by Bobbi Holmes
“So you are going to do it?” Danielle asked.
Ian nodded. “Yes. Lily and I plan to start a Christmas diary this year.”
“Thanks for the dinner,” Owen told Colin as the two men sat at a booth in Pier Café.
“Thanks for coming with me,” Colin said as he toyed with his cup of coffee.
“But you didn’t order anything,” Owen said, “I feel funny letting you pay for my dinner.”
Colin laughed. “I’m afraid I ate entirely too many cookies this afternoon. I’m not hungry. But I did think it would be nice to get out.”
“So how did the cookie decorating go?” Owen asked.
“It was fun. You should have joined us.”
Owen shrugged. “I just don’t feel that Christmassy this year.”
“Is it the pending divorce?” Colin asked.
Owen let out a sigh and sat back in the bench seat. “You have never been married, have you? I mean, priests can’t marry, and I just assume you weren’t married before you became a priest.”
“No. I have never been married. But as a priest, I have counseled couples who had problems.”
“Well, I don’t really want—or need help with my marriage. Fact is, I know ending it is the best thing for me.”
“And for your wife?” he asked.
Owen shrugged. “She is already living with someone else. In fact, she started seeing him before we ever separated.”
“So what do you want to do now?” Colin asked.
“When I get home, I have to file for divorce. My wife hasn’t yet. I think she is waiting for me to do it. And I will admit, I was waiting for her to serve me.”
“Now that you are resigned to the fact your marriage is over, what do you want to do with your life?”
“I guess just move on. Go back to work when I get home. Like I have been doing since she walked out the door.”
“Why are you here?” Colin asked.
Owen shifted uncomfortably in the seat. “You see…”
“Well, hello!” A woman’s voice interrupted their conversation. Colin and Owen looked up from the table and found Marcella standing over them, her husband by her side.
“Hello,” Owen said.
“We wondered how you were doing,” Marcella said. “Do you mind if we sit down for a minute?” Not waiting for a reply, Marcella scooted into the booth next to Owen, pushing him to the end of the bench seat.
Colin glanced at Forrest, who stood in awkward silence. He then scooted over and motioned for Forrest to sit down.
“So tell us, how has it been staying at Marlow House?” Marcella asked.
“They are very nice over there. Beautiful home and the breakfasts have been great,” Owen said.
“How much extra for breakfast?” Forrest asked.
Owen shrugged. “Nothing. Right, Colin?”
In response Colin gave Forrest a smile.
“I’m not sure what kind of deal Mrs. Crabtree worked out with the Marlows, but she said it wouldn’t cost us anything, just what we were paying the motel. She told us breakfast would be included with the rooms, and so far, they have also invited us to join them for other meals,” Owen explained.
“But not dinner tonight?” Forrest asked.
“We don’t want to take advantage of them,” Colin said. “After all, they are no longer running an inn. Owen and I thought we would have dinner here tonight, and let them visit with their friends.”
“It’s really nice over there,” Owen said. “I have to say, it was a bit of good luck to have plumbing problems.”
“I would love to go over and see what it looks like inside. I’m so disappointed it isn’t a bed and breakfast anymore,” Marcella said.
“There are lots of interior pictures of the house online,” Colin pointed out.
Marcella forced a smile and then looked back at Owen and asked, “Are you two the only guests staying over there?”
“No. Their friend Chris Johnson and his brother are staying with them. Chris’s house burned down.”
“I did hear something about that,” Marcella said. “So that’s all?”
“Walt and Danielle, of course,” Owen added.
“So what does everyone do all day? Just hang around the house? It must get kind of boring,” she asked.
“Today Chris and his brother are out doing some sightseeing. Colin here helped decorate Christmas cookies.”
“Oh, how fun.” Marcella smiled sweetly.
“They’re having a Christmas Eve party at Marlow House, and they are also hosting Christmas dinner there, which we have both been invited to.”
“Isn’t that nice…” Marcella glanced at her husband.
“Everyone is just hanging around Marlow House most of the time?” Forrest asked.
“Oh, their neighbors across the street are having a Christmas party Saturday evening—night before Christmas Eve. We’ve been invited to that.”
“Are you going to go?” Marcella asked.
“Sure. Might as well,” Owen said.
“Gee, I wish our plumbing broke. Sounds like you two are having a great time over there. Much more fun than a room at the Seahorse Motel.”
Twenty minutes later Marcella and Forrest sat alone in a booth at Pier Café.
“If all goes well, we will be out of here by Christmas Eve,” Marcella told her husband.
“How do you figure that?” he asked.
“Didn’t you hear what he said? Everyone is going to the neighbor’s for a Christmas party on Saturday. When they are all over there, we can come through the alleyway, enter the kitchen door, and find what we are looking for,” Marcella told Forrest.
“I just hope it’s still there.”
“Don’t even say that,” she admonished. “It is going to be there. You really need to be more positive.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because you need to look on the bright side. I have a key to the house. The dog loves me. And they are all going to be across the street on Saturday.”
