It was a solemn Sunday evening at Marlow House. Marie and Eva had only briefly stopped by to tell the mediums what they had learned about the brothers, before going down to the cemetery, where the brothers had gone with Cordelia.
The chief, Brian, Lily and Ian, along with the mediums, save Evan, who had stayed home with his brother, sat around Marlow House’s living room, discussing the day’s unexpected events. Upstairs, Connor had already been put to bed, as had the babies. Danielle and Lily had activated all the baby monitors, and Sadie and Max stayed upstairs, watching over the little ones.
“I feel like a killer,” Ian bemoaned. “Texting that picture was my idea.”
“You’re not a killer,” Lily insisted. “From what Marie told us, you probably saved Bonnie’s life.”
“I never considered she’d react so violently,” Ian said. “I actually suspected she might overlook or forgive his transgression.”
“Regardless of her motives, or Adrian’s, that was no accident, but we can’t prove it,” the chief said. “The coroner is convinced the manner of fall, considering how he landed, is consistent with how Bonnie described his death. An accident.”
“Even with that text message she received moments before his death?” Lily asked.
Ian groaned. “Thanks, babe.”
Lily smiled sheepishly at her husband and looked at the chief, waiting for his answer.
“From what the ghosts observed,” Danielle answered for the chief, “Adrian told Marie that after Bonnie called 911, she started doing something with her phone, which could have been deleting that text message before the police showed up.”
“And at this point, we don’t have grounds to go through her phone anyway. There is nothing to suggest foul play aside from what the spirit world tells us,” Brian said.
“Does it really matter, guys?” Heather asked.
The chief looked at Heather as if he disagreed.
Heather smiled at the chief. “Come on, Chief, the guy was planning to kill her. Think of all the work she saved you, not to mention saving her own life.”
“I sorta agree with Heather,” Danielle said. “Maybe this was the Universe’s plan all the time.”
“I don’t know about the Universe’s plan, but remember, Mrs. Pierson might still come forward, and we might have to take a closer look, which I imagine could get uncomfortable for some of the people in this room,” the chief said. “Including myself.”
“What can she do?” Heather asked.
“She could confess her relationship with Adrian,” Chris said. “Which will get people to question if Adrian really tripped and fell or was pushed.”
The chief nodded. “Exactly.”
“I doubt she’ll do that,” Walt said. “I suspect if anything, she might be a little nervous of running into Bonnie. For one thing, if she was part of this, she’s not going to the police. And if she thought Bonnie killed Adrian, she might worry Bonnie will come after her next. Women scorned don’t just go after their lover, they often go after the other woman. Mrs. Pierson has no idea how much Bonnie might know about their affair.”
“So does that mean the house is still a crime scene or not?” Chris asked.
“We released the property.” The chief let out a deep sigh and added, “To be honest, if I didn’t know Adrian intended to kill Bonnie, I would have found some reason to keep this case open and prove Bonnie had a motive.”
Across town, in the garage apartment, Eric and Zack pulled out the sofa bed, preparing to turn in for the night, when their mother walked into the living room from her bedroom.
“Did you boys brush your teeth?”
“Yes, Mom,” they chorused. She had been more attentive ever since their arrest.
“Remember, boys, I’ve an appointment for an oil change tomorrow, so I might be a few minutes late picking you up at the park.” Tomorrow the boys were helping with a pet adoption event at one of the local parks, as part of their community service.
Zack turned to his mother. “Eric and I were talking about that. We can ride our bikes to the park; no reason to take us. That way we can go a little early, help them set up.”
Debbie smiled at her sons. “That’s a good idea. If you arrive early, that will show Chief MacDonald you’re both trying.”
Truth was, the boys weren’t leaving early because they wanted to help set up for the event, but because Cordelia’s house was on the way to the park, and they intended to break in and return what they had taken.
As they had done the last time they visited the property, the boys hid their bikes in the bushes. They had no problem getting inside the house and had no idea it had been the scene of a murder just the day before. Once inside, they headed straight to the kitchen and opened the pantry. Before returning his can, Zack tugged on the hem of his T-shirt and used it to wipe off the can.
Eric frowned at his brother. “What are you doing?”
“We need to get rid of our fingerprints.”
Eric quickly followed his brother’s example and wiped off his can. After returning both cans, they closed the pantry door and started for the front door. But just as they reached the hallway, they heard what sounded like someone trying to unlock the doorknob. Panicked and worried they would be caught in the house and get in more trouble from the police chief, they turned and ran from the living room, looking for someplace to hide. The first room they came to was the parlor.
