The Pine Hill Inn Read online

  “Why do you get together?”

  “It’s kind of like professional development. We all share what’s working for us, we report on a difficult case and ask for advice, sometimes, an investigator will ask us to come on a site-visit to see if we can figure out what’s going on,” Ella told him.

  “Is Green Hill Investigations the best around?”

  Raisin lifted her head and trilled.

  Ella smiled. “We like to think so.”

  “How are you going to help the ghost of Leo Martin?” Liam asked.

  “We’ll talk to family members, friends, and acquaintances. We’ll look into the facts and details of Leo’s life.” Ella sipped from her glass of water. “We’ll try to piece things together. The police may very well find the answers and make an arrest before we can discover anything important to the case.”

  “Why hasn’t Leo crossed?”

  Ella let out a long breath. “When someone’s life ends in a violent way, often the person is so shocked by the change they’ve experienced that they seem to be stuck and unable to move from one plane to another. Some spirits have people they don’t want to leave behind. Others were happy here and don’t want to go elsewhere, and some have unfinished business that keeps them on this side.”

  “Can spirits be dangerous?”

  “Not usually. We don’t deal very often with dangerous ghosts. Sometimes, we need to refer them to someone who specializes in such things. There are some ghosts who are very angry and they throw things and do what they can to frighten the inhabitants of a house. We deal with them. We have good success calming them down.”

  Ella’s phone buzzed from an incoming text, and when she read the message, her facial expression turned serious. “I’m sorry to cut the interview short. My brother needs me to meet him.”

  “Is everything okay?” Liam’s voice sounded concerned.

  Ella lifted her eyes to the man. “I hope so.”

  10

  When Ella arrived at the Pine Hill Inn, Livvy and Ben were already in the kitchen with a few of the staff.

  “They think someone broke in here early this morning,” Livvy explained to her sister. “Pots and pans were tossed all over the floor. Nothing was destroyed, it was just a big mess. They had to spend an hour cleaning up before they could tackle the day’s tasks.”

  Ben came over to join his sisters. “My guess is that Leo’s ghost had a fit in here.”

  “Can you sense something?” Ella asked.

  “I think it makes sense. The doors were locked like they should have been, there was no forced entry, no broken windows.” Ben shrugged his shoulders. “If it wasn’t a ghost who made the mess, how did someone get in here?”

  Ella let her eyes roam around the room, up at the ceiling and down to the floor. “Where are the heating and air conditioning vents?”

  Ben walked her over to the other side of the room. “Here,” he gestured, “and right over there. Do you want me to stand on a chair and have a look?”

  “Would you mind?”

  Ben gave his sister a thumbs-up sign and carried a chair over to place under the vent where he stood pushing on it and inspecting it carefully. “There aren’t any fresh scrapes on the metal. It doesn’t look like it’s been tampered with. He used the flashlight on his phone to peer inside the vent. “It really isn’t big enough for anyone to crawl through it.”

  Ben moved the chair to the second vent and performed the same inspection. “Same with this one,” he called down to his sisters.

  “Okay,” Livvy said. “So no one crawled through the vent system to get in here. Any other ideas about how someone could gain access to the kitchen?”

  “Any trap doors in the floor?” Ella asked. She and her siblings searched around the room for any doors leading down to the crawl space.

  “Nothing,” Livvy told them, and then lowered her voice. “It must have been Leo.”

  Lucy came into the kitchen and approached the investigators.

  “Were the police called when the mess was discovered? Were they here inspecting?” Ella asked the innkeeper.

  “They were called as soon as we discovered the disorder. They seemed puzzled about how someone gained access.” Lucy’s face clouded. “The officers implied that the perpetrator might be one of the staff members, someone with access to the keys.”

  Ella, her sister, and brother made brief eye contact with one another.

  “What do you think of that idea?” Ella questioned the woman. “Do you think it was someone who could access the keys?”

  Lucy asked, “Why would someone do it? For what purpose? Nothing was taken, nothing was broken or damaged. It was simply a nuisance and a bother. Everything had to be cleaned up and the pots and pans washed. If someone did it to anger the kitchen staff, the person succeeded.”

  “Is there anyone who had reason to anger the kitchen workers?” Livvy asked.

  Lucy threw her hands up. “Not to my knowledge, but I suppose there could be issues between staff members that I know nothing about. I have to go back to the reception desk. If there’s a lull, I’ll come back, otherwise come talk to me when you’re done.”

  Before Lucy could leave, Ella asked if they could speak with the kitchen workers about Leo and the incident that morning.

  “Sure. Better to talk to them when things are fresh in their minds.” Lucy left the kitchen.

  Ben asked, “Do you two want to handle the interviews? I’d like to walk around the inn, check the doors and look at the windows, see if there’s a bulkhead entrance into part of the basement. I’d like to talk to the groundskeeper and the handyman.”

  “Good,” Livvy agreed that would be a better use of his time instead of having the three of them speaking with the kitchen staff. She turned to her sister. “How do you want to split up the workers? We’ll each just take whoever is available?”

  Ella nodded and the women approached the staff, explained what they wanted to do, and received agreement from everyone in the room.

