Maybelle's Affair Read online

  Gilbert cradled his head in his hand and sobbed softly. “I couldn’t believe he would do that to his daughter,” he cried. “I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t have a choice.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Mike agreed. “But those people out there…” Mike pointed towards the parlor. “They trusted you, and they were just as innocent as Maybelle. It’s not fair for them to be stuck here waiting for an answer.”

  “What should I do?” Gilbert asked. “I’m willing to try anything.”

  Mary nodded. “Okay, I’m going to take you at your word, Gilbert,” she said. “If I figure something out that will work for both these clients and Maybelle, will you help me?”

  Gilbert picked up his spectacles, placed them firmly on his nose and then met Mary’s eyes. “Yes, I promise,” he said solemnly. “I will help you with whatever you need me to do.”

  “Okay,” Mary said. “I’ll be back later with my plan.”

  Gilbert nodded. “I’ll be here.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Mary and Mike slipped out of the office and made sure to not make eye contact with any of the ghosts in the waiting room. Once out of the parlor, Mike turned to Mary.

  “Okay, what’s your plan?” he asked.

  “I have no idea,” she replied.

  He grinned. “Well, that’s a good start,” he replied.

  Then she turned towards the back of the house.

  “Um, Mary,” Mike said. “The front door is the other way.”

  She nodded and continued toward the back of the house. “I know,” she said. “But the ghost singing the lullaby over the baby monitor is this way.”

  “Once again, I repeat, the front door is the other way,” Mike urged, gliding alongside her.

  She stopped for a moment and looked at him. “Mike, we can see the ghosts now,” she said. “There’s no need to be afraid.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, a creepy-voiced, singing ghost, that’s still enough to keep me hiding under the blankets.”

  “Mike, we need to find out who is in the bedroom,” she said and then she continued walking down the hall.

  When she got to the open bedroom door, she paused and took a deep breath. Mike came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Right, we’re not so brave now that we’re here. The front door…”

  “Mike, shut up,” she whispered back. “Come on; I’m going in.”

  He sighed. “And I’m following,” he replied with resignation.

  Mary walked into the room and slowly looked around. The room was lovely. The king-sized wrought iron bed was covered with a white chenille bedspread and matching pillows. Two wrought iron and marble nightstands stood on either side of the bed, with brass gooseneck lamps on each of them. The room was large enough for a pair of dressers, a small chaise lounge, and a rocking chair.

  “Now this is a master bedroom,” Mike said, looking around with admiration.

  “It is quite beautiful,” Mary agreed, then she looked at the wall coloring and sighed. “Except for that awful wall color.”

  A tinkle of laughter had them both immediately turning towards the rocking chair that was now occupied with the ghost of a petite woman with soft gray hair pulled off her face in a loose bun.

  “Aloysius hated that color so much,” the woman laughed. “And, I believe, so did Maybelle. But she would put up with it just to annoy him.”

  “She mentioned that to me,” Mary said, studying the ghost. “You must be Mrs. Finders, Maybelle’s mother.”

  The ghost smiled sweetly. “Why yes I am, I’m Olivia Finders,” she replied. “How did you know?”

  “Well, you and Maybelle have a very strong resemblance,” Mary admitted. “And you seemed to take as much joy in annoying Aloysius as Maybelle did.”

  Olivia looked down at her lap, slightly ashamed, and then looked up to meet Mary’s eyes. “That wasn’t very proper of me. I suppose,” she admitted.

  Mary shook her head. “I am not going to judge you for getting whatever joy you could get out of life. But, now that I know you’re here, I could use your help.”

  “What can I do?” Olivia asked, perplexed.

  “You can tell me if Maybelle has feelings for Gilbert or is it all one-sided.”

  A gleam of joy entered the ghost’s eyes, and she rocked back in forth in delight. “Oh, you noticed,” she said and then she lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I think she is just as sweet on him, but she felt betrayed when he went along with Aloysius’ scheme.”

  “It sounds like the only reason Gilbert went along with it,” Mary said, “is that your husband threatened to bring Maybelle down with him. That’s the only reason Gilbert agreed to continue.”

  Olivia sighed sadly. “What an honorable young man,” she said. “How I wish Maybelle had known.”

  “Well, perhaps she needs to find out,” Mary said.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “So, let me get this straight,” Dave laughed as he sat back in his chair next to the dining room table. “You are playing matchmaker for two ghosts who, if they were still living, would be in their nineties?”

  Mary nodded. “Yeah, but true love doesn’t have an expiration date,” she said. “And it’s not just matchmaking for the sake of matchmaking. I don’t think Gilbert is just stuck there because of the clients. I think it’s because of unrequited love.”

  “Aloysius Finders was a real piece of work,” Alex said. “Imagine threatening to ruin your child to protect yourself.”

  “Well, we don’t know if he would have done it,” Mary said. “But he knew that Maybelle was Gilbert’s weakness and so he used it against him.”

  “So, what was the waiting room like?” Dave asked.

  “Like the bar scene from Star Wars meets Beetlejuice,” Mary said, shaking her head. “They might have been lovely people when they were alive, but I don’t want to share my living quarters with them now.”

