After waking up Friday morning, Danielle hadn’t bothered braiding her hair. She wore it freely flowing around her shoulders, its curl from yesterday’s braid still evident. She also hadn’t bothered changing out of her plaid pajama bottoms and oversized T-shirt. Unlike her denims, she could still pull up her pajama bottoms around her growing baby bump—barely. She just needed to loosen the belt looped within the pants’ waistband. Yet it wouldn’t be long until they no longer fit. Danielle stood at her bedroom window and stared down at the street below, noticing the last police car had driven away.
Walt walked into the bedroom. “Looks like things are quieting down.”
Danielle glanced from the window to her husband and smiled. Unlike her, he had dressed that morning and now wore gray slacks and a crisply pressed cotton dress shirt, its button unfastened at the neckline. Walt is far more put together than me, she thought.
Their housekeeper, Joanne, ironed all Walt’s clothes. If they didn’t have a housekeeper, Walt would iron his own shirts. Danielle never pretended to be a 1950s housewife, and she was annoyed with him, anyway. Yet if she was honest with herself, it wasn’t annoyance she felt—more fear.
Walt walked to Danielle, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her to him. Her back pressed against him as she again looked out the window. She let out a sigh and said, “I have to admit, it’s nice having you here while a killer is on the loose.”
“Does this mean you’re no longer mad at me?” he whispered before kissing her ear.
“This is all your fault.”
Walt chuckled and held her tighter.
“Your mother could have at least warned us,” Danielle grumbled. It wasn’t the first time she had made that comment.
“If you will remember, I said it could happen.”
“You’re happy about this, aren’t you?” Danielle asked, already knowing the answer.
“Ecstatic.” He kissed her ear again.
“You are a monster,” Danielle said with faux drama.
“Probably. But you’re happy too, admit it.”
“And afraid,” she confessed, no longer teasing.
“Don’t be. I’ll be by your side every step of the way.” Walt turned Danielle around in his arms so that she faced him. She looked up into his blue eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” he whispered.
Unsmiling, she stared into his gaze. Finally, the corners of her mouth twitched upward, and she said, “It’s a good thing I love you so much.”
Thirty minutes later, they sat together at the kitchen table, eating lunch, when a knock came at the kitchen door followed by, “Hey, I see you guys in there; it’s Heather!”
Arching her brows, Danielle looked to Walt. “You locked the door?”
“Like you said, we have a killer on the loose.” Walt looked at the door leading to the side yard, focusing his energy on its deadbolt. His telekinetic powers turned the lock mechanism and then slowly opened the door, all the while he remained sitting in his chair.
Heather stood just outside on the kitchen porch, watching as the door opened. She peeked inside the house and grinned. A moment later, she stepped inside, looked at Danielle, and said, “Hi, little mama.”
“No hello for me?” Walt teased as Heather shut the door behind her. “After all, I opened the door for you.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t even bother getting up.” When Heather walked to the table, Danielle noticed the manilla envelope in Heather’s hand.
“Afternoon, Heather. I understand you had a crazy morning,” Danielle greeted her.
Heather tossed the envelope on the table and sat down. “Who told you? I imagine you noticed the police cars.”
Danielle glanced briefly at the envelope and then looked up at Heather. “We didn’t until Lily told me. And then we looked outside and saw them down the street near Chris’s house.”
Heather frowned. “Lily?”
“Joe told Kelly. Kelly told Ian. And Ian told Lily,” Danielle explained.
“Ahh.” Heather gave a nod.
“Did you lock the door?” Walt asked. Heather glanced at the door and cringed. She started to stand up when Walt told her to stay put. The next minute, he used his powers to turn the deadbolt.
Heather turned back to face Walt and Danielle. She removed a photograph from the envelope and tossed it on the table. “Brian asked me to give this to you guys. If you run into her, she’s dead.”
Danielle picked up the photograph and studied it. “Lily said she worked at the library. I recognize her. Tragic.” She handed the photograph to Walt.
“I was afraid it was Betty.” Walt let out a sigh.
“You knew her?” Heather asked.
“Yes. She was always helpful. I spent a lot of time over there when researching my first book. I hope we see her before she moves on, and she can tell us what happened.” Walt set the photograph on the table.
“Have they found the woman who was with her this morning?” Danielle asked.
“No. Not yet. Is it okay if I hang out over here until Brian gets off work? Until they find the mystery woman, I don’t feel comfortable staying home alone.”
“No problem,” Danielle said.
Walt picked up the photo and handed it to Heather. “And you can meet our new neighbor.”
Heather frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Adam called. The buyer arrived a little early. Adam’s in Portland, and Leslie had to go home early. She didn’t feel good. So she locked up the office. Anyway, a while back, Adam gave us a set of keys to Pearl’s house, in case there was an emergency,” Danielle explained. “He told the buyer to pick up the house keys from us.”
“What do you know about the buyer?” Heather asked.
“She’s a woman,” Danielle said.
“A single woman? Does she have a family? I’ve heard nothing about her. Other than our new neighbor outbid Joe and Kelly, and Adam and Melony,” Heather said.
