The Ghost and Little Marie

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “Let me know where I can send the money, and I will arrange to have a shipping company pick them up. Hope to hear from you soon. Clint Marlow.”

  “He sounds like a goof,” Lily said.

  “What are you going to tell him?” Marie asked.

  “That I’m not interested, of course. Those portraits belong here. Plus,” Danielle looked over to Walt and said, “They’re not mine to sell.”

  Walt broke into a smile and then said, “Maybe you should reconsider.”

  “Reconsider? You want me to sell your portraits?” Danielle asked.

  “Walt said that?” Lily asked. “He can’t be serious.”

  “I don’t know,” Walt mused. “Sell it to him under the condition he has to paint over Angela’s face—he can send you a snapshot when it’s done. You can show Angela.” Walt grinned.

  Danielle rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re bad, Walt. But we are not letting anyone paint over Angela’s face. When we get tired of looking at it, we can donate it to the museum.”

  “Not sure Eva would appreciate sharing the museum with Angela,” Walt said.

  Danielle shrugged. “You’re probably right. For now, the portraits stay where they are.”

  “Hurry up and send your no-thanks reply,” Lily said. “We need to get to the grocery store. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!”

  “I really screwed up,” Sondra whispered into her cellphone. She stood alone on Marie’s side porch, glancing nervously to the door leading into the kitchen. “And now with the autopsy, crap, what am I going to do? Now I have to stay here until Friday and just hope no one finds out!”

  “Sondra?” Jason called out after opening the back door. “What are you doing on the porch? It’s freezing out there.”

  Placing a hand over the phone, Sondra called out, “I’m just talking to Georgia.”

  “Well, do it in here, before you get pneumonia. You don’t even have a coat on!” Jason went back in the house and shut the door.

  “I have to go. Jason is calling me.”

  Twenty-One

  Early Thanksgiving morning, Walt found Danielle alone in the kitchen, her hand shoved up a recently thawed turkey carcass. She had already dressed for the day, wearing orange and gold patterned leggings and a long beige cotton shirt protected by a cartoon-pilgrim-themed, cobbler-style apron.

  “That doesn’t look very pleasant,” Walt observed as he took a place at the kitchen table and picked up the newspaper Danielle had placed there earlier.

  Glancing over to the table, Danielle smiled. “Good morning to you too.” She pulled the plastic bag of giblets from the turkey and set it in the sink. Next she removed the turkey neck.

  “It’s too bad Joanne isn’t here to help.”

  “She’s spending the time with her family. I think she’s enjoyed this week off.”

  “What can I do?” Walt set the paper on the table and looked up at Danielle.

  “I’ve got it under control, but thanks.” After rinsing the turkey neck, she set it in a pot on the stove.

  “What exactly are you going to do with that thing?” Walt asked.

  “It’s for the dressing. I have to cook the neck and giblets in a pot of water. After the meat is tender, I put it all in the blender, whip it up until puréed, and then add it to the dressing.”

  “Extra calcium with the neck bones?”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “First I remove the meat from the bone.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work. Are you sure you don’t have something I can help you with?”

  Danielle glanced over at the cutting board sitting on the counter. On the cutting board was a knife, yellow onion, and several stalks of celery. “Umm, would you mind dicing the celery and onion? The celery is already clean, and I’ve removed the skin from the onion.”

  “I don’t know, Danielle, cutting onions always makes my eyes water.” Walt folded the newspaper and tossed it on the chair next to him.

  Danielle turned to Walt and arched her brow. “Seriously?”

  Still sitting at the table, Walt chuckled and then turned his attention to the cutting board. It lifted from the counter and floated to him.

  “And don’t forget to tell me to wash my hands first, and be careful with the sharp knife,” Walt teased.

  Danielle grinned. “I suppose there are some benefits of having a cook who is a gh…spirit.”

  “Don’t get carried away, I’m just cutting the vegetables!”

  “And I appreciate the help!”

