Marie and Eva stood in the garage, looking down at Olivia now sprawled unconscious on the concrete floor.
“Danielle’s right. That girl is always fainting.” Marie sighed. She looked over at Josephine, who was no longer screaming but now looking frantically for her pistol before Olivia regained consciousness.
The next moment, Josephine spied her gun sitting on a top shelf. It was too high for her to reach. She abandoned her gun and grabbed a hammer from the worktable and headed for Olivia still unconscious on the floor. Just as she was about to strike the helpless woman, the hammer jerked from her hand, as the gun had done moments earlier, and it joined the firearm on the top shelf.
Marie focused her energy on Josephine, and the next moment, the crazed librarian rose into the air, flailing and screaming.
“I’ll have Walt send the police over,” Eva said before disappearing.
“I hope they get here soon. Not sure how Olivia is going to react when she comes to,” Marie muttered to herself while focusing her energy on Josephine, who hovered above her, wiggling about like a fish on an invisible line.
Eva found Walt, who then called the chief. Ten minutes later, Walt met Brian at Josephine’s house, all agreeing they would wait until Brian had Josephine in custody before calling for backup or letting Joe know what was happening.
Olivia had locked the door behind her when entering the storage garage. But it took Walt less than a minute to spring the lock. When they stepped into the garage, they found Olivia huddled in a corner, looking up at Josephine, who hovered overhead, her arms flailing as she cried pitifully. Marie stood next to Olivia, but only Walt could see her.
Standing under the librarian, Brian looked up at her and shook his head, his hands resting on his hips. Walt walked to Olivia and offered her a hand, helping her to her feet while calling out to Marie, “You can let her down now.”
Olivia stumbled to her feet and let Walt place a comforting arm around her while the two stood side by side and watched Josephine slowly lowering to the floor, still sobbing. If they expected Josephine to take off running the moment her feet touched the concrete floor, they would have been wrong. The moment she was on her feet, she ran to Brian Henderson, throwing her arms around him.
“I’m being punished. I’m being punished,” Josephine sobbed as she held onto Brian, burying her face in his chest. “I didn’t mean to kill Betty. But she wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to explain. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
Stretched out on the living room sofa, a menu from Pearl Cove in hand, Lily reviewed the appetizer options. She looked over to Ian, who sat on the floor with Conner playing with toddler-sized Legos.
“You know, Ian, I can’t do this.” She tossed the menu on the coffee table.
Ian looked up from the floor to Lily. “You don’t want to help with Kelly’s wedding?”
“I still want to do that. But whatever she wants to order for food, I don’t want to know about it. I’m sorry, just reading the menu is making me nauseous.”
“I suspected that might happen.”
“Yeah, well, food doesn’t sound as good to me as it did before.”
The doorbell rang, and Sadie barked. Ian stood up and followed Sadie to the front door. He returned a few minutes later with Walt and Danielle.
“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Lily asked, sitting up on the sofa to make room for her guests.
“Has Kelly called you?” Danielle asked as she passed Connor, ruffled his curls, and then sat on the sofa next to Lily.
Lily frowned. “No, why?”
Walt sat on the recliner while Sadie stuck close to his side, her tail wagging, and Ian sat back on the floor with Connor.
“I wondered if Joe told her, and she told you,” Danielle said.
“Told us what?” Ian asked.
“They’ve caught Betty’s killer,” Walt announced.
“They have? Who?” Lily asked. “Do we know the person?”
“Josephine Barker.”
“Josephine?” Ian frowned. “You can’t be serious.”
“Unfortunately,” Danielle said.
“Why would she kill Betty?” Lily asked.
Danielle looked at Walt. “You tell them. I’m sort of worn out from all this.”
Walt looked to Lily and then to Ian. “It seems Miss Josephine is a kleptomaniac. She’s been picking up little treasures for some time now. One treasure she snagged was the letter opener.”
“Wasn’t she on vacation when it was taken?” Lily asked.
