The Ghost and Little Marie Read online

  “Is she for sure not coming over for Thanksgiving dinner?” Lily asked.

  Danielle frowned. “No. Can’t say I’m particularly fond of her son. I thought Adam was a jerk when I first met him, but now I know where he gets it from.”

  “Ah, come on, you and Adam are friends now.”

  “I know. In fact, I really like him. He sort of grows on you…like fungus.” Danielle grinned.

  Lily laughed. “I think I’m going to tell him you said that.”

  Danielle smiled softly and shook her head. “No, please don’t. Adam seems stressed enough with his entire family showing up. Anyway, his father’s jerkiness isn’t really how I used to see Adam. Even when I thought Adam was a sleazy crook, he was good to Marie.”

  “And his father?”

  “We’ve lived in Frederickport for almost a year and a half, and this is the first time Marie’s son has come to see her.”

  “At least he came now. A broken hip can be pretty dangerous for a woman Marie’s age. He’s probably worried about his mother.”

  “I’m not sure about that.” Danielle was about to take a sip of coffee but instead slammed the cup back on the table. “Do you know what Marie told me last night when I talked to her on the phone?”

  “What?”

  “Her son and his lovely wife—no wonder poor Adam has issues—took a tour of the permanent facilities of Seaside Village.”

  Lily frowned. “So?”

  “Looking at rooms for Marie.”

  “Why? Marie already has a room there.”

  “The section where the full-time residents live. Marie thinks he wants her to move there permanently.”

  “I can’t imagine that. Marie would hate living there. She loves her house. When I was there the other day, the physical therapist said she was doing great, thought she should be home before Christmas. Did he tell Marie she shouldn’t be living alone anymore?”

  “No. But I think she was right about what her son’s up to. I didn’t tell her, but when I stopped by Adam’s office yesterday morning, her son was there, grilling Adam about Marie’s house. You know, how much it was worth now, how good the market is. He certainly was talking like someone getting ready to list property.”

  “It’s not his house to list,” Lily snapped.

  Danielle shrugged. “I know. But families are funny. And from what I’ve seen so far, Adam’s dad seems like the kind of guy who pretty much rolls over anyone in his path.”

  “That’s probably why he and Adam aren’t that close.”

  “I guess Adam and his parents had some sort of falling-out. And from what Marie once told me, she took Adam’s side, which didn’t help the relationship with her son. I’ve no idea what it was about; I didn’t ask.”

  “I still don’t understand why she isn’t coming for Thanksgiving,” Lily said. “I thought you asked her therapist about it, and he said she could come for the day, she just had to be back by midnight.”

  “I know.” Danielle smiled ruefully. “At the time Marie made a joke about being Cinderella and having to be back before her carriage turned into a pumpkin. But I guess her son made a huge fuss, said the entire family had come back to Frederickport to be with her, and he couldn’t imagine she would spend Thanksgiving with strangers instead of family.”

  Lily let out a snort. “Strangers. What a jerk. You did tell him they were welcome too, didn’t you?”

  “Of course. But I guess he told his mother he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with her, not with strangers. I think he guilted her out. Apparently, he made a big deal about it.”

  Lily shrugged. “Well, at least Marie will get out of that place for Thanksgiving. If she can’t come here, that’s okay. It might be nice for her to spend this time with just her immediate family.”

  “That’s just it, she isn’t getting out for Thanksgiving. They’re eating Thanksgiving dinner there.”

  “At Seaside Village?”

  Danielle nodded. “Apparently, Marie is not the only one in that family who doesn’t like to cook. And I guess he said he was not going to take Marie out for the day just to go to a restaurant, when they can eat a perfectly good Thanksgiving dinner at Seaside Village.”

  Lily groaned. “Poor Marie. She was so looking forward to getting out of there for a day.”

  “I know Adam isn’t happy either. We all made these Thanksgiving plans before Marie had her fall.”

  “I guess this means Adam and Melony won’t be here for Thanksgiving dinner either?”

  “Not sure about Melony. But Adam won’t be coming now. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about the change of plans.”

