The Ghost from the Sea (8 page)

W
hen Danielle
and Jack entered the front door of Marlow House a few minutes later, Walt was standing in the entry hall, waiting for them. Jack froze the moment he saw Walt.

“I see he agreed to come back with you.” Walt's expression was no friendlier than it had been the last time Jack had come to Marlow House.

“Walt doesn't seem happy to see me.”

Danielle shut the front door. “That's not true; Walt wanted a chance to talk to you again.”

“If that was true, why didn't Walt just come down to the beach and get me himself?”

Danielle glanced from Jack to Walt, reluctant to tell Jack that Walt was confined to Marlow House. She knew nothing about this new spirit's character, aside from the fact that he had embezzled from his supposed best friend. Knowledge was power, and handing Jack power over Walt was not something she was willing to do.

“Walt's just a little reclusive, that's all,” Danielle said. “He prefers to stay at home.”

“Reclusive?” Jack laughed, taking a step toward Walt, who stood quietly, watching him. “That's not the Walt I remember.”

“A great deal has changed since you left Frederickport,” Walt told him.

“Why don't we take this conversation in the parlor, where we can have a civil discussion,” Danielle suggested.

Eyeing each other suspiciously, Walt and Jack reluctantly followed Danielle into the parlor. Once they moved into the room, Walt took a seat on the sofa, while Jack sat on a chair facing him. Danielle leaned back along the edge of the desk, her arms crossed over her chest, observing the two spirits.

“Jack tells me he's the one who brought the Eva Aphrodite here,” Danielle began. “He harnessed his energy.”

Walt arched his brows and eyed Jack. “Impressive.” With a wave of his hand, a lit cigar appeared. He took a puff.

Jack leaned forward and stared. “How did you do that? I haven't had a cigarette…well, for almost a hundred years.”

Danielle wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I really don't allow anyone to smoke cigarettes in the house. Not even spirits.”

Jack pointed to Walt. “What about him?”

Walt laughed. “You forget; it's my house.”

“Plus, the brand he smokes isn't quite as offensive as the stench of cigarettes.” Danielle wrinkled her nose again.

Jack slumped back in the chair. “Fine, I'll take a cigar. How do I do it?”

Walt leisurely inhaled, and then released several smoke rings, watching them rise and disappear. He smiled smugly at Jack. “I would imagine someone capable of lifting the Eva Aphrodite from the bottom of the ocean and bringing her here, would be quite capable of conjuring up a simple cigar.” Walt leaned back, casually crossing his legs.

Jack frowned and waved his right hand, attempting to imitate Walt. Nothing happened. He waved it again, the gold from his ring capturing Danielle's attention.

She stood up straight and approached Jack, looking at his right hand. “Is that a Masonic ring?”

Jack paused and looked at the ring on his right hand and then glanced up to Danielle. “Yes, why?”

“Were you a Mason?”

“I
am
a Mason
,
” he corrected.

“Really?” Danielle took a seat on the sofa next to Walt. “My mother's father was a Mason. I never knew him, but I have his ring.” She looked to Walt. “Were you a Mason?”

He shook his head no.

“Why do you seem so surprised?” Jack asked.

Danielle shrugged. “I don't know. I just never thought of bootleggers as Masons.”

Walt let out a sigh and waved his hand. The cigar vanished. He looked across the room at the other spirit. “Why are you here Jack?”

Jack considered the question for a moment. “I suppose I got tired of being confined to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Why did you steal that money?”

Jack frowned. “What are you talking about? What money?”

“Your bootleg money,” Danielle interjected.

Walt flashed Danielle a reproving glare. “I don't believe bootleg money is an accurate description of our enterprise. We provided a transportation service.”

Danielle rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“You think I stole from you?” Jack snapped.

“Technically speaking, some of the money was yours,” Walt corrected. “If you needed money, why didn't you just ask? I never understood why you did it.”

Jack stood up. “I didn't just take off! How could you even imagine I'd do something like that?”

