The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (5 page)

Gloria Comings, Mr.
Renton’s assistant, was at the front desk when Danielle entered the attorney’s
office later that afternoon.  “Ms. Boatman,” Gloria greeted her without
standing up.

“Hello. Mr. Renton is
expecting me,” Danielle said with a smile as she glanced around the front office.
Its rustic walls, paneled in knotty pine, looked more suitable for a mountain
cabin than a business office. Many of the framed black and white photographs,
hanging on two of the four walls, depicted the Oregon coast, while others were
of two men fishing.

“Yes he is. You can go
right in.” Gloria pointed to a closed door on the far wall behind her desk.

Danielle gave her a nod
and smiled before making her way to the door. Glancing over the photographs she
noticed the fishermen in the pictures all seemed to be the same two men. One
fisherman was tall and lean while the second one was short and grossly
overweight.  The stark contrast between the two reminded Danielle of the 1930s
comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy, although she didn’t think Hardy had been shorter
than Laurel.

When she reached the
door, Danielle paused and looked back at Gloria, who was busy reading through
papers on the front desk. “Excuse me, who are the men in the photographs?”

Gloria looked up and
turned around to face Danielle. “Why, that’s Mr. Renton and Mr. Carmichael, Mr.
Renton’s partner.”

“The one who passed
away?”

“Yes. Those two loved
to fish.”

“Oh…” Danielle gave
Gloria a smile and then turned back to the door. She wondered,
is
Mr.
Renton Laurel or Hardy?

Danielle knocked on the
door and was quickly greeted with, “Come in!”

As soon as Clarence
Renton stood up from his desk and started walking toward Danielle to shake her
hand, she had her answer—
Hardy
. Of course, he was much shorter than
Hardy, and there was no thin mustache. In fact he looked nothing like Oliver
Hardy, save for the stark difference of his physical appearance when standing
side by side his former business partner. Now that she had a closer look, she
decided he looked more like a clean-shaven Santa Claus, with his round body,
ruddy cheeks, bright blue eyes and snowy hair.

“Ms. Boatman, so nice
to meet you at last!” Clarence enthusiastically shook her hand, then guided her
to a chair facing his desk.

“I really appreciate
you seeing me today,” Danielle said as she took a seat.

“Well, what is this
about a cousin?” Clarence sat back down behind his desk and looked at Danielle.

“My cousin Cheryl
showed up at Marlow House this afternoon.”

“Yes, you told me that.
But what I don’t understand, I was under the impression you didn’t have any
family.”

“Not that I know of,
except for Cheryl, who I really have nothing to do with.”

“How are you related,
exactly?” Clarence leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

“Her mother was my
father’s sister. Her parents and brother were killed with my parents in the
plane accident.”

“Yes, I remember you
telling me about that, but I wasn’t aware you had a surviving cousin. And she’s
related to Brianna?”

“In the same way as I
am. By marriage. Brianna’s husband was our grandfather’s brother.”

“Hummm…” Clarence
frowned. “And you say she’s attempting to claim a share in the estate?”

“Do you think I’ll have
a problem? Does she have a case?”

“I am a little
concerned that I have never heard of her before—that your aunt never mentioned
her. I was under the impression you were her only relative, albeit by
marriage.”

“So are you saying
Cheryl might have a claim?”

“Not exactly. But
considering your aunt’s mental health during her last months…”

“Her mental health? I
don’t know what you’re saying?” Danielle frowned.

“She had Alzheimer’s,
you know.”

“No, I did
not
know. Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“Well, I don’t think it
will be a problem. Your aunt authorized her last will before her illness. At
least, before it was diagnosed. I just never considered there could be a
problem, since you were her only relative, or so I thought.”

“But she didn’t leave
her entire estate to me.” Danielle felt a headache coming on.

“As you know, she left
a considerable amount of her estate to her favorite charities. I never worried
about any of them contesting what she left you. But now that you tell me there
is another great niece…”

“So how long was my
aunt sick? Why didn’t you ever mention it?” Danielle rubbed her temples.

“You know she moved to
Italy after her husband died.  It wasn’t long after that she had me write her
last will. About a year before her death she was having some difficulties
living on her own. We arranged for her to be moved into an assisted living
situation where they could take care of her.”

“Why didn’t you ever
tell me? She sent me letters that last year. She seemed fine to me.”

“From what I
understand, Brianna had her good days and bad.” Clarence shrugged.

“And this may give
Cheryl a claim to the estate?”

