by Bobbi Holmes
“What makes you think they could be related?” Adam asked.
“It’s hard to explain. Just a series of events, things I have read. But the only way to know for sure one way or the other is to see if Jolene linked to other family trees—and if she didn’t—to do it now.”
Pulling a slip of paper out of her purse, Melony handed it to Danielle. “I have to say, I’m curious. Go for it.”
“I didn’t expect Melony to go along so easily with your request. In my day, people tended to conceal information regarding illegitimate children or philandering ancestors in their bloodline.” Walt absently rolled the end of the cigar between several of his fingers and waited to hear what Danielle found on the computer.
Melony and Adam stood behind Danielle, who now sat at the desk in front of her laptop computer. With minimal clicks Danielle was on the Ancestry.com website. Entering the username and password Melony had jotted down on the slip of paper, Jolene’s Ancestry.com account opened on the computer. After another click, the screen moved to the DNA section, and after another click, to settings.
“No. Your mom didn’t opt in to link to other family trees,” Danielle announced after reviewing the page.
Melony snickered. “Honestly, that sounds like Mother. She goes to all the trouble to have her DNA tested, but she doesn’t want to share the information.”
“That’s what I was talking about,” Walt murmured. “Family secrets stayed in the family.”
Danielle glanced over her shoulder at Melony. “Is it okay if I opt in for you?”
“Sure. I would have done it anyway when I got around to checking out the results. I don’t really see the point of having the DNA test done if you aren’t going to utilize all the search options.”
After opting into linking with other family tree results, Danielle closed the page and moved to another. She studied the results now on the screen, as did Melony and Adam, who continued to look over her shoulder.
“Brianna was your mother’s aunt?” Adam said in surprise.
“Holy crud,” Melony murmured as she leaned closer to the screen, staring at the evidence before her. “Mom’s grandfather, Ralph Templeton, fathered Brianna O’Malley? So, he wasn’t just a mass murderer, he was an adulterer.”
“Apparently, she worked for him, they had an affair, and she got pregnant.” Danielle turned in her office chair and faced the pair.
“How did you know?” Melony asked.
“Like I said, just bits and pieces I fit together,” Danielle lied.
“Ahh, it was Renton, wasn’t it?” Melony suggested, nodding her head at the idea.
“What about Renton?” Adam asked.
Yes, what about him? Danielle wondered.
“I understand now why Renton had the test run in the first place. He must have somehow known about my mother being Brianna’s biological niece. Maybe he intended to use that information somehow to overturn the will in favor of Mom and get a portion of her share. After all, they were still business partners, and we all know Mom was not above using unscrupulous means to her advantage. I know that is a horrible thing to say about one’s mother, but it is the truth.”
“Perhaps, but didn’t your mother order that DNA test after Renton was killed?” Danielle asked.
With a frown, Melony considered the time line. “That’s true. Renton was already dead when Mother decided to have her DNA done.”
“Plus, none of those results leading to your mom showed up on Brianna’s account until I clicked the box to share information on your mom’s account.”
“Perhaps it is just a coincidence,” Melony murmured.
“I guess this makes you and Danielle sort of cousins,” Adam said.
Forty
Absently circling the rim of her wineglass with the tip of her right index finger, Danielle listened to the lively conversation surrounding her. To her right sat Lily, and next to her, Ian. Chris sat to Danielle’s left. Directly across the table was Melony, sitting between the chief and Adam.
The table they had been seated at wasn’t directly next to the window, but it was close enough to enjoy the sunset now taking place over the Pacific Ocean. There wasn’t an empty table in the house, which didn’t surprise Danielle, as it was a Friday night in the height of the summer season, and Pearl Cove was the most popular seafood restaurant in Frederickport.
Melony was telling an amusing anecdote about her recent move to Oregon, while Danielle’s mind wandered, recalling the comments Walt had made about Melony’s feelings toward Adam. Her gaze shifted from Adam to MacDonald, back to Melony. An impartial viewer might have a difficult time determining which of the men was Melony’s date. Maybe neither one is, Danielle told herself. What was clear, evident in the body language, Melony felt comfortable with both men.
Just as she was about to pick up her wineglass to take a sip, Danielle felt a light pat on her left knee. She glanced over to Chris, who had just removed his hand from said knee, and was greeted with a quick smile and wink.
Returning the smile, Danielle picked up her wine. In that moment she realized her relationship with Chris was as clearly undefined as Melony’s and Adam’s. Glancing to her right, she noticed Ian lean to Lily and whisper something in her ear. Lily laughed and then turned to Ian and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. There is no confusion what their relationship is, Danielle thought. Setting her wineglass back on the table, she gazed unseeing into the merlot that filled half the glass.
“Well, Danielle, are you?” Adam asked several minutes later.
Danielle looked up abruptly from her glass to Adam. “Umm…am I what?”
Adam laughed. “You weren’t even listening, were you?” Brief laughter rose from the other friends at the table.
“Oh, hush, you guys,” Lily admonished, using her left hand to reassuringly pat Danielle’s back. “Dani’s had a rough week. She’s entitled to zone out if she wants.”