Bonnie entered the house, shut the door behind her, and tossed the keys on the entry table. Her main reason for coming today was to remove her aunt’s portrait from the property. She had no intention of keeping the hideous thing, and while she intended to sell the house furnished, she didn’t imagine the sellers would want it, and she feared that if she left it, Rylee would approach the buyers and offer to purchase the portrait. They would probably give it to her. Bonnie didn’t want Rylee to have the portrait. It was going in the landfill.
When Bonnie entered the parlor, she didn’t notice the two young boys hiding under the desk. She walked straight to the portrait. Before taking it down, she stared at her aunt’s face. It seemed to look back at her.
“I guess this is the end, Auntie.” Bonnie stood rigidly straight, her hands clasped behind her back as she stared up into Cordelia’s face. “I had always assumed you would leave your estate to Rylee and me. I had no problems sharing it with my cousin. But oh, when I discovered you had left it to Rylee, nothing to me…” Hands still clasped behind her back, she looked away from the painting and began pacing the room, back and forth, as she talked to her aunt. Had she made the speech the day before, her aunt would have actually heard. But Cordelia’s spirit had left the house after Adrian’s murder and had not returned. She continued to talk.
“I really should thank dear Wesley for finding that paralegal. If you hadn’t used her, I would never have known. She came to me, you know.” Bonnie paused a moment and glanced back to the portrait for a moment. “She told me it would be so easy to change the will; no one would have to know. All I would have to do, share with her.”
Bonnie resumed her pacing and then chuckled before saying, “Of course, she ended up being a little too greedy and, well, it wasn’t difficult to get rid of her. Maybe you’ll run into her in hell?” Bonnie laughed and then returned to the painting, looking up at it.
“So, dear Auntie, time for you to come down. Off to the landfill for you!” Bonnie started to reach up to the painting when a distinct sound made her freeze. A sneeze.
She turned toward the sound, knelt down, and peered under the desk. There, huddled far against the back wall, were two little boys. One held a cellphone in his hand. She knew instantly they had heard everything she had just said, and panic overwhelmed her. Frantically looking around, she spied her late uncle’s knife in the stand atop the desk. Without hesitation, she grabbed the knife and then knelt down again, jabbing it toward the boys.
“Come out right now before I show you how sharp this is.”
Hesitantly, the boys crawled out from under the desk while Bonnie continued to point the knife at them. A moment later, they stood by the desk, their faces pale and eyes wide in fear. She snatched the cellphone out of the one boy’s hand and hastily shoved it in her pocket while still holding the knife.
“Do you have another phone?”
They shook their heads, but she didn’t believe them, so she hastily frisked each one while still holding the knife. Once satisfied they didn’t have another phone, she pointed the knife’s tip to the floor. “Sit down!” They immediately complied.
She paced back and forth in front of the desk, the fingers of her left hand frantically combing through her hair while her other hand gripped the knife.
The boys watched her and eyed the door for escape, yet she stood between them and the door. They looked to the window and the ominous bars, making the room feel even more like a prison.
She stopped pacing and then looked down at the boys before bolting toward the door. For a moment, the boys thought she was running away from them, and when gone, they could leave, but after she charged out of the room, she slammed the door closed behind her.
While the ghost of Bonnie’s aunt had vacated the premises, another ghost had replaced her, Clay Bowman. He had arrived with his sons, knowing what they intended to do today, and wanted to keep an eye on them.
Clay followed Bonnie from the parlor and watched as she threw the knife on the floor and then proceeded to shove the oak hall tree in front of the door, blocking it. The parlor door opened in, so it wouldn’t prevent the boys from opening the door, but the piece of furniture was wide enough and tall enough to cover the doorway. Clay didn’t understand how this woman was capable of moving such a heavy piece of furniture, yet he imagined the oak floors helped, making it easier to slide, and he suspected she was currently running on adrenaline. Then she said something that chilled him to the bone—if he still had bones.
“I’m going to have to burn this damn place down,” Bonnie said aloud. “Along with those little busybodies. That’s what insurance is for.”
Clay watched in horror as she dragged more furniture in front of the hall tree, moving as if she were in the midst of some manic episode. She was obviously attempting to fill the space from the hall tree to the opposite wall, so even if the boys gave the hall tree a good shove, it would have no place to go, and they would remain trapped in the room.
Clay needed to find help, and he needed to find it now. He could go to a medium and have them call the police, but even that would take time, and there was no guarantee the police could save his sons.
One spirit could get here instantly, yet they were as useless as him—all except Marie Nichols. He would try the cemetery first.