“Haunting the museum?” Eva asked, sounding highly amused.
Danielle smiled. “Yes.”
Eva laughed and waved one hand in dramatic flourish. “This would be a rather tedious venue to spend one’s eternity, don’t you think?”
“I suppose,” Danielle muttered lamely, suddenly feeling immensely inadequate next to Eva Thorndike. She was even more beautiful than her portrait. No wonder Walt fell madly in love with her. What man wouldn’t be captivated, by her looks alone? “Why are you here at all? Why haven’t you moved on?”
“It’s much too bright in this room; come with me,” Eva said, floating back into the hallway.
Danielle followed Eva to the Thorndike exhibit. Once there, Eva perched atop the glass display cabinet housing the emerald. She sat in front of her portrait, striking a flattering pose, and smiled down at Danielle.
“Why haven’t you moved on?” Danielle asked again.
“Move on? I was far too young to die. I wasn’t ready; I had things I still wanted to do. Maybe I couldn’t prevent my death, but I refuse to be rushed along in my journey, especially since I’m not ready to leave.”
“So you’ve been here all this time?” Danielle asked. “You’ve never tried to move on?”
“I’m not ready, and they can’t force me,” she said stubbornly.
“If you haven’t spent the last hundred years with your portrait, where have you been?”
Eva sighed. “For a while, I stayed with Walt. He had been so good to me—taken care of me when I needed him most, asking nothing in return. I loved him like a brother. I wish I would have loved him—differently. Loved him, like I know he loved me. But then, I was always a fool.”
“A fool?”
“The men I chose.” Eva shook her head. “Horrible choices. But staying with Walt proved most frustrating.”
“How so?” Danielle glanced around. She spied a chair sitting not far from the exhibit. Still listening to Eva, she quickly grabbed the chair, pulled it up to the Thorndike exhibit, and sat down. Fascinated with what Eva had to say, she continued to listen.
“He got involved with that horrid Angela. He had spent all those years pining over me—drifting from one meaningless relationship to another, when she dug her greedy claws into him, and the foolish man thinks he’s in love! I tried to stop him, but of course, he wasn’t like you. He had no idea I had been with him all those years.”
“Were you there when her brother killed him?”
Eva sighed. “I knew it was going to happen, and I knew I couldn’t prevent it. Having the freedom of movement comes with a price.”
“You can’t harness your energy?” Danielle asked.
Eva frowned. “Harness my energy?”
“You can’t move objects, right?”
Eva shook her head. “No. Sometimes I can make the lights flicker. Once I managed to bust a light bulb, but that’s about it. I suppose if I settled somewhere, stayed in one place, I would accumulate the necessary energy to make my presence known. But why? I don’t want to be tied to one place. I want to move freely, explore the world.”
“Were you there when Walt was killed?”
Eva shook her head. “I couldn’t stop it, and I didn’t want to watch it. And I didn’t want to be there when Walt’s spirit self awakened. Our souls are not destined to be together for eternity, and I didn’t want to confuse him. I’d hurt him enough when we were both alive. I felt it best to move on.”
“If you were with Walt until his brother-in-law plotted to kill him, then you must have been there when the Eva Aphrodite went missing.”
Eva smiled softly. “He named his yacht after me. I always thought that so sweet of him.”
“Do you know why Thelma Templeton told her friend, Ethel, that Walt was her lover?”
“I have no idea what was in that woman’s mind. But I’ll tell you, Walt never had anything to do with Thelma. I remember once Walt was having drinks with a friend when he ran into her and her husband. The husband left, and she approached Walt, making it very clear to him she would be interested in something—more intimate.”
Danielle remembered Walt’s dream hop and the speakeasy. She suspected that was the incident Eva was referring to.
“Of course, Thelma Templeton was on the rebound.”
“Rebound?”
Eva sighed. “I didn’t spend all my time by Walt’s side. I’m afraid I’d get a little bored doing that. Sometimes, I would check in on my ex-husband.”
