The Ghost and the Bride

by Anna J. McIntyre

  Danielle stood up and walked to the window. She looked outside. There standing by the front gate, just as Walt had said, was Eva Thorndike looking up at the house.

  “You didn’t believe me?” Walt took a seat on the edge of the bed and watched Danielle.

  She turned from the window and faced Walt. “Why do you think she wants to talk to me? Maybe she’s here to see you.”

  “She obviously doesn’t want to talk to me. I know you’ve told her I can’t leave this house. If she wanted to speak to me, she’d come inside.”

  Danielle glanced over to her closed bedroom door and then to the clock sitting on her nightstand. “Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t take long. We’re supposed to leave for Melony’s in twenty minutes.” As Danielle left the room, she grabbed the cellphone from the top of her dresser, taking it with her.

  By the time Danielle made it outside, she found Eva sitting on the front swing, waiting for her.

  “I was hoping Walt would tell you I was out here. He looks quite handsome, by the way. I forgot what a devilishly good-looking man he is. I wonder why I always thought of him as nothing more than a beloved brother? Foolish me.” Eva let out a dramatic sigh.

  “Why didn’t you just come inside to get me?” Danielle sat down on the swing next to Eva. She held the phone up by her ear.

  “I see no reason to give Walt false hope.” Eva eyed Danielle’s phone curiously.

  “Oh, this?” Danielle glanced at the cellphone in her hand. “If someone sees me out here, I’d rather they not think I’m talking to myself. Let them think I’m on the phone. So tell me, why did you want to see me?”

  “I had a very odd encounter at a cemetery in Silverton. The woman mentioned your name. I thought you should be aware of what’s on her mind.”

  “I don’t know anyone in Silverton. And what were you doing at a cemetery there?”

  “It’s much closer than the cemetery I was buried at.”

  “You were buried in Boston, weren’t you?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes. But my memories are all on the West Coast. My preference would be the Frederickport Cemetery, but Angela Marlow is there now. And I don’t imagine I have to tell you how annoying that woman can be.” Eva rolled her eyes dramatically.

  “I still don’t understand why you’re hanging out in a cemetery in the first place.”

  “I was not hanging out. I simply stopped in for a visit—looking for someone to talk to.”

  “Ahh…other spirits.”

  “Exactly. It gets tedious at times, having no one to converse with. It can get lonely.”

  Danielle leaned back in the swing and studied Eva. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

  “There was a woman there—a living woman—visiting a grave. She seemed quite angry with you. Apparently you were responsible for her brother’s arrest. Something about dog fighting.”

  “Jimmy Borge?” Danielle gasped.

  Eva shrugged. “I believe she did refer to her brother as Jimmy. She never mentioned their last name. But her first name is Felicia.”

  Danielle shook her head. “I don’t know her. Are you saying Jimmy died? That she was visiting his grave? The chief never mentioned it…”

  “No. I gather the brother is still alive—however, incarcerated. She’s very angry with you. I followed her home from the cemetery after she mentioned your name, hoping to hear more. However, she seems to be more talkative when sitting graveside than at home alone.”

  “You say she’s angry with me—does she intend to seek some sort of revenge? Is that why you’re here, to warn me?”

  “Yes, but unfortunately, I don’t know what she intends to do. In fact, she doesn’t know what she intends to do just yet. She’s trying to decide.”

  “Why now? Her brother was arrested a year ago.”

  “I think it has to do with that other thing,” Eva told her.

  “Other thing?” Danielle frowned.

  “The grave she was visiting. It was her boyfriend’s. He was killed a few months before her brother’s arrest. Someone who is currently staying with you is responsible for his death. The fact that she believes the two most devastating events in her life are connected to Marlow House…” Eva paused a moment and looked over her shoulder at the house. She looked back at Danielle. “I suppose she sees this as her opportunity to seek retribution.”

  “Someone staying with me was responsible for her boyfriend’s death?” Danielle frowned. “Did she say who?”

