by Bobbi Holmes
By the time Ginny stopped prattling on, Danielle and Walt had regained their composure and directed their attention to the boxes as Ginny began showing their contents.
As it turned out, there was nothing of special interest inside for Walt and Danielle, no more photographs of Walt’s father or clues as to why Bud had disappeared.
“Did your grandmother ever talk about the relationship between her uncle Bud and Alexander Marlow?” Danielle asked after they finished going through the last box.
“Just that they were good friends. She seemed rather proud that her uncle was so close to the son of Frederick Marlow. They had grown up together. After all, Frederick Marlow was the founder of Frederickport and an extremely wealthy businessman. So naturally, my grandmother enjoyed name-dropping.”
They chatted for another fifteen minutes before Danielle and Walt said their goodbyes and thanked Ginny for letting them look through the old photographs. Ginny walked them to the front door, watched them walk out, and then shut the door.
When Walt and Danielle reached the Packard, Cory seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Wow, I like your car,” Cory said.
“Thank you,” Walt said as he opened the passenger door for Danielle.
“I wasn’t making up stories about the treasure,” Cory whispered as he glanced back to the house, its front door now closed and Ginny nowhere in sight. He looked back to Walt and Danielle and said, “I heard what Ginny told you. But I probably shouldn’t have said anything about it. It’s Caitlin’s treasure anyway, and she wouldn’t be happy if someone else started looking for it and found it.”
Cory glanced up to the house and saw Ginny standing at a window, looking outside. “I gotta go,” he snapped and then dashed away, heading to his house next door.
After Walt and Danielle got into the car and shut the doors, they sat there a moment.
“First question, who is our ghost?” Danielle asked. “It’s obviously not the cousin, this ghost looks too young.”
“The daughter who died?” Walt suggested.
“That’s the obvious conclusion. Caitlin’s manner of death makes her a prime candidate for a spirit unable to move on without help. Yet Caitlin was in high school, and our ghost looks a little old for high school.”
“Are you suggesting this spirit needs some help to move on?” Walt asked.
“It appears that way.”
“Are you volunteering?”
“Helping spirits move on seems to be the reason for this gift,” Danielle said. “But first, I’d rather learn more about Cory.”
“He is an interesting fellow. I rather wish he hadn’t run off. I wanted to ask him what was this treasure.” Walt started the ignition.
“Let’s go to Adam’s office.”
“Why?” Walt asked as he pulled the car out from the sidewalk, into the street.
“He might be able to tell us a little about Cory,” Danielle suggested.
“Aw, yes, Cory. Weird little dude,” Adam said, leaning back in his desk chair. “He used to work with Bill, and he was actually pretty good, caught on quick, but no people skills. And after a few customers complained, Bill let him go. Now he occasionally hires him, but only if the customers are out of town and they don’t need to interact with Cory.”
“What did they complain about?” Danielle asked.
Adam shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I suspect he just creeped them out. He’s Bill’s sister’s kid, and he’s pretty much messed up. Too many drugs, if you ask me. I’m talking about the sister. Not sure if Cory uses, but wouldn’t surprise me, considering some past company he kept. But Bill insists he’s clean.”
“I assumed Bill’s brother was his father. They have the same last name,” Danielle said.
“She never married. I don’t know who the father is. It’s not that Cory is a bad kid. Hell, Bill and I got in more trouble. He’s just sort of a misfit,” Adam said.
“He mentioned a Caitlin,” Danielle said.
“She was the neighbor, died of an overdose. Caitlin was, like, his only friend. I remember he was pretty broken up over her death. Bill worried about him at the time. Even though Bill had to let him go, he cares about his nephew.”
“How does Cory support himself?” Walt asked.
“Bill’s parents left the house to his sister. I guess they figured she needed it more than Bill, what with her having a kid, being unmarried and not being able to hold down a job. They set up a trust before they died, so each month Cory gets a small check, pays the utilities, food and what he needs. The way they set it up, it went to the daughter, and when she died, it went to Cory. If something happens to Cory, then Bill gets the house and whatever money is left.”
“How does Bill feel about that?” Walt asked.
“Honestly, Bill was pretty cool about it. He never seemed upset with his parents for taking care of his sister—even though she was always a loser—or his weird little nephew. If anything, it always pissed off Bill about Cory’s father, who, in Bill’s opinion, ruined his sister and never stepped up to the plate with his son.”
“So Bill knows the father?” Danielle asked.
Adam shook his head. “No. If he had, I imagine Bill would be in prison now, serving time for killing the jerk. But the fact is—something I won’t tell Bill—his sister was messed up when this guy found her. Drugs will do that to a person.”
“Cory also mentioned something about a treasure—a treasure Caitlin told him about,” Danielle said.
Adam laughed. “So Cory told you about that?” He laughed again.
“You’ve heard about this treasure?” Danielle asked.
“Sure. Bill told me about it, back when Cory was working for him. Cory was pretty obsessed with finding it. This was back when Caitlin was still alive, and the two had these big dreams to find it and then run away together. I didn’t know Caitlin, but Grandma knew her mother. From what I heard about her, sounded like she wasn’t much different from Cory’s mom. Messed up with drugs.”