Danielle blushed. “Thanks, Lily. Sorry, Adam, I guess I did zone out. What was your question?”
“We were talking about the open house,” Lily explained.
“Adam wanted to know if you were going to wear the Missing Thorndike this year,” Melony added. “I for one would love to see it. I’ve heard about it all my life, but I’ve never seen it before. Well, at least not in person.”
“To be honest, I haven’t really given it much thought.”
“Dani hasn’t given the open house any thought,” Lily added.
“Hey, I promised this weekend I’ll get my act together.”
In a conspiratorial voice, Lily said, “I’m hoping the open house will give us some leads on who’s behind the Mystery of Marlow House website.” Quickly glancing around at her dinner companions, she asked, “Could it be someone sitting at this table?”
“What are you talking about?” Adam asked.
Lily told them about the anonymous blog they’d found online spotlighting Marlow House.
“Are you sure that’s not one of your brilliant marketing schemes?” Adam lifted his wineglass to take a drink.
Danielle laughed. “Hardly. If it was, I would have used a much better picture of myself.”
“So what about the necklace?” Ian asked. “Will you wear it again this year? It did bring in the crowds and, since this year is a fundraiser, would be for a good cause.”
Danielle glanced over to the chief. “You think it would be a problem?”
“I’m sure we can work something out.” The chief picked up his glass of water and before taking a sip added under his breath, “We know it won’t be a problem inside the house.”
Melony looked to Edward. “Why’s that?”
Silently Chris, Danielle, and Lily thought, Because of Walt.
Danielle stood with Chris on the beach. They could hear the waves breaking on the nearby shore. Behind them, down the beach to the right, the lights of Pearl Cove lit up the shoreline.
“So this is why you decided to take your car when we picked you up.” In one hand Danielle h
eld her purse and in the other her pair of shoes. She started to walk down the beach, away from the restaurant, Chris by her side.
“I thought a walk on the beach might be nice after dinner, and I didn’t particularly want to go with Adam and Melony. As much as I like them, it seems we’re always around other people.”
Danielle strolled down the shore, her bare toes occasionally kicking at the sand. “We could have walked on the beach down at our houses after Adam dropped us off.”
“No offense, I just thought it would be nice to take a walk away from Marlow House.”
Instead of making a reply, Danielle kept walking. A moment later she was brought to an abrupt stop when Chris reached out and grabbed her forearm, turning her to face him, the moonlight illuminating her features.
Eyes wide, Danielle did not attempt to move when Chris leaned closer and placed a kiss on her lips. The kiss deepened. A moment later, Chris pulled away, a confused frown on his face.
He studied her moonlit expression for a moment and then said, “I didn’t get the feeling you were really into that.”
Danielle quickly looked down, her hands still clutching her purse and shoes. “I’m sorry, Chris, I guess I just have a lot on my mind.”
Chris started to say something but then paused. Instead, he removed his jacket and spread it on the sand. “Why don’t you sit down. I think we need to talk.”
With a nod, Danielle sat down, using Chris’s jacket as a blanket. He sat on the sand next to her.
“Where are we going, Danielle?” They sat together under the night sky, each looking out to the sea.
“You know I really care about you, Chris.” Her shoes and purse now sitting on the sand next to her, Danielle wrapped her arms around her bent legs and rested her chin atop her knees.
“Well, I’m crazy about you.”
Danielle didn’t comment.
“When I was younger, my mother used to talk about how Dad courted her. I always thought that such an old-fashioned expression and notion—courting. I imagine it’s one Walt would use.”
Danielle glanced to Chris and even in the moonlight could see he cringed after his own reference to Walt.
“Damn, even here Walt is between us,” Chris muttered under his breath.
“Is he?” Danielle asked.
Chris shook his head. “I don’t know. But in all fairness, I have to acknowledge other factors. My business trip, dealing with the deaths of Jolene, Steve, and Hillary, and just when I thought we could get away and enjoy ourselves, there was the hijacking.”
“No, I don’t suppose we can lay all that on Walt.”
“Perhaps not, but that kiss a moment ago, I have to wonder how much he factors in.”
Danielle sat up straighter, her chin no longer resting on her knees. “What are you talking about?”
“I suppose, in my own way, I thought I was courting you. But now, I just can’t help but think of that movie He’s Just Not That Into You, or in my case, She’s just Not Into You.”
Danielle let out a sigh and rested her chin back onto her knees. “I’m sorry, Chris. It’s me, not you.”
“Words that never made any unrequited lover feel better,” he said dryly.
“I don’t want to lose you,” Danielle said, tears in her voice.
“Who said anything about losing me?”
Danielle looked at Chris. “It just seems that often happens when two people—well when they are at different places in a relationship.”
“How do you feel about me, Danielle?” Chris asked in a whisper, his eyes searching. “I know you care about me, but do you think you and I could ever be closer than just good friends?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I feel.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, Chris spoke. “Perhaps wherever I imagined we were headed wasn’t necessarily stalled because of all that’s happened in the last six months. Maybe we just aren’t ready to get there yet—if we ever are.”
