Ghost Who Came for Christmas

by McIntyre, Anna J

  “Danielle has her own beliefs. I’m not sure she would ever embrace Earthbound Spirits.”

  “Then, I’m sincerely sorry for her.” Cleve took another drink of tea. He glanced up when a server approached the table.

  “Would you like to order now?” the server asked.

  “No, we’re just having drinks,” Cleve told her. She nodded and walked away.

  “The truth is, Cleve, I’m starting to have doubts.”

  “Doubts?” Cleve panicked. “Are you saying you no longer believe?”

  “No, it’s just I wonder if maybe, instead of leaving Earthbound Spirits my estate, or making my annual donation, the money would be best spent elsewhere. Danielle had a good point when she said money may not buy happiness, but by helping others, we can find happiness.”

  “So you’re saying, you aren’t necessarily doubting the truth, you just want the freedom to spend your money on the good causes you choose, as opposed to helping Earthbound Spirits spread the word?”

  “I suppose that would…would that put me in bad standing with Earthbound Spirits?”

  Cleve studied Richard for a moment. Finally, he reached across the table and patted his hand. “Of course not. Our biggest concern is helping you find the truth. While we would naturally welcome financial support from our members, we don’t want to give the impression it’s all about the money. So if you feel you need to spend your money elsewhere, then we understand.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.”

  Richard smiled. “I feel so much better. I knew Danielle was wrong. There is something else I need to tell you, which I feel better sharing with you now.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I think I’ve found my sister.”

  “Your sister?”

  “I never talked to you about it. I assumed maybe Mr. Morris had discussed it with you. But after my parents died, I learned I had been adopted. What I didn’t realize, I have a sister. And a niece.”

  “I suppose that means you’ll want to change your will, to leave your estate to your sister, instead of Earthbound Spirits.”

  “Do you understand?” Richard asked hesitantly.

  “Of course. You should probably do that right away.” Cleve smiled.

  “I won’t be able to do anything until after the New Year. With the holiday and all.”

  “Well, I certainly don’t think anything is going to happen to you before then, so it’ll be fine.”

  Richard winced and grabbed his forehead, massaging it a moment.

  “Is everything okay?” Cleve asked.

  “I just had a shooting pain in my head.”

  “Finish your Pepsi, and then maybe you should be heading back to Marlow House. It’s already dark and the roads between here and there can be dangerous, especially if it starts raining again.”

  Richard rubbed his head again. “I think I will.” He downed most of his Pepsi and then stood up, preparing to take out his wallet.

  “No. I have it,” Cleve insisted.

  After Richard left the diner, Cleve looked around. The man still sat at the far booth, his back to Cleve. All the other tables and booths were empty, and the server was still back in the kitchen.

  Cleve reached out and knocked over what remained of Richard’s Pepsi. “Waitress!” Cleve called out “I need a towel, I spilled my drink!” He glanced up, looking straight into the hidden camera.

  Adam stood up and looked at the front doorway of the diner where Cleve had just exited through. He scratched his head. Something did not feel right.

  Jason walked out from the kitchen. “Sorry I took so long, there was a problem with the deep fryer.”

  “Hey Jason, can I have a plastic bag?” Adam asked.

  “A trash bag, why?”

  “No. I was thinking of something like a ziplock bag.”

  His head throbbed. All Richard wanted to do was get back to Marlow House and lay down. He had experienced migraine headaches before, but this had to be his worst.

  As he approached the curve along Pilgrim’s Point, he began seeing double. Blinking his eyes, he found it difficult to breathe.

  Darlene Gusarov wanted to move on. Unfortunately, maneuvering Chuck Christiansen’s car off Pilgrim’s Point had indefinitely altered her travel plans. She had learned that killing someone when you were dead had consequences, just as it did when you were alive.

