“Do you remember what that name was?” Joe ask.
Pearl shook her head. “No. I don’t remember.”
“Do you remember what year he died?”
Pearl shrugged. “No. I can’t even recall what year it was we went to see him. It was so long ago.”
Brian opened his notepad and flipped the page. He read whatever was on the page and then looked up to Pearl. “From what we have, your grandparents purchased this property from the Mortons, and after your grandfather left, it was put in your grandmother’s name.”
“Correct.” Pearl nodded.
“After your grandmother passed away, the house went to your mother and her sister?” Brian asked.
“Yes, but my parents sold their share to my aunt not long after my grandmother died.”
“It then went to your cousins, your aunt’s children, after she died, correct?” Brian asked.
“Yes. After each cousin passed away, their share went to their children,” Pearl explained. “But they couldn’t seem to get along, so they sold it to me.”
“In all those years, was the house ever rented out?” Brian asked. “We haven’t been able to find any information on any tenants of the property.”
“No. It never was, as far as I know. And after my grandmother died, the house became a vacation home for the family members who owned it. No one ever lived here full-time. So anyone could have buried anything on the property during all those years, considering the house was frequently vacant.”
“You know, unless those bones are not as old as the coroner thinks, those bodies could not have been buried in her backyard after the grandmother died,” Joe said after getting back into the police car with Brian and closing the door.
“I know. Unless they were put there right after she died,” Brian said.
“Do you think she was telling the truth about her grandfather?” Joe asked.
“I was wondering that myself. Especially since she conveniently forgot when her grandfather died and what name he was using.”
Walt and Danielle were eating their ice cream cones and walking back to Marlow House when Joe came driving toward them from Pearl’s. Instead of driving by, he pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped. Brian rolled his window down.
“I feel bad Pearl overheard Heather, but I think it could be her grandfather,” Danielle told the officers when she and Walt stopped by their car.
“Pearl claims her grandfather was alive and well when she was a teenager—so if she is telling the truth, then it’s not him,” Brian told her.
“Hopefully you can figure this out when the lab is done with the bones. What now?” Danielle asked.
“We’re going over to one of the previous owners of the property, see what he might know about the house’s history,” Brian explained.
“You mean Andy Delarosa?”
“You know who that is?” Brian asked.
Danielle glanced at Walt and then looked back to Brian. “I should probably tell you something before you go over there.”
“What’s that?” Brian asked.
“Remember that rosebush someone stole out of Pearl’s yard? Well, he’s the one who took it.”
“Maybe, but we can’t prove it. Why do you think he took it?”
“Please don’t say anything to Carla,” Danielle began.
“Carla?” Brian groaned.
Danielle then repeated the story Carla had told her. “I wasn’t going to say anything about it, because I figured it was some family issue, and Carla asked me not to say anything. But the more I think about it, you should probably know as much about that family as possible, if you’re to figure out who was buried in the backyard.”
Twenty-Nine
Brian and Joe found Andy Delarosa working in his front yard, spraying vinegar on his weeds. As they came up his front walk, they quickly surveyed the area and once again didn’t spy a single rosebush, much less the one that had been taken from Pearl’s yard.
“Officers,” Andy said when he saw them as he set the sprayer on a nearby bench, “what can I do for you?”
“We have a couple of questions we need to ask you,” Joe began.
“Let’s go inside,” Andy suggested.
“We have a witness who claims to have seen you take the rosebush out of Pearl Huckabee’s yard,” Joe said after the three were sitting in Andy’s living room.
“Umm…who?” Andy asked, moving restlessly in his chair while absently wiping his palms along the sides of his jean-clad thighs.
“I tell you what,” Brian began. “At this point we have other questions about that rosebush, and we don’t really care to pursue charges against the thief—not if we find out what we are looking for. To be candid, the witness is reluctant to come forward—but I know we can make her talk if it comes to that.”
“What do you want to know?” Andy asked hesitantly.
“Do you know why anyone would want to steal that rosebush in the first place?” Brian asked.
Andy considered the question for a moment and let out a sigh. “Well—I suppose it is possible any of my cousins might have wanted to take it—since they all knew. But it would have been for nothing anyway.”
“Knew what?” Joe asked.
Andy let out another sigh and sat back in his chair. “The house was owned by me and my cousins. We planned to sell it fully furnished. But then, right before the close of escrow, we remembered the old trunk in the attic. My grandmother had put all her mom’s stuff in it after her mother had died. We’d never bothered to look inside. Most of it was junk, but there was her notebook on her roses.”
“The rosebushes in the backyard?” Joe asked.
Andy nodded. “We’d always heard how my grandmother’s mom was obsessed with her roses. In her notebook, we found out how obsessed she was. I guess she had developed a new kind of rose. One of my cousins said that was something that could be patented and you could make a fortune on. I’d never heard about rose patents.”
“So that’s why you took the rosebush?” Joe asked.
