“You want to talk about it?” Danielle asked.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally Owen said, “I don’t know why I came back—no—that’s wrong, I do. It’s Christmastime, and something pulled me back here. It’s been so long since I’ve really celebrated the holidays. So long since it felt like Christmas. I just wanted to see if I returned, would I feel it again?”
“Feel what?” Danielle asked.
“The Christmas spirit, maybe.” Owen let out a deep breath, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the sofa.
“Who are you afraid of running into here?” Danielle asked. “Who wouldn’t be happy to see you?”
Owen opened his eyes and looked at Danielle. “My old girlfriend, for one. We were planning on getting married when I met my wife. I know she never got married. I hope to hell it isn’t because of me. But that was a long time ago. And then of course, there is my family…”
“You have family in Frederickport?” Danielle asked in surprise.
“Yes. But I don’t imagine they will be thrilled to see me. Although, they might get some satisfaction in saying I told you so. They were always fond of my old girlfriend, and they were never thrilled with my wife. Looking back, I suppose they were right.”
“When was the last time you saw your family?” Danielle asked.
Owen shrugged. “About sixteen years ago.”
“Sixteen years?” Danielle gasped.
“After I got married, we stayed in Frederickport for about a year. But then some things happened—words were exchanged—and I figured if I wanted to make my marriage work, we needed to move away. What is it they say, three things that most often destroy a marriage—money problems, sex problems, and in-law issues. Ours was the in-laws. Well, her in-laws. She was estranged from her parents, so they were never in the picture. I guess in retrospect, that should have been a red flag for me.”
“I understand sometimes we need to walk away from family. I have a close friend whose uncles actually plotted to kill him.”
“Yikes.” Owen cringed. “What happened?”
“They were arrested, sent to prison. One died in prison, the other is spending the rest of his life there. But my point—while I understand we sometimes need to walk away from family, that is not always the case. In fact, that is rarely the case, in my opinion. I know how precious family can be—how profound it is to be without them. But you—you have the chance to reconnect with your family again. But only you know if your relationship is something that’s worth salvaging—or if it is something that was toxic. And if that is the case, then you probably shouldn’t reopen that chapter of your life.”
Owen considered her words a moment. Finally he shook his head and said, “No. It was never toxic. If anything was toxic, it was my marriage.”
“Then come to the party tonight and think about what you should do. Instead of leaving today, maybe you’ll want to stick around and see your family for Christmas.”
The scent of pine competed with the tempting aromas coming from the Bartley kitchen. Lily and Ian greeted their guests while friendly chatter filled the house. Christmas carols played discretely in the background, and those not aware of Walt’s gift in communicating with animals were impressed with how Hunny and Sadie sat obediently by the Christmas tree, neither dog jumping on people or trying to snag the appetizers that sat on decorative platters on a nearby table.
Ian’s sister, Kelly, was busy holding her nephew, Connor, while her boyfriend, Joe Morelli, accepted a cocktail from Chris, who had volunteered as bartender while Ian greeted the guests. Danielle stood in the dining room chatting with Owen, whom she had talked into coming to the party, while Walt talked with the chief in the living room.
Danielle heard the doorbell ring and watched Lily leave the kitchen to answer it. A moment later Adam and Melony followed Lily into the dining room. Lily left Danielle to introduce Adam and Melony to Owen while she went to take some baked brie out of the oven.
“Adam and Melony, I would like you to meet—”
“Gardener?” Adam said in surprise.
Owen smiled and shook Adam’s hand. “Hi, Nichols, it’s been a long time.”
“You two know each other?” Danielle asked, glancing from Owen to Adam.
“Yes. But it has been years. I almost didn’t recognize you with that beard,” Adam said.
They were interrupted a moment later when Colin tapped on Danielle’s shoulder and asked if they could have a word in private.
“I hate to bother you,” Colin said after pulling Danielle away from the others. “But I just realized I left my pillbox across the street in my room. I need to go get it. I have to take my heart medicine in about ten minutes, but I forgot my key. Can I borrow yours, please?”
“Certainly,” Danielle said, digging her hand in one pocket. “Dang, I forgot…”
“You don’t have your key?” he asked.
“No.” Danielle pulled out her key and showed it to Colin. “I didn’t want to take a purse, so I put the house key in my pocket, and my cellphone in the bag with the gifts I was going to bring over. But I just remembered, I forgot to bring the bag over. I need to run over and get those anyway. So if you want me to grab your pillbox when I’m over there, I will be happy to.”
He shook his head. “No. To be honest, I’m not really sure where I set it. It would probably be better if I look for it myself. But I would be more than happy to bring the bag of gifts over for you.”
Danielle flashed him a smile. “Thanks. But I should probably do it myself and make sure I have everything. We can both go over. You want to go now?”
Thirty-Three
The branches arching over the alley driveway of one of the houses on Beach Drive needed to be trimmed. Anyone parking in that driveway risked scratching their vehicle, but the Hoopers weren’t concerned. The overgrown tree and nearby foliage helped camouflage their car, making it practically unnoticeable to anyone driving down the alleyway, especially during the dark cover of night.
