The Ghost and the Mystery Writer

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “I think the whole thing’s creepy,” Lily said as she followed Danielle and the chief to the entry hall.

  MacDonald paused at the front door a moment before exiting. He looked at Danielle. “Maybe you might consider taking a walk on the beach, perhaps you’ll see Jolene again?”

  “Or the killer,” Lily suggested.

  MacDonald opened the door. “My gut tells me this killer was after Jolene. But Lily is right. There is a killer out there, and I want you both to be careful.”

  She hated to fly. But the sooner they got into the air, the sooner she could have a drink. That was one thing she liked about flying first class—they kept the beverages flowing. Shifting uncomfortably in the seat, she shoved her purse under the seat ahead of her and fastened her seatbelt. Fidgeting nervously, she wished the other passengers would step it up and get boarded so they could get off the ground, and she could get a cocktail.

  Wringing her hands nervously, she stared out the side window. A moment later a male voice said, “Hello, neighbor.”

  Melony glanced to her immediate right and found herself staring into an incredible set of deep blue eyes.

  “I guess this is my seat,” the male passenger with the incredible blue eyes said as he took the place next to her. He flashed her a smile, showing off straight white teeth. Once seated, he extended a right hand in greeting, “I’m Chris. I guess we’ll be flying together.”

  Melony wondered if she had been living in New York for too long, considering she wanted to recoil from the friendly greeting rather than embrace it. Unprepared for such a cheerful hello from a handsome stranger, she had been primed—and preferred—a quiet uninterrupted flight. The only interruption she wanted was when the steward brought her another cocktail.

  Her first thought, He has to be gay. It wasn’t that he was feminine looking—just the contrary. But in her experience a man this good looking was inevitably gay. Reluctantly, she accepted his brief handshake and watched as he settled into the seat next to her and buckled his seatbelt.

  “I’m headed to Oregon, what about you?” he asked in a friendly tone after buckling his seat.

  Without thought she responded, “Oregon.” Her gaze swept over him. At first glance, she was so captivated by his eyes—that smile—that face—she hadn’t really looked at what he wore. Now noting his clothes, she was fairly certain he was no New Yorker, not with those worn denim jeans and colorful T-shirt. He reminded her of a surfer—or a beach bum. A beach bum riding in first class?

  He broke into a wide smile. “Then we’ll be flying the entire way together, great.” He settled back into his seat, his eyes still on her. “I take it this is a business trip for you?”

  Melony frowned, “Umm…business? No, why do you ask that?”

  Boldly, his eyes looked her up and down, taking in her silk business suit. “Not exactly vacation wear. Nice though.” He smiled again.

  “I take it this is a vacation for you?” she countered, without answering his question.

  “I’m heading home now—but no, it wasn’t a vacation. But I wrapped up business a little earlier than I expected, and I’m heading home a little earlier. Hope to surprise someone.” He leaned back in his seat and smiled.

  Glancing at his left hand, she didn’t see a wedding ring. She almost asked if he had a girlfriend waiting at home. Is that who he intends to surprise? It might answer her gay question. From her experience, gay men tended to be more open about their sexual orientation these days. At least that was true in her circle of friends.

  “You have a girlfriend you’re surprising?” Melony asked.

  He arched his brows and smiled over at her. “Girlfriend…no…”

  Aha, I was right, he is gay! I can always tell.

  “Maybe,” he added.

  Melony frowned. “Maybe?”

  “I think I’d like her to be…maybe she already is.” Chris let out a sigh.

  “You don’t know?”

  Chris shrugged and then looked at Melony, studying her for a moment. “What about you? You traveling alone, or did you ditch your guy for first class?”

  Melony smiled. “No, I’m traveling alone.”

  “So it is business?”

  Melony glanced away and looked out the window. “In a way. Family business.”

  “Depending on the family, that can be good times or bad. Hope yours is good.”