  “You’re telling Lily about Thanksgiving dinner?” Walt said when he appeared in the kitchen the next moment.

  Danielle glanced up to Walt and smiled. “Morning, Walt.”

  Lily looked to the spot Danielle had just greeted. “Hey, Walt.”

  The chair between Lily and Danielle moved out—and then in—as Walt sat down at the table.

  “Where’s Ian?” Walt asked.

  “Still sleeping,” Danielle explained.

  “Oh, there was another reason—other than coffee—for me coming over here.” Lily set her cup on the table and grinned.

  “What was that?” Danielle asked.

  “I was planning to come over later to tell you, but when I couldn’t go back to sleep this morning and I was out of coffee, I figured I might as well come over and tell you the exciting news now.”

  Walt arched his brows, his mouth curling into a smile. “A baby?” he whispered.

  Danielle’s eyes darted to Walt and then back to Lily. Before she could respond to Walt’s comment, Lily blurted, “I’m going back to work!”

  Visibly disappointed, Walt slumped in the chair.

  Unable to suppress a grin, Danielle reached over and patted Walt’s hand. Unfortunately, her hand went through his, touching the table. Ignoring the unsuccessful pat, Danielle said, “Gee, Walt, that’s kind of sweet.”

  Lily frowned. “What?”

  “Umm, Walt thought maybe the something you wanted to tell us was that you were having a baby.”

  “A baby would be nice,” Walt grumbled. “I’ve always heard babies are more apt to see spirits. We could become great friends.”

  “A baby?” Lily squeaked. “I’ve only been married a couple of months!”

  Walt shrugged. “Plenty of time to get pregnant.” He then added, “Of course, if you make a habit of leaving your husband home alone in his bed while you’re over here, less chance there’ll be a baby.”

  Turning from Walt to Lily, Danielle said, “Oh, don’t mind Walt. He just gets sentimental sometimes. So tell me about this job?”

  “Sentimental?” Walt frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Remember Ray Elliot? I introduced you to him at that museum function?” Lily asked Danielle.

  “The principal from the elementary school?”

  Lily nodded. “Yes. I met him when I was helping the museum do that project with the local schools. Ray contacted me yesterday and asked me if I might consider taking a second-grade teaching position at his school. I guess one of the second-grade teachers is pregnant and won’t be coming back after the Christmas break. They were going to use one of their regular subs, but for some reason the sub can’t take the job now.”

  “Can you even do it? Don’t you need an Oregon teacher’s license?”

  “Oregon has a reciprocity agreement with California. It’ll involve some paperwork, but no big deal.” Lily grinned.

  “So you’re going to do it?” Danielle asked.

  “Ian and I talked about it last night. I’ve been missing teaching. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back—I’m still not one hundred percent sure. But I can easily take over this teacher’s class, finish out the year, and come summer, I’ll have a better idea of if I want to go back permanently or move on to something else.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to just take on one baby instead of a class full o
f second graders?” Walt grumbled.

  Danielle suppressed a smile. Walt seemed sincerely disappointed to hear Lily’s announcement wasn’t a baby.

  “Oh, and guess who’ll be one of my students?” Lily said excitedly.

  “Who?” Danielle asked.

  “Evan MacDonald.” Lily grinned.

  Walt let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “Evan and Lily in a classroom together. That might prove interesting. I wonder what trouble those two will get into.”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “She’s going to be his teacher, not his new partner in crime.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Lily frowned.

  “Walt is just being silly, ignore him.”

  “Not hard to do, considering I can’t see or hear him,” Lily grumbled.

  Three

  Twilight teased the eastern horizon. The parking lot lights at the Frederickport Police Department continued to burn, waiting for the morning sunlight to take over their job. Chief MacDonald pulled into the lot, parking under one of the bright lights. After turning off the ignition, he and his two young sons climbed out of the vehicle.

  “I don’t know why I can’t just wait in the car,” Evan whined, resenting being pulled from his bed a half an hour early.

  “I told you, I don’t want you waiting outside in the car alone,” the chief reminded him.

