The Ghost of Marlow House (Haunting Danielle Book 1) (18 page)

While walking from the Jackson’s front
porch to the car, Danielle turned around and gave Emma and Mathew a final wave
goodbye. The pair returned the wave from the porch.

“That was interesting,” Lily said as she
opened the door to the passenger side of the car.

“Yes, it was.” Danielle pulled her
cellphone from her back pocket and turned it on.  Before she had a chance to
return it to the pocket it started to ring.

“Hello,” Danielle answered as she opened
the car door and climbed into the driver’s seat, closing the door behind her.

“May I speak to Ms. Boatman, please?”
came a male voice.

“This is Ms. Boatman.”

“Ms. Boatman, this is Craig Simmons…”

“Is everything okay?” Danielle
immediately recognized the name. He was the one she had hired to clean the
grounds around Marlow House.

“Well, I’m not sure…”

“What do you mean?”

“It looks like someone broke into your
house,” Craig told her.

“Broke in? What do you mean?”

“When I was trimming the hedges in the
back yard I noticed one of the windows appeared to be broken. I took a closer
look and sure enough, the glass was not only broken, but the window was wide
open. It appears someone broke the glass then unlatched and opened the window.
It’s the one to the library.”

“Oh my god…”Danielle said.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked with a frown.
Danielle lifted her hand briefly, silencing Lily.

“I walked around the house, and when I
came to the front door it was wide open.”

“The door was open?” Danielle echoed.

“Did someone break in, what was taken?”
Lily asked excitedly. Once again Danielle silently hushed her friend while
listening to the gardener on the phone.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I called my
brother-in-law.”

“Your brother-in-law?” Danielle asked.

“He’s a cop, works for the local police
department. I didn’t want to just go into your house, and I tried calling you
first.”

“I’m afraid I turned off my cellphone
earlier. I just turned it back on, right before you called,” Danielle explained.

“Joe showed up and he looked through the
house. No one was there. Can’t really tell if anything is missing, but the only
damage was the window. We locked up the front door and I boarded the window for
you, until you can get it fixed. Didn’t think you’d want to have it wide open.”

“Thanks, Mr. Simmons, I really
appreciate that.”

When Danielle finally got off the phone,
Lily anxiously listened as Danielle recounted the phone conversation.

“Nothing’s missing?” Lily asked while
Danielle pulled away from the Jackson house, steering the car down the road.

“Not that he could tell. Of course he
has no idea what we had.”

“I wonder if they were there when he
first drove up. They probably ran out the front door in a hurry, leaving it
wide open.”

“I don’t know. Hard to tell. It’s
impossible to see the front door from the street, so it may have been wide open
when he got there.”
But I can always ask Walt what happened.

“I wonder if Ian saw anything,” Lily
said. She opened her purse and took out her cellphone.

“What are you doing?” Danielle asked.

“I’m going to see if Ian saw anything
suspicious.” Lily quickly dialed Ian’s number.

“Lily? Where are you?” Ian answered the
phone.

“We’re just leaving Astoria. I was
wondering if you saw anything suspicious at Marlow House while we were gone.”

“Suspicious? Some guy is working in the
back yard. But I assume that’s the gardener you told me about.”

“Yes he is. But someone broke into the
house, and I wondered if you saw anything.”

“Someone broke into Marlow House?”

“The back window was broken, the one
that goes into the library. And the front door was wide open.”

“Did you call the police?”

“The gardener did. They looked through
the house, couldn’t tell if anything was missing. I was just wondering if you
saw anything suspicious.”

“Sorry, I just got back about fifteen
minutes ago myself. Noticed some guy cleaning up the back yard over at your
place, but other than that, I didn’t see anything unusual. Sorry.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Is Danielle going to be okay staying
there alone tonight?”

“Alone?” Lily asked.

“When we go out to dinner. Remember? We
are still going out aren’t we, unless you’d rather not because of the break
in?”

“Let me talk to Danielle about it. I’ll
call you when we get back to Frederickport.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

“I gather he didn’t see anything
suspicious,” Danielle said when Lily got off the phone.

“No, he was gone all morning. Danielle,
do you want me to stay home tonight?”

“Why? Aren’t you going out to dinner
with Ian?”

“I was supposed to. But if you feel
funny about staying there alone…”

“Don’t be silly, I’ll be fine.”
Walt
can keep me company.
 

“Maybe you should have the locks changed,”
Lily suggested.

“Why? Sounds like whoever broke in
literally broke in—through the window. Doesn’t sound like they used a key to
get in.”

