Danielle stood on the first-floor landing at Marlow House, holding Addison in her arms as she watched Kelly pick up a box of toys from the stack of random containers Ian had left by the staircase before he took off with Walt to the hardware store.
“You really don’t have to take those upstairs. The guys are planning to do that when they get back.” Danielle glanced up the stairs and saw Marie standing at the top of the staircase, watching.
“I want to help,” Kelly insisted. “And I told Lily I’d fix Connor’s room up so she doesn’t have to do it.”
Danielle stood quietly and watched as Kelly awkwardly moved up the stairs with the large box. “Please be careful! Don’t fall!”
Danielle returned to the living room, where she found Lily sprawled out on the sofa, leaning against an armrest, with her knees bent and the soles of her bare feet on a sofa cushion, while Jack lay across the top of Lily’s thighs, his feet resting on her large belly as he looked into her face. Holding onto his tiny hands, Lily wiggled them gently while whispering nonsensical baby talk. Lily’s own son was spending the afternoon with his grandmother, to keep him out of the way while they set up his temporary room at Marlow House.
“You really need to tell Kelly not to take all that stuff upstairs. Walt can do it in about two seconds when he gets back. Heck, Marie’s here. She can do it.”
Lily glanced up at Danielle and smiled. “Kelly wants to. And Marie can’t very well move the boxes while Kelly’s here. Neither can Walt.” She looked back at Jack and resumed the baby talk.
“She’s going to wear herself out, and I don’t want her to fall.”
Lily looked up again. “She won’t fall. Marie’s keeping an eye on her.”
“It’s still silly. She’s going to be exhausted when she’s done.” Danielle started for the recliner, but Lily stopped her.
“Can you shut the door first?” Lily whispered.
Danielle turned around and shut the door from the living room to the hallway.
“I wanted to talk to you without Kelly hearing.”
Danielle walked to the recliner and sat down. “What about?”
“Has Betsy moved on? I know she hadn’t as of yesterday.”
“Yes and no.” Danielle leaned back in the chair and repositioned Addison to make them both more comfortable.
“What does that mean?”
“She’s not in Frederickport anymore, but she’s not ready to move on. She plans to stay with her daughters, get to know them and her grandchildren. And who knows, one of her younger grandchildren might be able to see her.”
Lily cringed. “That would be wild. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
“I’m just glad Betsy can finally be with her daughters. Even though it will be a one-sided relationship.”
By the time Walt and Ian returned from the hardware store, Kelly had already hauled all the boxes for Connor’s room upstairs and had started to fix up his room.
“I wish Kelly hadn’t moved all those boxes herself,” Ian said when he and Walt walked into the living room. The only reason he knew his sister had moved the boxes was because Max had told Walt when they walked into the house, and Walt told Ian.
Lily looked up at Ian and smiled sweetly. “I tried to tell her to wait for you.”
Ian eyed Lily suspiciously. “Why don’t I believe you? I’m going to check on my sister.” He dropped a quick kiss on Lily’s brow and whispered, “You’re evil.”
“I’m not evil,” Lily told Danielle and Walt after Ian left the living room. “But sometimes Kelly is a little like Connor.”
“How so?” Walt asked.
“Sometimes we just need to wear Connor out so he’ll fall asleep and give us a break.”
Danielle chuckled. “Has Kelly been driving you crazy?”
Walt walked over to Lily and picked up Jack, who had just started to squirm. He put the baby over his shoulder, gently patting his back, as he began pacing between the recliners and sofa while listening to Lily and Danielle.
“Not crazy exactly. She can just be a little exhausting sometimes, but I must admit, she has her moments. She convinced her mom we weren’t pranking them. And that whatever happened upstairs has moved on, like all spirits are supposed to do. Of course, Joe is not thrilled and thinks we’ve all lost our minds, not just his wife, yet he is sort of the odd man out in this whole thing.”
“She seems happier,” Danielle said.
Lily nodded. “I think she loved helping Ian research paranormal phenomena. It made her feel more a part of his life again. Unfortunately, it also energized her in that she is determined to now be the best sister and sister-in-law, which means when Joe is working and she has some free time, she wants to hang out.”
“She just wants to help,” Danielle reminded her.
Lily let out a sigh. “I understand. But sometimes it’s exhausting.”
“And now you want to exhaust her?” Walt teased.
Lily grinned at Walt. “Something like that.”
* * *
Kelly was just coming downstairs when she heard the doorbell ring. By the time she reached the first-floor landing, Walt had already answered the front door and led Chief MacDonald into the house. She followed them both into the living room.
