by Bobbi Holmes
With a yawn Pearl got out of bed. She hadn’t forgotten what she had seen, but she tried to make sense of it. Before retreating to sleep, she had convinced herself that it had to have been something she ate. Yet now, after sleeping for a few hours, she didn’t think that was it. After all, she didn’t feel sick. Pearl walked over to her dresser, picked up her brush, and began combing her hair while looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Thinking about what she had seen, she began to laugh. “Your imagination is working overtime. You didn’t see a flying battery; you saw a box being blown over the fence and onto the neighbor’s yard.” She laughed again and shook her head, pleased with how she had sorted it all out.
Feeling relieved and hungry, Pearl decided to run out to get something to eat—maybe a hamburger at Lucy’s, or some Mexican food at Beach Taco.
“Her back is to me,” Phoebe called out, still standing by the first-floor landing.
Walt gave her a nod, beginning his silent descent down the stairs, mindful of all the spots in the steps that might creak. He slowly made his way toward Phoebe. One step at a time.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Bentley muttered, following Walt down the stairs.
Phoebe continued to look from Walt to Birdie’s back. The older woman had just stopped petting the cat and now stood a little straighter, waving the pistol a bit, pointing the way to the basement and telling Danielle to keep moving.
“Come on, we’re wasting time. You don’t want me to have to kill your husband too, do you?” Birdie asked. Danielle, who had been frantically thinking up questions, paused after Birdie’s last question and inadvertently looked past her as if something had caught her eye.
Nervous herself, Birdie whirled around to face whatever Danielle had seen, gun in hand, and found Walt Marlow walking in her direction. But he wasn’t armed, so she smiled, about to aim the gun at his chest and then tell him to get over with his wife when something unexpected happened—her gun flew out of her hand and up into the air, landing on an overhead light fixture. Stunned, Birdie looked up and saw her pistol teetering far above her, out of reach.
Birdie looked frantically from Walt to Danielle. Walt was no longer approaching, and he, like his wife, stood silently watching her. Without hesitation, she turned abruptly and ran to the front door. Walt and Danielle started after her, but before they got halfway across the foyer, she was already out the door, running into the dark night.
“She can run!” Walt said when he and Danielle reached the front door.
“The woman definitely doesn’t need that cane,” Danielle said.
“Are you alright?” he asked, pausing a moment as he reached for the doorknob.
“I am now,” Danielle said, slightly out of breath, her heart racing.
“You stay here. Call the police,” Walt said before running out of the house.
Before heading downtown, Pearl decided to first cruise by her neighbor’s and check out what was going on. Considering the chilling turn of events, she didn’t imagine anyone was still over there, yet there was one vehicle still parked out front—the one with the faulty engine hood. Driving north down Beach Drive, her attention on Marlow House’s living room window, Pearl didn’t see the front door open, or the woman run outside and down the front walk. Instead, she kept staring in the house while driving down the street, not slowing down. The living room was fully lit, and the blind was open, but she didn’t see anyone inside the room.
Pearl’s head turned to see where she was going, and to her horror the headlights of her car illuminated the terrified face of a blond woman just before Pearl’s car struck, running the woman down.
If it hadn’t been so dark outside and Walt had seen where Birdie was going, he could have prevented the accident. But like Birdie, he hadn’t seen it coming. Walt stood horrified, at the edge of the sidewalk, and watched as Pearl pulled her car to a stop and quickly got out of the vehicle. She didn’t exit quietly. No. Screaming at the top of her lungs, Pearl Huckabee repeatedly yelled, “She just ran out in front of me!”
No longer standing mute at the edge of the sidewalk, Walt ran toward the victim, who was trapped under Pearl’s car. Danielle, who had just gotten the chief on the phone, dashed out of the house, phone in hand, and told him to send an ambulance.
Pearl was still hysterical when the police arrived. Danielle stood by her side, an arm around her neighbor, trying to calm her down. Lily and Ian had come over from across the street, and Heather was already walking down from her house after hearing the ambulances arriving. Lily kept glancing across the street to Connor’s bedroom window, as she had left him sleeping in his crib with Sadie standing guard.
The paramedics were attending to Birdie when Seraphina drove up and parked her car behind the one the Staffords had rented. Confused, she got out of the vehicle and rushed to Danielle and the others to see what had happened. Unbeknownst to Seraphina, she carried a passenger, Eva. The onetime silent screen star got out of the car and went to get a closer look at the body attended to by the handsome paramedics.
“What happened?” Seraphina asked.
“It’s Birdie,” Danielle told her, still holding onto Pearl.
“She ran in front of me! It wasn’t my fault!” Pearl sobbed.
The somber group sat in the living room at Marlow House. Pearl had been given a sedative, and the police chief had Officer Carpenter take her home. Lily had dashed across the street and picked up Connor and Sadie. Now she sat quietly in the Marlow House living room, holding her sleeping son with her husband by her side.
Danielle and Walt sat with Heather on the sofa. Police Chief MacDonald and Brian Henderson stood in the center of the room, going over the events of the evening while Seraphina paced the room anxiously. There was just one ghost in attendance, Eva. All the others had vanished moments after the car had hit Birdie.
