The Ghost Who Wasn't (Haunting Danielle Book 3)

by Bobbi Holmes

  “That’s impossible,” Lily said as she followed them into the parlor. “Mom wouldn’t have turned off my phone that quick! What am I thinking, that’s exactly what Mom would do. That’s what I get for being part of their family plan!”

  “Ian, I have some bad news,” Danielle began.

  “Don’t you think you should tell him to sit down first?” Walt suggested.

  “That is so cliché, Walt. I hate when they say that in movies. Like really, do you expect Ian to faint?” Lily rolled her eyes.

  “He does seem to be stuck on you.”

  “If you mean he likes me, I hope so! But I don’t want him to think I’m dead. I’m certain my body is alive and well, somewhere. We just need to find it before it’s too late.”

  “I can’t focus!” Danielle rubbed the heel of her right hand against her forehead.

  “What is it Danielle? Has something happened to Lily?”

  Lily started to reply but Walt hushed her again. “Quiet Lily, you’re making this more difficult for Danielle.”

  With a pout, Lily folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, locking whatever words she wanted to say inside. Danielle glanced at Lily and Walt before taking a deep breath.

  “Maybe you should sit down,” Danielle said quietly.

  “Something has happened to Lily?” Ian said dully as he sat down on the sofa. “Hasn’t it?”

  “I’m not sure. But I got a call from Lily’s mom a few minutes ago. There was an accident yesterday. Lily’s car was speeding on the freeway and it hit a semi. The woman who was driving was killed.”

  “It wasn’t Lily?” Ian sounded hopeful.

  “Lily’s mother thinks it was her, but they haven’t identified the body yet. It was burned beyond recognition. They’re waiting for results from the dental records.”

  “But you don’t sound like you think it was Lily?”

  “According to Mrs. Miller the driver was going in excess of 100 miles an hour.”

  “Lily? She drives like a little old lady,” Ian said. “Unless someone was chasing her, I can’t see her speeding.”

  “Little old lady? That’s rude. I’m just a safe driver,” Lily grumbled.

  Danielle glanced over at Lily and narrowed her eyes briefly, silently hushing her, then looked back to Ian. “That’s what I thought. It’s just out of character for her.”

  “Where did the accident happen?” Ian asked.

  “Not far from Palm Springs.”

  “You said this was yesterday?”

  “Yes.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Lily was planning to return home Monday. She had to be back to work on Tuesday.”

  “That’s right! I left on Labor Day!” Lily jumped up from the desk and stood next to Walt, who again hushed her.

  “Mrs. Miller didn’t say anything about Lily planning to return on Monday.”

  “And no one has heard from her?” Ian asked.

  “I’m afraid not.” Danielle shook her head sadly.

  “What do the police think?” Ian asked.

  “According to Mrs. Miller, they don’t believe there was any foul play. Identifying the body is nothing more than a formality from their perspective.”

  “This doesn’t feel right.” Ian stood up and began pacing the room. “Has anyone talked to the motel Lily was staying at?”

  Lily sat back down on the desktop and watched Ian pace.

  “What for?” Danielle asked.

  “To find out when she checked out. Like I said, the last time I talked to her she planned to be home Monday night, so she’d make school on Tuesday.”

  “Mrs. Miller didn’t say anything about that. I didn’t even think to ask.”

  “I refuse to believe that was Lily in the car,” Ian insisted.

  “I love you Ian,” Lily whispered.

  “I don’t want to believe that either. But if it wasn’t her, then where is she?” Danielle asked, glancing back at Lily.

  “Even if she wasn’t driving the car, this isn’t good.” Ian stopped pacing. “And if the police believe that was Lily in the car, then they aren’t looking for her. When are they getting those dental records back?”

  “I don’t know. From what I understand Lily’s dentist retired not long ago, and someone bought out his practice.”

  “The new dentist would have her records. It really shouldn’t take long.” Ian ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he stood silent for a moment.