  “Not particularly good. My mother just died. I’m going back to settle her estate.”

  Chris’s smile immediately vanished. His hand reached out and briefly touched hers. “I’m sorry.”

  Melony shrugged and looked from the window back to Chris, who had just removed his hand from hers. “My mother and I weren’t particularly close.”

  “I don’t imagine that makes it any easier for you. Sometimes, it can make it harder.”

  Melony let out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “If you’re settling her estate, I assume your father’s not in the picture.”

  “He passed away a number of years ago.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you have any brothers or sisters waiting for you in Oregon?”

  Melony shook her head. “No, it’s just me. I’m an only child.”

  Chris smiled. “I’m an only child too. I think it would have been nice to have a brother or sister, but then when I see how some of my friends fight with their siblings, I think maybe I had the better deal.”

  “Are your parents still alive?”

  Chris shook his head. “No, I lost them both.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess that makes us both orphans?” Melony said sadly.

  “I suppose it does. Although, I once heard you’re technically an orphan if you’ve lost just one parent.”

  “Interesting…I’ve been an orphan all this time and didn’t realize it,” Melony said dully, looking back out the window.

  “So where in Oregon are you headed? Portland?”

  “My first stop. But from there, I rent a car and drive to my mother’s place a couple hours from Portland,” Melony explained.

  “Are you returning to your hometown?”

  “Yeah, I suppose I am. It’s where I grew up.”

  “Maybe you don’t have siblings waiting for you, but I imagine you’ve lots of old friends there,” Chris suggested.

  “I really never kept in contact with anyone. It’s been years since I’ve been back. I don’t imagine I’ll see any old friends while I’m there. I intend to take care of business and then head home.”

  “Not even at the funeral?” Chris asked.

  “There won’t be a funeral.”

  From the speaker the stewardess’s voice blared, telling the passengers the plane was preparing to take off, but first she wanted everyone to make sure they were properly buckled up, and items securely stored, before explaining the flight’s safety procedures.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Since he had been the one to talk to Pete Rogers, Chief MacDonald decided he would talk to Steve Klein himself instead of having Joe or Brian conduct the informal interrogation. After leaving Marlow House, he headed for the bank. Once there, the chief stopped at the desk of Susan Mitchell.

  “What can I help you with, Chief?” Susan asked brightly.

  He glanced from Susan to the teller windows. “I’m not used to seeing you out here. I thought Klein kept you tellers locked up.”

  Susan laughed and said primly, “I was promoted.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “So if you need a personal loan, you know who to come to.”

  “I’ll remember that.” MacDonald grinned. “Is Steve in? I saw his car out there.”

  “Yes, he’s in his office, but he’s with someone. He should be out in a minute. You want me to tell him you’re here?”

  “No, I’ll wait.”

  Susan pointed to a chair by her desk. “You’re welcome to wait here.”

  MacDonald smiled and took a seat. “Thanks.”

  Susan leaned toward MacDonald
and said in a hushed voice, “It was just awful about Jolene Carmichael. Have you arrested anyone yet?”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

  Susan reached over to a stack of papers and gave them a pat. “I was just gathering up Jolene’s paperwork. I guess I won’t need it now.”

  “Paperwork?”

  “For her loan. Well, for the loan she wanted.” Lowering her voice, Susan glanced around the bank and then said in a whisper, “Jolene was trying to get a personal loan. Of course, Mr. Klein told me there was no way she could qualify. I thought it was so sad. I always heard how wealthy her family was, but the poor woman lost everything.” Susan then added in a hasty whisper, “I would never talk about a client’s business—not even one who just died—but you are the police chief and I assume you need to know everything about Jolene in order to find her killer. Maybe someone she owed money to killed her.”

  “Did she mention owing money to anyone?”