  Ella and an assistant cook, Matt Center, went outside to sit on a bench by the gardens, and after some brief small talk, she started to ask some questions.

  “Did you work with Leo very often?”

  “Yeah, just about every shift I worked, Leo was on, too.” Matt was in his mid-twenties and had a strong build. He wore his hair long, almost to his shoulders, and it was pulled back into a low ponytail.

  “Did you have a chance to get to know him?”

  “We talked when we could. The kitchen could be really busy, but when we were preparing for the evening diners, we talked a lot. Leo was a good guy.” Matt’s eyes misted over and he cleared his throat. “It’s weird not having him around.”

  “Did you learn anything about his life?”

  “Leo had a girlfriend. Her name was Rose. I met her once when she came to the inn to see him one afternoon. Leo seemed really crazy about her. He lived in San Francisco for a while, then moved to New York City for work. That’s where he met Rose.”

  “Did he say why he moved around in his jobs?”

  Matt nodded. “He was trying to get a good amount of experience. The San Francisco restaurant was an Italian place. The New York City restaurant was pretty fancy from what Leo told me. He wanted to move back home and when he saw the ad to work here at the inn, he jumped on it. He thought it complemented the work places he already had experience in.”

  “Did Leo ever mention someone who was bothering him? Maybe someone he didn’t get along with?” Ella asked.

  Matt looked over his shoulder. “He never complained about anybody.”

  Noticing his body language and the hesitancy in his voice, Ella asked, “Did you notice someone bothering Leo?”

  “Um, I don’t know.”

  Ella tried to reassure the young man. “Everything you tell me I’ll keep in confidence. If there’s something I think should be passed on to the police, I won’t use your name without permission.”

  Matt took in a long breath. “There’s a
guy who works part-time in the kitchen. He started about two or three months ago. He does food prep and any other things the chef asks him to do. He’s kind of a nasty guy. He swears a lot. We all swear once in a while, but every other word out of this guy’s mouth is a swear or a mean comment. He seemed to target Leo for some reason. I’d see him go over to Leo and whisper something. Leo always tried to ignore him. This guy is a real pain. I wish they’d fire him.”

  “Does the chef know this guy is such a bother to the staff?”

  “I don’t really think so. When this guy says stuff that he shouldn’t, he’s pretty careful about when he does it and who is around. He makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Did you talk to Leo about him?”

  “I brought it up a couple of times, but Leo didn’t want to talk about it so I dropped it.”

  “What’s this guy’s name?” Ella asked.

  “Do I have to say? I don’t want him bothering me, and if he knew I brought him up with you, he’d be all over me.”

  “I won’t say anything to him about what you’ve told me.”

  Matt checked over his shoulder again. “His name is Brian. Brian Milton.”

  Ella thanked him for the information. “Did Leo talk about his family or friends?”

  “Leo told me his mother died about six weeks ago. He was sorry he didn’t visit her more. He didn’t realize her health was failing like it was. His mom and his brother never told him she was struggling,” Matt said. “He was upset when he went to see her and she was so frail. He was angry that his brother didn’t tell him what was happening with her.”

  “Did you ever meet Leo’s brother?”

  “I didn’t. The brother came out here a couple of times to talk to Leo, but Leo was always busy and he could only spend a few minutes with Larry. Leo was annoyed that Larry would come to the inn without letting him know he was coming, and that he expected to be able to talk to him even though Leo was working his shift.”

  Ella asked, “Did Larry happen to be in the area and decide to drop by?”

  “I don’t know, but both times Larry showed up unannounced and Leo went out to talk to him, Leo would come back in a bad mood. He never wanted to talk about it.”

  When the interview was over, Ella thanked Matt for his help, and the young man returned to the kitchen, and in a few minutes, Livvy came outside to find her sister.

  “I talked to a real piece of work.” Livvy plopped on the bench beside Ella. “The guy was sassy and challenging and flip with his answers.”

  Ella faced her on the bench. “Was his name Brian Milton?”

  Livvy’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

  “The person I just talked to told me Brian had been subtly harassing Leo.”

  “Well, I’m not at all surprised to hear that.” Livvy shook her head in disgust. “Do you know what the issue was between them?”

  “No,” Ella said. “There might not have been an issue. Brian might not have had any reason at all to bother Leo. But I learned something else.”

  Livvy was all ears.

  “I found out Leo’s brother had been out here trying to talk to Leo during his work shift. He could only spare a few minutes each time, and each time, Leo came back to the kitchen in a bad mood.”

  “So Larry’s a pain, too?”

  “Larry told us he’d only seen Leo twice since his brother had moved back here. Once for dinner and once to go to a pub together,” Ella reminded her sister. “If Larry came out here two times, then he actually saw his brother more than twice. Why didn’t he tell us that?”

  11

  During the drive along the highway, Ella and Livvy discussed the case.

  “When Ben looked around the inn while we were interviewing the kitchen workers, he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. The only way into the inn’s kitchen is through the two doors and both were locked,” Livvy told her sister.

  “Either someone had a key or it was Leo who caused the mess in the kitchen.” Ella moved the car to the right lane in preparation to take the next exit.