“The one who switched the diamonds and emeralds in your necklace?”
“Like I said, I had a horrible taste in men. Although, in fairness to myself, I was not the only woman to fall under his spell. Thelma was quite besotted with the rogue.”
“Are you suggesting Thelma Templeton’s lover was your ex-husband?”
“He was handsome—I can’t really blame her. And he did have a way with the ladies. Of course, when he was ready to move on, he moved on.”
“Marie said something about Thelma having an affair with an actor. Your husband was an actor, wasn’t he?”
“Yes. Not a very good one. But he didn’t need to be as long as the wealthy ladies paid his bills. Unfortunately, Anthony bored easily.”
“Anthony, that was your husband’s name?”
“Yes.”
“According to Ethel’s diary, she walked in on Thelma dressing, and discovered her back covered with bruises. Thelma claimed it was the work of her lover, which at the time she led Ethel to believe was Walt.”
“Walt would never hit a woman. Never. Anthony, on the other hand, had a violent temper. If provoked—he wouldn’t hesitate using his fist on a woman. That’s why I finally left him.”
“He hit you? Did Walt know?”
Eva laughed. “Tell Walt that Anthony hit me? Are you insane? It was bad enough when he discovered Anthony had stolen from me. No, I never told him. I think my mother may have suspected. My father knew, which is how I managed to get my marriage annulled so quickly. I put up with a lot from Anthony, but I wasn’t going to be his punching bag.”
“According to Ethel’s diary, Thelma’s lover broke it off with her—I’m assuming that was Anthony?”
“Probably. I’ll be honest; I stopped checking on Anthony around that time. He had just taken up with a new woman, one with even more money than Thelma. Plus, she was a widow. I saw what he was doing. He intended to marry her, as he had married me. The difference with this new woman was that she had already come into her full inheritance and was a rich widow. I didn’t want to watch, so I never saw Anthony again.”
“I imagine this new woman wouldn’t have been thrilled to discover she wasn’t the only one he was seeing.”
Eva laughed. “No she wouldn’t. From what I recall, she was a rather demanding woman. Attractive, but a few years older than Anthony. She had never had children, so there was nothing in his way—aside from his relationship with Thelma.”
“Do you have any idea who killed those people on the Eva Aphrodite?” Danielle asked.
Eva moved from the display case and stood before Danielle. She shook her head solemnly. “No, but their spirits have been interestingly active recently.”
“You’re talking about the people who were murdered on the ship?”
“Yes. I had no idea back then anyone had been murdered. Just because some of us reside in the spirit realm does not necessarily mean we are aware of all that’s going on around us.”
“Just like in real life,” Danielle muttered.
“Yes. But for me, this is my real life…or perhaps, my real death.”
“So what did you mean when you said they have been interestingly active recently?”
“I periodically stop in at the museum, which is how I happened to hear about the ship washing up on shore. And then I heard the people had been murdered. I went down to the beach to see for myself. There were flashes of those souls, calling out to me, demanding the truth finally be told. But they were behind a wall. So there was only so much they coul
d do.”
Danielle frowned. “Behind a wall?”
“Yes. Not a wall as you might know it, but a wall nevertheless. Once one passes over, there are very limited ways one can return or communicate with the living—or with the souls like me, who have refused to move on.”
“Walt’s still at Marlow House,” Danielle blurted out.
Eva smiled softly. “Yes, I know.”
“He can’t leave. He’s confined there. When he wants to move on he can, but until he does, he can’t venture beyond Marlow House’s walls.”
“Yes, I know.”
Danielle cocked her head slightly and studied Eva. “If you know he’s been there all these years, why haven’t you ever tried to make contact with him? Visit your old friend. He can’t leave Marlow House, but I imagine you could go there.”
Eva shook her head. “No Danielle. I told you, it would only confuse things. Someday, when we both move on, we can meet again as friends. But while we’re here, it’s better this way.”