“Was Cory’s mother still doing drugs after she had Cory?” Danielle asked.
“No. I have to give her credit for that; she got clean, and she tried to be a good mom. Her parents were there for her. But she always struggled and had mental problems.”
“So what was the story of the treasure?” Danielle asked.
Adam stared at Danielle for a moment and then laughed. “Seriously? Are you looking for another treasure? I think you’ve exceeded your limit.”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “I’m just curious.”
Adam shrugged. “According to Cory, someone in Caitlin’s family found a treasure somewhere in Oregon. I have no clue where, or even what type of treasure. Cory was secretive about that—claimed he promised Caitlin he wouldn’t tell anyone; it was just their secret. And he claimed he saw part of the treasure.”
“So what are we talking here, gold, diamonds, stock certificates?” Danielle asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Adam said. “If there was a treasure and Caitlin really knew where it was, I don’t think she ever told Cory, because he’s still living alone at the house Bill grew up in.”
Seventeen
When Walt and Danielle returned to Marlow House on Monday, they found Marie waiting for them in the living room. She sat on the sofa, reading a magazine, and Danielle couldn’t help but think how the sight of the magazine hovering over the couch, its pages turning, might look to some poor unexpected visitor to Marlow House, who might peek in the front window when no one answered the door. She grinned at the thought and saw no reason to reprimand Marie. After all, if someone was peeking in their windows, it served them right to get a little shook up, considering it wasn’t nice to look in someone’s window. One never knew what one might see.
“Finally, I have been waiting forever,” Marie said as she closed the magazine and tossed it to the coffee table. “I’m dying to find out if you discovered the identity of the mystery ghost.”
Before they could
say anything, Marie held up one hand and said, “No smart aleck crack about me already being dead.”
“Yes, we’ve identified our ghost,” Danielle said as she sat down on a chair across from Marie. Walt sat next to her.
Marie perked up. “You did?”
Danielle explained who he was, and how they came to that determination.
“He’s Emily’s great-uncle?” Marie asked.
“Technically, it’s Emily’s great-great-uncle,” Danielle explained. “Brother to her great-grandmother. If I’m following that correctly.”
Marie looked at Walt and asked, “This is the one you called Uncle Bud?”
Walt nodded. “Yes. And this makes even less sense than it did before.”
Marie leaned back in the sofa and said, “I know you’ve already talked to Eva about this. After she left you at the museum, we discussed the possibility he’d followed you up to the mountains and followed you back here.”
“We considered that, but we’re fairly certain he didn’t follow us up there,” Walt said.
Marie nodded. “Yes, and you’re right.”
“He is?” Danielle asked.
“Eva and I took a little trip up to the mountains, talked with some folks up there.”
“Folks?” Danielle frowned.
“Actually, a black bear, who was not happy when Eva disturbed his sleep. And a mountain lion who was rather friendly,” Marie explained.
“Um… and why did you go up there?” Danielle asked.
“Eva wanted to see if your ghost had been in the area for a long time. The easiest way to find out is to talk to some locals. According to the bear, your uncle Bud has been in that area since before he was a cub. His mother warned him about Bud. Occasionally your uncle Bud takes to shooting at the wildlife, but most understand he’s rather harmless, so they generally ignore him. But according to the mountain lion, she hasn’t seen him in the last few days.”
“That confirms what we thought,” Danielle said. “But why was he up there? How did he die?”
“We didn’t stick around to find any graves, but I imagine if we found his grave, we might find a clue on how he died,” Marie suggested.
“Since he didn’t seem to grasp the fact he was dead—at least not until Walt talked to him at the cemetery, I have to believe his apparition is an accurate depiction of what he looked like when he died.”
“It doesn’t look like a wild animal mauled him,” Walt said.
“No. And it’s possible that if whatever killed him killed him quickly, he didn’t realize he was dead, so his apparition won’t show any signs of his death,” Danielle said.
“Why do you say that?” Marie asked.
Danielle looked over at Walt. “I imagine Walt’s corpse showed ugly red marks around his neck from the rope.”
Walt frowned at Danielle. “Please, do we need to bring that up?”
“Sorry, but it is relevant. When you were a ghost and thought you were alive, I would never have guessed how you died,” Danielle said.
“I suppose she has a point.” Marie looked at Walt. “Unless this Bud returns, you may never find out what happened—until you move over to the other side.”
“Something I’m not eager to do,” Walt grumbled.
“I wonder when he died,” Marie said.
“When Danielle asked him the date, he said August 1904. The same month and year my parents were killed. I have to assume his last memory in reference to a date would be around his time of death.”
Danielle looked to Walt. “Did you ever see Bud wearing a beard?” Danielle asked.
“No. That’s why I didn’t recognize him.”
“Can you remember the last time you saw him?” Danielle asked.
Walt considered the question a moment and then said, “I’m fairly certain it was that last Easter with my parents. My grandmother had everyone over for Easter dinner.”