“Damn, I hope they didn’t take my iPad!”
Lily suddenly remembered she had left her iPad sitting on the dresser in her
room.

“I know, I was thinking about my laptop.
I have so much stuff on there. It has a password, but damn, I hope they didn’t
take it.”

“Most of my stuff is in the Cloud, and I
use a password too. But crap…there is no way they didn’t see it. It would be so
easy for them to just pick it up and take it.”

“Nothing we can do about it right now,”
Danielle said. “All we can do is wait until we get back to Frederickport and
assess the damage.”

“I guess you’re right.” Lily sighed and
leaned back in the car seat. “I
hate
thieves.”

“Me too. But maybe it was just some kids
screwing around.”

“I hope so.” Lily looked out the side
window and silently watched the coastal scenery roll by, wondering if her iPad
would still be at Marlow House when they got back to Frederickport.

“I can’t believe how sharp Emma Jackson
was,” Danielle said after a few moments of
silence.

“She really was, wasn’t she? You know,
Ian should be interviewing someone like her.”

“What do you mean?” Danielle glanced
over at Lily and then looked back down the highway.

“The woman is 106 years old—the things
she’s seen in her lifetime—like she said, she lived it.”

“I can’t imagine what it was like for a
black woman back then.” Danielle continued to look down the highway, her hands
firmly on the steering wheel.

“I know. I often wonder what it was like
for women back in the early 1900s—you know, not having the vote until 1920.
Second-class citizens. Birth control was illegal. But then I meet someone like Emma
Jackson and I realize it was even worse for women of color. To think there were
laws saying you weren’t allowed to live in the state because of the color of
your skin!” Lily shook her head.

“We don’t know what Ian is working on,
but I think you have a good point about Emma. Not only has she lived more than
a hundred years, she’s seems to have a pretty good memory. I bet she could tell
some fascinating stories.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Lily
asked, glancing over at Danielle.

“What do you mean?”

“About Walt Marlow’s death.”

“I imagine I’ve found all that I can
about what happened back then. I’ll put together something, reference the old
newspaper articles and what Emma remembers. Maybe I can get the newspaper to
run a feature article on Marlow House and the death, in conjunction with the ad
I intend to place for the B and B.”

“Pretty smart marketing,” Lily said with
a grin.

Smart marketing—if only Lily knew
,
Danielle thought. None of this was about promoting her new business, but Lily
was right, it could benefit the Bed and Breakfast.
But would it also benefit
Walt Marlow?
She wondered.

“It’s too bad you can’t get ahold of his
autopsy,” Lily said.

“Funny you should say that. I thought
about that myself. But I don’t even know if he had one—especially considering
someone on the police department back then seemed bent on covering it up. And
even if they did one, would they still have it? And if so, what would I do with
it? It would mean nothing to me.”

“You could find someone qualified to
look at it—see if there was something that was missed. A lot has changed in
forensic medicine in the past century.”

“Did they even have forensic medicine
back then?” Danielle asked with a laugh.

“You have a point. Maybe not.”

Lily stood on the side porch entry
leading to the kitchen, anxiously waiting for Danielle to unlock the door so
she could rush inside and go upstairs to her room and see if anything was
missing.

“Hold on Lily, it’s not like a few
minutes is going to make a difference,” Danielle chided as she fumbled with the
key.

“I know…I know…but I need to see if they
took anything.
Just hurry up!”

“I’m trying, but this darn lock sticks
and you jumping up and down like a kid that needs to use the bathroom is
distracting!”

The moment Danielle opened the door Lily
pushed past her and ran inside. Instead of following Lily into the kitchen,
Danielle stood on the porch and surveyed the back yard. Craig Simmons had
trimmed most of the hedges, but there was still a great deal of work left to
do. His truck was no where in sight but she noticed some of his tools on the
other side of the yard and suspected he’d left for lunch, considering the time.
After taking a final look, she went in the house and closed the door behind
her. Tossing her purse and keys on the counter, she made her way to the library
to check out the broken window.

Lily was already on her way up the
stairs. On route she raced headlong into Walt Marlow, never realizing what she
had just done. Walt paused a moment and looked down, as Lily effortlessly moved
through his ghostly form. Shaking his head he glanced up the stairs and watched
as she continued on her way—a girl on a mission.

Downstairs he found Danielle in the
library, surveying the damage.  Earlier Walt had watched Greg Simmons board up
the window and clean up the glass off the floor.

“They broke in,” Walt announced.

Danielle turned from the boarded up
window and faced Walt.

“Your gardener cleaned up the mess and
called the police,” he told her.