Forrest and Marcella sat in their vehicle, going over their plans, which had been inspired by the first movie they had watched earlier that day at the Frederickport theater. They hadn’t finished the movie, but it had given Marcella an idea, and she had dragged Forrest out of the theater to tell him. He had listened, and while there were points of the plan he was not thrilled about—like purchasing a gun—he had to agree it was probably their last shot at retrieving the one item that could set them up for life. He didn’t want to spend his remaining years taking care of another eccentric and aging senior citizen.
“I suppose we should have left that waitress with the purple hair a better tip,” Forrest said with a chuckle.
“She was a chatty little thing. Telling us all about how the people who live in this house are gone for the holidays, and how that neighbor of the Marlows is in the hospital,” Marcella said as she handed Forrest a ski mask.
“Do we really need to wear these things?” he asked.
“Yes, when we are in the house. Everyone might be across the street, but if someone comes back over for some reason and walks in on us, we don’t want them to be able to identify us. Now, don’t forget to put your gloves on.”
A few minutes later, Marcella and Forrest climbed out of their vehicle and into the darkness, the evening’s crescent moon obscured by the night clouds. Marcella turned on her flashlight and reached for one of her husband’s gloved hands. Together they walked hand in hand down the alleyway toward Marlow House’s back gate. When they reached it, they were surprised to discover it was locked.
“I don’t believe this!” Marcella cursed. “They didn’t have this locked before.”
“They obviously know someone was in their house. They must have decided to do a better job at locking their gates. This just means we’re going to have to go around and enter through the front door.”
“This was going to be so perfect,” Marcella groaned. “With that nosey neighbor in the hospital, there would be no one to s
ee us.”
“Calm down,” he urged. “We’re both dressed in black; there is practically no moon out; no one will see us when we go around to the front. Let’s just get this done.”
Marlow House’s neighbor to the north had no fencing around their yard save for the Marlow House fence along the southern side of their property line. Fortunately for the Hoopers, that house was dark, and there didn’t appear to be anyone home. Together Marcella and Forrest hurried through their yard, heading toward Beach Drive. When they reached the sidewalk, they looked across the street at what they had learned from the waitress was the Bartley house. Partygoers’ cars lined both sides of the street, and the Bartley house was well lit.
Standing on the sidewalk and looking up the walkway to Marlow House’s front door, Marcella smiled when she noticed one piece of luck—they had forgotten to turn the front porch light on. The area was almost pitch black. Marcella turned off her flashlight, not wanting anyone from the party to look over and notice a light moving up the Marlows’ front walk. Strands of Christmas lights strung along the front of Marlow House helped illuminate their way as the Hoopers hurried up the walkway to the front door. When they reached the door, Marcella quickly unlocked it and went inside, leaving Forrest alone on the dark porch.
Reaching into her coat pocket for the dog treats she had put there earlier, Marcella waited for the pit bull to greet her. But there was no sound of paws running on the wood floor. She made a little whistle, but still no sign of the pit bull. Confident the dog was not in the house, she shoved the treats back into her pocket and pulled out her ski mask. She hadn’t wanted to slip it on until she had the dog confined in a room, afraid the mask might scare the animal.
She then opened the front door and ushered her husband inside, locking and closing the door behind them. The house was dark inside. Like a couple of cat burglars dressed in black—which in essence they now were—the Hoopers stood in Marlow House, looking down the quiet hallway through the slits in the knit ski masks. Random night-lights plugged into electrical sockets helped break the darkness. From one of the open doorways down the hall came a colorful glow. Marcella nudged Forrest in that direction, telling him that was the living room. When they reached the doorway, they discovered the colorful glow came from the Christmas tree lights, the only lights on in the room.
Marcella hurried to the Christmas tree and leaned down, excited to find a paper bag filled with wrapped packages under its branches. “I bet it’s here!”
She glanced up to the window, its blinds not all the way drawn, and wondered if someone from across the street looked over, would they notice the beam from her flashlight. Confident she had sufficient lighting from the glow of the Christmas tree lights, she turned off her flashlight and set it down. She pulled the large paper bag from under the tree and dumped its contents on the floor while Forrest stood over her, watching silently. The next moment a light in the hallway turned on, and they heard what sounded like the front door slam.
They both froze a moment, and then Forrest reached down and grabbed Marcella’s hand and jerked her up, leaving her flashlight on the floor. They ran to the large picture window and took cover behind the curtains, crouching down close to the floor so furniture blocked their hiding spot.
The living room light went on.
After turning on the living room light, Danielle looked back to Colin, who stood behind her in the hallway. “I’ll get the packages while you go up to your room and get your pills.”
Colin smiled sheepishly and pulled one hand out of his coat pocket. It held a small pillbox. “I’m afraid I must be getting senile. I forgot to check my pocket. I had the pills with me all along.”
“Then it is a good thing you didn’t take up my offer to try finding them for you,” Danielle teased as she turned back to the living room and headed toward the Christmas tree. Colin followed her into the room and took a seat on the sofa.
