The Ghost and the Halloween Haunt Read online

  “If so, and if she was with the Crawfords and they are denying it, then I don’t even want to consider what that might mean.” Danielle shivered.

  Picking up the receiver, he said, “I’m going to call in a favor.”

  For the next few minutes Danielle sat quietly and listened while the chief made a phone call to Elizabeth Sparks. Sparks, a local artist and art teacher, occasionally worked for the local police department, drawing police sketches. When he got off the phone, he grinned up to Danielle and said, “I hope you can stick around and help Elizabeth with the sketch.”

  Danielle arched her brow. “I heard you dropping my name a number of times.”

  “Elizabeth is still grateful to you for your donation to the art department for the fundraiser. When she heard I was working on a case important to you, she seemed quite willing to come right over.”

  He picked up his phone again and placed an in-office call. When the party answered, he said, “Can you come to my office? I need you to look up something for me.”

  A few minutes later a knock came at the door. It then opened and in walked Brian Henderson.

  “Hi, Danielle,” Brian greeted her. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  Danielle gave him a nod. “Hi, Brian.”

  He looked at the chief and asked, “What do you need?”

  “See what you can find out about the Crawfords.” He looked at Danielle and asked, “Do you know their first names?”

  Danielle told him.

  The chief looked back to Brian and said, “They’re the ones who bought Pete Rogers’s house, next door to Chris. See what you can find out about them. Check to see if either one of them has a niece.”

  Brian frowned. “What is this about?”

  “It’s a long story. But I need to go over and talk to the Crawfords this afternoon, and before I do, I would like to learn as much about them as possible. I would do it myself, but I have Elizabeth Sparks coming over in a few minutes, so I’m going to be tied up for a while.”

  After Brian left the office a few minutes later, Danielle told the chief about Annabelle and then about the hidden staircase, and about the body that had appeared and disappeared.

  When she was done, the chief sat back and shook his head in disbelief. “You want to know what I find most surprising—which only illustrates how twisted I’ve become because of you.”

  “I’ve made you twisted?” Danielle sounded insulted.

  “A normal person would be shocked to hear a dead body appeared and disappeared in your house. But me, I’m more surprised you have a hidden staircase, and you never told me!”

  Danielle shrugged. “I almost told you when Tanya hid that gun in the attic. That’s how I really saw her. I was coming up to the attic bedroom by way of the hidden staircase.”

  He snickered.

  “Well, we were married,” she reminded him. “We just wanted to keep the staircase a secret. Joanne wouldn’t have understood if she saw me going upstairs or Walt going into my room. It just gave us an element of privacy. But…oh, Joanne…” Danielle groaned. “Now that Carla knows, it’s going to come out. I need to tell Joanne. But I really don’t want her going in there and seeing a dead body, not until we figure this out. Or maybe not until after Halloween, when all the mischievous spirits return to wherever they belong.”

  Both the chief and Danielle helped Elizabeth Sparks when she came to do the drawing of Ginny. When she finished, they had a remarkable likeness of the little girl. Danielle left for home while the police chief promised to stop by Marlow House and let her know what he had found out from the Crawfords.

  Danielle had been gone for about twenty minutes when Brian returned to the office.

  “What did you find out?” the chief asked from behind his desk.

  Standing in the office, a pad of paper in his hand, Brian looked down at his notes. “The Crawfords have been married five years, no children. He worked for a manufacturing company for almost eight years.” Brian then told the chief the name of the company and added, “He quit six months ago, about a year after his mother died. He’s an only child. His mother left him a hefty inheritance, which is how he was able to buy that house. His wife works for some temp agency. She has two siblings and two nephews, no nieces. Neither have any priors. Nothing particularly interesting came up on either one of them. But I’m not sure what you were looking for, aside from if they have a niece, which they don’t.”

  Mia Crawford sat at her desk at the elementary school, sorting mail, when Officer Brian Henderson stepped up to her desk and asked, “Are you Mia Crawford?”

