The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (19 page)

“Where have you been?”
Danielle asked Cheryl again after they went into the library.

Before she could
answer, Walt appeared. “So you’re back. Couldn’t find the light either?”

“I didn’t intend to
come back, but I really had no other choice, did I?” Cheryl asked, flopping
down into the couch as if exhausted.

“The last time I saw
you was when the police arrived at the beach. But the next time I looked, you
were gone.”

“I had to see where
they were taking me,” Cheryl said. “And might I suggest, if you ever have the
opportunity to view your own autopsy,
don’t
.” Cheryl cringed.

Lily started to sit on
the couch when Danielle called out, “No Lily, Cheryl is sitting there.”

“I tell you what,” Lily
said, standing up straight. “I’m going into the parlor and read. These one
sided conversations sorta drive me nuts. When you’re done, come in and give me
a recap of what’s happening.”

“You watched your autopsy?”
Danielle asked after Lily left the library.

“Not all of it. Rather
pisses me off to think someone would bash in my head like that.”

“I know the feeling,”
Walt said.

“There is one thing I
do know: Adam did not kill me.”

“How can you be so
certain?” Danielle asked. “You said you can’t remember much after you left the
bungalow.”

“I’ve been able to
remember more about that night. I remember leaving the hut—after—well, after I
died. I didn’t understand what was happening. I panicked. Instead of returning
here, I went back to Adam’s. He was right where I left him, snoring away. I
tried to wake him up, but of course he couldn’t hear me. Everything was right
where it was before I left the bungalow—his shoes, clothes, cellphone, keys,
everything. I don’t believe he ever woke up and came to the beach and killed me
and returned to the bed. No. It wasn’t him; that I’m certain of.”

“Can you remember
anything more about being on the beach...before you were killed?” Danielle
asked.

“After you found my
body in that beach hut, things started to come into focus,” Cheryl said.

“Like a fuzzy picture
getting clear?” Walt suggested.

“Yes,” Cheryl sat up
and looked at Walt. “You understand, don’t you?”

“Very much so.” Walt
sat on the couch’s arm.

“What else do you
remember?” Danielle asked.

“I remember feeling
really annoyed at Adam for drinking so much. I was mad at him for ruining the
evening. I started to put my shoes on, but then realize I wasn’t sure how to
get home from his house, and I sure didn’t want to call you for a ride. I
decided the easiest way to find my way back here was to walk along the beach.
So I picked up my shoes and purse and slipped out the back slider of the
bungalow.”

“I wish you had just
called me,” Danielle said.

“So do I,” Cheryl said
with a sigh. “I remember standing on the back porch. I could hear the waves
breaking on the shore. The moon was up—not a full moon, just a sliver, but its
reflection shimmered along the ocean. I remember thinking how lovely it looked.
In the distance, to the north, I could see the fireworks. I stood there a while
watching and trying to figure out  how long it would take me to walk down to
the stretch of beach by Ian’s. I remembered his place was just past the pier.
And then someone was there. I’m not sure if he came from down the beach, or
walked around the house, coming from the street.”

“It was a man?” Walt
asked.

“Yes. I don’t know why
but his face is still blurry to me—I just can’t quite figure out who he is. I
do remember asking him what he was doing there. It surprised me to see him
standing in the dark on the beach…behind Adam’s house.”

“What did he say?”
Danielle asked.

“He said he was walking
down to the fireworks show. He asked me where Adam was—another reason I know it
was not Adam who left me in the beach hut. I told him Adam had passed out from
drinking too much wine. He asked me what I was going to do now. I told him I
was going to walk back to Marlow House.”

“So this is someone you
knew…who knew you?” Danielle asked.

“Yes, but I just can’t
wrap my head around who he was.” Cheryl sounded frustrated.

“Then what?” Walt
asked.

“I remember him saying
I’d be smart to go back to Marlow House right away, because the police were
looking for me and they thought I stole the necklace.”

“Did you have the
necklace on?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. He was looking at
it. I remember that. I told him I hadn’t stolen it.” Cheryl looked at Danielle.
“I knew you would be mad at me for taking it, but I thought you would
understand I only borrowed it. I wasn’t afraid of being arrested.”

“Did you ever consider
calling me?” Danielle asked.

“No. My night with Adam
didn’t go like I wanted, but I wasn’t ready to come back here yet. He—the man
on the beach—said we might as well walk together, since he was going in that
direction anyway. He suggested I grab something for us to drink for our walk. 
I went inside and took a couple of beers from the refrigerator.”

“And you have no idea
who he was?” Danielle asked.