“Yeah, a cash offer, over asking price,” Danielle said, although Heather already knew that bit of information.
“I just find it bizarre she bought the house without looking at it. Aside from the listing photos,” Danielle said.
“You moved here sight unseen,” Heather reminded her.
Danielle chuckled. “Hardly the same thing.”
“I suspect Adam was relieved. I don’t think he found the idea of living in Pearl’s old house after his experience with the Marymoor spirits comforting,” Walt said.
Danielle nodded. “Especially now, since there has been another murder on our street.”
“I guess Adam already knows what happened,” Heather said.
“Yeah. He told me someone from the police station called him to find out if anyone was supposed to be over at Pearl’s house this morning,” Danielle said. “He was out of town when they got ahold of him, but they told him what happened. And now his buyer is showing up today.”
“Not the best welcome to your new home. A murder on your street,” Heather said dryly.
“No kidding,” Danielle agreed.
“Guess who else is relieved they didn’t get Pearl’s house? Joe,” Heather said. “At least that’s pretty much what he said this morning.”
“What exactly happened this morning? The version I got from Lily, who got it from Ian…”
“Who got it from Kelly, who got it from Joe,” Heather finished for Danielle. She then told them all that had happened that morning.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what Lily told me,” Danielle said when Heather finished her telling.
“Oh, and when I was at Pier Café this morning, umm, Carla knows.” Heather glanced toward Danielle’s belly.
“She knows what exactly?” Walt asked.
Heather made the same hand gesture Carla had made that morning. She held up two fingers.
“Who told her?” Danielle asked.
“She overheard Mel and Adam discussing it. So I guess you don’t really have to tell anyone else. Carla will spread the word for you.” Heather chuckled.
Danielle looked down at her belly and gave it a pat. “Well, I’m sorta getting used to the idea.”
Heather flashed Walt a grin. “She’s not mad at you anymore?”
“She called me a monster a little while ago,” Walt said with a faux pout.
Heather shrugged. “Well, you are responsible for all this. When you can’t control your swim team, this is what can happen.”
Danielle giggled. “Yes, competitive little guys, each seeing who could make it to the finish line first, and when they saw they each had a chance, they took advantage of the situation.”
“I always said you can’t trust those sneaky tadpoles.”
“I can’t believe this conversation,” Walt grumbled, no longer teasing.
Both women laughed. Finally, Danielle said, “I guess people didn’t talk so freely about this stuff during your last life.”
“Not exactly,” Walt said.
“Well, I’m excited about it,” Heather said.
“You who vows to never have kids of her own,” Danielle teased.
Heather shrugged. “That mommy thing is just not for me. But I love being the doting auntie.”
“It’s probably a good thing Lily said nothing to Mel or Adam about their news,” Danielle noted.
Heather nodded. “No kidding. Can you imagine Kelly or her parents going to the diner and having the waitress tell them about Lily?”
“Just remember, if Kelly ever asks if you or Chris heard before she did, lie and say you didn’t,” Danielle reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah, Chris and I understand. But this is Lily’s fault. Before she spilled the beans to you, she should have asked if Marie or Eva were with you.”
Walt glanced at the clock. “The buyer should be here any minute.”
“You didn’t tell me. What’s the scoop on her? Does she have a roommate, boyfriend, girlfriend?” Heather asked.
“I haven’t heard. To be honest, I don’t think Adam knows much about her. He wasn’t her agent.”
“Yeah, Ray Collins brought the buyer.” Heather chuckled. “For some reason, that agent really bugs Adam.”
“It’s too bad Adam didn’t get both sides of the deal, would have been twice the commission,” Danielle said.
“And Adam likes his commission!” Heather grinned.
“He doesn’t know much about the buyer aside from the fact she bought the property in her name only and paid cash,” Danielle said. The doorbell rang.
Danielle and Heather stood by Walt’s side as he opened the front door. When he did, he found a woman standing on the front porch. She appeared startled, finding herself looking not at one person, but three people staring in her direction.
“Hello, I’m Olivia Davis,” the woman introduced herself. “Adam Nichols from Frederickport Vacation Properties said I could pick up my keys here. I bought the house next door.”
Danielle grinned and handed the keys to the woman. “It’s so nice to meet you. Welcome to the neighborhood. My name is Danielle Marlow, and this is my husband, Walt.”
Walt offered his hand to her, which she accepted, while he said, “Nice to meet you. As Danielle said, welcome to the neighborhood.”
“And this is our friend and neighbor, Heather Donovan. She’s your neighbor on the other side,” Danielle said.
Silently, Heather and Olivia stared at each other. Instead of offering her hand, as Walt had done, Heather took a step back, awkwardly shielding herself behind Walt.
Olivia continued to stare at Heather. The faint smile she’d worn a moment earlier vanished. Tersely she said, “Thank you for the keys.” Without another word, she turned and bolted down the walkway toward the street.
Confused, Danielle looked from their new neighbor to Heather and then closed the door. “What was that all about? I was just about to ask her if she wanted to come in and have a cup of coffee.”
“It was her!” Heather screeched.
“Her who?” Walt asked.
“The woman I saw with Betty Kelty this morning. Before someone murdered her!”