“Don’t you want to move on?”
“I told you! I’m much too young! I still have so much to do!” Eva laughed gaily and then vanished.
“Eva?” Danielle glanced around. “Eva?”
The room felt different somehow. It felt as it had when she had first arrived at the museum and had approached the portrait. Eva Thorndike’s spirit was no longer in the building.
“Wow. There was so much more I wanted to ask her.”
Danielle returned to the office and picked up the diary. Sitting back down in the office chair, she opened the book and began reading where she had left off.
It was dark when Danielle finished reading. When she was done, she placed the book back in the drawer and pulled out her cellphone. She called Chief MacDonald. Initially she intended to tell Walt about Eva before mentioning anything to the chief, but considering the chief’s obsession with Walt’s possible guilt, she didn’t want to wait.
“You can stop worrying about Walt,” Danielle announced when the chief answered the phone.
“Danielle? Where are you?”
“I’m at the museum.”
“At this time at night? Isn’t it closed? Are they having a meeting or something?”
“I came down to read the diary, remember?”
“Not sure how you arrived at the conclusion that Walt is not a danger. I read that diary too.”
“Yes, but you didn’t talk to Eva Thorndike.”
“Eva Thorndike? Are you talking about that woman in the portrait?”
“Yes, and she’s even more beautiful in person. Well…not in person exactly…in spirit?”
“Are you telling me Eva Thorndike haunts the Frederickport museum?”
“Don’t be silly Chief. The museum would be a rather tedious venue to spend one’s eternity, don’t you think?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Walt and Jack were waiting for Danielle when she walked in the kitchen door Monday evening. They weren’t alone. Lily was there gathering a stack of napkins and paper plates.
“You’re just in time for pizza!” Lily announced. “Everyone’s in the dining room. Want some?”
“Thanks Lily, but I grabbed a burrito at the drive through on the way home.”
Lily closed the pantry door and faced Danielle, her hands occupied with the paper plates and napkins. “Did you find out anything interesting?”
“Yes, what did you find out?” Walt asked.
Jack eyed Lily appreciatively. She wore a snuggly fitting T-shirt and lounging pants, her red hair pulled up casually in a high ponytail. “I think I’m falling in love with this little doll. I could have showed her a good time back in the day.”
“That day is long gone, Jack,” Walt said impatiently. He looked back to Danielle, waiting for her reply.
Danielle flashed Jack a smile and then looked from Lily to Walt. “I read the diary, but it was basically all hearsay. Thelma was having an affair with some guy that was abusive, he broke it off, and when she threatened him, he supposedly threatened her life. Thelma claimed Walt was her lover, but Ethel never saw them together. I stopped at Marie’s, and according to her, Thelma was having an affair with some actor. Marie’s mother saw them together. I think Thelma told her friend it was Walt because she didn’t want to admit who it really was.”
“Back then, actors were considered to be from the wrong side of the track,” Lily suggested.
“I agree. But it’s kind of ironic; she was having an affair, so why does it really matter at that point who it was with?” Danielle asked.
“It just did,” Walt spoke up. “Cheating on her husband was one thing, but slumming was another.”
“Walt agrees with you,” Danielle told Lily. Danielle failed to mention that the actor in question had already hooked a woman of greater stature who wasn’t afraid of what people thought; that was, of course, had she been willing to marry the actor as Eva suggested. But Danielle wasn’t ready to tell Walt about her encounter with Eva. She needed to figure out just how she would tell him.
“Walt’s here?” Lily glanced around.
“Yes. And Jack too. Who, by the way, thinks you’re a hot little thing.”
Blushing, Lily looked to where she imagined Jack might be standing. “Really?”
With a cheeky grin, Lily tossed her head back, sending her ponytail swishing as she sashayed out of the kitchen, a slight more wiggle to her walk. “You’re welcome to join us, Dani!” Lily called back as she stepped from the room.
