Maybelle's Affair

by Terri Reid

  Harry, sitting in his recliner, turned to them and smiled sadly. “Well, you might as well come in,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Actually,” Dave said, walking over to Harry. “I’m a little surprised to find you still at home.”

  “Why? What happened?” Harry asked, sitting forward in his chair.

  “We discovered that the men at the investor’s group were poisoning the coffee they’d been giving you,” Mary said, coming across the room with Bradley and sitting on the couch across from Harry. “It was laced with lead acetate.”

  “Why in the hell would they do that?” Harry asked. “They didn’t get to keep any of my investments. I made damn well sure of that.”

  “The life insurance policies,” Dave said, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms over his chest. “They told you it was for death benefits, but each policy was worth at least five hundred thousand dollars. That’s a lot of reasons for them to want you guys dead.”

  Harry sighed. “Just because we’re old, did they think we were disposable?” he asked.

  “If they did,” Bradley said. “They don’t anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” Harry asked.

  “Do you remember Stanley Wagner?” Bradley asked.

  Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah, good old Stanley,” he said. “We go way back.”

  “Well, when he heard what had happened, he insisted that we let him go undercover,” Bradley explained.

  Harry laughed. “Well, if I know Stanley, he sure didn’t make it easy on those guys, undercover or not.”

  “You’re right,” Mary replied. “He not only captured Chuck confessing to the crime, but he also beat the tar out of Chuck when he tried to shoot Vanessa.”

  “That cute, little receptionist?” Harry said. “Now why in the world would they want to hurt her too?”

  “Because she was in the way,” Dave replied. “That’s just the way they operated. But, don’t worry, Chuck and Joe are headed for a long, long time behind bars.”

  “And you,” Mary said. “Are headed for a lovely reunion with Sophie.”

  Harry shook his head. “How? Where?” he asked.

  “Harry, look around the room,” Mary said. “Look for a bright light.”

  He shrugged. “I know this house inside and out, and there’s no bright light,” he said.

  “Well, it’s probably a recent addition,” Dave replied with a smile. “Give it a chance.”

  Harry turned his head, then his eyes widened, and he got out of his recliner to walk toward the other side of the room. “It’s really there. And it is bright,” he said, his voice filled with awe.

  “Go ahead and walk towards it, Harry,” she said. “Look into it; it won’t hurt your eyes.”

  “Sophie!” Harry exclaimed, his voice filled with emotion. “Oh, Sophie, I’ve missed you so much.”

  He hurried toward the end of the room and then, suddenly, he was gone.

  Mary wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Get’s you every time, doesn’t it?” Dave asked.

  She nodded, her eyes still brimming with tears. “Yes, it does,” she whispered. “Harry’s gone home.”

  Chapter Sixty-one

  A week later, Mary looked anxiously at the clock and then looked back down at the paperwork on the kitchen counter. An offer. They had received an offer on their house, and it wasn’t even on the market yet. Bradley’s friend, Nate Graham, a real estate agent, knew they were going to be selling in the future and had a couple who were looking for just what their home had to offer. But the couple needed to close on the house sooner than later, and they wanted an answer before the close of business that day.

  “They’re offering above market price for your house,” Nate had said after he handed her the papers. “These kinds of offers don’t come along every day.”

  Mary had nodded, taken the papers, closed the door behind him and sighed. “Yeah, but my new house is filled with ghosts,” she muttered.

  Bradley had responded to her text and was on his way home. But really, what could they do? Even if the ghosts only stayed in the parlor, there was no guaranteeing that they would all be well behaved. She didn’t want Clarissa traumatized by angry specters.

  Clarissa jogged down the stairs and walked over to her mother. “You look freaked out,” she said, as she passed Mary and opened the refrigerator to grab a snack.

  “Thanks,” Mary replied. “I was hoping I only looked mildly concerned.”

  Clarissa took a bite of the cheese stick and shook her head. “No, your eyes are too wild for mildly concerned,” she replied.

