The Ghost Who Wanted Revenge (Haunting Danielle Book 4) (12 page)

I
t was almost
dinnertime when Danielle returned to Marlow House on Monday. She pulled into the drive alongside the house and found Will Wayne sitting on the bench under the shade trees, sipping a glass of wine. Unseen to Will was Stoddard’s ghost, who seemed more agitated than normal. Yet this time, he directed his anger to Will and not to Danielle.

After parking her car and turning off the ignition, Danielle sat in the vehicle a few moments watching Will and Stoddard. Will looked in her direction and raised his glass in greeting, before taking another sip. He was oblivious to the ghost who repeatedly shook a fist in his direction and paced back and forth, not three feet from the bench.

“What is this all about?” Danielle muttered to herself, before getting from the car. Reluctantly, she walked to Will and Stoddard.

“Beautiful day, wasn’t it?” Will greeted. “I forgot how lovely the weather is here. So different from Phoenix.”

“What is he doing here?” Stoddard demanded. “Is this the real reason you killed me? It wasn’t about Lily after all, was it?”

“Did you have a nice afternoon?” she asked with forced cheerfulness.
What is Stoddard talking about? And how much do I tell Will about what happened today at Marlow House? There is sure to be something about it on the radio tomorrow, if not tonight.

“Yes, it was a most pleasant afternoon. The area has really changed since I was last here.” Will lifted his glass to Danielle. “Would you like some wine? I’ve more in the kitchen.”

“He’s just here for my money!” Stoddard shouted.

“Oh, no thanks.” Danielle forced a smile.
Will wants Stoddard’s money?

“He shouldn’t be here!” Stoddard shouted before abruptly disappearing.

Danielle glanced around the side yard, looking for some sign of Stoddard. She wondered where he had gone.

“Do you know if Lily’s back?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. She and Ian were here when I returned. They were in the library. I didn’t see Ian leave, so I assume he’s still here. Did she ever get ahold of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I got back she said she’s been trying to call you all afternoon, but you weren’t answering your cellphone.”

Instead of responding to Will’s question, Danielle stared at him for a moment.
Did Will take my cellphone? Was he the one and not Samantha?

“When did Samantha leave?” she asked abruptly.

“Samantha? Oh, she dropped me off about an hour before Lily and Ian returned. Why, did you need her for something?”

“Umm…yes, there was something she was supposed to pick up,” Danielle lied. “Did she come in the house when she dropped you off?”

“No.” Will shook his head. “I just had her drop me off out front. She was in a hurry anyway, had a patient to see this afternoon.”

Confused and troubled over Stoddard’s reaction to Will, Danielle excused herself and headed to the house to find Ian and Lily.

S
adie greeted
Danielle in the kitchen. Wagging her tail, the golden retriever ran circles around Danielle, playfully nudging her legs.

“Don’t you look pretty,” Danielle told Sadie, giving her a pat. “You smell good too. Are Ian and Lily still in the library?” As if she understood the question, Sadie turned quickly and raced from the room, heading to the library.

“Why haven’t you been answering your cellphone?” Lily asked the moment Danielle walked into the library a few moments later. Lily sat on the couch with Ian, her feet up on his lap as she leaned against one pillowed arm of the sofa. Ian smiled over at Danielle as he gave Lily a foot rub.

“If Ian hadn’t been here, I would have figured out some way to let Lily know what was going on. Write a letter perhaps,” Walt said when he appeared in the room a moment later.

Danielle flashed Walt a smile and shut the door behind her. “You guys aren’t going to believe the day I’ve had.” She walked to the window and looked outside. Will was still sitting on the bench. If he was involved with the plot to kill her and Joe, he didn’t seem upset that she was still alive.

“Well, we had a wonderful day!” Lily boasted. “We went to this restaurant that—”

“Someone tried to murder Joe and me today,” Danielle blurted out.

The foot rub abruptly ended. “What?” Ian and Lily chimed in unison.

Danielle sat on a chair across from the sofa and told them about her day, beginning with the missing cellphone. She left out the role Walt played in the drama, yet assumed Lily was able to fill in the blanks. The version she told Ian was not much different from what she’d told Brian. Later she would tell Lily the complete story.

