by Bobbi Holmes
Kelly placed her cup on the table, reached out, and patted Joe’s hand. “I think they are pretty flexible. After all, now that Dad’s retired, I kinda figure their schedule is open to walk his only daughter down the aisle.” After the words left Kelly’s mouth, she remembered how critical she had been of Danielle asking the chief to walk her down the aisle, since she had no father. Kelly had said something snarky about why did she need a man to give her away. Now, when considering her own wedding and wanting her own father to walk her down the aisle, Kelly felt a wave of guilt. She realized in that moment, her father walking her down the aisle had nothing to do with him giving her away—despite the fact that phrase was often attached to the tradition.
“Kelly?” Joe said for the second time. He had just asked her a question, yet she had not responded.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kelly said with a blush.
“You zoned out for a minute there,” Joe teased. “I was saying, not only do we need to set the date, I have to decide who I want to ask to be my best man. Have you decided who you want to ask to be your maid of honor?”
Kelly let out a sigh and sat back in her chair, looking across the table to Joe. “I wish I had a sister; it would make it so much easier.”
“You have a sister, sort of,” Joe reminded her.
“I know. You’re thinking of Lily.”
“You were in her wedding,” Joe said. “And now that she’s married to your brother, she’s the closest thing you have to a sister.”
“You know what really bothers me?” Kelly asked.
“What?”
“I don’t really have a close girlfriend to ask. Heck, I imagine Lily would have asked Danielle to be her maid of honor if it wouldn’t have hurt Laura’s feelings. But I don’t even have a best friend here to ask.”
Joe studied Kelly a moment before asking, “Do you regret not having the wedding in your hometown?”
Kelly shrugged. “No. Not really. Fact is, I haven’t lived there for years. And there’s no one I knew in Portland I feel especially close to. Not close enough to ask to be in my wedding. So, tell me, have you decided on a best man?”
“I’m leaning more and more to Brian.”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Really? I thought you’d ask your brother-in-law.”
“I’m fond of Craig. I consider him a good friend. And I plan to ask him to be one of my groomsmen, especially since you’re asking my sister to be a bridesmaid.” Joe paused a moment and then asked, “Or are you still planning to ask her?”
Kelly nodded. “Of course, I am. So why Brian?”
Joe shrugged. “I guess when I think about it, we work together every day, have each other’s backs. I figure Brian is one of my closest guy friends.”
“I wonder if he’ll bring someone to the wedding,” Kelly asked.
“Hey, I know that look,” Joe teased.
“What look?” Kelly asked with faux innocence.
“No more playing matchmaker with Brian, remember?”
Kelly shrugged. “Maybe the last one didn’t work out. But matchmaking at weddings always has a high success rate.”
Joe laughed. “You mean in the movies. I don’t think that happens in real life.”
Kelly flashed Joe a smile. “We could test the theory.”
“No. Promise me, no orchestrating wedding matchups. If Brian wants to bring a date, he can. If he wants to go solo, then he can do that too.”
“Good morning,” a female voice interrupted the conversation. Joe and Kelly looked up to see Pearl Huckabee walking by, en route to an empty table.
“Good morning, Mrs. Huckabee,” Joe greeted her.
Kelly offered a greeting, but right as Pearl Huckabee continued to the table, Kelly called out to her.
“Yes?” Pearl asked.
“Mrs. Huckabee, can I ask you a question?” Kelly asked.
Pearl returned to the table and looked at Kelly. “What is that?”
“We were talking to Carla, the waitress here,” Kelly began.
“Yes, I know who Carla is,” Pearl said.
“Carla told us about something strange that happened here last night. She said you might have seen it,” Kelly said.
Pearl stared at Kelly and then asked, “Are you talking about the floating plate?”
Nine
“They accepted your offer,” Ray told Adam on the phone Tuesday morning. “I’ll send over the signed contract, and we can open escrow.”