“Josephine returned the night before they discovered the letter opener missing. She had rented a car for her vacation and planned to return it the next day. When she got back into Frederickport, she stopped at the grocery store. On her way home from there, she dropped by the library to check on things. It was at night; no one was there. And she saw the letter opener and couldn’t resist. So the next morning, when they discovered it missing, no one suspected her. After all, she was on vacation, and she didn’t come in until later that afternoon. Plus, who would suspect the head librarian?”
“But why did she kill Betty?” Lily asked.
“Betty started keeping a list of all the missing items, with the dates they disappeared. She was looking for a pattern so she could figure out who was taking things—assuming it was one person. Betty had talked to some docents over at the museum, and they claimed they never had a problem with things just walking off. If visitors to the museum weren’t stealing things, she wondered why it was happening at the library,” Walt explained.
“And the museum has a lot of interesting things that aren’t locked in cases,” Danielle added.
“She suspected it was someone who worked at the library, an employee or volunteer, but she didn’t know who. And then, when she was over at Josephine’s on Friday morning, inventorying the boxes from the library, she came across something that she wasn’t supposed to see,” Walt said.
“It was all the things that had gone missing,” Danielle interjected.
“Why would Josephine keep them there, where Betty could find them?” Lily asked.
“They were on one of the shelves where Josephine stored her personal belongings, and she didn’t intend for Betty to get into those boxes. But then she went to the library. She never considered Betty would start looking through the boxes on those shelves. After all, she planned to be right back,” Walt explained.
“And she found the letter opener?” Ian asked.
Walt nodded. “She wasn’t sure how to handle it, so before Josephine returned with her car, she took the letter opener and started walking to Becca’s house to discuss it with her. After all, it was her letter opener.”
“Why didn’t she just call her?” Lily asked.
“She had left her cellphone in her car,” Danielle said. “And Josephine had her car.”
“When Josephine returned, found Betty gone, and the box holding her treasures sitting on the workbench, she panicked. She must have suspected Betty was on her way to Becca’s house,” Walt said.
“And that’s who was driving the car when it ran over Olivia,” Ian said.
“Yes. I doubt Josephine meant to kill Betty,” Walt said. “At least that’s what Betty told us.”
“Betty’s spirit showed up?” Lily asked.
“Yes, but that’s another story. Betty said Josephine pulled up beside her and got out of the car when she realized she had already gone to Becca’s house, but she wasn’t home. Josephine tried to convince Betty not to tell anyone; they argued. Josephine grabbed for the letter opener. They struggled, Josephine stumbled, and in the scuffle, she stabbed Betty. Panicked after realizing what she had done, she pushed Betty down between the bushes and drove off. She took the car back to Betty’s and parked it there,” Danielle said.
Lily leaned back on the sofa. “Wow.”
Walt looked at Danielle and smiled. “I thought you wanted me to tell the story?”
Ignoring Walt, Danielle said, “And that phone call from Becca, Josephine admitted answering Betty’s cellphone. She could see the call was from Becca, but all she could hear was background noise, so she assumed it was a butt call.”
“Why would she answer the phone?” Lily asked.
“She didn’t mean to,” Danielle said. “Betty had left her phone on the passenger seat. It started ringing right after Josephine left Betty in the bushes. Josephine picked up the phone to see who was calling Betty but accidentally answered the call. In a panic she dropped the phone while trying to hang up, and it fell between the seat and console.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t try to retrieve the phone. Wouldn’t her prints have been all over it?” Lily asked.
“I asked the same thing. Betty said Josephine was wearing gloves when she grabbed the letter opener. I assume she was wearing them when she picked up the cellphone,” Danielle said.
“My gloves don’t work on a touch screen. How did she answer the phone?” Lily asked.
“They make gloves that work on touch screens,” Ian said.
Lily frowned at her husband. “Really?”
Ian nodded.
“I want a pair of those,” Lily muttered.
“I am assuming they’ve arrested her. What does she say?” Ian asked.
