Ghost Who Came for Christmas

by McIntyre, Anna J

“I don’t think Anna needs to worry about Chris, but Peter Morris is another matter all together,” Walt said when he appeared in front of Danielle as she turned toward the front door. She caught herself in time and didn’t cry out in surprise.

  “I hate when you do that!” she hissed under her breath. Walking to the door, Walt by her side, she asked, “And what are you talking about?”

  “I overheard a phone conversation Morris had in the parlor. I don’t know who he was talking to, but he said they might have to get rid of Anna.”

  Danielle paused by the front door and glanced at Walt, and then looked behind her, toward the open door leading to the living room. She couldn’t see in the room, but she could hear the mingling of Christmas carols—streaming through the living room speakers—with the voices of her guests.

  “Why would he want to get rid of Anna? Do they know each other?” Danielle asked in a whisper. “Now that you mention it, she was in the parlor with Morris when I went to tell him Richard would be a few minutes.”

  “He didn’t seem to know her, but she knew him. And she told him to stay away from Richard. When he was alone in the parlor, he made a phone call and said they may need to get rid of her. From what I heard, he believes there’s something going on between Anna and Richard.”

  “Funny, Morris asked me about that. Which of course you already know, since you were in the room with us.” Danielle reached for the front door knob. She paused a moment.

  “I haven’t seen anything to indicate something romantic is going on between those two,” Walt told her.

  “I haven’t either. But maybe it has nothing to do with romance.” Danielle opened the door. Brian Henderson stood on the front porch, and in his hand he held a bottle of wine

  “Merry Christmas.” Brian handed Danielle the wine.

  Accepting the gift, Danielle opened the door wider. “Merry Christmas, Brian. And thank you. Come on in.”

  “I thought for a moment there you changed your mind about inviting me,” Brian said with a chuckle. Once inside the house he started to remove his jacket.

  Danielle closed the door. “Why do you say that?”

  “Took you a while to answer the door. Figured you looked out the window and thought, damn he actually showed up.”

  Danielle laughed and took his jacket from him. “Nah, it’s Christmas. All is forgiven—or at least there’s a truce until New Year’s.” Danielle walked over to the nearby coat rack and hung Brian’s jacket on a hook.

  “I guess the chief won’t be coming,” Brian said. “He’s off for a few days.”

  “I heard. He took the boys to Portland so they could see their grandparents.”

  “Yeah, his late wife’s family.” Brian glanced around. “I thought I saw Joe’s car.”

  “He’s here. I made him go to the library and get a drink. He needs to lighten up.”

  “What did he do now?” Brian chuckled.

  “Got on my case again about running a B and B. I guess you ran into a couple of my guests in town, and there was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

  “Joe told you?”

  “Didn’t you know he would?”

  “Actually, when he asked if he should say anything to you, I said something like, I don’t see the point.”

  “Well…thanks, I think.” Danielle lifted her hand with the bottle of wine and pointed down the hall. “We have a bar set up in the library, you’ll find hot food in the kitchen, other goodies throughout. Go mingle.” The doorbell rang again.

  On route to the library, Brian came to an abrupt halt when a little girl darted out from the kitchen, carrying a platter of cookies. She slammed into him, spilling the cookies onto the floor. By her startled expression and the tears now pooling in her blue eyes, he expected she might start crying at any moment.

  He dropped to his knees and quickly began snatching up the cookies off the floor and setting them back on the platter.

  “I’m sorry! I ruined them!” the little girl held tight onto the platter and looked down at Brian who knelt before her, picking up the remaining cookies.

  “Nah, they’re fine. Haven’t you ever heard of the five second rule?” Brian asked as he dropped the last cookie back on the platter and stood up. He smiled down at the little girl.

  “Five second rule?” she asked with a frown.

  “Yeah. As long as you pick it up before five seconds, you can still eat it.”

  She shook her head. “If they fell on the floor, no one will want them now.”

  “Who says?” Brian grabbed a cookie and shoved it in his mouth. He made growling sounds as he quickly chewed and swallowed it.