“So you think Samantha was in some way involved?” Lily asked.

“The chief wants to question her.” Danielle glanced at the window leading to the side yard. Will was still outside.

“But I…well, I sort of wonder about Will,” Danielle muttered.

“Will?” Ian frowned. “Billy Bob Wayne?” Ian was familiar with Will’s celebrity status, and had seen a number of his commercials when staying in the Phoenix area while working on a story.

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” Danielle shrugged. “But he did once live in Frederickport. I’d like to find out if he has any connection to Stoddard.”

“There is something you aren’t saying, isn’t there?” Walt asked.

“I definitely don’t want Nurse Ratched touching Lily again!” Ian said.

Lily patted Ian’s arm. “We don’t know if it was her. Samantha seemed nice, but you have a point…I’m not thrilled with the idea of her continuing as my nurse if she was in some way involved. Maybe we could—” Lily stopped talking when her cellphone began to ring. It was sitting on the end table next to the sofa. She picked it up and looked to see who was calling.

“Speaking of the devil,” Lily said as she answered the phone. “Samantha…hello…”

Ian, Danielle, and Walt silently listened to Lily’s side of the conversation. When she finally finished the call, she said, “Well that was interesting. Sorta takes care of our immediate problem.”

“What did she say?” Danielle asked.

“Apparently, the police brought her in this afternoon, to interview her. She knows all about the attempt on your life. Of course, she claims she knows because of the police interview. She insisted she had nothing to do with taking your phone. Said she would never be involved with something like that. But she felt under the circumstances she could no longer come here and be my nurse. I guess the morning nurse is filling in tonight until the hospital sends someone else over.”

“Do you believe she’s telling the truth?” Ian asked.

Lily shrugged and tossed her phone back on the table. “She sounded sincere. But who knows? At least it solves that problem.”

“The chief doesn’t believe either Joe or I are in danger now, because he thinks the whole point of killing us was to discredit my alibi. But their murder attempt actually had the opposite effect. If someone was trying to stop the local cops from looking elsewhere for Stoddard’s killer, they blew it.”

“I think all of us would feel a hundred percent better if the police had Stoddard’s killer—or killers—behind bars,” Ian said.

“It might also solve the local Stoddard problem,” Walt told Danielle as he glanced to the window, assuming the angry ghost was nearby the house.

“You think it’s more than one person?” Lily asked.

“It has to be,” Danielle said. “We know there were at least two people involved—John Smith and the woman who impersonated me.”

“Or one person is behind it and they hired the others, like they hired Smith,” Ian said.

“And Samantha, if she was the one who took your cellphone,” Lily suggested.

“I think what we need to do is follow the money,” Ian said.

“If you mean who profits from Stoddard’s death, the most obvious person is Darlene,” Lily said.

“I know MacDonald doesn’t see her as the killer. I guess she was pretty broken up over Stoddard’s death,” Danielle said.

“Seriously?” Ian scoffed. “Spouses are always prime suspects. I can’t believe a few tears would get to MacDonald.”

“I’m not saying he’s dismissed the possibility, exactly. But if the motive is money, she’s just acting a little odd when it comes to the estate.”

“How so?” Ian asked. Danielle started to explain about Earthbound Spirits’ claim to Isabella’s estate, and how Darlene made no attempt to contest the will, but he already knew. Lily had told him.

“Maybe she knew she didn’t have a valid claim. Earthbound Spirits have a decent legal team. Perhaps she figured she would just cut her losses and take Stoddard’s share; it’s still a lot of money.”

“The thing is…” Danielle wished she could tell Ian everything, but that wasn’t feasible. “It’s hard to explain, but I have this gut feeling the will Stoddard found was valid.”

“We know it was valid,” Walt said.

“Gut feeling?” Ian asked.

“It’s more a collection of things I’ve overheard…pieces of the puzzle I’ve put together.”

“Maybe what we need to do is have a closer look at Stoddard’s will, Isabella’s will, the estate, and Earthbound Spirits,” Ian suggested.