  Susan shook her head. “No. But she seemed so desperate to get the loan. I just wondered if maybe it was a life-or-death situation for her. She wanted it so bad. Of course, Mr. Klein said there was no way. His loyalty is to the bank shareholders. I totally understand his position and respect him for it. That’s why he’s the bank manager. But still, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.”

  “If she wasn’t going to get a loan, why did you still have her loan papers sitting on your desk?”

  Susan smiled. “One thing I can say for Mrs. Carmichael, she was persistent. She told me to keep her application on my desk because Mr. Klein would be giving her the loan, and if she had to fill out the forms again, she would not be happy with me.” Susan then whispered, “I’ll admit, she scared me a little.”

  “Jolene could be a formidable woman.”

  “Yes, she could. And frankly, I rather expected her to get her way. She seemed so sure of herself. But I certainly never expected this—that someone would kill her!”

  Ten minutes later Chief MacDonald sat in Steve Klein’s office with the door closed.

  “I assume this is about Jolene again?”

  “Yes. I have a few more questions.”

  “Certainly. However I can help.”

  MacDonald studied Klein’s face, watching for the slightest change of expression. “The night of the murder, when Jolene stopped at your table, what did you talk about?”

  Klein let out a sigh. “We really didn’t have a conversation. She stopped by my table and told me she’d be seeing me in the morning about the loan.”

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to give her the loan?”

  “I wasn’t. But Jolene wouldn’t take no for an answer. I told her not to waste her or my time, that the answer would still be no.”

  “What did she say to that?”

  “She smiled, said she would see me in the morning.”

  “What did you say?” MacDonald asked.

  “I don’t think I said anything. I just went back to eating my pie.”

  “Someone mentioned that when she left the table, you gave her a pretty dirty look when her back was turned.”

  Klein let out a sigh. “I didn’t mean to. But it’s very possible I did. She had been badgering me about that loan. She just wouldn’t give up. I don’t know how she expected to pay it back. She had no collateral, and her monthly income could barely cover her living expenses.”

  “It was that bad?”

  Klein nodded. “I’m afraid so. When Renton’s law firm toppled, it landed on Jolene.”

  “After you left the diner that night, where did you go?”

  “Home.”

  “Did you go right home?” MacDonald asked.

  “You mean immediately after leaving the diner? No. I walked around a bit, but then the wind started kicking up, so I decided to go home.”

  “Walking around? You mean on the beach, the pier?”

  Steve shook his head. “I didn’t go on the beach. But I did walk down the boardwalk a bit, then came back up on the pier. I didn’t stay long. The wind started kicking up, so I decided to call it a night.”

  “Someone mentioned they saw you walking up from the beach that night.”

  “They’re mistaken. I certainly wouldn’t be walking on the beach in the shoes I was wearing. Like I said, I walked down the boardwalk a bit that night. They probably assumed I’d been on the beach when I returned to the pier.”

  “When you were walking around, you never saw Jolene—or noticed anything suspicious? Maybe heard someone cry out? Anything?”

  “Sorry, Chief. I’ll be honest. I was pretty preoccupied that night. Had a lot on my mind. I really wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings.”

  “But you did walk down the pier?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know the killer threw Jolene’s rings off the end of the pier.”

  “Yeah. I read that in this morning’s paper.”

  “When you were on the pier, you didn’t see anyone standing on the end of it, maybe see someone toss something into the water?”

  Klein shook his head. “No. Sorry. I didn’t see anything.”

  “Did you walk to the end of the pier?”

  Steve shifted in his chair. “Yes. What is this about, Chief? Certainly you don’t think I had anything to do with Jolene’s murder?”

  “I’m just talking to everyone who was there that night. Someone mentioned seeing you walking down the pier and that earlier, in the restaurant, you looked angry with her.”

  “I wasn’t angry with Jolene. I was annoyed with her. She wouldn’t stop pressing for that damn loan.”

  “Did you have any other issues with Jolene?”

  “Not really. Just the loan. I wasn’t thrilled with how she handled herself on the historical society board, but it was nothing that I’d kill someone over.”

