by Bobbi Holmes
“You need to tell Dani and Walt about this,” Lily said.
“You mean about my conversation with the ghost?” Heather asked. “They were there.”
“Is that what you were talking about?” Danielle asked. She then told the story from her perspective, and Ian told them about his sister’s offer to babysit.
After they exhausted the conversation, Danielle asked, “You guys ready?”
“Where are you going tonight?” Heather asked.
“A play in Astoria,” Lily explained.
“Maybe we can stop and get something to eat afterwards,” Walt suggested. “Danielle and I had an early dinner at Lucy’s, but I think I’m going to be hungry by then.”
“You’re always hungry,” Danielle teased.
“Life makes me ravenous,” Walt explained. “That’s what happens when you have nothing to eat for almost a century.”
“Are you all ready to go?” Marie asked when she popped into the room. She then added, “Connor fell asleep. I think I wore the poor dear out.”
Heather conveyed Marie’s words to Lily and Ian. They both stood up and Lily said, “Thanks, Marie, Heather, we appreciate you watching him.”
“It’s my pleasure. By the way, Eva told me she would meet you at the theater,” Marie said.
Heather arched her brows. “Eva is going?”
“She’s the one who told us about the play,” Walt explained. “It’s some community theater presentation, and Eva’s been haunting the rehearsals. I think she sees herself as part of the theater group.”
“That’s only because she’s been hanging out with that Gordon Hershey.” Marie snickered.
“Gordon Hershey?” Heather asked.
“Yes. He used to be a member of the theater group in Astoria. He died last year. Heart attack or something. Since then he’s been haunting the theater and got friendly with Eva.”
Heather shook her head and chuckled. “We live a weird life.”
“Yes, we do,” Lily said cheerfully. “And we’d better get going so we aren’t late. But first, one last peek at Connor…”
After Ian, Lily, Walt and Danielle left for Astoria, Heather stretched out on the sofa and picked up the book Lily had been reading earlier and began thumbing through it, while Marie went to check on the baby. Marie returned to the living room a few minutes later and found Heather laughing, book in hand.
“What’s so funny?” Marie asked.
“This book has the best opening line.” Heather snickered.
“What book is that?”
Heather turned the cover over so she could read it. “The Ghost at His Back, by Cameron Lowe.”
Marie perked up. “Ghosts? It’s a book about ghosts?”
“Yep.” Heather turned the book around and reopened it to the first page. She snickered again and said, “Great opening line.”
“Are you going to tell me?” Marie urged.
“‘Ghosts are assholes’,” Heather read.
“Heather Donovan, that is a rude thing to say!” Marie snapped.
“Hey, you asked me what the opening line was. It’s Cameron Lowe’s words, not mine,” Heather reminded her.
“It’s just awful!” Marie said in outrage as her energy tore the book from Heather’s hand and sent it flying across the room.
Heather’s eyes widened. She remained on the sofa, looking from her now empty hands to the book that had landed on the floor at the base of the bookcase. “Kinda proved Lowe’s point,” Heather muttered under her breath.
“I wish I could do that. You’re a ghost, aren’t you?” A male voice broke the momentary silence.
Both Marie and Heather turned and found a young man—the ghost they had both seen earlier that day.
“Don’t leave,” Heather blurted, sitting up quickly on the sofa.
“At the restaurant you couldn’t get rid of me fast enough,” he said in a pout.
“I’m sorry. I was having a bad day. Let’s start fresh.” Heather forced a smile. “My name is Heather, and this is my friend Marie, who, like you, is a ghost. And you are?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m…” He paused and then shook his head. “No. You’re trying to trick me.”
“At least answer some other questions,” Heather urged.
“What?” he asked with a frown.
“This morning you told my friends you wanted to prevent a murder—that someone—but you aren’t sure who—might be killed by the same person who killed you,” Heather said.
“They told you all that?” he asked.
“Yes. We need to know, these potential victims, are you talking about the people who are coming to stay at Marlow House this week, the ones making Moon Runners into a movie?”
“Moon Runners,” he grumbled. “If it wasn’t for that book, I’d still be alive.”
“Please answer my question,” Heather pleaded.
“Yes. That’s who I was talking about,” he said after a moment of silence.
“I want to know, how was Moon Runners responsible for your death?” Marie asked.
“I can’t say, because you might figure out who my killer was, and I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” he insisted.
“Goodness gracious, why in the world would you want to protect your killer?” Marie snapped. “I was murdered, and I certainly had no desire to protect my killer, I will tell you that!”
The ghost stared at Marie for a moment and then said, “Wow, your killer must have been a real creep, to kill an old lady like you.”
Marie let out a gasp and then said, “I suppose sometimes it is true!”
“What’s true?” The man frowned.
Heather chuckled. “You’re talking about that opening line in the book you just hurled across the room.”
Marie looked sheepishly at the book. “Yes, and I suppose that was not a nice thing to do—I could have damaged it.” The next moment said book floated up from the floor and drifted over to Heather, landing on the coffee table, still intact.
Looking from the book to the unidentified ghost, Heather asked, “What makes you think those people might be in danger? Did your killer threaten one of them?”
