Haunting Danielle 20-The Ghost Who Was Says I Do

by Holmes, Bobbi

  Thumbing through the papers, Walt looked up to Dirk and said, “I take this to mean this is something incriminating?”

  Dirk grinned. “That is the understatement of the year. I knew you and Claudia were working together, playing fast and loose with dual agency laws, but I had no idea how deep it went, or to what extent. And to think you kept such meticulous records, and in your own handwriting!”

  Walt skimmed through the documents. He didn’t recognize the handwriting. The reason, it was Clint’s handwriting, not his. But he didn’t say anything.

  “Did you use these to blackmail Claudia?” Danielle asked.

  “If I would have looked at the documents sooner, everything would be playing out differently. By the time I realized what I had, Clint was here, reportedly with amnesia and virtually destitute. What do they say about blood and a turnip? But Claudia had her condo and lots of equity. Imagine my surprise at finding Clint here had finally come into the chips?”

  “If you know I have money now, I don’t understand why Danielle has to be here?”

  “Because after recent events, I have decided to simplify things. It’s come to my attention your fiancée here keeps a valuable necklace and gold coins in her safe deposit box at the local bank. From what I understand, she’s not especially attached to the necklace or coins, but she is to you. So in exchange for those, she will keep you out of prison. Because if I send the original documents to the proper authorities, you are going away for a long time.”

  Walt and Danielle exchanged quick glances and then looked back to Dirk.

  “Go on,” Walt said.

  Dirk looked at Danielle and said, “You will find a cardboard container I have already placed by the back door of the garage. Take that with you to the bank. After you remove the necklace and gold coins from your safe deposit box, you will put them in the cardboard container. You will take it to Fisherman Park, which is located about thirty-five minutes from here. There you will find a bank of lockers behind the public restrooms. Locate locker thirty-six, open it with the combination I will give you, and lock the box inside. After you do that, return to Marlow House. Once we are safely out of Oregon with the necklace and coins, we will contact you with the number of another locker at that same location, and the locker combination. There you will find the original documents.”

  WALT DROVE the Packard to the bank, with Danielle sitting in the passenger seat. She looked down at the box in her lap.

  “Do you think the gold coins and necklace will fit in this?” Danielle asked.

  Walt looked over to Danielle. “I guess they’ll have to. According to Dirk, that’s the largest container that’ll fit in the locker.”

  A few minutes later Walt pulled up to the bank and parked. He stayed in the car and waited for Danielle, who took the box with her. Inside the bank, she was taken to the safe deposit area, where she accessed both of her safety deposit boxes.

  In the Packard, Walt glanced out the rearview mirror and spied Dirk sitting in a parked car alone, across the street, watching him. When Danielle came out of the bank, she was still carrying the box, but by the way she held it, it seemed heavier than it had been before she had entered. Walt quickly got out of the car and helped her with the box, placing it in the back seat while Danielle climbed into the passenger seat.

  It took them forty minutes to reach their destination. It was alongside one of the public beaches, with a large parking lot and public restroom. The bank of lockers butted up against the rear of the public restroom.

  Danielle reached in her purse and pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Walt. “This is the locker number and combination.”

  Taking the paper from Danielle, he reached over and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

  Danielle sat in the car and watched as Walt removed the box from the back seat and made his way to the locker. Glancing in the side mirror, she spied Dirk parked some distance away, watching her. A few minutes later Walt returned without the box and jumped in the car.

  “Let’s get out of here. He said he won’t contact us until we’re back at Marlow House and they’re out of Oregon,” Walt said.

  As they pulled out of the parking lot, Danielle looked out the back window and spied Dirk following them in his car.

  “He’s behind us,” Danielle told Walt.

  “I noticed that,” Walt said as he continued to drive, Dirk trailing behind them.

  TANYA GOT out of the rental car and slammed the door shut. Dirk had just sent her a text saying they were almost back at Marlow House. Glancing around, she noticed the various people coming and going—people taking pictures with their cellphones, some walking to and from the restrooms, others walking their dogs.

  She made her way quickly to the lockers, her heart pounding. A few moments later she stood before one they had rented and punched in the combination. She opened the door and her heart started beating even faster. Once she pulled the cardboard box from the locker, she noticed it was relatively lightweight. With a frown she hastily removed its lid and looked inside.

  With a gasp she spied the .38 sitting alone inside the box. Without thought, she reached inside and took hold of the gun by its handle, staring dumbly at it a moment. Suddenly realizing what she was holding, she dropped the gun back in the box and looked around. No one seemed to be watching her. Returning the lid, she shut the locker and quickly moved to the other locker they had rented, still holding the box with the .38.

  Standing before the second locker, she quickly punched in the combination and opened the door. To her relief the papers were still there. For a brief moment she imagined they wouldn’t be. Just as she reached in to remove them, she heard a voice say, “Please set the box on the ground, and put your hands up, and move very slowly.”

  Wide eyed, Tanya looked toward the voice and found two police officers pointing revolvers in her direction. She immediately complied, first setting the box on the ground and then nervously raising her hands.

