The Ghost and the Mystery Writer Read online

  “It was my trash, and how do you know…oh, Joe…right.” Danielle shook her head and opened her purse.

  “I guess Ian thought someone was breaking into your side gate and called us.” MacDonald chuckled. “What were you doing going through your trash in the dark, anyhow? Joe said something about you tossing out some paperwork.”

  Removing the folded piece of yellow paper from her purse, she handed it to the chief. “I was looking for this.”

  Taking the paper from Danielle, he asked, “What’s this?”

  “It’s what Walt read in Hillary’s room; what I told you about.”

  MacDonald unfolded the paper and began to read while Danielle continued to stand at the side of his desk.

  “I didn’t want to go through Hillary’s things in her room,” Danielle explained when he finished reading. “But Lily reminded me anything in the trash would be fair game. If I found something she put in the trash—in my trash can—she really couldn’t claim it was obtained illegally. You could use it, couldn’t you?”

  MacDonald set the paper on the desk and looked up at Danielle. “I appreciate your help—and it’s exactly what you claimed Walt read, but—”

  “After I went digging through my garbage in the middle of the night and humiliated myself, there is a but?” Danielle flopped down in the chair and tossed her purse to the floor by her feet.

  He picked up the paper and looked at it again. “You’re exaggerating a little there. According to Joe, it was a little after nine o’clock.”

  Danielle glared at MacDonald.

  Waving the paper at her, he said, “There’s no date on this, and even if there was, we couldn’t prove anything. As far as we know, Hillary wrote this after she read the newspaper about fishing Jolene’s rings off the pier.”

  “But we know she didn’t. Walt read it that night. I believe him,” she insisted.

  “I understand. I’m just saying, when I question Hillary, I imagine that’s just what she’ll tell me.”

  Sitting up straight in the chair, Danielle leaned forward. “So you’re going to talk to her?”

  “At first, when you told me about what Walt read, I wondered if he had read it wrong. A lot of times, someone will read something and interject a meaning or even a word that’s really not there. This is pretty much exactly what Walt claimed to have read. And if he did read this the night of the murder, before you found those rings, I have to wonder how in the hell did Hillary Hemmingway know all this.”

  “I don’t believe she had anything to do with the murder. It just doesn’t feel right. But…”

  MacDonald tossed the yellow piece of paper back onto the desk. “At this point, I suspect she witnessed the murder—and followed the killer back onto the pier and watched him toss the rings into the water.”

  “So you think the killer’s a man?”

  MacDonald pointed to the yellow sheet of paper. “According to this it is. I also have a suspect—he has a motive, and he was there.”

  “Who?”

  When he didn’t respond, Danielle said, “Come on, Chief. I thought we were sort of informal partners. I get you information from the spirit world, and you keep me in the loop.”

  “You’re just being nosey,” MacDonald said with a chuckle.

  “I climbed in the trash can for you. Ruined a perfectly good pair of jeans with bacon grease.”

  MacDonald smiled. “Okay, but this goes no farther than this office.”

  “Can I tell Walt?”

  “Can I stop you?”

  Danielle smiled. “Probably not.”

  “Don’t say anything to Lily—and I mean it.”

  When she didn’t respond, he asked, “Do you want to hear this or not?”

  Danielle sighed. “Okay. I promise. I won’t say anything to Lily. Who is your suspect?”

  “Steve Klein.”

  “Steve? The bank manager?”

  MacDonald nodded.

  “Are you serious? What reason would Steve have to kill her? I know they were on the board at the museum together, but they seemed to get along okay.”

  “Apparently, Steve and Carla have been having an affair.”

  “Not Carla the waitress at Pier Café?”

  He nodded again.

  Danielle couldn’t help it—she laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” MacDonald asked.

  “Seriously? Dippy Carla and buttoned-up Steve from the bank? He’s old enough to be her father. Or at least her much older brother.”

  MacDonald shrugged. “No accounting for taste. I couldn’t see those two together, didn’t see that one coming.”