“I know Clarence Renton was the one who wrote Isabella’s will. I bet he would know which one is the most current,” Danielle said.

“If Darlene was walking away from all that money when she was legally entitled to it, that would definitely put a different spin on this,” Ian said.

“What would it mean?” Lily asked.

Ian looked at Lily. “Blackmail perhaps?”

“If whoever killed Stoddard wasn’t hiring hitmen to come into my home to murder me, I suppose I wouldn’t have a problem sitting back and letting the Frederickport Police Department sort this out. After all, I wasn’t particularly fond of Stoddard in the first place.” Danielle glanced to the window and wondered where the angry ghost was now.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting a copy of the wills—Stoddard’s and Isabella’s. It’s a start, anyway,” Ian said.

“I suppose I could call up that private detective I worked with when Lily was missing, and see what he can find out about Stoddard’s company and do a little digging on Darlene,” Danielle suggested.

The discussion stopped when Will came into the house. He poked his head into the library to say hello to everyone and then went up to his room. Ian and Sadie went home about thirty minutes later and Danielle, Lily and Walt retreated to Lily’s room.

“Is Walt here?” Lily asked when they were in her bedroom on the first floor.

“Yes.” Danielle glanced over to Walt who leaned against a wall fidgeting with an unlit cigar.

“I assume there was more to that story you told me and Ian. And one thing I keep wondering, where was Walt when that guy first showed up?”

Lily scooted up on the bed and leaned against the pillows piled against the headboard. Danielle took a seat in the nearby chair. She told Lily, while Walt silently listened, the unabridged version of the day’s events, ending with Stoddard’s reaction to Will.

“Are you saying nice Will Wayne is in someway involved in all this?” Lily asked.

“I have no idea. But Stoddard was definitely upset. Of course I couldn’t ask him any questions with Will there.”

“I know what I need to do,” Walt announced.

“What?” Danielle asked.

“I’m going to keep a closer eye on your guest.” Walt disappeared.

L
ate Monday evening
Danielle went outside to find Stoddard. She wanted to know why Will’s presence angered him. Unfortunately, the bitter ghost refused to discuss Will Wayne, aside from accusing Danielle of plotting with Wayne to destroy his family.

On Tuesday morning, she tried again, before Will came down from his room for breakfast. Stoddard remained uncooperative. Danielle wondered if there might be someone else in Frederickport, familiar with Stoddard’s family history, who might know of Wayne’s connection to Stoddard.

Danielle arrived unannounced at Marie Nichols house shortly before nine, Tuesday morning. She dressed casually for the visit, wearing cuffed faded denims and a white lace blouse, with her hair pulled back into a tidy fishtail braid. Marie cheerfully welcomed Danielle and invited her into her sitting room for a cup of coffee.

“You must have been terrified,” Marie said as she poured the coffee. Danielle had just filled her in on yesterday’s drama.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t been on the radio yet.” What Danielle really meant was, she was surprised Marie hadn’t already heard about the attempt on her and Joe’s life. Marie seemed to know what was happening in town before the local newspaper or radio.

“There might have been something in the morning paper, but I’m afraid the sprinkler got to it first.” Marie sat down on a chair across from Danielle.

“I didn’t look at the paper this morning either.”
I was too busy trying to reason with a stubborn ghost.

“And Joe is going to be alright?” Marie asked.

“Yes. They just wanted to keep him over for observation. I called over there this morning and talked to him. Looks like they’re releasing him today.”

Marie shook her head. “Quite shocking. Two murders in our little town—and now this attempt on you and Joe. This used to be such a safe place!”

Danielle didn’t remind Marie of Walt’s murder, or the fact Marie’s own father had found the body. In fairness, that had happened almost a century before.

“Are they certain you are out of danger?” Marie asked.

“We don’t believe it was ever about killing Joe or me, but about deflecting attention off Stoddard’s real killers.”

“I hope they catch them quick. We don’t need those kinds of people in our town,” Marie said.

“I did have a question for you,” Danielle asked.

“Something to do with the murder?” Marie sipped her coffee.

