The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (6 page)

Walt watched as Cheryl
crawled along the attic floor on her hands and knees, inspecting the baseboard.
Still wearing her bathing suit and short summer shift, her bottom waddled in
the air as she made her way across the floor. Walt had never seen a thong
bathing suit bottom before and was quite fascinated at the sight.

It was obvious to him
she was treasure hunting. He smiled when she reached the loose board where he
had once hidden the Missing Thorndike. Of course it was no longer there, but by
Cheryl’s gleeful squeal when the board came off in her hand, and she discovered
the secret cubbyhole, the woman clearly thought she’d stumbled upon new
treasure. Her hand was shoved into the cubbyhole when Danielle walked in the
room a moment later. Danielle noticed Walt first, but he didn’t see her. He
couldn’t take his eyes off the woman crawling around below his feet.

Glancing down, Danielle
saw what was capturing Walt’s attention. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
Danielle asked Walt, who responded with a sheepish shrug.

Cheryl stood up
abruptly and pulled the hem of her dress down to cover her skimpy bathing suit
bottom. “I’m just looking around,” she said as she straightened her clothing
and brushed her hair back.

“Looks like you’re
taking apart my woodwork.”

“It’s my house too,”
Cheryl insisted.

“What are you looking
for? More treasure?”

“There’s probably more
here. The article said you found it in the attic. Was it in there?” Cheryl
pointed to where her hand had just been.

“Yes. And now it’s
locked up in a safety deposit box at the bank, so no reason for you to take the
house apart.”

Cheryl’s eyes darted
around the room. “I’m sure there’s more here.”

“You are, are you? What
makes you sure of that?” Danielle asked.

Walt stood by Cheryl,
leaning casually against the wall while he smoked a cigar, his attention now on
her cleavage. Glancing up briefly he noticed the unfriendly glare Danielle cast
in his direction. “Oh come on Danielle, you can’t begrudge a man for looking.”

“You’re dead,” Danielle
snapped.

“Are you threatening
me?” Cheryl gasped.

“No, of course not.”
Danielle cursed herself for responding to Walt.

“I heard what you
said!”

“I meant to say,
you’re
dead wrong.
There are no other hidden treasures in the house.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, for one thing, I
went through the entire house already. How do you think I found the necklace?”
Danielle lied.

“What made you go
through the house?”

“Well…Marie Hemming
told me Walt Marlow might have taken the necklace. And since it was never
found, I decided to have a look.”

“Who is Marie Hemming?”

“Her name is Marie
Nichols now. Hemming was her maiden name. Her father used to live in the house
across the street, the one Ian’s renting. He was friends with Walt Marlow and
apparently Walt once implied that he took the necklace.”

“Who was Walt Marlow
again? I can’t keep all these names straight. I remember reading something
about it in the article.”

“His grandfather
founded Frederickport and built this house. Walt Marlow inherited Marlow House
from his grandfather.”

Cheryl seemed
distracted. Glancing around, she sniffed the air. “There it is again. That
cigar smell. Awful. You need to get rid of it if you expect people to stay
here.”

Danielle smiled and
said, “Walt Marlow was murdered in this room. Right where you’re standing.”

“Well that’s not nice,”
Walt said with a frowned. “You don’t have to sound so happy about it.”

“I understand he used
to smoke cigars,” Danielle added, a mischievous lilt to her voice.

“You’re just saying
that to freak me out.” Cheryl glared at Danielle.

“I thought you read
Ian’s article about the necklace. It mentioned Walt Marlow, how he died, where
he died.”

“Sure, I read the
article.” Cheryl shrugged. “I suppose I skimmed that part.”

“But not the part about
the necklace,” Danielle grumbled.

“You should have
contacted me, Dani. It was wrong of you.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“She was my aunt too.
You should have told me she died.”

“You didn’t even know
her,” Danielle countered.

“I met her before.”

“What, when we were
kids? Did you ever write her, visit her when you were older?”