  “She told you?” Before he could respond, she said, “But Steve’s married! He has a couple of kids!”

  “Which is the reason for killing Jolene. Apparently Jolene found out about the affair and decided to blackmail Steve. She’s been trying to get a loan from the bank, but Steve turned her down.”

  “Wow…so you think he really killed her? Was Carla an accomplice?”

  MacDonald went on to tell Danielle about his morning’s interview with Carla. When he was done, he picked up the paper and looked at it. “Maybe I can use this to get Hillary to talk. If she witnessed the murder—watched the killer throw the rings off the pier—then she should be able to identify the killer.”

  “Before you talk to her, I have a favor to ask you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I don’t want Hillary to think I went digging around in my trash looking for her notes. If she thinks I wanted her notes, she’d have to assume I’d been poking around in her room and snooping.”

  “How do you want me to explain this?”

  “I told Joe I had accidentally tossed some paperwork. I’d like to stick with that story. Say I found my papers in the trash—and some other papers were stuck to them, and I didn’t realize it until later when I went back to my room. Tell her when I was sorting through the papers, I read hers—realized it sounded like Jolene’s murder and felt I had to turn them over to you.”

  MacDonald considered her request for a moment. “Okay. But you know, this will probably still cause a problem with her. Don’t be surprise if she checks out after she finds out you turned her incriminating notes over to me.”

  Danielle shrugged. “If she does, she does.”

  Chapter Twenty

  It was a few minutes after 9 a.m. when Danielle returned from the police station. Lily greeted her at the front door, informing her a new guest would be arriving that morning.

  “She called right after you left. Said she understood we might have some vacancies and wanted to make a reservation.”

  “And she’s coming the same day she made the reservation?”

  “Yep. She said a friend recommended Marlow House,” Lily explained as she walked with Danielle to the parlor. “Joanne’s upstairs now, getting the room ready.”

  Danielle tossed her purse on the parlor desk. “How many people?”

  “Just one. Her.”

  “Really?”

  “This place is starting to feel like a sorority,” Lily said with a laugh. “Except for Walt, of course.”

  “Where’s she from?”

  “I didn’t get all the details. She mentioned something about flying into Portland last night and staying at a motel by the airport. Our conversation got cut short when her ride showed up. I figured she could give me her credit card information when she gets here.”

  “Obviously not someone who likes to plan out her travel itinerary in advance,” Danielle said as she sat down.

  “Maybe someone with an adventurous spirit—or it’s just a last minute trip, and she decided to make reservations when she got here.” Lily sat on the sofa with Danielle and drew her bare feet up on the cushion, tucking them under her.

  “You said her ride showed up? You sure it’s just her, and she’s not coming with someone?”

  “She said a reservation for one. I figured the ride was probably a shuttle to the car rental place. She told me s
he wanted to stay for a week, so I imagine she rented a car.”

  “Did she say who her friend was? The one who recommended us?”

  “No, I didn’t get a chance to ask her.”

  “Did you get her name at least?” Danielle asked with a laugh.

  “Melony Jacobs.”

  “Melony?” Furrowing her brow, Danielle considered the name a minute. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

  “You think you know a Melony Jacobs?”

  Danielle shook her head. “No…oh, wait…I remember now. Melony is the name of Jolene’s daughter. I remember Marie and the chief mentioning it.”

  “You think Jolene’s daughter is our new guest?”

  Danielle shook her head. “I seriously doubt it. Why would she? I imagine Jolene’s daughter will stay at her house when she comes to town.”

  Lily stood up from the sofa and walked to the doorway. She looked out into the hall and then closed the door. Returning to Danielle, she asked, “So what did the chief say?”

  “He’s going to talk to Hillary.”

  “When? I figured he might come back with you.”

  “He has someone else to interview first.”

  “Who? I can’t imagine it’s more important than talking to Hillary.” Lily sat back down on the sofa.

  “I did what I had to do. I passed the information on to the chief, and now he has to handle it.”