“No. However, I do know
I didn’t find him particularly attractive. But I trusted him. I remember he
insisted on opening my beer for me. I thought that was rather old fashioned and
gentlemanly, I remember that. We walked along the beach and I started getting
really sleepy. He said he knew where some beach chairs were kept, and suggested
I sit down for a minute and rest. I was so tired. I just wanted to sit down and
go to sleep so I said okay, anything so I wouldn’t have to keep walking. I
remember going into that hut, but after that….after that, everything is black.
My next memory is leaving the shack and going to Adam’s.”

“He must have hit you
over the head and taken the necklace,” Danielle said.

“I suppose…damn, why
did I have to do something so stupid?” Cheryl slumped back into the sofa.
Closing her eyes, she flung her right wrist over her forehead and let out a
dramatic sigh.

Danielle walked over to
the sofa and looked down at at her cousin. “I have another question for you,
Cheryl. This doesn’t have anything to do with your death.”

Cheryl opened one eye
and looked up at Danielle. “What?”

“Did you really leave
me your entire estate?”

Cheryl closed her eye
and was silent a moment. Finally she said, “Yes.”

“Why? We didn’t even
like each other.”

Cheryl sat up abruptly
and looked at Danielle. “That is an awful thing to say! How can you talk that
way about me? I’m dead!”

“Come on, admit it. You
and I have never been close. Just because we didn’t particularly like each
other, it doesn’t mean I didn’t love you.”

“You love me?” Cheryl
sounded hopeful.

“I suppose I did…do. So
why Cheryl—why did you leave me your estate? And how in the world did it get
so…so large?”

“Well, if you must
know, I always felt guilty.”

“Guilty? About what?”
The
times you hit on my boyfriends? Teased me? Called me a liar?

“I know you could have
sued my father’s estate after the accident. I’ve no doubt you would have won. I
really did think you were going to sue, and when you didn’t, I started feeling
guilty.”

“If that’s true, then
why in the world would you contest Aunt Brianna’s will? Her estate was not even
a fraction of what you inherited.”

“Exactly,” Cheryl said
confidently, shaking her head to punctuate her point.

 “I don’t get it.”
Danielle sat on a chair facing Cheryl.

“Well, if I was willing
to give you everything I owned, I figured it was only fair that you share Aunt Brianna’s
estate with me. I never could understand why you were being so greedy about
it.”

“Cheryl, I had no idea
you had me in your will, and anyway I would only get your estate if you died.
And I could very well have died before you and never seen a penny from your
estate.”

“Well, you didn’t. I
died and now you are a very rich woman. Don’t you feel just a teeny bit guilty
being so stingy?”

“Oh brother,” Danielle
mumbled. She took a deep breath and asked, “Okay, so how did your estate
double?”

“Don’t ask me,” Cheryl
shrugged. “Daddy’s business manager handles all that. But we have more
important things to worry about right now.”

“You mean about who
killed you?” Danielle asked.

“That, and you have to
prove Adam was not responsible for my death.”

“Do you realize the
police have two suspects?” Danielle asked.

“Adam and who else?”
Cheryl asked.

“Me.”

“You?” Cheryl frowned.

“Yes. Right before you
showed up I was beginning to wonder if Officer Henderson was about to arrest
me. He seems to think I am a prime suspect—at least, until he received that
phone call that the necklace had been found in Adam’s office. He’s the one who
told me I was your heir—which put me in the top of the suspect list.”

“Well, I can’t help
that,” Cheryl said impatiently. “I mean, I have the right to leave my money to
whomever I want. But I can’t control the police if they want to get all
suspicious about it.”

“I understand that
but…” Danielle began.

Cheryl interrupted by
saying, “You aren’t going to let Adam go to prison for something he didn’t do,
are you?”

“No, I didn’t say that.
I just wanted to point out that according to some officers on the local police
department, if Adam didn’t do it—I did.”

“Well pooh. What about
that handsome cop you were so cozy with at the party? Surely he isn’t going to
let them arrest you.”

“Yes, Danielle, what
about him?” Walt asked.

“Joe? Well, I haven’t
seen much of Joe this past week.”

“Are you saying he has
abandoned you in your time of need?” Cheryl asked incredulously.

“I am not saying that
exactly. But he has a job to do, and I guess he needs to remain impartial while
he does it. I can understand—I suppose,” Danielle said weakly.

“Well I can’t!” Cheryl
snapped.

“Neither can I,” Walt
agreed.

I don’t really
understand either,
Danielle thought.

It was past 8 a.m. when
Joe arrived at the police station on Tuesday morning. When he got there, he
found one of the officers leading a disheveled looking Adam Nichols from lockup
to the interview room. The chief stood outside his office door drinking a cup
of coffee. Spying Joe, he waved him over.

“I’m surprised Nichols
is still here,” Joe said after he walked to the chief. The two men glanced to
the now closed door of the interview room.

“His attorney’s from
Portland. He couldn’t get a hold of him last night,” the chief explained. “He
finally did this morning. The attorney’s supposed to be here in a little
while.”

