Bubba's Ghost

by Marja McGraw

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  I slept well that night, although I did have a few dreams. I couldn’t remember what they were in the morning, but I knew they weren’t good ones.

  I was already falling into a routine with Bubba. While he was outside taking care of business, I took my shower and dressed. I served him his doggie breakfast, and he ate while I prepared hot cereal and a piece of toast for myself.

  After eating, I called Covina Police Department and asked for the watch commander. My call was put through to a Sergeant Driscoll. He was filling in for the regular watch commander, who was out with the flu. Ah, the flu season. Glad it hadn’t happened to me.

  “Sergeant Driscoll, did Lieutenant Johnson happen to explain what’s going on regarding Chrissy Knight and John Frendd? He’s been checking into some things for me.”

  “He told me he’s looking into Officer Paley’s behavior regarding Mrs. Knight’s problem.” His voice didn’t sound too friendly, and I had to assume it was because of the investigation of Paley. When he said, “Paley’s a good man, ma’am,” I knew I was right.

  “I’m sure he is, Sergeant, but Chrissy Knight is a good woman. And she’s the one I’m concerned about. There’s more to this than any of us can see right now.”

  “Anything else I can do for you?” he asked impatiently.

  “Yes. Officer Paley took John Frendd into custody last night. Can you tell me if he’s still in lock-up?”

  “Hold on.” He placed me on hold and I waited impatiently until he came back on the line.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but John Frendd has been released.” His voice sounded apologetic and surprised, as though he hadn’t expected this development.

  “Released? How did that happen? Paley said he was taking him in and he’d be locked up for some time.”

  “He was charged with Drunk in Public. He sobered up and he was released early this morning. I’ll report this to Lieutenant Johnson, and he’ll look into it.”

  “There’s nothing you can do?” I couldn’t believe the bum was on the streets again. What could Paley have been thinking? I needed to warn Chrissy.

  “Sorry, ma’am, but Frendd has been released, and Paley and Johnson are off duty until tonight. I’ll give Johnson a call at home and see what he wants me to do. I don’t know how far he’s progressed in his investigation, but I’ll do what I can.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant, I appreciate your help. I honestly believe that Chrissy Knight and her little girl are in danger, more so now than before. Will you please put an extra patrol on her house?”

  “I’ll alert our field personnel, all shifts. We’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you again. Please let me know if anything happens, or if you come up with any information.” I gave him my cell phone number and hung up.

  Next I called Chrissy at work and gave her the news. “I’m sorry, Chrissy. I’m not sure what happened after Paley and Frendd left your house.”

  “He was charged with being drunk instead of harassing me, or trespassing, or something? I can’t believe he’s out already. I hate to impose, Sandi, but is there any chance you’ll come back out tonight?”

  “Let me do some figuring, and I’ll call you back. I’ll take care of it one way or another.”

  I needed to come up with a plan that would keep the woman and her child safe. Staying at the old house wasn’t it. I needed to talk to Dolly.

  I dialed her number, and she answered with her usual hesitant and quivery, “H-Hello?”

  “Good morning, Dolly. How are you?”

  “Oh, Sandi. I’m fine. How did things go last night? Did the bum show up?”

  “Well, that’s what I’m calling about. I had a run-in with him, and it wasn’t pleasant.”

  “Are Chrissy and Tammi okay?” she asked. I could hear the beginning of panic in her voice.

  “Oh, yes. They’re fine. I was thinking though, why don’t you call Chrissy and invite her and Tammi to come spend a couple of days with you? You know, give them a little break from all the stress. Maybe Chrissy can take a couple of vacation days from work. Tell her I asked you to call.”

  “Why, I’d love to have them stay with me. I’ll call her as soon as we hang up. Was it bad? I mean with the bum? Did he cause a lot of trouble?”

  “It wasn’t good, I can tell you that. But between the police and me, we’re making headway. I just think the girls need a break from all the craziness.”

