Ghost of Halloween Past

by McIntyre, Anna J

  Walt stood at the attic window looking across the street. The lights were on in Ian’s house and Danielle’s car was parked in his driveway. He glanced down at Max who sat on the windowsill, his black tail swishing back and forth.

  “I don’t know where she is, Max. She should have been home hours ago. I just wish Lily would hurry up. What is taking her so long over there?”

  “Oh crap,” Lily groaned when she woke up in Ian’s bedroom. Rolling off the mattress, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost 3 a.m. Sadie was still sound asleep.

  Combing her fingers through her hair, she stumbled out of the bedroom. Assuming Danielle had seen the car parked across the street at Ian’s, Lily didn’t question why Danielle hadn't called her, to see where she was.

  Grabbing her purse, cellphone, and keys from the living room coffee table, Lily decided to leave Sadie sleeping. She would come back and get her in the morning. If she took Sadie over to Marlow House now, the dog might wake Danielle, especially if she decided it was a good time to play with Walt.

  Walt stood at the attic window and watched as Lily backed out of Ian’s driveway. He didn't see Sadie. “Well Max, it looks as if she has finally decided to come home!”

  When Max failed to give a response, Walt glanced down. Max was no longer sitting on the windowsill.

  “Max? Max?” Walt called out. He glanced around, but there was no sign of the cat in the attic.

  Lily had just used her key to unlock the back door when Walt appeared in the kitchen.

  “What took you so long?” Walt roared.

  Quietly slipping into the kitchen, Lily gently closed the door behind her.

  “Danielle isn’t here!” Walt told her.

  Turning on the kitchen light, Lily locked the kitchen door and then set her purse and keys on the counter.

  “Why were you over at Ian’s so long? Where is Sadie?”

  Lily walked to the refrigerator and opened it. She looked inside.

  “You need to call the police!”

  Lily shut the refrigerator door and yawned. She opened an overhead counter and grabbed an empty glass.

  “I think Max is gone too. He was in the attic with me. But I don’t think he’s in the house.”

  Lily took the glass to the sink and filled it with water. After taking a sip, she turned toward the door leading to the hallway.

  “Lily you have to hear me! Danielle is gone! She never came back from her walk. Something is wrong.”

  Frantically, Walt looked around for pen and paper.

  Lily turned off the kitchen light as she headed upstairs to her bedroom, glass of water in hand.

  Walt followed Lily up the stairs. “I can’t write this in a note!”

  Lily yawned and muttered something about being exhausted

  “I need to talk to you, Lily. We need to find Danielle!”

  Walt paused a moment and considered what he had just said. He needed to talk to Lily. The only way he could do that was by dream hopping.

  He watched as Lily passed Danielle’s closed bedroom door. He knew Lily assumed Danielle was inside, safely asleep in her bed. He started to follow Lily in her bedroom, but when she closed her door and started to strip off her clothes, he quickly returned to the hallway.

  Sitting alone in the hallway, waiting for Lily to fall asleep, Walt wondered where Max had gone. If Sadie or Max was in the house, he could get one of them to rouse Lily and convince her to go check on Danielle, in the same way they had when Danielle had the nightmare. But Sadie was across the street and he suspected Max had slipped outside through the pet door, in search of Danielle.

  He considered using his energy to force Lily to go into Danielle’s room, but he was afraid that might frighten her. He needed Lily to have her wits about her. The most feasible option he could come up with was a dream hop.

  Lily opened her eyes and looked around. She sat on Ian’s rooftop, looking over at Marlow House.

  “It took you long enough to fall asleep!” Walt snapped.

  Lily turned to her right. Walt sat next to her. He looked annoyed.

  “We are sitting on a roof? Seriously, a rooftop? What happened to Hawaii or the Himalayas? Ian’s roof? What a waste for a dream hop.”

  “Lily focus, I need to talk to you.”