“I can’t believe Birdie was responsible for all those deaths…why?” Seraphina asked, still in shock. Danielle had just filled them in on the details of the evening, including all that Birdie had told her, yet excluding any mention of spirit intervention.
The official story was that Walt had startled Birdie, and she had dropped the gun. Before the police had arrived, Walt had remembered to bring the gun down from the light fixture, not wanting to have to explain that to the police. As it was, guns landing in high places at Marlow House had become oddly commonplace.
“Why would she do it?” Seraphina repeated.
“Unfortunately we may never find out now,” Brian said.
“She got off easy,” Heather said. “Killing all those people and trying to kill Danielle.”
“It wasn’t the Birdie I knew,” Seraphina said, breaking into a sob.
Chris arrived a few minutes later. Danielle had called him, letting him know Birdie had been killed, and that she had been the one responsible for all the deaths, all except for Teddy’s. Danielle thought Seraphina could use a special friend about now.
“I’m going to pick her up in the morning and take her to the airport,” Chris told Danielle after everyone had gone home.
“I imagine she wants to get far away from here,” Danielle said. She stood with Chris by the front door as he prepared to leave. Seraphina had already gone up to her room for the night.
“She’s pretty confused. And none of it makes sense. Why would she kill them?”
“Birdie obviously thought she was doing it for Seraphina for some reason,” Danielle said.
“That’s a little extreme,” Chris said. “It’s quite a leap from benefactor to raging fan willing to kill anyone you feel has hurt or insulted the person you idolize.”
“She was more like a protective mother than a fan,” Danielle said.
Chris frowned. “Does Birdie have kids?”
Danielle shook her head. “No. She had a daughter who died a long time ago from drugs.”
“Perhaps it was transference,” Chris suggested.
“What do you mean?”
“
Maybe Birdie saw Seraphina more like a daughter. She couldn’t save her own daughter, so she was willing to kill to keep Seraphina safe.”
Danielle shrugged. “Possible. And if the spirits are gone for good, then we will never know for sure.”
Thirty-Nine
Danielle felt the light touch of Walt’s fingertips as they brushed over her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled toward him, welcomed by his arms as he drew her close. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “Good morning, love.”
“What time is it?” she asked, snuggling closer.
“Time for us to get up if we want to say goodbye to Seraphina before Chris gets here.”
Danielle groaned and tightened her hold on Walt, resting her face against his bare chest.
“Ian did warn me when my agent was contacted by Jackie that an option was no guarantee the movie would get made. But I have to say, I never imagined it would go this far, only to be cancelled because of something like this,” Walt said.
“She’s not going to try for another backer?” Danielle asked. The night before Walt had called Jackie. He caught her at the Portland airport, still waiting on standby for a flight home. He told her about Birdie and how she had been responsible for all the deaths except for Teddy’s.
“She would have to find another backer, another director, another screenwriter. To say it’s put a dark cloud on the production would be a wild understatement. I told her I understood if she wanted to walk away from Moon Runners, considering everything that happened. She told me she would talk to me next week, after they get home and sort some of this out. But I don’t expect her to change her mind, and I understand.”
“I do too,” Danielle said. “But I’d like to know why Randy Adair told us Moon Runners started all this.”
“Maybe just the fact it gathered together all the players, and he understood the dynamics,” Walt suggested.
“I wonder if any of them will be back. I’d like to learn more.”
“Hopefully Marie or Eva will learn something before Birdie moves on.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Walt said with a weary sigh. “I could have prevented her death. I don’t know why I let her run out of the house. I could have stopped her.”
“It all happened so fast,” Danielle reminded. “You were running on adrenaline.”
“I wonder if she has moved on,” Walt said.
“Considering where she is probably headed, I don’t imagine she’ll be anxious to.”
The night before Eva had followed Birdie’s body to the morgue. Birdie’s spirit hadn’t showed up, and since a soul often follows his or her body before moving on, Eva hoped to catch the ghost before she did, to learn more about her motives.
Marie had returned to Frederickport shortly after Walt had talked to Jackie on the phone. She had overheard Jackie recount the conversation with Walt to Julius and understood it was no longer necessary to wait for them to get on the plane.
When back in Frederickport, Marie had taken off to find Eva and keep an eye out for Birdie. Back at Marlow House, Max had agreed to night patrol while Walt, Danielle and Seraphina went to bed. If any of the spirits showed up, Max would wake Walt and Danielle.
They had also called Joanne, letting her know what had gone on and telling her not to come over the next day. Seraphina was leaving early and had told them she intended to eat something at the airport. Joanne offered to come over in the afternoon to start stripping the sheets, but Danielle told her she and Walt just needed some quiet alone time considering all that had happened. Joanne understood, yet the truth was, they didn’t really want alone time. They wanted to be available to any of the spirits should they show up again. Danielle wanted to learn Birdie’s true motives.
Chris was already at their house when Walt and Danielle came down that morning. He was sitting at the table drinking coffee when they walked into the kitchen. “I made some coffee. You want a cup?”
“Danielle, do you think we should call the police and tell them we have a break-in?” Walt asked.