  “You’re right. I’ll call her at work right now. You know, I’ve tried to talk Chrissy into staying with me before. I don’t know why, but she loves that rundown old house.”

  “I know. I think it’s because that’s where she and her husband started out. Kind of a sentimental thing.”

  “Oh, I’ll bet you’re right. Anyway, I’ll give her a call.”

  “Thanks, Dolly. Let me know what she says.”

  We hung up and I called Stanley. He didn’t answer, and he didn’t have an answering machine. I’d have to call back later. I wanted to talk to him about what was going on, and find out what else he’d learned about Frendd.

  I was at odds, not sure what to do next. I wanted to drive out to Covina and make a stink about Frendd being released, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I decided to head over to the office instead. There were a few things to take care of on other cases.

  The first thing I did was contact the fire department about a suspicious fire at a restaurant downtown. They knew me and assured me that the cause had been faulty wiring, and I could pick up the report whenever I was in the area. I told them I’d be right down. The insurance agency had contacted my firm because they didn’t trust the business owner. After a quick trip to the fire station, I returned to the office and sent a copy of the official report, along with my comments, to the agent handling the claim. I knew they’d already have a copy of the report, but I wanted them to see it along with my statement.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon making calls and following up on some minor investigations, including background checks for a local company in the hiring mode. That made two companies who’d hired us to work on backgrounds. Zippy. Uh oh, I was starting to sound like Stanley.

  After trying to reach Stanley again, I gave up, wondering where he’d disappeared to. I wasn’t too concerned about his whereabouts, although I sure wanted to know what else he’d found out.

  It felt like the time was dragging, and the day seemed to last forever. I finally closed up the office and drove home around four o’clock.

  Bubba was waiting on the porch, tail wagging, when I arrived at the house.

  “You’re such a happy guy. But you’re all business when you need to be, aren’t you?” I patted his head.

  I opened the front door and immediately heard a baby crying. Glancing at Bubba, I saw the hair on his back standing on end. I gulped, hard, not wanting to deal with things I couldn’t see or understand.

  “Come on, boy.” He didn’t budge. I pulled gently on his collar, but he ignored me.

  “Well, I’m going in, you big chicken. I’m going to find out once and for all what’s happening up there.” Big talk for someone who was shaking in her shoes.

  I was about halfway across the living room when Bubba finally got up the nerve to follow me into the house. We reached the stairs where he put his nose in the air and sniffed, which sent him running back outside.

  The baby’s crying had the tone of an infant in pain. I quit worrying about Bubba and ran up the stairs, chills running down my back and arms. The crying echoed through the house, and I ran faster, tripping on a step.

  I reached the attic level of the house and – the crying abruptly stopped.

  “What’s going on here?” I demanded in a loud voice, while stamping my foot. “What’s happening?” My cup of frustration runneth over.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  I threw open the attic door and, as usual, didn’t see anyone or anything. Except, on closer inspection, I noticed the window wasn’t resting tightl
y against its frame as it had been. I’d never believed in ghosts, and I still didn’t. I realized that something or someone was using that window. It had only been a possibility before, but I knew the window provided a convenient entry for someone. Of course, they’d have to climb onto the roof, but still…

  Walking across the attic, I angrily pulled the window closed, and this time it shut all the way. I was able to latch it and thought that would solve my problems.

  “That takes care of that.”

  Now the question was, why was someone trying to scare me? It didn’t make sense. I knew there was no connection between the Covina case and my home. I wasn’t working on anything else of substance at the moment. So what was the deal here? Well, at least I knew with the window latched no one would be entering my home again, unless I let them in.

  Climbing back downstairs, I looked for Bubba. He was still waiting outside the front door, looking forlorn. Poor guy. He was a protective dog, but he had his limits. What was it about the uninvited guest that made him so nervous? That was the thing that bothered me the most.

  “Whatever it was, it’s gone now,” I said to my canine cutie. “You can come in the house.”

