The Ghost and the Baby Read online

  Today Heather wore thigh-high black high-heeled boots over black yoga pants, with a poncho-like dark blue knit blouse. She had skipped applying any lipstick that morning, but her long fingernails wore black polish. Instead of braids or pigtails, she wore her hair down straight, its length silky and shiny from an early morning shampoo.

  “Hey, Heather!” Danielle greeted her, starting on her way again toward the house.

  “Welcome home. I saw the lights on at Marlow House last night. I was tempted to come over and say hi, but figured you probably wanted time to settle in.”

  “You should have.” Danielle walked up the front steps and greeted Heather with a quick hug while Hunny pranced around their feet, wanting more attention.

  “You stay out here a while,” Heather scolded the dog, pushing her back outside when the two women walked into the building. The door closed behind them, leaving Hunny outside.

  Danielle handed Heather a box of candy. “For you.”

  “Awesome! Love these. Thanks. So how was Hawaii?”

  “It was wonderful. So relaxing. The weather was great. Walt actually has a suntan!”

  “No longer ghostly white?” Heather snickered as she led the way into the waiting area.

  “I must say a tan does something for those blue eyes of his,” Danielle said with a dreamy sigh.

  Heather rolled her eyes. “You sound like a lovesick newlywed.”

  “I am.” Danielle grinned. “But Walt reminded me our real first wedding anniversary is less than three months away.”

  “You look great. All that sunshine must agree with you,” Heather said as she sat down on a chair and started to open the box of candy.

  “We had an amazing time. It was weird. It was like we were…normal for once.” Danielle sat in the chair next to Heather.

  Heather arched her brow at Danielle as she removed a piece of candy from the box. “Normal? You guys will never be normal. Does this mean you didn’t run into any spirits over there?”

  “Not that we noticed.”

  “Really? I always heard the islands had all sorts of spirits.” Heather bit off half of the piece of candy and while chewing, mumbled, “This is really fresh.”

  Danielle set the other box of candy on the side table and glanced to the doorway leading to the hall. “Where is Chris?”

  “He’s upstairs with the contractors. He should be down in a minute.”

  “What’s he doing with the contractors? Did something break?”

  Heather offered a piece of candy to Danielle. After she declined the offer, Heather took a second piece and then put the lid back on the box before setting it on the table. “No, nothing’s broken. But Chris has finally decided to do it—he’s remodeling the rest of the house, creating office space.”

  “Really? Do you need more office space?”

  “We will if Chris does what he’s been thinking about for the last six months. Like you know, only a fraction of what the foundation does is run out of this office. And he still has his family’s corporation. He’s planning to move everything here, to Frederickport. Centralize in one location. Well, as much as he can.”

  “Wow. He’s come a long way. I remember when I first met him he hadn’t set up the foundation yet. Of course, he was still giving away money.” Danielle glanced around. “This house is certainly large enough to be turned into office space, but can he legally do that? This is a residential area. I know he was able to get a variance for the office when he bought the place, but that’s because no customers or real foot traffic would be coming or going. But if he is going to remodel—and even if clients don’t come here, you would still have employees who would be using all those offices he intends to create. Can he legally do that?”

  “Apparently he can. I’ll let him tell you how he pulled it off. Typical Chris.” Heather chuckled.

  “The reason I ask, Marlow House Bed and Breakfast lost its business license.”

  “So it’s true?” Heather asked.

  “You heard?”

  Heather nodded. “Yeah. Adam said something to Chris about it, and Chris was tempted to give you a heads-up, but we talked about it and decided there was no reason to ruin your honeymoon. There was nothing you could do about it from there, and we weren’t even sure how true it was.”

  Voices from the hallway caught their attention. Danielle glanced over to see Chris walking two men out of the building and telling them goodbye. After he closed the front door, he turned toward the doorway leading to Danielle and Heather.

  “Welcome home!” Chris greeted her as he walked into the room.

  “Aloha,” Danielle said as she stood. She picked up the unopened box of candy and handed it to Chris. “I come bearing gifts.”

  “Oh, sweet!” Chris said, taking the box.

  “Yes, they are.” Danielle grinned.

  Chris gave her a quick hug. Several moments later Danielle sat back down in her chair with Chris sitting across from her and Heather.

  “I was just hearing about your plans. I would love to know how you got permission,” Danielle said.

  Heather looked to Chris. “It’s true about Marlow House. Danielle was just telling me about it.”

  Sitting on the chair with the unopened box of candy on his lap, Chris looked to Danielle and asked, “What happened?”

  Danielle went on to tell Chris and Heather about losing the business license and why. When she was finished with her telling, Chris shook his head and let out a low whistle. “That new neighbor of ours is a piece of work.”

  “She’s a witch,” Heather said. “I don’t even let Bella outside when I’m at home unless I’m outside with her.”

  “I want to know how did you get your neighbors to agree to what you have planned for this house?” Danielle asked Chris. “I am assuming you went through the process.”

