Dead Man Talking

by Jana DeLeon

  When she walked into the room, she came to an abrupt halt and stared. Sapphire was standing on her hospital bed, eyes closed, bent over at the waist with her hands on the bed, forming a perfect triangle. If the entire situation hadn’t sent anxiety coursing through her, Zoe would have taken a second or two to be impressed.

  “What in the world are you doing?” Zoe rushed over to the bed, ready to catch her aunt if she lost her balance and fell to the side. She just hoped it was the side of the bed she was on.

  Sapphire let out a deep breath, sank onto her knees, then opened her eyes and smiled at Zoe. “I was doing downward dog. I’ve been harping on you for years to take up yoga. You see what kind of shape I’m in. I’m going to live to be a hundred.”

  “I’m sure that’s true, but can you try not to give me a heart attack while doing it?”

  In one fluid move, Sapphire pulled her legs out from under her body and grabbed the remote to lift the upper body portion of the bed. Okay. Maybe when Zoe got back to LA she’d sign up for a class. It shouldn’t be hard to find one. Basically, all she had to do was throw a rock and she’d hit a building with a yoga studio.

  “How are things at the lighthouse?” Sapphire asked. “How are the cats?”

  “The kitchen is coming along and I checked out the rest of the remodeling last night. The master suite is to die for. If I could have food delivery up to the third floor, I’m not sure I’d ever leave.”

  Sapphire beamed. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? The view was always incredible, of course, looking out over the ocean, but now the inside matches the outside.”

  “Yes, and when I went up there last night after my shower, I met Cornelius.”

  “So you can see him! I knew you’d be able to.”

  Zoe frowned. “He said women could see him. Last time I checked, I had all the right plumbing.”

  “Some women can see him, but not all. And if he doesn’t want you to see him, you won’t. That silly Polly Crawford has a crush on him and is always dressing up when she makes an excuse to drop by, so he refuses to let her see him.”

  “Really? That’s interesting. Not the part about Polly—that’s just sad—but the other part. That some people can’t see him. I wonder why?”

  “Most of the local women who’ve been to the lighthouse since he showed up can see him just fine, but the tourists walk right by him. I think there’s something about being from Everlasting that makes it possible. Something inherited.”

  Zoe hesitated. “Magic?”

  “Maybe. What’s wrong with a little magic?”

  “If it produces talkative, half-dressed ghosts, then maybe a lot.”

  Sapphire smiled. “There is that.”

  “Cornelius told me his story, about his cousin and his wife. He said you checked on them for him.”

  “It’s the first thing I did after he told me the story. It took a bit to run them down. The older records aren’t online and since they’d left the area, I didn’t know where to start looking. A nice girl at the library who’s into genealogy helped me, and I found their deaths recorded in a church Bible that contained a family tree for all the founding members.”

  “The branch Cornelius and his cousin were on must have looked a bit odd, sharing a wife and all.”

  Sapphire frowned. “There was no mention of that in the book. It was a Bible, after all.”

  “And it might have gone up in flames if the truth was recorded?”

  “My guess is the entry was left sterile in order to protect the dignity of Cornelius.”

  “Oh. I can see that. So his story is true?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to be certain that I can trust what he says. I mean, if we’re going to go ahead and admit that ghosts exist, why do we have to assume that they leave all worldly emotions behind? I figure Cornelius can be mad or sad or happy or bored and if all that’s true, then he’s as capable as the living of lying or manipulating to get his way.”

  Sapphire stared at her for several seconds, then blinked. “That’s absolutely fascinating, and I’d never really considered it. You’re right, of course. Or at least, I think you are because it makes sense. But to address your original concern, I’ve never had any reason to believe Cornelius has lied to me and in all the time he’s been with me, he’s never given me any reason to suspect him of nefarious intent.”

  It was as good a guarantee as Zoe was going to get, so she’d have to take it. So would Dane, for that matter, because the ghost wasn’t going anywhere. Zoe took in a breath, trying to figure out how to broach the next subject with her aunt. She had narrowed it down to two different approaches when Sapphire squeezed her arm.

  “Just say it,” Sapphire said. “I’m a tough old broad. I don’t need protecting and I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Okay.” Zoe told Sapphire everything Cornelius had told her about the intruders. “I think the sleeping pill is probably affecting your memory as well as the fall. Those things are pretty potent.”

  “You’re probably right. I didn’t want to take them, but I was having so much trouble sleeping. And Dr. Prescott kept insisting that I had to do something, so I finally agreed to try them out. I’d only been taking them a couple nights. I will admit, I slept without stirring even a bit, but I don’t think I’ll be taking more of them.”

  “I think that’s probably a good idea, especially now.” Zoe then went on to describe Dane’s conversation with Sam and Monte. “Do you know the story about the magic emerald?”

  “Of course. And I’ve told it to you before.” Sapphire frowned. “If you didn’t automatically dismiss everything you can’t prove, you might have paid more attention.”

  “I’m a scientist,” Zoe said, the same tired argument popping out before she could stop it.

  “And yet the weather does unexpected things all the time, like that downpour that you got caught in yesterday.”