  “Sorry. She didn’t mention your guest by name. Although, she did make it clear it was someone who is just staying here for this week. Which is why, whatever she decides to do, she wants to do it before your guest leaves at the end of the week.”

  “I don’t suppose she mentioned her boyfriend’s name?”

  “I did read the inscription on his headstone, but I must confess, I can’t recall what it was.”

  Danielle let out a sigh and leaned back on the swing. “Lily’s cousin—her husband was involved in a car accident, and two men were killed. Her boyfriend is probably one of them.” Danielle sat up abruptly in the swing, her feet planted on the ground, stopping the swing’s motion. “And there has been a disgruntled spirit hanging around here. It could be one of those men. Or maybe…”

  “Maybe what?” Eva asked.

  Danielle glanced from Eva to the house behind her and then back to Eva. “Lily is getting married this Saturday. Her family is here for the week. In fact, they’re the only guests we have this week. Just Lily’s parents, siblings—and one cousin, and the cousin’s husband—the one who I said was in an accident. A spirit showed up not long after they arrived. He hasn’t identified himself, yet claims Kent—that’s the cousin’s husband—is not what he seems. That he’s evil. Could it be possible there’s more to the accident than what anyone knows?”

  Eva arched her brows. “I do know this Felicia is quite angry. Oh, another thing. This guest, they apparently know each other. He’s called her several times. He wants to meet her.”

  Danielle shook her head. “Then it can’t be Kent. That wouldn’t be possible—them knowing each other. I mean, maybe they did, but he wouldn’t remember. He can’t remember anything since before the accident, and it’s my understanding he’s been isolated in hospitals, rehab, and with his wife since then.”

  Danielle slumped back in the swing, dropping the hand holding the cellphone to her lap. She stared blankly ahead, considering all that had been said. “But the car accident did occur around the same time frame as you said Felicia’s boyfriend was killed. So maybe this is about the accident. I’m letting my imagination work overtime. And yet…what are the chances some accident that occurred in Morro Bay, California, is connected to a woman in Silverton whose brother tried to steal Sadie? Too many coincidences.”

  “Ahh, Danielle, haven’t you learned yet there are no such things as coincidences?”

  Confused, Danielle looked to Eva.

  “It’s the universe, dear,” Eva explained. “She’s constantly pulling these clever tricks for her own reasons. After all, you’re here, aren’t you?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I never really thought of it before,” Eva mused, again looking over her shoulder to the house. “But now that I think about it, there is a reason you were brought here. Someone who can see people like us—like Walt. It was not a random coincidence that brought you here to Walt. The universe, she has some motive. Of course, it might be best to focus first on the other thing.”

  “Other thing?”

  “Felicia, of course! Pay attention, Danielle! After all, you can’t expect the universe to do everything for you. You need to help yourself. And I’ll see what I can do. I’ll keep an eye on Felicia, let you know when she makes her plan. Providing she decides to talk about it.”

  Eva vanished.

  “Danielle!” a voice called out from the front door. It was Lily.

  Danielle stood up. “Coming.”

  “We need to
get going, or we’ll be late,” Lily said when Danielle reached the open front door.

  “Let me run upstairs and get my purse,” Danielle said before racing down the hallway.

  When Danielle entered her room, she came face-to-face with Walt, who handed her her purse. “I would have brought it down to you, but I decided that might not be a good idea.” He grinned. “How is Eva?”

  Now clutching her purse, Danielle shut her bedroom door and quickly told Walt about her conversation with Eva—minus the part about the universe’s motive in bringing her to Marlow House. “I really need to get going; we can discuss it more when I get back. Maybe you can keep an eye on Kent. He’s staying here.”

  “Are you saying anything to Lily?”

  Danielle shook her head. “No. She doesn’t need to be distracted by all this.”

  Seventeen

  Upon moving back to Frederickport, Melony Carmichael had moved into what had been her childhood home. At first, she considered selling it and buying something else—maybe smaller and possibly beachfront property.

