The Ghost Who Wasn't (Haunting Danielle Book 3)

by Bobbi Holmes

  Sadie jumped up from where she was lying on the floor and dashed out of the room after Claire.

  * * *

  When Claire reached her room’s door on the second floor, Sadie was by her side. Before opening the door, Claire looked down at the dog.

  “You look like a purebred. I bet we could get some major cash for you.”

  Sadie looked up innocently, her tail wagging.

  Claire opened the door and walked into the room. Sadie started to follow her in, but Claire roughly pushed her back with a knee. “I don’t need your dog hair in here.” Claire slammed the door shut, leaving the dog alone in the hallway.

  That dog is so stupid, she’d be easy to take, Claire told herself as she grabbed her purse and began rummaging through it for her pack of cigarettes. If we can’t find someone willing to pay big cash for her as a pet, there’s always Jimmy. He pays good bucks for bait dogs.

  Claire found her pack of cigarettes and lighter, and was about to toss her purse on the bed when she spied the sapphire and gold bracelet.

  “I don’t know why I can’t wear this,” Claire said as she picked up the bracelet and tossed her cigarettes and lighter on the bed with her purse. She admired the piece a moment, holding it up so that the sunshine streaming through the window made the stones glisten. Without thought, she fastened it on her right wrist. Standing at the foot of the bed, she held her wrist out, admiring the bracelet.

  “This is so much nicer than the crappy fake engagement ring and wedding band,” Claire said to the empty room.

  Instead of taking the bracelet off, she grabbed the cigarettes and lighter and left the room. Sadie was waiting for her in the hallway. She followed Claire downstairs to the library and outside to the back patio.

  When Claire finished her cigarette, she decided to do some sleuthing downstairs, before Danielle returned home. She’d love to be the one to find the diamonds for Hunter. Maybe that way he would finally divorce his wife, and they would marry for real. Claire decided to begin with the parlor first.

  Sadie lay down in the middle of the room and watched Claire inspect the paneling, looking for loose boards. After about thirty minutes, Claire plopped down at the desk.

  “This is silly,” Claire announced to the empty room. She glanced down at Sadie. “But the day doesn’t have to be a bust.” Claire laughed. “I think I’ll give Jimmy a call.” Under her breath she mumbled, “Stupid dog.”

  Sadie raised her head and cocked it to one side. Without warning, she stood up, dashed from the room, down the hallway and up the stairs to Walt.

  Claire paid little notice to Sadie’s departure. Instead, she admired the bracelet on her wrist, turning her hand from side to side, watching the stones sparkle. To her surprise, the bracelet fell off, landing in her lap.

  “What the…” Claire said as she started to pick the bracelet up. Yet, Hunter barged into the parlor before she did. Claire froze, her hand covering the bracelet on her lap.

  “What are you doing in here?” Hunter asked, glancing around the room.

  “I was checking out the paneling, looking for loose boards.”

  “It would make this a lot easier if we could get Marvin Marlow to tell us where he hid the diamonds. I’m going to the library and see if I can make contact with him again. I want you to come with me.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right there.” Claire smiled innocently. “I need to go to the bathroom first.”

  “Hurry up,” Hunter said as he left the room.

  Claire snatched the bracelet from her lap and stood up. Her outfit didn’t have any pockets, and she’d left her purse upstairs. Glancing around for somewhere to temporarily stash the bracelet, she spied an antique copper teapot sitting on a curio shelf across the room.

  “I’ll come back for you later,” Claire whispered as she dropped the bracelet in the teapot.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Danielle pulled the car up next to the sidewalk in front of the Gusarov Estate and put it in park. Lily was nowhere in sight. Danielle was just getting ready to turn off the ignition when Lily appeared in the car, sitting in the passenger seat.

  “Drive down the street,” Lily ordered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just drive down the street; I’ll tell you when to stop.”

  Danielle drove a half a block when Lily ordered her to pull over and park the car near a wooded area between the street and the ocean, adjacent to the Gusarov Estate.