  “Lily focus? Sheesh, that sounds condescending. Why don’t you just let me sleep? I’m too tired for a dream anyhow. Especially a lousy one on a rooftop.”

  “I need to talk to you, and you need to listen, Danielle is missing!”

  Lily frowned. “What do you mean missing?”

  “After you left for Astoria she went for a walk. She told me she was going to visit with that new neighbor and then go back to the beach. She never came home.”

  “Are you saying she isn’t sleeping in her bed right now?”

  “No. She’s not in the house.”

  Rubbing the heel of her right palm against her temple, Lily narrowed her eyes and stared across the street, focusing on what Walt was telling her. In the dream, the sun was shining. Yet, she couldn’t see inside Marlow House, all the blinds were drawn.

  “I tried calling her today, several times. She never answered her phone.”

  “She left her cellphone in the downstairs bathroom,” Walt explained.

  Lily looked at Walt. “She doesn’t have her phone with her?”

  Walt shook his head. “No. I heard it ringing, thought she had come home, and I went down the hall looking for her. The bathroom door was wide open. The phone was sitting on the counter.”

  “She must have forgotten it,” Lily muttered.

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “Where did she say she was going again? I need to get all the information I can, because when I wake up, I’ll only be able to ask questions when I go back to sleep—but I hope to find Dani by then!”

  “Remember, you can always ask me a question and I can try writing an answer.”

  “Try? Are you saying you might not be able to?”

  “It’s not that easy—getting a pen or pencil to move over paper.”

  “You’ve done it before.”

  “It’s not something I can always do.”

  “Then I better get my answers now, before I wake up.”

  “I don’t know what more to tell you.”

  “Do you know what time she left exactly?”

  Walt considered the question a moment. “I had just started watching that movie Danielle put on for me, Harvey. It had been on for maybe ten, fifteen minutes before she left.”

  “Okay, I’ll see if there is anyway I can find out what time that aired. Anything else?”

  “Max watched her leave. She headed down the street toward the new neighbor’s house. That’s where she said she was going to go.”

  “Okay, first thing I’ll do is talk to Heather, see what time Danielle left her house. And you say she planned to go to the beach after that?”

  “Yes. She said she was going to take a walk on the beach after she left Heather’s house. And that she’d be home before you.”

  “Do you know if she changed her clothes before she left? I remember what she was wearing this morning.”

  “No, she didn’t change her clothes. But I remember, I heard her getting something out of the hall closet before she left. I assume it was a jacket.”

  “You said Max saw her leave, maybe he’ll remember what jacket she had on.”

  “Max isn’t in the house. I don’t know where he went, but I suspect he went looking for Danielle. He was worried.”

  “How long ago did Max leave?”

  “I’m not sure exactly. He was sitting with me in the attic when we saw you drive up to Ian’s house. I kept wondering what was taking you so long. I didn’t notice Max was gone until you returned home.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Walt. I laid down for just a minute, never intending to go to sleep. But I guess I was more tired than I realized.”

  “I’m just glad you’re back no
w.”

  “Unless you have something more to tell me, I suppose I better wake up and find Dani.”

  “I can’t think of anything else to tell you.”

  “Okay then.” Lily closed her eyes, focused all her energy, and then let out a glass-shattering scream.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Lily jerked upright into a sitting position. Somewhat dazed, she blinked her eyes and tried to focus. Her heart raced. Sitting in her bed, she looked around the dimly lit room. Morning sunlight filtered in through the curtains. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was almost 7:00 a.m.

  “Walt, are you here?” For a brief moment, she didn’t know if it had simply been a dream—or a dream hop. Was Dani really missing?

  In response, across the room from the bed, the lamp lifted several inches above the dresser. It hovered there for just a moment, before setting back down again.

  Lily swallowed nervously. She felt queasy. She didn’t want to ask the question because she knew the answer, yet she hoped she might be wrong. “If it was a dream hop and Dani is really missing, please lift the lamp again.”