“Dani, my relationship
with Aunt Brianna is really none of your business. But she was my aunt, and you
should have told me when she died. You should have told me she had
Alzheimer’s.”

“How did you know
that?” Danielle frowned.

“Ah ha! You did know! I
knew it! You knew she was impaired and you took advantage of her so she would
leave you her estate!”

“I didn’t know she had
Alzheimer’s. Not until today. Mr. Renton told me,” Danielle insisted.

“Mr. Renton? Who’s
that?” Cheryl frowned.

“Aunt Brianna’s
attorney.”

“I thought we were
going together to see him!”

“You went to the beach
with Ian, and when I spoke to Mr. Renton on the phone he said if I wanted to
see him today I had to go right down to his office.”

“You’re trying to pull
something, Dani. You could have come down to the beach and gotten me.”

“Well, I didn’t. And
according to Mr. Renton, Aunt Brianna wrote her will years before she came down
with Alzheimer’s.”

“You know that often
goes undiagnosed.”

“What is it you really
want, Cheryl?”

“Just what’s mine.”

“We both know Aunt
Brianna had no reason to leave you part of her estate. You had nothing to do
with her. But you obviously want something. That’s why you’re here.”

“No Dani. I’m here to
stake my rightful claim to half of the estate.  And my attorney says I have a
solid case.”

“Next week I have a
buyer coming to look at the necklace. The house was already appraised. How
about I simply pay you from the proceeds of the necklace for whatever half of
the estate is worth. In turn, you agree that settles any claims you have, and
you can go back to California and leave me alone,” Danielle said wearily.

“Why would you do
that?” Walt stood up straight, no longer leaning against the wall. The cigar in
his hand vanished.

“So your attorney
agrees, I do have a case,” Cheryl said smugly.

“It isn’t that, Cheryl.
I just want to move on with my life and I don’t need you complicating things
for me. If that means I only keep a share of the funds from the necklace, so be
it.”

“This is ridiculous,”
Walt grumbled. He began pacing back and forth between Cheryl and Danielle.

“Why would I want to
sell the necklace?” Cheryl asked.

“So we can divide the
estate.” Danielle thought the reason was obvious.

“Maybe I don’t want
to,” Cheryl said stubbornly.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not like I need
the money,” Cheryl told her. “How often does someone have the opportunity to
own—and wear—something so unique?”

“Maybe you don’t need
the money but I can’t even afford to pay the inheritance tax on the necklace.
Are you saying you want to buy out my share of the necklace?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,”
Cheryl scoffed. “Why should I pay for something that I already own?”

“For one thing, you
might not be entitled to half the estate. And even if you were, you’d only own
half of the necklace.”

“What about this
house?” Cheryl asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Half of the house is
mine.”

“Cheryl, I said I would
buy you out of your imagined half with the proceeds from the necklace. It would
be like selling off the estate—the house and necklace—and then splitting the
money. And if you are so determined to keep the necklace, then you’ll have to
buy out half the necklace, minus half of what the rest of the estate is worth.”

“But I want half the
house.”

“Why in the world do
you want half the house? You have your own house in California. I can’t believe
you want to move to Oregon. You have your friends and life back there.”

“You just want the
house because of what’s hidden here,” Cheryl snapped.

“What do you mean,
what’s hidden here?”

“You know very well
what I mean! I don’t believe for a moment that man just stole one necklace. I
bet he stole all sorts of jewelry and it’s hidden throughout this house.”

“If that were true,
then whatever we find wouldn’t be ours to keep anyway. It would have to go back
to the rightful owners.”

“Please stop talking
like I was a thief!” Walt grumbled.

“You found that
necklace and got to keep it. So don’t tell me you wouldn’t be able to keep
whatever else you find,” Cheryl insisted.

“That was different.
Walt Marlow inherited the necklace and it was passed down to his heir, which
was Aunt Brianna’s mother.”

“That’s just stupid.
Why would he inherit a necklace he stole? You are just making this stuff up.”

“Your cousin isn’t very
bright,” Walt said. “But considering what you’ve offered her, I’m beginning to
think a serious lack of intelligence runs in your family.”

