“I don’t blame you,” Olivia told Heather. “And I have an apology I need to make to Walt and Danielle.”
They all looked at Olivia.
“For what?” Danielle asked.
“When you saw me in your dining room last night, it wasn’t the first time I came into Marlow House that way.”
“You did it on Saturday, didn’t you?” Walt asked.
Olivia turned to Walt. “How did you know?”
“Max saw you,” Walt said.
Olivia frowned. “Max? Your cat?”
“Yes. Some animals can see spirits. Not sure if it’s all animals, but dogs and cats can,” Danielle explained.
Olivia scrunched up her nose. “Really? That’s interesting.”
“Did you look in our window once? The bedroom window upstairs?” Danielle asked.
Olivia grimaced. “I’m sorry. When I realized it was your bedroom, I left. But I was just so curious about Marlow House. When I was a kid and visited Frederickport with my mom and sister after we moved, we’d go by Marlow House, and back then no one lived there. It seemed spooky, and we always thought it was haunted. I just wanted to see inside. I figured since no one could see me, it really wasn’t wrong. But I realize now it was wrong on both counts.”
“I can understand that,” Heather said. “Come on, who wouldn’t be tempted to explore? Especially if you believed there’s no way someone could catch you?”
“Please keep those books on astral projection away from Heather,” Chris groaned.
Heather rolled her eyes at Chris. “That’s not something you need to worry about. I don’t like the idea of leaving my body unsupervised.”
Olivia turned to Heather. “When you came over here and claimed you saw me with Betty Friday morning, I didn’t think it was possible, but you were so insistent, sounded so sincere, and I knew I had been with her that morning. Heavens, if I were you, I would have been terrified to confront someone who I believed was a killer. In fact, well, you took an enormous risk doing that. What if I had been the killer? I could have hurt you.”
Heather shrugged. “I wasn’t all that reckless. I had backup.”
Olivia frowned. “You did?”
“Marie was with me,” Heather explained.
“Marie? Isn’t that the name of one of the ghosts you say is here?”
“Yes. And like Walt, Marie has telekinetic powers,” Heather explained.
“I think we need to call the chief,” Danielle interrupted. “He needs to know about the car that ran over Olivia.”
Edward MacDonald lounged on a recliner in his living room, watching television while his sons sat in the kitchen, finishing their homework. From the side table, his cellphone rang. He picked it up and looked at it. Danielle was calling. He set the phone back down, picked up the remote, muted the television, and then picked up the cellphone again.
“Evening, Danielle.”
“That woman Heather saw with Betty before she died, let’s just say it was a ghost. She had nothing to do with the murder.”
“Who was she?”
“It’s a long and, well, unbelievable but true story.”
“Isn’t it always with you?”
“I suppose. I’ll explain it all later. But for now, I wanted to tell you what this woman saw.”
“You mean what this ghost saw?”
“Whatever. She didn’t witness the murder, but not long after she left Pearl’s house following Betty, a car drove up next to Betty and stopped. The car drove right through her, which freaked her out.”
“Betty wasn’t hit by a car.”
“No. I’m talking about the woman with Betty.”
“You mean the ghost with Betty?”
“Oh crap. I thought this would be easier if I just gave you the abbreviated version for now, but I see this is not going to work.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Please just listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“Do you remember that book by Shirley MacLaine, Out on a Limb, and how she experienced out-of-body experiences, like the ones Chris and Lily had when they were in a coma, but in MacLaine’s case, she wasn’t in a coma?”
“I never read the book, but I heard about it. So?”
“Olivia Davis can do that. Heather saw her on Friday. But that was Olivia’s spirit experiencing an out-of-body experience while her body was still on the plane.”
“Danielle, you’re not supposed to drink when you’re pregnant.”
“I’m not drinking! Focus, Chief!”
“What did he say?” Heather asked Danielle when she got off the phone with the chief.
“Not much. I think he’s trying to process what I just told him.”
“It is a lot to process,” Chris said.
Heather looked at Olivia. “I’m curious about something.”
“What?”
“How did you get into this astral projection thing?” Heather asked.
“I’m rather curious about that myself,” Walt said.
Olivia shrugged. “Umm… well, it’s kind of a long story.”
“We have the time,” Chris said.
Olivia glanced around the room, noting the anxious way they all looked at her. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then said, “I married my high school sweetheart. His family was very religious; mine wasn’t. In fact, his father is a pastor. Before we got married, I joined his church.”
“Interesting way to solicit new church members,” Heather muttered under her breath.
Danielle silently listened with the others. She wondered how all of this led up to Olivia playing with out-of-body experiences.
“Let’s just say my marriage didn’t quite work out like I thought it would. After our youngest graduated from high school, I left my husband. It was, well, not what you would call an amicable divorce. My sons were furious with me. And, well, my church family sided with my husband. To make matters worse, I never had a job before, and I didn’t have any money.”
“What did your husband do for a living?” Heather asked.
“He owned… owns… a construction company in my hometown. Both of our sons work for him.”
Heather frowned. “If you guys owned a construction company, isn’t it half yours?”
Olivia smiled at Heather. “The company was in my husband’s name. I never had my own bank account. I would get a monthly allowance from my husband to pay the household expenses, like groceries.”
“But you’re a librarian?” Heather said.
“I am now. We were living in Texas when I met my husband. My parents moved not long after I got married. Dad got a job in California, so I only saw them once or twice a year. When I decided to leave my husband, like I said, I had nothing. They sent me a plane ticket. I moved in with them. I ended up going to college, with their help, and I became a librarian.”
“And how did this get you to experiment with astral projection?” Chris asked.
“I had spent almost two decades being the obedient wife. Being a wife and mother was my entire identity. And then I wasn’t anymore. I started reevaluating my beliefs. My faith, the church. What they had taught me. I also spent more time reading the New Testament and realized that what my father-in-law preached from the pulpit didn’t align with the teaching of Jesus. Jesus taught love and forgiveness, but my father-in-law preached hate and control.”
“I suspect you started reading more than the Bible at this point,” Walt said.
Olivia smiled at Walt. “Yes. I read about different religions, philosophy, new age. When I started reading about astral projection, I found it so fascinating. I ended up reading everything I could find on it. And one day, well, I did it.”
“When did you have your first out-of-body experience?” Heather asked.
“About six months ago,” Olivia said.
“As I mentioned, I had a similar experience when I had a head injury. And one thing I learned: it is frightening to be separated from your body. Because when you do that, you no longer have control over what happens to your body. Personally, I wouldn’t willingly want to do that again,” Chris said.
Olivia looked at Chris. “I understand what you’re saying. But there is power in having full control over one’s spirit. Because we never have total control over our body. Never. Especially if you are a woman. But if we can remove our mind from that body, then we never need to feel pain ever again. No matter what someone does to me, if they beat me or torture me, no matter what hell they inflict, I can simply remove myself from this body and be free. Free from pain. Free from physical abuse.”