  Once again, the lamp floated up from the dresser. Lily had her answer.

  Tossing her blanket aside, she climbed out of bed. “Walt, I need to get dressed. Let’s meet downstairs, in the kitchen. Please bring Dani’s phone with you.”

  In response, the bedroom door opened and closed. Lily knew Walt didn’t need to open the doors to move about the house, he could easily walk through the walls. She understood the door opening and closing was simply his way to let her know she was now alone in the bedroom and could dress in private.

  After Lily dressed, she took a detour to the parlor before meeting Walt in the kitchen. She wanted to check the television guide to see when Harvey had viewed the day before, to give her a better idea when Danielle had left the house.

  When she reached the kitchen, she started a pot of coffee and picked up Danielle’s telephone. Walt had left it on the kitchen table. While waiting for the coffee to brew, she checked out Danielle’s telephone. Thankfully, she knew the password.

  “It looks like she made a phone call right before she left the house,” Lily told Walt as she stared at the phone. “I can’t tell who it was, but I can find out.” Lily redialed the phone number. A moment later, she disconnected the call and set the phone on the table.

  “She called the museum right before she left. I wonder why?” Lily pushed the salt and peppershakers to the middle of the table. “Walt if you know why she called the museum, please raise the salt shaker. If you don't know, raise the peppershaker.”

  Lily watched as the peppershaker lifted above the table, and then fell back down. “Who would have figured salt and peppershakers could replace an Ouija board?” she muttered.

  Standing up, she walked to the coffee pot. “The first thing I’m going to do is talk to Heather, see what she knows.” Lily poured herself a cup of coffee and then headed for the back door.

  Lily persistently rang and re-rang the doorbell. She noticed Heather’s car parked in the driveway. Lily was fairly confident the woman was home, yet suspected she was still in bed, considering the drawn blinds and there didn’t seem to be any lights on inside the house.

  After pressing the doorbell more than a dozen times, Lily finally heard movement coming from inside. When the door opened, Lily found herself looking into the disgruntled face of Heather Donovan.

  Wearing just a nightgown, her hair drawn into two messy pigtails, now escaping from their rubber bands, Heather glared at Lily. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  “Sorry to wake you but this is important.”

  “It better be important!” Heather snapped.

  Meowing from the direction of Heather’s bare feet caught Lily’s attention. Glancing down, she saw Bella weaving in and out around Heather’s ankles. Without saying a word, Heather used her foot to shove Bella backwards into the entry, before stepping out on the front porch with Lily and shutting the door.

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at Lily. “What is this about?”

  “Danielle is missing.”

  “What do you mean missing?”

  “She didn’t come home yesterday.”

  Heather shrugged. “So? She’s an adult. She doesn’t need to check in with you.”

  Inwardly, Lily groaned. She didn’t have time to explain things to Heather. “Can you just tell me what time Dani left here yesterday and if she mentioned where she was going.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t see Danielle yesterday. I wasn’t even home yesterday.”

  “You weren’t?” Lily’s heart sank.

  “I went to Vancouver yesterday. Didn’t get home until late last night.”

  “Oh…” Lily glanced around hopelessly.

  Heather studied Lily. Her expression softened. “Hey, you really are worried, aren’t you?”

  Lily nodded. “I borrowed Dani’s car yesterday to go to Astoria. So wherever Dani went, she walked. She left her cellphone at the house. She never came home last night. That’s not like her.”

  “What made you think she came over here?”

  “Umm…she mentioned she was going to come over and visit you,” Lily lied.

  “You know, it is always possible someone picked her up.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of!”

  “No…” Heather shook her head. “I don’t mean like that. Maybe one of her friends picked her up so they could go somewhere. Maybe they had car trouble and since she didn’t have her phone with her, she couldn’t call.”

  “I suppose that’s possible,” Lily muttered, not really convinced.

  “I’m sure it’s something like that.” Heather smiled.

