“Do you have some special radar that hones in on dead bodies?” Officer Brian Henderson asked almost forty minutes later, as he walked up to Danielle and Lily, who continued to stand by Danielle’s car, out of the way of the commotion. He had just been with the rest of the responders, who were currently working to bring the battered car up the side of the mountain, to the highway.
“I guess this means someone is in the car?” Danielle asked, still leaning against her vehicle.
“Yes, but until they can lift the car up, it’s impossible to get to him.”
“A male? Just one person? Any idea who it is?” Lily asked.
Brian shook his head and looked back to where all the activity was taking place on the side of the hill. “None. One interesting fact. The car is registered to Stoddard Gusarvo.”
“Really?” Danielle frowned and glanced back to where she had seen Darlene earlier. “I knew he had a lot of cars, wouldn’t they have gone to the trust? And if so, who would be driving it?”
“I just got off the phone with their attorney. Seems they’ve already sold all Stoddard’s cars—or at least they thought they had. He checked the inventory list to see who purchased that one, but it wasn't on the list. They didn’t know about it.”
“Who would be driving around in Stoddard’s sports car?” Lily asked.
They had their answer twenty minutes later when the responders were finally able to access the cab of the sports car. Danielle and Lily watched as the car was hooked up to the tow truck and the body loaded into the ambulance.
“Chuck Christiansen?” Danielle repeated after Joe Morelli told her the identity of the deceased driver.
“Coroner says it looks like he was killed on impact,” Joe told her. “We found a gun in the car. It’s the same caliber as the one that killed Haston. But we won’t know if it’s the same one until it’s tested.”
Brian, Joe, Danielle, and Lily stood by the Ford Flex while the team continued to process the scene.
“He had a considerable amount of cash on him,” Brian added. “Along with a false ID in his wallet. There were packed suitcases in the car. Looks like he was heading out of Frederickport when he drove off that cliff.”
“So you think he shot Bart and then took off? Heading to Canada, maybe?” Lily asked.
“Canada would be my guess,” Joe said. Considering the direction he was driving.”
“Wow,” Danielle shook her head as she stared off toward the cliff. “They are all dead now. Darlene, Stoddard, Bart, Chuck…”
“Don’t forget Isabella,” Joe added.
“None of this would have happened had Isabella not had that brain aneurysm,” Danielle murmured.
“Or if I hadn’t pulled into that rest stop,” Lily added.
Brian shook his head and watched his team. “It was all so senseless.”
The four stood in silence for a few moments, each considering the strange series of events, which had brought them to this place. Finally, Joe looked at Danielle and asked, “How did you happen to come here today? What made you walk out and look down the side of the hill? That car could have gone undetected for days.”
Danielle considered her choice of words before answering. She looked at Joe and shrugged. “I just had this gut feeling. Can’t really explain it. I told Lily I wanted to drive out here this morning and she agreed to come with me.”
Joe studied Danielle for a moment. “A gut feeling?”
“The same gut feeling you had when you broke into Presley House?” Brian asked.
“I didn't break in exactly,” Danielle argued.
“Or when you found your cousin in that beach shack?” Brian added.
“Maybe I do have some sort of radar,” Danielle conceded.
“You have some sort of something, that is for sure,” Brian muttered.
“I have to say, Brian seems friendlier these days,” Lily said as she got into the passenger side of the car while Danielle climbed into the driver’s side. Joe and Brian had returned to the other officers.
“I suppose he did soften up a bit when I helped him get those murder charges dropped against him.” Danielle slammed her car door shut.
“He should be grateful to you.” Lily buckled her seatbelt. “If it wasn't for you he could be facing the death penalty right now. Heck, he owes you his life.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“I am,” Lily huffed.
“It’s Joe I wonder about.” Danielle hooked her seatbelt as she watched Joe in the distance.
“What do you mean?” Lily leaned back in the car seat.
“Just that I wonder what he thinks about me now. There was a time he was convinced I was some mental case.”
“Do you care?”
Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess not.” She slipped her car key in the ignition yet made no attempt to turn on the engine. Instead, her and Lily leaned back in their seats and watched the responders finish up.
“Assuming the gun they found with Christiansen was the same one that killed Haston, then it’s safe to assume Haston’s murder has been solved,” Lily said.
“We always figured it was probably Chuck.” Danielle watched as the ambulance pulled out onto the highway.
“So what do you figure happened?”
“I don’t know…It’s pretty obvious Haston drove himself to Frederickport, considering where they found his car parked. I wonder, was the plan to meet with Chuck before they went to court in Astoria or were they intending to skip town together?”
“It is possible Haston assumed they were leaving together, but Chuck had different plans, maybe first to settle a score with his partner in crime, for rolling over on him.” Lily suggested. “Or perhaps Christiansen asked Haston to meet him here under the pretense he wanted to discuss the case before they went to court. Considering how Haston spilled everything to the cops, can’t really see him as someone who intended to live as a fugitive on the run.”