  “Ian, are you okay?” Danielle asked in a soft voice.

  When Ian finally opened his eyes, they were brimming with tears. He looked at Danielle and shook his head.

  “Not really,” he mumbled, the realization of Danielle’s news finally sinking in.

  Without thought, Danielle opened her arms to Ian. He accepted her invitation, silently weeping on her shoulder.

  “Oh stop that!” Lily begged. “You two are going to make me cry!” Lily jumped up and down, just a few feet from Ian and Danielle. Helpless, she watched as her best friend comforted the man she loved.

  “Please don’t.” Walt sounded more bored than concerned. “I remember Cheryl’s annoying caterwauling. Sobbing ghosts are not pretty.”

  “I would have to be dead to be a ghost. And like I told you, I am not dead!” Lily stomped her foot.

  “Then pray tell, where is your body, missy?”

  “You were much nicer when you visited me in my dreams.”

  “I’m just trying to be realistic, Lily. When someone makes a visit without their flesh and blood body in tow, one tends to assume the worse.”

  “I just don’t feel dead. I feel…well disconnected…what I would expect an out of body experience to feel like.”

  “What exactly is an out of body experience?”

  “Where your conscious self—your soul—disconnects from your body—travels independently of the body.”

  “Sounds like being dead to me,” Walt scoffed.

  “Some people claim to be able to have out of body experiences through meditation,” Lily explained.

  “Are you saying your physical self is somewhere meditating, while your conscious self is zooming from California to Oregon?”

  “No, not exactly. But I believe my body is somewhere—still alive—and we need to figure out where so I can reconnect.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ian mumbled, wiping tears from his eyes as he stepped away from Danielle.

  “That’s okay, Ian. I love her too.”

  “I never told her,” Ian said sadly.

  “You do love me!” Lily beamed.

  “We can’t give up hope, Ian.”

  “There is one thing we can do,” Ian said with conviction, his eyes now dry.

  “What’s that?”

  “We need to find out what motel she stayed at, and see when she checked out.”

  “What good will that do?”

  “We could call the police investigating the accident, and if she left on Monday, like she was supposed to, then they may consider foul play and start looking for Lily, assuming she wasn’t the one killed in the accident. My only problem, I don’t know where she was staying. Do you have any idea?”

  Danielle looked over to Lily. “I think she mentioned it,” Danielle lied. “Let me see if I can remember the name of the motel.”

  After a few moments of silence, Walt spoke up. “Lily, tell Danielle where you stayed in Palm Springs!”

  “Oh! Sorry!” Lily felt foolish. She quickly gave Danielle the name of the motel.

  After sharing the information with Ian, Danielle went to the desk and turned on her laptop computer. “I’ll see if I can find the phone number.”

  A few minutes later Ian was ringing up the motel and asking to speak to the reservation desk. Silently, Danielle, Walt, and Lily listened to Ian’s side of the conversation.

  “I need to speak to someone about a guest you had over the weekend, Lily Miller,” Ian said.

  “Who is this exactly?” a male voice
asked.

  “My name is Ian Bartley. I’m Lily’s boyfriend.”

  “My boyfriend. I love how that sounds!” Lily gushed.

  “Umm…Mr. Bartley…exactly why are you calling?”

  “Lily was supposed to leave there on Monday.”

  “Yes, she checked out on Monday.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Umm…Mr. Bartley, I think you need to speak to Sargent King.”

  “Sargent King?” Ian frowned.

  “Hold on, he left his business card, let me get it for you.”

  “Who is Sargent King?”

  “I am really sorry to have to tell you this Mr. Bartley, but Ms. Miller was in a car accident. You really need to speak to Sargent King.”

  Before Ian got off the phone a few moments later, he jotted down the officer’s phone number.

  “What did they say?” Danielle asked.

  “She checked out on Monday.”

  “I told you!” Lily said.

