The Ghost of Christmas Secrets

by Anna J. McIntyre

“I’m not leaving, but I thought we could all use something to drink. Iced tea?” Walt asked. “Beer?”

  “Too early for beer?” Chris asked.

  “It’s almost noon,” Walt said, walking to the refrigerator.

  “Tea for me, Walt. Thanks.” Danielle then looked at Chris and asked, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “I got a letter from one of my uncles yesterday.”

  “The uncles who contested your parents’ will?” Walt asked as he handed Chris a beer.

  “Yes. I only have two. They’re the ones who contested the will. I was going to bring the letter with me so Danielle could read it, but I forgot it at the office. Basically it was an apology and claimed they never intended to contest the will so they could keep my inheritance, but they were worried about me and wanted to protect me.”

  Walt handed Danielle a glass of iced tea and asked Chris, “And you believe that?”

  Chris shrugged and said, “I should have brought the letter with me. It made me start questioning things. That’s why I stopped over yesterday.” Chris looked at Danielle and said, “I wanted to talk to you about the letter.”

  Walt joined them at the table with a can of beer.

  “In what respect?” Danielle asked.

  “It doesn’t matter now, since I called them.” Chris took a swig of his beer.

  “So how did that go?” Danielle asked. “Did you accept their apology?”

  Chris shook his head. “I said it made me question things—but forget what they put me through? I’m not there yet. Not sure I’ll ever be.”

  “So why did you call them?” Walt asked.

  Chris shrugged. “I figured they probably knew where I was, which they did. I just didn’t want them showing up unexpectedly. So I figured I would talk to them.”

  “What did they say?” Danielle asked.

  “They wanted to see me. Offered to come here. So I lied. I told them I wouldn’t be here. Told them I would be traveling abroad for the foundation and wouldn’t be back until Christmas.”

  “Does that mean they’re coming for Christmas?” Danielle asked.

  Chris looked at Danielle and shook his head. “I didn’t even consider they would come then. I figured Christmas is, what, seven months away? But nope, I tell a lie that I think is going to let me avoid them only to realize I practically agreed to see them.”

  “Before you told your lie, you should have consulted Danielle. That’s her field of expertise,” Walt said before taking a drink of beer.

  Danielle scowled at Walt and swatted his forearm, causing him to spill some of this beer. “Oh, stop, you brat. Any lies I told were to get out of some mess you probably started!”

  Walt glanced down at the beer on the table and asked Chris, “Did you see that? She assaulted me!”

  Danielle rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Chris. “You could always tell them you don’t want to see them.”

  Walt grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped up the spilt beer. “She does have a point.”

  “I know I could, but I’m afraid they would just show up anyway. And if they do, I would like some control. So…well…that’s why I wanted to warn you…”

  Walt and Danielle exchanged glances and then looked at Chris.

  “They’re going to be calling you to make reservations,” Chris said. “I lied and told them you were closed today and wouldn’t be open until tomorrow. I wanted a chance to warn you they were calling.”

  “What do you want me to tell them? That we’re full and can’t take their reservation?”

  Chris cringed. “I know you weren’t planning to take guests this Christmas. But if they can’t stay here, well, they’ll just stay somewhere else. Frankly, I’d just like the moral support if I have to deal with them.”

  “I suspect you would also like a second opinion in regards to their sincerity when they show up,” Walt suggested.

  Chris nodded. “Pretty much.”

  Police Chief MacDonald was just getting off the phone when Officer Brian Henderson knocked on his office door. MacDonald looked up to the doorway and motioned him in.

  “Did you hear about Ben Smith?” Brian asked when he entered the office.

  “Hear what?” MacDonald asked.

  “He died in his sleep last night. I’m pretty sure it was a heart attack. His wife woke up this morning and found him dead next to her in bed.”

  “Sorry to hear that. But when it’s my time to check out, that’s how I’d like to go.”

  When Brian left the office a few minutes later, the chief picked up his phone and called Danielle.

  “Hey, Chief, what’s up?” Danielle asked when she answered the call.

  “Not sure you heard yet, but Ben Smith died.”

  “Died? What happened?”

  “Probably a heart attack. When his wife woke up this morning, she found him.”

  “Is there going to be an autopsy?” she asked.

  “I doubt it. He was in his eighties, and he had a bad heart.”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that. Ben was really nice to me when I moved here. I really liked him. I think that’s one of the reasons it bothered me so much after I found out what he and the others were trying to hide from me.”

  “Did he ever apologize?” the chief asked.

  “Sort of. But it was awkward. Actually, the last time I saw him—and the first time I had seen him since I found out what he and the others were up to—was when we picked up the portraits from the museum after I bought them from Walt.”

  “To be honest, I was surprised you picked them up. I figured you would leave them there until the exhibit with the originals opened.”

  “I probably would have, had I not been so annoyed at the time. But they never really wanted the reproductions; it was just a ruse so they could get to the papers Beverly had given me. I didn’t see the point in prolonging the charade. Anyway, Ben was there; he seemed embarrassed. Told me he was sorry for everything and never meant to hurt me.”

  “You never told me that,” the chief said.

