The Ghost and the Leprechaun Read online

  “Oh, that’s it?” Heather cooed, standing up to get a closer look. Danielle handed her the necklace. Reverently holding it in her hands, Heather plopped back down in the chair, her gaze locked on the expensive heirloom.

  Chris leaned forward to have a closer look, yet he didn’t attempt to take the Missing Thorndike from Heather. “It’s beautiful.”

  Turning the necklace in her hands, Heather said softly, “To think my great-grandfather was responsible for removing the original gems from this piece. So much tragedy because of it.” She shook her head sadly.

  “I used to think it was responsible for Cheryl’s death, but it really wasn’t. I suspect Renton would have found a way to permanently get her out of the way even if she hadn’t taken the necklace. It just made it easier for him.”

  Taking one last look at the necklace, Heather let out a sigh and stood up, handing the piece to Chris so he could have a closer look.

  “I suppose you removed it from the safe deposit box because of the gold coins going missing?” Heather asked.

  Danielle nodded. “After I realized the gold coins were gone, I opened my other safe deposit box. The necklace was still there, but it didn’t seem smart to leave it at the bank until we find out what happened to the gold coins.”

  “I’d think if they broke in one box, they’d hit the other ones too. Do you know if any of the others were tampered with?” Heather asked.

  “I don’t know,” Danielle shrugged. “The box holding the Missing Thorndike was above the one holding the coins. All the boxes on the lower level are larger. I suppose it’s possible whoever took the gold broke into some of the other boxes along that row. Maybe they figured the larger boxes held more, so they would get more.”

  Taking roost on the roof of Marlow House, he watched as the man and woman made their way across the street. The dog was not with them. Ever since the man and dog had moved into the house, he had stayed away. Dogs weren’t as bad as cats, but they were still trouble for someone like him. A leprechaun couldn’t be too careful.

  He jumped down from his perch and landed by the window of the bedroom he had been looking into before a car driving down the street had slammed into a parked car. What he had seen when looking into the window earlier surprised him. He had watched the woman—the same woman whom he had watched sleep just the night before—remove an oil painting from the wall and expose a wall safe.

  It wasn’t the wall safe that fascinated him as much as what she removed from it. He wasn’t sure where—or when—but he had seen that necklace before. Even from his vantage point, he was fairly certain those were real diamonds and emeralds. The fact was, he was old enough and experienced enough to know the difference between expensive fakes and the real things. Leprechauns, after all, were experts in assessing treasures. He just wished he could remember where he had seen that necklace before.

  He was about to turn from the window when she reentered her bedroom. With a smile, he continued to watch her through the glass. She pulled the necklace from her pocket and then tucked it into the pouch. After placing the pouch in the safe, she closed the safe’s door and gave the lock several spins. Just as she turned to the bed to retrieve the oil painting, she glanced up to the window.

  She froze, eyes wide. “Walt!”

  Had Walt still been in the parlor with the rest of them, he would not have heard Danielle’s cry. But he had been on his way to her room, wanting to discuss in private what they had been talking about downstairs.

  When he appeared in her bedroom, he found her standing a few feet from her bed. She pointed to the window. Walt looked, but whoever had been outside the window was no longer there.

  Eight

  Dropping the sack holding the hamburger and fries onto the side table next to his recliner, Alan Kissinger went to the kitchen to grab a beer out of the refrigerator. None of the interior house lights were on, and he didn’t bother flipping the switch. While the sun had not yet set and the pending rain clouds darkened the sky, Alan didn’t mind a dimly lit house. Since his divorce, he lived alone and he didn’t need every light turned on, as did his ex.

  Just as he returned to the recliner, his phone began to ring. Before answering it, he popped open the beer and took a swig. Setting the opened beer on the side table with the sack of food, he pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at it. It was Dave.

  “I just got home,” Alan said when he answered the phone. He plopped down on the chair and leaned back, propping his feet on the chair’s now extended footrest. Reaching over to the side table, he grabbed his beer and took another sip.

  “I was wondering about that. I thought you would have called by now.”

  Putting the cellphone on speaker and turning up the volume, he set it on his armrest and then set his beer in the chair’s cup holder. He reached over and grabbed the sack and removed the burger.

  “I stopped off to get something to eat and brought it home. I’m starving. Those damn FBI guys and cops were there all day.” He unwrapped his burger and took a bite.

  “We knew that would happen. So did they find anything?” Dave asked.

  After swallowing his first bite, Alan said, “Just that someone moved the camera and then moved it back.”

  “No surprise.”

  “Of course, the damn FBI wouldn’t be involved if Susan hadn’t insisted the box was heavy when it went into the vault. I should have fired her the moment I knew she was going to be nothing but trouble. I thought making her work on Saturdays again would get her to quit.”

  “You knew that wasn’t going to happen. She isn’t the first employee who doesn’t know when to shut up. But I know you, you’ll handle it.”

  Alan picked up his beer again and took a swig and then set the can back in the cup holder. “I have a question for you, Dave.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Are you as good at opening home safes as you are bank safes?”