  She looked up from her work to the tall officer looming over her.

  “Yes. How can I help you?”

  “I’m Officer Brian Henderson.” He showed her his identification and handed her a business card. “We’re looking for this little girl, and I wonder if you’ve seen her.” He handed her a copy of the picture Elizabeth Sparks had drawn earlier that day.

  Holding the picture in her hand, she stared at it a moment and then shrugged and handed it back. “I work at an elementary school. I see lots of kids. But she doesn’t look familiar.”

  Brian frowned down at her. “Are you certain? Perhaps you might want to look at it again.”

  With an annoyed sigh, she took back the picture, looked at it briefly, shook her head, and then shoved it back at Brian. “No. Doesn’t look familiar.”

  “That’s odd, I have a witness who says he saw that little girl with you on Thursday, at your house.”

  “Well, he is obviously mistaken. She wasn’t with me. I have never seen her before,” she insisted.

  “I believe her name is Ginny. Does that ring a bell?”

  Mia frowned at Brian. “Ginny? About nine or ten? Blond? Blue eyes?”

  “So you do know her,” Brian said.

  Mia shook her head. “No. But one of my neighbors, a Danielle Marlow, she came by my house asking about her this morning. For some reason she thought the girl was my niece. She isn’t, of course. I don’t have a niece, and I have never seen that girl before. Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to get back to work.”

  At the same time Brian questioned Mia Crawford, the police chief was making a visit to her husband, Austin Crawford.

  Austin stood on his front porch, staring down at the drawing. He looked at it a moment and then shook his head, handing the picture back to the chief.

  “Like I told that Danielle Marlow this morning, we don’t have a niece. And I have never seen that kid before. Hope you find her.”

  “We have a witness who claims she was with you on Thursday.”

  “Thursday?” Austin frowned. “That’s the day we moved in. Where does this witness claim he saw us?”

  “Here, while you were moving in.”

  “And the movers were here too?” Austin asked.

  “Yes, that’s my understanding. They were moving furniture into your house, and she was with you and your wife outside, but then went into the house with your wife.”

  “Really? Well, I don’t know what that witness was smoking, but I’ll give you the name of my movers, and they can tell you themselves if there was a kid with us or not.” Austin then told the chief the name of the movers, along with the first name of the driver of the truck. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot to do.” Austin shut the door, leaving the chief alone on the front porch.

  MacDonald was just walking back to his police car when the Bellemores pulled up and parked their truck along the street. He recognized the truck and remembered Danielle and Chris discussing the work the Bellemores were doing at the Crawfords’ house. Clutching the picture of Ginny in one hand, he changed directions and walked to the Bellemores’ vehicle.

  “Excuse me,” the chief said when Chester Bellemore climbed out of the driver’s side of the truck.

  “Is there a problem, officer?” Cecil asked as he got out of the vehicle and walked over to the sidewalk. He pulled a handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and in doing so f
lipped several business cards from the pocket onto the sidewalk. With a grumble he picked up the cards, stuffing them back into his pocket. While listening to what the police officer had to say, he blew his nose with the handkerchief.

  “I’m Police Chief MacDonald, and I’m looking for any information on this little girl.” He handed the picture to Chester, who looked at it and then handed it to Cecil.

  “Wow, this must be pretty serious if the police chief is out in the field,” Cecil said as he stared down at the copy of the drawing in his hand and then shoved his handkerchief into one of the back pockets of his blue jeans.

  “Have you seen her?” the chief asked.

  The brothers exchanged glances and then looked back to him. They shook their heads no at the same time as Cecil handed back the picture.

  “Are you certain?” the chief asked. “She might have been here, at the Crawford house.”

  Chester looked at his brother and said, “I’ve never seen any kids at the Crawford house, have you?”

  “No. Never,” Cecil agreed.