“I didn't at first. I hoped I was wrong.”

Jack sat back down again and stared at Walt.

“Perhaps we should start at the beginning,” Danielle suggested.

“Where would that beginning be?” Jack asked.

“I suppose you could start with, where did you go? From what Walt tells me, you were keeping the money over at George's house, and he was worried it wasn't safe, so you agreed to bring it here, but didn't. You disappeared.”

Walt stared at his once best friend, waiting for his answer.

Jack pondered the question, a quizzical expression on his face. “I forgot about that. You're right. I remember that conversation now.”

“The conversation about moving the money here?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. I haven't thought about that since—well, since before. Walt was concerned about keeping the money at George's house. He wanted me to bring it here.”

“Then what happened?” Danielle asked.

Jack shook his head. “I…I don't really remember. Those last weeks—they're a blur.”

“Sure they are.” Walt rolled his eyes.

“Perhaps start with when you arrived on the Eva Aphrodite, and then move backwards,” Danielle suggested.

Folding his hands together on his lap, Jack looked down and nodded. Closing his eyes, he attempted to recall what had happened those many years ago. “I remember standing in one of the cabins in the lower deck of the Eva Aphrodite. I couldn't understand how I had gotten there, but I was. And then I heard Thelma yelling at Howard.”

“Thelma…Howard?” Danielle remembered one of the women in the photograph she had shown the chief was named Thelma. “Friends of yours?”

“Not friends really. Customers. Howard was Thelma's husband. He told her it was all her fault. That none of it would have happened if it hadn't been for her.”

“I'm assuming they were dead?” Danielle asked.

Jack opened his eyes and looked at her. “Yes, but I didn't know that at first. I was confused and couldn't understand why I was in the cabin with them. I felt uncomfortable, awkward; after all, the last thing I wanted to do was get in the middle of a married couple's argument.”

Danielle wondered if Thelma was the one Walt reportedly had an affair with.

“They weren't paying any attention to me, and I figured they didn't even realize I was there, so I decided to slip out of the room, leave them to their argument, and try to figure out how I got there. But when I turned to leave, I practically tripped over Thelma.”

“You mean Thelma's body?”

Jack nodded. He closed his eyes briefly and then continued. “She was there on the floor, her eyes open, staring up at me. She had been shot in the head; there was blood everywhere. And then I saw Howard. He was dead too.”

“Did they tell you what had happened?”

Jack shook his head. “No. I was terrified, so confused, and ran from the cabin. I found the rest of them—and everyone was shouting, arguing; everyone was so angry.”

“When you say everyone, are you talking about spirits, like you and Walt, or people who were still alive?”

Jack stood up and shook his head. He walked to the window and looked outside. “They were all dead. It took me a while to figure that out. But it was the water—that's how I knew. They were dead. I was dead. I really didn't know at the time. I kept asking them how I had gotten there, and no one would answer me. They just kept arguing amongst themselves, ignoring me.”

“What do you mean the water?” Danielle asked.

“I was in a panic, moving from cabin to cabin. Everywhere I turned someone was yelling, there were bodies—and the boat started to fill with water. The boat was going down, but I couldn't feel anything. I panicked at first, afraid that I was going to drown. But then nothing happened.” Jack turned to face Danielle and Walt.

“What do you mean nothing happened?” Walt asked.

“Water filled the cabin and nothing happened to me. I wasn't gasping for air. My body wasn't being moved around the cabin like the bodies I had almost tripped over were.”

“I thought you said the boat was already under water when you first remember being there?” Danielle asked.

“I..I must have forgot. It filled with water after I got there. I just remembered.” Jack shook his head, a look of confusion on his face.

“If the boat hadn't yet filled with water when you first arrived on the Eva Aphrodite, and the bodies you saw hadn't yet—umm—decomposed—it's a safe bet to assume you arrived on the boat shortly after their deaths,” Danielle suggested.