Adam and Ray exchanged a few more words, said goodbye, and Adam hung up the phone. With a sigh, Adam leaned back in his office chair and stared at the phone. He sat alone in silence for a few minutes before a familiar voice called out from the doorway, “What happened, did you lose your best friend?”
Adam glanced up and watched as his handyman and longtime friend, Bill Jones, walked into the office. While they were the same age, Bill always looked older because of his years of smoking and careless eating habits. He wore denims, a faded blue work shirt, and work boots.
What Adam and Bill didn’t see, a second presence entered the room at the same time—Marie Nichols, the spirit of Adam’s deceased grandmother.
“I have to agree with Bill.” Marie flashed the handyman a look of disdain. “As much as it pains me—but you do look depressed. And you should be looking happy. You and Melony are getting married. I hope nothing is wrong between you two.”
“I wouldn’t call him my best friend,” Adam muttered under his breath, thinking of how Ian might react when hearing the news.
“I have something that might cheer you up. A new listing.” Bill took a seat in front of Adam’s desk.
“Oh yeah? Whose?” Adam asked.
“My nephew, Cory. He’s selling his house.”
Adam arched his brow. “Really?” By Bill’s smile, Adam wondered briefly if the nephew intended to share some proceeds with his uncle, considering the house had originally belonged to Bill’s parents, and the bulk of his parents’ estate had gone to Bill’s troubled sister and then to her only son.
“Yeah. I convinced him he needs to get away from here. Get some help. Living in that house is not healthy for him, and the money from the sale will support him while he gets things worked out.”
I guess that means he isn’t sharing, Adam said to himself. Aloud he asked, “Is he waiting for the house to sell before leaving?”
“He’s already gone. I have a cousin in California who agreed to take him in for a while and get him hooked up with a job and some counseling. He’s told some pretty far-out stories about what happened up on that mountain when he followed Marlow and the others up there.”
“Does much need to be done to the house?” Adam asked.
“Not really. I’m having someone give it a good cleaning, and then you can go over there, take pictures, and get it on the market. So, tell me, why do you look so bummed?” Bill asked.
“I had an accepted offer.”
“Well, damn, if an accepted offer puts that expression on your face, maybe I’ll take Cory’s listing somewhere else, to cheer you up,” Bill teased. He absently fished a cigarette from his shirt pocket yet returned it a moment later when Adam flashed him a disapproving scowl.
“It was the Marymoor property,” Adam explained.
Bill’s eyes widened. “You found a buyer for Marymoor?”
“Yep.” Adam leaned back in his desk chair.
“Oh dear. Does this mean Ian’s father bought it?” Marie muttered before vanishing.
“Damn, who did you get to buy that place? Do they know its history?” Bill asked.
“They’re from out of town. I told them everything about it. But they weren’t too concerned.”
Bill shrugged. “Well, if it wasn’t for how that place creeps me out, I’d say it’s a nice piece of real estate. Level, good neighborhood, nice views. But there’s something about it that makes my skin crawl. After Dad’s experience working over there, he wouldn’t even drive down that street again.”
Drawing the curtai
n to one side, Pearl Huckabee peered out her upstairs bedroom window, looking down at the sidewalk below. Walking past her house was her neighbor to the south, Heather Donovan. The young woman dressed peculiar, she thought, today wearing a long black skirt with a dark blouse, and her jet-black hair pulled up in a messy knot atop her head. It certainly was not a summery dress, Pearl thought. Heather carried something in her hands—a small package. Pearl continued to watch as Heather entered the side yard of her neighbor to the north, the Marlows.
“Bread delivery!” Heather announced when she walked into the Marlows’ kitchen. Walt and Danielle sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Already dressed for the day, Walt in slacks and a button-up linen shirt, while Danielle wore jeans and a summery blouse.
“Morning, Heather,” Walt said, giving her a brief salute with his cup of coffee before taking a sip.
“Is that your sourdough bread?” Danielle asked with a smile.