  Dave laughed. “Why do you ask? What are you thinking now?”

  “Remember how I told you Boatman emptied her other safe deposit box?”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “It was that necklace I was telling you about. She took it home with her.”

  “Does that surprise you?” Dave asked. “If I was her, I wouldn’t have left it at the bank either.”

  “That necklace is worth more than a million bucks.”

  “It will also be a little harder to get rid of than gold coins,” Dave pointed out.

  “That never stopped you before,” Alan reminded him.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “From what I understand, she had a wall safe installed at Marlow House. That’s where she kept the necklace before, when she took it out of the bank. But that was about a year ago. From what I understand, this is the first time she’s taken it out of the bank since then. So if she took it home with her, it’s a sure bet she’s putting it in the wall safe, at least until she decides it isn’t the best place to keep something that valuable and moves it to another bank.”

  “Do you know what kind of safe it is?”

  “I suppose Susan is good for something. When I asked her how Boatman thought her necklace was going to be safer at home, she told me about the wall safe. She even knew what kind it was.” Alan then told Dave the brand.

  Dave began to laugh. “Damn, are you serious? Talk about easy pickings!”

  “Easy for you, maybe.”

  Dave stopped laughing and said, “Well, the opening-the-safe part would be easy, but getting in and out of her house undetected, that’s where the risk comes in.”

  “Her house isn’t just a house—it’s a bed and breakfast.”

  “Do you mean like a hotel or something?” Dave asked.

  “Yes. All you would need to do is check in and then, when no one is around, slip into the room, take the necklace and leave.”

  “That’s not exactly all that would be involved,” Dave reminded him.

  “Dave, you still have that credit card I
gave you? Come on, isn’t Stephanie up to a new adventure? And I bet she’d love to spend a couple nights at a seaside B and B.”

  Dave laughed again. “I love how you always come up with these ideas, but Stephanie and I are always the ones to take the risk!”

  “Come on—the necklace will be a piece of cake, especially compared to cleaning out a safe deposit box in a bank. And no one is as good with disguises as Stephanie is. I bet you two could check in tomorrow and then run into Boatman next week and she would never know you were the same couple who stayed under her roof and then disappeared with her necklace.”

  Dave didn’t answer immediately. Alan knew he was considering his idea. While Dave was silently thinking, Alan grabbed a handful of fries from the sack and continued eating his burger.

  Finally, Dave said, “If we do this, I assume we can’t wait. I don’t know this Boatman, but I can’t imagine anyone leaving something that valuable in a wall safe.”

  “I agree with you. We were asked by the cops not to discuss the robbery while they investigate, but I know the story is already circulating in town.”

  Dave laughed. “Like something like that won’t leak out?”

  “From what I understand, Boatman’s necklace has something of a reputation in Frederickport. The minute the locals learn about the missing gold, it won’t take them long to figure out Boatman removed the necklace from the bank and is keeping it in her safe at home. The safe, by the way, seems to be common knowledge.”

  “Which is why we need to move fast. Unless Boatman is a fool, she’ll be making arrangements to move it to another bank unless her little experience with yours has left her unwilling to trust another bank.”

  “True, but it doesn’t mean she won’t decide to keep it somewhere else,” Alan said. “There are other options rather than a bank.”

  “Exactly. So, if we do this, I guess we need to call tonight and make reservations.”

  “From what I understand, they’re full right now, but I heard it should be cleared out by Monday morning. I would assume you’d have a good chance of getting a reservation early in the week.”

  “Okay. Let me go talk to Steph and I’ll get back with you.”

  After Alan said goodbye, he turned off his cellphone and smiled. Leaning back in the chair, he kicked off his shoes. They dropped to the floor.

  Special Agents Wilson and Thomas sat in a corner booth at Lucy’s Diner, waiting for their dinner order.

  “I really hate going back there,” Wilson groaned. “Something’s not right about Marlow House.”

  “I don’t know how we can avoid it, not if we want to interview Boatman tonight. I suppose we could ask her to meet us down at the police station tomorrow, talk to her there.”

  Wilson shook his head. “If we told anyone, they would think we’re crazy.”

  Thomas picked up his cup of coffee. Before taking a sip, he said, “Which is why we agreed not to say anything. We were both there. We both saw it.”

  “Yes, but what exactly was—it?”

  Taking a drink of coffee, Thomas shook his head. “I have no idea. I don’t know, maybe there really are ghosts.”

  Wilson leaned back in the booth and let out a sigh. “We need to focus on this case.”

  “At least we know why the robbers only hit one box.”

  “That’s what we assume. They wanted to get in and out of there quick, so they hit the box with the biggest reward. Yet how did they know that box was Boatman’s? That it was the one with the gold?” Wilson asked.

  Setting his coffee cup down, Thomas leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tabletop. “I think it’s pretty obvious it was an inside job. Whoever it was knew where those cameras were. Knew which box was Boatman’s. And there is no sign anyone broke in to the bank itself.”