“I’m afraid she wasn’t doing well when Brian and I showed up to arrest her,” Walt said. He then explained all that had happened, from Olivia going to the funeral, to Marie rescuing Olivia. He then said, “Being suspended in midair in her garage did little for Josephine’s mental health. The moment Brian and I arrived at the garage and Marie lowered her to the floor, Josephine threw herself into Brian’s arms and told him everything.”
“And poor Olivia was sitting huddled in the corner when they arrived,” Danielle added. “She was just sitting there, watching Josephine overhead, flailing around like a wounded bird.”
“While Olivia didn’t like the idea of a ghost companion, I think she appreciates the fact that Marie kept an eye on her just in case she needed help. Apparently, Josephine got home a few minutes before Olivia arrived. She ended up not going to the wake, because the person she rode to Astoria with needed to get back to Frederickport,” Walt explained.
“Was Josephine the one responsible for the bomb on Olivia’s car?” Lily asked.
“Yes, and for putting the murder weapon in her trash bin,” Walt said.
Danielle looked at Lily. “It’s one reason I believe she didn’t intend to kill Olivia.”
Lily arched her brow at Danielle. “She put a bomb on her car. Are you saying she didn’t intend for it to go off?”
“Oh no.” Danielle shook her head. “Josephine definitely tried to kill her that time. I just meant in the beginning. I don’t think she intended to stab her, and even Betty said it all happened so fast and they both slipped right before it happened. After that, I think Josephine went into panic mode.”
“When she thought Olivia had arrived early and had been with Betty, she had no idea what Betty had told her or what she had seen,” Walt said.
“Which is one reason she stashed the murder weapon in Olivia’s trash. Because if Olivia started pointing a finger at her, she would point it back and try to make it look like Olivia was the killer,” Danielle said.
“But Olivia didn’t even know Betty,” Lily argued.
“Like I said, Josephine was in panic mode and not thinking straight,” Danielle said.
“When Olivia denied being in Frederickport during that time, Josephine believed she was lying for some reason and wondered if she had seen something. Maybe something she didn’t realize was connected to the murder, so she decided she needed to get rid of Olivia. Fortunately, Josephine proved better at researching bomb making than making a bomb,” Walt explained.
“I don’t believe Josephine ever intended to kill Betty to conceal her struggles with kleptomania. But she intended to kill Olivia to cover up manslaughter,” Danielle said.
“I’m just glad she’s been arrested, and we can stop worrying about a killer on the loose,” Lily said.
“Totally agree. In fact, I’d like to invite you over for Sunday brunch tomorrow so we can celebrate,” Danielle announced. “I also thought it would be nice to introduce Olivia to some people. She’s had a rough first week in Frederickport.”
Walt resisted the temptation to tell Danielle she might be overdoing it, considering she’d expanded her brunch guest list to include not just their friends on Beach Drive, but also to Kelly, Joe, Adam, Melony, Edward, and his sons. He reminded himself she loved to entertain, so instead of saying anything, he offered to make a run to Old Salts before helping Danielle prepare for their guests.
Danielle arranged the food on the buffet, allowing everyone to prepare their own plate before going to the table. They had been sitting at the dining room table for about fifteen minutes when Olivia turned to Danielle and said, “I really want to thank you for inviting me. This has been lovely. Both the company and the food.”
Danielle flashed Olivia a smile and said, “You are most welcome.”
They all started talking about what a crazy week it had been when Kelly said, “There is just one thing I would like to know.”
Joe looked at Kelly. “What’s that?”
“Who was that woman Heather saw with Betty? It obviously wasn’t Olivia, but according to Heather’s description, she looked just like her.”
The chief cleared his throat and said, “I can answer that.”
Everyone at the table turned to the chief while Chris muttered under his breath, “I’d like to hear this one.”
“I got a call this morning,” the chief lied. “It was a woman who said she’d read about the murder and, after seeing Betty’s photo in the paper, realized she was probably one of the last people to see her alive.”
“Really?” Kelly turned to Joe and said, “You didn’t tell me.”
Joe shrugged. “First I’ve heard of it.” Joe and the rest of the table kept their eyes on the chief.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone about it,” the chief said.