“Yes. I finally have this thing down. I make four loaves at a time. It’s easier to manage Harvey.” Heather set the loaf of bread on the table next to Danielle.
“Harvey?” Walt frowned.
“That’s what she named her sourdough starter,” Danielle said with a giggle.
“Of course, it takes all evening, since I can only bake one loaf at a time,” Heather explained as she walked to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee.
“What are you going to do with four loaves of bread?” Danielle picked up the loaf of bread. Heather had wrapped it in beeswax paper instead of plastic wrap. She gave it a sniff.
“Giving some away.” Heather brought her cup of coffee to the table and sat down.
“I love homemade sourdough. Thanks.” Danielle set the loaf of bread back on the table.
“Why aren’t you at work?” Walt asked.
“Chris gave me the morning off since I worked a few hours Sunday. I’m going in the office after I have lunch with Brian.”
Danielle grinned. “Aww… where is he taking you?”
“My house. I really can’t be seen with him.” Heather sipped her coffee.
The next moment, Marie Nichols appeared in the empty seat at the table. Her abrupt appearance startled Heather, making her spill some of her coffee. Heather grumbled, but silently wiped up her spill with a nearby napkin.
“Good morning, everyone!” Marie chirped.
“Hey, Marie, where have you been?” Danielle asked.
“I just came from Adam’s office,” Marie explained.
“We saw Adam and Melony last night at Pier Café,” Walt told her.
“He said he had a buyer for the Marymoor property, but he wouldn’t tell us who it was,” Danielle said.
“Who would buy that place?” Heather asked with a shudder.
They all looked at Marie for an answer.
Marie considered the question for a moment. If she were to tell what she knew, there was no doubt Danielle would tell Lily. And once Lily knew, she would tell Ian, who would feel compelled to talk to his father about the property, and his father would believe Adam had told him.
Marie smiled weakly and said, “I have no idea. But what do you think of their engagement?”
Danielle frowned. “Whose engagement?”
“Why, Adam and Melony’s, of course. Didn’t they tell you?” Marie asked.
After they finished breakfast at Pier Café, Kelly dropped Joe off at work. At the station, he found Brian sitting in the chief’s office, chatting.
“Morning,” the chief greeted when Joe entered the office.
“How’s it going today?” Joe asked.
The chief motioned to the empty chair for Joe to sit down. “Kind of slow.”
“Slow is good.” Joe sat down in the chair.
They chatted about work for a few minutes before the conversation drifted to a discussion of Joe’s breakfast with Kelly and what Carla and then Pearl had told them. When Joe finished his story, the chief and Brian exchanged quick glances, each thinking the same thing—Walt had saved the plate from crashing to the floor.
“Pearl seems to feel it was some sort of magic trick,” Joe continued. “But from what Carla told us, the entire thing freaked her out. I keep trying to figure out what really happened, because we all know a plate doesn’t float and move around on its own. And when you drop something, it falls unless something stops it.”
“Maybe it was a magic trick,” Brian suggested. The corner of the chief’s mouth twitched upwards in response as he glanced from Brian to Joe.
“A magic trick?” Joe frowned.
Brian shrugged. “Had to be. Unless plates really fly. You say Marlow was there, and we all know he dabbles in magic. Well, sleight of hand. Not real magic. No such thing as magic.” The chief rolled his eyes at Brian’s comment.
“You’re suggesting what Carla and Pearl claim happened was really some sleight-of-hand trick by Marlow?” Joe asked.
“Do you have any other plausible explanation for what they saw?” Brian asked.
“If both Pearl and Carla hadn’t told us the same story, I would assume they simply imagined the whole thing. But I don’t see Pearl and Carla as being two friends who made up a story to punk Kelly and me. That would be more implausible than a floating plate. I didn’t ask where Marlow was sitting when all this happened. I suppose it’s possible.” Joe shrugged and stood up.
When Joe left the office a few minutes later, the chief looked at Brian and chuckled. “Never a dull day.”
“I know Walt was just trying to help, but sometimes he just needs to let the dishes fall,” Brian said.