  Twenty-Seven

  Joanne Johnson, the housekeeper at Marlow House, opened the front door for Police Chief MacDonald on Monday afternoon. She had been holding a dustpan in one hand and a whisk broom in the other, yet moved them both to one hand so that she could open the door.

  “Afternoon, Chief. Walt and Danielle are in the library,” Joanne greeted him. “Danielle told me she was expecting you. Go right in.”

  “How have you enjoyed working in a haunted house?” the chief asked her as she closed the front door.

  “I haven’t been here when it’s open. My job is to clean up the next day,” she told him. “But I do wish Heather had not suggested selling popcorn. I keep finding it in all sorts of unexpected places. I hear your boys have been a great help and that you pitched in last night.”

  “Yes, it was fun. So you haven’t seen all the ghostly special effects?” MacDonald wondered exactly what the housekeeper had seen.

  “No, but I have heard about them—mostly from my friends who ask how they do it. Of course, I have no idea. A magician never tells his secrets. I’ve always known Walt Marlow likes to dabble in magic. I remember when he was recuperating from the accident. I could swear a box was floating across this entry hall! That man has a gift for magic.”

  “Yes. Yes, he does.”

  They exchanged a few more words before Joanne went on to the parlor to tidy up, while the chief headed for the library.

  “Hello, Chief, so you have nothing?” Danielle asked. When MacDonald had called earlier, telling Danielle he was going to stop by, he had mentioned he had not found Ginny, but would explain more when he saw her.

  “Hello, Chief,” Walt greeted him, standing briefly.

  MacDonald gave them both a nod and then said, “I haven’t found anything, and this is all most peculiar. I’m not sure what to think.” He took a seat in one of the chairs facing the sofa where Walt and Danielle sat.

  “What did the Crawfords say?” Danielle asked.

  “Pretty much what they told you. I also spoke to the men who’ve been doing work over there, from Bellemore Construction. I showed them the picture, and they claimed they have never seen her. I also called the moving company and talked to one of the men who was there that day. He said he didn’t see any children at the house when they moved the furniture in. Just Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. Said if there was a little girl there, they didn’t see her.”

  “But Chris saw her. And the movers were there then,” Danielle said.

  The chief shrugged. “It’s like the child doesn’t exist. I had Brian go to the school at the same time I went to talk to Mr. Crawford. I didn’t want to give one of them the opportunity to give the other a heads-up about our visit. And after he spoke to Mrs. Crawford, he showed the woman in the admission department the picture of Ginny. She didn’t recognize her. Brian returned during lunch hour and had all the teachers look at the picture. Whoever Ginny is, she is not enrolled at the local elementary school.”

  “Do you have the picture on you?” Walt asked.

  “Yes.” MacDonald reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

  “Can I see it?” Walt stood up and walked to the chief, who then handed him the paper. Walt unfolded it and returned to the sofa. Sitting back down, the paper in his hand, he looked at the drawing.

  “At this point I would suggest Ginny was a spirit—but you and Eddy both saw her, heard her,” Danielle said.

  “I know where I’ve seen her before!” Walt blurted. Both the chief and Danielle looked to Walt, who continue to stare at the picture.

  “Where?” Danielle asked.

  “It was at the cemetery, during Maisy Faye and Kenneth’s funeral. I almost walked into her. She smiled at me and kept walking.”

  “Who was she with?” the chief asked.

  “She was with a group of adults—but I didn’t know them. And frankly, I only noticed them in passing. But I also remember thinking, when she smiled at me, that she looked familiar. I thought for a moment I knew her. I almost said hello, but she had already walked by, so I didn’t say anything.”

  Danielle considered his words a moment and then sat back on the sofa. “Ummm…maybe Heather was right.”

  “Right about what?” MacDonald asked.

  “Ginny. Perhaps she is a ghost.”

  “Like you just said, both Eddy and I saw her. We can’t see ghosts.”