  Inheriting her mother’s estate hadn’t made it possible for her to afford such a purchase, even if she was to sell the house. Unfortunately, Jolene Carmichael had lost most of her money, despite the fact she had come from a wealthy family.

  However, Melony could afford such a purchase. Her money was her own—from her lucrative law practice and savvy investments. Fortunately, Melony’s recent divorce had been amicable, and both Melony and her ex managed to walk away from their failed marriage with minimal financial damage. Melony’s ex-husband was also a successful attorney. Far more successful than the now debunked law firm once owned by Melony’s late father and his business partner, Clarence Renton. Renton, like Melony’s father, was also deceased—but his death was a matter of murder, not natural causes.

  Because of Melony’s turbulent relationship with her now deceased parents, she wasn’t emotionally attached to the house they had once owned. However, it was one of the older houses in town, with architectural character and located in one of the best neighborhoods. After Melony moved in and began replacing her mother’s furniture with her own, she started seeing the house through new eyes. Melony liked what she saw.

  Lily’s bridal shower was Melony’s first chance to entertain at her new home. She had decided against a co-ed shower—and didn’t have any cheesy bridal shower games planned. Instead, she had hired Pearl Cove to cater the event while providing a full bar. Melony figured lobster quiche and platters of coconut shrimp and free-flowing top-shelf booze, along with a wide selection of Old Salts Bakery’s finest dessert pastries would please the guests more than playing bridal shower bingo. By the smiles and the constant chatter, Melony was fairly certain she had been correct.

  The only decorations, aside from the tempting food arranged on the dining room buffet and wrapped gifts brought by the guests (piled on a table by the front door), were vases of fresh-cut roses from Marie Nichol’s garden. Marie had brought enough pink and red roses to fill half a dozen vases.

  Guests had started arriving an hour earlier. Lily wouldn’t start opening her gifts until dessert was served, yet no one was in a particular hurry. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves—some sitting in the living room, others lingering in the dining room by the food—and several, along with Melony, were in the kitchen.

  Melony Carmichael looked more fashion model than criminal attorney, with her tall slender body, naturally blond hair and stunning blue eyes. She sat at the kitchen table, chatting with Pamela and Lily’s sister, Laura, when Danielle walked into the room.

  “Ahh, this is where you three are hiding,” Danielle teased as she took a seat at the table. “I have to say, the food is a hit. Marie is out there raving about it.”

  Melony smiled. “Actually, Pearl Cove was Marie’s idea.” Melony glanced briefly at Pamela and smiled and then looked back to Danielle. “Pamela was just telling me about the lawsuit after her husband’s accident.”

  Danielle nodded. “I remember Lily telling me something about it. Umm…didn’t one of the girlfriends of one of the men killed try to sue you?”

  “That’s what I was just telling Melony about,” Pamela said. “Felicia Borge, what a piece of work.”

  “Felicia Borge?” Danielle asked. It must be the same Felicia Eva warned me about, Danielle thought.

  “I was saying that while technically you can sue anyone for anything,” Melony explained, “no reputable attorney is going to take a case like that. And since the woman obviously didn’t have the money to pay the attorney, there was no way she’d get one to take it on a contingency fee.”

  Absently nibbling her lower lip, Danielle looked at Pamela. “What exactly did this Felicia try to do?”

  “She was dating one of the men who was killed in the accident,” Pamela explained. “They weren’t married or engaged. But they had been living together for about six months. In fact, they were from Oregon. Initially, it looked like the accident was Kent’s fault. We soon found out his car had a defect, one the car manufacturer had been aware of. In fact, they had just put a recall out on it the morning of the accident.”

  “Oh crap,” Danielle muttered. “It could have been avoided.”

  Pamela nodded. “Exactly. The car manufacturer settled with us right away—and also with the parents of the two men killed. Both had been single.”

  “So what did this Felicia want?” Danielle asked.

  “The car manufacturer’s lawyers didn’t feel she had any legal standing to sue, and they had already settled with his parents, so she went after me,” Pamela explained.