“I’m not saying I took anything. But if someone took it, that’s probably why. Of course, whoever took it didn’t know that someone else patented the rose not long after she died. But even if they hadn’t, all the rosebushes—even the one someone took—were too far gone.”
“What do you know about your grandmother’s father?” Brian asked.
“The one who was a bigamist?” Andy asked with a laugh. “Is that who you think was buried over there?”
“Is that what you think?” Joe asked.
Andy shrugged. “I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind when I first heard what they found. But then I heard they found the remains for two or possibly three people buried back by the roses. If it was two, I suppose it could have been old gramps and another one of his wives.”
“According to one of your cousins, she knew your great-grandfather, so it couldn’t have been him.”
“You’re talking about Pearl, right? Sounds like something she would say. The woman is delusional.”
“So you never heard anything about your great-grandfather after he and your great-grandmother split up?” Joe asked.
“Thing about my family, they don’t get along, but they still have this genealogy obsession—like great-granny obsessed with her roses. If you can’t stand your relatives, why in the heck do you care about a bunch of dead ones? Am I right?”
“And you’re saying the family members who’ve researched your family tree never found out what happened to your great-grandfather?” Brian asked.
Andy nodded. “That’s right. Nothing. He vanished into thin air after deserting two families. But I heard you’re having those bones tested for DNA, so if one of those was old gramps, then you’ll be able to find out.”
“There’s DNA on file?” Joe asked.
“Personally, I’d never do a DNA test, but I know more than half of my cousins have.”
Walt and Danielle sat anxiously at the table at Pearl
Cove with Ian and Lily, impatiently waiting for Lily to tell them what they had learned at the doctor’s appointment that afternoon.
“Well? Come on, tell us!” Danielle urged after the server brought their cocktails and left the table. “You really don’t expect us to wait until dessert for you to tell us, do you?”
Lily smiled sheepishly and looked from Danielle to Walt and back to Danielle, while Ian chuckled under his breath and took a sip of his cocktail.
“We don’t know,” Lily blurted.
“You don’t know?” Danielle groaned. “You mean that little stinker was turned from the camera? Refused to flash the ultrasound?”
Lily shrugged. “Umm, no. He—or she—was right there fully exposed—or so says our doctor. But we told her we don’t want to know. We’re waiting until the baby is born to find out if it’s a boy or girl.”
“You’re kidding?” Danielle asked.
Walt grinned. “Not knowing until the baby is born is how it used to be.”
Lily looked over to Walt and said, “You know, you’re the reason I started rethinking this ultrasound. It’s not like I was planning to decorate the baby’s room super gender specific and needed to know ahead of time so I could start decorating. I’m going with Snoopy—a rainbow on one wall, and Snoopy dancing on his doghouse on another.” Lily paused a moment and looked at Ian. “Or maybe we should see if we can do Snoopy sitting on the doghouse writing on his typewriter, like in the cartoons. Keep in theme with his—or her—writer dad.”
“I love Snoopy. I didn’t know that’s what you decided on,” Danielle said.
“Snoopy is a classic. He makes me happy, and I figure it would be great for a boy’s or girl’s room,” Lily explained.
“And you really are not going to find out until the baby is born?” Danielle asked.
Lily looked down at her baby bump and gave it a gentle pat. “I’ve read that knowing the gender of your baby before it’s born will help a mother bond with the baby. When I told Mom that, she laughed at me and asked me if I seriously thought she would love me any more if she had known my gender before I was born. She said her love for me—for all of her children—was already limitless.” Lily looked up and smiled.
“I don’t mind waiting to know,” Ian said. He leaned over and gave Lily a quick kiss on the cheek.
“And to be honest, I’m kind of glad Mom and Dad are coming for a visit before the baby is born. For some reason, Mom does not seem as annoying these days.”
“That’s because you’re starting to relate to her,” Marie said when she appeared suddenly the next moment, standing by the table.
“Marie!” Danielle said in surprise.
“Where?” Lily asked, looking around.
“I just stopped by to see if it was a girl or boy. I remember you saying Lily was going to find out today. But I just heard they don’t know—and won’t until the baby is born, which is how it used to be. But I need to run; Eva is waiting for me!” Marie vanished.
“Where is she?” Lily asked again.
“That was a quick visit,” Walt said with a chuckle.
“She’s gone already,” Danielle explained.
Fifteen minutes later Danielle and Lily were in the women’s restroom at Pearl Cove, when they ran into Toynette from the nursery.
“Danielle! How are you doing?”
“Hi, Toynette. This is my friend Lily. Toynette owns the nursery,” Danielle explained.
“Nice to meet you, but if you will excuse me!” Lily said hurriedly before rushing into one of the stalls.
Danielle giggled. “These days when Lily has to go—she has to go!”
“I remember when I was pregnant—” Toynette stopped talking suddenly and whispered, “Oh my, she is pregnant, isn’t she? Did I just step in it?”
