The Ghost of Christmas Secrets

by Anna J. McIntyre

  Danielle felt a little guilty knowing that when Joanne stripped her bed each week, she was removing clean sheets—washing clean sheets—and then remaking a bed that didn’t need to be made. She was tempted to tell Joanne that she would be doing her own sheets, but she was reluctant to do that, since the housekeeper was sometimes a bit territorial over her household duties.

  After dressing for the day, Danielle headed downstairs. She found Walt in the kitchen, standing by the sink. He had already made coffee and picked up the newspaper from the front porch.

  “Good morning,” Danielle said as she breezed into the room.

  “Hmmm…didn’t I just see someone who looked a lot like you…but she was wearing a sexy little nightshirt and her hair was all messy, rather adorable.”

  Danielle shushed Walt and glanced back to the door leading to the hallway, yet she was unable to suppress her grin. “Shhh, someone might hear you!”

  “We’re the only ones downstairs. Your guests are still in bed.”

  Danielle gave Walt a quick kiss before filling her cup. “Thanks for making the coffee.”

  “My pleasure.” He gave Danielle a little salute with his cup and then turned and walked to the kitchen table, where he sat down with the newspaper and his cup of coffee.

  Still standing by the counter, about to take a sip from her cup after adding cream, Danielle looked down into her coffee and to her annoyance found red and green glitter floating with the cream, with more falling from the ceiling into the cup.

  “Eva! Please not in the coffee!” Danielle begged.

  The next moment Eva fully materialized. “Sorry, Danielle.”

  Danielle looked down into her coffee cup and found the glitter gone. “Thank you.” She walked to the table and sat down with Walt, who had just looked up from the paper at Eva’s arrival.

  “I’m in the Christmas spirit!” Eva said with a flair as she threw her arms in the air, tossing more green and red glitter. Fortunately, this time none landed in the coffee.

  Dressed in a formfitting, full-length green velvet dress, with a wide skirt and white fur collar and hat, Eva Thorndike—the onetime silent screen star who bore a striking resemblance to the Gibson Girl, and who was now a ghost—twirled round and round merrily in the center of the kitchen while Walt and Danielle watched.

  The next moment Marie appeared. “Are you done with the glitter yet?”

  Eva stopped twirling and frowned at the three, none of whom seemed to appreciate her festive entrance. “You are all such party poopers.”

  “Sorry, dear,” Marie said. “But ghostly glitter is not much better than real glitter—and real glitter should be outlawed.”

  Eva was about to respond to Marie’s commentary when Noah walked into the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” he said brightly.

  Marie turned to the man and eyed him up and down. “So this is one of your new guests?”

  “I’m more curious to see what Chris’s uncles look like,” Eva said.

  “Good morning,” Danielle called from the table. “Help yourself to some coffee. Everything’s right there.” She pointed to where the coffee pot sat on the counter. Several clean mugs and spoons and a creamer and sugar bowl sat nearby, along with several flavored creamer options.

  “Thank you.” Noah poured himself a cup.

  “Is your wife up?” Walt asked.

  “No. She’s still sleeping.” Coffee cup in hand, Noah headed to the table and walked through Marie, who failed to get out of his way soon enough.

  “I hate when that happens,” Marie grumbled.

  “I was just about to start breakfast, but I can wait until she wakes up,” Danielle offered.

  “You do the cooking?” Noah asked.

  “Sometimes. My only employee is Joanne, who does house cleaning and some of the cooking. But she’s not going to be here this week. She left yesterday to go visit her family for Christmas,” Danielle explained.

  “I know you don’t mind the cooking—which I would hate…” Marie shivered at the thought. “But, dear, are you going to be doing the housekeeping this week too?”

  Noah, who had been looking at Danielle, failed to notice Walt tilting his head slightly at Marie to get her attention. Once Walt caught the ghost’s notice, he nodded toward the broom sitting in the corner of the kitchen, behind Noah.

  “To be honest, Zara isn’t much for breakfast, so don’t worry about her,” Noah told Danielle. “I doubt she’ll come down for breakfast while we’re here.”

  “Walt, are you saying you’re going to help with the housekeeping chores?” Marie asked.

  Walt grinned as the broom rose in the air and did a little dance before setting back down. Noah saw none of it.

  “That’s cheating.” Marie laughed. “But I wish I could have done that when I was alive! Heavens, I wish I could do it now that I’m dead!”

  “We have one less thing to worry about,” Noah told Zara when he returned to their room after breakfast.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “The housekeeper you told me about, Joanne Johnson, she’s not working this week. That means the only people staying in the house are Walt and Danielle—and, of course, the Glandons.”

  “That’s a break. I’ll admit that one was stressing me out. But there’s still her friends across the street,” she reminded him.

  “We just have to be diligent.”

  “You mean I have to pull off this recluse act.”

  Noah glanced at his watch and said, “What time did you say the Glandons will be here?”

  “Loyd said they should arrive by four. Maybe sooner, depending on traffic. They’re flying into Portland, and then they’re renting a car.”

  “Would you like to do something until then?” he asked.