  Danielle had left the side gate open into the backyard, which was an easier route than going to the front door for Lily and Ian, who had their hands full. With Sadie by their side, they approached the back door leading into the kitchen of Marlow House.

  Ian had opted to forgo denims and wear tan dress slacks and a brown, long-sleeved silk shirt, sans a tie. Lily made him leave his Cubs baseball cap at home. From what Lily had told him, Walt normally wore a three-piece pinstriped suit, not that anyone other than Danielle or Heather could see Walt today—except for Marie, of course.

  Lily wore black slacks and an emerald green short-sleeved blouse—it brought out the green in her eyes. She had pulled her red hair up into a high ponytail, telling Ian it was best this way—less likely any of it would get into the food. There would be potatoes to mash and salads to prepare. Since Ian wasn’t fond of hair in his food, he told her she looked adorable.

  The kitchen blinds were open, and Ian was the first to glimpse what was going on inside. He stopped abruptly, still finding such scenes unnerving. A knife seemingly danced of its own accord over a cutting board on the kitchen table, dicing vegetables.

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to this,” Ian muttered. “And seriously, this is one of the best stories of my career, but I can’t write about it.”

  “You could,” Lily said cheerfully as she juggled the bowls in her arms to reach for the doorknob. “But then you’d lose all your credibility. No one would believe you.”

  “No kidding.” Ian reached quickly to help Lily with the door.

  “Happy Thanksgiving!” Danielle greeted them when Lily and Ian entered the kitchen a moment later.

  “Morning, Dani. Who’s your helper?” Lily nodded to the table and the knife chopping away at the vegetables.

  “Walt.” Danielle filled the pot holding the giblets and turkey neck with water.

  “Morning, Walt,” Lily and Ian said simultaneously.

  The knife waved in the air like a salute.

  Lily and Ian set the items they had been carrying on the counter, while Sadie greeted Walt.

  Lily glanced around the room. “Where’s Marie?”

  “She went over to her house to spy on her family. I hope she doesn’t hear something that she doesn’t want to,” Danielle told her.

  “Like what?” Lily asked.

  “I imagine Danielle means something like a confession to her murder,” Ian suggested.

  “I don’t know why we just can’t go to a restaurant for dinner,” Sondra told Jason as they dressed for Thanksgiving.

  “I told you, Mom called around, and everything was filled up.” Jason sat on the edge of the bed, pulling up his socks.

  “We don’t have to stay in Frederickport. Did she try someplace in Astoria? It’s not that long a drive. And I would be willing to drive to Portland.”

  “If you still had family in Portland, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

  “We could still go. I’m sure we can find somewhere to go for dinner.”

  “This is a done deal, Sondra. Adam already told them we would be there. We can’t bail out now. I’m sorry this trip didn’t work out like I’d hoped.”

  “Didn’t it?” Sondra snickered. She looked into the dresser mirror and applied her eyeliner.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “We both know why we came, to kiss up to your grandmother so she wouldn’t do anything stupid before she died, like leave your brother all her money.”

&nb
sp; “Don’t say that too loud, not now,” Jason grumbled.

  Still in her house robe, Chloe sat in Marie’s living room with her husband, enjoying their morning coffee. Jason and Sondra were still in the guest bedroom, getting dressed.

  Neither Chloe or Warren attempted to get up from their chairs when they heard the front door open and close. They weren’t surprised when Adam walked into the living room a moment later.

  Pausing mid-sip, Chloe said, “Good morning, Adam. What time are we supposed to be over there?”

  “Morning, Mom, Dad. Danielle said to come over around two.” He took a seat on the sofa.

  Lifting her mug, Chloe said, “There’s coffee made. Help yourself.”

  “In a minute, thanks. But I wanted to tell you Liz from the funeral home called me this morning.”

  “Please tell me that ridiculous autopsy is cancelled,” Chloe said.

  “No. But she said we can have the funeral on Tuesday if you want. She spoke to the coroner, and they’re fairly certain that time frame will work out after all.”