  “No, but I believe we all have some psychic ability. And while you generally can’t see ghosts, tomorrow is Halloween,” Danielle reminded him. “Remember, Harvey made himself visible to Heather on Halloween.”

  “But Heather can see spirits,” the chief argued.

  “True. But back then she couldn’t. And don’t forget, there are some who normally aren’t able to see spirits who saw Darlene, and it wasn’t even Halloween. But Halloween does seem to give spirits more ability to make their presence known. I suspect Carla and her date don’t normally see spirits, but they saw that body in the staircase, and I don’t believe for a moment there is a real dead body playing hide-and-seek in the house.”

  “There is also that tea-pouring ghost,” Walt reminded them. “Many of our visitors report seeing flashes of him.”

  With a sigh, the chief slumped back in his chair. “This does put an awkward spin on things. I have Brian out helping me track down Ginny, and if she turns out to be a ghost, one from Walt’s first life, how exactly do I explain to Brian when I drop the search?”

  “Danielle will come up with some cover story for you,” Walt suggested with a grin.

  “How odd to think learning the child might be dead would actually be a relief,” the chief said.

  “Yes, life and death do take on a new perspective when we become aware of lingering spirits,” Danielle observed.

  The three sat in silence for a few minutes, considering what they intended to do. Finally, MacDonald looked at Walt and asked, “Have you found out anything more about your Abe Fortune? Danielle told me you were doing some internet sleuthing.”

  Walt shook his head. “No. I couldn’t find a trace of an Abe Fortune from Frederickport who started a new life somewhere else. It’s like he vanished in thin air—like Ginny.”

  “Sometimes when people want to disappear, they change their names,” the chief suggested. “And if he abandoned his wife, maybe he didn’t want her to find him.”

  “Like Pearl Huckabee’s grandfather?” Danielle suggested. “He had several different families and was buried under an alias.”

  “Annabelle Fortune was a beautiful girl,” Walt said. “I didn’t know them well, but I do remember back then having the impression he was quite besotted with her—and her with him. Of course, Angela was beautiful in appearance, but she also conspired to murder me. So we never really know what goes on between a husband and wife.”

  “Has Annabelle returned?” the chief asked.

  “No,” Walt told him.

  “While
things are a little—unpredictable—perhaps it might be best if Eddy doesn’t help tonight. I know he planned to go trick-or-treating with his friends tomorrow anyway. But maybe there’s something you can say to him so he doesn’t think he needs to keep helping us?” Danielle suggested.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” the chief said. “To be honest, I don’t believe Eddy will be too disappointed if he doesn’t help again. This morning he told me he had fun at the haunted house, but now he’s mostly looking forward to going trick-or-treating with friends.”

  “Unlike Evan, if random spirits decide to show up, it might prove too confusing for Eddy, considering they’ve been making themselves seen to those who I assume are typically non-mediums,” Danielle said.

  “I’m wondering if I should also be concerned about Evan,” the chief mused.

  “Under normal circumstances, Eddy is unlikely to experience something like Carla and her friend did last night. But for Evan, it is his normal. It might be best if he’s allowed to experience the worst that Halloween has to offer while in the company of supportive mediums he trusts. And then later, when we’re not there to help him, he’ll be better prepared,” Danielle explained.

  “When I think about all this—what you just said—I realize how different—how horribly different Evan’s life might be if I hadn’t met you,” the chief told Danielle.

  Tilting her head slightly, Danielle studied the chief’s earnest expression. “What do you mean?”

  “Imagine my little boy claiming to see something as horrific as a dead body, and me by his side seeing nothing,” the chief told her.

  “And you thinking your precious boy is mentally ill?” Danielle asked in a whisper.

  The chief nodded.

  About fifteen minutes after MacDonald said goodbye and left Marlow House, Walt sat alone in the library. He had just picked up a book to read when the space before him began to sparkle with bright light. For a moment he thought Eva was about to make an appearance. But then Annabelle showed herself. Instead of hovering in the air overhead, she stood before him.