Danielle glared at Walt
before telling Cheryl, “You need to re-read Ian’s article. The necklace I found
in this house was a fluke—a one of a kind find. I’m not going to give you half
of Marlow House, but that’s not because I think there’s more buried treasure
here. Maybe we should just fight it out in court. If you win there, I’ve no
doubt the judge will make us sell the necklace anyway, to settle the estate.”

“That’s fine with me,
Dani. But if the judge forces us to sell the necklace, then the house goes
too!” Cheryl stormed from the attic. The sound of her angry footsteps on the
wooden stairs reverberated in the attic.

“I’m glad you decided
to fight her in court,” Walt said when he no longer heard Cheryl’s footsteps.
“I don’t believe she has a legitimate claim.”

“I’m not so sure about
that. Mr. Renton wasn’t all that reassuring.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cheryl might very well
be able to prove she has a viable claim in the estate. What if I am forced to
sell Marlow House?”

“You can’t leave,
Danielle.”

“Why do you care? You
practically called me stupid a minute ago.”

“I didn’t mean that. I
was just frustrated at how you seemed to just give up—were willing to give her
whatever she wanted. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize your attorney felt she might
have a claim. But, we both know your aunt intended for you to have the house,
and we both know why. And while we can’t prove that, I’m sure there will be
some way to fight Cheryl in court.”

“What you don’t
understand Walt, is that I don’t really have the resources to fight her. I
don’t imagine I’ll be allowed to spend the money from Aunt Brianna’s estate to
pay for legal fees.  Her parents left her very wealthy. She has a lot more
money than I do to fight this. Hell, I imagine her estate is worth twice what
I’ll get for the Missing Thorndike.”

“I don’t understand.
Then why does she care about your aunt’s estate?”

“Very simple, Walt.
Because I got it.”

Cheryl retreated to the
Red Room for the rest of the afternoon. The door was shut and Danielle assumed
her cousin was napping. It wasn’t until later that evening, after Lily had left
with Ian for dinner and the sun set, did Cheryl make another appearance.
Somewhat disheveled, her mass of tangled blonde curls in disarray, she stumbled
into the kitchen looking for food.

“What’s for dinner?”
Cheryl asked Danielle, who stood at the counter whipping up a cream cheese
concoction for the open house.

“I don’t know about
you, but I had a tuna sandwich and Lily and Ian went out.”

“You aren’t making
dinner?” Cheryl fairly whined.

Danielle glanced up.
“No. Why would you think I would?”

“You aren’t being a
very gracious hostess.” Cheryl looked around the kitchen for something to eat.

“I save my hospitality
for invited guests.”

“I don’t know why
you’re being so mean to me, Dani.”

“I’m busy, Cheryl. You
show up right before my open house and drop all this on me. You and I will have
to sort this out after the weekend. I have a million things that need to be
done before Friday.”

Cheryl eyed the
chocolate cake sitting on the counter. “Fine, I’ll just have cake for dinner.”

“You touch that cake
and you lose a hand!” Danielle snapped.

“Why can’t I have a
piece of cake? I’m hungry.”

“For one thing, it’s
for the open house.”

“It’s going to be all
dry by then.”

“It will be if you cut
into it. If you’re hungry, there’s some tuna left over in the frig and the
bread’s in the breadbox on the counter.”

Cheryl let out a little
grunt, but went to make herself a sandwich.

“When you’re done
there, you might as well help with the open house.”

“What do you mean?”

“For starters, you need
to make sure the room you’re staying in looks like it did when you arrived.”

“I don’t want anyone
going into my room!”

“It isn’t your room.
Anyway, the point of the open house is to let people take a tour through Marlow
House, even the room you’re staying in.”

“Fine. I’ll straighten
it up on Friday morning.”

“There’s a list by the
phone. Look through it and find something you can do.”