  “What’s going on Lily? Were you able to communicate with Isabella?”

  “Isabella wasn’t there.”

  “Have they moved her?”

  “It wasn’t Isabella in the hospital bed—it was me!”

  Danielle swung around in her seat and stared at Lily.

  “I found my body, Danielle. No wonder I returned to Frederickport—my body is here!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I feel a little foolish that I didn’t recognize myself immediately, but my head is all bandaged. Stupid me, I kept thinking how much Isabella looked like my sister. It didn’t dawn on me that I was looking at myself.”

  “Are you sure? I remember from Isabella’s picture, she was also a redhead. Maybe she just looks like you.”

  “What, are you saying all redheads look alike?”

  “No but—”

  “And they cut my hair! They hacked it off like a boy!”

  “It doesn’t make sense; why would Stoddard Gusarov identify your body as his niece? Is it possible he really thinks you’re Isabella? If that’s the case, at least we know you’ll be getting the best of care while they have you.”

  “Why in the world would you say that? They were talking about killing me!”

  “Killing you?”

  “Yes, the aunt said something about putting a pillow over my face.”

  “No, that doesn’t make sense.” Danielle shook her head. “According to Adam, Isabella revised her will and left her estate to some cult—the estate includes half of the family business. There is no way Stoddard would hasten her death.”

  “Well that explains what else I heard. They talked about Isabella changing her will—and then killing me!”

  “So they actually believe you’re her?”

  “It sounded that way. But I don’t know how that’s possible. I don’t think I look anything like her picture. Aside from the hair color.”

  “What do we do now? I can’t very well call the police. Like Joe would believe me!”

  “He would believe a picture.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have your cellphone with you?” Lily asked.

  “Sure. Why?”

  “We go back to the house, sneak up to the bedroom where they have me and you take my picture. Then we can show that picture to the police.”

  “And how am I supposed to get in the house? I’m sure it has an alarm system.”

  “It does, but I noticed it was disarmed. And there is a back door we can use, it takes us up the back stairs. It wasn’t locked. I can go in first, and make sure the coast is clear.”

  Danielle took a deep breath then said, “Okay. Let’s do this.” As she took the key out of the ignition, she turned to Lily and asked, “Why did you want me to drive down the street?”

  “Well I figured, if I talked you into breaking into the Gusarov house, it wouldn’t be a great idea to be parked right in front of it.”

  Danielle locked her purse inside the car and tucked her phone and keys into her back pocket. Instead of walking back down the street, Danielle and Lily entered the wooded area and raced toward the rear section of the Gusarov Estate.

  Lily went inside first, while Danielle hid behind some trees near the back door of the house.

  “It’s safe to come in,” Lily said when she returned a few minutes later. “Gusarov and his wife are in the kitchen eating, and the maid is in there too. There are two nurses, but they’re in a room down the hall from where they have me, playing cards. Looks like they just started their
game, so hopefully they’ll be there a while.”

  “Yeah hopefully,” Danielle mumbled under her breath as she followed Lily into the house. Together they raced up the back stairs, Lily leading the way. The two managed to slip into the hospital room unnoticed.

  Once in the dimly lit room, Danielle hesitantly approached the bed. She looked down at the sleeping woman. Ever so gently, she reached down and touched her face, turning it slightly in her direction. It was Lily.

  “Oh my god, you’re right,” Danielle said in a hushed whisper. “It’s really you!” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Can you believe it, they cut my hair!”

  “Oh Lily, you look beautiful!” Danielle said with a sniffle. “I wonder what would happen if you could simply reconnect with your body?”

  “No, not while it’s here. I don’t trust them.”

  “But if you came to, you could tell the nurses who you are.”

  “I don’t think that would work.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t think they speak English. Not sure what they were speaking, but it wasn’t English, Russian maybe.”

  “Perhaps they’re bilingual. I can’t imagine Gusarov would hire someone he couldn’t communicate with.”