  As one officer began reading Tanya her rights and handcuffing her, a second officer reached into the locker to pick up the papers. Yet, just as he removed them from the locker, what appeared to be a gust of wind ripped them from his hand, sending them swirling into the air.

  To the astonishment of all three watching, the papers burst into flames and, before their eyes, turned to ash.

  THIRTY-NINE

  Walt parked his Packard in front of room six at the Seahorse Motel. A few minutes later he stood at the door knocking. Someone in the room pushed the curtain open a few inches and looked outside. Several moments later the door opened.

  “Walt?” Rachel said in surprise.

  “I wanted to stop and say goodbye. The chief told us you would be leaving in the morning. And I wanted to tell you again how sorry I am about your sister.”

  Rachel opened the door wider. “Thank you, Walt. I know you don’t remember her from your life in California. But there was a time you two were close. I’m sorry about what she tried to do. I should have figured out a way to stop her. If I had…maybe she would be alive today.”

  “I wish there was something I could have done differently to change the outcome. I am truly sorry for any hurt I caused your sister when I knew her.”

  “Thank you, Walt. You know, you really seem changed.”

  “I think I have.” Walt gave her a smile and then a quick hug. “Drive carefully.”

  After Rachel said her final goodbyes and shut the door, Walt walked to room seven’s door and knocked. After a few moments it opened.

  “Clint Marlow?” the man asked in surprise.

  “Are you Albert Hanson?” Walt asked.

  Albert nodded. “You really don’t remember me?”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything from before my car accident.”

  “The police chief stopped by earlier. I guess they caught the person who killed Claudia Dane. Is that why you’re here?”

  Walt pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Albert.
“No. I stopped by to give you this.”

  With a frown, Albert took the envelope and looked at it. He opened it and pulled out a check. Confused, he looked from the check to Walt. “I don’t understand. Is this some sort of joke?”

  “No. No joke. Chief MacDonald told me about the conversation you had with one of his officers and about the money you lost because of me. While I don’t remember it, I am truly sorry for my actions back then. I hope this helps make up for it.”

  “Make up for it? It’s the same amount as the inheritance from my parents! Is this check real?”

  With a smile, Walt nodded. “Yes, it is. I’m not sure about the tax implications, you might want to check with your accountant—one you trust—to see the best way to handle it.”

  AN ASSORTMENT of open pizza boxes filled the dining room table. Along the edge of the table was a stack of paper plates and napkins, making it easier for people to help themselves. After the exhausting last few days, Marlow House was hosting an impromptu dinner party. Danielle had invited the chief first, including his two boys. She then invited Brian and Joe; after all, they had been the ones who had arrested Tanya.

  With Joe coming, it meant Kelly would be there, and Danielle would naturally invite Lily and Ian, they were practically family. She would have invited Chris even if he hadn’t done some sleuthing for them. Also in attendance was Heather, who had been the one to find the body. Two of the other guests—Eva and Marie—weren’t there for pizza, but that was just because ghosts didn’t eat pizza.

  “Where’s Walt?” Lily asked as she picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza and set it on a paper plate.

  “He had an errand to run, but he should be home soon,” Danielle explained.

  “You said the wife flipped?” Danielle heard Chris ask. She glanced to where her guests gathered nearby, around the police chief, waiting for him to answer Chris’s question.

  “When she realized she was holding the murder weapon and her fingerprints were all over it, yes. Claimed she had no idea it was the weapon that had killed Claudia and that her husband asked her to hide it in Walt’s room.”

  “Yeah, right, like that’s a normal thing for your husband to ask,” Lily said with a snort. “Where did she think the gun came from?”

  “I want to know; how did she get in Walt’s room?” Heather asked. “You always keep your bedrooms locked.”

  “I’m thinking she managed to lift an extra set of keys,” Danielle suggested. “There’s a set missing. If I don’t find it, I’m going to have to rekey the doors again.”

  “What’s the husband saying?” Ian asked.

  “Not much of anything. Insists he doesn’t know anything about the gun or Walt’s claim he tried to blackmail Walt and Danielle.”

  “What was he blackmailing Walt over?” Kelly asked Danielle.

  “The thing about blackmail, it’s usually something you want to keep to yourself,” Brian interjected.

  Giving a quick sideways glance to Brian, Danielle turned her attention to Kelly. “It has to do with some real estate deals that may or may not have been illegal but happened so long ago that even if they were illegal, the statute of limitations would have long run out. But considering Walt’s current situation, Dirk felt it would embarrass Walt and cause his publishers to pull away from him,” Danielle lied.

  “I’m still trying to figure out what in the blazes happened to those papers,” Joe said.

  “Nice play on words,” Brian snorted.

  Joe chuckled. “That wind just came out of nowhere—but the fire, I have never seen anything like it.”

  “Those papers had to have been contaminated with some sort of pyrophoric substance—maybe left there by the previous user of the locker—and when that gust of air caught hold of the papers, they ignited,” the chief suggested, knowing that wasn’t what happened.

  Marie piped up cheerfully, “Or it could be the matches I had with me. Funny how no one noticed the matches floating nearby, since everyone was looking at the papers I’d grabbed. Getting that match to light was a little tricky, but once it did, those papers went up like kindling!”