“No, not really,” Danielle lied. She would rather Marie assume her interest in Will was more casual.

“I’ll let you ask me anyway,” Marie said with a chuckle as she set her coffee cup on its saucer.

“We have a guest staying at Marlow House.”

“I thought you weren’t going to take anyone until Lily was finished with her treatments.”

“I guess we sort of changed our minds.” Danielle picked up her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a picture of Will, which she had printed off from the Internet. While Billy Bob Wayne had a web presence—with photographs—it listed no information on his personal or family life. She handed the picture to Marie.

“What is this?” Marie looked down at the picture in her hand.

“He’s the one staying at Marlow House this week. His name is Will Wayne. He used to live in Frederickport. I was wondering if you knew him.”

Marie shook her head, “Will Wayne?”

“He owned a large car dealership in Phoenix. Actually, he was something of a local celebrity there. Went by the name Billy Bob Wayne, was featured in lots of corny commercials. Always dressed like a cowboy. Still does, in fact. He sold his dealership recently and retired. But he used to live here. He’s a widower. Both his wife and daughter are buried in the Frederickport cemetery. I was hoping maybe you knew him when he used to live here.”

Marie handed the picture back to Danielle. “Sorry dear, I don’t recognize him.”

“From what I understand, he lived here years ago. He probably looked a lot different back then.”

“The name’s not familiar, either,” Marie said.

Danielle stared at the picture a moment and sighed. She slipped it back in her purse. “Oh well, it was worth a shot.”
I guess there is always my private detective.

“You said his wife and daughter are buried here. Do you know when they died?”

“No. But I got the impression it was back when he lived here—and from what I found online, I know he’s been in the Phoenix area for over twenty years. I believe he started his car dealership in the nineties.”

“And you don’t know how they died?” Marie asked.

“No. I never asked.”

“Hmmm…” Marie thought a moment. “I remember a horrible car crash—but this was about thirty years ago—where a mother and her daughter were killed. So tragic. The family had just moved to Frederickport, hadn’t lived here six months when it happened. But I don’t remember their name. The husband, he only stayed a few months after the accident, then moved. I heard he couldn’t bear driving on the same highway where his wife and baby were killed.”

“Thirty years ago? That might be the right timeframe.”

“I do recall, it was the same week that time travel movie was released. Hmm…now what was the name of that movie?” Marie frowned, trying to recall.

“Time travel?”

“Yes, with that nice young actor…what was his name? The one who has Parkinson’s.”

“Do you mean
Back to the Future
?” Danielle asked.

“Yes! That’s the movie.” Marie smiled.

According to Danielle’s memory,
Back to the Future
was released in the mid-1980s.

“Do you remember if the family was connected anyway to the Gusarov family?”

“Stoddard’s family?” Marie frowned.

“I was just wondering if they knew each other.”

“It was a small town back then. Everyone seemed to know each other. Although, I don’t remember that family’s name. They weren’t here that long. I only remember them because of the tragic circumstances.”

“Do you know what caused the accident?”

“It was a drunk driver. The driver wasn’t a local.”

“What happened to the driver?” Danielle asked.

“He went to jail. I assume he’s out by now. But I really don’t know. So, do you think your guest is the same man whose wife and daughter was killed back then?”

Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. I just assumed they both died around the same time since they’re buried here together, and it’s been years since he lived here.”

“Why did you ask if he knew Stoddard?”

“Well…I figure the subject of Stoddard is bound to come up with everything that is happening and with Lily staying with me. I’d just like to be careful what I say in front of him if he and Stoddard used to be buds,” Danielle lied.

“I doubt they ran in the same circles.”

The two women chatted for another thirty minutes before Danielle told Marie she needed to be on her way. She had a number of errands to run, which included buying a new iPhone and stopping at the police station to get an update on Joe, and John Smith.

By the time Danielle finished most of her errands it was past noon. She still wanted to stop at the police station, but she was hungry so she decided to stop by Pier Café and grab something to eat. When she walked into the restaurant, she found Adam Nichols sitting at the lunch counter eating a burger.

