Danielle and Walt sat at the kitchen table, sipping their coffee while watching the twins, who each sat in a swing, their young bodies rocking back and forth as tiny stocking-clad feet kicked, and little hands grabbed handfuls of air. The pair made joyful cooing and gurgling sounds.
“I love how they smile now, and not just from gas.” Danielle set her mug on the table, leaving her hand resting on the tabletop.
“They seem happy. They love those swings.” Never taking his eyes off the babies, Walt reached over to Danielle, placing one hand over hers. He gently squeezed.
“Good morning.” Ian walked into the kitchen, carrying Connor, Sadie trailing behind them.
Both Walt and Danielle looked up and said, “Good morning.”
“You going to the hospital after breakfast?” Danielle watched Ian put his son into the highchair.
“Yes. I’m taking Connor over to see his mom, and then my mother is going to pick Connor up at the hospital while I stay with Lily and Emily Ann.” Ian walked over to the pantry to grab a box of cereal while Connor playfully slapped the highchair’s tray while kicking his feet. “What are your plans?”
“The chief texted me this morning. It looks like we’re having a meeting of the mediums,” Danielle said.
“I assume about Clay and Wesley?”
“That’s part of it,” Danielle said. “Apparently, Clay showed up last night in Evan’s bedroom.”
“That must have scared the crap out of poor Evan.” Ian returned to his son and poured dry cereal on the highchair tray and then filled a sippy cup with milk.
Walt chuckled. “No. Apparently, Clay asked Evan to help him, like he asked Heather. Evan wasn’t afraid; he wanted to help. Not sure what he planned to do.”
Just as Ian turned away from the highchair to return the milk carton to the refrigerator, Connor tossed a handful of cereal to the floor, which Sadie quickly gobbled up. Ian scolded Connor and then added more cereal to the tray. “So is everyone coming over here?” Ian returned the milk carton to the refrigerator.
“No. We’re meeting at Pier Café,” Danielle said.
“Is Joanne coming over to watch the twins?” Ian asked.
“Nope. This will be their introduction to the world.” Danielle grinned. “We’re taking them with us.”
Ian walked to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee before taking it to the kitchen table and sitting down with Walt and Danielle. “Well, I hope Carla’s working this morning. Every time I go in there, she’s asking when you’re bringing the twins to the diner.”
Before Ian and Connor arrived at the hospital, Lily had taken a shower and changed into a clean pair of new pajamas Danielle had brought for her as a gift the day before. She had just finished feeding Emily Ann and had returned her to the bassinet when her son and husband walked into the hospital room.
Connor seemed less excited to see his new sister and just gave her a cursory look before climbing up in the bed with his mother and demanding a hug.
“I don’t think he finds infants such a novelty anymore,” Ian said with a laugh before leaning over his wife and giving her a kiss.
Lily smiled down at her son and playfully ruffled his red curls with one hand. She pointed to the end of the bed where she had set a pile of colorful baby rattlers and several musical stuffed animals that had been given to the baby since her birth. “Why don’t you go check out some of your sister’s new stuff?”
Connor abandoned his mother and scrambled to the end of the bed, ready to check out the loot.
Lily looked up at her husband and whispered, “I thought that might keep him occupied for a while so we can visit.” She scooted over to the center of the mattress, making room for Ian to lie on the bed with her. Together, they leaned against the pile of pillows stacked at the head of the hospital bed, while Connor amused himself with the toys. After Lily told Ian how the baby was doing and what the doctor said about their possible release date, she asked Ian how things were going at Marlow House. He told her about the new ghosts.
“Is it always going to be like this for Marlow House?” Lily wondered aloud.
“I was thinking about that myself. But then I remember you and Rupert.”
Lily looked at Ian. “How so?”
“Let’s say we settled in California, near your parents. And let’s pretend Danielle never told you about her gift. I have no doubt Rupert would still have met Connor—maybe sooner. And how would we have dealt with Connor’s reactions? We wouldn’t know what was going on. Rupert might not have been as willing to leave Connor’s side as he was with you, and if that was the case, it’s possible Connor would continue to see and hear something that none of us can. How would we deal with that?”
“We might worry Connor has mental problems,” Lily muttered.
“Exactly. Yet, according to what I’ve read, kids tend to grow out of the imaginary-friend stage. Eva is always saying a spirit can’t hurt an innocent. If true, then perhaps the reason children typically grow out of the imaginary-friend stage—if said friend is really a spirit—maybe that spirit knows it must move on for the child’s sake. If that’s the case, then the question boils down to, ignorance is bliss.”
“Not following you, Ian.”
“Some say ignorance is bliss. Would you rather live in ignorance? Would that be more blissful? Or would you rather our medium friends tell us what our children are really seeing?”
“Plus, we’d miss all that great babysitting.”
Ian laughed.
Lily glanced down at her son still amused with the baby toys, and then she looked over to the bassinet, where her daughter slept. “I don’t imagine Marie is back. If she was, I’d expect her to come down here to see the baby, and since Connor said nothing about Grandma Marie, I have to assume she’s not back. Unless she stopped by and left before you guys got here.”
