The Ghost and the Bride

by Anna J. McIntyre

  He continued to look out the window until it was dark outside, Ian’s house across the street a mere silhouette. Sadie kept vigil with him, standing close to his side, while Max napped on the center of Cory’s unmade bed.

  Finally, Walt spied headlights pulling into Ian’s driveway across the street. A moment later, more headlights—they were all home.

  Turning from the window, Walt called to Max, “Get up, Max. We aren’t supposed to be in here.”

  Sleepily lifting his head, Max glared at Walt. He was far too comfortable to budge. When he ignored Walt a second time, he found himself rising into the air, floating across the room to the open doorway.

  Letting out an unholy screech, Max leapt down from his place in midair and raced from the attic, his paws slipping from side to side on the wood floor as he made his hasty departure, reminding Walt of a cartoon cat he had once watched on Danielle’s television. With a chuckle, Walt, with Sadie by his side, followed Max from the attic, closing the door behind them.

  Downstairs, Walt found it impossible to get Danielle alone. The group had returned to the house with boxes of pizza, and it was obvious no one intended to call it a night.

  In the midst of the commotion, Walt told Danielle, “I found out who he is.”

  Flanked by Laura and Kelly, Danielle was unable to ask Walt any questions, but by her expression he understood what she wanted to know.

  “It’s too complicated,” Walt told her. “After you turn in for the night, I’ll come to your room and explain everything.”

  Overcome with curiosity, Danielle was about to excuse herself when Walt vanished. Before she had a chance to make an excuse, someone handed her a plate with a slice of pizza. Before she knew what happened, she was in the dining room, playing a board game with Ian, Lily, and their siblings—along with Joe Morelli.

  While Joe hadn’t been able to go out on the yacht with the group because of his work, he was able to join them for dinner and games. Chris, who had joined them on the yacht, had gone on home, passing on the pizza and games. Danielle knew Hunny had spent the day with Heather, and Chris was anxious to pick her up.

  By the time Danielle climbed into bed Wednesday evening, she could barely keep her eyes open. They had played games far too long, but she couldn’t bring herself to make an excuse and say goodnight—Lily was having far too much fun. Danielle figured for Lily’s sake her curiosity would just have to wait to be appeased.

  Snuggling down in her bed under the blankets, Danielle yawned. She wondered what was keeping Walt.

  Danielle opened her eyes and found she was standing on the beach, overlooking the ocean. At first, she thought she was standing in front of Ian’s house. But then she saw it. Morro Rock. She would know it anywhere. As a teenager, Danielle had spent time in Morro Bay.

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” Danielle heard Walt say. She turned to her right, and there he was. But he wasn’t alone. The mystery ghost stood next to him.

  “You couldn’t just wake me up?” Danielle asked.

  “Kent thought it might be easier if he showed you,” Walt explained.

  Danielle frowned. “Kent?”

  “This is amazing,” Kent murmured. “If I knew something like this were possible, I would have contacted Pamela.”

  Walt shook his head. “I don’t think you could do this on your own. Lily couldn’t. And I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to bring this together.”

  Danielle shook her head in confusion. “Could someone please tell me what is going on? And why did you just call him Kent?”

  “Kent here is having an out-of-body experience. Just like Lily and Chris did. But unfortunately for him, some other spirit snatched his body before he could reclaim it. And it seems once that happens, it’s impossible to move back in,” Walt explained.

  Danielle stared at Kent. “You mean you’re Pamela’s real husband? Not the guy staying with us?”

  “It’s my body. Just not my spirit.”

  “Do you know who he is?”

  “Maybe it would be easier to explain if we show you. Kent and I already went through this once. Consider this a dream hop rerun,” Walt explained. “In fact, until Kent and I went through this the first time, he wasn’t even aware of all that had gone on around him.”

  “What do you mean the first time?”

  “Danielle, as you know, it’s possible for me to enter your dream, and when I do, I’m sometimes able to invite another spirit—even one who has moved on to the other side.”

  Danielle nodded. “Yes, of course. Like you did at Christmas—or with Emma.”

