by Bobbi Holmes
“Pimping?” Walt frowned.
Lily laughed and pointed to the computer monitor displaying Isabella’s profile picture. “Focus, Walt,” Lily said. “If you’re able to get some useful information from Isabella Strickland, I’ll happily find you all the photos of current sexy starlets you can handle.”
“I didn’t mean that how it sounded,” Walt muttered as he sat down at the desk and looked at the computer.
“Well I hope not,” Danielle said. “The idea of a ghost stalking pretty women while they sleep is just—well a little creepy.”
“Do you have to call me a ghost?” Walt grumbled. He looked at the picture of Isabella Strickland.
“I forgot. You prefer spirit,” Danielle retorted.
“Oh come on Danielle, don’t be such a prude. Imagine if you had the power to pop into someone’s dream, wouldn’t you be tempted to try—just for the fun?” Lily grinned.
“Oh brother, you better be alive Lily, because if you aren’t, I have a feeling you’d be getting into all sorts of mischief as a gh…spirit.”
“I’m not dead—yet. And Walt, when I finally get reunited with my body—which I will—please come visit me in my dreams, because I’ll miss our chats.”
“Thank you, Lily, I appreciate that.” Walt flashed Danielle a smug look, to which she countered by rolling her eyes. “I think you ladies should leave me alone while I focus on Miss Strickland. I don’t think this is going to work with you two in the room.”
“Okay. Thanks, Walt.” Lily turned to the door.
“Behave yourself,” Danielle teased. She looked down at Sadie, curled up under Walt’s feet. “Come on girl, you come with us. Walt needs to focus.”
Sadie looked up at Danielle.
“Go on Sadie, she’s probably right, I need total concentration.”
The golden retriever looked from Walt to Danielle and then reluctantly stood up and followed Danielle and Lily from the parlor. Danielle closed the door behind them.
“I hope this works,” Lily said, anxiously looking back at the closed door.
“Me too.” Danielle paused a moment and then asked, “Walt does know what to ask her, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, we discussed all that.”
Before Danielle could respond, the doorbell rang.
“Is that your guests? I thought they weren’t supposed to arrive until later this afternoon.”
“They aren’t,” Danielle walked to the front door. “They must be early.”
When Danielle opened the front door a moment later, she was surprised to find Officer Joe Morelli standing alone on the front porch.
“Officer Morelli?” Danielle said with a frown, surprised to find Joe at her door. He wore his uniform, and in his hands, he held his baseball style hat, its insignia from the Frederickport Police Department partially visible.
“Can’t you at least call me Joe?” he asked in a soft voice.
Chapter Ten
Danielle considered his question for a moment and then asked, “Joe, what can I do for you?”
“I was hoping I could come in for a moment so we can talk.”
“This really isn’t a good time. I have guests arriving this afternoon, and I still have some things to get ready.” Danielle glanced over her shoulder at Lily, who stood quietly listening.
“Please, Danielle. Can you just give me ten, fifteen minutes?”
Reluctantly, she opened the door wider and stepped aside, letting him into the foyer.
“You in trouble with the law again?” Lily teased.
Trying to ignore Lily, Danielle shut the front door and looked at Joe, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Absently, she tucked strands of hair, which had escaped from her braid, back behind her ear.
“Wow, does that boy look lovesick!” Lily noted.
“Maybe we could talk in the parlor?” Joe glanced to the closed parlor door. Nervously his hands fidgeted with the brim of his baseball cap.
“He still wants you, Danielle. Yep, that boy is heartsick.”
Danielle closed her eyes briefly, trying to shut out Lily. Looking at Joe she said, “No, not the parlor. Let’s go into the library.” Instead of waiting for him to reply, she turned and headed down the hallway, leaving Joe to follow in her wake.
“He really is good looking,” Lily said as she walked by Danielle’s side, glancing over her shoulder at Joe. “He has that macho Italian thing going for him.”
“Hush,” Danielle whispered under her breath.
“I bet he’s going to beg you again to forgive him. He looks so sad, I almost feel sorry for him.”
“Lily, please stop,” Danielle whispered as she walked into the library. When Joe followed her into the room, Danielle waved toward the sofa, silently offering him a seat. Before she knew what was happening, he tossed his cap on the sofa, walked to her, and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking seriously into her eyes.
“I wanted to say, how so very sorry I was to hear about Lily,” he said solemnly.
Danielle’s eyes widened and she stepped back abruptly. Joe dropped his hands from her shoulders.
“He knows…” Lily said. “Wow, news travels fast. I wonder how he found out.”
“I’d like to know that too,” Danielle said.
“Excuse me?” Joe asked with a frown.
“Umm…I meant I’d like to know how you found out about Lily.”
“I saw it on her Facebook page,” Joe explained.
“Facebook page?” Danielle glanced from Joe to Lily.
Lily shrugged. “People must be posting about my death on Facebook. We need to look at it. I’m curious what people are saying about me.”
“Lily was one of my Facebook friends,” Joe explained.
“You were Facebook friends?” Danielle’s eyes darted to Lily.
