The Ghost and the Doppelganger

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “How do I find a spirit willing to take over my body? Hang out at the morgue? The cemetery?”

  “Are you seriously asking that question? You really don’t know?”

  Clint stared at Eva for several moments, allowing her words to sink in. “You’re talking about my cousin, Walt Marlow!” he blurted.

  “Of course. Isn’t it the obvious solution? His adjustment to your body would be minimal. After all, when he looks in the mirror—something he can’t do now—he will see himself. Or at least it will look just like the man he remembers from his first life. Even your name is the same. Your real name is Walter Clint, as is his.”

  “He wouldn’t be me.”

  “No. He would be himself. You would be no more. You would be with Stephanie.”

  “I don’t know,” he said with a frown, shaking his head in disbelief. “It just seems…wrong.”

  “Not as wrong as you killing yourself!”

  “It’s my body. It would feel strange having someone else…use it like that. People would think it was me.”

  “What people? You have no friends.”

  He glared at Eva.

  “It’s true,” she said calmly. “You don’t.”

  Shaking his head, he muttered, “I have to go.” In the next moment he vanished.

  Now standing alone on the beach, Eva let out a deep sigh. She looked up to the sky.

  “This isn’t how it was supposed to go!”

  A moment later, still looking upwards, she said, “I understand, there are no guarantees. Yes, I know…free will.”

  Just after lunch, Danielle opened her door to find Adam Nichols standing on the front porch carrying what appeared to be a cake box. Instead of wearing a smile, his mouth twisted into a half smirk as he pushed his way past Danielle into the entry hall.

  “Well, hello to you too,” Danielle said wryly as she closed the door. Turning to Adam, she waited for an explanation for his odd behavior.

  “I brought you a birthday cake,” he announced, quickly opening the box for her to see the contents. While it was impossible to tell what kind of cake it was, the frosting appeared to be chocolate buttercream. Unable to resist, Danielle reached for the cake to swipe a taste of the frosting when Adam jerked the box away from her and shut it, holding it just out of her reach.

  Danielle frowned. “Gosh, I thought you said you brought it for me?”

  “I did. But for once, I don’t think you should have your cake and eat it too. I’m going to make you watch me eat your entire birthday cake!” Adam marched toward the kitchen.

  “What in the world?” Danielle shook her head but reluctantly followed Adam. She watched as he jerked open one of her kitchen drawers and snatched a fork. He then slammed the cake box on the kitchen table, sat down and roughly opened the box.

  Speechless, Danielle watched while Adam jabbed the fork into the middle of the cake, and then he shoved the bite into his mouth, leaving frosting around the corners of his lips. Glaring at Danielle, Adam stared her in her eyes as he chewed.

  Still perplexed, Danielle sat down at the table with Adam, her eyes never leaving his. After a moment of silence, Adam tossed the fork on the table, wiped the frosting off his mouth with the back of his hand, and then pushed the cake box toward Danielle.

  He began to laugh. “Are you freaking kidding me? Over ten million dollars?”

  Danielle grinned and then pulled the cake box toward her. She picked up Adam’s fork and then wiped it off on the edge of the cardboard cakebox before helping herself to a bite.

  “You heard about the portraits?” Danielle asked as she took her second bite.

  “How do you do it, Danielle? You keep falling into money.”

  Danielle shrugged. “How did you find out?”

  “It’s all over town. Everyone is wondering where Chris put the paintings while they have the new section of the museum built—with added security.”

  “Hey, this is good cake.” Danielle stood up and walked to the counter. She grabbed another fork from the silverware drawer and then filled two glasses with cold milk. She returned to the table and handed Adam a glass and a fork.

  “I picked it up from Old Salts. That’s where I heard the news.”

  “Ahhh…you were bringing me a birthday cake? How sweet,” she cooed.

  “It was for…well, later.”

  “You mean for my surprise party?” Danielle took another bite.

  “How did you know?” he asked.