“It’s the never-a-dull-moment-Danielle-Boatman,” Adam greeted when he saw Danielle.

She walked to the lunch counter and looked at the empty seat next to Adam. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Adam glanced at the empty seat then back at Danielle and grinned. “Is it safe? I heard hanging out with you can get a person killed.”

“Ha ha.” Danielle rolled her eyes and sat down. “So you’ve heard?” She turned the coffee cup sitting on the counter in front of her over, to be filled.

“The entire town’s heard.”

“Are you okay?” Carla the waitress asked when she walked up behind the counter and filled Danielle’s cup.”

Adam nodded toward Carla. “See.”

“Yes, Carla, I’m fine.” Danielle smiled. “I’d like to order a roast beef sandwich, fruit instead of fries.”

“Got it. What would you like to drink?”

“Just coffee is fine. Maybe some water.” Danielle took a sip of the coffee.

“You must have been terrified! I heard all about it—” Carla paused mid-sentence when the cook rang the bell. She flashed Danielle a smile and then went to pick up the order in the pass through window to deliver to a table on the other side of the café.

“So are you really? Fine, I mean?” Adam asked in a more serious tone.

“I’m alive aren’t I?” Danielle took another sip of coffee. “I’m going to regret this.”

“Regret what? Being alive?”

“No,” Danielle said with a chuckle. “The coffee. I already had a couple cups at your grandmother’s and some this morning at home. I don’t normally do coffee this late in the day. I’m going to be buzzing tonight.”

“I knew you were at Grandma’s. She called me, told me about your visit. But I’d already heard about what’d happened yesterday. Scary stuff.”

“Yes it was.” Danielle turned her head and studied Adam. “You dated Isabella for a while; you must have spent some time around Stoddard.”

“They weren’t that close. It’s not like we ever had Sunday dinners with them. But I’ve known Stoddard for years, before I ever started dating Isabella. Knew all Stoddard’s wives.”

“Do you have any theories about who killed him?”

“Not really.” Adam took a bite of his burger.

“What do you know about Darlene?” Danielle asked.

Adam set the burger on his plate and considered the question for a moment. “Not much, really. I know Isabella didn’t care for her. But Isabella wasn’t thrilled with any of Stoddard’s wives. She felt each one got younger—and dumber.”

“Do you think Darlene might have killed Stoddard?”

“Hard for me to picture Darlene as the black widow.”

“Why? Was she madly in love with her husband?”

“Not sure I would call it love exactly. She was pretty needy. It wasn’t just Stoddard’s money she wanted—and I don’t doubt that’s the main reason she married him—but she relied on him for everything. I simply don’t see her going to all that trouble and risk to kill him off, and for what? To get total control of his money? Nahh…she wanted him to take care of her in more ways than just financially.”

“Why do you say it wasn’t love exactly?”

“Her affair, for one thing.” Adam shrugged and finished his burger.

“Her affair?” Danielle practically choked on her coffee. “Darlene has a boyfriend?”

“Had. Yet, I wouldn’t call him a boyfriend exactly. I just know she had a little fling back when Isabella and I were still together. But she ended it.”

“Did Stoddard know?”

“I have no idea.” Adam took a sip of his soda and pushed his plate to the far edge of the counter.

“How did you know about it?”

“Isabella saw her go into a hotel with some guy over in Astoria. Would never tell me who it was. She thought it was pretty hilarious at the time, said it served Stoddard right, considering how he kept marrying younger.”

“Did Darlene know Isabella saw her?”

“No. I think Isabella found it amusing to keep the secret. Stoddard always acted all high and mighty, tried to push Isabella around, wanted to tell her how to run her life. She took pleasure in knowing he was a clueless cuckold husband. But apparently the affair was brief.”

“How do you know that?”

“Isabella told me. I don’t really know how she knew. But she was pretty convinced Darlene was faithful after that one time. She joked once that Darlene got boring, throwing herself into the role of the faithful wife. But all that was back when Isabella and I were still dating.”

“I’d love to believe Darlene killed Stoddard so she could be with her lover. A nice simple motive. Well, it would be, if the affair hadn’t ended so long ago.”