“Chief, look at you getting around town!” Danielle greeted when he walked into the room, with Walt and Kelly trailing behind them.
“I went into the station this morning, and I was on my way home. I was going to call you and tell you what happened, but I thought I should probably tell you in person.”
Danielle frowned. “That sounds serious.”
Five minutes later, they all sat around the living room, Walt, Danielle, Lily, Ian, Kelly, with the chief sitting in a recliner, his leg with the new knee elevated. Marie hovered nearby in an imaginary chair while Kelly and Danielle each held one twin.
“There won’t be a trial for Clay,” the chief began.
“Did he make a plea deal?” Danielle asked.
MacDonald shook his head. “No.”
Kelly frowned. “They didn’t grant him bail again, did they?”
“No. Nothing like that. He ran into some people he knew, and the authorities are trying to say it was a suicide, but—”
“He’s dead?” Danielle blurted.
“Yes. They found him in his cell. While they claim it’s a suicide, I also heard from someone I spoke to at the jail that there was quite a commotion the first night he showed up. There were some inmates who recognized Clay from when he was on this side of the law, and it didn’t sound as if he treated them much better than he treated Heather.”
“When did this happen?” Walt asked.
“Last night. They called me this morning, and then I made a few calls myself.”
“Have they told his wife yet?” Walt asked.
“Yes. But that’s another story altogether.” MacDonald shook his head.
“What do you mean?” Danielle asked.
“Apparently, Fred and Robyn are getting a divorce. From what I gather, he did not want Debbie and the boys to keep living with them.”
Danielle cringed. “I wondered about that.”
“Supposedly, Debbie was already making plans to divorce Clay. I guess she had convinced herself Clay hadn’t murdered Camilla, but I suspect she might have forgiven him for that. But kidnapping babies, no. That was a bridge too far for her.”
“I can’t say I blame her. But why are the Lyonses splitting up now?” Lily asked.
“Because Robyn wanted her sister and nephews to keep living with them, and Fred said absolutely not. They had to leave. From what I understand, Robyn and Debbie intend to move from Frederickport with Debbie’s boys. I’m not sure what Fred plans to do or where he will live, because, supposedly, Robyn wants him to sell the house.”
“Wow. Poor Fred,” Danielle said. “He really blew up his life, pulling that stupid nepotism crap.”
“That’s for certain.” MacDonald shrugged. “To top it off, he turned in his resignation.”
“Who’s going to be city manager?” Ian asked.
MacDonald shrugged again.
“I agree with Dani. Wow,” Lily said.
They all sat in silence for a few minutes, considering what the chief had just told them. Finally, Ian said, “There’s still the trial for Clay’s accomplice.”
“I’m not sure when that’s going to be. He’s been moved to a mental ward. He still hasn’t spoken a word since his arrest. From what I’ve been told, he sits all day with his arms wrapped around himself, rocks back and forth, and stares off into space,” the chief explained.
“What did Heather do to him?” Kelly asked.
Danielle and Lily exchanged glances, as did Walt and Ian, while Marie, who sat nearby on an imaginary chair, said, “It serves him right. Coming in here trying to destroy people’s lives. I’d like to think of it as karma.”
“I mentioned the other day that Gemma’s no longer under observation. And her attorney did initially try walking back her confession, but it ended up in a plea deal,” the chief said.
* * *
By Monday evening, Lily and Ian had moved into a bedroom on the second floor of Marlow House, while one of the other bedrooms on that floor had been set up for Connor. They had turned over the parlor to Ian, where he set up his computer to use as his makeshift office. With the Bartleys temporarily moved out of their house, Ian’s father could now bring in the construction crew to finish up the addition without working around the family.
Connor was upstairs in bed, and the twins had been fed and laid in the nursery cribs, while the adults sat downstairs in the living room. They weren’t too concerned about Connor being in a strange room while his parents were downstairs visiting, as they had left Marie upstairs with Connor, reading him a bedtime story.
“Thanks so much for letting us stay,” Lily told Walt and Danielle for the tenth time.
“Hey, you’re always welcome,” Danielle insisted. “And thanks for sharing your nanny.”
They all laughed.
“I’d feel guilty, but Marie does seem to enjoy spending time with the little ones,” Lily said.
“I’m just glad this poltergeist thing is over, and we don’t have to worry about mystery ghosts anymore,” Danielle said.
Unfortunately, Danielle spoke too soon.