Twenty-Five
Chris finally returned Danielle’s call on Wednesday evening, but she was in the bathroom and missed it. He left her a message telling her he and Noah were just going into a movie, and he would be turning his phone off, and they would not be home until after midnight. When initially leaving Chris a message to call her, Danielle had failed to tell him why she wanted to talk to him, so he assumed she had simply been checking to see when they would be home. Resigned to the fact she would not be able to ask Chris about the woman until the next morning, Danielle went to bed before midnight.
On Thursday morning, Noah and Chris slept in and missed breakfast. The moment Chris stepped out of his bedroom—wearing flannel pajama bottoms and no shirt—Danielle dragged him into the parlor and shut the door.
“Good morning to you too,” Chris said as he found himself pushed into a chair facing the sofa. “I guess I missed breakfast?”
Before Danielle could respond, Walt walked into the parlor, shutting the door behind him. He curiously eyed Chris’s bare chest and asked dryly, “You couldn’t have let him get dressed first?”
Danielle shrugged. “He can get dressed later. After we talk to him.” She then looked Chris’s ridiculously ripped chest up and down. “Anyway, I’m enjoying the view.” She glanced back to her husband and was met with a frown.
“What?” Danielle asked innocently. “Weren’t you the one who said he enjoyed looking at beautiful women? I’m just looking too.”
Walt rolled his eyes. “Fine. But no touching.”
“Hey! I am sitting right here, you know,” Chris grumbled. “You two are making me feel like a slab of meat. I feel so used!”
“Poor pretty boy,” Walt said with a sigh as he sat on the sofa next to Danielle. He picked up the throw pillow and tossed it to Chris. “Here, you can cover up with this.”
Chris grabbed the pillow and said, “Why did you drag me in here? I can’t believe it is just to harass me.”
�
��Sorry, Chris,” Danielle said sheepishly. “I couldn’t resist. But, we really do have something we need to ask you. In fact, that’s why I called you yesterday.”
Chris frowned. Before he could ask what it was, Walt said in a serious tone, “We know who the woman was who broke into Marlow House.”
“Who?” Chris asked.
“The woman Hunny went crazy over downtown on Tuesday,” Danielle explained.
With a look of confusion, Chris glanced from Walt to Danielle. “How do you know that?”
“Hunny told me,” Walt said.
“I can’t believe that,” Chris said as he leaned back in his chair.
“Why not?” Danielle asked.
“Because of how Hunny responded to her. Like she was a long-lost friend. Not like she was an intruder who locked her in the hallway.”
“Hunny wants to be loved,” Walt told him. “And she always gets her feelings hurt when people respond negatively to how she looks—she is very self-conscious about it. It’s obvious that when this woman broke in and found herself faced with a pit bull, she must have been soft-spoken with her—treated her in a way Hunny perceived as loving. She is not going to start snarling at her now.”
“I originally got Hunny because I didn’t want to hire a bodyguard. I opted instead for a guard dog.”
“You need to get over that idea. You don’t have a guard dog. Although, if you were threatened, I don’t doubt Hunny would rise to the occasion. She might want to be loved, but I imagine she would do whatever was necessary to protect you if she perceived real danger,” Walt said.
“Really?” Danielle asked with a frown. “You honestly believe that? Have you seen how Bella can make her cower?”
Walt shrugged. “I’m trying to be optimistic.”
Danielle looked back to Chris. “We need you to tell us everything you remember about that woman.”
“Noah saw her too,” Chris reminded them.
“Your brother hasn’t come down this morning yet. I think he’s still sleeping,” Walt said.
“We got in pretty late last night.”
“So what can you tell us?” Danielle urged. “Tell us everything you remember. Don’t leave out any detail.”
“Well…let me see…” Chris closed his eyes for a moment and tried to visualize the encounter. He opened his eyes and looked at Danielle. “She was probably in her late fifties. Maybe early sixties. Long gray hair. Past her shoulders. She was with a man. He had a mustache, wore glasses and a baseball cap—a green one. Umm…let’s see…they had just walked out of Lucy’s Diner.”
“This was right before you came into Adam’s office, right?” Danielle asked.
“Yeah. Just a couple of minutes before.”
“I know who they are!” Danielle told them.
“Who?” Walt and Chris asked in unison.
“It’s the couple who took care of Eloise Winterborne. Elizabeth pointed them out to us. She mentioned their names, but I can’t remember what they were. Why in the world would she be breaking into Marlow House?”
“Who is Eloise Winterborne?” Chris asked.
“She was a wealthy woman from Astoria who passed away about six months ago. Walt and I purchased a few things from her estate when we were at Astoria the other day.”
“Obviously they came here to get whatever you bought from the estate,” Chris said.
Danielle frowned. “No. That can’t be. We bought a couple of silly things for the white elephant gift exchange. Nothing valuable.”
Chris arched a brow at Danielle. “Why else would she break into your house?”
“How would she even know we have them?” Danielle asked.
“Let’s see these things you bought,” Chris said.