  “I suppose.” Lily let out a sigh.

  Danielle glanced up at the ceiling. “Is Hillary in her room?”

  “Typing away. Never did come down for breakfast.”

  “When I left, Joanne mentioned something about taking her up a tray if she didn’t come down.”

  Lily glanced up to the ceiling. “She took her up one. Should we start advertising Marlow House has room service?”

  “Perhaps.” Danielle smiled. “I imagine after the chief talks to Hillary, she’s going to be pretty annoyed with us for giving him her notes. I wonder if we’ll have another vacancy before the weekend.”

  Lily shrugged. “If we do, we do.”

  “That’s pretty much what I figure too.”

  “By the way, have you heard from Chris yet?”

  “No. I decided not to call him again.” Danielle leaned back in the sofa and propped her feet on the coffee table.

  “Maybe something’s wrong. Aren’t you worried?”

  Danielle shrugged. “Not really. It hasn’t been that long, and I know he’s busy. It’s not like he’s my boyfriend or anything.”

  “But he—” Before Lily could finish her sentence, Danielle reached over and grabbed Lily’s wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze. She nodded up to the ceiling. Danielle knew what Lily was about to say: he kissed you. But it had only been a spontaneous parting kiss at the airport. Since his absence, their almost daily phone conversations remained on the level of good friends—pals—not would-be lovers. Like her brief kiss with Walt, it hovered in her subconscious, yet remained virtually a taboo topic for discussion.

  Danielle had been back from the police station for about an hour when the doorbell rang. She and Lily were in the kitchen with Joanne, discussing the feasibility of installing an outdoor kitchen in the side yard before summer. Lily loved the idea, but Joanne warned that Frederickport’s weather was not what they were used to in Sacramento, and the northwest coastal climate might not be conducive to what they had in mind. Lily disagreed, citing several outdoor kitchens she had seen in Astoria when she and Ian had gone there to interview Emma Jackson.

  “I bet that’s our new guest.” Danielle stood up from the kitchen table.

  “Her room’s all ready,” Joanne told her.

  When Danielle opened the front door a few minutes later, she was shocked to find herself looking into the smiling face of Chris Johnson, aka Chris Glandon.

  “Surprise!” he cheerfully greeted her.

  Danielle broke into a broad smile and then realized Chris wasn’t alone. Standing to his right was a tall, blond, stunning-looking woman. Noting Danielle’s look of confusion, Chris quickly put his arm around the woman’s waist and nudged her closer to the doorway, in clearer view of Danielle.

  “Danielle, I want you to meet my friend Melony. Melony, this is Danielle Boatman. She owns Marlow House.”

  “Hello, nice to meet you,” the beautiful blond woman said, extending her hand in greeting.

  Momentarily speechless, Danielle accepted the greeting and forced a smile. Melony—her new guest—was the epitome of what Danielle—in her insecure youth—had longed to be. Tall, slender, obvious natural blonde, with vivid blue eyes and curly dark lashes. That insecure girl of Danielle’s youth had returned.

  “You’re our new guest?” Danielle said with a smile, silently telling her former insecure self to go back into the shadows.

  “Chris said I’d love it here. I’m just grateful you had a vacancy.”

  With one arm still around Melony, Chris used his free hand to pick up the suitcase sitting by his side. Danielle glanced down at it. She remembered Chris’s luggage—she had been with him when he had purchased it. When initially coming to Marlow House, Chris’s luggage had been a duffle bag. Danielle assumed the suitcase belonged to Melony, or else Chris had decided to purchase new luggage while in Chicago or New York.

  Danielle opened the door wider and stepped aside, making room for Melony and Chris to enter. “This is a surprise, Chris. I thought you were going to be in New York for a few more days.”

  Together, Chris and Melony walked into Marlow House. Danielle couldn’t help but notice the pair looked like models—a matching set. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so inadequate with her appearance. She remembered that insecure teenager she had been—the one who brought boyfriends home only to have her cousin, Cheryl, snatch them away and later cast them off when she grew bored.