  “Fairly certain? What if it isn’t?” Warren snapped. “You really screwed this whole thing up by bringing up this autopsy thing. I don’t know what in the hell you were thinking, boy.”

  “I’m in my fricking forties and he’s still calling me boy,” Adam grumbled to Melony when he picked her up later that afternoon.

  “I guess you could look on the bright side. It means you’re still young.” As Melony climbed into the passenger side of his car, she leaned over and placed a kiss on Adam’s cheek and then sat down and fastened her seatbelt.

  Hands on the steering wheel, Adam glanced over to Melony. “Yeah, right.”

  Settling back in the seat while Adam drove away from the curb in front of her house, Melony said, “Well, your mother still looks at me as if I’m some sexually permissive teenager.”

  “Instead of a sexually permissive adult?” Adam teased.

  Playfully smacking Adam’s right arm, Melony said, “Oh, shut up.”

  Adam snickered. “I guess my parents will never see us past high school.”

  Melony shrugged. “It’s hard for some parents to see their children as adults.”

  “You know what’s funny?” Adam asked.

  “Funny? Humor would be nice; it’s been pretty glum this week.” Melony leaned back in the seat.

  “Not that kind of funny.”

  “Yeah, I sort of got that. What?”

  “Dad’s under the impression my property management company is nothing more than my grandmother’s properties.”

  Lifting her head from the seat, she turned to Adam. “You own more houses than Marie did, don’t you?”

  Adam chuckled. “Yes. But Dad doesn’t know that. And he has no clue that the houses I own and Grandma owned are only a fraction of my inventory. He seriously has no clue what I’ve built here.”

  Melony reached over and patted Adam’s arm. “He’s always underestimated you. Marie saw your potential.”

  Adam sighed. “I’m really going to miss her. She was a pain sometimes, damn bossy, but I loved her.”

  “I know you did.”

  They drove for a few moments in silence when Melony said, her tone serious, “I’m afraid I have a problem I need to talk to you about.”

  “Another problem?”

  “I really should have said something as soon as I found out Marie had died. But it was all so sudden, and you were dealing with the funeral and your parents. I suppose I should have sent you a certified letter, it’s what I would normally do. But I figured that would just freak you out.”

  Adam glanced to Melony with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

  “You know that argument your family had the night before Marie died?” Melony asked.

  “When Grandma threatened to change the will?”

  “Yes. The fact is, Marie had already changed her will.”

  Adam gripped the steering wheel tighter. “What?”

  “She called me after the Beach Drive house closed escrow, said she wanted to make some changes to her will, asked me if I could do it, and told me not to say anything to you.”

  “You aren’t even an estate attorney!” Adam snapped. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

  “I couldn’t, you know that. It was client confidentiality. You’re a broker, you know about fiduciary duty. And I have done some estate work.”

  “Okay, so tell me, what is in this new will?”

  “Sorry, I can’t tell you right now.”

  Adam flashed a frown at Melony. “What do you mean you can’t tell me right now?”

  “Your grandmother gave me specific instructions. First, she didn’t want to keep a copy of her new will in her house. She instructed me to keep it for her.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “She told me that the minute she died, your father would be at her house going through all her files, and she was afraid if he found the new will first, he might destroy it and try to use the previous one. I guess she had given him a copy of that one a number of years ago. I told her that even if he tried something like that, it wouldn’t work because I would still have a copy of the current will, but for whatever reason, she insisted he not know about the new will until it was formally read.”

  “I guess Grandma knew her son pretty well. Dad went through all Grandma’s files right after he got here. She wasn’t even dead yet,” Adam grumbled.

  “According to your grandmother’s instructions, she wants the will to be read the day after her funeral. At Marlow House.”

  “Marlow House?”

  Melony shrugged. “It’s what she wanted. When everyone is together today, I need to tell them about the reading of the will and check with Danielle. After all, it’s supposed to be done at her house.”