  “Correct. But you know it’s not always possible. And, as you know, it’s possible to bring two people together in a dream hop.”

  Danielle grinned. “Like you did with Lily and Ian when you helped get them back together.”

  “Correct. Kent here is technically still alive—but since he doesn’t sleep, bringing him into a dream hop is a little tricky. A little like inviting another spirit, but not quite.”

  “I think I understand. But you say you had a dream hop with him before you tried with me?”

  Walt nodded. “I wanted to see if it was possible. I thought perhaps I would only be able to do it once you went to sleep and we entered your dream. But it seems we were able to dream hop—independent of you. Yet what I found interesting, Kent was able to recreate an experience from his life to show me, as well as revealing what happened around him that he may not have noticed when alive.”

  “Oh…you mean like when you took me to the speakeasy?” Danielle asked. “And we overheard conversations of other people who had been in the room with you when you had been alive—conversations that you hadn’t overheard at the time?”

  Walt smiled. “Exactly. Are you ready?”

  They were no longer standing on the beach. But they were still in Morro Bay. Danielle recognized the men immediately. The tall lanky man with the Mohawk and numerous piercings was Felicia’s boyfriend. The man next to him was obviously Rowland Scuttle, the man in Samuel Hayman’s photograph. The two huddled on the sidewalk, next to what Danielle assumed was their car.

  Walt gave Danielle a gentle nudge, urging her closer so she could hear what they were saying.

  Felicia’s boyfriend handed Rowland a box. “One of these and it’ll be over in fifteen minutes.”

  Rowland lifted the box’s lid. Danielle peeked inside. It looked like brownies. “You sure it won’t kill him?”

  “Not unless you let him eat the entire box.”

  “He does love chocolate,” Rowland said.

  “Then don’t let him have more than one. Two at the most. It’ll give him diarrhea first; then when he’s on the john, he’ll pass out.” He laughed.

  “Damn, that could get messy.” Rowland cringed.

  “Don’t worry. You won’t be the one having to clean it up.”

  “What are they up to?” Danielle asked.

  “Shh,” Walt said. “Just listen.”

  Rowland put the lid back on the box and checked his watch. “I better get going. You can drop me off. Lunch hour is almost over. The jewelry store closes at five. I’ll give this to him at four thirty. He should be in the john by the time the store is closing up. As soon as he passes out, I’ll lock up, and you come round back. You can help me fill up the bags.”

  “We’ll be on the boat and outa here before he wakes up.” Felicia’s boyfriend laughed.

  Danielle glanced around. “Where’s Kent? He has to be around here somewhere.”

  Kent’s spirit continued to stand next to Walt, which Danielle could clearly see. But Walt knew what Danielle meant. Where was Kent back then—on the day this was all going down? Walt pointed across the street. There, standing outside a rental office, shaking hands with a man, was Kent.

  “I was renting a house for the weekend as a surprise for Pamela for her birthday. She’s always wanted to do that,” Kent explained.

  Danielle watched as Kent got into a car, and Rowland and Felicia’s boyfriend
got into their car.

  Suddenly, Danielle’s perception of the scene altered when she—along with Walt and Kent—hovered overhead, observing an aerial view of the street. The vehicle Rowland drove headed east, while Kent’s made a U-turn, following them. Both cars picked up speed. After a few minutes the lead car approached a stoplight. The light was red, but just as they reached it, the green left turn signal flashed on.

  Rowland started to make the left-hand turn, but just as he did, Kent’s vehicle sped up and then veered to the left, heading straight for the driver’s side of Rowland’s car. It happened so fast. The next minute Rowland’s car was upside down, with the men trapped inside.

  No longer hovering above, Danielle stood in the street with Walt and Kent and watched as the police arrived on the scene. When the responders finally pulled the two men from Rowland’s vehicle, Felicia’s boyfriend was dead—he had been decapitated. However, Rowland was barely hanging on and they rushed him into an ambulance.

