo more thoroughly. The last time Brian went, the search warrant was limited. But now that Mitcham’s dead, he’s our new victim, and we won’t have the same limitations. Hopefully they’ll find something.”

  “I know Kelly didn’t wa
nt to go home, with Mitcham still at large. I suppose she can go back to Portland now,” Danielle said.

  MacDonald stood. “I just thought I’d stop by and let you know what’s going on.”

  “But we still have a killer on the loose.” Danielle stood up.

  “Two murders in one week. Not sure about my new neighborhood.” Chris was only half teasing. He followed Danielle and the chief out of the parlor, while Walt remained behind, silently smoking his cigar.

  “Chief, what about Earthbound Spirits’ offices?” Danielle asked when they got to the front door.

  “What about them?”

  “Have you searched them yet? Or Peter Morris’ home? Maybe you’ll find something there. You just said now that with Mitcham dead, you can go back, and I assume do a more thorough search, because he’s now a victim.”

  With his hand on the doorknob, MacDonald looked back at Danielle. “Searching Mitcham’s home and office is not the same. Mitcham rented the condo in his own name, he wasn’t married, lived alone, he doesn’t share his office with anyone. But with Peter Morris, Earthbound Spirits owns the offices, and even the house Peter Morris lived in is owned by Earthbound Spirits.”

  “Does this mean you can’t search any properties owned by Earthbound Spirits? After all, the man was murdered.”

  “Yes, he was, Danielle. But so far, we haven’t been able to convince a judge to give us a warrant. Earthbound Spirits’ attorney is arguing our purpose for wanting a warrant has nothing to do with finding Morris’ killer, but about going on a witch hunt to find something to tarnish the image of the organization Peter Morris founded.”

  “Does this mean you aren’t going to be able to get a warrant?”

  “No. It just means it’s taking us longer than we’d like.” The chief looked at Chris. “You want a ride back to your place?”

  “Nah, I can walk.” Chris glanced to Danielle. “I thought I’d stay and talk to Danielle a few minutes.”

  After the chief had gone, Chris stood alone with Danielle by the front door.

  “I was wondering; how’s everything been going with you and Lucas? Is his spirit still lingering?”

  Danielle looked around the entry hall. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “You think so?”

  “It’s been pretty crazy around here—having a murder in the house tends to do that.”

  Chris smiled. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  “Lucas only seems to come around when I’m alone—which hasn’t been happening much.”

  “Is he still here?” Walt asked when he appeared the next moment.

  “It was nice seeing you too, Walt.”

  Walt smiled and then grew serious. “Chris, do you have any idea who might have killed that palooka Mitcham?”

  Chris shrugged. “I have no idea. I wish he’d said more when I saw him.”

  “Do you think he moved on?” Danielle asked.

  “Either that, or moved on with his body.”

  “I just don’t like the idea of a killer moving through our neighborhood,” Walt said.

  Chris couldn’t resist saying, “What do you care? You’re dead.”

  Walt narrowed his eyes. “I was talking about Danielle and Lily.”

  “What about me?” Chris teased. “Don’t you worry about me?”

  “I suppose I do. But only because I’m afraid if someone kills you, you might decide to move back in Marlow House.”

  Chris reached for the door. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

  Danielle smiled. “You don’t have to leave.”

  “I really have to get back to my house. I went to the store today and never finished putting my groceries away.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Danielle promised.

  Chris gave her a nod, and as he went to pull open the door, Walt called his name. Turning to face the ghost of Marlow House, he heard Walt say, “Be careful.”

  Danielle sat in the library with Max curled up on her lap. She absently stroked the cat’s black fur as she listened to his loud purr and watched the fire flicker in the hearth. Walt had taken a book from the library and had retreated to the attic. Reading in the library wasn’t practical with guests in the house. Books seemingly floating mid-air might not be good for business.

  She contemplated going into the kitchen and making herself something to eat when she heard the front door open and the sound of paws clomping over the wood floor, heading in her direction. In the next moment, Sadie raced into the living room, her eye on Danielle’s lap. Max heard the dog coming and immediately jumped up, greeting the golden retriever with a hiss. But Sadie was too much for the feline and she easily dislodged the cat from his perch, taking his place.

  Danielle let out a grunt and found herself laughing as Sadie bathed her face in dog kisses. Disgusted, Max sauntered over to the fireplace and curled up on the throw rug.

  “Sorry about that,” Lily said when she entered the room.