  The little girl giggled.

  “See, it didn’t hurt me…” Brian then grabbed hold of his throat and pretended to choke and swoon.

  The little girl started to laugh.

  “Here Jessica, let me take those,” Joanne said as she stepped out of the kitchen.

  Jessica handed Joanne the platter. “I’m sorry.”

  Joanne ruffled the top of Jessica’s head and said, “Hey, don’t worry. We have plenty of cookies. Danielle’s been baking for days. I’ll just bag these up for Brian, and he can take them home with him.” Joanne flashed Brian a smile and wink.

  “I’d like that.” Brian grinned. “Merry Christmas, Joanne. So, Danielle did all the baking?”

  “Yes, she’s quite a good baker—and cook. Must say I’m impressed. Glad to see you made it.”

  “And who is this young lady?” Brian glanced down at Jessica.

  “Brian, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is Officer Henderson, he’s one of our local police officers.”

  “You can call me Brian, Jessica. I saw you the other day, at the diner with your friends.”

  “We’ve been having so much fun since we got here! We went to the craft store after we went out to lunch.”

  “You did? Did you buy anything?” Brian asked.

  “Chris brought us stuff to make phonebook Christmas trees, but Anna picked it all out. Anna said he didn’t have to make them with us because he paid for everything.”

  “So this Chris and Anna, they’re married? Boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  Jessica giggled. “No silly.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Why were you asking Jessica about Chris and Anna?” Joanne asked when Brian followed her back into the kitchen. Jessica had already run off, looking for her mother.

  “I ran into them the other day when they were at the diner. They seemed to be having some sort of disagreement. Just wondered what was up with them.”

  Joanne carried the platter of cookies over to the counter and set them down. “That surprises me. All the guests have been getting along. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they’ve been friends for years.”

  Brian lifted the lids off the slow cookers to see what was inside. “So what’s this about one of them showing up without a reservation and taking a room in the attic?”

  “That’s Anna. I’m surprised someone her age is so content just hanging out with the other guests. She even had them doing a craft project together.”

  “What are the other guests like?” Brian grabbed a clean spoon from the counter and dipped it in the slow cooker with the oyster stew.

  “You met Jessica. She’s here with her mother. From what I understand, they won their trip here.” Joanne picked the cookies up from the platter.

  “Danielle is giving away trips?” Brian blew on the spoonful of oyster stew before sampling it.

  “No. According to Patricia, she won a Christmas holiday for her and Jessica. Danielle knew nothing about it. But it appears to be legit, because Danielle was paid for the room.” Joanne tossed the cookies into the trashcan.

  “Odd Danielle didn’t know about it.” Brian dropped the spoon in the sink.

  “I’m happy for them. They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

  Marie Nichols arrived at the open house just as Peter Morris stepped out the front door to leave. Holding onto her grandson�
�s arm with one hand, and a cane in the other, she made her way up Marlow House’s front walkway. She paused when she saw Peter walking her way. Lifting her cane, she asked in a loud voice, “What is he doing here?”

  “Grandmother, please, it’s Christmas,” Adam said in a hushed voice.

  “I know what time of year it is. I’m not daft. But he doesn’t believe in Christmas, why is he here?”

  “Good evening, folks,” Peter said politely as he walked past Marie and Adam, making his way to the street.

  Marie stubbornly refused to budge. She stood and watched as Peter got into his car and drove off.

  “I can’t believe Danielle would invite him,” Marie said.

  “I doubt she did. And Grandma, just because someone’s religion doesn’t acknowledge Christmas, doesn’t mean they don’t attend Christmas parties. I’ve been to a few of your Christmas gatherings where you’ve invited your Jewish friends—and they attended.”

  “That’s different,” Marie spat, turning to the house. “Jewish is a real religion.”

  “I believe it’s called Judaism,” Adam corrected.

  “Are you being obstinate?”

  “Peter Morris, he’s a friend of Richard’s?” Chris asked. He stood in the corner of the living room with Danielle, sipping brandy-laced eggnog.