  “I didn’t tell you, but Dad tried to take some money out of Grandma’s bank account on Tuesday. He was pretty upset he wasn’t on her account anymore.”

  “Well, I don’t imagine he’s going to be thrilled when this new will is read,” Melony muttered.

  Twenty-Two

  Sondra and Jason sat in the backseat of Warren and Chloe’s car as they drove to Marlow House for Thanksgiving dinner. Both Sondra and Chloe had chosen to wear dresses for the occasion, while the men wore dress slacks and button-up, short-sleeved dress shirts.

  “I don’t understand. What exactly was Danielle Boatman to your grandmother?” Sondra asked Jason. “When Marie introduced her to me at the home, she said Danielle was practically a granddaughter. But from what Adam said, Danielle hasn’t lived here that long. How did they get so chummy?”

  “My mother was friends with Danielle’s great-aunt,” Warren called out from the driver’s seat. “She’s the one who left her Marlow House.”

  Chloe turned in her seat to look back to Jason and Sondra. “From what Adam has told me, Marie adored her. I don’t think they’d met before Danielle moved here over a year ago. At least, that was my impression. She sounds like a manipulative little thing, if you ask me.”

  “Why do you say that?” Sondra asked.

  “Seriously?” Chloe let out a harsh laugh. “Come on, a woman her age getting so cozy with someone as contrary as my mother-in-law?”

  “Chloe!” Warren admonished. “My mother just died; that sounds horrible.”

  “Come on, Warren, you know it’s true. And why do you think Danielle’s aunt left her Marlow House? They were only related by marriage. She probably got all cozy with her—like she did with Marie—and then inherited her entire estate. I’ve read about it. Danielle had a cousin who was just as entitled, but she wasn’t left a dime. It’s a good thing we came here when we did, before your mother changed her will and left everything to Danielle Boatman!”

  “You’re actually saying it’s a good thing my mother died?”

  Chloe shrugged. “I won’t pretend I’m relieved she didn’t have time to carry through with that spiteful threat of hers. Good lord, you are her only son!”


  “Mom, do you seriously think Grandma would have done that?” Jason asked. “Left everything to some woman she hasn’t even known that long?”

  Turning back around in the seat, Chloe said, “It happens all the time. A person gets old, their mind starts to go, and some manipulative schemer moves in and gets everything, leaving the family nothing.”

  “Your mother has a point. Don’t forget the gold coins,” Warren reminded them.

  “Gold coins?” Sondra asked.

  “I don’t think I told you about that,” Jason said. “You know that house Grandma just sold?”

  Sondra smiled. “The one that went for over a million?”

  Jason nodded. “Yes. They found some gold coins hidden under the floorboards. Worth a freaking fortune.”

  “Gold coins?” Sondra perked up.

  “Don’t get excited, dear,” Chloe said sarcastically. “My brilliant mother-in-law gave them to Danielle.”

  Sondra gasped. “Why would she do that?”

  “According to my brother, they technically belonged to Danielle, so Grandma couldn’t keep them.”

  Sondra frowned. “I don’t understand?”

  “Something about the coins belonging to Walt Marlow’s estate, which meant she got them,” Warren explained. “But it sounded like a bunch of BS to me. Mother should have just kept them. They were in her house for over a hundred years. As far as I’m concerned, they belonged to us.”

  “Can’t you do anything?” Sondra asked. “Take her to court?”

  “It was already settled in court,” Jason said.

  “Maybe the court said Danielle was the rightful owner, but that’s only because your grandmother didn’t make a claim for them. She made it perfectly clear she didn’t want the coins and insisted they belonged to Danielle. Foolish old woman.” Chloe shifted angrily in the passenger seat.

  “Wow, I had no idea,” Sondra said.

  “We only found out about the coins a little while ago ourselves,” Chloe said. “Someone I know sent me a link to an article on it. I called Adam, and he explained what had happened.”