  Setting the suitcase on the floor and dropping his arm from Melony’s waist, Chris stepped toward Danielle, preparing to give her a hello hug, when Walt appeared in the room, standing next to Danielle.

  “So you’ve returned?” Walt asked, his tone reserved. He looked Melony up and down. “And you’ve returned with a friend?”

  “I met Melony on the airplane,” Chris explained, his eyes shifting from Danielle to Walt and then back to Danielle. “When I heard she was coming to Frederickport and would need a place to stay, I thought this would be perfect for her.”

  “Why not have her stay with you at your place?” Walt snickered.

  Flashing a smile at Melony, Danielle said, “Your room’s all ready. I hope you like it here.”

  “How about a welcome home hug?” Chris asked, ignoring Walt.

  Without waiting for a response, Chris stepped to Danielle and wrapped her in a hug. Feeling a little less insecure, Danielle leaned into the embrace and closed her eyes for a moment.

  “I missed you,” Chris whispered in her ear right before releasing her.

  “Now I know why I couldn’t get you on the phone yesterday,” Danielle said, regaining her emotional footing.

  “Yeah, I spent most of the day on the airplane.” Chris turned to Melony and smiled. “Fortunately I had good company.”

  “Is this your first time in Frederickport?” Danielle asked her new guest.

  Melony shook her head. “No. I grew up here.”

  Danielle froze a moment and stared at Melony. She looked nothing like Jolene Carmichael, and yet…“Your mother wasn’t Jolene Carmichael, was she?”

  Melony nodded. “I guess you knew my mother?”

  Danielle let out a deep breath and looked from Melony to Chris. “Yes, I did. A little. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “You knew her mother?” Chris asked with a frown. “Did I know her?”

  Danielle shook her head. “I don’t think so. I only met her recently—when you were in Chicago.”

  Walt noted the questioning looks exchanged between Danielle and Chris. He decided to fill in the blanks. “What Danielle isn’t saying, your frie
nd’s mother is the woman who found the gold coins over at Ian’s. I’m sure Danielle told you all about it when you two spoke on the phone.”

  Unaware of Walt’s presence or the fact he was explaining the identity of her mother to Chris, Melony picked up the suitcase Chris had brought into the house and said something about how her mother had only recently returned to Frederickport. Chris wasn’t listening to what Melony was saying, but was instead listening to Walt explain how Jolene Carmichael was the woman whose husband was the business partner of Clarence Renton—the attorney who had embezzled from Danielle’s inheritance and had murdered Danielle’s cousin, Cheryl.

  “Chris, you’re back!” Lily shouted from the hallway as she made her way from the kitchen to the foyer. Walt and Melony stopped talking, and they, along with Danielle and Chris, turned to face Lily.

  “It’s good to be home!” Chris greeted her. “How’s Ian doing?”

  When Lily reached the group, she gave Chris a brief hug. “You can ask him yourself. He’s supposed to be on his way over here.” She glanced at the blonde. “Hi, are you Melony?”

  Before Melony could respond, another voice called out, “Melony Jacobs, is that you?” The group looked down the hallway and watched as Hillary Hemmingway approached.

  “Hillary? What are you doing in Oregon?” Melony asked.

  In reply, Hillary gave Melony a brief, perfunctory hug and said, “My muse told me to come.” Danielle and Lily exchanged glances.

  Taking a step back from Hillary, Melony arched her brows and asked, “You think that was wise?”

  “You two know each other?” Lily asked.

  “Yes, we do. You know what they say about it being a small world.” Hillary smiled. “So what brings you to Oregon?”

  Without thought, Danielle blurted out, “Melony is Jolene’s daughter. The woman who was murdered.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Steve Klein did not expect to spend his lunch hour in the Frederickport Police Department’s interrogation room. When Chief MacDonald had called and insisted he come down to the station, Steve assumed their conversation would take place in Edward MacDonald’s office.