A few minutes later
Cheryl walked over to the phone, sandwich in hand, and picked up the sheet of
paper from the counter. Glancing through the list she frowned. “I’m not doing
any of this. I didn’t come here to be your slave.”

“I thought you wanted a
share of this house?”

“It doesn’t mean I want
to turn it into a bed and breakfast. It’s a stupid idea anyway.” Cheryl tossed
the list back on the counter and went to the table with her sandwich.
“Strangers in the house. It’s not like I need the money. But if you insist on
doing it, don’t expect me to help.”

“Fine. Just don’t make
any more messes.”

“I don’t believe you
really care about all this B and B nonsense anyway. It’s what’s hidden in the
house you really want. Otherwise you wouldn’t be so anxious to sell the
necklace and pay me off. The only thing I can’t figure out is why in the world
you want strangers in the house.”

“Please, not the hidden
treasure again.” Danielle stopped what she was doing and turned to face her
cousin. “Cheryl, it was foolish of me to say you could stay. I think it would
be best if you check into a motel until we work this out. Who knows, maybe you
are right and the court will give you half of the estate, but for now it
belongs to me, not you. At the moment you have no legal claim on the property.
So for now, I want you to leave.”

Cheryl looked up from
her sandwich and stared at Danielle. She said nothing, but continued to eat
while looking at her cousin. After she took her last bite she stood up and
smiled. “No, Dani. I have already moved into the room and I’m not moving out.”

 Danielle silently
watched as Cheryl sashayed from the kitchen, leaving behind on the kitchen
counter a pile of crumbs, open loaf of bread and dirty Tupperware container
which had been used to store the now eaten tuna salad. Shaking her head in
disgust, Danielle tidied her cousin’s mess and cursed herself for ever allowing
Cheryl beyond the first floor of Marlow House. 

Danielle let out a
weary sigh and considered all that she needed to do before the party—and what
she’d already accomplished. While Lily was out with Ian, she planned to finish
making the food for the open house. Tomorrow Joanna Johnson was arriving to
give Marlow House a cleaning from top to bottom. Fortunately it was already
fairly clean, except for the room Cheryl was using.

In the morning Danielle
had errands to run. She would ask Lily to stick around Marlow House to make
sure Cheryl didn’t get into too much mischief. Danielle had to pick up the
brochures from the printers. The postcards she’d ordered had arrived the day
before. She had wine to pick up, and her last stop was the bank, where she was
meeting Joe Morelli.

Ben Smith from the
museum had recommended a local upholster who was reasonably priced and
qualified to work on antique furniture. To Danielle’s delight the upholsterer
was able to finish the work in time for the open house and promised to deliver
the pieces in the morning.

It was almost 8 p.m.
when Danielle finished up in the kitchen. She was just wiping down the counter
when the doorbell rang. Her first thought was that Lily had forgotten her key.
Tossing the rag on the counter, she went to answer the door, wiping her hands
on the sides of her denims as she walked down the entry hall.

When she opened the
front door it was not Lily, but Sargent Joe Morelli.

“I know it’s a little
late, but I saw the light on,” Joe said with a grin.

Looking up into his
warm brown eyes she smiled and opened the door wider to let him in. “Well this
is a pleasant surprise, Sargent Morelli.”

He stepped inside the
entry and looked around. “Have you had any break-ins lately?”

“If I can count my
cousin,” Danielle said as she shut the door.

“Your cousin? Oh, you
have company? I’m sorry…”

 “No, not company,
exactly.” Danielle chuckled. “My cousin just surprised me with an unwelcomed
visit. She’s upstairs now. I’m glad you stopped by.”

“I wanted to make sure
we’re on for tomorrow. Do you still want me to go with you to pick up the
necklace?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“No problem.  Are you
sure you don’t want me to spend the night too?”

Danielle’s eyes
widened.

“I meant while you have
the necklace here. I could sleep downstairs.”

“Oh, I knew what you
meant,” Danielle lied. “But like I told you, once I get it back to Marlow
House, it will be fine. They installed the safe last week, and that’s where I’m
keeping it when I’m not wearing it for the party. Then back it goes to the
bank, until the buyer arrives next week.”