  The chief glanced down at his youngest son, Evan, who looked like he was about to laugh. “What’s so funny, Evan?”

  The boy looked up to his father and smiled. “Umm…I’ll tell you later.”

  The chief heard Heather chuckle. He glanced to her and then noticed Chris standing next to her, smiling. It was then he understood. There was obviously a ghost in the room, and he was fairly certain it was Marie or Eva. Probably Marie, considering Danielle had told him she had been the one to grab and destroy the incriminating documents.

  “What I find chilling, that Dirk character wasn’t just going to blackmail Walt and Danielle, he was attempting to frame Walt for that woman’s murder,” Heather said in disgust.

  “At the moment he’s refusing to talk until his attorney gets here,” the chief said.

  “I suspect when they look into his bank account, they’re going to find the money Claudia gave him when he blackmailed her,” Danielle said. “He basically admitted it all to us.”

  Ten minutes later Danielle went to the kitchen, where she had set up a makeshift bar on the counter. She wasn’t in the room alone long. Just as she poured herself a glass of wine, Kelly and Joe walked in.

  “Can I get a glass of water?” Kelly asked.

  “Sure, help yourself.” Danielle looked at Joe and said, “Want another beer? There’s some in the fridge.”

  “Thanks,” Joe said as he opened the refrigerator.

  About to fill a glass with water, Kelly glanced to Danielle, who was just putting the glass of wine to her lips.

  “Danielle!” Kelly called out sharply.

  Danielle stopped and looked at Kelly. “What?”

  “You can’t drink that wine!”

  Danielle frowned. “Why not? Did someone poison it?”

  “Because…because…well, your condition.”

  In all that had happened in the last few days, Danielle had forgotten what Marie had told her she’d overheard at the police station—until now. Deliberately, she set the glass on the counter and looked from Kelly to Joe. Kelly looked rather pleased with herself while Joe looked embarrassed.

  “I understand you’ve been drinking coffee too. That’s probably not a good idea either. But you might want to check with your doctor,” Kelly whispered.

  “I am not pregnant. And please tell me where you got that lame idea.”

  “You’re not pregnant?” Kelly squeaked. “I…I saw you buying a pregnancy test.”

  Danielle thought back to that time in the pharmacy when she had picked up the pregnancy test for Lily. Kelly had been there. “You know, Kelly, things are not always as they seem. And someday, when Walt and I decide to have a baby, I promise, I won’t be drinking wine or coffee.” She picked up her glass of wine and took a gulp.

  “I’m sorry,” Kelly stammered, looking sincerely confused.

  “Now I would like to talk to Joe a moment in private,” Danielle said.

  “Umm…okay…” Kelly took her glass of water and fled the room, leaving her boyfriend alone with Danielle.

  When Kelly was out of earshot, Danielle asked, “I know you know about Walt’s and my marriage. Have you told Kelly? Have you told anyone?”

  Joe shook his head. “No. It was part of the investigation, and I didn’t feel it was proper to tell her, or anyone.”

  “I plan to have this talk with Brian too. I know he was there when you discussed it.”

  “You talked to the chief?” he asked.

  “Yes.” But Marie told me first, she thought. “I know you don’t understand or necessarily approve of Walt’s and my relationship. And I imagine you don’t understand how we married months ago, such a short time after his accident. But you don’t have to understand, and it really is my business. And I am asking you not to share this information, because frankly, most people won’t understand. I love Walt, and he loves me. That’s all that’s
important.”

  “I just want you to be happy.”

  “I know you do, Joe. I appreciate that. And I am happy. I’m married to my soulmate.”

  ON THE WAY home from Marlow House, Brian stopped at the mini-mart to pick up a six-pack of beer. He would have had a couple more beers with his pizza, but if he was going to tie one on, he would rather do it at home, where he didn’t have to drive anywhere. And after a day like today, he needed to throw back a couple more beers.

  Just as he stepped into the mini-mart, he came face-to-face with Albert Hanson.

  “Officer Henderson!” Albert greeted him exuberantly.

  “You look happy. I understand the chief told you we’ve arrested someone for Claudia Dane’s murder.”

  “Yes, so tragic, poor woman. But I’m so glad to run into you before I leave town. I wanted to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have my life back.”

  Brian frowned. “Umm…I don’t understand?”

  “Clint Marlow, he came by the motel this afternoon. He apologized for what he had done. He said he didn’t remember any of it, but he wanted to make it right. He gave me a check for the money I lost.”

  “He gave you a check?”

  Albert nodded. “You don’t know what this means to me. I was barely scraping by. I came up here to shame him, yet I didn’t even have the courage to see him. But he came to me after you told your boss about what he had done, and then your boss told him. So thank you, Officer Henderson!”

  FORTY

  There were no guests scheduled to arrive at Marlow House in February, because wedding plans were underway. In less than two weeks Walt and Danielle would be surrounded by friends while exchanging their vows for the second time. Danielle and Lily were on their way to Astoria to pick up the wedding dress from the seamstress who had made the alterations.