  “Well, we haven’t had much time to talk in the last few weeks. It has been a bit hectic for all of us,” Danielle reminded him.

  “So what did you tell him?”

  “I didn’t say much. I was sort of cool. But I did tell him I appreciated the apology. I suppose if things were different, I might regret not being more forgiving.”

  “What do you mean?” the chief asked.

  “It’s possible I might see Ben before he moves on,” she reminded him.

  As much as Lily Bartley loved teaching, she was counting the days until summer vacation. Being back in the classroom had kicked her butt this year, reminding her she was not a hundred percent back to her old self in spite of the fact it had been almost two years since her coma.

  When she got home, she was greeted by Sadie, her husband’s golden retriever. Although, even before she and Ian had exchanged vows, she had considered Sadie as much hers as his. Before looking for Ian, she took a detour to the kitchen and filled a bowl with double fudge ice cream. Bowl of ice cream and spoon in hand, she found Ian in his office sitting at his desk, Sadie trailing behind her.

  While eating her ice cream, she shared her day with Ian and then listened to what his agent had said about Walt’s book. He then told her about Walt and Danielle’s trip to Astoria to see the jeweler.

  Sitting on the small sofa in Ian’s office, Lily wrinkled her nose and said, “Really? She’s having a ring made?”

  “That’s what Walt said.”

  Lily ate a spoonful of ice cream and silently considered what Ian had just told her. Finally, she said, “That is so unlike Dani. She doesn’t even wear jewelry. Aside from her birthstone ring, but I haven’t seen that for ages.”

  “She wears jewelry. She wears earrings.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. Before taking another bite of ice cream, she said, “Pierced earrings don’t count unless you change them every day. Dani always wears the same p
air.”

  Ian shrugged in response.

  “Seriously, though, she’s really going to have a ring made from the gold?”

  “That’s what Walt told me.”

  Lily shook her head. “Now, that sounds like something I might do. But Dani? Any idea what kind of ring she’s going to have made?”

  “Walt didn’t say. Just that they were going to a jeweler in Astoria to see if he could do it.”

  “I bet that’s Aaron Michaels. Remember, he’s the one they had look at the Missing Thorndike.”

  “They didn’t say which jeweler.”

  “Oh, I know what she should do!” Lily said excitedly.

  “What?”

  “If she’s having a ring made from Walt’s gold coins, I think she should get the emerald back from the museum. She only loaned it to them, and considering that BS they pulled, she’s not obligated to leave it there. An emerald from the original Missing Thorndike would be really cool in a ring.”

  “That reminds me, Ben Smith died this morning. They say it was a heart attack, died in his sleep.”

  “Wow…no kidding? I know he was old, but that surprises me; he was always so active.”

  Eight

  It wasn’t quite noon on Monday. Danielle stood with Walt by the front swing, watching the last guests from the weekend drive away. Inside Marlow House, Joanne was busy changing the linens on the beds.

  Danielle leaned against Walt’s shoulder, staring ahead blankly, looking like someone had just taken her Christmas puppy.

  Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he gave her a reassuring squeeze. “We could drive to Astoria after the funeral.”

  “I don’t want to get married the same day we go to a funeral,” she grumbled.

  “Then I suppose we’ll just have to get married tomorrow.”

  “I feel like a horrible person,” she confessed.

  Walt pulled her closer to his side. “Why is that?”

  “Poor Ben died, and all I’m thinking is how this was supposed to be our wedding day.”

  He pulled her even tighter to his side, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, “Yes, love. You are a horrible person.”

  Danielle chuckled in spite of herself and said, “I love you, Walt.”

  “I love you too.” He glanced around. “I suppose we shouldn’t be standing out here like this. Joanne could come out any minute, and anyone could drive by.”

  Danielle let out a sigh and stepped away from Walt, his arm dropping to his side. She looked up to him and asked, “Tell me again why we have to keep all this a secret for now.”

  He smiled down at her and said, “I could remind you it was your idea, but the more I think about it, I believe you were right.”

  She arched her brow. “I was right about something?”

  “You normally are, but please don’t let it go to your head.”

  “So you think it’s best we keep it a secret for a while?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes. Marriages are hard enough without looking for problems. I’d say giving your friends—like Adam and Melony, for example—or even semi-friends, like Joe and Kelly—reasons to question our relationship and start worrying about my motives will just bring unnecessary stress into our lives. Let them get used to me a little longer—and used to seeing us becoming friends.”

  “There’s one perk; according to Aaron, he’ll have the rings finished by tomorrow afternoon. So we won’t have to make two trips over there,” Danielle said.

  “Unless you take Lily’s suggestion and have him add the emerald.”

  “I don’t think that emerald would look right on a gold band. I’m not even sure he could add it to the ring without some serious redesigning.”

  Walt nodded. “True.”

  The Beach Drive bunch—Walt, Danielle, Ian, Lily, Chris and Heather—drove together to Ben Smith’s funeral later that afternoon, taking Danielle’s Ford Flex. Lily and Heather squeezed into the far back seat, while Ian and Chris sat in the middle seat. Danielle and Walt’s friends had no idea this was supposed to be their wedding day. After the funeral, they planned to go out to dinner together.