The ghost pondered the question a moment and then shook his head. “No. But considering what happened to me and the fact they’re all going to be here—together—for an entire week. Something could happen. And I don’t want to be responsible.”
“Is the killer one of the guests staying at Marlow House?” Heather asked.
He began shaking his head. “I have said too much.” The next moment he disappeared.
Snuggled on the sofa under a lap quilt, her feet tucked under her and The Ghost at His Back in her hands, Heather was so engrossed in the story she failed to hear someone unlock the front door and enter the house. Sadie heard the intruder but greeted them with a quiet tail wag. Walt had lectured Sadie on proper barking while a baby was in the house—especially a sleeping baby. Unless there was a threat of danger, resist the urge to bark, he had told her.
Heather about leapt from the sofa when a voice said, “Hi, Heather.” Standing at the entrance to the living room was Kelly Bartley and her boyfriend, police officer Joe Morelli.
“We just got back from the show, and I thought I would stop by and check on Connor,” Kelly said sweetly.
Still on the sofa, Heather said, “I could swear I locked the front door.”
Kelly held up the spare key in her hand. “I have a key. And I didn’t want to knock, afraid it would get Sadie to barking and wake up the baby if he was sleeping. So I just used my key.” She smiled sweetly.
“I guess the baby is sleeping?” Joe said.
“Umm…yeah…” Heather muttered. Actually, Connor had been sleeping but had woken up crying a few minutes earlier. Marie was in the nursery changing his diaper and feeding him a bottle.
“I’ll just peek in…” Kelly began, only to be stopped by Heather’s frantic, “No!”
Kelly stoppe
d in her tracks and looked at Heather inquisitively.
“Umm…” Heather blushed. “I just mean, he’s sleeping. I just got him down. I don’t want to wake him.”
“I’m just going to take a quick peek—I’ll be quiet, promise.” Not waiting for Heather’s approval, Kelly turned and made her way to the nursery.
Marie kissed Connor’s nose as she refastened his sleeper. He had been fed, burped, diaper changed, and it was time to put him back in his crib for a lullaby. Tucking her hands gently under his arms, she lifted him up and carried him to the crib. The use of her hands was only for show. She didn’t want Connor to imagine himself flying around the room and come to believe that normal. From Connor’s perspective, Marie’s hands lifted him up from the changing table and carried him to the crib—as opposed to Marie’s spiritual energy moving him through the air like Peter Pan flying on fairy dust.
She reached the crib and lifted him up and over it, letting him hover there a moment to give him a kiss, when a chilling scream broke the silence.
Eight
By the time Heather and Joe rushed to the nursery, Connor was in his crib, making little gasping sounds, trying to catch his breath after being frightened by his aunt’s unexpected outburst. Marie stood by his side, soothing him until he caught his breath. His little mouth turned into a pitiful pout as tears squeezed out from his now watery eyes. Marie glared up at Kelly and then looked down at the baby as she whispered reassuring words to him.
Kelly was no longer screaming but stood frozen just inside the door, staring at the crib, making no attempt to get closer. Joe, thinking something horrible had happened to the baby, rushed by Kelly, straight to the crib, and was relieved to find the baby breathing, yet obviously on the verge of tears. He was about to pick up Connor when Heather pushed by him and shoved him out of the way.
Joe watched as Heather picked up the baby, comforting him in her arms. He then turned to Kelly. When doing so, he failed to notice that Sadie sat quietly by the crib. Had he taken a moment to consider her demeanor, he would have thought it strange behavior for a dog, who would normally be more hyped up after hearing someone screaming the house down. But what he didn’t know, Marie had already conveyed to Sadie what had occurred and asked her to stay quietly out of the way.
“What happened?” Joe asked Kelly.
“Silly girl, she scared the dickens out of the poor boy,” Marie said, knowing Joe and Kelly had no idea she was even there.
Connor, no longer on the verge of tears, happily snuggled against Heather’s shoulder as she glanced curiously at Kelly, wondering what exactly she had seen. Heather could only guess. She knew she would be expected to chastise Kelly for the outburst—considering how she would normally behave when someone let out a shout in the nursery after being reminded to be quiet. Yet Heather knew it was not Kelly’s fault—plus she was desperately holding in laughter, imagining all the possible scenarios Kelly might have walked in on.
“What happened?” Joe repeated, now at Kelly’s side, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Kelly pointed at the baby and said, “He was flying.”
Joe’s expression went blank. “Excuse me?”
“He was flying—over the crib,” Kelly said in a small shaky voice.
“And you think I’m weird for talking to myself.” Heather laughed and then walked over to the crib and put Connor down.
“What did you see?” Joe asked, ignoring Heather.
Kelly rubbed her temple with the heel of her right hand and shook her head wearily. “Of course he was not flying. That was a silly thing to say. I…my…eyes were playing tricks on me…that must be it.”
“Some trick,” Heather said.
“I think you’re enjoying this a little too much,” Marie scolded Heather.
“I think we should go,” Joe said, leading Kelly from the room.