Danielle grinned. “Yes, she is pregnant.”
Toynette let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Nothing more embarrassing than assuming a woman is pregnant when she isn’t. I was just going to say, when I was pregnant, it seemed I was always in the bathroom!”
Danielle chuckled.
“By the way, any word on those remains they found next door to your house? I haven’t heard anything about it in weeks.”
“No. They’re still waiting for the lab reports to come in. But when they do, hopefully they’ll be able to use DNA to identify the remains.”
“It is amazing what they can do these days with DNA testing. It seems like everyone is getting tested to see where they came from. I had mine done, but there was no real surprise. I always knew Mother’s parents were from Norway, and my father’s father was Swedish. My results were over ninety percent Scandinavian.”
By the time Lily came out of the stall, Toynette had left the restroom, and she was alone with Danielle.
“I’ve seen her at the nursery,” Lily said as she washed her hands.
“Oh, I don’t think I told you. Do you know who her uncle was?” Danielle asked.
“No, who?”
“Kenneth Bakken. Faye’s ex-fiancé, the one who ran off with her sister.”
Thirty
Heather woke up on Saturday morning relieved she didn’t have to go into work. Since Chris had started the remodeling of the offices and interviewing new employees, her time with the Glandon Foundation felt more like work than it ever had before. Surprisingly, she liked it.
Yawning, she rolled out of bed and picked up her cellphone off the nightstand and looked at it. It was in that moment she realized it was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. She had been so busy she hadn’t given the holiday a thought. There would be no guests at Marlow House this weekend, and she wondered how busy Frederickport would be.
Looking at the date again on her cellphone, she remembered Lily was supposed to have had her ultrasound last week and realized she hadn’t heard any news if the baby was going to be a boy or girl. She had been so busy at work, not even taking last weekend off, that she hadn’t seen Lily or Danielle. And while she knew Chris had talked to Danielle several times during the past week, he had never mentioned what Lily and Ian had found out at the ultrasound.
Standing up, Heather stretched. Before taking her morning jog, she decided she would first stop off at Marlow House. She needed to tell Danielle about the humane society anyway. That way she could also find out about the baby.
Thirty minutes later Heather opened her front door to leave and was startled when Bella slipped around her feet and dashed outside.
“Bella, get back here!” Heather shouted at the calico cat.
Ignoring Heather, Bella ran to the large tree near the property line and climbed up it, perching on one of the branches overhanging Pearl’s front yard.
“I told you to keep that cat out of my yard!” Pearl shouted from her front porch. The middle-aged woman had just stepped outside to retrieve her morning paper when she noticed the cat sitting in the nearby tree looking down at her. Scurrying over to the property line, Pearl wagged a finger at Heather, who was trying to coax Bella from the tree. “I will not sit around and let that filthy animal turn my yard into a litter box!”
“A litter box might be an improvement over a cemetery!” Heather snapped back. “I’m surprised the police didn’t dig up your front yard. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more bodies buried there!”
“You should be the one to talk,” Pearl snapped back. “I know about your family. Wasn’t your grandfather something like a serial killer?”
Heather narrowed her eyes at Pearl, and instead of shouting another insult, she said in a low menacing voice, “That’s right. And you might want to remember that before you threaten my cat again. After all, I have a rather convenient graveyard next door where I can bury your body.”
With a gasp, Pearl turned abruptly and rushed back to her front door. She ran inside and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.
“You threatened to kill her?” Danielle asked Heather a short time later as the two sat with Walt at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eat
ing cinnamon rolls from Old Salts Bakery. Heather had just told them about her morning encounter with Pearl.
“I didn’t exactly threaten to kill her, just dispose of her body,” Heather said with a shrug. “And it wasn’t my grandfather who was the killer. It was his father. I’m surprised she even knows about any of that.”
“I will have another talk with Bella,” Walt promised.
“I’m not sure it will do any good. She is such a little troublemaker.” Heather ripped off a piece of cinnamon roll and popped it in her mouth.
Danielle looked at Heather and chuckled.
Heather paused a moment and frowned. “What?”
“I just think it’s funny to eat a cinnamon roll before going on your morning jog.”
“I would think that’s when you should go jogging,” Heather countered, breaking off more of her roll.
Danielle flashed her a grin. “True.”
“I didn’t just come over here to complain about Pearl or steal your cinnamon rolls. I hadn’t heard how the ultrasound went. So what is she having? Boy or girl?” Heather asked.
“They decided they don’t want to know,” Danielle said. “They’re waiting—the old-fashioned way.”
“Hmm…really? Well, crap. I was planning to get her some adorable baby clothes for her shower—something super cute boy or girl. I can’t really do that now.”
“I think I’m going to get the baby some outfits after its born. Something to give Lily when she comes home from the hospital,” Danielle said.
The Ghost and the Baby Page 19