  Danielle watched the ambulance take Rowland away, yet she knew he would not survive. When she looked back to the scene, she spied the spirit of Felicia’s boyfriend looking down at his dead body and its missing head, processing what had just happened. He then looked up and spied the cause of all the carnage—Kent’s car. He marched over to it and went unnoticed by the men currently cutting the driver from the vehicle.

  A moment later, Kent’s spirit floated from his car to the sidewalk.

  “This is your fault!” Felicia’s boyfriend shouted at him. “Who taught you to drive?”

  Confused, Kent looked from the spirit yelling at him to the headless body now being removed from the street. He turned toward his car and watched as the responders removed his body from the battered vehicle. Frantically, they began giving him CPR.

  Enraged, Felicia’s boyfriend shouted, “This isn’t fair!” In the next moment, to Danielle’s amazement, Felicia’s boyfriend literally dived into Kent’s body, disappearing.

  The body convulsed.

  “He has a pulse!” yelled a paramedic.

  Twenty-Five

  Danielle woke up exhausted on Thursday morning. Sitting up in her bed, she replayed in her mind all that she had seen in the dream hop. It gave her the shivers to think that Felicia’s creepy boyfriend was sleeping in the bed downstairs next to poor unsuspecting Pamela. Lily’s cousin had no idea the man next to her was a career criminal. While Danielle was relieved to hear the two intended to divorce, she thought it all so tragic. Plus, if Walt was correct, the Kent impostor would be walking away with all the money from the insurance settlement. Although, considering everything, Danielle figured letting him keep the insurance money was probably better than having him in Pamela’s life.

  Climbing out of bed, Danielle knew there was no way she was going to tell Lily any of this. At least not until she came back from her honeymoon. Lily would never enjoy her wedding day or honeymoon if she fretted over her favorite cousin. While there was nothing Lily could do about the situation but worry, Danielle wondered if there might be something she could do.

  Sitting at the side of her bed, she picked up her cellphone on the nightstand and made a call.

  “Morning, Danielle. You’re calling early,” Chris answered a moment later.

  “Did I wake you?” she asked.

  “Nah, I was just sitting on the back patio, drinking coffee. What’s up?”

  “I need to talk to you—and Heather.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s too complicated. Can you call Heather and have her come down to your house? I don’t want Lily to know about this.”

  “Hmm, sounds interesting. Does this have something to do with your mystery ghost?”

  “Yes. I found out who he is,” Danielle told him.

  “Okay, I’ll give her a call and see when she can get over here.”

  “Just send me a text letting me know when she’ll be there,” Danielle told him.

  “I don’t understand. Why are we having the bachelorette party at Ian’s?” Danielle heard Laura asking Lily when she walked into the dining room some twenty minutes later.

  “Ian and I just figured his party would be better over here.”

  “Lame,” Laura muttered.

  Danielle and Lily exchanged glances, each stifling a smile.

  “Morning, Dani,” Lily greeted her.

  “Morning all.” Danielle walked to the table and helped herself to a cup of coffee. Earlier, Joanne had set a pot of hot coffee on the table along with empty mugs and a platter of pastries. She was now in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, while Lily’s family sat around the dining room table, drinking coffee.

  “I’m all for having it here,” Cory said. “That way if I drink too much, I can just fall into bed.”

  “Like it’s a big deal to walk across the street?” Laura scoffed.

  “It’s your sister’s party,” Mr. Miller reminded her. “She can have it wherever she wants.”

  “Anyway, Laura, I thought you’d like having it over there, where we can just step outside and look at the ocean. I figured you’d be all over that, considering you wanted us to have our wedding on the beach,” Lily reminded her.

  Laura shrugged. “Well, you do have a point.”

  “I was thinking of staying upstairs during the party, in my room. But now that Ian is having his bachelor party here, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Tammy said.

  “Mom, why don’t you want to come to my bachelorette party?” Lily asked.

  Tammy reached across the table and patted her daughter’s hand. “Dear, those are for you girls. You don’t want a bunch of old ladies hanging around.”

  “I want you there, Mom,” Lily insisted. “Anyway, Ian’s mom is going to be there.”