  “Umm… Gusarov, isn’t that Russian?” Lily asked.

  “So? It doesn’t mean he can speak Russian.”

  “I can’t take the chance. What if they only speak Russian? They won’t be able to help me. And if I could communicate with them, how do I know they would?”

  “Okay, let’s do this, and get out of here.” Danielle walked toward the window.

  “What are you doing?” Lily asked.

  “It’s kind of dark in here,” Danielle said as she started to pull back the curtain, letting in the sunlight.

  Just as Danielle finished opening the curtain the bedroom door flew open.

  “Oh crap,” Lily mumbled.

  Before Danielle could react, the two nurses rushed into the room, charging straight for her.

  “I thought you were supposed to stand guard!” Danielle cried out as she attempted to run in the opposite direction.

  “You have to take the picture, take the picture!” Lily called out hysterically.

  Danielle did not have sufficient time to pull the phone from her back pocket and snap the picture. Her attempts at dodging the nurses failed, and before she knew what happened both of her arms were seized—one by the male nurse and one by the female nurse. As they dragged her from the room, down the hall and to the staircase, they talked excitedly to each other, in a foreign language.

  Halfway down the stairs she noticed five people standing in the foyer, looking up the staircase at her and the two determined nurses. Two of the people she recognized—it was Joe and Brian from the local police department. She felt an instant sense of relief. Maybe this wasn’t how she wanted to handle the situation, but it would work. Once Joe had a look at Lily, this would end.

  “Danielle, you’re the one who broke in?” Joe said when Danielle reached the landing.

  “Why aren’t I surprised?” Brian said under his breath.

  Danielle tried to pull away but the nurses continued to grip her arms.

  “You can let her go,” Joe told them. Stoddard repeated Joe’s instructions in Russian, and they released her.

  “You know this woman?” Stoddard asked.

  “I’m afraid I do,” Joe said with a sigh.

  “I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m happy to see you!” Danielle said, rubbing her forearms, still stinging from the rough handling.

  “The silent alarm went off. Since we were in the neighborhood, we took the call.”

  “And here I thought the alarm hadn’t been set,” Danielle said under her breath as she glared at Lily who flashed a sheepish grin.

  “Breaking into houses now, Ms. Boatman? What is it, the thrill? You certainly don’t need the money,” Brian said as he removed his handcuffs from his belt.

  “Wait, I can explain!” Danielle said in a panic. “It’s Lily, they have Lily up there! It’s not Isabella! It’s Lily!’

  “What is she talking about?” Darlene asked.

  “I’m afraid Danielle has been under considerable stress, since her best friend was killed,” Joe said, looking at Danielle with pity.

  “That doesn’t give her an excuse to break into our home!” Darlene snapped. Stoddard wrapped his arm around his wife and glared at Danielle.

  “Please Joe, just listen to me! Go see for yourself. If it’s not Lily in that bed, then go ahead and arrest me. Throw the book at me if you want. But please, just go look!”

  “You honestly believe I wouldn’t recognize my own niece?” Stoddard asked.

  “All I know is, that’s Lily upstairs.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Darlene scoffed.

  “I want you to arrest her,” Stoddard demanded. “And I want a restraining order against her. She’s not to come near my niece again.”

  “Perhaps I could just go look in on Isabella,” Joe said.

  “Are you suggesting this woman may be telling the truth?” Stoddard asked incredulously.

  “Can I speak with you alone for a minute, Stoddard?” Joe asked.

  Stoddard nodded, and the two men walked away from the others.

  “Danielle isn’t dangerous, she’s just a little—well, a lot of things have happened to her. She’s the one who owns Marlow House.”

  “Her cousin was the one Clarence killed?”

  “Yes. And Lily is her best friend. She was killed in a car accident. They have the body, but Danielle refuses to believe the truth. If I could just see Isabella and have something to tell Danielle so she’d give up this notion.”

  “I don’t suppose her friend has a tattoo.”

