Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man

by Bobbi Holmes

  “What do I do with the stuff I take out of the jar?” Heather asked.

  “That’s called sourdough discard. This week, just toss it. Later, I’ll give you some recipes you can use it in. But for now, just get rid of it.”

  “Why do we do that?” Heather asked.

  “You need to make room in the jar,” Lily explained.

  “I was wondering who was here,” Ian said when he stepped into the living room. Both women looked up at him.

  “Lily said you were in your office working. What are you doing working on a Sunday?” Heather asked.

  Ian sat down in his recliner and said, “I was just getting a letter off to my editor. Any news on the mystery ghost? Have you seen him again?”

  “No, but Danielle and Walt went over to the museum this afternoon to read some recently donated past issues of the Frederickport Press,” Heather explained. “Hoping to find something that might help them figure out who our mountain man ghost is, and why he thinks Walt’s dad killed him.”

  “Yes, I talked to Walt about it. I understand they met Ginny and Cory,” Ian said. “My sister has become friends with Ginny. She interviewed her on her podcast. She’s the one who donated the newspapers. Kelly was there when Walt and Danielle stopped by. Apparently, Joe and Brian stopped by when they were there. It seems my sister is playing matchmaker.”

  “I can’t believe she’s trying to set up Brian,” Lily said with a snort. “Who’s Cory?”

  “He lives next door to Ginny. I met him when I helped Kelly set up for the podcast at Ginny’s house. Quirky guy. Ginny says he’s been helpful, but Kelly finds him a little creepy. Personally, I don’t think he means any harm. He’s just obsessed with local history.”

  “Obsessed? How?” Heather asked.

  Ian shrugged. “I suppose I expect that type of interest from people like Millie, someone older who is active in the local historical society, or someone like Walt, who writes about it. And in his case, lived it.” Ian chuckled and then continued. “But Cory’s in his twenties, doesn’t have a job. I think he lives on an inheritance from his mother. From what I understand, he dropped out of high school, and he doesn’t seem to have any friends. According to Ginny, he goes nowhere, never has anyone over. He’s been helping her clean out the house she inherited, but he pores over everything they’ve removed. Ginny said since she isn’t paying him much, she indulges him. But he makes Kelly uncomfortable.”

  Fifteen

  “What are you doing?” Walt asked Danielle on Monday morning as he set one of the two cups of coffee he carried on the desk next to her. She sat at the computer in the library, her cellphone in hand.

  “Sending those pictures I took yesterday to the computer,” Danielle explained. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “Doesn’t it do that automatically?” Walt stood over Danielle, watching while sipping his coffee.

  “It’s supposed to. I think I have some settings wrong. Either that, or my computer hates me.”

  Walt chuckled and took another sip while watching Danielle bring up one photograph she had just downloaded to the computer. It filled the monitor. She enlarged the picture, bringing the faces in closer.

  Danielle leaned toward the monitor and said, “I can’t get over how much you look like your father.”

  “I suppose it should be no surprise, considering how much I look like Clint.”

  “True,” Danielle agreed.

  “It’s amazing your phone could take such an excellent picture. At one time I never imagined such things.” Walt watched as Danielle continued to enlarge the photograph, the men’s faces filling the monitor.

  “Holy crap!” Danielle yelped.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you see it?” Danielle asked.

  “See what?” Walt asked, taking a closer look at the monitor.

  In response, Danielle enlarged the picture again, but this time zooming in on one face.

  “Look. It’s our mountain man,” Danielle said.

  Walt shook his head. “No. That’s Uncle Bud.”

  “Look at the eyes, Walt. The beard hides most of the mountain man’s face. But look at the eyes, the nose. That’s our ghost.”

  Walt set his coffee mug on the desk and then leaned closer to the computer. He studied the image on the screen.

  After a prolonged silence, Danielle asked, “Well, what do you think?”

  “I think you may be right. But it makes little sense.”