  Reluctantly, Evan trailed behind his father and older brother, Eddie, as they made their way to the front door of the police station.

  “Good morning, Chief,” Holly Parker greeted him when the chief entered the inner offices. She was the newest employee at the station, starting her third week as dispatcher.

  “Good morning, Holly,” the chief said brightly as he held the door open, waiting for both of his sons to enter.

  “Hi, boys. I’m surprised to see you all here—especially so early!” Holly said.

  “Eddie left his backpack here,” Evan grumbled.

  The chief chuckled and ruffled his youngest son’s hair. “Don’t be such a grump; I promised I’d take you out to breakfast before I drop you off at school.”

  Evan shrugged.

  Suddenly remembering something, Holly snatched several slips of paper from her desk and offered them to the chief. “I have these messages for you. Don’t know if you want them now, or…”

  “No, now is fine,” the chief said as he reached to take the papers. He paused a moment at the desk and read the notes. After a moment, he looked over to his sons and said, “I need to make a phone call when we get to my office.”

  “What about breakfast?” Eddie groaned.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time for breakfast.” Folding the notes, the chief slipped them into his shirt pocket and smiled at Holly. “Thanks.”

  The three made their way down the hallway to the chief’s office. Halfway there, Evan said, “Dad, I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Okay. Meet us back in my office.”

  Evan gave his dad a nod and then raced down the hallway, passing the closed door leading to his father’s office. A few minutes later, after using the bathroom, Evan was back in the hallway again. It was quiet in the police station; only a few people were on duty. Most of the employees hadn’t yet come in for work.

  Remembering that his father’s co-workers occasionally brought in donuts or cookies and left them in the lunchroom, he wondered if any were there now. Taking a slight detour, Evan headed off in that direction in search of something to eat.

  The moment Evan entered the lunchroom, he froze. An elderly woman sat alone in the room, sitting at the table. She turned to look at him. He immediately recognized her. She was a friend of his father’s—Marie Nichols.

  “Good, I suppose this means your father is finally here. I’ve been waiting forever for him!” Marie greeted him impatiently.

  Evan nodded and then frowned. He suddenly realized she was wearing some sort of robe-like nightgown, and he could see her feet under the table. They were bare.

  “My dad is in his office,” he stammered.

  “Good. It’s about time.” Marie frowned a moment and tilted her head slightly, studying him. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at home getting ready for school?”

  “My brother left his backpack in my dad’s office,” Evan explained. “We had to stop by here and pick it up. Then Dad is taking us out to breakfast before taking us to school.”

  Marie smiled. “That’s nice. I always enjoy it when my grandson takes me out to breakfast. I hate cooking. Does your dad like to cook?”

  Evan shrugged. “He likes to barbeque.”

  Marie shook her head. “I never tried that, myself. Barbequing is a man’s job.”

  “You want me to go get my dad?” Evan asked.

  “No, that’s alright. I can find him myself. Your name is Evan, right?”

  Evan smiled and nodded.

  “The younger son?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what grade are you in now, Evan?” Marie asked.

  “Second.” Evan smiled.

  “It looks like your dad is doing a fine job raising you and your brother. Not an easy thing for a father alone. But Danielle speaks very highly of you and your brother. Although, I suspect she is especially fond of you.”

  Evan’s smiled broadened. “I like Danielle and going over to Marlow House.” Evan almost said he liked visiting with Walt, but instead said, “And I like going over there to play with Sadie.”

  “Sadie?” Marie asked, and then she remembered and smiled. “Right. Ian’s dog. But Sadie lives across the street, doesn’t she?”

  Evan nodded. “Yes, but she spends a lot of time at Marlow House.”

  “Do you know I used to live across the street from Marlow House, where Sadie lives?”

  Evan’s eyes widened. “You did?”

  Marie nodded. “Yes, my parents lived there when I was born. But we moved when I was just a baby.”

  “My dad said Ian and Lily just bought that house.”

  “Yes, yes, they did. They bought it from me. And I must say, my father would be quite shocked at what I got for it.” She chuckled.

  “I better go to my dad’s office. He’s probably waiting. Do you want to go with me?”