  “So she did have an attorney?” Danielle asked.

  “Briefly.”

  “I suspect she misled the lawyer as to her relationship with the deceased boyfriend. He was probably seeing deep pockets until reality hit,” Melony said.

  “Plus, his parents claimed Felicia had broken up with their son before the accident and was seeing someone else,” Pamela said. “I don’t think there was any love lost between her and the parents. So her next move, she went after me. I guess she figured I was more vulnerable than big corporate America.”

  “Did you have any problems with the family of the other man who was killed?” Danielle asked.

  Pamela shook her head. “Just with Felicia. It’s unkind of me to say, but I always felt it was about money for her, not because she was heartbroken. I think that’s one reason I couldn’t muster much sympathy for her. I thought she was trying to profit off some poor man’s death.”

  “You don’t think she was sincerely upset over his death?”

  Pamela shrugged. “Maybe I’m being unfairly judgmental.”

  “How so?” Danielle asked.

  “Because the guy looked like a freak,” Laura said. When all eyes turned to her, she shrugged non-apologetically. “I guess that was not a nice way to talk about the dead.”

  “What do you mean a freak?” Danielle asked.

  “I wasn’t talking about his appearance,” Pamela told Laura. “I was talking about his arrest record.”

  “That too.” Laura smiled. “But you have to admit the guy looked like something out of a horror show.”

  Danielle and Melony looked to Laura, waiting for more information.

  “There was a photograph of him in the newspaper after the accident. He was standing with some friends. The guy was really tall and skinny. Way over six foot. He had a ton of piercings and wore his hair in a Mohawk. Come on, who wears Mohawks anymore?”

  “Maybe she figured if she put up with him, she was due some sort of payoff,” Danielle suggested. “Unfortunately, she expected you to pay up.”

  “She tried. But it didn’t go anywhere. Of course, it didn’t stop her from harassing me. And then…” Pamela didn’t finish her sentence, but took a drink of her wine instead.

  “Then what?” Danielle asked.

  “Kent wanted Pam to pay her something,” Laura said, shaking her head at the idea.

  “He just fel
t so guilty,” Pamela said. “Two men were dead.”

  “It wasn’t Kent’s fault. And it certainly wasn’t yours!” Laura snapped. “She was just a freaking vulture, trying to pick at your bones.”

  “Did you pay her something?” Danielle knew it was not her business, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “No.” Pamela shook her head. “Kent was pretty upset with me over it, but it was one thing I wouldn’t back down on.”

  “Did Kent know her?” Danielle blurted without thinking. Again, she couldn’t help herself. She remembered what Eva had told her. Kent and Felicia seemed to know each other. Yet if he had known her prior to the accident, he wouldn’t remember—which meant if they did know each other, they had to have met after the accident. Which was entirely possible.

  “No, they’d never met,” Pamela said. “Yet not because she didn’t try. Like I said, they were from Oregon. At the time of the accident, she and the boyfriend had gone to California to visit the other guy that was killed.”

  “I thought her boyfriend’s parents said they had broken up?” Danielle asked.

  Pamela shrugged. “That’s what the parents claimed. According to them, the only reason she had gone to Morro Bay with their son was so she could hook up with some new guy. I often wondered if they just said that because they were afraid she would get some of the settlement money. But after dealing with their son’s girlfriend, I understood why the parents didn’t like her.”

  “That crazy woman tried to get into the hospital to see Kent,” Laura grumbled.

  “That’s true.” Pamela sighed. “In the beginning, he was still in intensive care when she started harassing me. The hospital knew not to let her see him, and so did the rehab center. In fact, I had to issue a restraining order on her. But I never told Kent about that. So please, don’t mention it.”

  “Wow, you really have been through a lot,” Danielle murmured.

  Pamela picked up her glass of lemonade and stood up. “Enough about me. We are here for a special occasion, and I really need to stop bringing a dark cloud over Lily’s big day.”