  After Lily left Heather’s house she went to Ian’s to pick up Sadie. She considered leaving Sadie at Marlow House while walking along the beach looking for any sign of Danielle but changed her mind. She had another idea.

  Standing in the entry of Marlow House with Sadie on a leash, Lily called out to Walt. In response, the entry table rattled. The next moment she could smell cigar smoke. Sadie wagged her tail.

  “Walt, Heather didn't see Dani yesterday, because she wasn’t home. This means Dani probably went on to the beach after going to Heather’s house. I want to take Sadie with me while I walk along the beach. I know a section of the beach doesn’t allow dogs, but frankly, I don't care. I was wondering…can you tell Sadie to help me look for her? Maybe…I don’t know…sniff her out?”

  Walt looked down at Sadie. “You mean like a bloodhound?”

  “Obviously, if I tell Sadie to help me look for Dani, she won’t really know what I’m saying. She only gets a little of what I say. But I know she understands everything you tell her. What do you think?”

  Walt turned to the golden retriever. “Sadie, pay attention.”

  Sadie immediately sat and stared at Walt.

  Lily looked down at Sadie and smiled. She knew Walt was talking to the dog.

  Sadie cocked her head.

  When Walt finished given Sadie instructions he added, “Max is already looking for her.”

  At the mention of Max, Sadie jumped up and charged for the front door, taking Lily with her.

  Walt gave a nod of approval. “I figure a little healthy competition wouldn't hurt.”

  “Hey lady, dogs don’t belong on this beach! The dog beach is that way!”

  Lily showed the man a picture of Danielle on her iPhone. “I am looking for this woman, she’s missing. Have you seen her?”

  The man looked at the picture and shook his head. “No. But you need to get that dog off this beach.”

  Lily ignored the man and continued on her search. She had been walking up and down the beach for over an hour now, and still there was no sign of her missing friend. She hadn’t eaten anything all morning, and her stomach was beginning to grumble. Heading back toward the boardwalk, she took Danielle’s phone from her pocket and looked at it. />
  “Maybe a call to the museum will give me some clues,” she muttered. Lily considered making the call from the bench on the boardwalk, yet decided to head back to Marlow House. She didn’t want Walt worrying about her, and she figured he was probably waiting anxiously for her return.

  “We didn't find anything,” Lily announced when she walked through the doorway to Marlow House ten minutes later and unhooked Sadie from the leash. By Sadie’s excitable reaction, Lily was fairly confident Walt stood nearby.

  “I’m going to make a few phone calls. Hopefully I’ll find someone who knows where she is.” The first call Lily made was to the museum. Sitting on the parlor sofa, she waited for someone to answer her call.

  “Frederickport Museum,” came a male voice.

  “Hello, I wanted to find out who would have answered the phone at the museum yesterday, at around—”

  “Would have been Millie Samson. She was the only one here yesterday.”

  “By any chance, is Millie there today?”

  “No, sorry. Can I help you with something?”

  “No, that’s okay. Do you happen to have Millie’s number?”

  “Sorry, I can’t give that information out.”

  “Okay, no problem. I understand.” Lily reluctantly hung up the phone. She glanced over to where Sadie lay by the chair facing the sofa. She figured Walt was probably sitting in the chair, watching her.

  Lily stood up, walked to the desk, and picked up the phone book. “They wouldn’t give me Millie’s phone number. That’s who Danielle spoke to yesterday at the museum. But I’m pretty sure her number is in the phone book.” Minutes later, she had Millie on the phone.

  After Lily hung up, she looked at the empty chair where she assumed Walt sat. “That was odd. According to Millie, all Danielle wanted to know was if the museum hours changed during the off-season. Supposedly, she wanted to know so she could update some flyers. We updated the flyers last week—she knew the answer to that question already; we discussed it.”

  Lily sat back down on the sofa and stared at the cellphone in her hand. “Even if she wanted to recheck her facts, seems like a random thing to do right before you take a walk.”