  “So, what’s your plan?” Bradley asked.

  Mary shrugged. “I haven’t come up with one yet,” she admitted.

  “You need to plan something that will force Gilbert and Maybelle to spend time together,” Rosie suggested. “Once they are in each other’s company, they can revive all those old feelings.”

  “Old, old, old, very old feelings,” Dave inserted.

  Mike laughed, and Dave glanced across the room into the kitchen where the guardian angel stood and winked.

  “Be nice, young man,” Rosie chastised gently. “Just because people are older doesn’t mean they still don’t have feelings.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Dave replied, immediately contrite. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to imply that Maybelle and Gilbert don’t have feelings.”

  “You should know better,” Alex added with a grin, and then he turned to Dave. “Dead people have feelings too, Dave.”

  Bradley covered his laughter with a cough, but Mary immediately saw through his subterfuge.

  “Perhaps we should talk about Harry,” she suggested.

  The levity in the room was immediately gone, and Stanley turned a concerned face to Mary. “Harry? Mark Harrington?” Stanley asked. “What’s happened to him?”

  “He was one of the recipients who died recently,” Bradley explained. “We met with him last night.”

  “But, I just gave him the money a couple of weeks ago,” Stanley replied, his voice shaking. “He was fine. He was healthy. All he kept talking about was how he wished his Sophie could have been alive to enjoy the money too.”

  “He mentioned Sophie to us too,” Mary said gently.

  Stanley pushed his chair away from the table and, shaking his head, turned away from the group to walk towards the kitchen.

  “Stanley?” Rosie asked. “Stanley, what’s wrong?”

  Not speaking, he turned his head and walked through the kitchen and out the back door.

  Mary started to get up, but Bradley placed his hand over hers and shook his head. “Let me talk to him?” he asked softly, and she nod
ded.

  Bradley found Stanley standing on the back porch, staring out at the back yard. He walked up to Stanley and just stood quietly by his side.

  “I thought I was doing a good thing,” Stanley finally said, his voice low and filled with regret. “I thought the money would make lives better. I pictured myself as some kind of Robin Hood fella.”

  Stanley sighed deeply and wiped his hand across his eyes. “But I weren’t no good guy,” he continued. “I was the angel of death. I brought death to these fine folks.”

  Bradley placed his hand on Stanley’s shoulder. “When I was a rookie cop, I got a call about a robbery,” he explained. “We rushed to the scene, a small grocery store, and, just before we got there, heard another unit had arrived and found the owner had been shot. But the perp had taken off in an old Ford pickup truck.

  “We saw it pass us, turned on our siren and lights and did a U-turn and took off after him,” Bradley said. “We did everything according to the book. We weren’t using excessive speed. We were in radio contact with dispatch. We were following, not chasing.”

  Bradley stopped and took a deep breath. “And then we saw a mini-van pull out in front of the pickup,” Bradley said, regret thick in his voice. “The pickup trucked t-boned the van. We were calling for ambulances before we even arrived at the scene.”

  He paused again and looked out over the yard.

  “What happened?” Stanley finally asked.

  “A young woman, a mom, and her five-year-old daughter were killed,” Bradley said, his voice low. “And I killed them.”

  “What?” Stanley sputtered. “No. No, you didn’t. You know better than that!”

  Bradley shook his head. “Logically, I knew that I had done everything right,” he said. “But in my heart, I wondered… What if we hadn’t chased him?”

  “You can’t do that,” Stanley said. “You can’t think of the what ifs. What if he hadn’t decided to rob that store. What if she had decided to stay home. What if you had arrived at the store while he was still there? You just can’t do that.”

  Bradley nodded and patted Stanley’s shoulder. “You’re right,” he said. “And neither could you.”

  Stanley opened his mouth and then closed it. He exhaled sharply. “You made that up,” he said.

  Bradley shrugged. “I saw it on TV,” he admitted. “But the idea’s the same. You can’t think of the what ifs. We don’t even know who did this to Harry. We don’t know for sure it was the money. But we know for sure, it didn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “It’s hard when you feel like you’re part,” Stanley said. “It’s real hard.”

  Bradley nodded. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed. “But we need you to be part of the solution. And we need you to be part of the team.”

  “Part of the team,” Stanley repeated, smiling slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I need to stop thinking about myself. You’re gonna need me.”

  Bradley smiled. “Yes, we are,” he said. “You ready to go back in?”

  “Yes, I am,” he said, turning and taking Bradley’s hand in a firm shake. “Thank you, son.”

  “You’re welcome,” Bradley replied. “You go on in; I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Mike appeared next to Bradley as soon as the Stanley had pulled the door closed.

  “Why did you lie?” Mike asked Bradley.

  Still staring out over the yard, Bradley shrugged and leaned against the porch’s pillar. “It just didn’t seem relevant,” Bradley replied. “The point was made.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Mike said.

  Bradley shrugged. “Thanks.”

  Mike shook his head. “Do I need to tell you a tragic fireman story?”

  This time Bradley laughed. “No, that’s okay,” he said.