“I am a little
concerned she might claim Brianna’s illness caused your aunt to forget your
cousin. After all, she is not mentioned in the will.”

“But you said Aunt
Brianna got sick a few years after she wrote the will.”

“It was diagnosed a few
years later.”

“Why didn’t you ever
mention any of this to me, that Brianna had been ill?”

“I saw no reason to
mention it. I assumed you already knew.”

“How would I have
known?” Danielle asked.

“Ms. Boatman, you were
already so upset over your aunt’s passing, I didn’t think it was necessary to
add to your burden by elaborating on the harsh details of her final days.” 

“Well, I wish I had
known,” Danielle said quietly.

“I am sorry.” Clarence
sounded contrite. “As for your cousin’s claim, let me look into a few things
for you, and I’ll get back to you the first of next week.”

“Thank you. Will you be
at the open house?

“I plan to come.
Unfortunately Ms. Comings won’t be able to make it. She’s taking off this
afternoon for Portland, to spend the holiday with family.”

“I understand. I’m glad
you’ll be able to make it.”

“You mentioned
something on the phone about your cousin having an attorney already looking
into this?”

“The only thing she
really said was that her attorney thought she had a good case. Not sure he is
really looking into it. Knowing my cousin, it is always possible she made up
the part about the attorney or it might be some guy she went out with and told
her off the cuff. I don’t honestly know.”

“Do you know if she’s
planning to contact me?”

“Umm…actually, I sort
of gave her the impression I would arrange that,” Danielle said sheepishly.

“Well, I don’t want you
to worry. I’m confident Brianna was in full possession of her faculties when
she wrote that will, and that she didn’t leave Cheryl out because she forgot
about her, but because she didn’t want to include her,” Clarence said with far
more enthusiasm than he’d shown earlier. He then frowned and asked, “Your aunt
did know Cheryl existed, didn’t she?”

“Yes. Aunt Brianna and
Uncle Harry came to the US a few times when I was younger.  The family would get
together, and that included Cheryl.”

“Well, let me see what
I can find out, and hopefully we can get this all sorted out.”

“I appreciate it.”
I
wonder what this is going to cost me
, Danielle thought.

“I understand you
intend to sell the Missing Thorndike? Quite a find there. I would never have
imagined it was in Marlow House.”

“Yes, it was right
there in the attic, stuffed behind a loose board.”

“Amazing. Who would
have ever imagined someone like Walt Marlow was the one responsible for taking
that necklace. And to think it was there all those years.”

“A few people knew.
George Hemming knew. Apparently Walt Marlow told him he took it—or at least
alluded to the fact.”

“Did Marie Nichols tell
you that?”

“Yes. Although
initially she didn’t specifically mention the Missing Thorndike, just that Walt
Marlow—according to her father—was involved in a jewel heist.”

“Really?” Clarence
frowned for a moment as if considering a puzzle and then chuckled as if he’d
come to a conclusion. “Perhaps that explains Adam’s curiosity.”

“Adam?”

“Have you met Marie’s
grandson?”

“Yes, yes I have. What
did you mean Adam’s curiosity?”

“Gloria told me Adam
quizzed her about the house a few weeks before you arrived. Asked what was
still in it, what had been removed. He even wanted to have a look inside.”

“Did she let him
inside?”

“No. She figured he was
checking it out as a possible rental. I ran into him a few days later; he asked
me when the new owner was showing up. I figured Gloria was right. Of course if
you had decided to put the house in the rental market, I would have recommended
Bay View Rentals, not Fredrickport Property Rentals. They have a better
reputation.”

“Do you think he wanted
to see inside because of the Missing Thorndike?” Danielle already knew the
answer to her question.

“I suppose I find the
idea amusing, especially if Marie told her grandson about the necklace.”
Clarence chuckled again. “But no, probably not. I’m sure Marie would have told
Adam that story years ago, so if he was interested he would have already found some
way to get into the house. No, I was just being overly suspicious.”

“Perhaps,” Danielle
muttered under her breath.

“I understand you have
a buyer for the necklace already.”

“Yes. He’s going to be
here after the weekend.  Which is why I need to get this thing with Cheryl
cleared up.”

“You’ll have to put
that on hold for right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Until we get this
straightened out with your cousin, you really shouldn’t sell the necklace.”

“I need to sell it so I
can pay the damn inheritance tax,” Danielle said impatiently. “I really don’t
want to lose this buyer.”