“So I heard. Do you know who it was? Did
they take anything?”

“It was Marie’s grandson and that friend
of his. The man who came with him when he brought you the photographs of
Brianna. It was the grandson’s friend who actually broke the window.”

“Why in the world would they break in?
And what did they take?”

“They didn’t take anything. I made sure
of that,” Walt said smugly.

“What did you do?”

“I did what you suggested. I harnessed
my energy.”

Studying Walt, Danielle narrowed her
eyes, wondering what sort of ghostly powers he managed to employ.

“My iPad is still here!” Lily announced
as she barged into the library. And your laptop is still in your room. It
doesn’t look like anything is missing. The televisions are still here. But
something strange went on in the attic.”

“Something strange?” Danielle looked
from Walt to Lily.

“Remember I told you there was a croquet
set up there? Well it looks like someone had a good time tossing the balls and
mallets all over the room. One of the balls must have hit the wall, because
there is a dent by the attic door with a little red paint in the middle of
it—same color as one of the croquet balls nearby on the floor.”

“Damn, I dented the wall.” Walt frowned.
“I guess I need to practice my aim.”

“Yes, that is strange,” Danielle agreed.
She glanced at Walt and then back at Lily. “Lily, why don’t you run across the
street and let Ian know you’ll be going out to dinner with him tonight. I
imagine he’s wondering.”

“Oh, I’ll call him later. You think I
should get out that inventory list and take a closer look? It’s possible they
took something I didn’t notice.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was just kids
horsing around. The croquet set confirms it for me. Go see Ian. If you guys are
going out tonight, he may need to make reservations.”

Lily considered the suggestion a moment
and then said, “Okay, I guess I should let him know what’s going on.”

“Not-so subtle way to get rid of her,”
Walt said with a chuckle after Lily raced from the room. Danielle didn’t
respond. Instead she walked to the doorway and looked down the entry hall and
watched Lily leave through the front door.

“You threw the croquet set at them?”
Danielle asked, turning back into the room.

“I tried scaring them away with the
television. But apparently televisions can operate without being plugged into
the wall.”

“They can?”

“That’s what Marie’s grandson thought.”
Walt shrugged.

“So why were they here?” Danielle had no
idea what he meant about a television not needing electricity. However, she was
more curious as to why Adam and Bill broke into her house.

“They were looking for something.” Walt
sat on a leather chair and waved his hand slightly, summonsing a lit cigar.

“What?” Danielle sat down across from
Walt.

“I don’t know…” He took a puff off the
cigar and then added, “…that is not entirely true.”

“Not entirely true? What do you mean?”

 “They were looking for something left
in this house prior to your arrival.”

“How do you know that?”

“The grandson’s friend said something
about how he wished they had searched the house before you moved in.”

“Do you think Joanne left something of
value in the house?”

“I don’t think they were looking for
something left by Joanne.” Walt took another puff.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because when the grandson started
taking the books out of the bookshelves, checking to see if any had a secret
compartment, his friend asked,
do you think he hid them in a book
? Or
something like that. Whoever hid whatever they were looking for was male.”

“Do you remember any men coming into
your house since you died?”

“Not really.” Walt shook his head.

Danielle studied Walt’s pensive
expression. Finally she asked, “Was it something
you
hid in the house?”

Walt didn’t answer the question.
Danielle glanced over to the bookshelves, and then back to Walt.

“If they were looking for something that
could be hidden in a book, it would have to be small.”

“I suppose so.” Walt studied the cigar
in his hand, watching the smoke curl and rise.

“Marie told me about that necklace. It
was never recovered. Is that what they’re looking for?”

“Why look for it now?” Walt asked. “This
house has been vacant for almost ninety years. If George told her about the
necklace before he died—and I assumed she shared that information with her
grandson—why didn’t he look for it before?”

“Then what did you mean when you said
you didn’t know what they were looking for, but then said
that’s not
entirely true
?
”

“I’ll admit the thought occurred to
me—that they were looking for the necklace. But, I took it almost a hundred
years ago. Ten years before I died. The moment the thought occurred to me, I
put it aside. If it was the necklace, he would have already searched for it.”

“Maybe…” Danielle paused and considered
the possibilities. “Maybe she just recently told her grandson. It’s possible
she never really discussed Marlow House with him before, but with me showing
up, she might have told Adam what her father had told her.”

“I suppose that’s possible. Whatever
they were looking for, they assumed it was hidden—not sitting out in plain
sight. I really can’t think of anything else they could possibly be looking for
that’s small and might be hidden.”