  She would argue that if anyone had deserved to take a header off Pilgrim’s Point it was Chuck. After all, he had killed her first. Yet, to her eternal regret, revenge didn’t work that way. Plus, there was that little matter of Stoddard. Killing her husband was her first mistake.

  Darlene stood at the crest of Pilgrim’s point, looking down into the darkness. It was where she had died. She could hear the breakers hitting the shore below. Something behind her made her turn around. It was headlights, coming her way. She watched as the car attached to the headlights weaved back and forth, in her direction.

  “Oh please, am I going to get blamed for this one too?” Darlene said with disgust.

  Richard felt his head weaving back and forth, as if it were no longer attached. He wanted to pull over to the side of the road, but he couldn’t seem to get his body to do what he wanted. It was as if his hands and feet were on some bizarre autopilot, acting independently of his brain.

  Just as he felt his car careen off the highway the driver’s side door flew open. His eyes widened when he saw a woman who appeared to be hovering midair alongside his car. Her hand reached in, grabbed him by the shirt and jerked him from the vehicle. He landed along the side of the road just as his car hurled off the top of Pilgrim’s Point, to the surf below.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Outside, an ambulance’s siren blared. It faded into the distance until Adam could no longer hear it. A few feet away, a young boy pounded on a vending machine in an attempt to free a Snickers bar. The boy’s mother sat across the room from Adam, texting on her cellphone. On the opposite end of the room, a baby began to cry.

  Adam glanced up at the wall clock over the sliding door leading to the parking lot. He had been sitting in the ER waiting room for over thirty minutes. Just as he was about to call Danielle and ask what was taking her so long, the sliding door open and Danielle rushed in, with Chris and Patricia. He had met them both at the Christmas Eve open house. Adam stood up and started toward Danielle, meeting her half way. They stood in the middle of the room.

  “Adam, thanks for calling us,” Danielle greeted, slightly out of breath.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Patricia asked.

  “I think so,” Adam told her. He turned to Danielle. “I recognized him from your party. I knew he was staying at Marlow House, wasn’t sure who else to call.”

  “What happened?” Chris asked.

  “I was coming home, just going past Pilgrim’s Point, when a woman flagged me down. I pulled over, and I found him, he was on the side of the road, unconscious.”

  “What did the woman say happened?” Patricia asked.

  “That’s the thing… ummm…” Adam looked at Danielle. “I checked his vitals, turned around to ask her what had happened, and she was gone.”

  “Gone?” Danielle asked.

  Adam nodded. “And the really weird thing, I know you’re going to think I’m nuts, but when I first saw her standing along the side of the road, with my headlights on her, I thought for a moment it was Darlene Gusarov.”

  “Darlene Gusarov?” Patricia looked at Danielle. “Is that someone you know?”

  Danielle glanced from Adam to Chris. “Yes…Darlene was killed a few months back. They found her body at Pilgrim’s Point.”

  Patricia responded with a startled gasp, yet she said nothing.

  “You said on the phone, his car went over the cliff?” Chris asked.

  “Yes. After I checked his vitals, I called for help. When the cops arrived, they found his car, it had driven off the side of the hill. Looks like he jumped out at the last minute.” />
  Officer Brian Henderson seemed to appear out of nowhere. None of them had noticed him walking up, they had been so engrossed in what Adam was saying.

  “Adam, I need to talk to you about that powder you found,” Brian said. He then looked at the rest of the group, “And I would appreciate it if you all would stick around, I have some questions for you.”

  “Powder?” Danielle asked with a frown. She didn’t get her answer because Brian led Adam off to a private corner in the waiting room.

  “The doctors tell me Winston would probably be dead right now if you hadn’t given them that powder you saw him ingest,” Brian told him. “Tell me exactly how you happen to have it.”

  “I was over at Jason Baker’s diner, helping him install some security cameras. I was messing around with the app I downloaded on his phone when Cleve Monchique sat down in one of the booths.”

  “Monchique from Earthbound Spirits?”

