The Ghost and the Baby Page 6

  “The boys are going to be thrilled, each getting their own box of candy. I just need to make sure they don’t eat it all at once.”

  Danielle grinned. “The joys of parenthood!”

  “Now you’re reminding me of his grandparents. Give them a noisy toy that I have to deal with. But in this case, an entire box of chocolate.”

  Danielle shrugged. “What can I say? I like to stir up things. Would you mind giving Joe and Brian the candy when they get back?”

  “Sure. If I don’t eat them first.” He grinned.

  “And here you are acting like it’s the boys who would eat all the candy,” Danielle snickered.

  The chief flashed Danielle a smile. “It was sweet of you to think of us while you were on your honeymoon.”

  “I’ll admit I sort of took the easy gift route. I figured who doesn’t love chocolate-covered macadamia nuts?”

  “You didn’t have to get us anything. But I do appreciate it.” He leaned back in his chair. “Where is Walt? Tired of hanging out with each other?”

  “I had some errands to run, and he had some work to do at home. Plus, I called Bill to stop by and look at the fence between our house and Pearl’s. It needs to be repaired. Walt stayed home so he could talk to him about it.”

  “How is your new neighbor? What did you decide to do about the B and B?” MacDonald asked.

  Danielle spent the next ten minutes updating the chief on all that had happened since she and Walt had arrived back in Frederickport.

  “I’m glad it’s working out for you. This will make Joe happy.” He chuckled.

  Danielle shook her head. “He never could understand why I kept it open. Especially after the inheritances.”

  “I’ll admit I did wonder myself when you might start questioning keeping it open—especially now that you and Walt are married and after some of your recent experiences.”

  “You mean like our guests trying to blackmail us or kill us?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” The chief nodded.

  Danielle let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair. Her hand absently went up to the locket hanging from the gold chain around her neck, fiddling with it. Until that moment, it had been hidden under the cowl neckline of her sweater.

  “You’re wearing the locket.” The chief beamed. “You do like it.”

  She glanced down at the locket, rubbing one thumb over it. “I love it. And…well…there is something about the locket you don’t know. I didn’t have time to tell you when you gave it to me, what with getting married and then leaving on our honeymoon.”

  “Tell me what?”

  Letting go of the golden heart locket, she looked at the chief. “First, I need to ask you something. When you gave it to me, you mentioned you purchased it at an antique shop. How did you happen to be there?”

  “Remember when I went to Vancouver with the boys? When Claudia Dane was claiming to be married to Clint.”

  “Yeah. It was some family gathering, right?”

  The chief nodded. “One day we took some of the kids down to get ice cream, and there was an antique shop next door. One of the cousin’s wives wanted to look in the shop while the kids picked out their ice cream. At the last minute I decided to go into the shop with her. It was fate, I think. The minute I walked in, I almost felt like something made me look at the jewelry in the glass case. I don’t know why. I don’t normally check out women’s jewelry—I’m not even dating anyone right now.” He laughed.

  “It was fate, Chief.” Danielle smiled softly.

  Cocking his head to one side, he studied her curious expression. “So what did you want to tell me about the locket?”

  “The night before my wedding I had a dream. My parents were there. Mom was helping me into my wedding dress. My father came into the room and he gave me a present—a gold heart locket. One that looks exactly like this one.” She touched the locket again. “It even had an engraved M. Exactly like this one.”

  The chief stared blankly at Danielle. He blinked his eyes. “Are you saying your father’s spirit guided me to buy that locket? That it was his wedding gift to you?”

  Danielle nodded. She then grinned and said, “But I don’t think Dad’s going to pay you back for it.”

  Nine

  It was their third day back home. Danielle had just gotten off the phone with Elizabeth Sparks, who loved the idea of the fundraiser. With Easter about six weeks away, they decided to have the tickets printed immediately. That would give the students three weeks to sell the tickets, announce the winners, and give the winners almost three weeks to make any necessary travel plans. Danielle worried they were cutting it a little short, yet figured whatever they raised would help the art department while kick-starting her and Walt’s new plans for Marlow House. She also obtained the contact information for Elizabeth’s boyfriend, which she gave to Walt.

  “Elizabeth said he might be able to come over today and talk to you about the sign,” she told him.

  “Don’t you want to be here?” Walt asked.

  “I think you have a better eye for what kind of sign would look best for Marlow House. Something that fits the era when the house was built.”

  “Are you insinuating I’m old?” Walt teased.

  Danielle grinned at Walt before giving him a quick kiss and slipping on her jacket. “You do have an intimate knowledge of that era.”

  Walt, who stood facing Danielle, reached out and tenderly buttoned the top of her jacket. She stood patiently, waiting for him to finish.

  “You do know I was born almost thirty years after this house was built,” he asked.

  “I love you, Walt,” Danielle said as he finished slipping the last button through its buttonhole.

  Walt arched his brows and asked with a smile, “What does that have to do with what we were talking about?”

  “Nothing. But I just like saying it.”

  “Second day I’ve seen you without Walt. Is the honeymoon over?” Heather teased as she climbed into Danielle’s car fifteen minutes later.