  “I think it was Leo,” Livvy agreed. “Ben also wanted to talk to the groundskeeper and the handyman, but he couldn’t find either one of them.”

  “Ben can go back to the inn with us next time. Maybe he’ll have better luck.”

  “We didn’t see Rebekah when we were there,” Livvy noted.

  “Maybe she and Leo are comforting one another,” Ella suggested.

  Leo’s girlfriend, Rose Mahoney, met Livvy and Ella halfway between Quinsigamond and Boston at a restaurant in Natick.

  Twenty-five-year-old Rose had shoulder-length dark hair and moved like someone who had been trained for years in gymnastics. She looked strong and fit, had an air of confidence, and a warm friendly smile when she shook hands with the sisters.

  Sitting down at a table near a fireplace, Ella and Livvy offered condolences on the loss of Rose’s boyfriend and then the women briefly discussed their jobs, work experience, and education.

  Rose had an MBA from a prestigious university and was hired at Briggs and Hall as a business consultant immediately upon graduation.

  “How did you meet Leo?” Ella asked.

  “We were both working in New York City,” Rose told them. “I was at the New York office of Briggs and Hall and Leo was working in the kitchen of a high-end restaurant. We met through mutual friends.” The young woman teared up and she wiped at her eyes. “I still can’t believe what happened. Leo was the nicest person. He was kind and caring. He would help anyone with anything they needed. Leo was smart and hardworking. He didn’t get into trouble, he wasn’t a partier. We lived a quiet life, seeing friends, staying in to watch movies, going for hikes.”

  “Were you living together?”

  “We were in New York, but not here in Massachusetts. I have a friend in Boston who had a roommate move out so she asked me if I wanted to take the room until the lease renewed. Leo wanted to be close to the inn so he got a studio apartment near there. Once we got settled in our jobs, we planned to move in together somewhere that was half way between our workplaces.”

  “We heard Leo wanted to go to culinary school,” Ella said.

  “That was his dream, but first, he wanted experience working in different restaurant settings. He thought his experience would help him get the most out of school. He was hoping to apply this fall and then start his courses next September.”

  “Was Leo worried about how he would pay for culinary school?” Livvy asked.

  “Leo was a saver. He knew he would need to have enough to pay his tuition and living expenses because he wouldn’t be able to work while he was studying. I think he’d saved enough on his own. Did you know his father passed away about a year ago?”

  “We knew that,” Ella said.

  “Leo’s father left him quite a bit of money. He was a very wealthy man. His father was proud of how self-sufficient Leo was. He appreciated that Leo wanted to make his way in the world on his own without asking his parents for money. The father left half of his fortune to the mother and half of it to Leo.”

  “Then Leo didn’t have to worry about paying for school,” Livvy said.

  “That’s right, but Leo invested the money he inherited. He didn’t want to touch it. He wanted to keep it for the future, or for any emergencies that might come up.” Rose smiled. “He was a very cautious man.”

  A wave of unease washed over Ella. “Excuse me for asking, but do you know how much Leo inherited from his father?”

  “About two million dollars,” Rose said.

  Livvy’s eyes almost fell out of her head. “I guess Leo didn’t need to worry about tuition.”

  “You said that Leo’s mother inherited the same amount from her husband?” Ella asked to be sure she heard correctly.

  Rose said, “She did, but when she died, Mrs. Martin left most of the money to charities. She left about two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars each to Leo and to his brother.”

  “We also heard that
Leo didn’t know his mother’s health was failing,” Livvy said.

  “That’s true. Leo worked a ton of hours when he was in New York. He didn’t travel home during that year. He talked to his mother three times a week though. She never told him how poorly she was doing. When he came to Quinsigamond to work at the inn, he was shocked to learn his mother’s health was so bad. Leo was very angry that his brother didn’t share this information with him.”

  “Did Leo and Larry get along?”

  “Not really. Leo didn’t think much of Larry.”

  Ella asked, “Why not?”

  “Leo thought Larry was full of himself. Larry wasn’t very nice to Leo when they were growing up. Larry is about eight years older and he basically ignored Leo when they were younger. Leo said they had no relationship at all. Larry might as well have been a stranger.”

  “When Leo moved back here, the brothers got together a couple of times?” Ella questioned.

  “They went out for dinner one night. They might have met up another time. I can’t remember.”

  “How did the dinner go? Did Leo enjoy it?”

  Rose sighed. “Not really. Leo said it was awkward. He felt uncomfortable with Larry. They didn’t have much in common.”

  “Did Larry invite his brother to dinner or did Leo get in touch with Larry?” Livvy asked.

  “Larry invited Leo.”

  “Why do you think Larry reached out if he’d ignored Leo when they were growing up?” Ella asked.

  “I have no idea. Guilt? Regret? Leo didn’t much care what the reason was. He went out for dinner with his brother to be polite, but he really didn’t want to make a habit of it,” Rose said.

  “We heard Larry showed up at the inn a couple of times to talk to Leo,” Livvy said.

  Rose looked surprised. “Did he? I didn’t know that. What did Larry want?”