  He hesitated before crossing the threshold, sniffed, and when he did enter, he headed straight for the kitchen and sat down, staring intently at the cupboard where I kept his food.

  “Are you ready for dinner?” His tail swept back and forth wildly when I mentioned food, and his gaze remained fixed on the cabinet door.

  It appeared that a big part of his life revolved around eating, and that made sense since he was an animal. Chuckling, I wondered what my excuse was. Bubba sat patiently and waited, tail still flying, while I prepared his repast of dry food and a can of wet stuff.

  While he was eating, I opened a chocolate candy bar – my secret passion – and called Dolly.

  “Did you talk to Chrissy?” I asked after the polite pleasantries were out of the way.

  “Yes. She’s going home to pack up a few things after work and then she and Tammi will drive into town later tonight. I tried to talk them into staying with me when this first started, but she can be so stubborn, like her mother used to be. Am I repeating myself? Anyway, I guess last night really scared her. She said he tried to break into the house?”

  “He was pretty determined, but he backed off as soon as he saw Bubba. I think big, growling dogs are probably more frightening than big, loud men. Taking Bubba with me turned out to be a good move.”

  “You bring Bubba over later. I’ll have a treat waiting for him. He deserves something for taking care of my girls. And that includes all three of you.” Dolly was such a sweetheart to include me. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “I will.”

  “When is Pete coming home? That man of yours should be here, too, taking care of you.” Leave it to Dolly to come up with that.

  “He’s working on a case up at Lake Tahoe, in Nevada. And Dolly, I don’t need him to take care of me.”

  “I thought Lake Tahoe was in California.” She completely ignored my last comment. She was from the old school that believed women should be taken care of instead of left to their own devices. If she honestly believed that, then why had she taken a self-defense course and offered to use what she’d learned to help her granddaughter?

  “Part of it’s in California and part of it’s in Nevada. The Nevada side has the casinos, among other things.”

  “I’d like to go there someday,” Dolly said. “I’d love to try those… What do they call them? One-armed bandits?”

  “You like slot machines?” I could picture this little old lady sitting on a stool pulling the handle over and over again. Or pushing buttons.

  “I’ve never been to a casino, but I’ve seen them on television. I’d like to give it a try.”

  “Maybe one of these days. Anyway, when Chrissy and Tammi show up, give me a call and I’ll be over. In the meantime, I’m going to try to reach Stanley and Lieutenant Johnson.”

  “I’ll give you a call when they get settled,” Dolly said.

  We hung up and I tried Stanley’s number again. Still no answer.

  I was about to try the lieutenant when my phone rang.

  “Sandi, it’s your mother.” She seemed to feel the need to identify herself when she called, as though I wouldn’t recognize her voice.

  “I know, Mother. How are you?”

  “Well, I’m doing fine, and I thought I’d call to see if you and Pete might like to come for a visit before too long. I miss you, sweetie.”

  “I miss you, too, Mom. Pete and I are in the middle of a couple of important cases right now, but I’ll talk to him when he comes home.”

  “Oh? Where is he? And what cases are you working on? I thought you told me you didn’t have anything going on right now.”

  Time to divert her attention. “Mother, do you remember any stories about this house? Anything having to do with a baby?”

  “No, why do you ask?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. Well, I’ve been hearing some strange noises around here. It sounds like a baby crying.” I didn’t mention the noise seemed to be coming from the walls.

  “It’s your imagination, dear. You always did have an active imagination.” It was just like my mother to write it off as a flight of fancy.

  “No, Mother, not this time. Stanley heard it, too, and sometimes the dog won’t go near the attic.”

  “Stanley heard it? Well, you know what Stanley’s like. He’s got a less of a grip on reality than you do. And a dog is just that, a dog.”