  “Actually the honeymoon ended three days ago.” Hands on the steering wheel, engine running, Danielle watched as Heather shut the door and fastened her seatbelt.

  “So the romance is over?”

  “I thought we were talking about honeymoons?” Danielle asked. “The romance is still there. Even for us old married couples. You know our real first anniversary is just around the corner.”

  “I know. That’s what you told me yesterday. So what are you going to do for your first anniversary?” Heather asked as Danielle drove the car out into the street and headed down the road.

  “Not a clue. After all, we just got back from our honeymoon.”

  “Seriously, I did sort of expect Walt to come with us today. You two are always together.”

  “He had to stay home and take care of some stuff at the house. Bill’s fixing our fence.”

  “Where Pearl came through?” Heather asked.

  Danielle nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Good. I need to check the fence between her house and mine. Her trying to go through your dog door is beyond creepy.”

  “I wonder if she is related to Norman Bateman,” Danielle said.

  “Considering her creep factor, she probably is,” Heather grumbled. “By the way, thanks again for coming with me today. When Chris told me he needed to pick up the papers at the funeral home, I really didn’t want to go alone, but I knew he was meeting with more contractors today. And considering my recent raise, I really need to try to be a better employee. Ugh.”

  Danielle glanced at Heather and then looked back down the road. “You got a raise?”

  “Crazy but true. I really don’t know why Chris puts so much trust in me. I’m his assistant, and when the new employees arrive and fill the new offices, according to Chris, I will be…well…their supervisor.”

  “Really?” Danielle said.

  Heather shook her head in disbelief and dropped her head on the headrest as she stared out the fron
t windshield. “I know. What in the world was Chris thinking?”

  Danielle stepped into the front foyer of the Morton Funeral Home with Heather and looked around at the dark paneled walls and vintage decor. From what she understood, the Victorian house had been built about ten years after Marlow House. She wondered if the upholstered furniture—several sofas and chairs in the waiting area—were original pieces, yet obviously reupholstered, considering their pristine condition.

  On one wall she spied several portraits. She wandered over to take a closer look when she heard a male voice say, “Ms. Donovan, thank you for picking this up.”

  Danielle glanced to the man who had just stepped into the foyer from a connecting room. He walked toward Heather, his right hand extended. If Danielle weren’t mistaken, it was Norman Bateman. He does look sort of like Anthony Perkins in Psycho, she thought, albeit an older version.

  Heather shook the man’s hand and then nodded to Danielle. “I brought my friend along. Mr. Bateman, this is Danielle Boatman…I mean Danielle Marlow.”

  “Ahh, the infamous Danielle Marlow of Marlow House,” Mr. Bateman said as he took Danielle’s hand in his for a brief informal handshake.

  “Infamous?” Danielle asked with a chuckle.

  “A few of my clients have come from Marlow House,” Bateman explained. “Often under suspicious circumstances.”

  “I try to help the local economy.”

  Bateman laughed. “A woman with a dark sense of humor. I rather like that.”

  Danielle blushed. “I guess I probably shouldn’t have said that—sort of slipped out.”

  Bateman flashed Danielle a smile. “I promise I won’t tell. But it is nice to meet you.”

  Danielle nodded to the first portrait on the wall—of a man. “Who’s this? He looks a little like you.”

  Standing next to Danielle and Heather, Norman looked up to the portrait. “It’s my grandfather, Elmer Morton. He founded Morton Funeral Home.”

  “Were you close?” Danielle asked. “You obviously followed in his footsteps.”

  Norman shook his head. “I’m afraid he passed away before I was born. But my father was also in the business. So I suppose I followed in both of their footsteps.”

  Danielle moved toward the next portrait. It was of two young women—obviously twins—with short blond curls and vivid blue eyes. “Who are they?” She was fairly certain she already knew, but she asked anyway.

  “One is my mother and the other is my aunt Daisy. As you can see, twins.”

  “They were beautiful,” Danielle said, staring at the portrait. She glanced briefly at Norman and asked, “I understand your mother is still alive.”

  “Yes. She just turned ninety-five. Still sharp as a tack,” he told her.

  “Wow. Good genes.” Still studying the portrait, Danielle asked, “And your aunt Daisy? Is she still alive?”

  Norman shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. Aunt Daisy died about ten years ago.”

  “I understand they used to live in the house next door to Marlow House,” Danielle said. “We were neighbors.”

  “That’s true,” Norman said with a grin. “In fact, I tried buying the house back a number of times over the years. I heard it has a new owner now.”

  With a frown Danielle looked to Norman. “Your family didn’t own the house anymore?”

  “No. My mother sold it after her father died. At the time, she thought it was too big a house to live in alone—and I think it just had too many memories for her. But she later regretted selling it. Over the years she tried buying it back—and made a few offers. In later years, I tried buying it for Mother. I knew how much it meant to her. I think because her family was all gone and she was trying to recapture what she had lost. But the family who owned it didn’t want to sell. From what I understand, it has had a number of owners since my mother sold it, but all from the same family.”

  “That’s true. That’s why I assumed it was from the Morton family,” Danielle said.