“So you’re still
selling it?” Joe followed Danielle into the parlor.

“That was my plan…at
least, until my cousin arrived.” Danielle glanced up to the ceiling. “Can I get
you anything to drink, something to eat?”

“No I’m fine.” Joe took
a seat. “What do you mean, until your cousin arrived?”

“It looks like my
cousin Cheryl is going to contest my aunt’s will.”

“Isn’t it a little late
for that? Hasn’t it been through probate?”

“I’m not sure how all
that works. I talked to the attorney today and he’s looking into it.” Danielle
sat on a chair facing Joe.

“So she believes the
estate should have gone to her?”

“I didn’t know we had
company,” Walt said when he appeared in the parlor the next moment.

“Half of it, anyway.”
Danielle tried to ignore Walt, who eyed Joe with intense curiosity. “The attorney
doesn’t think it would be advisable to sell it until we work this out with my
cousin. But I don’t know if the buyer will be willing to wait. And if he isn’t,
will I be able to find another one who’s willing to match his offer?”

“Who is this man? Why
is he here?” Walt asked. “And why do you keep looking at him like that?”

“Unfortunately, when it
comes to sorting out inheritances, things can get brutal even in the closest
families,” Joe said.

“Well, Cheryl and I
aren’t that close. Never have been. I considered just knocking her off and
burying her in the back yard, but your brother-in-law did such a nice job out
there, I really would feel bad messing it up.”

“Great, now gallows
humor?” Walt said.

Joe laughed and said,
“Glad to hear you resisted the temptation. I’d hate to have to arrest you.”

“Yeah, it would
probably mess up the open house too.”

“So he’s a policeman.
But why is he here?” Walt circled the room watching Danielle and Joe. “I can’t
believe it, you’re flirting with him. I’ll be damned, you look about to swoon.”

Danielle took a deep
breath, resisting the temptation to shoot Walt a dirty look. Focusing her
attention on Joe she said, “I want to thank you again for finding that old
police report on Walt Marlow’s death. It really helped to convince the readers
it wasn’t a suicide. If Walt Marlow was here, I imagine he would be very
grateful. Or at least, he should be.”

“Ahh ha, so that’s who
he is.” Walt sat on the couch’s arm and looked down at Joe. “So he’s the one
who’s going with you to the bank to pick up the necklace. I suppose that’s a
good idea. Once you get it back here I can keep an eye on it.”

“It was an interesting
case. I’m looking forward to the open house, by the way. And my offer still
stands. I’d be more than happy to spend the night here.”

Walt jumped to his
feet, scowling at Joe.

“I appreciate your
offer—to guard the necklace.” Danielle flashed Walt a warning to back off. The
last thing she needed was for him to start moving the furniture around or toss
about Lily’s stack of magazines.

Walt kept quiet until
after Joe left, thirty minutes later.

“What exactly is going
on between you two?” Walt asked when Danielle returned to the parlor after
showing Joe to the door.

“I don’t know what you
mean—or how that is any of your business. You should just be grateful for his
help.”

“I already said I was
grateful.”

“Did you?” Danielle
flopped down on the couch and grabbed a magazine off the side table. She began
thumbing through it.

“I didn’t realize you
two had become so—
friendly.
”

“We’ve just gone out to
lunch a few times.”

“You never told me
that.”

“I didn’t realize I
needed to keep you informed of my social calendar,” Danielle said primly.

“I didn’t realize you
had a social calendar.”

Danielle tossed the
magazine on the table and glared up at Walt. “Well, that’s rude.”

Walt shrugged. “I
suppose I’m a little surprised he’s the kind of man you would go after.”

“I’m not going after
anyone. Joe is a nice guy, and we have gone out a couple times—very casually on
lunch dates. Sheesh, I don’t need you drilling me like my father.”

“I am hardly your
father.”

“Okay, considering your
age then like a
grandfather!
No, make that
great-grandfather
.”

 Walt vanished.