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Robeth Publishing, LLC

The Ghost and the Mountain Man (eBook)

The Ghost and the Mountain Man (eBook)

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Book 27 in the Haunting Danielle Series

A Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series

Life is about to change for Brian Henderson, now that he knows the secrets of Beach Drive.

Unbeknownst to Brian and the others, they have brought something else home with them after their misadventure in the forest. The spirit of a mountain man has followed them to Frederickport with a secret of his own.


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The Ghost and the Mountain Man

Chapter 1

He stood on the sidewalk, ignoring the persistent morning rain, and focused his attention on the house across the street. He had almost missed it, almost walked right by. Looking at it now, he realized it was both familiar and almost unrecognizable. It was the trees; he decided. Not only more trees than he remembered, but much larger. And the neighboring houses—so many houses.

If not for the large sign posted in front of the house, he might have kept walking. It hadn’t been there during his last visit. The sign said he had arrived at Marlow House. He continued to stand on the sidewalk, losing all track of time, something he did all too frequently.

Finally, the rain subsided. He glanced to Marlow House’s mansard roofline and noted the position of the sun, surrounded by dissipating rain clouds. A few hours earlier he had witnessed the sunrise while standing on the pier. That was where he had spent last night.

When first returning to Frederickport, the car he had been following turned a corner, disappearing from sight. The unfamiliar sights had distracted him—many new buildings. And the roads—now all paved. Once he found the pier, it had been the touchstone he needed to convince himself he had indeed returned to Frederickport. It simply was not the Frederickport he remembered.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to go home before. Yet each time he ventured back toward civilization, something new frightened him. First it was the horseless carriages that increased in numbers, followed by paved roads, and later more of those carriages, in unimaginable shapes, going terrifyingly faster and faster.

He might have remained in the mountains if he hadn’t seen Alex. Of course, he didn’t immediately recognize him. Not only was Alex older, but he dressed differently. Once recognition dawned, he had impulsively pulled the trigger, sending off a flurry of bullets. They had miraculously missed their target. He wasn’t sure if he felt relief for not killing Alex or angry it wasn’t finally over.

Since it was three against one, he had thought it prudent to flee, yet he hadn’t gone far. After the failed shooting, he hid in the bushes, spying on the three for a few hours before he decided it might actually be the ideal time to return to Frederickport, while Alex was in the mountains.

Unfortunately, finding his way back to the road took him longer than he had expected, and when he finally got there, he saw Alex again, this time getting into a vehicle with his friends. Instead of retreating into the mountains as he had done countless times before, he followed Alex’s car, keeping a safe distance behind to avoid detection. But when he reached Frederickport, the unfamiliar sights distracted him, and Alex’s car disappeared around the corner.

He hadn’t intended to confront Alex, but now he stood in front of Marlow House. What would Anna think of all this? How had they explained his disappearance? The more he looked back on all that had happened, the angrier he became. He could no longer hide; he needed to face Alex and tell Anna what kind of monster she had married.

About to step off the sidewalk and head across the street to Marlow House, he paused when movement to the right distracted his attention. A vehicle drove up Beach Drive. It slowed in front of Marlow house. Something flew from the car toward the house, flying over the fence and landing on the walkway. A newspaper, he guessed. The car then continued on its way.

After the vehicle drove up the street, he stepped off the sidewalk, on his way to Marlow House. He thought briefly about the newspaper—assuming that was what he had seen fly from the car—and marveled at the expert throw yet wondered briefly if it had landed in a dry spot or in a puddle left behind from the recent rain. It really didn’t matter. Alex would not have time to read the newspaper.

* * *
On summer mornings Danielle enjoyed her coffee with Walt on the back patio. But this August morning rain kept them inside, not an uncommon occurrence for Oregon. Instead of the patio, they retreated to the parlor, each bringing along a mug of hot coffee. Walt carried a plate with a cinnamon roll. Danielle had claimed she didn’t want one, insisting she needed to cut back on sweets. Yet once in the parlor, she helped herself to some of Walt’s cinnamon roll. He didn’t object, knowing there was more in the kitchen. Plus, after last week’s misadventure, he was simply grateful to be sitting in his parlor, out of the rain, and with the woman he loved.

Danielle hadn’t changed out of her flannel pajama bottoms and T-shirt she had worn to bed the night before. But she had taken the time to weave her dark hair into a French braid, a slight change from the fishtail braid that had once been her trademark hairstyle.

Already dressed for the day in casual tan slacks and a pale blue polo shirt, Walt sat next to her on the parlor sofa. In one hand he held his mug of coffee, and on his right knee he balanced a plate with the half-eaten cinnamon roll.

“You’re reading too much into this Brian and Heather thing,” Danielle said, resuming the conversation she had started with Walt in the kitchen just minutes earlier.

“Perhaps, but you weren’t with them up on the mountain. The pair got rather cozy,” Walt said before taking a sip of his coffee.

“Sure they did. Goodness, poor Heather must have been terrified after waking up tied to a tree and those crazy wannabe witches. And I can’t imagine how Brian is absorbing all this.”

“He seemed perfectly fine with it last night,” Walt reminded her. “And then he goes home with Heather.” He chuckled and took another sip of coffee.