  Norman shook his head. “No. And as far as Mortons go, I’m the last one in my grandfather’s line—aside from Mother.”

  “Your aunt didn’t have any children?” Danielle asked.

  “No. She was married, but her husband died fairly young, and they never had children. She never remarried.”

  “Did they live in Frederickport?” Danielle asked.

  “No. In fact, I never met her. She and her husband left Frederickport right after they were married and never returned. But I felt like I knew her through her letters. She traveled all over the world. A fascinating woman.”

  “It must have been hard for your mother,” Heather said. “I understand twins are closer than most siblings. To have her sister so far away.”

  Danielle remembered what Adam had told her: One of the sisters ran off with her twin’s fiancé.

  “While my aunt never returned to Oregon, she and Mother kept in touch over the years. I think Mother always imagined her sister would eventually return. It was difficult for her when she got the news Aunt Daisy had passed away.”

  Danielle wondered if the ex-fiancé dying young had made it easier for Norman’s mother to make up with her sister—which Danielle assumed must have happened if they had kept in touch all those years, as Norman said. Or perhaps it was falling in love and marrying Norman’s father that had helped her put her sister’s betrayal behind her. One thing she did learn today—none of those people were related to Pearl Huckabee.

  Danielle turned from the portrait to Norman. “I understand that part of the family who owned the house next door to me before the recent sale still lives in Frederickport. Do you happen to know who that might be? I’ll admit I am a little curious about the family. Especially since they’ve owned the house for so long.”

  “I’ve never met anyone from the family personally. In fact, the only contact I’ve ever had with them is through my attorney at the time when I made my offers. He tracked the owners down for me. Although, my mother once knew who they were. If any of them still live in town—and if she knows about it—I don’t recall her ever mentioning them.”

  “Umm…would you mind telling me who your attorney is? I’d love to contact the family.”

  “I’m afraid it won’t help. It was Clarence Renton.”

  “Ummm…Clarence Renton?” Danielle groaned.

  Norman nodded. “And if those newspaper articles I read were accurate, you above anyone else know how Mr. Renton’s career ended.”

  “I didn’t see a single ghost,” Heather said with a sigh of relief as she buckled herself into the passenger seat in Danielle’s car.

  “Me neither. Of course, we didn’t accept Mr. Bateman’s offer to tour the facility. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few spirits hanging around that place.” Danielle pulled the car into the street and headed toward home.

  “That’s why I told him we needed to get back for another appointment when he offered to give us the tour. I didn’t want to push our luck,” Heather said with a shiver.

  “At least we know Pearl’s bitterness doesn’t come from some Morton family scandal.”

  “So Norman’s aunt stole his mother’s boyfriend?” Heather asked.

  “Fiancé, according to Adam. While they are not related to Pearl, I have to admit I am curious to hear more about their story.”

  “I’m sure Marie will be able to tell you more,” Heather suggested.

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “If Norman’s attorney had been someone other than Renton, were you seriously going to see if he could put you in contact with the family? I can’t even imagine why. What did you want to say to them?” Heather asked.

  “I just said that. Sort of popped out,” Danielle told her.

  “Like it popped out when you said you like to stimulate the economy by killing off your guests?”

  “I didn’t say it like that!”

  “It was implied.” Heather shrugged.

  “I’m just curious to learn more abo
ut Pearl’s family—try to figure out why she’s the way she is. Figured the attorney might be able to tell me who they are. Not sure what I would do once I found out.”

  “You could always stop by the prison and see if Renton’s ghost is hanging around. See what he knows,” Heather teased.

  “Funny. By the way, I didn’t think Norman was a bit creepy.”

  “I think he liked you. Just be careful. And when you’re taking a shower, keep an eye on the shower curtain,” Heather warned.

  Ten

  When Danielle returned to Marlow House from the funeral home, she found Walt in the library, jotting down ideas on a legal pad for his current book.

  “I stopped and picked up some burgers for lunch,” Danielle announced when she entered the room, holding up two to-go paper sacks.

  Walt looked up from his writing and smiled. “You must have read my mind. I was just about to get up and make myself a sandwich.”

  Danielle handed Walt one of the paper sacks. “This is better—and easier.”

  Walt set his notepad and pen on the nearby table and took the paper bag from Danielle.

  “Find out anything interesting at the funeral home?” he asked.

  “Just that Pearl isn’t related to the Mortons,” Danielle said as she sat down on the sofa next to Walt. She then went on to tell him what she had learned.

  Danielle was just about finished recounting the morning when Marie suddenly appeared in the room.

  “Marie!’ Danielle said with surprise. “You and Eva must’ve been having a good time at the theater. We haven’t seen you since we first got home.”

  Marie shook her head in agitation and began to pace before them. “I was only with Eva the evening after you got home. I’ve spent the last couple of days at the cemetery.”

  “Cemetery?” Walt frowned. “What were you doing there?”

  Marie stopped pacing and faced them. “Trying to make some sense of life.”

  “In a cemetery?” Danielle asked.

  “I heard something that has shaken me up—made me question why—why am I allowed to stay? Why am I able to harness energy while not being confined as Walt was? What is the reason for any of it?”