  Danielle shrugged. “I figured Lily was up to something when she stopped asking me what I wanted to do for my birthday.”

  “I guess I’ll need to pick up another cake for tonight,” Adam grumbled as he took another bite.

  Twenty-Nine

  Clint returned to the intensive care unit and stood by his hospital bed. He watched the steady breathing of the body that was his. Aside from the broken leg and stitched-up forehead, Clint begrudgingly admitted he looked relatively healthy. He laughed at the thought, finding it bizarre that he would come to a place where the prospect of a healthy body was a bad thing.

  Eva’s unorthodox solution stirred his emotions in a most unsettling manner. While he had contemplated suicide in order to be with Stephanie, he was surprised at the wave of possessiveness flooding over him when she mentioned turning his body over to Walt. Her initial suggestion—when she had been using abstracts—no one specific spirit—had not inspired any particular emotion. However, the moment she had suggested turning his body over to Walt, something inside him rebelled.

  It reminded him a little of the time he was about to break up with his high school sweetheart, Julie Ann, and then discovered the captain of the football team had a crush on her. There was no way he was going to let him have her. Clint had ended up dating Julie Ann for six more months, until the football player started going steady with one of the cheerleaders. That was when Clint dumped Julie Ann.

  Turning from the bed, Clint left the hospital again. He ended up back on Beach Drive, in front of Marlow House. To his relief, there was no sign of Eva Thorndike. Not wanting to deal with Walt or Danielle, he decided to stroll down to the pier. After he reached the pier, he headed back down the beach, ending up behind Ian and Lily’s house. Bored, he decided to go in and have a look around.

  He had forgotten about the dog and was quickly reminded of her when he entered the house from the back and found Sadie sleeping on the bed in what appeared to be the master bedroom. Not wanting to wake the dog and send her into another barking fit, he moved into the living room. The living room was empty. But then he heard voices from the kitchen. Curious, he decided to investigate.

  “That darn Adam,” Lily said as she emptied what appeared to be dry onion soup mix into a container of sour cream.

  “What did Adam do now?” Ian asked. He stood across the kitchen from Lily, at the counter dicing up cheese into bite-size wedges.

  “Dani knows about her surprise party.” Lily angrily stirred the soup mix into the sour cream.

  “He told her?”

  “She said he didn’t mean to. But I don’t think he could resist. He heard about the portraits when he went to pick up the cake at the bakery.”

  “So?” Ian began organizing the cheese and crackers on a serving tray.

  “He thought it would be funny to give her her birthday cake and tell her that for once she could have her cake and not eat it. He then started to eat the cake in front of her.”

  With a frown, Ian turned from the cutting board and faced Lily. “I don’t get it.”

  Lily shrugged and placed the lid on the sour cream container. It barely fit with the addition of the soup mixture. “He was trying to be funny.”

  “Ahh…I get it.” Ian nodded. “Yeah, I imagine about now Adam—along with most of Frederickport—is wondering if Danielle has some good-fortune fairy godmother following her around.”

  “Good-fortune fairy godmother?” Lily laughed. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of one of those before.”

  �
��If there is one, she’s assigned to Danielle. That girl seems to fall into money at every turn. Two inheritances, the necklace, the gold coins, and now Chris is giving her over ten million for those paintings. Considering Danielle’s moderate lifestyle, I’m not sure what she’s ever going to do with all that money.”

  “It’s true what they say, money can’t buy happiness.” Lily picked up the container of dip she had just made and set it in the refrigerator.

  “You don’t think Danielle’s happy?” Ian asked.

  “Sure, she’s happy, I suppose. As happy as she can be considering the man she’s in love with has been dead for almost a hundred years. No real future in that.”

  “You really think she’s in love with Walt?”

  Folding her arms over her chest and leaning back against the kitchen counter, Lily faced Ian and nodded. “I’m sure of it. I really thought for a while there she would have a future with Chris. Chris is a great guy. They have so much in common. They know each other’s secrets; plus she never has to worry about Chris being after her money.”