  Mary turned and looked into the glass panels of the kitchen cabinets to get a look at her eyes. “What?” she asked, staring at herself. “My eyes don’t look wild.”

  Clarissa giggled. “They do now,” she teased.

  Mary turned to her daughter and shook her head. “You are not helping matters at all,” she replied.

  “Do you need a cheese stick?” Clarissa offered, her hand on the refrigerator door.

  Mary nodded. “Yes, I think I do,” she said. “Protein. That’s exactly what I need.”

  Clarissa opened the refrigerator, reached into it and pulled another item out of it. She closed the door and walked over to Mary. “Here,” she said, dropping it in Mary’s hand.

  Mary looked down at the dark, chocolate candy bar in amazement. “How did you know?” she asked, ripping off the wrapper and taking a bite.

  Clarissa shrugged. “Well, there was already a can of diet soda on the counter, so I knew you didn’t need that,” she explained. “Dark chocolate is usually the next on the list.” She grinned up at her mother. “And I’m sure it has protein in it.”

  Mary smiled back at her daughter. “I’m sure it does too,” she replied.

  “So,” Clarissa began, pulling out a chair and slipping onto it. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Mary’s heart melted seeing Clarissa’s concern, she nodded and sat down next to the little girl. “We got an offer on the house,” she said.

  “Wow! I didn’t know we were even selling it yet,” Clarissa responded.

  Mary shook her head. “We weren’t,” Mary replied. “But Mr. Graham, daddy’s friend, had some clients in town looking for a house just like ours, so he showed them our house, and they fell in love with it.”

  “Of course, they did,” Clarissa said, matter-of-factly. “It’s a cool house.”

  Mary reached over and stroked her daughter’s head. “Yes, it is,” she agreed. “It’s a very cool house.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” Clarissa asked.

  “I’m not sure we’re ready to move,” Mary replied. “There’s so much to do. There are so many things I haven’t even thought about. The other house is just not ready…”

  “So, don’t move,” Clarissa said with a shrug, then she took another bite of her cheese stick.

  “But this is a very good offer on the house,” Mary said. “Probably better than it should be. They really want our house.”

  “Are they nice people?” Clarissa asked.

  Mary nodded. “They seem very nice.”

  “Okay, then you can sell them the house,” she replied. “Especially if they’re nice. Our house needs nice people in it.”

  “But the other house isn’t ready yet,” Mary said with a sigh.

  “So, it’s a big house,” Clarissa said. “Anything we don’t want to have in the house, we can move to a storage place, right?”

  Mary’s eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. “Clarissa, you’re a genius,” she said. “Yes, we could.” Then she stopped and frowned as she considered her plan. “Well, maybe we can’t.”

  “But maybe you could,” Clarissa inserted with a smile.

  Mary looked down at Clarissa, put her hands on either side of Clarissa’s head and bent down and kissed her forehead. “Yes, maybe we could,” she agreed.

  Chapter Sixty-two

  Sun was shining through
the beveled, cut glass windows into the living room of the Finders mansion, creating a pattern of diamonds on the wood floor. Mary stepped into the room, looked around, and smiled. With the new coat of white paint, the room was warm and inviting. She could make this place a home, she was sure of it.

  Bradley walked in behind her. “So?” he asked. “What do you think?”

  “It looks so great,” she replied. “Thank you for getting it done.”

  “Well, you know, I had help,” he said with a smile.

  “I think Stanley was more of a director than a painter this time,” Mary replied.

  Bradley chuckled. “Luckily, Dave and Alex both knew their way around a paint brush,” he said. “And, with Stanley there to point out any missed spots, we were set.”

  They heard the front door open and hurried to the lobby to greet Dave.

  “Hi, thanks for coming,” Mary said.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Dave said. “I had to get the paint out of my beard.”