  “Lily? Not that I know of. Ahh…Isabella. Right. She has that tattoo on her right arm. A dragon, wasn’t it?”

  “I’ll take you up but only you. And only if I can go in the room first, and make sure Isabella is modest. I want her treated with respect.”

  “Of course, Stoddard. I understand.”

  “This doesn’t look good,” Lily whispered to Danielle after listening in on Joe’s private conversation.

  Danielle frowned at Lily, afraid to ask her anything for fear Brian would overhear her seemingly talking to an imaginary friend.

  When Joe and Stoddard reached the bedroom door leading to Isabella’s hospital room, Stoddard entered first. Lily lay on her back. Hurriedly, Stoddard rolled her over onto her stomach, careful to not unhook any tubes. Very gently, he turned her head so that her face was looking away from the door. He then rolled up the right sleeve of the hospital gown, exposing the tattoo. Before letting Joe into the room, he closed the curtains and rearranged some of the lighter pieces of furniture, making it difficult to walk around the bed in order to get a closer look at the woman’s face.

  Stoddard opened the door. “You can come in now. But I think this is all ridiculous.”

  It took Joe’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dimly lit room. Walking toward the bed, he saw it immediately—the tattoo on the woman’s right arm. With his attention focused primarily on the exposed arm, he glanced toward the face. From his angle, all he could see was a bandaged head and wisps of shortly cut red hair. Isabella wore her red hair short.

  “That’s definitely Isabella,” Joe said, looking back at the tattoo. “It seems to be peeling.”

  “Yes. I’m afraid she got a little sunburned in the desert. We’re lucky it wasn’t in the dead of summer when they dumped her out there. Or it would be worse.”

  “I’m sorry I put you through this,” Joe said as he turned from the bed.

  “No!” Lily cried out. “You didn’t even look at my face!”

  “I’d like to have that woman arrested,” Stoddard said as they walked down the hallway. “But I’d be happy if I just never see her again. I don’t want her coming here again.”

  “Don’t worry Stoddard, I will take care of it,” Joe promi
sed.

  Danielle could hear Lily coming down the staircase, and by her words, it was obvious Joe failed to identify the body correctly.

  “Those crazy people tattooed my arm!” Lily shouted to Danielle when she reached the first floor landing. “I have a freaking dragon tattoo on my arm! He didn’t even look at my face!”

  “You didn’t even look at her face!” Danielle glared at Joe.

  “Interesting how you already know I didn’t find Lily up there. If you honestly believed that was your friend upstairs, I’d expect to be greeted with something like I told you so—not some excuse as to why I didn’t find her,” Joe said angrily.

  “I take it, that was Isabella upstairs?” Brian said as he reached for Danielle’s wrists, handcuffs in hand.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alone in the interrogation room, Danielle wearily rested her head on the desktop. Pillowing her head on her folded arms, she thought of Lily, who had stayed back at the Gusarov Estate to keep an eye on her body. Danielle wasn’t sure how that was going to help.

  Joe and Brian had refused to stop at the car so she could retrieve her purse, and they had confiscated her cellphone and keys. Even if they had let her keep the phone, she wasn’t sure who she would call. Ian was in California, and Joanne was out of town on vacation.

  The door opened. She lifted her head briefly and opened her eyes. Joe walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Taking a deep sigh, Danielle sat up straight and looked at Joe, who was now sitting down across the table from her. In his hands was a manila folder. He dropped it on the desk.

  “So, am I under arrest? Do I get to make my one phone call?”

  “Stoddard doesn’t want to press charges.”

  “Well that’s generous of him, considering he’s kidnapped my best friend.”

  “It wasn’t Lily, and you know it,” Joe picked up the folder and began shuffling through the papers.

  Danielle looked at the folder in Joe’s hand. “What’s in there?”

  “Your file.”

  “I have a file?”

  In response, Joe closed the file and set it on the desk. When Danielle reached for it, he pushed her hand away.