Danielle rolled her eyes. “Why do people always say women are the gossips? Sheesh. Just because Brian stopped by Heather’s house on the way home from here doesn’t mean he went home with her in that way. Perhaps she was just nervous about going home to a dark house. I certainly understand that, especially after being kidnapped and almost killed.”

Walt reached over and gave Danielle’s knee a pat and said, “We will see.”

“Anyway,” Danielle went on, snatching a pinch of Walt’s cinnamon roll and popping it in her mouth. “Brian is too old for her. My dad would be about his age if he were still alive.”

“If you will recall, the last man Heather dated was about Brian’s age,” Walt reminded her.

“True, but the idea of Brian Henderson and Heather Donovan in a relationship is ridiculous.”

“There is one way to find out,” Walt said, setting his cup on the coffee table. “We could see if his car is still over there this morning.”

“You would really go out in this rain just to spy on our neighbor? Seriously, Walt, I am surprised at you.”

Walt laughed. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s not raining anymore. But I’m not talking about me going outside.”

“I’m not going outside.”

“And I never suggested you should. But there is someone who was out there earlier this morning who might tell us something.” Walt looked over to the windowsill where Max lounged.

“Max,” Walt called out. The cat looked up to Walt; their eyes met. Danielle watched the pair in silence. After a few minutes Walt chuckled, took a sip of coffee, and Max went back to napping.

“Well?” Danielle asked after a few moments. Walt pulled off a hunk of cinnamon roll and put it in his mouth.

“Well?” Danielle repeated.

Walt looked to Danielle and asked, “Well, what?”

“What did Max say?”

“You said you weren’t into gossip.” Walt took a sip of coffee.

Danielle groaned. “Okay, I am curious. What did Max say?”

“He watched the sun come up this morning, perched in one of the trees by the garage. He had an unobstructed view into Heather’s driveway.”

“And?”

“His car was still there,” Walt said.

“Really?”

Walt nodded. “Really.”

“How long was it there?”

Walt shrugged. “I’m not sure. Max came in when the rain started. It was still there then.”

“Wow.” Danielle leaned back in the sofa, considering what Walt had just told her. “Brian and Heather? A couple?”

Walt shrugged. “Or perhaps you were right.”

“How so?”

“About Heather being nervous going home after dark, considering everything that’s happened. Perhaps Brian stayed over there as a friend.”

“Yeah, sure,” Danielle scoffed. “A platonic sleepover. I don’t think so.”

Walt arched his brows. “Really? Not possible? Didn’t Chris sleep over here while I was up in the mountains? Is there something you need to tell me?”

“Walt!” Danielle gasped.

Walt laughed.

Danielle’s brief outrage dissolved, and she let out a sigh. “One minute you’re suggesting there’s something going on between Brian and Heather, and the next you’re saying there’s nothing going on.”

“Oh, there is definitely something going on. What exactly, I’m not sure. But we will see.”

Danielle’s cellphone rang. She stood up and retrieved the phone from the nearby desk. Before answering, she glanced at the caller ID.

“Good morning, Chief… No, no plans. We’re hanging out here today. Walt’s just glad to be home… Certainly… I hope it’s nothing serious… Okay.” Danielle disconnected her call and returned the phone to the desk.

“What did the chief want?” Walt asked.

“He has to work today, and his sister agreed to watch Evan. But she got sick about an hour after the chief dropped him off. He asked if Evan could spend the day with us. I said sure. He’s going over there now to pick him up and then bring him here.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Walt said.

“The chief feels it’s food poisoning. Sissy ate some sketchy leftover seafood late last night.”

“Is Eddy coming too?” Walt asked.

“No. He’s spending the weekend with a friend. It’s just Evan.” Danielle glanced down at her pajamas and said, “I should probably change my clothes before they get here.”

“Why don’t you finish your coffee first?” Walt suggested. “You have time.”

Danielle sat back down and took another sip of coffee.

They chatted a few minutes longer before Walt asked, “I wonder if the morning paper is here yet.”

Danielle stood up.

“Where are you going?” Walt asked.

“To check if the paper’s here.”

“I didn’t mention that so you would get the paper. Let’s finish our coffee, and I’ll get it,” Walt said.

“I already finished my coffee.” Danielle leaned over and gave Walt a quick kiss on the lips. “Let me go see if it’s here, and while I’m gone, please finish that cinnamon roll, will you?”

Walt chuckled. “This morning you told me you didn’t want one.”

“Exactly. I’ve eaten half of yours. I can’t resist those things. We really need to stop buying them.”

Walt reached up and gently looped a finger in Danielle’s collar and pulled her to him. He brushed a kiss over her lips and whispered, “Not happening.”

“But I have no willpower,” Danielle whispered back.

Walt chuckled and kissed her again. With a sigh, Danielle stood up after Walt released her collar, preparing to bring in the newspaper. While doing so, she paused a moment and glanced at what remained of the cinnamon roll. She reached down to snatch a bit when Walt swatted her hand away.

“No more. I’ll be your willpower,” he told her.

Turning from the sofa empty-handed, she grumbled, “You aren’t trying to help me. You just want it for yourself.”

“True,” he said and then picked up the remaining piece of roll and ate it.

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