  “Yeah. I was testing the cameras when he sat down. From where he was sitting, all he could see was my back.”

  “But you could see him through the camera?”

  Adam nodded. “I didn’t recognize him at first. But, I saw him do something I thought was strange.”

  “What?”

  “He took a small envelope from his pocket and dumped something from it into the soda. I figured he was going to drink it, but he pushed it to the other side of the table, and a few minutes Richard Winston came in. I recognized him from the Christmas Party at Marlow House. He drank it.”

  “So how did you get the envelope with the powder residue?”

  “After Monchique dumped the powder in the glass, he stirred it with a spoon. Then he picked up a napkin and cleaned off the spoon. I thought that was strange. Then he got up, and tossed the napkin and the envelope in the trash. Winston came in after that, and when he left, Cleve calmly knocked over the spiked drink, or what was left of it. Did it on purpose. And then he called the waitress to clean it up. After he left, I took the envelope out of the trash, stuck it in a plastic bag and brought it with me.”

  “Why?”

  “You mean why did I take it?” Adam asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “You explained this all to the doctor?” Brian asked.

  “Yes, and the paramedics and cops at the scene. I was kind of freaked when I realized who it was, especially since I’d seen Monchique slip something in his drink.”

  Brian asked Adam several more questions, and then they walked back to where Danielle and the others waited. He opened his notebook. “When was the last time any of you saw Mr. Winston?”

  “It was about four o’clock,” Danielle told him. “When I got home this afternoon I pulled up right as he was driving away.”

  “Did you talk to him?” Brian asked.

  Danielle shook her head. “No.”

  Brian jotted something down in his notebook. “Did anyone talk to him before he left Marlow House? Did he say where he was going?”

  “I was probably the last one to talk to him,” Patricia said. “It was right before he left.”

  “Where was he going?”

  “To some diner along the highway,” Patricia told him.

  “Did he say why he was going there?”

  “He got a call from Cleve…umm…” Patricia looked at Danielle.

  “Cleve Monchique,” Danielle said.

  “Yes, that’s him. He called Richard and asked him to meet him at the diner. He said he needed to talk to him about some Earthbound Spirits event.”

  “I understand Mr. Winston is a member of Earthbound Spirits,” Brian said.

  “Yes, but he’s been having second thoughts,” Patricia explained.

  “Oh crap, look who’s here,” Danielle whispered. They all turned toward the sliding door. Peter Morris had just walked in. They watched as Morris walked to the admittance desk.

  Brian closed his notebook. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute.” He walked to Morris.

  “I want to see Richard Winston,” Morris was saying just as Brian reached him. “He was admitted tonight. Someone called me.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Morris,” Brian interrupted.

  Morris turned to Brian. “Yes, Officer Henderson?”

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea if you see Mr. Winston right now.”

  “I would think that would be up to the doctor, not you. I’m Mr. Winston’s spiritual advisor. He had my number as an emergency contact in his wallet, which is why they called me.”

  “As I said, I don’t think it would be a good idea right now.”

  Morris narrowed his eyes and glared at Brian. “Officer Henderson, if Mr. Winston was a Catholic and I was a priest, would you be attempting to stop me from seeing my parishioner?”

  “Under certain circumstances, yes,” Brian snapped.

  “As I said, it’s really none of your business.” Morris turned from Brian and faced the woman behind the desk. “I want to see Mr. Winston.”

  “I’ll have to get the doctor,” the woman said nervously. She picked up her phone.

  “That’s the doctor working on Richard,” Adam whispered when a man in a white physician’s coat appeared in the admittance area.

  “Let’s see what he says about Richard,” Chris suggested, leading the way toward the doctor.

  “I’m afraid the officer is correct,” the doctor was saying just as Danielle and the others showed up by Brian’s side. “You cannot see Mr. Winston right now, Mr. Morris.”

  “I’m Mr. Winston’s spiritual advisor. He had my name in his wallet to call in case of an emergency. You called me!”