  “It gives me another reason to take Ginny up on her offer and go to her house today. But instead of just looking through her photographs, I wonder what she knows about your uncle Bud,” Danielle said.

  “It didn’t sound like she knew much aside from the fact he disappeared. Which is news to me.”

  Danielle turned from the computer and looked up at Walt. “What exactly do you remember about Bud? I know you said he didn’t go to your parents’ funeral because he’d moved from Frederickport a few months before your parents’ death.”

  “Back then, no one said anything about him disappearing. I’m not sure when it was, but I remember asking my grandmother why Uncle Bud hadn’t been at the funeral, and she said something about him moving a few months earlier.”

  The Packard driving down the street was younger than most of the houses in the neighborhood, one of the older residential areas in Frederickport. Danielle paid attention to the addresses, and when she saw Ginny’s, she pointed to it, and a few moments later Walt parked in front of the house. Danielle glanced at her watch, and as Walt turned off the ignition, she said, “Wow, we timed this perfectly. We told Ginny we’d be here at noon, and it’s 11:59.”

  “Does that mean you want to wait in the car for a minute?” Walt teased.

  “Funny.” Danielle opened her car door.

  A few minutes later, the pair stood on the front porch. They soon discovered someone had taped a small piece of paper over the doorbell’s button. On the paper someone had written ‘out of order.’ After reading the makeshift sign, Danielle knocked on the door. When she did, it opened several inches. Not only was it unlocked, but it hadn’t been closed all the way.

  Startled at the unexpected door opening, Danielle called out, “Hello?” Hesitant to just walk in, she called out again, “Hello? Ginny? It’s Danielle Marlow.” She knocked on the door again, and when she did, it pushed open wider. Still no answer.

  “Maybe she left the door open on purpose, for us to come in?” Danielle suggested.

  Walt glanced at his watch. “She was expecting us at noon. It’s now several minutes past.”

  “I hope everything is okay,” Danielle said nervously. “Ginny, hello! It’s Walt and Danielle Marlow!”

  Still no answer.

  Danielle hesitantly stepped into the house and looked around. “She might have fallen and hurt herself.”

  Walt followed Danielle into the unlit entry hall. It led first to a living room area. By the looks of the vintage and worn furniture, Danielle assumed it had belonged to Ginny’s cousin. They continued down the hallway and found what looked like a study, if one judged by the oak desk covered in boxes and two bookshelves pushed against one wall, and a card table in the center of the room.

  Stepping back into the hallway, Danielle called out, “Ginny? It’s Danielle Marlow.”

  Still no response.

  “I should check the house, and you stay here,” Walt suggested.

  “Why?” Danielle asked.

  “Just stay here, Danielle, please. You know I can take care of myself, and I would rather not worry about you.”

  “You think something is wrong, don’t you?” Danielle whispered.

  “Not necessarily. But the house is open, and she was expecting us. Just let me check the rest of the house and see if I can find Ginny. Like you said, maybe she fell. Which is possible if she’s moving things around, and if she hit her head, she could be unconscious.”

  “Then I should go with you.”

  Walt let out a sigh and said, “Plea
se just stay here in case it’s something else. Humor me.”

  “Okay,” Danielle reluctantly agreed. She pulled her phone from her purse. “I’m going to call for help if we need it.”

  Walt gave her a nod and continued down the hallway. Danielle remained standing in the entry hall, not far from the open doorway.

  “Ginny?” Walt called out. “It’s Walt Marlow. Is everything okay?”

  Danielle didn’t hear a response to Walt’s question, and she could no longer see him. She glanced back to the open door, the afternoon sunshine streaming in. To her right was the archway leading to the living room, to her left the open doorway leading to the study. Next to it was another door, which Danielle assumed was the coat closet.

  Danielle anxiously waited for Walt. A loud crashing sound coming from the back of the house startled her. Before she had time to respond, the door she assumed led to the coat closet flew open, and standing in its doorway stood Cory, an ax dangling from his right hand.