With a sigh, Danielle reluctantly stood up and walked over to the desk. She picked up the blue-green bag with the mermaid logo and carried it to Chris. She handed him the sack and then returned to her seat with Walt on the sofa. They watched silently as Chris removed the items from the bag. First the shoe.
“Lovely,” Chris said dryly, turning the Christmas shoe from side to side in his hand. “You were really going to give this to one of us?”
“If you were lucky, you’d be the one to get it,” Walt teased.
Chris looked closer at the gemstones on the shoe. “These don’t look real, so I don’t think they’re after this.”
He set the shoe down and pulled out the framed picture.
“That we decided not to give at the white elephant party,” Danielle told him. “The man holding the fish, that’s Adam’s great-grandfather. We’re giving it to Adam.”
“Nice. And you got this from the Winterborne estate?” Chris asked with a frown.
“I assume Eloise picked it up at a yard sale. From what we’ve been told, she frequented yard sales. Walt recognized Marie’s father in the picture.”
“I don’t see anything worth breaking in for—unless I’m missing something,” Chris said, reexamining the frame. “Unless…”
“What?” Danielle asked.
“Maybe something is hidden behind the picture. People hide things in frames. Maybe money, a stock certificate, some important document,” Chris suggested.
“I really don’t want to take the frame apart,” Danielle said. “I’m afraid it might damage the photograph, considering it seems to be stuck to the glass along the edge.”
“I can remove the back without disturbing the photograph or glass,” Chris promised.
“Okay…I guess,” Danielle said reluctantly. She and Walt sat quietly and watched as Chris lifted off the back of the frame.
A moment later Chris shook his head and said, “Nothing. Just the photograph.” He reassembled the frame and then slipped it back in the sack with the shoe.
Danielle glanced at her watch. “I wonder if Mermaid Curio is open yet.”
“Why?” Walt asked.
“I think I need to have a little chat with Bud Darrel.”
“Good morning, Mermaid Curio, how can I help you?” came a man’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Can I speak to Bud Darrel?” Danielle asked.
“This is Bud speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hello, Bud, this is Danielle Marlow. My husband and I were in your shop on Saturday—”
“Of course! I remember. Have you reconsidered that antique trunk? It’s still here.”
“Umm…no. But I was wondering, do you have any more items from the Winterborne estate?”
“Like I told you, I only bid on the trunk.”
“I was talking about the things that were in the trunk.”
“I’m afraid those all went to the thrift store. I suppose they might still have them. Fact is, you were the only ones who showed any interest in those things, aside from the Hoopers.”
“The Hoopers?” Danielle asked excitedly.
“Yes, they were the caretakers for Mrs. Winterborne. They stopped into the shop after you were here and wanted to pick up something for sentimental sake. I feel a little bad about it…”
“What do you mean?” Danielle asked.
“When they were here, I told them everything from the trunk was sitting on the counter, aside from what you bought. It wasn’t until the next day I found a couple of things I had taken from the trunk and set in the rolling cart I use. Forgot all about that. The Hoopers didn’t seem that interested in any of the remaining items. After I found the other things, I tried calling them. I was just going to give them the stuff if they wanted it, but they moved out of the room they were renting and left town. I don’t have their phone number.”
“Do you know what the other items were?” Danielle asked. “The things you took out of the trunk that we didn’t see?”
“One of those puzzle boxes and an ugly statue. Also some pottery. I thought they might want the pottery. It had Mrs. Winterborne’s initials on it. I think she made it. Figured that might be something they would want to keep for sentimental reasons.”
“One more thin
g, did the Hoopers know we bought something from the estate?” Danielle asked.
“Yes. They asked who bought the missing items from the trunk. The card you had given me was sitting here. I gave it to them—I hope that was okay.”
“That’s fine…” Danielle looked over to Walt and Chris, who sat quietly, watching and listening.
“I just figured if they really wanted whatever you bought, they could contact you and offer to buy it. Didn’t figure you were that invested in either item since you were buying them more for gag gifts.”
“Did they say they might call and offer to buy them?” Danielle asked.
“No. In fact, after they saw what was on the counter from the trunk, they lost interest and just left. But they did take your card with them.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
“Is there some problem?” he asked.
“No. I just wondered if there were any items left from the trunk. Walt and I still need to pick up a few things for the white elephant gift exchange, and we were thinking of maybe driving over to Astoria,” she lied. “One more thing, what thrift shop did you take the things to?”
When Danielle got off the phone a few minutes later, she looked at Walt and Chris and said, “I didn’t get their first names—but their last name is Hooper. And they did know we bought some items from the estate. But I don’t think we have what they are looking for.”
“Why do you say that?” Walt asked.
“I don’t think anyone is going to break in to steal that shoe or picture of Adam’s great-grandfather. I have a feeling whatever they are looking for was taken to the thrift store.”
“Noah and I were planning to drive to Astoria today. Apparently my brother is a Goonies fan and wants to see the house. You want me to stop by the thrift store when we’re over there? See if they know what came over from the gift shop from the Winterborne estate—see if any of it was sold. Buy what they have?”