by Bobbi Holmes
“Joe, I’m trying to give you a general idea of my thought process. I’m not saying I expected Isabella to wake up and talk to me, or that I thought it would be Lily. I had this gut feeling—an intuition—I just knew I needed to go to the Gusarov Estate and try to see Isabella. I didn’t think they’d just let me in, so I broke in. I wasn’t really thinking straight.”
“So it was all just some wild hunch?” Joe asked incredulously.
“I don’t expect you to understand, Joe. Most people don’t. But sometimes I have these—intuitions. It’s like when I found Cheryl’s body. I just knew— instinctively—that I had to check out the beach hut. Just like I knew I needed to walk down the beach and try to retrace Cheryl’s steps, assuming she tried to walk back to Marlow House that night. I know it doesn’t make sense. When I was down at the cemetery, after finding Sadie, I was drawn to the crypt. I just knew I needed to try and open it the rest of the way.”
“Are you telling me you have some sort of ESP thing?”
“I wouldn’t call it ESP exactly.” Danielle shifted in the chair uncomfortably. “I can’t explain it. I know it makes some people suspicious—like your partner Brian.”
“So this is your explanation for everything that happened yesterday—you had a hunch?”
“It wasn’t just a blind hunch. I explained about the article, the coincidence with Lily and the rest stop.”
“I’m sorry Danielle, it all sounds pretty farfetched.”
“But it was Lily at the Gusarov Estate, and there was a body in the crypt.”
“Yes, I know. But there is something about your explanation...” Joe leaned back in his desk chair and studied Danielle. “You see, I get gut feelings too. I’ve learned to trust my gut, and mine is telling me there’s something more. Something you’re not telling me.”
“What is it you think I’m hiding, Joe?”
“I don’t know. You tell me, Danielle.”
“I honestly don’t know what you want from me.”
“Okay…” Joe leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “Then let’s go back to Jimmy Borge.”
“Jimmy Borge?” Danielle frowned.
“Our dognapper. That’s his name,” Joe explained.
“I didn’t know.”
“Do you have any idea how he got Sadie?”
“I told you, when I got home yesterday—after leaving here—she was gone. I have a honeymoon couple staying at Marlow House; you met them. I suspect they accidentally let her out.”
“What made you go to the cemetery to look for her?”
“I told you, a—”
“A hunch, right.” Joe sighed.
After a few moments of silence, Danielle said, “Can I ask you something?”
“I suppose.” Joe leaned back in his chair again.
“What is Isabella’s uncle saying about Lily?”
“He insists he thought she was Isabella. I’m afraid he’s intending to use me in his defense.”
“You?”
“I went into the hospital room at his house, swore to you the woman was Isabella and not Lily. I was familiar with both women. He’s saying if I could make that mistake, so could he.”
“That’s absurd. Lily didn’t have a tattoo. Someone gave it to her so she’d look like Isabella.”
“I understand that. But Stoddard’s insisting whoever was driving Isabella’s car, and left it at the rest stop, are the same people who killed her and put her in the crypt. He’s saying Lily got the tattoo before she was dumped outside the rest stop.”
They were both silent for a few moments, each playing over the conversation in their heads. Finally, Danielle spoke up. “What about her hair?”
“What about her hair?” Joe frowned.
“Was her hair short when they found her?”
“I assume so.” Joe shrugged. “We didn’t discuss her hair. But even if it wasn’t, that doesn’t prove anything. According to Stoddard he hadn’t seen her for months, and women do grow their hair out.”
“But it’s short now,” Danielle reminded.
“I know that. If it was long when they found her, I can understand why they’d cut it short, considering her head injury.”
“Do you honestly believe Stoddard thought Lily was his niece?”
“I just know it’s possible, considering I thought it was Isabella in that bed. And what motive would Stoddard have to pull such an elaborate hoax?”