“Has the necklace been
sent over to the lab yet?” Joe asked.

“No. Still trying to
get someone qualified to check out the stones. I just assumed we’d use Sam,”
the chief said.

“I had no idea he was
planning to close his store and move from Frederickport,” Joe said.

“I talked to a couple
of the shop owners in the area. I guess he’d been talking about closing down
for some time. You know, he sold that building a while back, his house too.”

“It still surprises me.
He grew up here. That store’s been a regular fixture for years. I talked to him
for a while on the fourth, at the open house. He didn’t say anything about
leaving.”

“I’d heard around town
the store wasn’t doing that great,” the chief said.

“That’s too bad. Sorry
to see him go. So what are you going to do now?” Joe asked.

“I talked to someone in
Astoria. They’ll be here after lunch. And then I’d like you and Carpenter to
take the necklace to the lab.”

“Excuse me,” the woman
who worked at the front desk interrupted.

“Yes?” the chief asked.

“Danielle Boatman is
here to see you,” she explained.

The chief glanced at
Joe and then asked her, “Who does she want to see, Joe or me?”

“Well, I suppose either
one. I didn’t realize Joe was here. She asked to see him, and when I told her
he wasn’t here yet, she wanted to know if she could talk to you.”

“Bring her in,” the
chief said, taking a swig of his coffee.

• • • •

It took a great deal of
convincing for Danielle to persuade Cheryl to stay at Marlow House, and not
follow her to the police station when she went to check on Adam.

“If you want me to go,
you have to let me go alone,” Danielle had insisted. “It’s too distracting to
have you in the background talking to me.”

At the police station
Danielle was led to the inner offices. She was surprised to find Joe standing
with the chief. She had been told Joe hadn’t yet arrived at the station that
morning.

“I understand Adam has
been arrested for the murder of my cousin,” Danielle began.

“Morning, Danielle,”
Joe greeted with a smile. “I guess you were right all along.”

“I don’t think Adam
killed my cousin,” Danielle said.

“Excuse me?” Joe
frowned.

“She left with him, the
necklace was found in his office,” the chief explained.

“I don’t understand,”
Joe said. “You were the one convinced Adam had something to do with your
cousin’s disappearance.”

“Is he still here, or
has he been let out on bail?” Danielle asked.

“He’s in the interview
room, waiting on his attorney,” Joe said.

“Can I see him?”
Danielle asked.

“I’m afraid that’s not
possible…” Joe began.

The chief interrupted
Joe. “No, that’s okay. Let her see him for a minute if she wants. His attorney
isn’t going to be here for a while.”

• • • •

When Danielle entered
the interview room she found Adam sitting alone at the table. It looked as if
he hadn’t slept for hours. He wore the same dress shirt and slacks he’d had on
when they had arrested him the previous day, yet now the shirt was wrinkled,
the collar unbuttoned. He’d obviously been arrested without a comb and he
needed to shave.

“You’re the last person
I expected to see,” Adam said, shifting uncomfortably in the hard chair.

“How are you doing?”
Danielle asked as she took a seat across the table from him.

“My attorney is working
on bail. I’m hoping I can get out of here today. Worried about my grandmother.”

“Does she know?”

“I haven’t talked to
her yet. But this is a small town; I can’t imagine some busy body hasn’t been
over there already filling her in on the juicy details.”

“If you want, I’ll
check on her,” Danielle offered.

“Why? I know you don’t
like me.”

“I care about your
grandmother. Plus, I don’t think you killed my cousin.”

“I sure wish the local
police shared that belief.”

“How do you think the
necklace ended up in your office?”

“My guess is the killer
put it there to frame me.”

“But why use a necklace
worth a million dollars to do that?”

“I sort of thought
maybe you’d have the answer to that.” Adam leaned forward, his elbows propped
on the table. He studied Danielle’s face.

“Me? Why would I know?”

“Well, I can only think
of one reason the killer would use that necklace to frame me—if she knew she
would be getting it back.”

“Are you suggesting I
killed my cousin?”

“Funny how a person has
a lot of time to think when you get locked up.”

“Umm…you haven’t even
been here 24 hours.”

“Well, it’s also funny
how fewer than 24 hours in here can seem like a hell of a lot longer.”

“I don’t believe you
killed Cheryl, but I didn’t kill her either.”

Adam leaned back in his
chair. “I’ve been asking myself, how is it I passed out after drinking just one
glass of wine? I’ve never been a lightweight. I know Joe confiscated the wine
and wine glasses from the beach house. Pretty sure he had them tested; of course,
no one has shared the results with me. That’s one thing my attorney’s working
on. I want to know what was in that wine.”

“Joe had the wine
analyzed? I didn’t know that.”