  “I did.” Chris grinned. “First, I promised all the parking would be on my property—not on the street. There is plenty of room for what parking we’ll need, and it will all be concealed behind a wall.”

  “That’s it?” Danielle asked.

  “It also cost me a fortune to get them to agree,” Chris said with a snort.

  “Don’t tell me you paid off your neighbors?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes and no.” Chris picked up the box of candy and set it on the coffee table.

  “Go ahead, tell her,” Heather urged.

  “I went to each neighbor,” Chris explained, “and offered to make a million-dollar donation to their favorite charity.”

  “You didn’t?” Danielle couldn’t help but laugh.

  Chris shrugged. “My main business these days is giving away money to worthy causes. This time, I figured I’d use it to get what I wanted. The catch was, it had to be a legitimate nonprofit charity. And the money would only be given if all the neighbors agreed and the city approved my application.”

  “Wow. Talk about putting on the peer pressure,” Danielle said dryly.

  “It was kind of interesting to see what causes the different neighbors found important. And they were pretty excited about it,” Heather said.

  “And you did all this in the last two weeks?” Danielle asked.

  “I’ve been working on it for a while,” Chris explained. “I didn’t say anything to you before because you had a lot on your plate with the wedding and all.”

  “You mentioned Pearl might be related to the Morton Funeral Home family?” Heather asked.

  “According to Walt, that’s who lived in the house when he died. And Pearl claims the house has been in her family for years. So that’s what we’re wondering. She supposedly has relatives who still live in Frederickport.”

  “The owners of the Morton Funeral Home are one of the neighbors on this street,” Heather told her.

  “Really?” Danielle looked from Heather to Chris, back to Heather.

  “In fact, we have all the paperwork on the donations back from all the neighbors—except for them,” Heather explained.

  “Wh
at do you know about them?” Danielle asked. “I’d love to figure out why Pearl is such a nasty person.”

  “You mean Norman Bates and his scary old mother?” Heather began to laugh.

  Danielle looked at Heather with a frown. “What?”

  Chris rolled his eyes and shook his head at Heather. He looked at Danielle. “His name is Norman Bateman, and he lives with his elderly mother, Faye Bateman, down the street.”

  “I swear he looks just like Anthony Perkins in Psycho,” Heather told Danielle. “And he acts just like him!”

  “He does not,” Chris argued.

  “Does too,” Heather insisted.

  “Do they just own the funeral home, or does he work there?” Danielle asked.

  “He’s the funeral director,” Chris explained. “And he has always been very pleasant to me.”

  Heather shrugged. “So was Anthony Perkins in the movie—just before he hacked up poor Janet Leigh in the shower.”

  “He’s not married? Does he have any kids? If he’s related to Pearl, I wonder how,” Danielle asked.

  “He’s not married now, but he might be a widower or divorced, for all I know,” Chris told her. “And considering his age, if he has children, they’re probably adults by now. He’s never mentioned kids or grandkids before.”

  “Does he have siblings?” Danielle asked.

  “I have absolutely no idea,” Chris said. “We aren’t that friendly.”

  “No. You’re just giving him a million dollars to give away,” Heather said with a snort.

  “As long as it’s for a good cause, I’m okay with it,” Chris said. He then looked at Danielle. “If you’re that curious about the Batemans, Heather has to go over to the funeral home tomorrow to pick up his papers on his donation. He promised to have them ready by then. Why don’t you go with her?”

  “Oh yes,” Heather said quickly. “Please do. I really don’t want to go to a funeral home alone.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Chris scoffed.

  “I don’t blame her,” Danielle told Chris. “I’ve never been thrilled about going to a cemetery.”

  “You’ve been to the local cemetery lots of times,” Heather reminded her.

  “True. But I really didn’t want to go the first time I went. And I wouldn’t have been there if Angela’s ghost hadn’t been playing tricks with my car and phone. But since then, it’s not so bad. I have a better sense of what to expect now. Each cemetery is different, with varying degrees of hauntings.”

  “That’s how I feel about going to the funeral home,” Heather told her.

  “I suppose two of us would be better than one. I’ll go with you. I’m curious to find out more about Pearl’s family.”

  Eight

  “You want Chris to pay off Pearl?” Heather teased. “I’m sure he has another million he’s dying to give away.”

  Danielle chuckled. “No, that’s okay. For one thing, I don’t imagine Pearl would change her mind, even for her favorite charity.”

  “I doubt she has a favorite charity,” Heather grumbled.

  “Are you going to try fighting it?” Chris asked.

  Danielle shook her head. “Ironically, when we were in Hawaii, Walt and I discussed closing the B and B.”

  “I thought you loved it?” Heather asked.

  “I did.” Danielle went on to repeat all that she had told Lily as to why they had come to that decision.

  “I understand,” Chris said when she finished her telling. “What do you want to do? You mentioned you and Walt had decided on something else with Marlow House.”