  “I suppose I could give you a tour of Frederickport, show you where Chris has his office.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Eva Thorndike, still clad in her green velvet gown, stood alone in Marlow House’s living room, looking out the front window. Minutes earlier it had started to rain.

  Danielle, who was just checking on the downstairs bedroom to see if everything was in order, peeked into the living room and spied Eva.

  “Where did Marie go?” Danielle asked as she walked into the room.

  Eva turned from the window to Danielle. “She went off to see what her grandson was up to.”

  “I wonder what Adam would think if he knew his grandmother was always keeping an eye on him.”

  “I imagine he might be embarrassed.” Eva laughed.

  Now standing next to Eva, Danielle said, “I’ve always been told spirits didn’t watch their loved ones in—well, embarrassing situations.”

  Eva cocked her brow and looked at Danielle. “Oh really? And didn’t you have to get Walt to agree the bathroom was off-limits because he saw a little too much when you first moved in?”

  Danielle frowned. “How did you know that?”

  Eva smiled and looked back out the window. “You’d be surprised at what I know.”

  “So you’re saying it’s a myth that our deceased loved ones don’t—look in on our wedding night, for example?”

  “That—myth, as you call it—is something the living say to make themselves feel better. But I suppose it is generally true. An earthbound spirit—one cognizant of his or her reality—typically doesn’t do something he or she wouldn’t do when alive, such as intrude on a love one’s private moments.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Danielle agreed. “Fortunately, since I can normally see ghosts when they’re lurking around, I have a little more control over what they see.”

  “Ahh, but that’s not always the case; remember Walt,” Eva reminded her.

  Danielle flashed Eva a smile. “True, but Walt was a clever ghost when it came to harnessing energy. I suspect most spirits can’t conceal themselves from me.”

  Eva nodded. “True.”

  Looking back out the window, Eva said, “It’s rainin
g pretty hard now. Not safe to drive in this type of weather. I wonder…if Chris’s uncles were to get into a car accident and died on their way here, will their spirits show up?”

  “I would prefer not to consider that possibility.”

  Eva shrugged and didn’t look apologetic. “From what Chris told me about his uncles, they don’t seem like very nice men. I wish they wouldn’t show up at all.”

  “According to Chris, they regret challenging his parents’ will. They explained why they did it. Maybe they are sincere. After all, what do they have to gain now?”

  Eva looked to Danielle. “You can’t seriously ask that question. Chris is worth a fortune; he’s extremely vulnerable to exploitation.”

  “But his uncles are old men. They have their own money; they don’t need his.”

  “Danielle, when was there ever enough money for a greedy person? And age means nothing. For some, getting closer to the end heightens the need—the desire to have more—to get more.”

  Later that afternoon Zara stood at the window in her room, looking down at the street below.

  “I think they’re here,” she announced.

  Noah rushed to the window and looked out. A car had just pulled up and parked behind his. A moment later the passenger and driver doors opened, and two men stepped out of the vehicle, one onto the street and the other onto the sidewalk.

  “So that’s them?” he asked.

  “Yes. Loyd is the oldest brother, the shorter one; he’s the one who just got out of the passenger side of the car. The other one is Simon, the middle brother.”

  “I think I’ll go downstairs, have a proper introduction.”

  “You can tell them I’m napping,” she suggested.

  “When are you going to see them?”

  “I’d rather do it when they’re together.”

  Seventeen

  Walt and Danielle were alone in the living room when the uncles arrived. Walt spied them first, coming up the front walkway. Danielle glanced at her watch and said, “I really thought Chris would be here when they arrived.”

  “You want me to call him?” he offered.

  “Would you, please?” Danielle asked before heading to the door leading to the entry hall.

  When Danielle opened the door, the most peculiar thought popped into her head. They reminded her of defective bookends. Identical in appearance and dress—conservative dark slacks, loafers, and tweed jackets—yet mismatched in size, with the smaller one slightly hunched over and more aged. He walked with a cane, which he also used to nudge his brother to the side, allowing him to step into the house first.

  They had just exchanged names and were still standing in the entry when Noah came walking down the hallway from the direction of the staircase.

  “More guests?” Noah asked cheerfully.

  Danielle turned to Noah and smiled. She then looked back to the Glandon brothers and said, “Gentlemen, this is one of the other guests, Noah Bishop. He and his wife are also staying with us. Mr. Bishop, this is Loyd and Simon Glandon. They have come to spend Christmas with their nephew, Chris, who is a neighbor of mine.”

  After introductions, Noah excused himself, saying he was going to take a little drive, while Simon Glandon made it clear he wasn’t anxious to make the journey up the stairs to see his room, considering he had just driven in from Portland after their flight. He expressed a desire to sit down and have something to drink and perhaps a snack before going upstairs.

  Danielle showed them to Loyd’s room on the first floor, where they set their suitcases, and then she took them into the living room. The brothers each sat in one of the matching easy chairs, where she left them with Walt while she went to the kitchen to prepare some hot tea and a plate of cookies.

  Twenty minutes later, she sat on the living room sofa with Walt, facing Chris’s uncles.

  “I understand our nephew lived here when he first came to Frederickport,” Simon said.