  The service was being held at Pastor Chad’s church, which made it doubly odd for Danielle, considering all that had gone on. Just as she started to pull into a space in the church parking lot, everyone in her car—except for Ian and Lily—let out a scream.

  “What is it?” Lily asked, frantically looking around.

  What Lily and Ian didn’t see was the elderly woman standing in the middle of the hood of the car, looking in at them through the windshield.

  “Marie,” Danielle grumbled, “did you have to do that?”

  Marie stuck her head through the windshield and grinned. “Sorry, dear, did I scare you?”

  “Is Marie here?” Lily asked.

  “I hate when ghosts do that,” Heather grumbled from the back seat.

  A moment later Marie stood outside the car and watched as the six people exited the vehicle.

  “I’m sorry, dear,” Marie said. “Have you seen Ben yet?”

  “No, have you?” Danielle asked, shutting the car door behind her.

  “No. But I can’t imagine he’s moved on already. He was always such a nosy busybody,” Marie said. “I’m sure he wants to see who came to his funeral. Although, I can’t imagine why his wife decided to have it on Memorial Day.”

  “I wondered the same thing,” Heather agreed.

  Fifteen minutes later they were seated in the church, with Marie sitting at the end of the row and Danielle next to her. It was agreed that if anyone came to take Marie’s seat, Danielle would say it was already taken.

  At the front of the church was the open casket. Disjointed bits of conversation blended with a background of organ music while family and friends of the deceased poured into the church, looking for a place to sit down, some going first to the casket at the front of the church to pay respect or to say a few words to Ben’s widow. Occasionally someone would pass by their row and say hello to one or more of them. At the front of the church Ben’s wife, Sylvia, sat with family and close friends.

  Marie craned her neck to get a better look. “I was wondering if his daughter was going to make it. But I don’t see her.”

  “He had a son too, didn’t he?” Danielle asked. “I heard he died a couple of years before I moved here.”

  “Skiing accident. He was the apple of their eye,” Marie said. “One good thing, now Ben can see him.”

  “Did he have children?” Danielle asked.

  “You mean Ben’s son?” Marie asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Stepkids. He married an older woman who already had children.” Marie looked up to the front of the church again. “I don’t see the daughter-in-law here, although I heard she moved back East not long after the accident. If any of her kids are here, I don’t recognize them. But I doubt it. I don’t think they had a chance to get close to Ben or Sylvia considering their stepdad died not long after they married.”

  “So what about the daughter?” Danielle asked.

  “She was always trouble. Got heavily in drugs. I haven’t seen her in years, and Ben and Sylvia would never talk about her.”

  “Who’s sitting up in front with Ben’s wife?” Danielle asked, looking to the front of the church.

  “That’s her sister and brother-in-law. They live in Portland.”

  “I think the service is about to start,” Danielle whispered as she nodded to the front of the church.

  Pastor Chad walked to the podium. He stood there a few minutes, looking out to the mourners, waiting for them to stop talking so he could begin the service. The sound of voices stilled to a whisper, and then after a moment it was completely silent.

  “Oh, there’s Adam!” Marie said, breaking the silence. Only the mediums sitting in her row could hear her. She looked at Danielle and said, “I’ll see you later, dear.” Marie vanished and then appeared a few seconds later, sitting on the other side of the church next to
her grandson. He, of course, had no idea his grandmother was at his side.

  Midway through the service Ben arrived. Danielle looked to Walt and then down the aisle to Chris and Heather, who looked her way and nodded.

  “I wondered if he would show up,” Danielle said under her breath.

  Ben, who was standing by his casket, looked out into the pews, taking in who was in attendance. When he spied Marie, he froze. A moment later, he was standing by her side and the two began talking. Danielle and her fellow mediums wondered what they were saying, but they were too far away to hear the conversation.

  When the service was finally over and Danielle stood up with the others, she was startled when a man touched her arm and said, “Excuse me, are you Danielle Boatman?”

  Standing in the row in front of the pew she had just occupied, preparing to step out into the aisle, Danielle looked at the man. She didn’t recognize him. Middle-aged and nondescript, he wore a black suit and tie.

  “Yes, I am,” she said.

  “Ben’s widow, Sylvia, wanted to know if you would be so kind as to come with me to the church library so she can talk to you privately for a moment.”

  “She wants to talk to me?” Danielle frowned. She glanced behind her at her friends. They had all heard the man’s request and, by their expressions, were as curious as she was to know why Sylvia wanted to talk to her.

  “Umm…sure…I guess,” Danielle stammered.

  Danielle followed the man to the library. When she entered the room, she found Sylvia sitting in a chair next to a desk, a box of Kleenex on her lap, as she repeatedly dabbed the corners of her eyes with one damp tissue. Sylvia, who was in her eighties, made no attempt to stand, but she smiled up at Danielle.

  “Thank you for agreeing to talk to me,” Sylvia said.

  Danielle was surprised when the man who had brought her to the room did not leave, but entered with her and closed the door behind them.

  “You’ve already met Irvin Brunskill, he’s our attorney,” Sylvia explained as she pointed to the man who had escorted Danielle to the room.