  He grinned at her. “Hello.” He stood in what looked like the entrance to the basement. Danielle had been wrong. The door led to the basement, not a coat closet.

  Her eyes fixed on the ax. Something red covered its blade. Blood?

  “Are you alone?” Cory asked.

  Danielle inched away, her back hitting the wall. She froze, her eyes still on the ax.

  “She said your husband was coming,” Cory said.

  Danielle licked her lips nervously and then looked from the ax to the front door. A part of her wanted to run for it, while another part did not want to abandon Walt and have him stumble into Cory without warning. She looked back at the ax. But where was Walt? she wondered. And what was that crashing sound?

  Cory laughed, and Danielle’s eyes flashed up to his face. He waved the ax and said, “The way you keep staring at this, I have to wonder if you think I’m going to use it on you.” He laughed again. “But don’t worry, it’s duller than dull.” He tossed the ax aside and said, “But I guess I could still use it to smash open your noggin.” He laughed again.

  Danielle stared at Cory, uncertain what to say, when Walt came walking down the hallway. He didn’t immediately see Cory, who continued to stand in the doorway leading to the basement, out of Walt’s view.

  “I couldn’t find her,” Walt said.

  “Oh, your husband came with you,” Cory said, stepping into the hallway. His sudden appearance brought Walt to an abrupt halt.

  “Where did you come from?” Walt demanded.

  “I was in the basement,” Cory said. “Ginny told me to leave the front door open for you, said you might get here before she returned.”

  “Where is Ginny?” Danielle asked, her heart no longer racing.

  “She’s at the store, buying drain cleaner. If you have to use the bathroom, don’t use the first one down the hall. The sink is backed up,” Cory explained. He turned around and picked up the ax.

  “What are you doing with that?” Walt asked.

  Cory looked at the ax in his hand and smiled. “I was looking for a plunger; I saw its handle and thought that’s what this was. I’d just picked it up when I heard something upstairs. Ginny said you were coming over. Forgot I was holding it when I saw your wife. I’m afraid it might have scared her.” He giggled.

  “What’s that red on the blade?” Walt asked.

  Cory touched the blade with one finger and wrinkled his nose. “Looks like paint. At first I thought it was blood.” He laughed again.

  “I’m afraid I knocked over some boxes when I walked into the kitchen. I don’t think I broke anything,” Walt said.

  Cory shrugged. “No problem. I put those boxes there. Those are some things Ginny thought you might be interested in. Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Ax in hand, Cory started down the hallway, walking past Walt. Walt and Danielle exchanged glances. Halfway down the hallway, Cory stopped and opened a door, which, unlike the first door he had stepped from, did lead to a closet. He set the ax in the closet and then closed the door. “I’ll take that back to the basement later,” he mumbled and then continued down the hall. Walt and Danielle again exchanged glances before silently following.

  Danielle stood by the refrigerator and watched as Cory and Walt straightened the boxes, returning some items that had fallen onto the floor.

  She silently watched, studying Cory’s face and asking herself why he looked familiar. It was possible she had run into him around town, or perhaps he had shown up at one of the events she had hosted at Marlow House. She was about to ask him if he had attended any when she remembered Ginny had introduced him as Cory Jones at the museum. Recognition dawned.

  “Are you related to Bill Jones?” Danielle asked. Bill Jones was the handyman who worked for Adam Nichols. When she had first moved to Frederickport, Bill and Adam had broken into Marlow House, searching for the Missing Thorndike. But they had put all that behind them, and she now considered Adam a close friend. While she didn’t think of Bill as a friend, she trusted him enough to hire him for work around Marlow House. Cory looked like a younger version of Bill.

  Cory looked up to Danielle and asked, “You know my uncle?”

  “Yes. So you are related to Bill,” Danielle said. “I definitely see the family resemblance.”

  Walt, who had not been paying attention to the conversation, had instead been picking through some photographs in one box. He pulled out a photo and said, “Here’s a picture of Bud.”