“In all fairness, he accepted my friend’s request before all that mess with Cheryl. I considered deleting him. But I wanted to see what he was up to. I knew you weren’t one of his Facebook friends, so I figured I’d let you know if I read anything interesting on his page.”
“Danielle, I know how close you two were. I wish you would’ve called.”
“Lily is not dead,” Danielle said.
“I don’t understand? What about all those things they’re posting on her page?”
“I haven’t read her Facebook page.”
“But you obviously know…”
“I know her car was in an accident, and someone was killed. But the identity of the driver hasn’t been confirmed. As far as I’m concerned, Lily is still out there, alive someplace.”
“Oh Danielle,” Joe said sadly. Stepping toward Danielle, he reached out for her hand. Abruptly she stepped back, avoiding his touch. Dropping his hand, he shook his head wearily.
“Stop looking at me like that!” Danielle snapped.
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah, Dani, what do you mean? He is just trying to be comforting. I think it’s sweet.”
“Like I’m broken,” Danielle said, ignoring Lily’s comment. “It was nice of you to come over here and offer your sympathy, but it’s premature. I prefer to believe Lily is alive. And until the accident victim is positively identified, no one knows for sure.”
“I didn’t know I was looking at you that way.” Joe took a deep breath.
“It’s just that I think it’s premature to think the very worse.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t made a positive identification yet. When are they supposed to know?”
“Her mother said Monday, maybe. There was some mix up with the dental records.”
“I understand you wanting to hold on to hope. But Danielle, it doesn’t look good. You’ve been through so much already. I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Danielle insisted.
“You have to admit, Dani, it is rather sweet, the way he wants to take care of you.” Lily plopped down on the couch. Putting her feet up on the sofa, she watched the pair.
“How’s Ian. Does he know?”
“Yes. And he’s like me, holding on to hope that Lily wasn’t in the car.”
Joe looked down at Sadie who sat by Danielle’s side. “Where is Ian? Is he here? In the parlor?”
“The parlor?” Danielle asked.
“Since Sadie’s here, he must think Ian is too. And since you didn’t want him to go into the parlor, he must think Ian’s in there,” Lily surmised.
“Ian went out of town. I’m watching Sadie,” Danielle explained.
Joe didn’t reply.
“He looks a little jealous,” Lily observed. “I wonder if he thinks you and Ian have something going on now. After all, you two did run into Joe the other day when you had breakfast together.”
“Joe, it was thoughtful of you to come over today and offer your condolences. But like I said, Ian and I prefer to hold on to hope that Lily is still alive. But in the meantime, I do have a business to run, and my guests are going to be arriving shortly, and I have a million things to do.”
Instead of leaving, Joe walked to the couch and started to sit down.
“Hey, watch out!” Lily shouted from her place on the sofa. Unable to get out of the way fast enough, Lily found Joe’s body covering hers as he sat down. Surrendering the sofa to Joe, Lily rushed to Danielle’s side and shuddered. “Eww, that was sort of creepy!”
“Always freaks me out when Sadie does that with Walt,” Danielle said under her breath, just loud enough for Lily to hear.
“Excuse me?” Joe asked.
“Umm, nothing.” Danielle shook her head as if trying to clear out the cobwebs. “But like I said, I really need to get ready for my guests.” Danielle’s eyes darted from Joe to the open door leading to the foyer.
“I am a little surprised you’re taking reservations, considering everything.”
“Well, to be honest, I had the reservation before I heard about the accident.” Reluctantly, Danielle sat down on a chair facing Joe.
“Maybe it would be a good idea if you found them someplace else to stay,” Joe suggested.
“I can’t do that. Plus, it’s their honeymoon.”
“I’m sure you could find them someplace to stay, it’s the slow season, vacancies all over town, and it’s not like you need the business.”
“He may be sweet, but he is kind of a butt-in-ski,” Lily noted.
“If I intend to make a success of the bed and breakfast, I certainly can’t turn away customers.”
“Danielle, with everything that’s happened, I really don’t understand why you still want to operate Marlow House as a bed and breakfast.” He leaned back and studied Danielle.
“Why do you say that?”
“For one thing, you don’t need the money.”
“That may be true, but I can’t very well sit around the rest of my life and…and do what exactly?”
“I just don’t understand a bed and breakfast—letting strangers into your house. You are a single woman, living all alone. It’s not safe.”
“You didn’t seem to have a problem with me turning this place into a bed and breakfast when we first met.”
“That was before…” Instead of finishing his sentence, Joe picked up his cap and began fidgeting with it.
“Before what?”
“It’s just that so much has happened since you moved to Frederickport. I worry about you here alone with strangers. It wasn’t as bad when Lily was here.”
“What do you mean?”
Joe looked into Danielle’s questioning eyes. “Lily could keep an eye on things. Make sure you were okay.”
“You mean, keep an eye on me? What, like a child?” Danielle told herself to stay calm.
“Oh. My. Gawd.” Lily choked out. “He really has no clue who you are!”
“No, not like a child. But Danielle, you’re vulnerable. Especially now with what you’re going through with Lily. As it is, you’ve had a rough summer, and now with your inheritance you’ll be a target for every fast talking scammer out there. Opening your home to the public just doesn’t seem like the smart thing to do, considering everything.”