“So is it here someplace?” she asked.

Walt looked her in the eyes but did not
respond.

“Come on Walt, what did you do with the
necklace? Is it here?”

“I told you before it no longer
matters.”

“I think it does! If some valuable
necklace is stashed somewhere in my house—and if those idiots were looking for
it, what’s to say more idiots won’t show up and start looking?”

“Why would they? No one has for a
hundred years, until now. And I chased them off. I don’t think they’ll be
back.”

“If this necklace is as valuable, as
Marie said, then I can’t believe they won’t be back. Or at least, hire someone
to look for them. And what happens when I open for business? If Marie happens
to mention that story to others, especially with the promotion I’ll be doing
for the B and B, she’ll be more apt to tell those old stories to whoever will
listen. Will I have to worry about guests taking down the paneling in their
rooms, looking for some hidden treasure?”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,”
Walt vowed.

“I thought you were leaving when I tell
the world you didn’t kill yourself?”

“You really want to get rid of me, don’t
you?” 

“It doesn’t matter if I want you here or
not. If it’s time for you to move on, you will move on, but please don’t leave
me here with a house that attracts criminals looking for some hidden treasure.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.”

“Walt, is it here? If you want me to
tell the world the truth about you, I want to know if that damned necklace is
in this house,” Danielle said angrily.

Walt was silent for a few minutes before
he said, “Yes, it is.”

Surprised by his admission, Danielle did
not immediately respond. She had assumed he had done something with the
necklace long before his death—sold it or given it to a lover. But to hide it
in his house? Why?

“Where is it?” she asked at last.

“That I will not tell you.” Walt stood
up. “It does not concern you. And please do not blackmail me again for answers.
I will remind you I have learned to harness my energy—thanks to your advice. I
don’t believe it will be good for your business to have the furniture regularly
flying across the room.” Walt vanished.

“Damn,” Danielle cursed, glancing around
the library. She sat there a moment wondering what to do next when she heard
the doorbell ring.

“Did Lily forget her key?” she asked the
empty room as she got up to go answer the door. A moment later she discovered
it wasn’t Lily; it was Craig Simmons, the landscaper.

Holding a sweat-stained baseball cap in
his hand, the fortyish-something sandy-haired man stood on the front porch,
still wearing his work boots, faded denims and stained T-shirt. “Hello, Ms.
Boatman, I just got back from lunch, noticed your car in the back drive and wondered
if you had a chance to look through your house. I wanted to make sure
everything is alright.”

“Yes, we went through the house and
nothing seems to be missing.” That wasn’t entirely true. She had only been to
the library and kitchen, but according to Walt, Adam and Bill left empty
handed.

“That’s good, I was worried. We don’t
hear about many break-ins around here, it’s always been a safe neighborhood.”

“I suspect it was kids just fooling
around. It is summer and all. They could have easily swiped my friend’s iPad—it
was out in plain view. But they didn’t steal anything. I noticed the croquet
set we have stored in the attic was tossed about the room. Looks like they were
playing up there,” Danielle improvised. If she was going to point the finger at
innocent children, she wanted to downplay the break in. The last thing she
wanted to do was get some poor kid in trouble. She just wished there was a way
she could prove Adam and Bill had broken in, yet she didn’t think that
possible. “Fortunately they didn’t break anything. Well, aside from the window.”

“We noticed that croquet set in the
attic.”

“I wanted to thank you for taking the
time to board up the window, and for calling your brother-in-law to check
things out.”

“Oh, no problem. And that reminds me…”
Craig pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Danielle.
“Joe asked me to give this to you. He wanted you to give him a call when you
have some time. He filled out a report, but he wanted to go over it with you,
in case anything was taken.”

“Sure, I’ll be happy to.”

“I better get back to work.”

“Thanks again. The back yard is looking
good, by the way.”

Craig responded with a smile and nod and
then made his way down the walkway to the side of the house, where he had
parked his truck. Danielle stood at the open doorway for a few moments, then
shut it and went back into the house. She glanced down briefly at the business
card in her hand. Tucking it in her back pocket, she walked to the parlor and
was startled to find Walt there on the sofa, flipping through Lily’s magazines.

“I really hope Lily doesn’t walk in here
some day and find her magazines floating in mid air.”

“Why did you lead your gardener to
believe children broke into the house? You know who did it.”

“Because there’s no way for me to prove
it. And I don’t want to freak Lily out. She’ll sleep a little better believing
the break-in was just a childish prank.”

“Perhaps one of the neighbors witnessed
those two fools running down the street.”