  “Apparently the police investigating the accident already know that.”

  “They do? Then why don’t they suspect foul play? She should have been back home Tuesday, not on a freeway a short distance from a motel she checked out of the day before.”

  “I don’t know. But he gave me the name of the officer who inquired about Lily’s checkout time.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Call him!” Danielle urged.

  A few minutes later Ian had Sargent King on the phone. Danielle and Lily waited anxiously for Ian to hang up. His side of the conversation gave them more questions than answers.

  “This is really odd,” Ian said when he finally ended the call.

  “Do they suspect foul play and just haven’t told Lily’s mother? Are they looking for Lily?” Danielle asked.

  “No, they aren’t looking for her. He’s convinced it was Lily in the car.”

  “I don’t understand? Don’t they wonder why she was still in southern California after checking out the day before?”

  “According to him, when she didn’t show up to work on Tuesday the school called her cellphone and Lily answered.”

  “That’s not true!” Lily insisted.

  “What did she say?” Danielle asked.

  “She apologized for not calling sooner but claimed she had been sleeping. Said she got food poisoning on the way home and had to pull over and get another room. Sounded like they woke her up when they called.”

  “I did no such thing!” Lily shouted.

  Chapter Six

  The motel was a dive, but they had stayed in worse places. At least their room had running water and two queen size beds. Justina sat just outside the door on a concrete bench smoking a cigarette. Hunter and Claire were inside, and Justina could hear them arguing through the open window. Hunter was determined to go to Oregon, but Claire wanted to go to Vegas.

  Justina’s thoughts were interrupted when a female voice said, “I hear cigarettes can kill you.” Justina glanced up and found herself looking into the green eyes of an attractive redhead.

  “I’m not too concerned about that.” Justina took another drag off the cigarette while staring at the young woman. There was something familiar about her. “You were the one who gave me directions at the gas station, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. Did you find your friends?” The woman took a seat on the bench.

  “I did.” Justina nodded to the open window.

  Before the woman could respond they heard Claire shout at Hunter, “I don’t want to go back to Oregon! You’re going to kill me with boredom if we go there!”

  Justina glanced back at the window and shook her head, then took another puff off her cigarette and looked at the stranger.

  “Trouble in paradise?” the redhead asked.

  “Hunter will get his way, he always does.”

  “Does this mean you’re going to Oregon with them?”

  “I don’t know.” Justina tossed her spent cigarette butt on the ground then looked up at the woman and frowned. “What are you doing here, anyway? You staying at this dump?”

  “No.” The woman leaned back in the bench. “Just wondered if you found your friends. You were pretty upset back at the gas station.”

  “I suppose I was. But don’t know why I bothered. It’s not like they’ll miss me if I don’t go with them. And frankly, even if I wanted to, not sure I can.” Justina leaned back on the bench.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Things feel different, that’s all.” Justina sighed.

  “Have you considered going home?” the woman asked.

  “I burned that bridge long ago,” Justina said. “Even if I could, I don’t think I’d want to.”

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, each lost in private thoughts. Finally Justina asked, “So where are you going?”

  “I was on my way home when we met at the gas station. Got a little side tracked. Wanted to check on you, then I’ll be on my way.”

  Before Justina could respond, they heard Hunter shouting at Claire from inside the motel room.

  “What’s the deal with those two? Are they married or what?” the woman asked.

  “No. Hunter has a wife and kid back home,” Justina explained.

  “So they aren’t a couple?” The woman glanced at the motel window and frowned.

  “Yeah, sure they’re a thing. Claire is crazy about Hunter. And it’s hard for him to resist her adoration.”

  “So he just left his wife and kid?”

  “Pretty much. Of course, he’s done this before. Taken off with his newest one. Always lasts a few months before he goes back to his wife and kid.”

  “Does the wife just take him back?”

  “Yeah. Tina isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

  “So where do you fit in?”

  “Nowhere anymore,” Justina mumbled.