  “That’s because we still don’t know enough to predict everything, but that doesn’t mean when the unexpected happens it’s without explanation.”

  “There’s an explanation for magic as well. It’s just not part of traditional belief systems. Neither are ghosts, but you sat right here relaying a conversation to me that you had with one. How does that compute with your narrow worldview?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t want to think about it right now. I need for you to be safe. That’s all I care about. I can have a nervous breakdown afterward.”

  Sapphire gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. I know this must all be difficult for you, and I’m not making it any better by trying to push you harder toward the way I see things. You’ve made my safety your priority, and that should be enough for me to shut my mouth unless it’s saying ‘thank you.’”

  “You don’t have to thank me. You’re my family. I’d do anything to protect you.”

  “You’re a good girl, Zoe. You always were. A bit challenging to someone who thinks the way I do, but you never let our differences of opinion cloud your love for me. A lot of people would have.”

  “A lot of people are fools.”

  “Yes. Well, that’s another discussion for another day. A day that includes lots of wine.”

  “It might have to happen sooner than you expect, because although you might not think it’s foolish to believe in a magic emerald, it is beyond foolish to break into the lighthouse to steal from you.”

  “Foolish, desperate…sometimes they promote the same action.”

  “Have you told the story to anyone recently? Someone who might not have heard it before?”

  Sapphire’s brow wrinkled in thought and finally her eyes widened. “Yes. I told the story at a charity dinner for the hospital about a week ago. They’re trying to build a cancer ward for children. Such a good cause.”

  “And that dinner is the only time you can remember telling the story, say, in the last two weeks?”

  Sapphire nodded. “You know how it is around
here—the old-timers either don’t want to hear that sort of thing or they’ve already heard it and don’t want to hear it again. And young people always have something to do when they see one of us oldies approaching. They don’t want to get caught in the midst of one of our reminiscing bouts. Some people think it’s rude, but I don’t blame them. They’re young and have jobs and kids and houses to tend to. What little free time they have, they don’t want to spend it listening to a bunch of old people with long winded tales.”

  Because Zoe had been known to cross the street just to avoid some of the worst of the Everlasting gasbags, she remained wisely quiet on the subject.

  “Can you remember who was at the dinner?” Zoe asked, steering the conversation back to the topic at hand.

  “Not all of them, I’m afraid. There were a hundred tickets sold. It was a barbecue, so easy to feed a large crowd.”

  Zoe’s optimism took a big hit. If her aunt had flitted around the event telling the story, that still left her with ninety-nine direct suspects plus anyone they might have relayed the story to.

  “But you don’t need to know them all,” Sapphire continued. “I told the story while we were eating. There were only twelve people per table and one seat was empty.

  ”Do you remember who the others were?”

  “Of course. I’m not so ancient my mind can’t hold on to the names of ten people I just shared a meal with. Let’s see…Father Malcolm, Ralph and Rhonda Simmons, Trevor and Martha Piedmont, Sheriff Bull and one of those silly boy toys she’s hired, the Belmont brothers, and Mary Jo.”

  Zoe mulled over the list. Six men. Cornelius had been certain the voices and the bodies did not belong to women, so that left out Rhonda, Martha, Sheriff Bull, and Mary Jo as potential suspects. At least, they weren’t one of the people who broke into the lighthouse. They could have repeated the story elsewhere, but Zoe could only manage so much at once. She’d start with these six men and see what she could find. If that turned up nothing, then she’d branch out.

  “Do you know which one of Sheriff Bull’s boy toys was with her?”

  Sapphire shook her head. “But if you bring in the calendar, I could probably point him out.”

  “I don’t suppose you have one of those calendars.”

  “Lord no! But you can buy a copy down at the sheriff’s department.”

  “Lovely.” She could hardly wait to run that errand.

  “You can’t think…” Sapphire said. “I mean, none of those people would break into my home. They all live here—some of their families have been here for several generations.”

  Zoe hadn’t held out much hope that her aunt would be good at pointing out the bad guy. Sapphire never wanted to believe the worst of people, especially people from Everlasting.

  “I know you don’t want to believe that,” Zoe said, “but someone did break into your house, and thanks to Cornelius, we know it was about the emerald.”

  “But that story has been around for years. And it’s not one of the popular ones, so why break in now?”

  “Because whoever broke in just heard it.”

  “Oh. That’s why you asked me who I’d told the story to recently.” Sapphire gave her an appreciative look. “You’re a smart girl, with so much ability. More ability than you even know. One day…”

  Before her aunt could launch off into the many blessings Zoe might have inherited from her supposedly gifted ancestors, she rose from the chair and gave her aunt a kiss.

  “You leaving already?” Sapphire asked.

  “I have some alibis to check and I need to pick up your lunch and dinner and apparently, a calendar. Is there anything in particular that you want to eat?”

  “You did a great job yesterday. I’m fine with you picking again.”

  “Okay. Then I’ll be back around noon.”

  Zoe headed out of the hospital, giving Mary Jo a wave on her way out.

  She recognized a few of the people that Sapphire had named, but six years allowed for a lot of changes. She needed to get back to the lighthouse and go over the names with Dane. He’d know which ones to start with. Then once they had an order to investigate them in, she’d figure out how to do that.