“I can think of one reason,” Danielle said as she stood up. “With Isabella Strickland dead, her half of the family business goes to Earthbound Spirits. I don’t think Stoddard Gusarov wanted that to happen. It was in his best interest to keep his niece alive—at least until he figured out some way to change her will.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Before going home, Danielle swung by the bank and withdrew some money from the ATM. While she hated giving the Stewarts a refund—not because she didn’t want to spend the money, but because she believed they were evil crooks— she felt it would be money well spent to have them out of Marlow House.
Knowing the Stewarts were responsible for dognapping Sadie, she couldn’t stay another night with them in the house, even with Walt standing guard. She wanted to go to the hospital and see how Lily was doing, but it was impossible until she had the situation with the Stewarts resolved, and she knew Sadie was safe.
The Cadillac was parked in front of the B and B when she returned home. Danielle wondered if her guests were inside—treasure hunting—or down at the beach. She had her answer when she went into the library and found the Stewarts pulling books off the shelves as Walt stood nearby watching.
“Do you like to read?” Danielle asked when she walked into the library. Hunter looked up from a stack of books piled on the desk.
“You’re back,” Hunter said with a smile. “Yes, I love to read. You have a wonderful collection. I was just putting them back.”
“Liars,” Walt grumbled. “They’ve been searching through the books looking for a secret compartment. Idiots.”
“We wondered where you were. Since we didn’t have breakfast here we thought you might fix us lunch,” Claire said as she stood up, walking toward Danielle. Standing by Danielle’s side was Sadie, who began to growl. Claire froze, her eyes wide, she looked at Sadie. “Your dog is growling at me!”
“I’m afraid she’s been a little jittery since Jimmy tried to dognap her.”
“Jimmy?” Claire feigned ignorance.
“Yes. The man they arrested.”
Claire and Hunter exchanged glances when Danielle looked down to Sadie.
“Don’t bother putting those books away, I need to talk to you both,” Danielle said cheerfully.
“Over lunch, perhaps?” Claire suggested.
“No. I’m afraid not. I don’t do lunch.” Danielle smiled.
“What is it you want to talk to us about?” Hunter asked.
“I mentioned earlier that there’s been a bit of a family emergency. I have a friend who’s been hospitalized and her family is going to have to stay here. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.” Danielle dug into her front pocket and pulled out the cash she’d withdrawn from the bank. She set it on the desk in front of Hunter.
“What’s this?” Claire asked.
“We have a reservation. We’ve already paid for the week,” Hunter argued.
“I’m giving you a full refund. I’m not even charging for the nights you’ve already stayed. But you’ll have to leave now.”
“This is our honeymoon!” Hunter said. “We don’t want our money back. We want to stay for the week.”
“Fortunately, there are a lot of vacancies in town, since it’s off season. You won’t have a problem finding another place to stay.”
“Do you want me to go pack for them?” Walt asked as he summoned a cigar.
“Ms. Boatman, you really don’t want me to leave yet. You need me.”
“I do?”
“Can’t you smell that? It’s the ghost of Marv
in Marlow. I can help exorcise his ghost.”
“Oh, I don’t want you to exorcise old Marvin, I rather like him. He keeps me company.”
“Don’t call me Marvin,” Walt grumbled.
“You can’t just kick us out like this,” Claire said as she snatched up the money from the desk. She began to count and straighten the stack of bills.
“I just assumed you’d want to leave now and avoid talking to the police,” Danielle said with a shrug.
“Police, Danielle? What are you up to?” Walt asked as he took a drag off his cigar and lounged against the back of the sofa.
“You can’t call the police on us,” Claire panicked. “We haven’t done anything wrong!”
“Mrs. Stewart, I never meant to imply I was calling the police on you. It’s just that when I was down there this morning, being interviewed, they mentioned they would probably be stopping over here this afternoon to talk to both of you. I just assumed you’d want to avoid that, since it is your honeymoon. Nothing like a police interrogation to throw a bucket of ice water on the romance.”