“He did make us coffee,” Danielle said, standing by Walt’s side near the coffee maker.
“If it makes you feel any better, Seraphina let me in,” Chris said.
“I know. We saw her.” Walt grabbed two coffee cups and filled them. “She was just setting her suitcases outside her room. I brought them downstairs and set them by the front door. She’ll be down in a minute. She was using the bathroom.”
“Any ghost sightings?” Danielle asked, taking the cup of coffee Walt had just poured her.
“Nothing here. I was wondering if you saw anyone last night,” Chris said.
“No. And we haven’t seen Eva and Marie since they left.” Danielle took a seat at the table.
A few minutes later Seraphina walked into the kitchen and helped herself to a cup of coffee. “Do you need me to go through anything in Birdie’s room?” Seraphina asked as she joined the three at the table.
“The police took everything last night,” Danielle told her.
“I never asked…but when you found Phoebe, were her things with her?” Seraphina asked.
“Yes. Birdie had put the suitcases in the tunnel opening with her body,” Danielle said. “The police took her things and Bentley’s.”
Seraphina shook her head and sipped her coffee. “I’ll never understand. It was not the Birdie I knew. From the moment I met her and Randy, they were always so good to me—so supportive. I can’t believe she would do any of this.”
“I’m sorry. Birdie confessed everything to me. But she didn’t make it clear why she did any of it. Not really.” Danielle avoided mentioning Birdie might have been motivated by a desire to protect Seraphina. She preferred to spare the young woman unwarranted guilt.
Together Walt and Danielle stood on their front porch and waved to Chris and Seraphina as they drove away in Chris’s car, heading to the Portland Airport. It had been arranged to have Birdie’s rental car picked up with the Staffords’ later that afternoon.
Danielle glanced over to Pearl’s house and said, “I wonder how she’s doing this morning.”
“The woman is unpleasant, but I feel sorry for her,” Walt said. “Horrible thing to have to live with.”
Danielle let out a sigh. “Let’s go inside. I’ll make us some breakfast.”
The moment they stepped back into the house, they were greeted by Marie and Eva.
“She’s here,” Marie said proudly. “Waiting in the parlor.”
“We tried to get the others to come, but they were anxious to move on and felt there was no reason to stick around,” Eva said.
“When you say she’s here, do you mean Birdie?” Danielle asked.
“Yes, we explained to her the least she can do is help you understand why she did what she did.”
“The others understand now too, as much as they can,” Eva said. “It was rather crowded and lively—in a dead sort of way—at the mortuary last night.”
Danielle glanced toward the parlor, where Birdie waited.
“What do you mean?” Walt asked.
“The other spirits. The ones who tried to help Danielle last night. They followed Birdie after she left her body. She didn’t go immediately to the mortuary. She went down to the beach,” Eva explained.
“The poor dear was so confused,” Marie added.
“That poor dear tried to kill me last night,” Danielle said. “And she killed three people. That dear is a freaking serial killer.”
“Go talk to her, Danielle. She’s confused,” Marie urged. “Eva and I will stay out here. I think it will be easier on Birdie if she can talk to just you two.”
“By all means, let’s make it easier on the woman who wanted to kill me,” Danielle grumbled, heading to the parlor.
Birdie sat in one of the parlor chairs facing the sofa, her hands on her lap. She smiled at Danielle and Walt when they enter the room.
“I guess this is what it feels like to be dead,” Birdie said, sounding far m
ore friendly than she had the previous evening.
“Marie said you would explain why you did it,” Danielle said, taking a seat on the sofa with Walt.
“First I want to apologize to you both. Especially to you, Danielle. I feel horrible I put you through all that. I am so thankful Walt intervened.”
Danielle frowned at Birdie. The woman—or ghost—seemed sincere.
Birdie turned her attention to Walt and smiled. “Eva and Marie told us all about you. How utterly fascinating! I must say you surprised me with that trick of yours! And poor Bentley and Phoebe, you had them both worried. They had no idea you had special gifts.”
“Why did you do it?” Danielle asked, redirecting the conversation back to what she most wanted to know.
“That’s the thing, dear. I’m not sure. Which is why I have a favor to ask you,” Birdie began.
Danielle arched her brows. “You want to ask me a favor?”
“Well, you and Walt.”
“What kind of favor?” Walt asked.
“I’ll get to that in a moment, but first, I think I need to explain some things to you.” Birdie let out a deep sigh and then said, “Seraphina doesn’t know this. But she is my granddaughter.”
“Your granddaughter?” Danielle sputtered.
Birdie nodded. “I know most people believe my daughter was lost to drugs. I’m ashamed to say I helped perpetuate that lie for years after she died. It seemed in some way easier, considering things I had been raised to believe.”
“So your daughter didn’t die of a drug overdose?” Danielle asked.
Birdie shook her head. “No. She never experimented with drugs, at least, as far as I’m aware. But when she was a teenager, she fell in love with a young man who happened to be black. And I am ashamed to admit, back then I believed it would be better my daughter have drug issues than get involved with a black boy. At least with drug problems, we had the money to send her to the best rehab centers. But what do you do when your daughter tells you she’s in love with someone you don’t approve of?”