“What happened?” Heather asked Marie in a whisper after Joe and Kelly left the nursery.
“I was just putting Connor in his crib when she walked in. Why in the world did you let her in here? You knew I could be in the middle of changing him—or feeding him—or just carrying him across the room,” Marie asked.
“You think I could stop her? Short of tackling her, she was determined to come in here.”
“Well, you should have figured out some way to get in here before her, to warn me,” Marie said.
“I know,” Heather grumbled, glancing to the door.
“And you were enjoying her discomfort a little too much.”
“You were annoyed with her when she first barged in,” Heather reminded.
“Yes, but if things like this keep happening, I’m afraid Lily and Ian won’t let me watch Connor anymore,” Marie said.
Heather let out a sigh, deciding to take the situation more seriously. “Okay, where exactly was Connor when she walked in?”
Marie told her.
Heather glanced from the crib then to the door. The next moment she sprinted into the hall and then the living room. There Joe and Kelly stood in the middle of the room, quietly talking amongst themselves. When Heather walked in, Joe looked up and announced they were getting ready to leave.
“No, I think we need to talk first. I’m pretty sure I can explain what Kelly saw,” Heather said.
“I’m curious to hear this,” Marie muttered and then took a seat in an imaginary chair. She hovered above the three.
Heather glanced up to Marie and said, “I hate when you do that.”
“What?” Joe asked with a frown.
Heather looked back to Joe and grinned. “See, I was talking to myself again.”
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to make me feel better about myself or more crazy,” Kelly grumbled.
“Okay, here’s the thing…when I’m talking, I know exactly who I’m talking to—even if it’s simply to myself. I don’t imagine I’m talking to a unicorn or anything. I just like to think out loud,” Heather said.
“So you aren’t trying to make me feel better—just more crazy?” Kelly asked.
“You aren’t very good at this,” Marie said. “Danielle is much better at this game than you. If she was here, she would already have come up with a logical story to explain Connor floating over the crib.”
“I imagine Ian hasn’t told you—but Connor has become quite the jumper,” Heather said.
“Jumper?” Joe asked.
“Yeah…you know, how some babies manage to climb out of cribs. Well, Connor doesn’t do that. But he does stand up, and when he does, he likes to jump. I bet you saw Connor when he did one of his jumps,” Heather suggested.
“Jumps?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah, you know, he manages to stand up, and then he jumps up and down on the mattress. Gets kinda high. Looks like he’s floating over the crib sometimes. I think he’s going to be a gymnast,” Heather said.
Marie groaned. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Kelly seemed to be considering Heather’s words for a few moments. Finally she said in relief, “I thought I was going crazy.”
“She is crazy if she believes that preposterous story,” Marie said.
Instead of grabbing something to eat in Astoria after the play, the foursome decided to head back to Frederickport and stop at Pier Café before going home. They pulled into the parking lot and found Joe and Kelly getting out of their car. Ian pulled up next to Joe and parked.
“Coming for pie or a late night dinner?” Ian asked his sister as his foursome met up with Kelly and Joe.
“Pie for me. I think Joe is getting a burger,” Kelly said. “How was the play?”
“It was good,” Lily told her.
By the time they all reached the diner, it was decided they would sit together.
They had just sat down at the table when Kelly said, “I have to say, Connor freaked me out. Why didn’t you tell me he could jump like that?”
No one answered immediately, but the original foursome exchanged glances.
&
nbsp; “You were at our house?” Ian asked.
“We were in the neighborhood and had just gotten out of the show,” Kelly explained. “I thought I would just stop by and peek in on Connor.”
Before anyone could respond, Carla walked up to the table and took their drink order.
“How exactly did Connor freak you out?” Lily asked after Carla left the table. “Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s fine. But when I walked in his room—well, I know this sounds crazy, but it looked like he was flying.”
Forty minutes later, Walt, Danielle, Heather, and Marie sat with Lily and Ian in their living room. Heather had just finished explaining her version of the encounter with Kelly and Joe.
“Connor doesn’t even stand yet,” Lily said.
“Like I always say, people believe what is convenient,” Walt said.
“I thought I always said that?” Ian asked.
“Whoever said it, it’s true,” Danielle said.
“I never even considered you would run into Kelly and Joe before I could talk to you.” Heather groaned.
“Fortunately we figured something had happened, so we mostly listened and didn’t comment on Connor’s supposed jumping,” Lily explained.
“The next time we go away, you need to use the deadbolt,” Ian said. “I don’t want to ask Kelly for the key, but at the same time, we can’t have her just barging in the house like that. It could have been worse.”
“I’m so grateful you’re saying that,” Marie said. “I was afraid you wouldn’t let me stay with Connor again.”
Danielle conveyed Marie’s words to Lily and Ian.
“But there is some good news to report,” Heather said.
“What is that?” Ian asked.
“We saw the ghost again,” Heather explained.
“Did you learn anything?” Danielle asked.
“Unfortunately he refused to give us his name or his killer’s,” Heather began. “But he confirmed who he was talking about—in regard to the possible victim or victims. It’s who you thought. The houseguests coming this week.”