“Why would they want to talk to us?” Hunter asked.
“They have a man named Jimmy Borge in custody for trying to steal Sadie. I guess he has quite a record for dog fighting. They’re trying to figure out how he got Sadie. Since you’re the last ones to see the dog, they naturally want to talk to you both.”
“I told you we didn’t have anything to do with your missing dog!” Claire insisted.
“Yes, I understand that. But apparently, the police feel it’s important to check everyone out. I guess this is more serious than just a dog napping, considering the man’s record.”
“This is ridiculous,” Hunter snatched the money from Claire and shoved it in his pocket. “This is our honeymoon. First, you tell us we have to leave early, then you say we need to talk to the police because your stupid dog got out! Come on Claire, let’s go pack.”
“The police aren’t coming over to interview them, are they?” Walt asked as Hunter and Claire stormed out of the room.
“No.” Danielle grinned.
“You’re quite a good liar.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice recently.”
“I suppose I better go keep an eye on them.”
“Yes, please do.”
* * *
“It’s all your fault!” Hunter told Claire as he threw the suitcase on the bed.
“Why is it my fault?” Claire gathered up her cosmetics off the dresser.
“Your stupid idea to get a few bucks for that dog. Now we have to leave.”
“I don’t know why we have to go. They can’t prove anything.”
“Would you think a moment?” Hunter stopped packing the suitcase and looked at Claire. “All they have to do is run the plates on our car and they’ll realize the name on the registration isn’t the name we gave Boatman. Hell, the plates don’t even match the car!”
“I don’t think they’ll run the plates. Why would they do that? You said yourself we look completely respectable with these lame clothes and that car. We can make up some story, say I went out to put something in the car before we left the house and I accidently left the door open. The dog must have gotten out then. I never noticed. We’re so sorry. Blah blah blah.”
“You don’t think your friend Jimmy won’t give us up? According to Boatman, he’s facing some serious jail time. He’ll toss us to the cops in a heartbeat if he thinks that will shave some time off.”
“Jimmy wouldn’t do that!”
“You don’t think Jimmy’s kind of pissed at us right now? Don’t you think he’s wondering how Boatman tracked him down to the cemetery and got the dog back? Hell, I’m wondering that myself!”
“But what about the diamonds?” Claire whined.
“I’m beginning to think Isabella was delusional. But even if she’s wasn’t, we can’t risk hanging around here if the cops are going to be asking questions.”
“Where are we going to stay? Someplace on the beach?”
“Don’t be stupid Claire; we’re not staying in Frederickport. Get your stuff together. We’re heading back to Portland.”
“What about Justina? I thought she was going to meet up with us here.”
“She hasn’t called. Probably drunk somewhere. We’ll meet up with her in Portland. This trip was a bust.”
“What about Marvin Marlow? I thought he was going to be our guide.”
“Shut up Claire, and pack!”
Fifteen minutes later, Walt followed Hunter and Claire down the stairs as the couple scrambled to get away from Marlow House before the police showed up. Danielle met them in the foyer. She stood by the parlor door, Sadie by her side.
Claire set her suitcase down a moment so she could adjust her purse’s strap on her shoulder. Hunter was just reaching for the doorknob as Claire warily kept an eye on Sadie, who looked prepared to lunge at any moment. Her gaze moved from Sadie to the parlor door—and then she remembered. Her bracelet was still in the antique teapot.
“We can’t go yet!” Claire blurted out.
“Come on Claire, let’s go.” Hunter opened the door and stepped outside.
Swallowing nervously, Claire considered her options. If she went into the parlor, Danielle was sure to follow her into the room. Hunter would be furious if he found out she’d not only worn the bracelet but left it in the teapot. Looking from Danielle to Hunter, Claire decided her only option was to leave the bracelet where it was—for now. She followed Hunter outside.
Danielle stood by the open doorway and watched the Stewarts scurry down the walkway toward the street, where they’d parked their car.