“I’d love to hear about it,” Danielle said sweetly.
“Me too,” Heather said.
“Just some woman who’d driven through town on her way to Canada,” the chief said.
Chris arched his brow. “Canada?”
“Yeah, Canada. Anyway, she wanted to take a walk on the pier, and when she drove down Beach Drive, she noticed the for-sale sign and was curious. She walked around the house, and when she was in the side yard, she ran into Betty. At first, she thought it was Betty’s house, but Betty told her she had cut through the yard from the alley on the way to her friend’s house. When she walked back onto Beach Drive, she noticed the neighbor, and by her description, it was obviously Heather.”
“And this woman is Olivia’s twin?” Kelly asked.
“I’m not sure if I would call her a twin. But I asked what color hair she had, and it’s the same as Olivia’s.” The chief flashed Kelly a smile.
“Do you have her picture?” Kelly asked.
The chief let out a sigh. “I’m afraid I don’t. And it doesn’t really matter. She told me she walked as far as Marlow House with Betty, where she got in her car and drove off. And from what Josephine already told us, it’s obvious she showed up on Beach Drive after this woman left.”
“I’d love to see her picture,” Kelly grumbled.
Joe looked at Heather. “See, it’s just what I told you. I bet if we had her photo, she might not look as much like Olivia as you thought.”
Heather smiled at Joe and, before taking a bite of her cinnamon roll, said, “Yes. You were right all along. It was my mind playing tricks on me, making me think this woman looked like Olivia, just because of her hair color and a similar jacket.”
Olivia, who had been silently listening, quickly took a sip of water to suppress a giggle.
Walt jumped in and changed the subject. Ten minutes later, while the group discussed a more cheerful topic—the upcoming nuptials of two couples at the table—the chief’s cellphone rang. He picked up his cellphone, looked at it, preparing to send the call to voicemail, when he furrowed his brow, staring at the phone for a moment before letting out a sigh and standing up.
“Excuse me, I have to take this.” The chief left the dining room with his cellphone.
When he returned to the dining room five minutes later, he stood by his chair, but did not sit down. With a solemn expression, he looked at Joe. One by one, those at the table stopped talking and looked at the chief, wondering what was wrong.
Clearing his throat, the chief said hesitantly, “I’m sorry to bring down this mood, but there is something you need to know.”
“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked, noticing how the chief kept looking at her and Joe.
“It’s about Charlie Cramer.”
“What about him?” Joe asked.
“There has been a jail break. Of the three men who escaped, two were captured immediately. But one is still on the loose. It’s Cramer.”
“The chief sure knows how to ruin a party,” Danielle told Walt Sunday evening as she snuggled with him under the quilts on their king-size bed. Flames flickering in the nearby fireplace provided the only light. Danielle felt the weight of Max as he dozed on the end of the bed—and on her feet.
“Perhaps Cramer is in Canada with Edward’s imaginary Olivia look-alike,” Walt suggested.
“Or maybe he really is planning to attend Joe and Kelly’s wedding.”
“Unless Joe told him they changed the wedding date, he’s going to miss it.”
“I just hope you’re right, and he took off for Canada.”
“Why? You want him to get away?” Walt asked.
“No. But if Cramer is the vindictive type, I don’t want him to show up in Frederickport and exact revenge on the person responsible for his arrest.”
“You mean Brian?” Walt asked.
“And Heather. I keep thinking about that letter he sent Kelly, saying he was looking forward to her wedding. And he might also be pissed at Joe for not seeing him.”
Walt let out a sigh and drew Danielle closer. “Let’s not worry about all that now. They caught the two men who escaped with Cramer, and when we wake up in the morning, I bet we’ll hear Cramer is back in custody.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Instead of worrying about Cramer, let’s talk about something more positive, like what we’re going to name our babies.”
With a chuckle Danielle said, “Silly me, I refused to consider baby names until our ultrasound. I wanted to know if we were having a boy or girl before picking out a name. But now—”
“Now we need two names. One for a boy and one for a girl.”