Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man Bobbi Holmes (best pdf ebook reader for android .TXT) 📖

“Are you suggesting this spirit needs some help to move on?” Walt asked.

“It appears that way.”

“Are you volunteering?”

“Helping spirits move on seems to be the reason for this gift,” Danielle said. “But first, I’d rather learn more about Cory.”

“He is an interesting fellow. I rather wish he hadn’t run off. I wanted to ask him what was this treasure.” Walt started the ignition.

“Let’s go to Adam’s office.”

“Why?” Walt asked as he pulled the car out from the sidewalk, into the street.

“He might be able to tell us a little about Cory,” Danielle suggested.

“Aw, yes, Cory. Weird little dude,” Adam said, leaning back in his desk chair. “He used to work with Bill, and he was actually pretty good, caught on quick, but no people skills. And after a few customers complained, Bill let him go. Now he occasionally hires him, but only if the customers are out of town and they don’t need to interact with Cory.”

“What did they complain about?” Danielle asked.

Adam shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I suspect he just creeped them out. He’s Bill’s sister’s kid, and he’s pretty much messed up. Too many drugs, if you ask me. I’m talking about the sister. Not sure if Cory uses, but wouldn’t surprise me, considering some past company he kept. But Bill insists he’s clean.”

“I assumed Bill’s brother was his father. They have the same last name,” Danielle said.

“She never married. I don’t know who the father is. It’s not that Cory is a bad kid. Hell, Bill and I got in more trouble. He’s just sort of a misfit,” Adam said.

“He mentioned a Caitlin,” Danielle said.

“She was the neighbor, died of an overdose. Caitlin was, like, his only friend. I remember he was pretty broken up over her death. Bill worried about him at the time. Even though Bill had to let him go, he cares about his nephew.”

“How does Cory support himself?” Walt asked.

“Bill’s parents left the house to his sister. I guess they figured she needed it more than Bill, what with her having a kid, being unmarried and not being able to hold down a job. They set up a trust before they died, so each month Cory gets a small check, pays the utilities, food and what he needs. The way they set it up, it went to the daughter, and when she died, it went to Cory. If something happens to Cory, then Bill gets the house and whatever money is left.”

“How does Bill feel about that?” Walt asked.

“Honestly, Bill was pretty cool about it. He never seemed upset with his parents for taking care of his sister—even though she was always a loser—or his weird little nephew. If anything, it always pissed off Bill about Cory’s father, who, in Bill’s opinion, ruined his sister and never stepped up to the plate with his son.”

“So Bill knows the father?” Danielle asked.

Adam shook his head. “No. If he had, I imagine Bill would be in prison now, serving time for killing the jerk. But the fact is—something I won’t tell Bill—his sister was messed up when this guy found her. Drugs will do that to a person.”

“Cory also mentioned something about a treasure—a treasure Caitlin told him about,” Danielle said.

Adam laughed. “So Cory told you about that?” He laughed again.

“You’ve heard about this treasure?” Danielle asked.

“Sure. Bill told me about it, back when Cory was working for him. Cory was pretty obsessed with finding it. This was back when Caitlin was still alive, and the two had these big dreams to find it and then run away together. I didn’t know Caitlin, but Grandma knew her mother. From what I heard about her, sounded like she wasn’t much different from Cory’s mom. Messed up with drugs.”

“Was Cory’s mother still doing drugs after she had Cory?” Danielle asked.

“No. I have to give her credit for that; she got clean, and she tried to be a good mom. Her parents were there for her. But she always struggled and had mental problems.”

“So what was the story of the treasure?” Danielle asked.

Adam stared at Danielle for a moment and then laughed. “Seriously? Are you looking for another treasure? I think you’ve exceeded your limit.”

Danielle rolled her eyes. “I’m just curious.”

Adam shrugged. “According to Cory, someone in Caitlin’s family found a treasure somewhere in Oregon. I have no clue where, or even what type of treasure. Cory was secretive about that—claimed he promised Caitlin he wouldn’t tell anyone; it was just their secret. And he claimed he saw part of the treasure.”

“So what are we talking here, gold, diamonds, stock certificates?” Danielle asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Adam said. “If there was a treasure and Caitlin really knew where it was, I don’t think she ever told Cory, because he’s still living alone at the house Bill grew up in.”

Seventeen

When Walt and Danielle returned to Marlow House on Monday, they found Marie waiting for them in the living room. She sat on the sofa, reading a magazine, and Danielle couldn’t help but think how the sight of the magazine hovering over the couch, its pages turning, might look to some poor unexpected visitor to Marlow House, who might peek in the front window when no one answered the door. She grinned at the thought and saw no reason to reprimand Marie. After all, if someone was peeking in their windows, it served them right to get a little shook up, considering it wasn’t nice to look in someone’s window. One never knew what one might see.

“Finally, I have been waiting forever,” Marie said as she closed the magazine and tossed it to the coffee table. “I’m dying to find out if you discovered the identity of the mystery ghost.”

Before they could say anything, Marie held up one hand and said, “No smart aleck crack about me already being dead.”

“Yes, we’ve identified our ghost,” Danielle said as she sat down on a chair across from Marie. Walt