The Ghost from the Sea (20 page)

B
en
from the museum called Danielle just minutes after Stella and Rowland Strickland checked out that Monday afternoon. He told her the display case for the emerald had been installed earlier than they had expected, and she was welcome to come down and have a look.

“Should I bring the emerald with me?” she asked.

“That would be wonderful, if you'd be willing to do that. I have to admit I can't wait to see how it's going to look. Of course, Friday's the official opening of the display.”

“Would it hurt to bring it down early and leave it?”

“I don't think so.” He then added with a laugh, “We could drape a curtain over the display case and not let anyone see it until Friday; it would add a dramatic flare, something of a visual drumroll.”

“I was also wondering; do you think I could have a look at that diary?”

“Diary?”

“Yes, the one that claimed Walt Marlow was having an affair with Thelma Templeton.”

“Sure, but I can't really let you take it out of the museum.”

“That's okay; I could read it down there.”

“It's going to take a while to read it,” Ben said. “And I'm only free for about an hour this afternoon.”

“That's okay. I have some things I have to do this afternoon too. Any chance I could come back to the museum this evening and read it?”

“I'm afraid I already have plans tonight.”

“Ben, you really don't need to be there. I understand you not wanting me to remove anything from the museum, but why can't I read it there, by myself? If I was a docent, you wouldn't have a problem with me being down there alone, letting myself in, locking up. I'm a member of the historical society, and considering everything, I don't really think you have to worry about me stealing anything.”

“Oh, I didn't mean to imply I don't trust you!” Ben said in a rush. “Certainly you can come back later and read the diary here. I tell you what, when you come down to the museum with the emerald, I'll give you a key, show you where you can find the diary, and how to lock up. Okay?”

“Sounds great, Ben.” Danielle glanced at the time. “How about I meet you down there in about an hour. Would that work?”

“Perfect. See you then.”

D
anielle arrived
at the museum an hour later, emerald in hand. Before going inside, she checked the time on her cellphone and turned off its ringer. When she entered the museum, she was surprised to find not just Ben waiting for her, but also the other board members she had met with earlier: Steve Klein, Millie Samson, and even Jolene Carmichael.

“We're so excited to see how the emerald looks in the display case!” Millie said enthusiastically when Danielle walked through the front doorway of the museum.

“Yes, especially considering how much the museum paid to have it made—a case to display something we don't even own,” Jolene said sharply.

“I'm sure Danielle doesn't plan to remove the emerald any time soon,” Steve quickly countered, flashing Danielle an apologetic smile.

“You're right Steve. I've no other plans for the emerald. I think it should be on display with the Eva Thorndike portrait.” Danielle handed the box with the emerald to Ben.

Ben thanked her and then rushed off toward the new display case, Millie and Steve in tow. Jolene lingered a moment with Danielle, who had paused to slip her car keys into her purse.

“This is just one of your publicity stunts,” Jolene told Danielle when the others were out of earshot.

“Excuse me?” Danielle frowned.

“I can't prove it yet, but I know you're responsible for bringing the Eva Aphrodite back to Frederickport.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“It's all about the publicity to you, isn't it? I know you were some big shot marketing person before you moved here.”

“My late husband and I owned a marketing agency, yes. But I wouldn't really call myself a big shot.” Danielle couldn't help but laugh at Jolene's words.

“This isn't funny. None of it is.”

Cocking her head to one side, Danielle studied Jolene a moment. The woman was practically hyperventilating, she was so agitated. Considering her age, Danielle didn't imagine it was particularly healthy for her.

“I guess we got off on the wrong foot somehow. I'm not really sure why you dislike me so much. Or how you can even imagine I had anything to do with bringing the Eva Aphrodite back to Frederickport. I'm not even sure how that would be possible.”

“It's pretty obvious; it's all about promoting your bed and breakfast, beginning with that foolish stunt at your grand opening.”

“I do regret wearing the Missing Thorndike that day,” Danielle conceded.

Jolene let out a harsh laugh. “I wasn't talking about wearing it. It was having your cousin pretend to steal it. Nothing like milking it for all it's worth. You practically wrote the next morning's headlines. What was it,
The Missing Thorndike Goes Missing Again?”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

“Maybe you've fooled everyone else, but you aren't fooling me. You wanted to keep everyone talking about Marlow House. Just doing what you do. All about publicity. But poor Clarence got caught up in it, and ended up dead because of you.”

Danielle bristled. “Clarence Renton killed my cousin. He'd been embezzling from my aunt's estate for years. He killed Cheryl because when she contested our aunt's will; he knew the courts would take a closer look, and when they did, he'd be exposed for the crook he was.”

“I don't believe that for a moment! Clarence was a good man. If any mistakes were made, they were honest clerical errors. And considering your aunt had Alzheimer's, how do you even know what she wanted?”

“What is this really about?” Danielle asked. “Does this have something to do with your husband? He was Clarence's partner for all those years. Was he complicit? Did he know what was going on? Was he part of it?”