  Mike met his eyes. “We all carry regrets,” he said seriously. “We all wish we had been able to save someone we couldn’t.”

  “Our ghosts,” Bradley replied.

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, our own personal ghosts.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Mary was standing in the kitchen waiting for Bradley when he came back into the house. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Whatever you said to Stanley did the trick.”

  He leaned over and placed a tender kiss on her lips. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m glad it helped.”

  She looked into his eyes, saw the sadness there, and knew something was wrong. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He nodded, but she knew he was lying. “Yeah, I’m good,” he replied. “Just dealing with memories.”

  Mary understood immediately and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You are a good police officer,” she said. “You’ve always done your best.”

  He shrugged. “But sometimes your best isn’t good enough,” he replied.

  “Yes, but sometimes your best is all you’ve got,” she answered and reached up to place a kiss on his lips. “I love you, Bradley Alden.”

  He smiled, and this time the smile reached his eyes. “I love you too, Mary Alden,” he said.

  “Are you two coming in to join us?” Stanley called from the dining room. “We got a murder to solve here!”

  Mary laughed softly and leaned against Bradley. “Sometimes your best is too good,” she whispered and felt his chuckle vibrate from his chest.

  “It’s a curse,” he whispered back, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

  She stepped away from him, her love shining in her eyes and nodded. “I adore you.”

  He smiled down at her. “Same here.”

  They turned and walked back into the dining room. Mary sat down, but Bradley stood at the end of the table and opened a folder with a pile of print-outs inside of it. “With Alex’s help,” he said. “We’ve been able to start investigating what, if anything, the men who have recently died had in common.”

  “Only men were involved?” Dave asked. “Isn’t that odd in itself?”

  Alex nodded. “Well, men in that age group have a higher probability of heart attacks than women,” he said. “The only reason I noticed something strange was that three of the victims were men who just received a windfall from the Finders legacy.”

  “Were all of these men single?” Mary asked.

  Bradley nodded. “Yes, they were either widowers or divorced.”

  “See Stanley,” Rosie said, patting her husband gently on his hand. “I’m good for your health.”

  He smiled at her and nodded. “Best thing that ever happened to me,” he replied.

  “You’re a smart man,” Dave said, smiling over at the older couple sitting across from him. “And a lucky one.”

  Rosie blushed, and Stanley chuckled. “Yes, I am,” Stanley replied. “I certainly am.”

  Bradley cleared his throat gently and then continued. “The other similarities were the men had large incomes, were fairly social, and either had no college education or only a few years.”

  “So, they were self-made men,” Dave said. “They worked for their money.”

  Mary nodded. “Harry mentioned getting investment advice from some banker-types,” Mary said. “Do we know who they are?”

  Bradley shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re trying to get copies of Harry’s bank statements to see if we can find anything.”

  “An investment group wouldn’t want to kill off the investors, would they?” Alex asked. “Don’t they generally earn their money by the trades or income from the investors? Wouldn’t they lose the funding if the money either goes to the heirs or is tied up in probate court.”

  “Can we find out who the heirs are?” Dave asked. “And if the investment group somehow landed up in the will?”

  Bradley nodded. “Yeah, we can check that out too,” he said.

  “But the best way to get more information is to have another chat with Harry,” Mary said.

  Dave turned to her. “I’m game if you are,” he said.

  “Oh, we volunteer to watch Mikey,” Rosie offered immediately.

&nb
sp; Mary looked at Bradley, and he nodded. “I guess this meeting is officially adjourned,” he said. Then he turned to Dave. “Dave…”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Dave finished.

  Bradley smiled. “Thanks,” he began, and then he looked over at Mary who was staring at him with indignation. “I mean, don’t worry about that, Mary can take care of herself.”

  Rolling her eyes, Mary stood up. “Oh, good save Chief,” she replied sarcastically.

  Dave laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I can see she can.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Mary pulled her car up behind the squad car parked in front of Harry’s house. No sooner had she turned the car off, then the officer stepped out of her car and walked back to meet her.

  “Hey, Mary,” she said. “The Chief told me you were coming.”

  Mary smiled at her friend Ashley and nodded. “Did he tell you I was bringing company?” she asked.

  Ashley smiled over at Dave and nodded. “Dave and I go way back,” she said. “We went to high school together.”

  Mary turned to Dave. “Do you know everyone in town?”

  He grinned. “Only the important people,” he replied. “Ashley was one of the people who came out and teepeed my house when we were in high school.”

  She shook her head. “I will never forget that night,” she said with a noticeable shiver.

  “Why? What happened?” Mary asked.

  Dave grinned. “Do you want to tell her?”

  Ashley took a deep breath and nodded. “There were about ten of us, and we all decided to drive out to Dave’s place and teepee the house,” she explained. “We were all in Varsity Choir together, and we were having a sleepover at one of the girl’s houses.”

  Mary nodded. “So far so good,” she said with a smile.

  “So, we start tossing the toilet paper rolls over the branches of the oak trees that are next to the driveway,” Ashley continued. “And then we notice that someone is watching us from the kitchen window.”

  Mary felt an involuntary shiver run up her spine. “Who was at the window?” she asked.