A Spirited Gift

Before I could react, Marissa launched herself at me. I tried to move out of the way. She was faster—fingernails curved like claws and kicking as she moved.

I was up against a hundred-year-old window frame. I knew it wouldn’t be able to withstand both our weights pushed against it. The glass that still remained in the top of the wood frame began shattering, spraying us both with slivers.

She was pushing at me, trying to force me out of the window. I pushed back, thinking that if I could reach the bed and the cleaning products, I could grab something to defend myself. Mostly, I just wanted to get away from the window. I didn’t want us both to fall from the third floor.

A cold wind swept through the room. I couldn’t tell if it came from the gaping window at my back or from some other opening on the third floor. I decided that yelling might be a good idea—despite the noise from the rug-cleaning machines that had started up again.

Marissa clapped her hand over my mouth as I opened it. She was strong. Obviously, I needed to start lifting large buckets of cleaning supplies—if I survived this fight.

Then, it was as if the cold wind lifted and pushed Marissa away from me. She flew across the room and smacked into the sturdy wall near the closet. She dropped to the floor like a broken doll.

I slid down on top of the cardboard I’d intended to use to fix the window. I knew that had been no ordinary wind—even before Rafe appeared, staring down at Marissa with his cutlass in hand.

“Do I have to do everything for you, girl? Was it not enough that I moved that picture so you could find it? Then you go and try to get yourself killed.”

“Thanks?” I could barely say the word. “I thought you were gone.”

“Without fulfilling my end of the bargain? I am a gentleman of the sea. I promised you my treasure in exchange for proving my innocence.”

“Oh yeah.” Not only hadn’t I thought about the treasure again—it seemed a little unimportant right now. “Where is it?”

“Bah! You’ll never find it alone. Meet me at the docks. Midnight. I’ll guide ye there. Then I’m gone from this world.”

He disappeared again. The cold wind went with him. Marissa groaned and started to move.

I forced myself to my feet and ran out the door.

Kevin called the police when I told him what had happened. He brought Marissa downstairs and made sure she was all right.

I sat downstairs in the lobby with a blanket wrapped around me. My teeth were chattering—I was freezing. Shock, no doubt. Marissa sat across the lobby from me. If looks could’ve killed, I’d have been dead.

Chief Michaels arrived a few minutes later with Tim and Scott. “The arraignment ended early. Old Joe had another stroke. He won’t have to worry about being in any trouble for Johnny’s death.”

Marissa started crying—quietly at first. Then she yelled out, “She killed him! She’s responsible. And now she wants to get me in trouble too. He was my only relative left alive. I’m going to sue you, Dae O’Donnell. You won’t have anything left when I get done with you.”

“So what’s going on out here exactly?” The chief looked at me and Marissa.

“She’s trying to say that I killed someone—like she did my grandfather. She went to my house and stole something personal that she thinks proves something.” Marissa kept sniffling and crying until Tim brought her some tissues.

“All I did was find a photo in the supply closet here,” I said, defending myself. “I didn’t get anything from her house, except the diary.”

“Liar!” Marissa jumped out of her chair.

“Just take a seat, Ms. Endy,” the chief said. “Let me take a look at that photo, Mayor.”

I gave him the photo from my pocket. I could tell from the look on his face that it affected him the same way it had affected me.

“Tim, Scott—you two stay here with Ms. Endy. If you’d come with me into the kitchen, Mayor . . .”

I followed the chief out of the lobby. He waited to speak until we were alone. “Dae, I need you to tell me exactly what happened here. Don’t leave anything out.”

I knew I couldn’t do exactly as Chief Michaels asked, but I told him how I’d found the picture (not that a pirate ghost had purloined it from Marissa’s house) and that she’d attacked me upstairs when she got back from the arraignment.

“This is some mighty compelling evidence with everything else we have,” he said. “I just had to make sure there was no hoodoo involved. You’ll have to testify in court, you know. It would look bad if you explained that you’d held her hand or something to find it.”

“I was just looking for some tape, Chief. And I’ll be glad to testify to that, if you need me.”

“All right then. I think we have our killer.”

Chapter 49

I brought Gramps with me to the docks that night.

I didn’t like the idea of being out at sea in the middle of the night by myself. Besides, without him, I would’ve had to take a rowboat. Having Gramps there meant we could take the Eleanore—fitting since Rafe was related from the Bellamy side of the family.