“You didn’t get your keys back,” Walt noted.
“I called the locksmith when you were upstairs. He’s on his way over to change the lock before I take off to the hospital. Fortunately, their key only fits the front door knob and not the dead bolt or any of the other doors, so it won’t be too expensive to change.”
“Are you planning to do this with all your guests?”
“I may do it once a month, just to be safe.”
“If you get any more guests like the Stewarts, you might want to rethink this B and B business all together. By the way, I have a feeling their car is stolen.”
“How do you know that?” Danielle asked as she watched the Cadillac drive away. She shut the door and turned to face Walt.
“One reason Hank—who, by the way, also goes by the name Hunter—wanted to get out of here, he was afraid the cops were going to run his plates. Not only will the names not match, but also it seems the plates don’t belong to that car.”
“I wish I knew that before they left. I would have written their license plate down. I hate letting them get away with what they almost did to Sadie, but I really didn’t have anything to tell Joe—aside from what you overheard. As it is, he thinks I’m nuts.”
“Maybe you really should have had Joe come over to interview them.”
Together Walt and Danielle walked into the parlor to wait for the locksmith.
“Perhaps. I suppose I could have said something to get Joe to interview them. But the truth was, I just wanted them to get out of here so I could have some sense of privacy and safety—and so I could leave Sadie here without worrying.” Danielle dropped down on the sofa as if exhausted.
“I told you I would have watched Sadie.”
“I just didn’t want to sleep under the same roof with them. I wish you’d understand.”
“I suppose I do,” Walt said with a sigh, taking a seat across from Danielle.
“I got a text message that Lily’s parents arrived okay. But I haven’t heard anything else. I wish the locksmith would hurry up so I can get out of here.”
“Sorry, I can’t help you there.”
“Do you think they’ll be back, looking for the imaginary diamonds?” Danielle asked.
“I doubt it. I got the feeling this Hunter Hank character tends to lose interest quickly.”
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
At the hospital, Danielle found Lily’s spirit form sitting on the bed looking down at her unconscious body, which was hooked up to an assortment of monitors and medical gadgets. Lily’s parents hovered nearby, speaking in soft whispers, discussing the next plan of action. When they spied Danielle entering the room, Mrs. Miller rushed to her with open arms, greeting her with a hug before breaking into a fresh round of tears.
“She’s been crying nonstop since she got here,” Lily called out from the bed.
“Can you believe it? My baby is really alive!” Mrs. Miller blubbered. “We just need to get her better, she needs to wake up.”
Still embraced in the motherly hug, Danielle looked over Mrs. Miller’s shoulder at Lily. “Yes, she does need to wake up.”
“Ask them about my leg,” Lily said.
Mrs. Miller released Danielle and returned to her husband’s side. She used a tissue to dab tears from her eyes. Mr. Miller reached out and gave Danielle’s hand a quick squeeze in greeting.
Danielle gave his shoulder a gentle pat as she walked around him to the hospital bed and looked down at Lily’s body. The bed sheet was pulled to Lily’s chest, exposing the top of her hospital gown. It looked as if one of her legs was bandaged under the sheet.
“Is something wrong with Lily’s leg?” Danielle asked.
“Late last night they had to do emergency surgery, she got a bad infection and it settled on her knee,” Mrs. Miller explained.
“No one told me.” Danielle touched Lily’s lifeless hand. “Is she going to be all right?”
“She’s going to need six weeks of IV treatments—antibiotics,” Mrs. Miller said. “It could have killed her. Thank god you found her.”
“Apparently Isabella’s dear uncle didn’t have such a great private medical team after all,” Lily said in disgust. “I could have lost my leg! Hell, I could have lost my life with that infection!”
“The doctors don’t seem to know why she’s still in a coma,” Mr. Miller said.
“I’ve read about these things,” Lily’s mother explained. “Lily just needs to be surrounded by people who love her. We need to keep talking to her, letting her know we’re here so she’ll come back to us!”