The Ghost of Christmas Secrets

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “You’re welcome.” Walt smiled.

  “You want me to run the fingerprints on these glasses?” the chief asked incredulously. He stood behind his desk, the paper sack with the glasses in hand.

  “You can do it, can’t you?” Walt asked.

  “Yes, but—”

  “I know it’s her. She has the feather tattoo on the back of her neck. But she insisted it isn’t her. I just want to know who these people are who are staying with us. I understand she might just want to disappear, and she has that right, but I need to know who they are—who he is—should we be concerned? They are staying in our house. Please, Chief.”

  MacDonald considered the request a moment. Finally, he said, “Okay. I’ll do it. Give me a couple of hours, and I’ll see what I can find out.”

  While waiting for the results of the fingerprints, Walt took Danielle to Lucy’s Diner to have some coffee and pie. When they walked into the restaurant, they found Adam Nichols alone at a table. He asked them to join him, and they accepted.

  “Chris’s uncle Simon stopped by my office earlier today. He told me he was just curious to see what housing prices are in Frederickport,” Adam told them after the waitress took their order and left the table.

  “You don’t sound like you believe his reason for stopping by,” Danielle said.

  Adam shrugged. “I think it was a PR ploy on his part.”

  “What’s a PR ploy?” Walt asked.

  Adam looked at Walt. “You know, PR, public relations. He did a lot of talking about how proud he is of Chris—thanked me for being such a good friend. Talked about his regrets in contesting their brother’s will, and how grateful he was that Chris had forgiven them. Although, I’m not sure Chris has really forgiven them.” Adam picked up his coffee and took a sip.

  “Did he mention Heather?” Walt asked.

  Adam frowned a moment and then set his cup back on its saucer. “Actually he did. Talked about how he felt she was manipulating him—trying to take advantage of him. I didn’t really take it seriously. Heather is a little different, and to someone like him, she probably seems like an alien.”

  “Both uncles have been doing a lot of trash-talking about her,” Danielle grumbled.

  “What’s stranger, they’ve told Heather how much Chris likes her, and encouraged her to pursue a personal relationship with him,” Walt told him.

  Adam frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. I can’t see them doing that.”

  “Heather thinks they did that so she would act inappropriately toward Chris, in hopes he’ll fire her,” Danielle explained.

  Adam laughed. “Don’t they know she already acts inappropriately toward him? I’ve heard her tell him to shut up more than once.”

  Walt chuckled. “True. But the uncles don’t know that.”

  “I saw Chris after his uncle stopped by. I almost said something to him about it, but I decided not to. He seemed a little stressed out over their visit,” Adam said.

  When Walt and Danielle returned to the police station, they found the chief at his desk, just getting ready to call Danielle to tell her he had the results.

  “Good, you’re here,” the chief said as he hung up his phone. They walked into the office, and he nodded to the door, motioning for them to close it.

  “So what did you find out?” Danielle asked as she took a seat facing the desk. Walt sat down in the chair next to her.

  “I learned your Zara doesn’t like milk,” the chief said, leaning back in his chair.

  “What do you mean?” Danielle frowned.

  “There was only one set of prints on those glasses,” the chief explained. “Another thing, your guest is not Noah Bishop, he’s Noah Church.”

  “He’s using a fake name?” Danielle asked.

  “Apparently so.”

  “Church…Bishop? He has a theme going there,” Walt muttered.

  The chief picked up a printout and skimmed over it. “His name is Noah Church, and he has no priors. Not even a parking ticket I could find. By the way, how did he pay for his room? I would assume a credit card.”

  “No, not a credit card. He paid with a gift card.”

  “He gave it to you over the phone when he made the reservation?” the chief asked.

  “No. Zara made the reservation and asked if they could pay with a gift card when they arrived. Said it was a gift from her husband’s parents. Normally I require a down payment when they make a reservation, but considering the late date of the reservation and the fact I had other vacancies, I didn’t make a point of taking a down payment.”

  “She said it was a gift from Noah’s parents?” the chief asked.

  Danielle nodded. “Yes.”

  “That would be a little tricky, Noah Church was orphaned when he was twelve. Grew up in foster care. And he happens to live in the same town as Zara Leighton.”

  “I guess I’m not surprised. I knew it was her,” Danielle said.

  “What does Noah Church do for a living?” Walt asked.

  “He’s a high school teacher. Well liked from all accounts. If he and Zara have decided to disappear together, his school doesn’t know about it. They believe he’s returning after Christmas break. One more thing. He’s not married. At least, not that they are aware of. Which could support the story they’re newlyweds. Maybe his work just doesn’t know yet that he got married.”

  “None of this makes any sense,” Danielle murmured.

  “Maybe Zara is only missing from her roommate’s perspective,” the chief suggested.

  “You’re saying Zara had problems with the roommate and just left,” Walt asked.