  “I like Chris too. And I know he’s crazy about her.”

  Lily let out a sigh. “But that thing with Walt keeps getting in the way of any real relationship.”

  “Did she tell you how she feels about Walt?” Ian asked.

  “She doesn’t have to tell me. It’s all over her face. I know her too well.”

  “Maybe it would be best if Walt moved on,” Ian suggested. “That way Danielle could get on with her life.”

  “Or maybe…maybe Heather was right earlier.”

  “Right about what?” He frowned.

  “Clint doesn’t want his body. I think Walt should march over to that hospital and just take it!”

  Ian chuckled. “I don’t think it would be that easy. And what would Walt do in our world? Yeah, he knows how to use a computer now, but how would he survive? What would he do?”

  “He could do whatever he wants. Danielle is a rich woman, and most of that money was Walt’s. He’d be a very rich man.”

  “Yes, he would…” Clint muttered.

  A moment later Sadie came rushing into the kitchen. She went immediately to Clint and started barking. From Ian and Lily’s perspective, the dog appeared to be barking at the wall. Sadie lowered her head and began to growl.

  Clint made a hasty departure from Ian and Lily’s house. Instead of returning to the hospital, he perched atop Lily and Ian’s roof and considered all that he had overheard in their kitchen. Nothing in this world was fair, he thought.

  The woman Walt loved and who loved him back was alive. Walt’s vast fortune remained intact. However, for Walt to truly be with the woman he loved and to enjoy his money was currently impossible. Unless, of course, Walt stepped into Clint’s body.

  Clint, on the other hand, had access to a viable body, yet the woman he loved had moved on, and most of his money was now gone. He had taken a hit after selling his condo. Foolishly he had purchased the property at the top of the market before real estate prices had plummeted. While prices had slowly inched upward during the past year, he had still been upside down in his loan, something that did not bother him at the close of escrow, as he had been counting on the money from the portraits and a new life in Paris with the woman he loved.

  “If I have to wake up in my body again, I’d rather do it as my cousin,” Clint said aloud. He then laughed. “Not so crazy about being stuck with Danielle Boatman, but all that money of hers would make life bearable.”

  Clint’s thoughts wandered for a moment. He imagined what it would be like to wake up in his body and then convince Danielle he was really Walt reincarnated. “All that money,” he said with a sigh. Unfortunately, there was one little hitch. It would be impossible to convince Danielle he was Walt while his cousin haunted the house.

  The sun had set when cars began arriving in front of Marlow House. Ian and Lily had crossed the street earlier, with Sadie in tow, but Clint had failed to notice, as he was so engrossed in his own thoughts. Weary with contemplation, he began paying attention to what was going on across the street.

  They’re having a party. The thought made him bitter. It had just been a day since Stephanie’s death. His body was lying in a hospital unconscious, and he had been a guest of Marlow House for two weeks. But did they show the slightest remorse? No, they’re having a freaking party, he thought.

  He continued to sit on the rooftop as the hours went by. Finally, people began coming out of Marlow House and getting into their vehicles. One by one the cars drove away. After the street in front of Marlow House was empty again, Ian and Lily came outside with their dog and made their way across the street.

  Lights went out in Marlow House. All except for the attic. Clint noticed a man’s silhouette in the attic window.

  “That’s Walt,” he muttered. “I need to talk to him.”

  “Hello, cousin,” Clint greeted him when he appeared in the attic.

  Startled by Clint’s sudden appearance, Walt turned to look at the man who looked like himself.

  “Clint.” Walt eyed his cousin curiously and took a seat on the sofa.

  “We haven’t had a chance to talk.” Clint sat in the nearby folding chair and faced Walt.

  “I’m not sure what we have to talk about.” Walt waved a hand for a cigar.

  “How do you do that?” Clint asked.

  Walt glanced at the cigar. “This?”

  Clint nodded.