Chuckling under her breath, Danielle shook her head. “I’m going to go take a shower, guys. I’m wiped out. It’s been a long day. I think I’m going to go to bed early.”
“Is that it?” Walt asked as she headed for the door.
Pausing, she looked back at Walt. “Yeah, for now.”
Danielle had just climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over her when Walt appeared by her side.
“Where’s your friend?” she asked.
“He’s in the attic with Max. I told him I wanted to talk to you alone.”
Danielle snuggled down in the bed, her hands clutching the top of her blanket. “What about?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Danielle licked her lips nervously. “What do you mean?”
Walt pointed to Danielle, “That.”
“That what?”
“You always lick your lips when you’re keeping something from me.”
“I do not!” Danielle scooted down in the bed, pulling the blankets to her chin.
“What aren’t you telling me?” he demanded.
After a moment, Danielle released hold of her blanket; she dropped her hands and arms on top of it with a flop and looked up at Walt. “I saw Eva tonight.”
Walt’s eyes widened. “Eva?”
Danielle nodded. “Yes, at the museum.” She couldn’t decide if Walt’s expression was that of confusion or simply shock.
Silently, he sat down on the bed beside her. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Danielle shrugged. “I was trying to figure out how to. I know what she meant to you.”
“Just tell me, Danielle.”
Danielle scooted back up in the bed. Leaning against the headboard, she looked at Walt and proceeded to tell him about her encounter with the famous silent screen star, Eva Thorndike.
When she was done recounting the meeting, she said, “I have to say, she’s even more beautiful in person—well, you know what I mean. When I first saw the portrait, I thought she looked like the Gibson Girl, but she’s actually more...umm, for a lack of better word…sexier. I always thought there was something a little virginal looking about the Gibson Girl.”
Walt laughed. “I always thought the Gibson Girl inspired the portrait artist’s portrayal of Eva. He imagined her on a pedestal—untouchable.”
“I can also see how she was an actress. She’s still very—dramatic.”
Walt laughed again. “Yes, Eva had a flair for the dramatic, even when we we
re children. But why hasn’t she moved on?”
“I think it’s her way of protesting her early death.”
Walt stood up. “I’ll let you go to sleep now.”
Cocking her head, she studied Walt curiously. “You’re okay with this, aren’t you?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Danielle shrugged. “I just know how in love you were with her. To find out she’s still here—that she hasn’t moved on.”
“I told you Danielle, I’ve moved beyond all that. I loved Eva once. I still love her, but now, as a dear friend. We’ll see each other again, when we’re both finished with what we have to do here.”
“I suppose I understand. It’s kinda how I feel about Lucas.”
Walt nodded.
“Can I ask you one thing?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“Do I really lick my lips when you think I’m keeping something from you?”
Walt smiled. “Not really sure. But it does seem to be one of your nervous ticks—and you did tell me about Eva when I called you on it.”
Danielle scrunched up her nose. “One of my ticks? You mean I have others?”
Walt smiled, whispered sweet dreams, and then vanished.
She was rocking again. Back and forth. Back and forth. Danielle opened her eyes. Once again she was in a rocking chair on Emma’s front porch, with Emma in the chair next to her—the older Emma, as she was the last time Danielle had seen her alive.
“I didn’t expect to see you again!” Danielle said brightly. “How’s Emmett?”
“I haven’t moved on yet. I can’t. I must have shown you the wrong thing. That’s not what they wanted you to see.”
“Did they tell you what they wanted exactly?”
Emma shook her head. “That would be too easy. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Nothing in life—or death—is easy.”
“Okay…” Danielle considered the puzzle. “I assume it has to be something you witnessed—or maybe you were just there. After all, you worked in the Bluebell Diner; people were coming and going all the time. Maybe it’s a conversation between some customers—something you didn’t actually overhear, but something we can listen to now, if we go back.”
The Ghost from the Sea Page 22