  “Thanks a lot, Mother. My feet are firmly planted on the ground. I don’t imagine these things. Everything I’ve been through in my life has been reality. In fact, I sometimes wish I had some fantasy in my life to break the monotony. It would be a nice change.”

  “Now, Sandi, I didn’t mean to insult you. But don’t you remember when you used to think there were monsters under your bed?”

  “Mother, I was a six-year-old child. That hardly has anything to do with this problem.” I gritted my teeth.

  “Now, Sandi – ”

  “Mother, are you back on your old hormone pills yet?”

  “No, I’m not, young lady. I decided to try an all-natural regimen. It should be healthier for me,” she said irritably.

  “But your old pills were working. Why would you try something new?”

  “Sandra, I – ”

  “After you go back on your old pills, give me a call. Gotta go, Mom.”

  Click.

  I hung up and started to giggle. It was a nervous giggle. I’d never talked to my mother that way before. It felt pretty good. I had a mental picture of her frowning, but hoped against hope that she’d listen and go back on the old pills. There comes a time when mother and child begin to reverse roles. This was the beginning of that process, and I knew it. What an odd feeling. I still wasn’t sure about this role reversal Mother and I seemed to be experiencing, but at least I was able to find some humor in it.

  On the other hand, maybe she should take something natural. It would be healthier and safer. I sighed. It was her choice, and I’d deal with whatever she did.

  I decided to eat an early dinner and then try to reach Stanley again. And I still needed to call Lieutenant Johnson to see if he knew what was going on.

  My stomach was growling. Food first, calls next. Not wanting to waste time, I made myself a sandwich with peanut butter, bacon and tomato. That plus a glass of milk would fill me up.

  I glanced outside. It was nearly dark, and the wind was picking up again. I hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous night.

  After eating, I dialed Chrissy’s number, deciding to ask what time she thought she’d be arriving at Dolly’s house. The phone rang several times before she answered it, and when she did, she sounded like she’d been crying.

  “Chrissy? It’s Sandi. What’s wrong?”

  “Sandi, can you come over here? Right away. They think I did it.”

  “
Did what?” I asked.

  “Frendd is dead. And he’s in my basement.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  “Frendd is in your basement? Dead?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Oh, Sandi, it’s awful. Please come out right away. And would you call my grandmother for me? I don’t know if they’ll let me leave or not. I think they believe I killed him. I didn’t, Sandi. I swear!”

  “I know. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Please hurry. And Ted just pulled up. It looks like they’re making him stay outside. I’ve got to talk them into letting him in. I really need him right now. Uh oh. Here comes Doug, too. You know, my nosey neighbor. Now’s not the time for him to interfere.” She sounded overwhelmed, and I couldn’t blame her.

  At least her boyfriend, Ted, was there. I hoped he wasn’t in a Ned the Nerd mood.

  “I’m on my way. Take a deep breath and try to calm down.”

  I ran out to the living room and picked up my keys and backpack while dialing Dolly’s number.

  “H-Hello?”

  “Dolly, it’s Sandi. I’m on my way out to Chrissy’s, and I wanted to let you know that she may not be over tonight.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The bum is dead.”

  Dolly was quiet for a moment. “It couldn’t have happened to a better victim. He should have left my family alone.”

  “Dolly, his body was found in Chrissy’s basement. This is not a good thing.”

  “Do they think my baby did it?” she asked tearfully, suddenly realizing how serious the situation was.

  “I won’t know anything until I get there.”

  “I want to go along.”

  I found myself nervously jiggling my key ring, needing to leave the house. “Absolutely not. You stay put. I’ll call you as soon as I can.” I knew she’d sit by her phone and wait for my call. “Don’t expect to hear from me right away. Now I’ve got to hang up and get over there.”

  As I replaced the phone in its cradle I noticed the red light was blinking on the answering machine. I hadn’t listened to the messages before eating, and now I didn’t have time. They could wait until I came home. I put Bubba outside, and he ran under the barbeque table where he hunkered down to get out of the wind.