Ian shook his head. “No. They haven’t seen Eva or Marie. But I imagine they wish they would return so they could join them at Pier Café.”
“Oh, how was Connor at dinner last night? You didn’t have Marie to keep him amused.”
Ian groaned. “Perhaps not Marie, but one of those ghosts showed up at the restaurant and entertained our son while we dined.” He then told her about Connor’s behavior because of the ghost, and how his mother had reacted.
Chris arrived at Pier Café first. He wanted to make sure they got the largest booth, which would provide privacy. Plus, it had a superb view of the ocean and pier, and enough space for the double stroller. While the diner often discouraged anyone from sitting down at that booth unless most of the party had already arrived, Carla wasn’t about to tell Chris Glandon he couldn’t have the booth. While she only called him Chris Johnson, she knew who he was. Carla might be known for lacking discretion, but there was one secret she proudly kept.
“There will be seven of us, plus the double stroller,” Chris told Carla when she walked up to his booth with a pitcher of coffee.
“Double stroller? Walt and Danielle are bringing the twins?”
“Yes. Danielle says it’s their public debut. Sort of like a debutante breakfast instead of a ball. And for infants. Yet I don’t think the twins will be ordering any breakfast. At least not directly.” Chris chuckled.
Carla filled up Chris’s mug with coffee. “Who else is coming?”
“Heather and Brian, and the chief and Evan.”
Danielle ended up questioning their wisdom of meeting at Pier Café, especially during Carla’s shift. While she was flattered at how Carla gushed over the twins, telling Walt and Danielle they were the most adorable babies, and practically swooned when Jack gave her a bubbly smile, it didn’t provide the privacy necessary to conduct their conversation.
Danielle was beginning to wonder if after breakfast they would need to go back to Marlow House so they could discuss their concerns without curious ears. Fortunately, Carla couldn’t ignore her duties indefinitely, and by the time their food was delivered, Carla was forced to attend to her other customers.
Each of the mediums shared with the others what they had experienced during the last few weeks. After everyone shared what they knew, it was agreed they would first discuss Wesley.
“Chris thinks he’s not telling us everything,” Danielle told the others.
“Any thoughts on what that might be?” the chief asked.
“I don’t have any idea,” Chris admitted.
“If he wants us to help him, why wouldn’t he tell us everything?” Heather asked Chris.
Chris shrugged. “Not sure. But it’s a gut feeling I have.”
“If Chris’s gut feeling is right,” the chief began, “then we need to take this seriously, like we would any tip someone called into the station. We need to find out if Adrian is planning to kill this woman.” He looked at Brian.
Brian let out a sigh and gave the chief a nod. “Okay, I’ll start looking in on this Adrian dude. See what I can find.”
“And we’ll try to get Wesley to open up on what he’s not telling us,” Danielle said.
Heather chuckled, and they all looked at her.
“What?” Brian asked.
“I rather like this teamwork between the mediums and our local police department. Preventing murders and setting delinquents on the right track.” Heather grinned.
“Setting the delinquents on the right track might be the more challenging of the two,” the chief said. “For one thing, it’s my understanding Clay’s widow and sons are leaving Frederickport in a couple of weeks.”
Brian looked at Walt and Danielle. “What do you think is going to happen to Clay after that? Do you think he’s stuck here as some sort of punishment, like Darlene was?”
“I hope not,” Heather groaned. “While he doesn’t seem to have that chip on his shoulder anymore, I’d rather he not hang around.”
“I believe there’s often a reason for things—especially those things the Universe—or God—or whatever you want to call it—decides to directly control, like when our spirits move on,” Danielle said.
“If that’s true, then you’re saying the Universe let Stoddard stick around and haunt you. What would be the reason?” Heather asked. While Heather had moved to Frederickport after Stoddard haunted Danielle, she had heard about the incident.
Danielle looked at Heather and smiled. “Stoddard was annoying.” She then looked at Brian. “Someone else was a major pain back then, too. But after we dealt with Stoddard, that seemed to be the catalyst in making that pain a little less annoying.”
Brian chuckled and picked up his iced tea. Before taking a drink, he said, “You can’t really blame me. I thought you were crazy and homicidal.”
They all laughed and then turned the discussion back to the twins.
“I would talk to the boys, but they’re not going to believe me,” Evan said. “I’ve met them, and they’re kind of mean.”
“Like their father,” Brian grumbled.
“I wish Marie and Eva were here. They might know how best to deal with all this,” Danielle said.
“There is something else we need to discuss,” the chief said.
“There’s more?” Danielle asked.
“Evan and I want to tell Eddy about everything,” the chief said.
Before anyone could respond, snow fell from the ceiling. Only the mediums could see it. They all looked up.
“Eva? Marie? Are you back?” Heather asked.
The next moment, the image of an elderly woman wearing a sundress and straw hat appeared floating above the booth.
“Did Lily have her baby?” Marie asked the mediums.