  Marie considered his question a moment, her forehead furrowing into a frown. “Is your brother with your father?”

  “Yes.”

  “Evan, perhaps you should tell your father I’m here, and have him come to me, so we can talk in private. I have some unpleasant business to discuss with him, and I would prefer to talk to him alone.”

  “Oh, okay.” Evan nodded. “I’ll go tell him.”

  “Thank you, Evan. I’ll wait here.”

  Evan turned and dashed from the lunchroom, heading to his father’s office. When he arrived, the door was open, and his father was standing by his desk while his brother was sitting on a chair, looking through his backpack.

  “I was just coming to look for you,” MacDonald told Evan. “Where were you?”

  “I was talking to someone in the lunchroom.”

  “Who?”

  “Umm…” Evan frowned. “I know her name…but I can’t remember. She’s a friend of yours.”

  “Why is she in the lunchroom?”

  Evan shrugged. “She said she needs to talk to you. I think it’s important. Sounded like a secret.”

  “Secret?”

  Evan nodded. “I told her she could come with me to your office, but she said she needed to talk to you alone. She wants you to go to the lunchroom. She’s waiting for you there.”

  “Can we go to breakfast now? I’m hungry,” Eddie asked as he zipped up his backpack.

  “Just a minute, Eddie.” The chief picked up the office phone and called the front desk. When Holly answered, he asked, “Who’s waiting for me in the lunchroom?…Evan was just in there, and he said a woman was waiting to talk to me…no…are you sure?” With a frown, the chief hung up the phone. He looked at Evan.

  �
�Dad, can we go now?” Eddie whined.

  Ignoring his eldest, the chief looked at Evan. “According to Holly, no one has come in this morning to see me. You don’t know this woman’s name?”

  Evan shrugged. “I don’t remember what it is. But she’s really old.”

  The chief let out a sigh. “When you say old, do you mean my age or your grandparents’?”

  Evan wrinkled his nose. “Older. Oh…she said she owned the house Ian and Lily just bought!’

  “Ahh…Marie Nichols,” the chief said.

  “Yes! I remember now. That’s her name.”

  The chief chuckled. “Well, if anyone could sneak past Holly, it would be Marie.” MacDonald then frowned, as if he just remembered something. “Was her grandson with her?”

  “I didn’t see anyone else,” Evan said.

  Eddie let out a sigh and slumped back on the chair, clutching his backpack.

  The chief frowned. “That’s odd. I thought she was still at the nursing home. And she doesn’t drive…”

  “Dad, she’s wearing her pajamas,” Evan told him.

  “Her pajamas?”

  “I think they’re her pajamas. Like the kind Aunt Sissy wears. And she doesn’t have any shoes on.”

  “You boys stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  Chief MacDonald left his sons in his office as he made his way to the lunchroom. Once there, he stood in the doorway and glanced around. It was empty. Leaving the lunchroom, MacDonald moved down the hallway, poking his head in the various rooms, looking for Marie. At the women’s restroom, he knocked loudly. When there was no answer, he inched open the door and called Marie’s name. Still no answer.

  Instead of returning to his office, he headed to the front desk to talk with Holly. While he believed Evan, he still didn’t understand how Marie managed to get from the care home to the police station, and why she was wearing pajamas. But if she were in fact barefoot and wearing pajamas, the only thing that made sense, she had somehow escaped. If escaped was the correct word. It wasn’t as if she was an actual prisoner, MacDonald told himself. However, he knew that was how she felt staying there.

  By the time he reached Holly’s desk, MacDonald had come to the conclusion that Marie had indeed slipped out of the care center, still wearing her nightclothes. He didn’t believe it would have been possible for her to have walked all the way to the station; he didn’t see how, considering she was recovering from hip surgery. But she very well could have called a taxi. It sounded like something Marie would do. From what he knew, Marie didn’t seem to get along with her son and his wife. But why had she come to him? If Marie had found it necessary to steal away in her pajamas to come to the police station instead of just calling Adam, why? Something is going on, MacDonald told himself.