  “That’s correct, two Christmases ago. He liked Frederickport so much he decided to stay,” Danielle explained.

  Loyd nibbled a chocolate chip cookie while studying Danielle through narrowed eyes, shifting his gaze from Danielle to Walt, back to Danielle. “I was under the impression you were seeing our nephew.”

  “Chris and I are just good friends,” Danielle explained.

  “Good enough that he moved here. Bought a house on your street,” Loyd noted.

  “It’s a good neighborhood,” Danielle said primly.

  Loyd looked at Walt and asked, “You said your last name is Marlow—is this house yours?” He looked to Danielle and added, “I thought it was hers?”

  “This house was originally built by Frederick Marlow, a distant cousin,” Walt explained. “I happen to be named after his grandson. But Danielle is the owner of Marlow House. I rent a room on the top floor.”

  “Interesting,” Loyd grumbled under his breath. “How long have you lived here, Marlow?”

  “I came for a visit last spring. Like your nephew, I decided to stay.”

  “You could afford to just pick up and move here?” he asked.

  “Actually, Walt’s a successful author,” Danielle interjected. “He can basically work anywhere.”

  “I always thought I could be a writer,” Simon mused.

  Danielle stood up and smiled at the men. “If you will excuse me, I have something I need to check in the kitchen.” She looked at Simon. “When you’re ready to go to your room, let me know, and I’ll take you up. I hope you enjoy your stay, gentlemen.”

  After Danielle left the room, Walt stood up and started to excuse himself when Loyd waved his hand, motioning for him to sit back down. “I would like to talk to you a moment, young man.”

  Walt sat back down and asked, “Yes?”

  “I assume you know my nephew?” Loyd asked.

  Walt nodded. “Yes.”

  Loyd picked up the cane he had resting against his chair. He pointed it at the doorway, where Danielle had just walked through. “Is there anything going on between those two?”

  Walt arched his brow and smiled. “Chris and Danielle? No. As she said, they’re just good friends.”

  “I worry about my nephew. He’s always been a naive and sheltered boy. I blame his mother for that; she coddled the lad,” Loyd told him.

  Simon nodded in agreement.

  “Far too easy for a pretty face, like Miss Boatman, to take advantage of an impressionable young man like my nephew. I just want to make sure she’s not someone we need to be worried about.”

  Outside, Chris moved past the living room window, yet not without first seeing his uncles sitting in the room talking with Walt. He hurriedly made his way to the side yard and up the driveway, to the back door leading to the kitchen. Once there, he peeked in the window and spied Danielle standing at the sink. Without knocking, he opened the door and slipped inside.

  “They’re here,” Chris said in a hushed voice.

  Danielle turned from the sink and faced him. “What are you doing in here? Why didn’t you go in the front door and say hi?”

  Chris took a seat at the table and snatched a cookie from under the glass dome. “I wanted to see how they were first.” He took a bite of the cookie.

  Danielle walked to the table and sat down. “Don’t you think you need to go and say hi, so you can find out for yourself?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. I want to get the lay of the land first.”

  She cocked a brow. “Lay of the land?”

  “Yeah, see what kind of mood they’re in.”

  “Well, they did come out and ask me if I was seeing you,” she told him.

  “What did you tell them?” He popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth and listened intently, waiting for her response.

  Danielle stared at Chris a moment and then let out a sigh. “I told them we were lovers and you enjoy spending money on me.”

  “No, come on, I’m serious. What did you say?”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “Wh
at do you think I told them? I told them the truth, that we’re just good friends.”

  “I really wish I hadn’t talked you into this. I don’t want to deal with them.” Chris picked up the glass dome and took another cookie.

  “Why do they make you so nervous?” she asked.

  “Aside from the fact they dragged me through court and made me feel as if I really wasn’t a member of the family, that I was no more than some mutt my parents picked up at the pound, and I had no more right to their estate than a dog?”

  “Then why did you agree to this?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose I was feeling guilty after he called. To be honest, until my parents died, I never considered them anything but family. They were my uncles—a little odd sometimes, but they were my father’s brothers. They’re the only family I have left. Does that make any sense?”

  “I understand. Some people wondered why I didn’t kick Cheryl out when she first showed up here. I wasn’t under any obligation to let her stay, and she was acting pretty obnoxious.”

  Danielle paused a moment and looked up, as if talking to the heavens. “Sorry, Cheryl, but it’s true. You were acting like a brat.”

  She looked back at Chris and said, “but Cheryl was family—and like your uncles, she was all I had left. I don’t know what your relationship was like with your uncles before your parents’ death, but it wasn’t all bad between me and Cheryl. Looking back, in many ways we were more like sisters—sisters that got on each other’s nerves.”

  “Any regrets?”

  “Aside from the fact she was murdered because she stayed?”

  Chris winced. “Yeah—well, that didn’t work out terrific, especially for her.”

  “I’m glad I never cut her off. There were times I avoided her, but I never shut her out of my life completely—I always left the door open. For that, I don’t have any regrets.”

  “Would you and Walt go out to dinner with us tonight?”