  Alex walked in just behind Dave. “Don’t believe a word he says,” he immediately stated. “It’s not my fault he had paint in his beard.”

  “I didn’t even blame you,” Dave replied. “However, now that you mention it…”

  “So, it’s nearly nine,” Mary interrupted. “Should we go into the parlor?”

  Alex turned to her and eyed her cautiously. “You know those are very infamous words,” he said. “Accompanied by said the spider to the fly.”

  Mary grinned and nodded. “I know,” she said, her voice holding a tone of mystery. “Shall we go?”

  “What,” Alex began.

  “Chicken?” Dave asked.

  Alex sighed. “Fine, let’s go,” he acquiesced.

  They all entered the parlor and took their place in the front of the room, next to the door that led to the inner office. Mary looked up at the old schoolhouse clock on the wall and watched the second hand click towards the twelve. “In, three, two, one. Okay, showtime.”

  Mary reached over, took Bradley’s hand in hers and they both watched as the room slowly filled with the spirits of the people who had been cheated by Maybelle’s father.

  “Wow,” Bradley whispered, looking at the spirits in the death state. “I’m not sure I wanted to see this.”

  Dave nodded. “Yeah, they look pretty rough.”

  “What are we looking at?” Alex asked.

  “A room full of dead people,” Dave replied, hiding his smile when Alex’s eyes widened.

  “What the hell?” Alex whispered. “Why am I here?”

  “Because you’re the DA,” Mary whispered to him. “You’re official.”

  “But I’m not dead,” he replied.

  “I have a plan,” she said.

  Alex shook his head. “Come into the parlor, Alex,” he muttered. “It’ll be fine, Alex.”

  “Stop whining,” Dave chuckled. “And just be grateful you can’t see some of these folks.”

  Alex slowly looked around the empty room, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. “Yeah, that didn’t help.”

  “Excuse me,” Mary announced to the room. She was grateful that she got their attention. “I have an announcement to make about the offices of Augustus Finders.”

  There was a general murmur of anger throughout the room at the mention of his name, but Mary decided to continue. “What you might not realize is that Augustus no longer owns this house,” she said. “My husband, Bradley, and I just bought it.”

  The spirits looked from Mary to Bradley and frowned.

  “They don’t like me,” Bradley whispered.

  Mary leaned against him. “Sure, they do,” she said. “It’s just early in the morning.”

  She smiled at the spirits. “And, I realize that you have been waiting a long time to see Augustus and have your accounts reconciled with him,” she continued.

  The dead businessman with the cigar in his mouth took the cigar out and pointed it at her. “Is this some kind of trick?” he asked. “Are you one of Augustus’ floozies?”

  “I beg your pardon,” Mary exclaimed. “I have never been a floozie in my entire life.”

  “You trying to keep us away from our money?” a dead farmer who had died in a farming accident asked.

  “I worked hard for my money!” an elderly woman who looked like she had drowned shouted. “I’m entitled to every penny!”

  “This is not going as well as I thought it would,” Mary said softly.

  Dave stepped forward and lifted his hands in a placating manner. “Folks, folks,” he said. “We all know that you got cheated. And we are on your side. As a matter of fact, we have the Stephenson County District Attorney, Alex Boettcher here with us, to assure you that your claims will be handled in a legal and professional manner.”

  Dave looked over at Alex and motion with his head that he should say something.

  “Oh, er, yes,” Alex stammered. “We are going to make sure that you get everything that’s coming to you.”

  “What! Another kick in the pants?” a young gentleman with a cracked skull shouted. “Finders had all the politicians in his back pocket.”

  Suddenly a book from one of the shelves sailed across the room at Alex. He ducked just in time, and it thumped against the wall.

  “Hey, knock it off,” he ordered the empty room before him. “You mess with me, I’ll haul your butts to jail.”

  Mary gasped in horror as all of the spirits in the room stood up and grabbed books from the bookcase. “Run, Alex,” she screamed.

  “This way,” Bradley added, opening the door to the inner office.