  She had a thirty-minute drive to come up with something.

  Despite his stroll in the woods and the constant mental distraction of looking for a ghost he couldn’t see, Dane managed to finish tiling the kitchen floor. He was sitting in a lawn chair out back when Zoe stepped around the side of the lighthouse.

  “The floor looks great,” she said. “I didn’t walk on it.”

  Figuring she must have seen the slight look of panic when she’d mentioned the floor, he nodded. “Thanks.”

  She glanced around, then looked back at him. “Can we go inside and talk? I don’t really want to discuss things out here.”

  “Sure.” He rose from the chair and followed her around the lighthouse and inside, then plopped down on the couch. “How is Sapphire?”

  “She’s good. Really good.”

  “Even after you told her what Cornelius said.”

  “Yeah. I mean, she’s concerned but I think she always knew there was someone in the lighthouse, even though she couldn’t remember it.”

  “Probably. It’s still embedded in her mind somewhere. Did you ask her about the emerald?”

  “Yes, and also about Cornelius.” She repeated what Sapphire had said about the ghost. “I know it still doesn’t prove that Cornelius is being truthful, but she believes he is and well, so do I. But I can’t give you a good reason why and I definitely can’t offer you proof.”

  He nodded. “If you and Sapphire both think he’s being honest then I’ll go with your instincts. You can see and hear him, which allows you to study body language and inflection. I don’t have that perspective.”

  Zoe blinked and he could tell she was surprised that he acquiesced so easily, but he’d already mulled the entire thing over while finishing the floor. The reality was even if the ghost was lying, it didn’t really change anything. He was certain someone had been in the lighthouse because he knew someone had been watching it. What other reason could someone have for standing in that spot in the woods other than assessing what his opportunities for entry were?

  “Awesome,” Zoe finally said. “So the emerald…Sapphire told the story at some benefit dinner for the hospital.”

  “I remember that. I sent a donation but didn’t go. I was finishing up the master bathroom and didn’t want to take the time. I heard the dinner sold out, though. If Sapphire told the story there, then there’s no telling how many people are walking around with that information.”

  “Well, I’ve got it narrowed down to six to start, because Sapphire said she told it at the table while they were eating. Eleven people at her table, so ten people other than her, and four were women. I know someone at the table could have told someone else and so forth, but we have to start somewhere, and six is manageable.”

  “Makes sense. Give me the names.”

  Zoe repeated the names and Dane considered each one as she spoke. When she was done, he nodded.

  “Okay. The good news is, I can eliminate two right off the bat. Trevor Piedmont is in a wheelchair as a result of a car accident a couple years ago. And Father Malcolm was at a convention in Florida. He came back yesterday with a tan to prove it.”

  “A tan in October. That’s solid evidence that he wasn’t in Maine. Great, so that leaves Ralph Simmons, one of the calendar boys, and the Belmont brothers. I vaguely remember the Simmonses—older couple. He was always yelling at people to get away from his roses.”

  Dane nodded. “Simmons is very serious about his roses and little else. He’s a retired horticulturist. Mixes his own soil. Makes his own fertilizer.”

  “Has anyone had problems with him?”

  “He was arrested for assault this past summer. A tourist broke a rose off one of his bushes and proposed to his girlfriend right there on the sidewalk. Simmons stormed out of his house, slapped the guy righ
t across the face, and took the rose from the girl.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Huh?”

  “The girl. Did she say yes to marrying the rose thief?”

  He frowned. “I have no idea. Does that matter?”

  “Probably only to girls. Okay, so Simmons has a mean streak if he wants to.”

  “Yeah, but my money is on the Belmont brothers.”

  “Why is that? I don’t recognize the name.”

  “Patrick and Frank Belmont are the grandsons of Patricia Moore.”

  Zoe perked up. “I know that name. My mom went to school with her daughter Amber.”

  “Yes, well, Amber didn’t turn out as productive as your mother. She ran off with a truck driver and had the two boys. My understanding is the trucker slapped her around some until finally dumping her for a newer model. She had developed a drug habit to deal with the beatings, so she sent the boys to live with their grandmother.”

  “Then they must be about our age, right?”

  “A few years younger. They didn’t show up in Everlasting until you were in college, which is probably why you didn’t run across them. They fit the description—both fairly tall and one thinner while the other has a bit more mass.”

  “And I’m guessing they’re trouble.”

  “Nothing but. They still live with their grandmother because they couldn’t hold a job for more than a couple weeks. Everyone who hired them got burned. They didn’t show up for work and when they did, the work was sloppy. They stole from several employers.”

  “Why aren’t they in jail?”

  “Small town. No one wants to press charges because they feel sorry for Patricia, but everyone wishes they’d take a hike out of here. I don’t see it happening, though. Not as long as they have free room and board.”

  “I don’t recall Patricia being overly flush with money. It can’t be much of a life if three people are living off what she has. For that matter, why would they be at a charity dinner? Doesn’t sound like the sort of thing they’d go in for, especially when you pay far more for the food than it’s worth.”