  When Marie had arrived two hours earlier, she spared no time letting everyone within hearing distance know what she thought of Peter Morris and Earthbound Spirits. Richard did not defend Morris or the organization. He made no comment and silently listened to the elderly woman’s rant. He had since retreated to the parlor with Patricia. Marie and Adam were now in the library, where Adam chatted with Ian at the bar, and Marie visited with Millie Samson and several other people she knew.

  “I don’t know if friend is really the correct term. Do you know anything about Earthbound Spirits?” Danielle asked.

  “I’ve read a little bit about them. I noticed Richard didn’t speak up when your friend—Marie, is that her name?”

  “Yes.”

  “When Marie let us all know what she thought of the—cult—as she called it. If Richard hadn’t introduced me to the man when he was here, I wouldn’t have known they knew each other. Well, at least not if I walked in when Marie was giving her opinion.” Chris sipped his eggnog.

  “He did look a little embarrassed,” Danielle said.

  “Why wouldn’t you necessarily call him Richard’s friend?” Chris asked.

  “Richard’s a member of Earthbound Spirits. I don’t think he’s high up in the group—but Morris is its founder.”

  “Richard has never once mentioned Earthbound Spirits to me,” Chris told her.

  “Hmm, that’s kind of interesting. I sort of assumed someone who is a member of a group like that—well, that they would want to talk about it. He did mention it to me. To be honest, I have a feeling Morris showed up tonight thinking I might be a likely recruit.”

  “You, in Earthbound Spirits?” Chris chuckled. “Like that would ever happen.”

  Danielle smiled. “Thanks, I think. So, why don’t you think I’d be a likely member?”

  “You just seem far too savvy to fall prey to something like that. While I like Richard—what I know about him—he comes off a little insecure, searching for something in spite of his money.”

  “How do you know he has money?” Danielle asked.

  Chris arched his brows. “Have you looked at that guy’s shoes? They probably cost more than what I pay for my shoes—in a lifetime.”

  Danielle glanced down at Chris’ feet. “Oh your shoes don’t look that cheap.”

  Chris laughed. “Thanks a lot!”

  Danielle grinned. “So what did Morris say to you? Did he give you the recruitment speech?”

  “Not at all. In fact, he never mentioned Earthbound Spirits. But he did ask a lot of questions.”

  “About what?”

  “Me. What I did, where I lived. Came off as one of those people who are genuinely interested in you. That can be very seductive for some people.”

  “Are you saying he really wasn’t interested in getting to know you?”

  Chris chuckled. “Oh, he wanted to get to know me—or should I say, my net worth. But once he figured out I was some drifter who’d spent the last six months living on someone else’s sailboat, and wasn’t sure where I was going next, he cut the conversation short and moved on.”

  “Doesn’t really surprise me.”

  “He wasn’t the only one asking me questions tonight.” Chris set his empty glass on a side table. “Your friend Joe was giving me the third degree, earlier. But I guess, that’s what cops do.”

  “Oh...” Danielle cringed. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “No problem. But I’ll give you the heads up, that guy he was with—also a cop…”

  “You mean Brian?”

  Chris nodded. “I think that’s his name. I ran into him at the diner the other day, and he overheard me and Anna talking and got the wrong impression and—”

  “Yeah, Joe mentioned that to me.”

  “He really did misunderstand. We were in the hallway, and he was behind the door, standing in the men’s bathroom. Not really sure what he thought he heard, but he got in my face.”

  “Yeah, well, Brian has a tendency to do that. Did he say anything to you tonight?”

  “No, but he did a lot of glaring. I didn’t notice him talking to Anna either—she got a little feisty with him when he confronted me in the diner. But I did see him sitting with Patricia for a long time tonight. And then that cowboy came in. Your friend Brian seemed a little annoyed with the competition.”

  “Oh, you must mean Will Wayne. Yes, Patricia is from Arizona. She recognized him. He was something of a celebrity in the Phoenix area. Had a big car dealership, his ads were always on TV.”

  “I assume he was in the ads?”