“Ah yes, my summer,” Danielle said angrily, standing up again. “And who helped make my summer so memorable? You arresting me—at gunpoint—was certainly the highlight.”
“You were about to bash in Clarence’s head.”
“I was not about to bash in his head. It just looked that way. And anyway, considering he tried to kill me, I think I had every right to defend myself.”
“I did not come over here to argue with you.” Joe stood up and fitted the baseball cap on his head. “I wish you would understand I’m just trying to help you. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do…help you. I care about you, Danielle.”
Danielle took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Once again calm, she looked at Joe.
“I believe you Joe. I think you do care about me.”
“I do. I just want what’s best for you,” he insisted.
“But the problem with that, you think you know what’s best for me. But you don’t. How could you? You don’t even know me.”
“You believe that,” Joe said wearily, walking to the door. “But I know you better than you think.”
Danielle didn’t respond. Instead, she silently walked with Joe to the front door, Lily by her side.
When they got to the front door, Joe turned and looked somberly at Danielle. “I hope you’re right about Lily. I hope she’s alive and comes home. But if she doesn’t, I want you to know I am always here for you. If you need anything, please call me.”
“When I have news about Lily, I’ll let you know.” So I can say I told you so.
“Thank you. I would appreciate that.” He glanced briefly at the closed parlor door and then looked back at Danielle. “When you see Ian, tell him I was asking about him. This must be rough on him. I know how much he cared about Lily.”
Before Danielle could respond the front door bell rang. Without hesitation, Joe reached for the door and opened it. Standing on the front porch was a well dressed, thirty-something couple.
Chapter Eleven
Silently, Hunter grabbed Claire’s left hand, holding her in place. He knew instinctively she was ready to bolt. He couldn’t blame her. The last person he expected to greet them at the door of Marlow House was a uniformed policeman.
Part of him wanted to turn tail and put some distance between him and the cop, yet he hadn’t come this far to throw it all away by overreacting.
A young woman appeared at the doorway next to the officer. Giving the cop a gentle nudge with her hip, she pushed him out of the doorway, making room for Hunter and Claire to enter. “You must be the Stewarts,” she greeted. She looked at the officer and back to Hunter before saying, “He was just leaving.”
Judging by the woman’s appearance, Hunter wondered if she was the housekeeper—dressed in worn faded denims and a powder blue shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a fancy braid, but wayward strands had already made their escape. Glancing down, he noticed she was barefoot, and he couldn’t imagine the housekeeping staff running around shoeless.
“Yes, yes we are.” Hunter looked from the woman to the cop. “Have you had some sort of problem?”
“Problem? No, no problem at all. I’m Danielle Boatman, your host at Marlow House. This is Sargent Morelli. He was just leaving.”
“You know where I am if you need me,” Sargent Morelli told the woman before giving Hunter and Claire a brief nod and smile. He made his way down the walkway toward the street.
“I’m Hank Stewart, and this is my wife, Claire.”
“Nice to meet you. Please, please come in.” Danielle stepped away from the doorway.
Releasing hold of Claire, Hunter moved his hand to her lower back and gave her a little shove toward the doorway as he picked up the suitcase sitting by his feet on the front porch. Together they walked into Marlow House. Danielle followed them, closing the door behind them.
“You’ll ha
ve to excuse how I’m dressed,” Danielle said with a blush. “I expected you a little later.”
“We got here sooner than I expected. I hope it’s all right.” Hunter flashed Danielle his most charming smile. “And you look fine, Ms. Boatman. Doesn’t she, darling?”
Claire, dressed in a conservative linen suit, responded with a silent nod as she glanced around the foyer, her eyes wide. “This is sure an old house, isn’t it?”
“Yes, over a hundred years,” Danielle said proudly. “It was built in 1871.”
Claire let out a low whistle and said, “Wow, that’s old.” She looked at Danielle and asked, “It does have a bathroom doesn’t it? I mean, we don’t have to go outside and use the toilet, do we?”
“Of course it has a bathroom, darling.” Hunter grabbed Claire’s hand again and gave it a tight squeeze.
Claire yanked her hand from Hunter’s hold and glared at him. “I was just asking,” she said under her breath.
“Let me show you to the library. You can wait there while I get your room ready. It will only be a few minutes,” Danielle suggested.
Danielle led them to the library. She left Hunter and Claire there while she went upstairs.
“Maybe the next time you have something stupid to say, just don’t,” Hunter snapped.
“I don’t think it was stupid. This house is frickin ancient. How was I to know if it had an indoor toilet?”
“Do you honestly think she could run this place as a bed and breakfast without indoor plumbing?” Hunter asked.
“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never been to a bed and breakfast before.” Claire plopped down on the sofa and looked around. “You think she’s read all these books?”
“I doubt it.” Hunter took a seat next to Claire and looked around. “I bet these were all here when she inherited this place.”
“I wonder why that cop was here.”
“She sure seemed anxious to get rid of him,” Hunter said.
“I was glad to get rid of him myself. You don’t think he was here because of us, do you?”
“I don’t see how that’s possible. I thought for a moment there you were going to take off when he opened the door.”