“I don’t know about that. When he first started talking, he probably assumed they would go lighter on him if he cooperated. But all it did was dig his hole deeper. And considering he obviously met with his killer at Presley House, he doesn’t sound like someone who planned to make it to court.”
“Okay. So let’s assume the two decided to meet up here. Somehow, Chuck got his hands on one of Stoddard’s cars. I guess that would not be so difficult, considering everything. The cops are going to be looking for a car registered to Chuck when he doesn’t show up at court. They decided to meet at Presley House. It’s possible Bart parked his car where the cops eventually found it, and he walked over to Presley House, assuming Chuck was going to pick him up there so they can drive off to Canada together. But Chuck has different plans. When they get there, Chuck kills Bart, knowing it will be a while before someone finds the body—and by then he’ll be in Canada.”
Danielle looked to Lily. “Sounds like a likely scenario.”
“But my question—how does Harvey figure into all this? Why did he send you up here?”
“Not sure. I wonder, how would Harvey even know Chuck had been killed in a car accident? It looks like Chuck left Presley House after he shot Bart and then headed out of town, probably going to Canada…unless…”
Lily looked to Danielle. “Unless what?”
“Maybe his spirit went back to Presley House after the accident. That would make sense. Shortly after death, a spirit can be confused. Wouldn't be out of the question for him to go back to the last place he had been.”
“Are you saying he and Harvey became some sort of spirit buddies? Harvey is passing on information Chuck gives him?”
“It has to be something like that. But I’m still trying to figure out Darlene’s role in all this—if she has one.”
“Looks like they’re done,” Lily nodded toward the responders, who were all returning to their vehicles, preparing to take off. The two women watched as Brian and Joe headed to their car. Just as the officers opened their car doors, they gl
anced toward Lily and Danielle. Joe gave them a slight wave before getting into the vehicle, while Brian nodded in their direction and then climbed into the car.
“You want to go get some lunch?” Danielle asked, still not making an effort to start the engine. She watched as each of the responders’ vehicles pulled out onto the highway. When Lily didn’t answer her question, Danielle repeated it while turning on the engine.
“Lily?” Danielle looked at her friend who stared off toward the bluff. “Do you want to stop and get some lunch or not?”
Lily continued to stare off into the distance. Licking her lips she said, “Umm…Dani…I think I know how Darlene might have been responsible for Chuck’s accident.”
“I told you, she can’t harness her energy. There is no way she could make him drive off that cliff.”
Lily nodded toward the cliff. “What do you see, Dani?”
Danielle frowned and then looked from Lily to the cliff, where Darlene had been standing earlier that day. She froze for a moment and then looked back to Lily. “What do you see?”
“I asked you first. What do you see, Dani?”
Danielle swallowed nervously and then said, “Darlene, she’s standing by the edge of the cliff. Don’t tell me you can see her too.”
Lily nodded. “Yep. I can see her.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Instead of going out for lunch, Danielle headed back to Marlow House.
“If Chuck could see Darlene, like I did, then maybe she was responsible for him driving off that cliff,” Lily suggested.
“It is a sharp turn. If he had just left Presley House after killing Bart, his adrenaline would be pumping…and then the woman he murders suddenly appears out of nowhere.”
Lily shuddered. “No wonder he drove off that cliff.”
“If Darlene has been haunting that spot, she probably recognized the car. After all, it did belong to her husband. Who knows, maybe she’s been waiting for Chuck to drive along Pilgrim’s Point so she could get her revenge.”
“How is it that I could see her? I didn’t see her the first time, when we drove up.”
“I don’t know.” Danielle considered the possibilities. “Although, you hear about some haunted places where people report seeing ghosts—not people like me—normal people.”
“You saying you aren’t normal?” Lily teased.
Danielle smiled. “You know what I mean.”
“Do you think Darlene chooses who can see her? Or is it random?”
“If she scared Chuck and got him to drive off the cliff, I wouldn’t think is was random.”
“Then would it be possible for me to see Walt, if he wanted me to see him?”
Danielle silently considered the question a few moments before answering. “Interesting idea. But I don’t think so. If ghosts could just make anyone see them if they wanted, then wouldn’t more be hanging around? Think about it, young mothers who die suddenly and don’t want to leave their children. Or anyone who wanted to stick around. Think how much easier it would be if you could get people you loved to see you—maybe even hear you. And then if they could also harness energy…” Danielle shook her head. “No I don’t think that’s in the universe’s grand plan.”
“But I did see Darlene. And chances are, so did Chuck before he drove off that cliff.”
“I just think it’s one of those isolated, limited things. Some spirits find a way to make people see them—it might only be for brief glimpses. Others, like Walt, harness energy so they can move things around, yet he’s confined to a limited area, and people can’t see him, other than someone like me. Although, most people seem to be able to smell the cigar smoke. And then there is Angela, who can control electric gadgets to some extent but can’t move a solid object.”
Lily shook her head. “Sounds all very random to me.”
They were quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Danielle said, “Perhaps it is simply all about energy.”
“Energy? In what way?”
Gripping the steering wheel as she drove down the highway, Danielle stared ahead. “I’ve been looking at this all wrong. Maybe it’s not about Walt harnessing energy—he is the energy. All spirits are energy.”
