Chapter Thirteen

Lily had just woken up when Danielle received the phone call that they could return to Marlow House. Curious to see the condition of the property after the police search—and Morris’ murder—Ian followed them across the street. Sadie tagged along.

“Have you talked to Heather, or David and Arlene?” Lily asked as they made their way up the walk to Marlow House’s front door.

“I sent Heather a text message. As for David and Arlene, I tried calling them on their cellphones, but they didn’t pick up. I have no idea where they went. But I left a message, told them they could come back.”

“You think they’ll check out early?” Ian asked.

Danielle unlocked the front door. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Danielle and Chris found Walt anxiously waiting for them in the entry hall. While Lily couldn’t see Walt, she knew he was there, especially considering the way Sadie greeted him. As for Ian, he was unaware of Walt’s existence, yet once again wondered why his dog always acted so peculiar in Marlow House.

“I didn’t think the police would ever leave!” Walt told Danielle as he followed her and the rest of the group into the parlor.

“So this is where it happened…” Ian murmured. He walked to the sofa and looked down at where the throw rug had been. Blood stained the wood floor.

“Oh my,” Lily gasped, her eyes riveted on the red stain. “Just seeing that blood brings it all back.”

Ian took Lily’s hand in his and squeezed. He looked over at Danielle and Chris, who silently stared at the red stain. “Do you think it’s safe for you all to stay here?”

“I don’t believe anyone from Marlow House is responsible for Morris’ death,” Danielle said. “From now on, I’m going to make sure the doors stay locked. We know the door was unlocked when Morris was waiting for Chris in the entry—anyone could have come in.”

“How do you know that?” Ian asked.

“When I answered the door for Morris around midnight, I don’t remember relocking it. I might have, but I don’t remember,” Chris told him.

“Even if you had locked it then, we know both you and Heather went to bed without checking the front door. You assumed Morris had left. The lights were all turned off. The only thing that makes sense, someone came into the house after Heather left Morris alone in the entry. Either Morris let him in—if Chris locked the door—or whoever the killer was, let himself in.” Danielle said.

Lily shuddered. “I wonder if it was someone out to get Morris, or had a grudge against Earthbound Spirits?”

“Either way, not a short list, from what I’ve discovered,” Ian said. “I prefer to think Morris was the intended target. I’d hate to consider the possibility that some homicidal maniac is running around knifing people in our neighborhood.”

Danielle knelt down by the bloodstain. Reaching out with one hand, she lightly touched the spot. “I wonder if I’ll ever be able to get this out of the wood.” She stood up.

“The police must have taken the rug,” Lily noted.

“I feel a little guilty worrying about a blood stain—considering a man was murdered in this spot just hours ago,” Danielle confessed.

“It’s hard for me to muster a great deal of sympathy for the man,” Ian said. “Especially considering everything Kelly told me about him.”

“Kelly?” Danielle asked.

“Kelly’s working with Ian on the Earthbound Spirits exposé,” Lily said. “She was here yesterday, working with him on the project, but went home last night.”

“Your sister was here?” Danielle asked.

“She wanted to come over and say hi, but we had so much work to do, and by the time we wrapped it up it was awful late.”

“What time did she leave?” Chris asked.

“It was after midnight,” Ian told him.

“I’m surprised the police don’t want to interview her. You did tell them she was here, didn’t you? That was about the time Morris was murdered,” Danielle said.

Ian shuffled his feet, glancing down at the bloodstain. “Well, actually, I sort of forgot to tell Joe that bit of information when he questioned me this morning.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell him?” Danielle asked.

“To begin with, he never asked me if I was with anyone. I simply answered his questions. Had he asked me if someone was at my house last night, I would’ve told him.”

“Come on Ian,” Chris chided. “Why didn’t you really tell him?”

Ian looked up at Chris. “I wanted to talk to my sister first. We are working on an exposé about Earthbound Spirits—and Morris’ murder totally changes the direction of the piece. I thought if Kelly saw something last night, it might give us something to use. I didn’t really want to just hand it over to the cops without first checking it out.”

“It could also help the police find the killer!” Danielle reminded him, sounding somewhat annoyed.

“Well, she didn’t see anything. I talked to her after Lily and I came back to my house.”

“Where was I?” Lily asked.

“You were already sound asleep on my bed.”

“Brian may still want to talk to her,” Danielle said.

“I know. I already told Kelly she needs to call Henderson and let him know she was here last night.”

“You mentioned Kelly knew some stuff about Morris—something she found when researching him?” Danielle asked.

Ian shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s about her college roommate. But hey, you can read about it when I finish the article.” Ian flashed Danielle a grin.

Chris knelt by the fireplace in the library, arranging the logs and strategically positioning the kindling. Lily and Ian had just gone out to get something to eat, and the other guests had not yet returned to Marlow House. Danielle sat on the sofa, Sadie by her feet, watching Chris prepare the fire, while Walt paced the room.

“So Morris said nothing?” Danielle asked Walt.

“He was outside when I saw him again. I was leery to call him inside. I doubt he would have listened to me anyway. He seemed pretty intent on following his body.”