“Guess he isn’t quite
the pal you thought he was, is he?”

“Are you saying the
wine may have been drugged?”

“Here’s what I think
happened. You and your cousin cooked up this little publicity stunt. Have the
necklace disappear and then reappear. She’s convinced she owns a share of the
Thorndike and Marlow House so she’s willing to go along with your little game.
But you have other ideas, don’t you? I heard you inherited her estate. This is
a small town, things like that get around quick. You figured out how to get rid
of your cousin, frame me and get the necklace back—and your cousin’s money.”

“Are you serious? Just
how did I drug the wine?”

“Maybe Cheryl was in on
that, I don’t know. I haven’t worked it all out yet. But I’m pretty sure you
killed your cousin.”

Danielle stood up
shaking her head, “I came here to help you, damnit!”

“Well, that is mighty
big of you, considering you created this mess. But I don’t need your help,
lady. I suggest you get yourself a good lawyer, I think you’re going to need
one.”

Speechless, Danielle
turned and left the room.

• • • •

“Well, that was
interesting,” the chief said. He stood with Joe in an office next to the
interview room, looking at Adam through the two way mirror. Danielle had just
stormed out of the room. “Adam makes a convincing argument.”

“I have to admit, he
does. He sure seemed sincere in there.”

“I’ve known Adam most
of his life. He’s never been in any real trouble.”

“You sound like Brian,”
Joe said.

“Brian’s been here a
lot longer than you,” the chief reminded.

“I just find it hard to
believe Danielle had anything to do with her cousin’s murder.”

“How well do you really
know the girl?”

“I guess
not that well,” Joe shrugged.

“There was
a hell of a lot of money at stake, especially considering her new inheritance
with Cheryl out of the way. If you think about it, Danielle Boatman seems to be
falling into all sorts of money these days.”

“If she is
guilty, then why come to see Adam? Why tell him she thinks he’s innocent?” Joe
asked.

“Maybe she
just wanted to see what he was thinking. Had he been more receptive to her
offer of help—then it would be easier for her to gaslight him. Make sure he
gets convicted of her cousin’s murder. That way she gets off free and clear,
with someone else going to prison for Cheryl’s murder. Now she knows he’s on to
her. I’m curious to see what she’ll do.”

“You sound
as if you believe Danielle killed Cheryl, not Adam.” Joe said.

The chief
shrugged. “Just playing devil’s advocate.”

An
officer’s peeked his head in the room and said, “Adam Nichol’s attorney is
here. Should I take him on in?”

“Go ahead,”
the chief turned from the window looking into the interview room. “I guess our
little show is over. Too bad they don’t let us listen into client attorney
discussions, would sure make our jobs a hell of a lot easier.”

• •
• •

“Sorry I’m
late,” Ted Zimmerman said when he walked into the interview room.

“I just
hope you can get me out of this damn place.”

“I’m afraid
I have bad news, Adam.”

“What?”
Adam sat up straighter.

 “I checked
on those tests you asked me about. The wine was drugged with Rohypnol. It’s a
date rape drug.”

Adam
slammed his fist on the table top and grinned.
“I
knew it!”

“Don’t get
too happy, it seems Cheryl had Rohypnol in her system when she died. They never
checked your blood, did they?”

“No. What
does this mean?”

“It means
the police are building a nice little case against you. They’re convinced you
drugged Cheryl, hid her body in one of your beach huts, and stashed the
necklace in your office.”

“Why in the
hell would I put her body in an unlocked beach hut I own?”

“I didn’t
say they thought you were a smart killer, just a killer. They’re taking the
necklace to a lab. I guess it had some blood on it. If it turns out to be
Cheryl’s then that would prove she had it on when she was killed.”

“If I can
prove someone else put that necklace in my office, will it help my case?”

“Definitely,
but how do you intend to do that?”

“I have a
hidden security camera in my office. Do you know if the police have found it?”

“Not that I
know of. Are you saying you had your office bugged?”

“Not bugged
exactly. I wasn’t recording the sound. It’s like a nanny cam but no sound. It
sends the video to a computer I keep in the spare bedroom at my grandmother’s.
I need to get over there and check out that computer. The camera should have
recorded whoever put the Missing Thorndike in that vase.”

“Why didn’t
you say something before?”

“Because I
didn’t particularly want a bunch of cops going through my personal computer.
But frankly at this point, I don’t really care if they know about the porn
sites I occasionally visit. I don’t want my next date to be with a dude named
Bubba.”

“How would
someone have gotten into your office?”

“Back
door’s usually open during the day. Someone could easily slip in that way
without the girls in the front office seeing. We’ll just have to see what the
video tells us.”

“Do you
have any idea who’ll it will be?”

“Oh,
without a doubt. I know exactly who put that necklace in my office. Danielle
Boatman.”