  “It happens. We have no idea what type of relationship the roommate had with Zara. By her letter it sounds like they were good friends, and she is worried about her. But we don’t know her, and Zara, while she has lied to both of us, she’s made it perfectly clear she doesn’t want to be found by her roommate,” the chief reminded them.

  “How do we really know the person who sent you that letter was ever Zara’s roommate, or if it is really a woman?” Walt asked.

  “I don’t doubt that part,” the chief explained. “When I first received the flyer, before Danielle ever saw it, I called the police station working on the case. The detective I spoke to said he knew the roommate had sent out those letters, but he didn’t feel Zara was a missing person. She has a history of just taking off and disappearing for weeks at a time, and there was no indication of foul play. Her car was never found. They assume she just took off.”

  “Would you be opposed to me calling the roommate?” Danielle asked.

  “Do you think that would be fair to Zara if she wants to just disappear?” Walt asked.

  “I’m not going to tell her Zara is here. I’m just going to say I happened to see her flyer, and I was curious about her and wondered why she thought Zara might be heading to Frederickport.”

  “You can try, but I doubt you’ll learn anything,” the chief said.

  Thirty-Two

  Not long after Danielle and Walt’s elopement, Danielle had checked with the city to see if she would be able to build a garage where the carriage house had once stood. After they told her it would be possible, she had hired a builder to construct a two-car garage. While she had used Bill Jones for remodeling the attic, she felt she needed a licensed general contractor more familiar with new construction to build the garage.

  They had it completed within three months. While Walt routinely parked his Packard in the garage, Danielle often forgot to turn down the alley and inevitably ended up parking alongside the house, as she had become used to doing since moving into Marlow House.

  She pulled up along the side of the house after returning from the police station. As soon as she turned off the engine, she glanced up in her rearview mirror and spied Lily coming her way.

  “Where have you been?” Lily asked when Danielle got out of the car. “I called, but you didn’t answer.”

  “I’m sorry, Lily, I turned off my phone.”
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  “I hate when you do that,” Lily grumbled and then looked to Walt, who was walking around the car toward them. “Hi, Walt.”

  “Lily, what’s so urgent?” Walt asked.

  “Well,” Lily said with a sigh, taking a moment to look him up and down, “I could use some of your magical powers.”

  Walt arched his brow. “Magical powers?”

  “Sure. I have to get the house clean for the open house tomorrow. Maybe you can stop over and do that thing you do.” Lily grinned.

  “Walt is not going over and cleaning your house,” Danielle said.

  Lily wrinkled her nose. “You’re so selfish. It’s not like he has to actually touch anything.”

  Walt laughed.

  “I suppose that’s a no.” She sighed dramatically and then turned back to Danielle. “Actually, the real reason I’m here, I wanted a head count. Chris said his uncles are coming with him, but I haven’t heard for sure about the Bishops.”

  “According to Noah, they have something else planned.”

  “I suppose it’s not a big deal if they decide to change their minds and come.” Lily grinned. “I have to admit I’m excited. This is our first real party at our house since we got married.”

  “Is there anything else you want us to bring?” Danielle asked.

  Lily shook her head. “I can’t think of anything.”

  After Lily left a few minutes later, Walt and Danielle walked into the house. Danielle tossed her purse on the counter while Walt closed the door behind him.

  “I’m going to call her,” Danielle abruptly announced.

  “The roommate?” Walt asked.

  “Yes. Ever since we left the chief’s office, it has been bugging me. I need to know more. Who are these people staying under our roof, and why is Zara hiding from her roommate? But I think I’m going to make the call from my bedroom so I can lock the door and one of them doesn’t walk in on me when I’m on the phone.

  Danielle sat at her dressing table in her bedroom and opened her purse. She removed the copy of the letter the chief had received regarding the missing woman and reread it. After a few minutes of contemplation, she retrieved her cellphone and then tossed her purse on the floor.

  A moment later she dialed the roommate’s number.

  “Hello,” came a woman’s voice.

  “Hello, is this Corky Summers?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes, it is. Who is this?”

  “You don’t know me, but I’m calling about the missing person bulletin you sent to the Frederickport police station.”

  “What do you want?” Corky demanded.

  “I…umm…I was under the impression you were looking for Zara Leighton and—”

  “What do you know about her? Do you know what happened?”

  “No. I was just curious why you happened to send one of your fliers to Frederickport.”

  “Do you have any information on Zara?” the woman demanded.

  “No, but if I happen to see her—”

  “You won’t.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I told them, and they wouldn’t listen to me. No one would listen.”

  Danielle frowned at the phone. It sounded like the person was crying. “Are you okay?”

  “No! I am not okay. My friend is dead. Someone murdered her and no one cares. I’m sick of you reporters calling me. If you would have done your job and actually run a real story on her when she vanished, maybe she wouldn’t be dead now. Unless you know something to help find her killer, don’t call me again!” The line when dead.

  Danielle stared blankly at the phone in her hand. Setting it on the vanity, she tried to comprehend what Corky had just told her when she heard footsteps overhead. She glanced up to the ceiling. Walt was in his room. Danielle stood up and headed for her closet.