  “And don’t forget Marie,” Danielle reminded them.

  “Marie?” Tammy asked.

  “Yes, Marie. You met her at the shower. She’s ninety-one, Mom.” Lily grinned.

  Laura slumped down in her chair and groaned. “Whoopee, this is going to be a wild party. Fun. Not.”

  Cory looked at Laura. “Maybe you want to stay here and go to the bachelor party instead.” He laughed.

  Danielle’s cellphone vibrated. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it. She then grabbed a cinnamon roll from the pastry plate, tucked her phone into her pocket, and picked up her coffee. “Tell Joanne not to wait for me; I have to run out for a bit.”

  “Where are you going?” Lily asked as Danielle headed for the hallway.

  “I have to see Chris about something. See you all later. Enjoy breakfast.” Danielle flashed Lily a smile, took a bite of her cinnamon roll, and headed for the door.

  Since Danielle had forgotten to grab cinnamon rolls for Chris and Heather, she slowed her pace when she reached the sidewalk, giving herself time to finish the roll before she reached Chris’s house. Just as she took the last bite, a lavender mist appeared several feet in front of her. She stopped abruptly.

  The mist swirled erratically and then shot off in all directions, reminding Danielle of a starburst. In the next moment, gold and lavender glitter rained down from the sky, covering the spot where the mist had been just moments before—the glitter disappearing before it hit the sidewalk. Danielle instinctively knew what was happening.

  Wide-eyed, her gaze focused on the spot. She muttered, “Eva Thorndike.”

  What had been mist and glitter was no more. In its place stood Eva Thorndike wearing a gauzelike lavender gown.

  “How did you know?” Eva asked.

  Danielle chuckled. “Because no one makes an entrance like you do.”

  “I can’t believe my good luck. I was hoping to talk to you.”

  “Actually, I would like to talk to you too. Will you walk with me down the street?” Danielle asked, licking the residue of sugar frosting off her fingers.

  “Where are we going?” Eva asked. The two began walking down the street, side by side.

  “My friend Chris lives down the
street. He’s like me; he can see spirits.” Danielle paused a moment and looked at Eva. “Why did you need to see me, by the way?”

  “I’ve been keeping an eye on Felicia. It seems she plans to come to Frederickport on Saturday, to meet up with your guest she’s been in contact with. I thought you should know.”

  “It looks like those phone calls had nothing to do with Kent feeling guilty over the accident.” Danielle then went on to tell Eva what she had learned in the dream hop.

  “Verrrrry interesting,” Eva said when they reached the sidewalk in front of Chris’s house.

  “Will you come in with me?” Danielle asked. “Heather is here too. She’s like me and Chris and can see spirits. And I really would like to talk to you more about this.”

  “Are you saying there are two people in that house that will be able to see me? Hear me? Two living people?”

  “I know Chris will be able to. I’m pretty sure Heather will be able to too. Her abilities have improved over the last six months.”

  “Yes! Let’s go in!” Eva disappeared up the sidewalk, leaving behind a swirl of lavender mist and glitter.

  Heather Donovan stood in Chris’s kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee, while Chris sat at the breakfast bar, nursing his second cup. She preferred green tea, but he didn’t have any in the house. That morning, she had just been heading out to take a jog along the beach when he had called, asking her to come over.

  She had initially given up jogging—finding dead bodies on the beach had become tedious. However, she had started back again. This morning’s jaunt down from her house to Chris’s—along the beach—had kicked her butt, and she regretted allowing herself to get out of shape again. Her office job with Chris was too sedentary. She wondered briefly if he might consider buying her a treadmill desk.

  That morning she had pulled her black hair up to the top of her head, fashioning it in a Pebbles-like ponytail, minus the bone ornament. While she had actually combed her hair before pulling it into a ponytail, it didn’t look like it now. Wearing her powder blue sweat suit and jogging shoes, she regretted the pullover sweatshirt instead of a T-shirt with a jacket. It might be chilly along the beach in the morning, but it was warm in Chris’s kitchen.