  Cory looked curiously at Walt. “You know who Bud was?”

  “I know he was a good friend of Alex Marlow, one of my distant cousins,” Walt said.

  “They say he disappeared. Some say the treasure got him killed,” Cory whispered.

  “Treasure?” Danielle asked.

  “They were all looking for it,” Cory said in a conspiratorial voice.

  “Oh, you’re here,” a new voice said from the doorway leading from the kitchen to the hallway. They all turned to the voice and found Ginny standing there.

  “Cory, did you ever find that plunger?” Ginny asked.

  “No, but I found an ax.”

  Ginny laughed and said, “I’m afraid an ax won’t work, not unless I want to rip out the plumbing. Why don’t you go back down to the basement and see if you can find it, please?”

  Cory gave her a nod and abruptly left the room.

  Sixteen

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived,” Ginny said. “But we had a little plumbing problem.”

  “That’s fine. Cory explained,” Danielle said.

  “Cory mentioned something about your great-grandmother’s brother, Bud, searching for a treasure?” Walt asked.

  Ginny arched her brows. “Did he?”

  “Yes. It sounded like an interesting story,” Walt said.

  “Walt’s always looking for story fodder to give him inspiration,” Danielle interjected.

  “I suspect he got the story from Caitlin, my cousin’s daughter. Cory and Caitlin were friends, and as I recall, Caitlin was quite the imaginative storyteller. Unfortunately, she got into drugs and after that had a problem telling fact from fantasy. It was quite tragic. She died of an overdose.”

  “Cory seemed to think Bud’s disappearance involved a treasure,” Danielle said.

  “Yes, I suppose that’s as good an explanation as any. I guess he could have come up with alien abduction,” Ginny said with a snort.

  “Do you have any idea what happened to Bud?” Walt asked.

  Ginny shrugged. “No, not really. But back then, someone could move away and easily lose contact. He was my grandmother’s uncle, and she told me he wasn’t close to his sister. From what I know, there was a falling-out between him and his brother-in-law, my great-grandfather. But I never heard what it was about. I don’t think my grandmother knew.”

  “So there was a falling-out, and that’s why he left?” Danielle asked.

  Ginny shrugged. “It’s what I always assumed. But that’s only a guess. I just know he left some
time in 1904, and the family never heard from him again.”

  “Cory’s version was more interesting,” Walt teased.

  “Yes, it is.” Ginny grinned. “And Cory really has been helpful.” Ginny glanced around the kitchen, taking in its vintage pink and gray linoleum flooring, the worn cabinets, its white paint chipping off and stained. “This house just needs a lot of work. I’m afraid my cousin didn’t keep up on things after her husband died. And for all Cory’s quirks, he’s rather handy.”

  “Older houses require a lot of work,” Danielle said.

  Ginny flashed Danielle a smile. “You would know. I imagine you had your hands full when you inherited Marlow House.”

  “I was fortunate. My great-aunt never lived in Marlow House, but she kept it well maintained. We had to replace the appliances, and there was some plumbing required before installing the washer and dryer, but I was lucky, it was in pretty good shape.”

  “I read Marlow House was haunted,” Ginny said with a grin.

  “Oh, that. The ghost wasn’t much trouble,” Danielle joked. “And I eventually got rid of him.”

  Ginny laughed. “An exorcism?”

  Danielle shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “Fortunately, no ghosts here,” Ginny said.

  Danielle started to respond but froze when the space behind Ginny swirled and changed colors, giving way to a bright light. Mesmerized by the sight, both Danielle and Walt stared while Ginny remained unaware of the apparition taking form behind her. She continued to prattle on, now talking of the improvements she planned for the property.

  Danielle blinked her eyes several times and stared at the image of a young woman now standing behind Ginny, her long blond hair straight and falling past her shoulders. She glared unhappily at Walt and Danielle. “You stay away from my treasure. Do you understand?” she said before disappearing.