  The barrage of books sailed through the air, only one making contact with Alex’s head before Bradley was able to safely shut the door and listen to dozens of books hit the other side.

  Mary sighed. “Well, that went well, don’t you think?” she asked. “We opened up the lines of communication.”

  Alex shook his head. “Mary, that wasn’t communication,” he said. “A few minutes more and it would have been a lynching.”

  Dave shrugged. “I don’t know,” he teased. “I had a good time.”

  “So, what do we do now?” Bradley asked.

  Chapter Sixty-three

  “I have a suggestion,” Gilbert said, as he appeared in front of them with Maybelle at his side. “Let me talk to them.”

  Maybelle wrapped her arm through his arm and looked up at him. “Let us talk to them,” she said. “This was my father’s problem, so I need to be part of the solution.”

  “Are you sure?” Mary asked.

  “Are we sure about what?” Alex asked.

  “Maybelle and Gilbert are offering to go talk to the ghosts in the other room,” Dave explained softly to Alex.

  “There are more ghosts in this room?” Alex asked, looking around and covering his head with his arms.

  “Friendly ghosts,” Dave said. “No one is going to whip a book at you in here.”

  “Really?” Maybelle asked. “They threw books at him?”

  “Won’t be the first time,” Dave teased. “But with them riled up like that, do you really think you should venture in there.”

  Gilbert shrugged. “What can they do to us?” he asked, winking at Maybelle. “Throwing books certainly won’t work with us. They’ll just go through us.”

  “That’s true,” Mary said.

  “Besides, I’ve been working on something for a while,” he said. “And I think it just might work.” He looked at Dave and smiled. “Did you talk to her?”

  Dave nodded. “Yes, I did,” he said. “And she would be thrilled to do it.”

  Mary and Bradley looked from Dave to Gilbert. “What?” Mary asked.

  Gilbert smiled at her. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to watch and find out.”

  He turned to Maybelle. “Ready?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she replied, and they slipped through the door into the parlor.

  Bradley, with his hand in Mary’s, cracked open the door and peek
ed into the parlor. The ghosts in the room were all watching Maybelle with a kind of reverence.

  “It looks like they’ve quieted down,” Bradley said, opening the door wider so they could all see.

  “You have to tell me what’s up,” Alex said to Dave. “Cause all I’m looking at is an empty room.”

  “Good morning,” Maybelle said to the ghosts in the parlor. “I do apologize for making you wait for so long.”

  “She’s apologizing for the wait,” Dave whispered to Alex.

  “First, I need to be completely honest with you,” Maybelle continued. “My father was not an honest man. I believe he swindled you out of your hard-earned money.”

  There was a collective gasp in the room.

  “I only learned about it a year or so ago,” she explained. “And I’ve been trying to find some way to return your money to you through your family members.”

  The Rudds stepped forward and nodded. “That’s true,” Mr. Rudd said. “My granddaughter just told me that her family received money from the Finders estate. And they offered her a job too.”

  Mary turned to Dave. “That was who you were talking to, Daphne?” she asked.

  Dave nodded. “Gilbert was impressed with her and thought she might be helpful in processing the flow of money back to the relatives,” he said.

  “She would be great,” Mary said. “If we only knew who to give it to.”

  Gilbert stepped forward. “As you know, I worked with Mr. Finders,” Gilbert said. “And I need to confess, that although I did not approve of what he was doing, I didn’t stop him either.”

  Maybelle placed her hand on Gilbert’s shoulder and then looked out at the crowd. “Because he was protecting me,” she said. “My father threatened to destroy my reputation if Gilbert did not help him.”

  “But what I have done,” Gilbert said, “in the years since Mr. Finders died, was to look up every account and follow each of your family lines. So, now, I have an account book with the names of all of the family members who should receive a share of the money you invested.”

  “He did what?” Mary exclaimed.

  “What?” Alex asked. “What?”