“Don’t worry about that
now,” Clarence said as he stood up. “Let me look into a few things and get back
to you as soon as possible. You just focus on your open house.”

“That is a little hard
to do,” Danielle grumbled. She stood up and picked up her purse off the floor.

“Now, now, it will all
work out. One way or another.” Clarence walked Danielle to his office door and
opened it.

“Thanks for seeing me
today,” Danielle said as she walked out the doorway into the front office.

“It was nice to finally
meet you in person,” Clarence said. “I’ll see you at your open house.”

Much to Cheryl’s
annoyance, Sadie greeted her and Ian when they reached the side gate of Marlow
house. Danielle typically left the gate wide open; that had made it easy for
Ian to arrange his first meeting with Danielle and Lily, and for the times he’d
walk over in the evenings and catch Lily sitting on the bench under the
moonlight. But this afternoon the gate was shut. Sadie sat inside the
enclosure, barking for Ian to come inside and play.

“Hello girl,” Ian
greeted as he pulled the unlocked padlock from the latch and pushed open the
gate. Cheryl followed Ian inside the yard, careful to avoid Sadie, who insisted
on jumping on Ian.

On the far side of the
yard Lily looked up from the ground, croquet mallet in hand, preparing to hit a
ball. Instead, she let the mallet rest against the grass as she waved to Cheryl
and Ian. Cheryl ignored her greeting and made her way to the kitchen door. Ian
waved in return. By the time he reached Lily, Cheryl had already gone into the
house.

“That was a quick
walk,” Lily said, briefly glancing over to the door leading into the kitchen.

“If I ever offer to
take that woman
anywhere
ever again, please hit me in the head with a
croquet mallet.” Ian shuddered.

“What happened?” Lily
glanced back to the house and then to Ian.

“I don’t think you’d
believe me.” Ian shook his head in disgust.

“Did she make a pass at
you?” Lily asked with a grin.

“How did you know
that?”

“Dani said she hit on
Lucas before their wedding.” Lily looked down, positioned the mallet behind the
ball and gave it a little tap, sending the ball toward its target.

“According to Cheryl it
was the other way around.” Ian followed Lily as she continued to play croquet.

“She told you that?”
Lily asked as she hit the ball again. It went astray, flying into a nearby
bush. Before Lily could retrieve the wooden ball Sadie flew into the bushes and
snagged it, then dashed across the yard in the opposite direction. “Sadie!
Bring that back!” Lily called out.

“Yes, but I have a
feeling your version is more accurate.” Ian watched as Sadie ran around the
yard with the wooden ball in her mouth. “You know, she isn’t going to bring it
back.” Ian chuckled.

“So what happened
between you two down at the beach?” Lily asked as she walked to Sadie, who was
now lying on the lawn, energetically chewing on the ball.

Following Lily, his
hands tucked into the back pockets of his denims he said, “I don’t want to go
into it. Let’s just say she made me an offer she didn’t think I could refuse.”

“Were you tempted?”
Lily asked when they reached Sadie. She reached down and grabbed the ball. In a
scolding voice she said, “You don’t want to chew on that!”

“Tempted?” Ian glanced
at the house and then back to Lily. He smiled and said, “Strangely, not.”

“Strangely?” Lily
looked at the slobbery croquet ball in her hand. Wrinkling her nose in disgust,
she wiped it on her apron. Sadie ran off in the opposite direction, expecting
Lily to throw the ball. Instead of throwing it, Lily slipped it into her apron
pocket.

“I am a man, Lily. When
a beautiful woman hits on you…”

“So tell me,” Lily
interrupted, “you couldn’t do it because she just didn’t compare to me, right?”

“Partially.”

“Partially?” Lily
wrinkled her nose and lightly smacked the side of Ian’s leg with the croquet
mallet.

“Ouch!” Ian snatched
the mallet from Lily.

“Oh, that didn’t hurt,”
Lily scoffed.

“True, but I’m not
going to wait around for you to take a second swing.”

“So what was the other
reason you didn’t accept her gracious offer?”

“Honestly?” Ian looked
up at Marlow House. He could see Cheryl standing in her bedroom window looking
down at them.

“Yes, why?” Lily
glanced toward the house. She saw Cheryl standing in the window.

“High maintenance
women, especially those with an exceptionally high opinion of themselves—well,
are rather a turn off for me.”

“Ahhh, I get it, you
tend to go for slobs with low self esteem?” Lily teased.

“Well…” Ian critically
eyed Lily, his eyes moving up and down her body. Smirking, he reached out and
tugged her messy pony tail. “I wouldn’t say you have low self esteem.”