  Still leaning forward, Thomas absently tapped his fingers on the tabletop while considering the situation. “If it is an inside job, I would tend to rule out Mitchell. Why would she adamantly insist the box was filled with the coins after Boatman put it in the vault? She could have easily claimed she didn’t remember. After all, even Boatman agreed Mitchell had left her alone with the safe deposit box before it went into the vault that last time.”

  “Unless they’re in this together,” Wilson suggested. “Maybe it’s about squeezing the bank? And now that we know someone moved that camera and there are a few minutes when that particular box wasn’t under surveillance, it could open the bank up to liability.”

  Thomas absently fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup. “Sounds pretty farfetched.”

  “As farfetched as what goes on in Marlow House? Hands that aren’t there that grab you? Cigar smoke that comes and goes?”

  “There has to be some logical explanation for all that. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought lately. Maybe that house is rigged like the Magic Castle,” Thomas suggested.

  “Magic Castle?” Wilson frowned.

  “Place down in LA where magicians hang out. I went to it once and sat in on a private magic act. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, especially considering we were all there in this small room together. Nothing like when an act’s up on stage or on TV and you assume there are wires or something you aren’t seeing.”

  “So you’re saying what happened to us was nothing more than someone playing tricks on us?”

  “It’s either that or the place really is haunted.”

  They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Thomas asked, “Any more thoughts about the significance of the shamrock?”

  “We know where it came from. I’m pretty sure when they’re finished processing the evidence, they’ll say the thief removed it from that box we found in the storage room, since there were other ones like it still there. Of course, anyone could have gone into that room. It doesn’t have to be someone from the bank, since it’s located next to the public restrooms. And Mitchell admitted they aren’t consistent about keeping that room locked.”

  “But why put the shamrock in the safe deposit box in the first place?” Thomas asked.

  “Maybe we have someone out there who wants to make a name for himself. The Shamrock Gang?” Wilson suggested.

  Thomas shrugged and then said, “I’m surprised MacDonald called us in on this. It’s not like someone hit the bank’s cash.”

  “I suspect since he’s close to Boatman, that conflict-of-interest thing was weighing on him.”

  “I imagine he’s questioning his personal judgment these days, considering what his girlfriend did.”

  “No kidding.”

  Before Thomas could respond, the server brought their food. After she left the table, Wilson said, “We can talk to Boatman tomorrow. She isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Do you want to have her meet us down at the police station to interview her?”

  Silently, Wilson considered Thomas’s suggestion for a moment. Finally, he picked up his fork and knife and angrily cut into the rare steak sitting on the plate before him. “No. I’ll be damned if I’ll let an old house scare me away.”

  Nine

  When Lily walked into the kitchen the next morning, she found Danielle standing at the counter, cracking eggs into a stainless steel bowl.

  Grabbing a coffee cup from the overhead cabinet, Lily glanced over at Danielle and asked, “Where’s Joanne?”

  “She won’t be in until noon. Carmen is checking out today, so Joanne is coming a little later so she can clean her room.” Danielle grabbed another egg from the carton and tapped it against the edge of the bowl. “So I’m making breakfast this morning.”

  Lily poured herself a cup of coffee. “Can I help?”

  “Sure. I’m making breakfast burritos. The sausage and potatoes are already done; they’re in the oven, keeping warm, along with the tortillas. Maybe you can grab the grated cheese and salsa from the fridge and put them on the table.”

  “No problem.” Lily took a quick sip of her coffee and then set the cup on the counter. She turned to the refrigerator. “I not
iced the dining room table was already set. You must have gotten up early.”

  Danielle scooped up the broken egg shells and dumped them in the nearby trash can. “I couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”

  “I bet. I still can’t believe the coins weren’t in the safe deposit box.” Lily removed the serving bowl filled with grated cheddar cheese from the refrigerator, along with the salsa. She set them both on the nearby kitchen counter and then closed the refrigerator.

  “And then there’s that weird ghost leprechaun whatever floating around.” Danielle picked up a whisk and started beating the eggs.

  Turning to Danielle, Lily leaned against the counter as she watched Danielle finish preparing breakfast. “I suppose I’m getting used to you seeing spirits from time to time.”

  Danielle sniggered. “The once strange has become normal?”

  Lily smiled. “Something like that.”

  “Breakfast was great. You should open a restaurant,” Lily told Danielle after she helped her clean up the kitchen.

  “Yeah, right,” Danielle said with a snort. “I like to cook, but this is all I want to do. Although, sometimes I think the real reason I opened the B and B was so I’d have an excuse to bake cookies and cake.”

  “I for one appreciate your cakes and cookies.”

  “Of course, if I stopped baking, maybe I could finally lose those fifteen pounds.”

  “If you stopped baking, that would just mean more trips to Old Salts.”

  Danielle sighed. “True. Which reminds me, I need to stop at Old Salts and pick up some cinnamon rolls.”

  Lily folded the dishtowel she had been using and hung it on a hook. “I’m glad Joanne worked out so well. It’s nice to have an extra person help with the cooking.”

  “When I first talked to Joanne about staying on as a housekeeper, I had no idea she’d be able to fill in in the kitchen so well.”