Brian parked his car behind Heather’s house and entered through the back gate. He found her in the kitchen, cutting slices of homemade sourdough bread.
“Why don’t you let me take you out for lunch?” Brian asked as he walked into the kitchen. He stood behind Heather as she sliced bread. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a quick hug and kiss on her cheek.
“Careful, I have a knife,” she teased before turning her face to him and placing a quick kiss on his lips.
“Seriously, I could take you somewhere nice.” Brian released her and stood by the counter, watching her prepare lunch.
“You don’t like my cooking?”
“I think I’m addicted to your damn bread, and if I’m not careful, I won’t be able to fit in my uniform. But seriously, Heather, we need to step out of the closet.”
“Come on, isn’t it fun sneaking around?” Heather teased.
Ten minutes later, they sat on her back patio, each with a plate of food and a glass of iced tea. Brian told her Joe’s story about falling plates at the diner, and Heather told Brian about Adam making an offer on the Marymoor property.
“I heard this morning at the office that there was an accepted offer on that property,” Brian told her.
“I wonder if it was Adam’s buyer.”
“So that place is really haunted?” Brian asked.
“Oh yeah, in a creepy Friday the Thirteenth, Stephen King sort of way.” She then told Brian what Adam and Melony had experienced at the property, from what Danielle had told her.
“Wow.”
Heather frowned. “I wonder who the buyer is.”
“I have no idea. One of the guys who works over at the city office stopped in to talk to the chief about something and mentioned it went under contract,” Brian said.
“We asked Marie if she knew who Adam’s client was. She claims she doesn’t know, but I think she does.” Heather took a sip of her iced tea.
About to take a bite of his sandwich, Brian paused and looked up at Heather. “Why would Marie know that?”
Heather shrugged. “Marie is always hanging out at Adam’s office—or at his house—or wherever he is.”
“That’s rather creepy,” Brian said. “Not sure how I’d like my grandma stalking me from the grave.”
Heather grinned. “Fortunately for you, if your grandma decided to stalk you, I would probably see her and could give you the heads
-up.”
Brian frowned and shook his head before taking another bite of his sandwich.
“What?” Heather asked.
“I don’t know, I just wonder what Adam would think if he knew his grandma was always hanging around—eavesdropping.”
Heather shrugged. “They were close.”
“I know but…”
Heather laughed. “I don’t imagine Marie hangs around when he and Mel are getting busy.”
Brian scowled. “Damn, I didn’t even consider that.”
“Oh, and you know what else Marie said? Adam and Mel got engaged. I knew it all along! I told Danielle and Lily I thought Adam was going to ask Mel to get married when I saw him take the Winterborne ring out of the bank. But they thought Adam and Mel were just taking the ring to a buyer. Looks like I was right all along. I guess they didn’t say anything to Danielle and Walt about their engagement when they saw them last night at Pier Café. So you probably shouldn’t say anything about the engagement until they announce it. The only reason we know about it is because Marie overheard Adam proposing.”
Ten
Four days later, on Saturday, Danielle and Walt decided to host a potluck barbecue at Marlow House. According to the weather reporter, afternoon temperatures in Frederickport would be just under seventy degrees, with clear skies, which Danielle deemed ideal weather for a September outdoor gathering. Since Lily’s and Ian’s families would arrive the next Friday and planned to stay for two weeks, Danielle figured this might be one of the last times of the season they could invite their friends over to Marlow House for outdoor entertaining.
Chris arrived first, a little before three p.m., to pick up Walt. Together, the two men drove to the meat market to buy steaks and seafood to cook on the grill. While they were at the store, Heather arrived with four loaves of sourdough bread she had baked the day before. After setting the bread on the kitchen counter, she pitched in to help Danielle prepare for the guests. Lily arrived a few minutes later with a large bowl of macaroni salad. Ian, Connor, and Sadie were still across the street and would arrive later, after Connor woke up from his nap.