“That darn Max,” Danielle cursed when she reached the tree.
“Max? Isn’t he your cat?” Colin asked.
“Yes,” Danielle said as she leaned down in front of the tree. “I guess batting glass balls isn’t enough. He’s now playing with the gifts.” She started to pick up a package to put back in the paper bag when she noticed something else sitting on the floor by the tree. She reached for it.
Flashlight in hand, Danielle stood up and frowned. “I wonder who left this here.” Shaking her head, she walked over to the coffee table and set the flashlight down. She then returned to the tree and began gathering up the packages and returning them to the paper sack. She spied her cellphone under one of the branches and then snatched it up, adding it to the bag.
Standing up, she said, “I think I have everything. Let’s go.”
Colin stood up, and Danielle started for the doorway with the bag of gifts when a female voice behind her said, “Stop right there.”
Startled by the unexpected voice, Danielle twirled around and found herself facing two masked people, one pointing a revolver in her direction.
“Set the bag on the table with the flashlight, and no one will get hurt,” the female voice ordered.
Danielle did what she was told and backed up, now standing next to Colin.
“Follow our directions, and no one will get hurt,” a male voice instructed. “We are going to take you in the hallway and tie you up. I’m sure one of your friends will come looking for you soon, so I don’t imagine you will be here long.”
“You’re taking that bag with you, aren’t you?” Danielle asked, nodding to the table.
“You don’t intend to risk your life over what’s in that bag, do you?” the woman’s voice asked.
“Of course not. I just have a favor to ask you,” Danielle said.
“I’m the one holding the gun. I don’t think you should be asking for favors,” the woman snapped.
“We need to hurry up,” the man said impatiently, glancing to the window. The next moment he drew the curtains completely closed.
“What did you do that for?” the woman holding the gun asked.
“Someone could drive by and see us,” the man explained.
“Please, just one favor,” Danielle asked sweetly.
“What?” the woman asked impatiently.
“My cellphone is in that sack. Can you please leave it? I doubt you want it anyway.”
The woman glared at Danielle but made no attempt to look for the cellphone.
“Consider this. If you keep the cellphone, it will be easier for the police to track you when you leave here. You don’t want that, do you?” Danielle asked.
“I can just throw it out the window,” the woman told her.
“Why would you want to do that?” Danielle asked.
Colin began to chuckle. All eyes turned to him, curious to see what he found so amusing. Smiling broadly, Colin patted one of Danielle’s hands. “I do find it rather endearing how you are pleading with our armed captors for the release of your cellphone. Perhaps young people of your generation really do have an unhealthy relationship with their cellphones.”
Danielle looked to Colin and said, “It’s just that it’s such a pain to lose your cellphone. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost one in similar circumstances.”
The masked man rushed to the coffee table and dug through the packages. A moment later he pulled out a cellphone and then tossed it on a nearby chair. “There. We won’t take your cellphone. Will you now go into the hallway so we can tie you up and get out of here?”
Danielle started to move toward the hallway when Colin reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. “No, Danielle. We can’t let them take the packages.”
Confused, Danielle looked to Colin and then back to the woman holding them at gunpoint.
“Yes we can. Seriously, we can,” Danielle argued.
Colin shook his head and said calmly, “No we can’t. I need one of them.”
Danielle abruptly stepped back from Colin, her fear intensifying.
&
nbsp; “Do you want me to shoot you?” the gun-toting woman shrieked, her hand now shaking.
“That is a rhetorical question, I assume,” Colin said in an irritatingly calm voice.
“No one needs to get shot,” Danielle pleaded.
“And no one will,” Colin told her. He looked at Danielle and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid, Danielle. It is all going to work out. I promise.”
Danielle looked from Colin back to the woman, who was now standing next to her accomplice, the gun still pointed in her direction.
“Whatever anyone thinks is in that sack, you are all wrong. There is nothing of value in there. It’s just a bunch of junk. Really. Just silly stuff we bought for a white elephant gift exchange. But if you guys want it, go ahead and take it, and I will let you tie me up while you make your getaway. But frankly, it’s not there, whatever you think it might be,” Danielle told them.
“Why don’t you tell them what is in the bag,” Colin suggested.
Danielle quickly listed off the items.
The woman’s expression went blank, and she studied Danielle a moment. “What about the picture frame?”
“Picture frame?” Danielle asked.
“A picture of two men. One holding up a fish,” the woman told her. “Where is it?”
“You want that?” Danielle asked in surprise.
“Where is it?” the woman demanded.
“It’s under the tree—the gift tag is addressed to Adam,” Danielle explained.
The woman nodded to her accomplice, who quickly ran to the tree and began searching for the package. He found one shoved far under the branches; it was addressed to Adam. Without pause, he stood up and ripped off the packaging, revealing the framed photograph.
“Now will you two move in the hallway so we can tie you up?” the woman asked. “Or do I have to shoot you both?”
“We aren’t moving in the hallway, and you are not shooting anyone. But I am taking that gun,” Colin told her as he took a step in her direction.
The Ghost and the Christmas Spirit Page 21