“I suppose I could go down to the morgue—see if he’s still hanging around his body. Maybe he’ll tell me who murdered him,” Danielle suggested.

“That does not seem like a good idea.” Chris said, still kneeling in front of the fireplace. The flame began to flicker and expand. He closed the screen and stood up, wiping his palms off on the side of his pants.

“For once, I agree with Chris. Stay away from the morgue,” Walt told her.

“It’s not that I want to go down there. But knowing he was murdered under this roof is a little more than disturbing,” Danielle said.

“I’ll make sure no one sneaks into the house—and I’ll keep an eye on your guests,” Walt promised.

“I suppose that means no more dream hopping,” Chris said as he sat down next to Danielle on the sofa. Walt flashed him a cool look.

“Perhaps I should consider putting an alarm system in,” Danielle suggested. “I really don’t expect Walt to stand guard at night.”

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want to interrupt your little trips to Hawaii.”

Danielle frowned at Chris. “That was rather snarky.”

“Maybe Chris is jealous,” Walt smirked. “Perhaps I should do a little hop with him, maybe a little sky diving over a live volcano?”

“You just stay out of my dreams,” Chris snapped.

“Or a snake pit?” Walt suggested.

“Oh please,” Danielle shuddered. “Don’t mention snake pits, even in jest. That was the worst.”

Chris glared at Walt. “Don’t tell me you took Danielle to a snake pit during a dream hop?”

“Of course not.” Walt sounded insulted.

“Please. I don’t want to talk about it. But no, it wasn’t Walt.” Danielle cringed.

After a few moments of silence, Walt said, “Something we do need to talk about—the second ghost.”

“You mentioned you saw him again.” Danielle said.

“Yes. I’m certain he has something to do with Morris’ death. Maybe he’s the one who killed Morris, and something happened when he tried to get away,” Walt suggested.

“Like after Chuck Christiansen murdered Bart Haston?” Danielle asked.

Walt nodded. “Exactly.”

Chris turned to Danielle. “That’s the one who drove off the cliff?”

“Yes. At the same place Darlene Gusarov was murdered,” Danielle explained.

Chris frowned. “You know, there sure have been a lot of people killed here since you moved to town.”

“Yeah, so Brian Henderson keeps telling me,” Danielle said with a sigh.

“Now, is this Darlene Gusarov the same one from the house I’m buying? The Gusarov Estate?” Chris asked.

“You’re buying the Gusarov Estate?” Walt asked. “Why would you do that? I thought you just bought a house.”

Danielle told Walt about Adam’s idea and why it was necessary for Chris to buy a second piece of property.

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just move?” Walt suggested. “Like you mentioned, the mortality rate is high around here. You’d probably be happier somewhere else.”

“Admit it, Walt, you’d be sad to see me go.” Chris smiled.

“I’d get over it,” Walt mumbled.

“I want to hear more about this second ghost,” Danielle said.

“Since he showed up around the same time as Morris, I have to assume they are in some way connected. I asked him if he killed Morris,” Walt explained.

“What did he say?” Danielle asked.

“He just gave me some double talk. But what concerned me, he seemed overly interested in you.”

“In Danielle? Why?” Chris turned to Danielle again. “Is it possible you know this spirit—or knew him, when he was alive?”

“I can’t think of any man I’ve ever met with a close connection to Morris, except for Cleve, and he’s dead—and Walt knows what he looks like. Plus, I’ve already encountered his spirit, and I’m certain he’s moved on.”

“What did he say about Danielle?” Chris asked.

“When I asked him some questions, trying to figure out how he was involved in all this—if he knew anything about Morris’ death. He kept asking me about Danielle. And then I…well…I told him to stay away from her.”

“What did he say to that?” Chris asked.

“He…made it clear he didn’t intend to leave her alone.”

The three sat in silence for a few moments, considering Walt’s words. Finally, Danielle asked, “Walt, can you explain what this spirit looks like?”

Walt considered the question a moment before answering. “He appeared to be about Chris’ age. He’s tall, a few inches taller than Chris, but slender.”

“Skinny?” Chris asked.

Walt shook his head. “No, just slender. He looked fit—well, that is, had he actually been alive instead of a reflection of his former self. Dark hair, dark eyes. His manner of dress—not casual like yours—more like Adam—yet a better cut of clothes. Tailored. Yes, I’d say his clothing was tailored.”

Danielle frowned. “Well dressed? Dark hair and eyes?”

“Yes.” Walt nodded.

“It’s possible whoever it is—assuming he is connected—was connected—to Earthbound Spirits, simply knows who I am and doesn’t know me personally. After all, Morris was intent on recruiting me into the organization. Maybe this was some guy Morris recruited to get close to me, like with Richard.”

“That was before he decided to blackmail me,” Chris added.

“I don’t know.” Danielle shook her head.

“Hello Danielle,” a male voice said from the far corner of the library. They all heard it. Their heads turned to the direction of the voice. Shadows concealed the person or spirit attached to it.

Slowly, Danielle stood, staring into the shadowy corner.

He stepped out, revealing himself. Danielle let out a startled gasp. “Lucas!”