Danielle grabbed her cellphone off the nearby table and did a quick search. A moment later she looked up and said, “Easter fell on April 3 in 1904. He obviously grew that beard sometime after you saw him at Easter. Like you, I assume he died up in those mountains—the same month your parents died.”
Danielle then told Marie about their time over at Ginny’s house and Cory’s talk of a treasure.
“Interesting,” Marie said. “When you mentioned Bud, I didn’t give it much thought. But the treasure—I’ve heard about it before.”
“Adam had too. We talked to him about it.” Danielle then recounted to Marie their visit with her grandson.
“As I recollect,” Marie began, “Adam never met Caitlin. She was much younger than him. But I remember her, a troubled girl.”
“We saw a spirit at Ginny’s,” Danielle said.
Marie arched her brow. “You did? You didn’t mention it. I don’t imagine it was Emily. I’m certain she moved on.”
“This was a much younger woman. We wonder if it was Caitlin, especially considering how she died. But you mentioned your friend’s daughter was in high school, and this was a young woman, not a teenager,” Danielle said.
“What did she look like?” Marie asked.
“Somber—but she was a ghost. Long blond, straight hair, no bangs. She looked to be about twenty. Pretty, but a little plain. Thin. She mentioned a treasure. Told us to leave it alone.”
“Sounds like Caitlin. She was seventeen when she died, a senior in high school. But she always looked older than her age,” Marie said. “I imagine that’s Caitlin you saw. Poor Emily, she was looking forward to seeing her daughter when she passed over, and she’s not there.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t see her before she left,” Walt said.
“That happens,” Danielle reminded him. “Back when you were still haunting Marlow House, there were a few times some ghost showed up that you never saw.”
“True,” Walt agreed.
“But it is such a shame.” Marie sighed.
“What do you know about this treasure Cory and Caitlin talked about?” Danielle asked.
“I seriously doubt there really is a treasure,” Marie said. “More a family legend with the hint of a treasure to spice things up.”
“I’d like to learn more, because the person at the heart of this legend has accused my father of murder,” Walt said.
Marie let out a sigh and settled back on the sofa. “As Walt knows, Bud’s sister married the man whose family started the livery stable in Frederickport. They had two sons and one daughter. The daughter was Emily’s grandmother.”
“And I assume Ginny’s?” Danielle said.
“Correct,” Marie said with a nod. “She had two daughters, one was Emily’s mother, and the other was Ginny’s mother. From what I understand, Ginny’s mother left the area when she married, and her sister stayed in Frederickport. Emily had one sibling, a brother. He died years ago. When I spoke to Emily at her funeral, she told me her cousin Ginny was an only child. Growing up, Ginny spent summers in Frederickport, visiting her grandmother and cousin. When the grandmother died, Emily and her husband purchased the grandmother’s house from the estate.”
“I just assumed the house passed down in the family,” Danielle said.
“No. Emily’s parents had a house in Frederickport, but they both died before Emily’s grandmother. Emily was just a young bride at the time. From what I recall, they still owed a great deal on the house, had bills, and there really wasn’t much for Emily to inherit. Emily’s husband did well, and when the grandmother passed, they bought out the cousin’s share—since the house went to both Emily and her cousin. But frankly, I doubt the cousin was happy about it. But she has the house now, so I suppose it all worked out.”
“I don’t understand?” Danielle frowned. “If the grandmother left the house to both of them, why did Ginny let her cousin buy her out of her share if she didn’t want to sell?”
“It was a stipulation in the grandmother’s will. She wanted to be fair, I suppose. But she couldn’t divide the house. Of cour
se, they could sell it and divide the profits. But she understood Emily was sentimental about the property, so she left a stipulation in the will that the house went to both granddaughters, but Emily had the option to buy out her cousin’s share at full market value. And if Emily didn’t want to buy the house, her cousin then had that option.”
“You said Ginny wasn’t happy about it. Did she want to buy out Emily’s share?” Danielle asked.
Marie shrugged. “I assume so. At least, from what Emily said. Which was why she left the house to her cousin. I think she felt a little guilty about it.”
“So what about this family legend?” Walt asked.
Marie laughed. “Oh that! My, I wandered off topic, didn’t I? It’s just something a friend once told me. Her daughter had been friends with Emily, and once Emily confided in her daughter that her great-uncle had been an explorer who brought home treasures but had disappeared after being kidnapped by pirates.”
Walt arched a brow. “Pirates kidnapped Bud?”
Marie chuckled. “I seriously doubt it. But my friend overheard the girls and felt Emily’s mother needed to know about her daughter’s outrageous story telling. The very next day, her mother marched Emily back over to her house, and the poor girl had to apologize and confess that she had made the entire thing up. My friend regretted telling the mother.”
“How embarrassing, for everyone,” Danielle said.
“But it didn’t end there. Years later, when Emily had a teenage daughter, Adam told me a story about Bill’s nephew—who lived next door to Emily. It was practically identical to what Emily had told her friend, but this time, it was Caitlin telling the story to Bill’s nephew.”
“Did they ever say what kind of treasure?” Danielle asked.
Marie shook her head. “No. But I got a little curious, did a little more investigating, and discovered Emily’s grandmother did in fact have an uncle who went missing.”