  “I don’t know who called you, Mr. Morris. It certainly was not me. It possibly could have been someone from admitting.” The doctor glanced over to the woman behind the counter.

  “It wasn’t me. I just came on duty.”

  “In any case,” the doctor said, “the only one Mr. Winston wants to see right now is his sister.”

  “Sister? He doesn’t have a sister!” Morris insisted.

  “I’m his sister,” Patricia spoke up. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “You’re Patricia?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes.”

  The doctor took Patricia by the arm. “Come with me.”

  “Doctor!” Danielle called out.

  The doctor paused and turned to face Danielle. “Yes?”

  “Can you at least tell us if Richard is going to be okay?”

  Instead of answering, the Doctor looked at Patricia.

  “They’re with me,” Patricia explained. “I’m sure my brother would want you to let them know how he’s doing.”

  Looking from Patricia to Danielle, the doctor said, “He has a broken ankle from being thrown from the car. Right now, he needs his rest.”

  Danielle let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, doctor.”

  After the doctor walked away with Patricia, Brian turned to Peter and asked, “Can you tell me where we might find Cleve Monchique?”

  “Cleve? Why do you need to talk to him?”

  “I understand Mr. Winston’s accident happened right after he left from a meeting with Mr. Monchique.”

  “Cleve mentioned they were going to meet for coffee this afternoon. But it wasn’t a meeting exactly, just two friends getting together.”

  “We’re going to need to talk to him. Do you know where we can find Mr. Monchique?”

  “No. In fact, I tried calling him before I came over here but he wasn’t answering his phone,” Peter explained.

  A few minutes later, as Peter Morris made his way to his vehicle in the hospital parking lot, he heard a voice call out, “Mr. Morris!”

  He paused a moment and turned to see who was shouting at him. A young nurse ran in his direction. He recognized her; she was a member of Earthbound Spirits. Yet, he didn’t remember her name—she was one of his less affluent members.

  “Mr. Morris, I’m so glad I caught you!”

  He reach
ed out and took her hand, silently reading her nametag. “So good to see you, Cora.”

  “I just wanted to let you know I’m the one who called you, to tell you Mr. Winston was here.”

  “Thank you, Cora.” He patted her hand.

  “I shouldn’t be telling you this; we aren’t supposed to discuss a patient’s medical history. But, I think you should know. I’m sure it’s what Mr. Winston would want.”

  “What is it, dear?”

  “I was in the hospital room when they brought him in. The man who found him, told the doctor he saw someone put something into Mr. Winston’s drink. The man was able to recover some of it, he gave it to the doctor and they had it tested. Someone tried to poison Mr. Winston!”

  “Do you know who?”

  “No, he didn’t say. But, I overheard one of the officers who brought him in say something about how they knew who had tried to poison Mr. Winston and that it had been captured on video!”

  “Video?”

  “Sounded like some surveillance camera or something.”

  Peter patted the nurse’s hand again. “Thank you for telling me. I’m just grateful the police know who did this to poor Richard. I’m sure they’ll handle it.”

  Ten minutes later, Peter Morris sat alone in his black Mercedes. He picked up his cellphone and placed a call.

  “I’m at the hospital. Apparently, someone has poisoned poor Richard Winston, but the doctor says he’ll recover. I believe it’s time for you to go home now, you’ve done all that you can do here. But, before you go, don’t forget to clean up.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  On Tuesday morning, Danielle awoke to the sound of a mariachi band blaring on her clock radio. Groaning, she rolled over and grabbed hold of the radio’s cord, jerking its plug from the wall.

  “I swear, Walt! If you don’t stop screwing with my radio I’m going to kill you!”

  “Too late.” Walt chuckled when he appeared in her room. “But I didn’t touch your radio.”

  “Yeah, right.” Danielle sat up rubbing her eyes.

  “Well, technically I didn’t touch it.”