  “We’d like to use it to help raise money for charities. It could be a place where I can host charity luncheons—dinners—barbecues. Maybe provide free housing for charity benefits—work with you.”

  Chris grinned. “I love that idea.”

  “Oh! What about the high school’s fundraiser?” Heather said excitedly. “They could sell raffle tickets for spring break!”

  “High school fundraiser?” Danielle frowned.

  “Do you remember Elizabeth Sparks?” Chris asked.

  “Isn’t she the art teacher the police department uses sometimes to make police sketches?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes. She’s trying to raise money for the high school’s art department. Funding for the arts has been drastically cut,” Chris began. “She remembered the foundation had purchased the portraits and had them on loan at the museum. She wondered if the foundation might consider a donation to the art department.”

  “Are you donating?” Danielle asked.

  “I’ve come to believe it’s best when communities take an active role in fundraising, without one corporation or benefactor always stepping up. So I told her if she put together a fundraiser, I would match whatever they raised. I think it’s important to get the students involved. If they want to save their art department, I think they should fight for it,” Chris explained.

  “They haven’t come up with an idea yet,” Heather told Danielle. “They want something original. This would be original. The students could sell raffle tickets—and the winners could spend Easter week at Marlow House.”

  “I like that idea.” Danielle smiled. “We have four rooms to offer. People might be more inclined to buy tickets if there was more than one winner.”

  “That’s, of course, if you can do something like that without a business license?” Heather said.

  “I think so, since I’m not renting out the rooms. But I’ll stop by the city office on my way over to see the chief and find out for sure.”

  “I hated sending you that notice. I wanted to call you personally, but I heard you were gone on your honeymoon, and I didn’t want to call your cellphone and disrupt your holiday,” the woman at the city clerk’s office explained to Danielle. “But I had to get the notice out immediately.”

  “That’s alright,” Danielle assured her. “I understand. The reason I’m here, I was wondering…” Danielle went on to explain what she wanted to do with Marlow House.

  “That is so nice of you!” the woman said after Danielle finished explaining.

  “Do I need any kind of license?” she asked.

  The woman shook her head. “No, you don’t.”

  “Are you sure? I’d hate to get this going and find out I can’t do it.”

  “I’m positive. A few years ago one of our residents, who normally does not rent her house out, had a raffle to raise money for her church. The winner got the beach house for a week that summer. It was perfectly legal. I remember double-checking the codes back then, and nothing has changed.”

  “Wonderful.” Danielle grinned.

  “And if the high school takes you up on your offer, make sure you have one of the students stop by here to sell some tickets. I have family coming then, and I would love the chance to put them up at Marlow House. In fact, before I discovered there was a problem with your business license, I intended to see if I could make reservations with you for spring break.”

  “I hope you understand I had no idea Mr. Renton had taken any shortcuts. He was supposed to handle everything for me before I arrived in town.”

  “Oh, I do. To be honest, I never cared much for Mr. Renton. But he finally had to deal with karma.”

  “I suppose it was karma,” Danielle agreed.

  “Anyway, remember to have the students bring me some tickets if you go through with the fundraiser.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks for the information.” Danielle started to turn away when the woman called her back.

  “I noticed you never got around to putting up a sign in front of Marlow House.”

  “I kept meaning to do it, but something always came up and I got sidetracked.”

  “Since you’ll be working with Elizabeth Sparks, I thought you might ask her about her boyfriend making you a sign.”

  “Sign?” Danielle frowned.

  “Elizabeth’s boyfriend makes signs for people all over the country. He does much of it over the internet. Some of them ar
e quite beautiful. I always thought one of his signs in front of Marlow House would be fitting. It could say Marlow House and the year it was established. Of course, if it were still a bed and breakfast, it would say Marlow House Bed and Breakfast, but you couldn’t do that now.”

  “I wouldn’t need a permit for a sign like that?”

  “No. According to the city ordinance, it would be considered a historical marker, which doesn’t require a permit and is encouraged. They do require approval, but I know you wouldn’t have a problem getting one of his signs approved. And it would be great publicity for you if you want to continue offering Marlow House for charity functions.”

  “I think I would like that. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you know what his name is or how I can contact him?”

  The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t recall his name offhand. But if you’re going to be talking to Elizabeth anyway, she can give you his name and number.”

  Danielle entered the police department fifteen minutes later carrying a stack of cellophane-sealed boxes of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. As she walked by the dispatcher, she dropped off a box, said hello, and chatted for a moment before heading for the chief’s office.

  “Welcome home!” MacDonald greeted her when Danielle walked into the office. He stood up from his desk and looked to the boxes of candy and asked, “Are those all for me?”

  “Ha ha,” Danielle said with a grin. “Three are. Well, one is for you and the other two are for your boys.” She set the candy on the desk. “I have a box for Joe and Kelly, and one for Brian. Are they here?”

  “No.”

  Danielle took a seat in one of the chairs facing the chief. He sat back down behind his desk.