“Okay, so? What would that mean?”
“Think of a flashlight battery; it will run your flashlight, but it isn’t strong enough to power an electric car. Darlene is using what energy reserves she has to get people to see her. I bet she can only do it in bursts, otherwise someone would have reported seeing her by now. Maybe Walt really could leave Marlow House and wander the countryside, if he wasn’t already using his energy to move objects around and dream hop.”
“Sounds very confusing. It would sure make it a lot easier if there was a rule book!”
Danielle laughed. “You mean like in Beatlejuice?”
“Beatlejuice?” Lily frowned.
“Yeah, remember they had some sort of book of the dead…let me see…what was it called?”
“Oh, you mean the Handbook for the Recently Departed,” Lily said with a chuckle.
“Was that what it was called?”
“I think so. Maybe we should get a copy.”
“Wouldn’t hurt,” Danielle said with a snort.
When they pulled up into the drive at Marlow House a few minutes later, Lily asked, “Are you going to tell Walt your energy theory?”
Danielle parked the car and turned off the ignition. “I don’t think so. He’s always reminding me that I don’t really know how all of this works—that I am only guessing.”
“Yeah, you don’t want to do anything to make him think he was right,” Lily teased.
“Exactly! Why would I do that?”
They both laughed. Just as they reached the back door leading into the kitchen, they heard a woman call out from the side gate. “Oh Danielle! Danielle Boatman!”
Pausing at the back porch, Danielle and Lily looked toward the caller. It was Heather Donovan.
“I’ve been watching for your car!” Heather said in a rush when she reached them, out of breath from running. “I’ve been dying to talk to you!”
“Watching for my car? Is something wrong?” Danielle asked.
“I heard all about that dead body you found!” Heather explained.
Danielle frowned. “How could you have heard? I just got home.”
“It was on the radio.”
“On the radio? That’s awful quick.”
“Dani,” Lily nudged her friend. “I think she is talking about the other dead body.”
“Other dead body?” Confused, Heather looked from Lily to Danielle, who was now staring at Lily.
“Bart Haston, Dani. She is talking about Bart,” Lily said under her breath.
“Of course I’m talking about Bart Haston. Who else would I be talking about?” Heather asked.
“Oh, duh,” Danielle said, feeling foolish. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
“I was wondering if I could come in and talk to you for a minute.” She then glanced at Lily and then back to Dani. “Alone, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Hey no problem,” Lily answered for Danielle, snatching the key from her hand so she could unlock the door. “I have some things I need to do.”
Just as Lily unlocked the door, Sadie came charging into the kitchen to greet them.
When Lily and Sadie stepped into the library a few minutes later she was greeted with the scent of cigar. Shutting the door behind her she said, “Walt if you’re in the library, let me know. I want to talk to you.”
She had her answer when a book fell from the desk.
“Danielle is in the parlor with our new neighbor. I thought you might be interested in knowing what we found today.”
Lily went on to explain what had happened at Pilgrim Point, while hoping the book dropping to the floor was the result of paranormal activity and not an earthquake. Because if Walt wasn’t really in the room, she was going to feel ridiculous if she had been talking to herself.
�
��I hope I didn’t hurt your friend’s feelings,” Heather said when Danielle led her into the parlor a few minutes later.
“I’m sure Lily is fine. Why did you need to talk to me alone?” Danielle took a seat on a chair, while Heather sat on the sofa. “I don’t really have any secrets from Lily.”
“Well I do.”
“Excuse me?” Danielle frowned.
“Oh, I don’t mean Lily exactly. But like I explained when we first met, I’m a writer and I’m working on a book. I got the impression Lily was rather close to Jon Altar.”
“Jon—or Ian as we call him—is also one of my close friends.”
“It’s just that I feel uncomfortable discussing my work with another writer.”
“In case they might steal it?” Danielle joked.
“Exactly.” Heather was not joking. “I was hoping you would agree to keep this discussion between the two of us.”
“Okay, between the two of us.” Liar, liar. The minute she leaves, I’ll probably tell Lily everything.
“First, what did Lily mean when she said other body?”
“It’s sort of a long story.” Danielle wasn’t prepared to share what had happen to them at Pilgrim’s Point, with a woman she barely knew. “Why don’t you tell me what you wanted to talk to me about.”
Heather looked disappointed that Danielle wasn’t going to answer her question, but she continued.
“I heard on the radio about the dead body you found at Presley House.”
“Yes. He was in the kitchen. But I’m sure you’ve heard some teenage boys actually found him first.”
“Yes. I understand that when they found him, he was in a trunk in the basement. And when the police checked, the trunk was empty.”
Danielle studied Heather. “That sounds about right.”
“I was wondering, how did you happen to get into Presley House?”
“Well,” Danielle smiled. “I suppose if you asked Officer Henderson he would say I broke in.”
“Did you?”
“Well, technically speaking, I suppose I did.”
“Was the door locked?” Heather asked.
Ghost of Halloween Past Page 16