  “Do you know of anyone else who might have an issue with her?”

  “Not really. The only one who I ever saw her exchange words with was Danielle Boatman.”

  “Danielle?”

  “It wasn’t anything like they wanted to kill each other. But they obviously disliked each other. Jolene seemed to really have it in for Danielle.”

  “Did Danielle have it in for Jolene?”

  Klein shrugged. “I could tell she didn’t like Jolene, but I wouldn’t say she had it in for her.”

  In the kitchen, Danielle measured soft butter into the bowl of her KitchenAid mixer.

  “What are you doing? Lily asked when she entered the room.

  “I was thinking we need some chocolate chip cookies.” She turned her attention to the sugar canister.

  “Yum.” Lily took a seat at the kitchen table. “Where’s Joanne?”

  “She went home about ten minutes ago. Not much for her to do around here, with only one guest. But, I think she’s coming back later.” Danielle dumped the sugar she had just measured out into the mixing bowl.

  “If we hadn’t had those last minute cancelations, we’d have a full house.” Lily watched as Danielle broke eggs into the mixing bowl.

  “I’d rather they not bring the flu here, so I’m fine with refunding their deposit.” Danielle measured out some brown sugar and added it to the bowl.

  “Have you talked to Chris lately? Told him about Jolene?”

  Danielle paused a moment and looked over at Lily. “No. I tried calling him a little while ago, but I keep getting his recording. I figure he must be stuck in meetings. But he didn’t know Jolene anyway.”

  “That’s right, he never met her.” Lily got up from the table and fixed herself a glass of water while Danielle turned on the mixer.

  “When he called me yesterday morning, I hadn’t heard about Jolene yet,” Danielle explained after she turned the mixer off.

  “I thought he’d be back by now.” Lily sat back down at the table.

  “He had to take that side trip to New York. When he left here, he only planned to go to Chicago. But his plans changed.”

  “Next t
ime Ian goes to New York, I want to go with him,” Lily said wistfully.

  Danielle smiled. “That would be fun.”

  “So when do you think Chris’s coming back?”

  Danielle abandoned her cookie batter and took a seat at the table with Lily. “I’m not sure. When we spoke yesterday, he said it might be another week or less.”

  Lily frowned. “What does that mean, or less?”

  “Now with this side trip to New York, I have no idea how much longer he’s going to be.”

  Lily’s cellphone began to buzz. She picked it up, looked at it briefly, and then stood up. “That’s Ian. He’s ready to go. You sure you don’t want to grab something to eat with us?”

  “No, thanks. I’ve got cookies to bake.”

  Just as Lily dashed out the kitchen door, Walt appeared in the room. “You haven’t heard from Chris today?”

  “You were eavesdropping?” Danielle asked as she stood up and went back to her cookie batter.

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping, exactly. I just overheard your conversation.” Walt stood a few feet from Danielle and watched as she assembled more ingredients for her cookies. “You don’t know when he’s coming back?”

  “I thought you overheard the conversation.” Danielle turned the mixer on.

  When Danielle turned the mixer off, Walt asked in a soft voice, “Will you tell Chris about what happened?”

  Licking her lips nervously, she looked over to Walt. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Yes, you do. Will you tell Chris about that thing you and I never discuss?”

  “It’s really none of Chris’s business.” Danielle opened the bag of chocolate chips and dumped them into the bowl.

  “Does this mean you and Chris are…just friends…pals?” Walt asked.

  Danielle took a deep breath before turning to face Walt. “Honestly, I don’t know what Chris and I are. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”

  Walt laughed. “Danielle, he’s been gone for just a few weeks. I’ve been dead for ninety years; that’s a long time.”

  Danielle looked up into Walt’s eyes. “I like Chris…I like him a lot. We’ve so much in common, and he understands me. I think the only one who understands me more than Chris…is…is you.”