  “I swear, sometimes Sadie thinks she’s a lapdog.” Danielle patted the large canine, trying to get her to calm down. Sadie awkwardly circled Danielle’s lap, her tail happily thumping against Danielle’s chest, as she attempted to make herself comfortable. With another grunt, Danielle gently shoved Sadie down, while still giving her reassuring pats. Resigned to a spot on the floor, Sadie curled up by Danielle’s feet.

  “So, Ian’s driving to Portland with Kelly?” Danielle had recently talked to Lily on the phone, updating her on the missing private detective.

  “Yeah. Kelly wants to go home and get some of her things. While she feels better knowing Mitcham isn’t a threat, we have no idea who killed him. In some ways, I think she’s more afraid. At least before, when she thought Mitcham was the lone killer, she knew who to look out for.”

  “I suppose I can understand that. If whoever killed Mitcham happened to be at Marlow House at the time of Morris’ murder, and knows Kelly looked in the window, who knows what he—or she—might imagine Kelly witnessed. That’s assuming they happen to find out Kelly was over here that night, and since Carla is the one who saw her, I imagine half the town already knows.”

  “At least Carla didn’t know who she saw exactly. Anyway, Ian’s going to drive down with Kelly so she can pick up some of her stuff, and they’ll come back in the morning. Since she works online, she can do that anywhere. But just between you and me, it seems a little nuts; because both murders happened near Ian’s house. So if it was me, I’d probably feel just as safe in Portland. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  “I won’t. Why didn’t you go with them?”

  “I’ve a dentist appointment in the morning, remember? They’ll be back tomorrow night.” Lily smiled and then looked to the doorway with a questioning frown. “I didn’t see Heather’s car out front. Do you know where she is?”

  “Heather called after I talked to you on the phone. She went to Vancouver to stay with friends.”

  “When I left her, after the show, she didn’t say anything about going to Vancouver.”

  “Speaking of the show…” Danielle smiled mischievously. “Did you see Fifty Shades of Grey? I know it just started playing at the theatre.”

  Lily laughed. “Umm…no. The idea of sitting through a movie like that with my boyfriend’s little sister, not to mention Heather…no thanks. That ain’t happening.”

  Danielle laughed and then redirected the conversation. “I’ve a hunch Heather decided to take off again when she learned there was another murder in the neighborhood. I’d called her right after I talked to you about them finding Mitcham’s body. And then she called back fifteen minutes later, saying not to expect her tonight.”

  “Didn’t she even stop by to take a shower or change her clothes?” Lily asked. “This afternoon she looked like she’s slept in her clothes.”

  “No. But I figure she probably stopped by her house and grabbed what she needs. I don’t think she brought all of her clothes with her when she moved in here. According to her, they’ve store
d most of her things—what she didn’t have to get rid off—in the garage. There wasn’t any mold in there.”

  Lily glanced up to the ceiling. “Where’s Walt, by the way?”

  “Reading in the attic. Bella’s up there with him. But I might as well tell him to read down here since everyone’s going to be gone. Oh…there is also Lucas.”

  Lily glanced around the room. “Lucas is still here?”

  “I think so. He briefly showed himself this morning and then vanished.”

  “I still can’t believe he’s here. And why is he here?”

  “To be honest, I can’t wrap my head around it. And frankly, I would rather not deal with it. I had put all that behind me; I wish he’d just move on.”

  “Well, have you talked to him? I mean really talked to him? Asked him why he’s here?”

  “From what I understand, he’s been in some sort of ghost limbo since he died, hanging out in a building near the site of the accident. He just recently came to terms with the fact he’s no longer alive, but instead of moving on, which is the natural progression, he decided to find me.”

  “There must be a reason.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s sort of what Walt and Chris says too. They both tell me I need to resolve whatever issues Lucas and I have, so both he and I can move on.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

  “I thought I had moved on. Anyway, he never sticks around long enough for us to have a real discussion.”

  Lily stood up. “One thing about living in Marlow House, it’s never ordinary. I’m going to go up and take a shower.”

  Danielle glanced down at the sleeping golden retriever. “I assume Sadie is staying with us?”

  “If that’s okay.”

  “Sadie is always welcome. I’m sure Walt would love to see her.”

  Opening his eyes, Max lifted his head and looked over at the sleeping dog. As soon as Max’s gaze set on Sadie, the dog’s tail began to thump, but her eyes remained closed while her chin rested soundly on her front paws.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The rain clouds had vacated the Portland sky. It promised to be a sunny Monday morning. Wearing fuzzy pink slippers and casually dressed in blue sweat pants and shirt, Kelly wasn’t going far; just to her car, to grab something she had forgotten to bring in the night before.