“Did something happen when you ran off with our money?” Walt asked. “Did that little Sheba you took off with double cross you? Was being sent to the Eva Aphrodite your penance?”

“I didn't run off with anything!”

“Why don't you back it up a bit,” Danielle suggested. “Try to remember where you were, right before you found yourself standing in the cabin with Thelma and Howard.”

“I said it was a blur.”

“You have to remember something,” Danielle urged. “Think back. What was the last thing you remember doing right before you found yourself in the cabin with Thelma and Howard?”

Jack closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at Danielle and Walt. “I was going to pick up Sally. That's all I can remember.”

“Who's Sally?” she asked.

“His little Sheba,” Walt said with a snort.

“You say you were going to pick her up, were you in a car? Walking somewhere? Where were you?”

“I was walking to her place.”

“Walt said she lived at a motel in town.”

“Yes. Her aunt and uncle have a motel on the south side of town. They live in a house in the back, and Sally moved in with them after she left home. I remember walking up to their house—but that's all I can really remember clearly.”

“What about the money? The missing money?” Danielle asked.

“Are you talking about the money Walt claims I stole?” Jack asked angrily.

“Obviously,” Walt snapped.

Jack frowned and rubbed his right temple. “I might have moved the money, but I didn't steal it.”

Walt stood abruptly. “Maybe you've forgotten what you've done, but I haven't. We argued about the money being kept at George's; then you agreed to bring it over here. The next day when you didn't show up, I went across the street, to get the money myself. But you weren't there. George and his wife were out of town that week; they had gone to Portland to visit family. Your car wasn't there, and I was pretty angry by that time, so I used the key George had given me and let myself into the house.”

“I told you I was going to bring it over.”

“But you didn't, did you? You weren't there, and neither was the money. I looked under the bed where you kept it.”

“You kept the money under the bed?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. Brilliant hiding place,” Walt scoffed.

“I don't remember any of that, but I swear, I didn't steal anything.”

“You say you moved the money, do you remember where you moved it to?” Danielle asked.

Jack shook his head. “Like I said, that time is a blur. I didn't even remember that conversation Walt and I had about moving it until you mentioned it.”

“Did you move it from under the bed?” Walt asked.

“I'm sure I did. I feel it. I just…can't remember…”

“Sometimes it happens like that. The memory of what occurred during your final hours can be blurred…confused,” Danielle explained. “It doesn't mean those memories are lost forever. It just might take you a little time before things come in focus. Maybe it would help if you try to remember anything you learned after you found yourself on the Eva Aphrodite.”

“What I learned?” Jack frowned.

“Sure. There must be a reason your spirit ended up on that sinking boat. Did anyone say anything, before they left, that you can remember?”

Narrowing his eyes, Jack looked off into blank space for a moment, thinking back to when he first found himself aboard the yacht. Finally, he blinked his eyes and looked over at Danielle.

“There's one thing Howard said…” Jack looked uneasily from Danielle to Walt.

“Which was?” Danielle asked.

Jack shook his head. “No, it was just crazy talk. I figured Howard didn't know what he was talking about.”

“Tell us,” Danielle urged.

Jack glanced to Walt who gave him a nod. “Go ahead. Tell us what Howard said,” Walt urged.

Jack let out a deep sigh and said, “After the boat filled up with water, I came to the realization I was already dead. They started leaving. One by one, they vanished.”

“I assume you're talking about the spirits?” Danielle asked.

Jack nodded. “Yes. They had stopped screaming at each other—it was so quiet on board, even though I could still see them all, watching each other, no longer saying anything. Silently—one by one—they vanished. The bodies, which had been on the floor, began to bloat and rise to the ceiling. I thought they'd all left. I panicked, ran back into the first cabin I had been in. Howard was still there.”

“Howard's spirit?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. Thelma was gone, but Howard was still there. Right before he vanished, he looked at me and asked,
I wonder what Marlow had to pay to kill us all
.”