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

corner of a nearby shelf. “I got the papers you wanted together. They’re right there.”

Kelly picked up the stack and began shuffling through them.

“Why don’t you sit down. I wanted to ask you about something,” he said.

Clutching the stack of papers to her chest, she looked at her brother. “Why don’t we go to Pier Café and talk there? Like we used to do, just the two of us. Get something to eat,” Kelly suggested.

“I had breakfast there this morning,” Ian told her.

Kelly frowned and asked, “Who with?”

“Just all the neighbors,” Ian said.

“You mean like Walt and Danielle?” Kelly asked.

“Yes, and Chris and Heather,” Ian added.

“We don’t really do anything together anymore,” Kelly grumbled.

“That’s not true,” Ian argued.

“Yes, it is. You have all your new friends, and I’m not included,” Kelly said.

“They are your friends too,” Ian argued.

“Not really,” Kelly grumbled. “It would just be nice if you and I could sometime go out to lunch, just the two of us. Talk like we used to.”

“I told you, I already ate at Pier Café today.”

“Ian,” Lily said from the open doorway. Both Kelly and Ian looked her way. “I think it would be nice if you accepted your sister’s invitation. Sorry, but I overheard your conversation. You two are kinda loud. But I totally understand what she’s saying. If my brother and sister lived closer, I’d like to spend some one-on-one time with each of them and not have to deal with their significant other—if they had one.” Lily grinned. “Go get some pie, spend some quality time with your sister, and be grateful you have a sister who wants to spend time with you.”

Kelly stared at Lily, her eyes wide. Finally, she muttered, “Thank you, Lily.”

Ian let out a sigh and stood up. “I guess I shouldn’t argue with the two most important women in my life.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Lily said. “Oh, and bring me home a slice of apple pie if they have any.

After Ian and Kelly sat in the small booth at Pier Café, Kelly asked, “Am I really one of the most important people in your life?”

“Why do you even ask that?” Ian said.

Kelly shrugged. “It’s just that I don’t feel as if we are as close as we used to be.”

“Naturally, things are going to change. I’m married now; you’re about to get married. Lily and I have a child. You’re still important to me, but we each have our own separate lives.”

“I suppose.” Kelly sighed. A moment later, a server came to their table and took their orders.

After the server left, Ian said, “I wanted to ask you something. About when you interviewed Ginny Thomas.”

“What about it?” Kelly picked up the cup of coffee the server had poured before leaving their table.

“Did she ever mention anything about a stolen carriage from her family’s livery stable that ended up in the mountains?” Ian then recounted what Walt had told him about the incident, leaving out references to Walt’s former life or mention of a ghost. Ian embellished some facts, unavoidable unless he wanted to reveal to Kelly the truth about Walt.

Ian didn’t believe telling his sister the truth about Walt would ever be a good idea. He wanted his sister to be happy, and she was in love with Joe Morelli. Ian understood Joe was even more a skeptic than he had been, and he feared that if he told Kelly about Walt, she could never keep that secret from the man she loved. It could destroy Kelly and Joe’s relationship, because Joe would be unable to believe what Kelly told him. The secret had almost destroyed him and Lily.

“No, but it sounds interesting. I’m meeting Ginny in about an hour over at her house; I’ll ask her then. Makes me want to look through those old newspapers.”

“Any idea when they will be at the museum?” he asked.

“A week or so. I’m not really sure.”

After Kelly dropped her brother off at his house on Tuesday afternoon, she drove over to Ginny’s. Ginny had discovered a box of vintage magazines she thought Kelly might be interested in seeing.

The two women sat in Ginny’s kitchen, the magazines spread out on the table, but they were not alone. Cory sat quietly in one corner of the room, assembling cardboard file boxes Ginny had purchased.

As Kelly thumbed through one magazine, she said, “Oh, Ian wanted me to ask you about something. Are you familiar with a ghost ship that washed up at Frederickport back when the town was first founded? Sort of like the Eva Aphrodite did a few years back. Remember, that yacht Walt Marlow once owned?”

“I remember reading about the Eva Aphrodite washing up on shore,” Ginny said. “It was the yacht Walt Marlow name after Eva Thorndike.”

Cory looked up from what he was doing and listened to the conversation.

“But there was another one, years ago. Do you remember hearing about it?” Kelly asked.

Ginny shrugged. “I guess. I believe there’s an article on it in one of the old newspapers. You can read about it when they get back from the bindery.”

“There was also something about horses and a carriage taken from your family’s livery stable. Someone stole them the same night the ship washed up on shore. I guess they discovered them missing the same morning they found the shipwreck.”

Ginny frowned at Kelly. “How would you know about that?”

“I imagine there’s an article about it in one of the old newspapers,” Kelly suggested.

“Yes, but how did you read it?” Ginny asked. “I was told there aren’t any copies of those editions aside from mine.”

“Oh, I didn’t,” Kelly said. “Walt told my brother about it, and they were curious if you knew anything about the story. Maybe something passed down in your family. But I’m sure they’ll be excited to read that newspaper when the museum gets them.”

“I still don’t understand. How did Walt hear about that story? You told me he’s a relative newcomer to Frederickport.”

“According to my brother, it’s