  “Hey, Walt,” Danielle said as she peeked into his room from the secret passage.

  He sat at his desk, working on the computer. He glanced over to Danielle and smiled. “Did you talk to her roommate?”

  “That’s why I’m up here. My laptop’s in the parlor, and I really don’t want to use it down there. Can I borrow your computer for a minute?”

  “Sure. What’s going on?” Walt stood up and moved out of the way so Danielle could sit down at his desk.

  “Zara Leighton is dead.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said too.” Danielle sat down in front of Walt’s computer. “I talked to the roommate—Corky Summers. For some reason she thought I was a reporter, and she got pretty upset, told me to stop calling her. The only thing I got out of her was that Zara was dead. She hung up on me.”

  “Why does she think she’s dead?” Walt asked.

  “I have no clue. That’s why I want to use your computer and see if I can find anything about her online.”

  Walt stood behind Danielle and watched her fingers quickly dance over the keyboard as she searched for information. After a moment he walked over to a wingback chair and sat down, waiting for Danielle to complete her search.

  Five minutes later Danielle muttered, “She’s dead alright.”

  Walt stood up and walked to the desk. Standing behind Danielle, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down at the computer monitor. “What did you find?”

  “A news article, posted today,” Danielle explained, her attention still focused on what she had pulled up on the monitor. “According to the article, her body was found a couple of days ago, in a freezer in a storage unit in Fullerton, California. But they just made the identification this morning. Obviously her poor roommate just found out. No wonder she was so upset.”

  “Do they know how long she’s been dead?” Walt asked.

  Danielle shook her head. “Not really. According to the article, she was stored in a freezer. I imagine that would make it more difficult to determine the exact time of death if the body was frozen for who knows how long. At least it was frozen until the freezer stopped working after a rat or something decided to chew through the cord. And then the body started to thaw and—”

  “The smell.” Walt cringed.

  Danielle nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Whose freezer was it?”

  “That’s what makes it such a mystery. The guy who rented the storage unit died around the same time Zara went missing. According to the article, the roommate reported her missing the first of June, but she hadn’t actually seen Zara for a couple of weeks. She assumed she was on some photo assignment, but when she went into her room for something and found her cameras still there, along with her suitcase, she began to worry.”

  “Why didn’t the chief know her body was found? I thought he called the police station after he received the report,” he asked.

  “Because they just positively identified her body this morning. Until then, they didn’t know who it was.”

  “If Zara Leighton—the missing person—is who they found in the freezer—just who is Zara Bishop, who looks just like her, has the same name and tattoo, and who is married to a man who is using an alias? Plus, the fact he lived in the same town as the missing woman.”

  Danielle stood up abruptly. “I think I know.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. And I’m going to find out if I’m right.” Danielle started toward the secret passage.

  “Should I come with you?” Walt asked.

  Danielle paused and looked back at Walt. “Hmm, yeah, it might be a good idea. I might need some of your—magical powers—as Lily calls them.”

  “I’ll meet you by their room.” Walt headed for the door leading to the stairwell to the second floor, while Danielle took the hidden stairs to her room. A few minutes later she met Walt in front of the Bishops’ door. Or was it the Churches’?

  Danielle knocked on the door. There was no reply. She knocked again. The door opened just a few inches.

  “Yes?” Noah peeked out.

  “We need to speak to you and Zara,” Danielle told him. Walt stood at h
er side.

  “This isn’t a good time. Zara is taking a nap.”

  “I’m afraid Zara is going to have to wake up,” Danielle snapped.

  “Please, Danielle, this really is not a good time,” Noah said.

  “You can either let me in, or wait for the police chief to arrive, because if you don’t let Walt and me in your room, that’s who I am calling, Noah Church.”

  Noah stared at Danielle through the small opening for a moment and then reluctantly opened the door.

  Zara stood by the window, her attention on Walt and Danielle.

  Danielle walked into the room, her eyes meeting Zara’s. “Do you always take your naps standing by the window?”

  “What do you want?” Zara asked.

  Danielle glanced back to Walt, who stood just inside the room, the door still ajar. “Walt, you’d better shut the door all the way. I don’t think we want anyone else to hear this.”

  With a nod Walt shut the door, and Danielle turned to face Zara.

  Thirty-Three

  A combination of evergreen, fresh-brewed coffee, and homemade biscuits about to come out of the oven filled the air. It was Christmas Eve. Over her leggings and long-sleeved sweater, Danielle wore her vintage Christmas apron, its appliqué Santa yellowed with age, as she lined several wicker baskets with clean linen napkins for the biscuits.

  “Something smells good,” Simon said when he entered the kitchen.

  “Breakfast is about ready,” Danielle told him. “Please go on into the dining room. Coffee’s on the table.”

  Simon took Danielle’s advice and was surprised to find not just Chris sitting at the table with Loyd and Walt, but Lily and Ian from across the street.