“Oh thanks!” Lily
laughed. “Hey, give me back that mallet, I wanna smack you again.”

“I don’t think so.
You’re dangerous with that thing.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and
led her to the bench. They sat down.

“Did you know Brianna
Boatman had Alzheimer’s?” Ian asked.

“Alzheimer’s? I didn’t
know that. How did you find out?”

“Cheryl told me. That’s
why she believes she has a claim on the estate. Because her aunt wasn’t
mentally competent to make her will.”

“Do you think that’s
true?” Lily glanced up at the house. Cheryl was no longer standing at the
bedroom window.

“I have no idea. But if
she wasn’t mentally competent when she had that will written, Cheryl might have
a legitimate claim.”

“Damn. That really
mucks things up.”

“Where is Danielle?”
Ian glanced over to where Danielle normally parked her car.

“She went to see Mr.
Renton, her attorney.”

“Hopefully he’ll have
good news for her. I’d hate to see Danielle forced to share her estate with
that woman.”

“
That woman
.”
Lily chuckled.

“I think for the first
time in my life I understand how a woman feels when a man makes an unwelcome
advance,” Ian said in a serious tone. “Yesterday if you’d asked me if a
beautiful woman coming on to me—coming on strong—would turn me off, I would
have laughed.”

“Do you have to keep
calling her a beautiful woman?” Lily grumbled.

“Well, she is. I mean
physically speaking. But I have to admit, she made me extremely uncomfortable
out there.”

“After Cheryl made a
pass at Lucas at the rehearsal dinner, he told Dani about it and Dani
confronted her cousin. Cheryl insisted it was all a mistake; that she had too
much to drink.”

“Cheryl’s version was
that Lucas had made a pass at her. She says that explains her and Danielle’s
fractured relationship. According to Cheryl, Lucas cheated on Dani throughout
their marriage, and when he was killed in the car accident, he was with his
lover.”

“Well, the last part of
that is true enough,” Lily said with a sigh.

“It is?”

“I have no idea if he
cheated on her throughout their marriage. When I first met them they seemed to
have a good marriage. I never noticed him having a wandering eye or being
inappropriate with other women. But during that last year, before he was
killed, their business had really taken off. They started to make a lot of
money, and he seemed to change. Danielle was never heavy into material stuff,
but Lucas was suddenly spending money like crazy. A new car, a new house, and
he spent way more money than Dani did on clothes. In fact, he’d get annoyed
because she wasn’t dressing up to their new station in life—as he put it.”

“Sounds like a nice
guy,” Ian scoffed.

“He was. No I mean
really, he used to be, when I first met him. But he changed a lot that last
year. That’s why I don’t think he was cheating on Danielle earlier in their
marriage.”

“Were Danielle and
Cheryl close before the incident at the wedding?”

“No. According to Dani
they’ve never been close. When they were teenagers Cheryl used to hit on Dani’s
boyfriends. That’s why she wasn’t terribly surprised when she hit on Lucas.”

“Now I’m just starting
to feel cheap,” Ian grumbled.

“Ahh, because you
aren’t special?” Lily teased. Ian chuckled in reply.

Sadie gave up on
waiting for Lily to throw the ball. She walked to the bench and sat down
between Ian and Lily’s feet.

“I do have a question
for you,” Ian asked

“What?” Lily reached
down and gave Sadie a pat.

“Why were you playing
croquet all alone?”

“Oh that,” Lily
laughed. “Danielle and I thought it might be cool to put the croquet set up in
the backyard for the open house—an old fashioned touch. After I set it up,
decided to try it out.”

They sat in silence for
a few minutes. Finally Lily said, “I keep thinking about Cheryl’s claim.
Danielle was so excited with opening the B and B. This really bugs me.”

“I was thinking about
that myself. I suppose, worse case scenario—Danielle can pay off Cheryl with
the proceeds from the sale of the necklace. After all, in the beginning she
thought it was a fake. From what I understand about what the house is worth,
Danielle could easily cover half of the estate’s worth from the sale of the
necklace and still have money left over.”

“That’s true, if Cheryl
was willing to let Dani keep Marlow House.”

“Why wouldn’t she? I
didn’t get the impression Cheryl was thrilled with this place,” Ian said.

“According to Dani,
Cheryl has a habit of wanting what ever Dani has. If Cheryl thinks Dani really
wants Marlow House, she might decide she wants it too.”