“What are you saying?”
He turned to Danielle, their gazes locked. “I guess I’m saying, like you, I don’t want to lose what we already have. I’m not ready to give that up.”
Furrowing her brow, she asked, “So what does that mean?”
Chris smiled at Danielle. “Maybe for now we can be okay with how we’ve been going. And later, if it seems like the right time for you, maybe we can try that kiss again.”
Walt stood at the attic window, looking out into the night. He was alone in Marlow House. Even Max had deserted him, having taken off through the pet door an hour earlier.
Across the street, the lights were on at Ian’s house. The blinds were shut, but Walt knew Lily was over there. They had returned from dinner at Pearl Cove thirty minutes earlier. He wondered when Adam would be returning with Danielle. But it wasn’t Adam’s car that drove up to the house twenty minutes later, but Chris’s.
From the shaded window Walt watched Danielle get out of Chris’s car. He noticed that Chris didn’t bother turning off his engine, nor did he get out of the car to open Danielle’s door. Neither did he walk her to the house. Instead Danielle got from the vehicle, shut its door, and waved to Chris before turning and racing to the front door. Walt was relieved that at least Chris waited until Danielle was safely in the house before he drove off.
“In my day a gentleman walked his date to the front door,” Walt told Danielle from where he stood on the second-floor landing, looking down the stairs.
Holding onto the handrail, Danielle looked up at Walt as she trudged up the stairs. “I told Chris it wasn’t necessary.”
“It’s always necessary,” Walt said when she reached the second floor.
“Good night, Walt. I’m really tired.”
Walt paused in the middle of the hallway and watched Danielle, whose back was now to him as she walked to her closed bedroom door.
“Are you alright, Danielle?” Walt asked in a soft voice.
Danielle paused by her bedroom door, preparing to open it. She glanced over her shoulder at Walt. “Yeah, like I said, I’m just tired. Goodnight.”
Without another word, Danielle opened her bedroom door, stepped into the room, and closed the door, leaving Walt standing alone in the hallway.
Danielle opened her eyes. Overhead a black velvet blanket covered the night, bejeweled with random diamonds, each demanding attention, twinkling, some brighter than others, lighting the sky. Sprawled before her, countless city lights competed with the night sky and in its centerpiece an illuminated iconic tower.
“Are we in Paris?” Danielle asked in surprise. Looking to her right, she found Walt sitting next to her. Looking down, she noticed they sat on a patchwork quilt situated on a grassy hillside.
“How did you know?” Walt asked with a smile.
“That’s the Eiffel Tower, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Walt leaned back on one elbow, stretching out on the blanket. He looked up at Danielle as she eagerly drank in the landscape. “I looked through those letters Marie had given you. One was written when I was in Paris. I would have loved to have taken you to Paris.”
Danielle let out a sigh and lay down on the blanket. Rolling to her side, she faced Walt, mimicking his pose as she too propped one elbow on the blanket while her cheek rested against a balled fist. Their eyes met.
“I thought you might be mad,” Walt said in a soft voice.
“Mad why?”
“You said you were tired. Perhaps I should have just let you sleep.”
Danielle grinned. “I am sleeping.”
“Did you have a nice evening?”
“Dinner was good.” Danielle rolled over onto her back and looked up at the sky.
“I thought Adam drove you and Chris tonight?”
“When we got to Chris’s house, Chris said he wanted to take his car, so I went to the restaurant with him.” Danielle continued to look up into the sky.
“I see Lily and Ian got back from dinner much earlier than you and Chris.”
/> “Chris and I took a walk on the beach after dinner.”
“He seemed in a hurry to get home after he dropped you off.”
Danielle turned to Walt. “What’s this about?”
Walt stared at Danielle. “It really is none of my business, is it?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I hate to admit it, but I think Chris is a good man,” Walt said reluctantly.
“Umm…yeah…so do I. Again, what is this about, Walt?”
“I want you to be happy. I don’t want to do anything to interfere with that.”
“I’m not sure where this is coming from.” Danielle sat back up and turned to face Walt, who was now also sitting. She studied him a moment as he looked out to the city lights. “Are you suggesting Chris should have walked me to the door—he should have kissed me goodnight?”
Walt visibly cringed. “Well, not if I could see it—the kiss, that is. But I do want you to be happy and with me here—I wonder sometimes—if it keeps your and Chris’s relationship from reaching its inevitable conclusion.”
“You want me to have an inevitable conclusion—is that like code for an intimate relationship with Chris? That’s what you want?”
Walt looked at Danielle and frowned. “Hell no. That’s not what I want. This is what I want.”
He didn’t hesitate as he had on the Eva Aphrodite, when he had taken her face in his hands, teasing her lips with his warm breath. That time Danielle had claimed the kiss, but this time Walt did not allow common sense to cloud his judgment.
When the kiss ended, he, unlike Chris, would not doubt Danielle’s commitment to their brief intimacy. He would, however, question his own judgement.
The Ghost Who Lied
Revisit Marlow House in
The Ghost Who Lied