  “You were traveling with them, weren’t you?”

  “Hunter’s my cousin. He’s really the only family I have left. He can be out there sometimes, but he’s always been there for me—until now.”

  “You two are close?”

  “We were. Of course, he’s a control freak. Has to get his own way. He’s been like that since he was a kid, which is why they’ll be going to Oregon, if that’s where he wants to go.”

  “I know lots of people who have to have their way.”

  “It’s the other thing that drives me nuts sometimes,” Justina said.

  “Other thing?”

  “He tries to get people to believe he has certain…well, powers.”

  “Powers?” the woman frowned.

  “He likes to come off all mystical. Claims he hears voices—sees spirits and stuff. I tell him he’s full of it, but people like Claire eat it up.”

  “You mean like seeing ghosts? Talking to the dead?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “And you don’t think he can?”

  Justina began to laugh. “No. Absolutely not. It’s Hunter’s con. Works for him. He’s made a few bucks from it over the years. Funny thing, I think he’s starting to believe the con.”

  “I suppose if you tell a lie often enough, you begin to believe it’s true.”

  “Exactly.” Justina nodded.

  “Now what?”

  Justina stood up and faced the motel room. “Sounds like those two have calmed down. I suppose it’s time I go in there and say my peace. See what happens.”

  “So you might go with them to Oregon?”

  “I don’t think so. But I suppose I need to give Hunter a chance.”

  “I’ll be going too.” The woman stood up.

  “Yeah, probably best if you don’t stick around. Hunter’s not too crazy about strangers.”

  The woman nodded, then turned from Justina and began to walk away. She paused briefly, turned, and watched Justina go into the motel room.

  * * *

  Hunter had just gotten out of the shower and stood between the two beds drying off, when someone knoc
ked on the motel room door. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he grabbed some money off the nightstand.

  Claire, who had been napping on one of the beds, woke up and rolled over, rubbing her eyes as she watched Hunter answer the door.

  He handed the pizza delivery boy a handful of crumpled one dollar bills before snatching the pizza box from the teenager’s left hand and slamming the door shut. He’d given the delivery boy just enough to pay for the pizza with nothing extra to cover a tip.

  “It took them long enough!” Claire sat up in the middle of the bed. She had taken a shower before Hunter and now wore an over-sized white T-shirt. It fell to her mid-thigh. “I’m starved.”

  Hunter tossed the pizza box on the bed where Claire had been napping. She grabbed it and quickly opened the box. Hunter sat on the edge of the bed and helped himself to a slice of pizza.

  “You promised me steak,” Claire said as she took a bite.

  “When we get to Oregon. I promise. I’ll buy you a big steak.” Hunter shoved half the slice into his mouth and bit down.

  “I still can’t believe you let Justina leave.” Claire scooted backwards on the bed and leaned against the headboard, stretching her legs out in front of her as she ate pizza.

  “I wasn’t thrilled at first, but now that I think about it, it works out better this way. We’ll catch up with her in Oregon. I want to fly, and this way I only had to buy two tickets.”

  “Well, at least we’re flying, and we don’t have to drive. I still wish we could go to Vegas.”

  “If you’re going to keep nagging me, baby, I can just leave you here.”

  “You wouldn’t really do that, would you?” Claire asked with a pout.

  “Try me. One more word about Vegas and I cash in the ticket I bought you, and you’re on your own. Then you can get that steak you’ve been whining about. I’m sure they have a dumpster behind Sizzler. You’re a resourceful girl, shouldn’t be too hard to wrestle scraps from the rats.”

  “You’d leave me here without any money?”

  “The moment you become more trouble than you’re worth, yes.”

  “But the money, it isn’t just yours.”

  “Isn’t it? What exactly did you do for it? Justina and I did all the dirty work while you just stood there watching. And don’t think for a moment you’re innocent in all this. The courts won’t care who killed that woman. You’re just as guilty as we are.”