  “Yes. He was known as Billy Bob Wayne. I’m glad he was able to stop by tonight, if even for a while. His daughter was in Earthbound Spirits—Isabella Strickland. Her uncle’s the one who had Lily, the man you read about.”

  “Yeah, I sort of figured that, by what was said in there.”

  “So tell me Chris, what are your plans for after the New Year?”

  “You mean when I leave here?”

  Danielle nodded.

  “I haven’t gotten that far. Just trying to enjoy my time here. Get into the Christmas spirit. What about you; how’s it been spending this Christmas with a bunch of strangers? I know Marlow House just opened this past summer.”

  “To be honest, it’s gone a lot better than I had hoped. I sort of figured my holiday guests would be comprised of a few couples—who would have minimal contact with each other, aside from the meals. And even then, I gave a two hour window for meals, so everyone could have eaten at different times—which hasn’t been the case. It’s been fun. It’s felt like Christmas.”

  “Yes, yes it has.” Chris smiled. “I’ve enjoyed all the different Christmas cookies. When I was a kid, my mom used to do this thing—I think she called it a cookie exchange.”

  Danielle’s smile broadened. “We used to do that. Get about six friends together. Each of us would make six dozen cookies. We’d take our cookies to the exchange, and return home with six different kinds of cookies, a dozen each.” Then she added with a laugh, “Minus whatever we ate at the exchange.”

  “In my case it was more like twenty of Mother’s friends.”

  “Wow! That’s a lot of cookies!” Danielle laughed.

  “I’d say you’ve almost done that—and by yourself.”

  “Not quite twenty.” Danielle grinned. “I remember one year someone bought store bought cookies—were people mad!”

  “Isn’t this fascinating. You’re discussing cookies,” Walt said when he appeared, standing between Danielle and Chris.

  Trying to ignore Walt, Danielle asked, “You mentioned your parents are gone too?”

  “They’ve been gone for three years now,”
Chris explained.

  “Any brothers or sisters?”

  “I have a sister. She and her husband moved to London two years before our parents were killed. That’s where my brother-in-law’s from. I’m happy for her, but it makes it a little difficult to get together for the holidays.”

  “Did you meet Ian’s sister? She was here for a while, but went back over to Ian’s, said she was exhausted, but she’ll be here in the morning.”

  “Ian’s sister seems like a nice girl,” Walt chimed in. “She and Chris would make a nice couple. You should seat them together at the dinner table for tomorrow night. Too bad you didn’t hang any mistletoe. You never know, a gentle nudge under the mistletoe for those two and Ian might have a new brother-in-law.”

  “Yes, I did. Ian introduced us. She seems like a nice girl. Maybe you should seat her next to Richard tomorrow night, at the dinner table. I think they would make a cute couple.” Chris smiled. “You don’t happen to have any mistletoe do you? Nothing like a little Christmas romance to spice things up.”

  Momentarily speechless, Danielle stared blankly at Chris. She blinked her eyes. Finally, she asked, “Have you ever felt that maybe you’re a little…umm…clairvoyant, maybe?”

  Suppressing a grin, Chris asked, “Clairvoyant, what do you mean?”

  “Oh I don’t know…like you start humming a song, and then in the next minute it comes on the radio. Or a friend starts talking about something, and it’s something you were just thinking about. Stuff like that.”

  “You’re thinking of Hunter, aren’t you?” Walt asked. “How he heard me say Marvin. Of course, he got everything else wrong.”

  Chris shook his head. “No…what made you think of that?”

  “Oh…I don’t know. Sometimes the goofiest, off-the-wall stuff just pops into my head. Never mind. It’s nothing.”

  Jessica was tucked into bed for the night, and the open house guests—except for Ian, and those staying at Marlow House—had all gone home, when the packages arrived. They weren’t brought by a carrier Danielle recognized—it wasn’t FedEx or the United Parcel Service. The man delivering the packages dropped them on the front doorstep, rang the bell, and returned to his van. Danielle managed to catch a glimpse of the van as it drove off.