  Walt shrugged. “It’s just one of the things I can do.”

  “Why haven’t you moved on?” Clint asked.

  “I’m just not ready. I will eventually.” Walt took a puff off his cigar.

  “You’re in love with Danielle, aren’t you? I can see it in your face. I imagine I look at Stephanie the way you look at Danielle.”

  “When are you going back in your body? What are you waiting for?” Walt asked.

  “I told you before. I don’t want to go back. I want to move on with Stephanie.”

  “I would like to be alive, but we don’t always get what we want, do we? You might as well go back to your body and make the most of it. The longer you wait, the harder time you’ll have getting your body back in shape. You’re just making it worse for yourself.”

  “Maybe we can both get what we want.” Clint smiled.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You take my body. Once you do that, I’ll be free to move on.”

  Walt’s cigar vanished. Startled by the offer, Walt studied his cousin. “What makes you think that is even possible?”

  “I spoke to your friend Eva. She tells me it’s my only option if I want to move on. I need to find a spirit willing to move into my body, and you’re the most obvious candidate.”

  “Eva told you that?” Walt frowned.

  “Yes. Do you have any reason to believe she doesn’t know what she’s talking about?”

  Walt considered the question a moment and then shook his head. “No. Not really. Eva tends to be—well, it may sound cliché—but a free spirit. As a spirit, she’s seen far more of this world than I have and understands more about it than I do, which is understandable considering I’m confined to Marlow House.”

  Clint frowned. “What do you mean you’re confined to Marlow House?”

  With a wave of his hand another cigar appeared. “I wouldn’t be able to do this, or—” the table next to the sofa lifted in the air and then settled back to the floor “—that, if I enjoyed the same freedom as Eva.”

  “Are you saying you can’t leave Marlow House?” Clint asked.

  “I can leave—I just can’t come back once I do.”

  “What would happen to you?”

  Walt flicked ashes from his cigar. Clint watched them vanish in midair.

  “I suppose I’ll move on, like Stephanie did.”

  “But you have to be able to leave here so you can go into my body!” Clint insisted.

  “Go into his body?” said a female voice.

  Bo
th Clint and Walt turned to the open doorway and found Danielle standing there. She wore plaid flannel pajama bottoms, a solid blue T-shirt and a stunned expression on her face. By her side was Max, who looked from Clint to Walt, his black tail waving behind him.

  “Yes. I’m trying to talk Walt into taking over my body,” Clint told her.

  “Excuse me. Did you say take over your body?” she stammered.

  Thirty

  Clint stood up and looked from Danielle to Walt. “I’ll leave you two alone to discuss this. But you need to come to a decision soon. I want to move on and be with Stephanie. Maybe you don’t want my body, but I imagine there’s someone out there who would jump at this second chance I’m offering. While you consider my proposal, I think I’ll go back to the ICU and see if I can find any recently deceased spirits lingering somewhere in the hospital.” The next moment he vanished.

  “Do you think he’s serious?” Danielle walked to Walt and sat next to him. Max jumped up on the sofa with them, settling between Danielle and Walt.

  “I think he is,” Walt murmured, his forehead drawn into a frown while he considered all that Clint had said.

  “How did he even know this is a possibility?” Danielle asked.

  “He told me Eva suggested it.”

  “Eva? He talked to Eva?”

  “Apparently.”

  “Are you…well…considering it?” Danielle asked in a whisper.

  “I know Heather spoke of this the other night, and I automatically dismissed it. Frankly, I never thought it was an option. And I would never take advantage of a confused spirit who might regret moving on. However, I do believe Clint is serious in that if it is not me, it will be someone else.”

  Danielle slumped back on the sofa. “Oh my goodness…this could be real.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Walt let out a bitter laugh and flung his cigar into the air. It vanished. “Who am I kidding? I can’t do this.”

  “Why not?” Danielle studied Walt a moment, tilting her head slightly. “This is about what you said last night, isn’t it?”