Jolene gasped. “How dare you!”

Neither Jolene nor Danielle noticed Millie Samson had just returned to the front of the museum, curious to see what was taking the two so long. Millie failed to notice the two women were not engaged in an amicable discussion, and she called out, “Come see, it looks beautiful!”

Flashing Jolene, a hostile look, Danielle turned toward Millie and made her way to the display.

“
W
ell
, what do you think?” Ben asked proudly.

Eva Thorndike's portrait no longer perched atop its easel. The new glass cabinet displaying Danielle's emerald—one of the original gems from the famed Thorndike necklace—provided a new resting place for the portrait. Eva, who Danielle always felt bore an uncanny resemblance to Charles Dana Gibson's Gibson Girl from the late 1800s, now looked down at the emerald. Or, at least the woman in the portrait did.

Danielle found it ironic Jolene had made a snide remark about the museum spending so much money on a cabinet to display something they didn't own when just two days earlier, Jolene and the other board members had expressed the desire to eventually sell the emerald.
What did they intend to do with the cabinet then?
She wondered.

Stepping up to the display, Danielle studied the woman in the painting for a moment, noting her aloof, somewhat haunting expression. Danielle wondered if Eva realized she was dying when she sat for the portrait. From what she understood, the artist completed the painting not long before Eva's death.

Turning her attention to the necklace worn by the woman in the portrait—the necklace that came to be known as the Missing Thorndike when Walt stole it at Eva's request—Danielle wondered if the necklace Eva wore at the time of the sitting contained the fake stones, or the second set of real gems, which Danielle now kept in her bank safety deposit box.

“Well? What do you think?” Ben repeated his question.

“I think they did a wonderful job. I love the way the emerald display ties in with the portrait.”

“They did, didn't they?” Steve gushed.

Millie stepped up to the display, silk cloth in hand. “If you're done, let's get this covered before someone else walks in here. I think I just heard the front bell.”

Danielle stepped back from the display and watched as Steve helped Millie cover the new display case with the cloth. “I didn't realize Ben was serious when he mentioned covering the display until Friday.”

“Oh yes,” Millie said as she tucked one end of the cloth around the base of the portrait. It rested against the lower portion of the frame, not the canvas. “We can't let anyone see it yet; it would make Friday's display party anticlimactic, wouldn't it?”

“I suppose it would,” Danielle murmured.

“Oh yes, we don't want to do anything to diminish the full impact of this publicity stunt,” Jolene sniped.

Ben frowned at Jolene. “I'm not sure what you mean?”

Jolene rolled her eyes and without another word, she abruptly turned from the small group and walked away, heading to the restroom.

“I don't know what's gotten into her. I don't remember her being like this,” Millie said after Jolene was out of earshot.

Ben shook his head. “She's been acting strange ever since the chief started asking me questions about the history behind the Eva Aphrodite. I almost wish I hadn't mentioned anything at our last board meeting.”

“Well, that's just silly,” Millie said.

While tempted to mention Jolene's accusation regarding the mysterious return of the Eva Aphrodite, Danielle resisted. Instead, she stood quietly by the display listening to the three remaining board members discuss Jolene's peculiar and somewhat hostile behavior. They concluded Jolene was simply disappointed that Danielle had decided to lend the historical society the Thorndike emerald instead of donating it.

When Jolene returned, the conversation had already shifted to the plans for Friday's event. Danielle only half listened, telling herself she would simply show up whenever they told her to. With Jolene as a board member, Danielle decided she would limit her involvement with the historical society.

Her mind wandered as she absently studied Eva Thorndike's portrait. The undiscernible, chattering voices of the four board members provided background sound. Her gaze drifted down to the now covered display case, and then back to the portrait, a pool of silk fabric at its base. Her eyes wandered up the painting, pausing a moment on the necklace, and then moving up to the face.

Something about the facial features gave Danielle pause, her own eyes widening in surprise. Eva—the woman in the portrait—her eyes sparkled. Danielle blinked several times, certain she was imagining things. Yet then the lips of the woman in the portrait curled, no longer somber but smiling—smiling at Danielle.

Without thought, Danielle stepped back from the display, her attention riveted on the portrait. The board members, so engrossed in their own discussion, failed to notice Danielle's peculiar change of demeanor.

Mesmerized, Danielle watched as Eva Thorndike's spirit calmly stepped out from the portrait—a transparent vision, her edges blending into soft haze while reflecting random beams of sparkling light.

The apparition embodied calm as she stood before Danielle. The two women stared at each other—one made of flesh and blood and the other from the spirit world.

“You're Danielle Boatman. I heard you were coming,” Eva said in a soft voice.

In response, Danielle glanced to the board members and then back to Eva.

Smiling, Eva reached out to Danielle, the tips of her fingers, transparent and glowing, just a few inches from Danielle's right cheek. “We need to talk. We need to talk about Walt.” Lowering her hand to her side, Eva took a step back and then vanished.