A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) Read online

  “Thank heavens he’s on that side of the road.” Viv’s grip on Lin’s arm loosened a bit. “Tell him to stay over there.”

  “He won’t come closer if you’re with me.” Lin closed her eyes for a second trying to clear her mind in the hopes the ghost would send her a mental message. She tried to relax her muscles and calm her thoughts, but her brain was jumping from thing to thing trying to determine the reason for Sebastian’s appearance.

  Lin sighed and opened her eyes. The ghost was still standing in the same spot. She marveled at how beautiful the atoms were that made up his form, both transparent and shimmering at the same time. Lin smiled, amused by the fact that tourists and island natives bustled by the ghost with no idea that a spirit stood so close to them and for a moment, she felt lucky to be able to see the ones who had passed. She gave Sebastian a slight nod.

  “What’s he doing?” Viv’s voice sounded less shaky.

  “Just looking over here.”

  “Is he communicating with you?”

  “No, just looking.” Lin kept her eyes locked on Sebastian’s. “Let’s stand quietly in case he tries to tell me something.” Her hand went to her necklace and she ran her finger over the horseshoe on the pendant. The necklace was once owned by Sebastian’s wife, Emily.

  As Lin watched, it seemed that the particles that made up the ghost’s body started to glow brighter and she couldn’t tell if it was just the daylight and the way the sun was striking the atoms that made him glow or if it was the atoms themselves that sparkled so brightly. She felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off of the ghost even though the gleam was becoming so glaring that it almost caused pain to look at him.

  Unconsciously, Lin raised her hand to shield her eyes and then the ghost’s light started to dim. The atoms began their now familiar swirling and Lin knew Sebastian was about to disappear. The first time the ghost had shown up in her yard several months ago, he had frightened and alarmed Lin and she hoped that he would never appear again, but now, when he made one of his rare appearances, her heart filled with happiness and when he left, a twinge of sadness pinched her.

  “He’s gone.” Lin blinked several times at the spot where the ghost had stood.

  “Did he tell you anything? Why did he come?” Viv let go of her cousin’s arm.

  Lin shrugged. “I’m not sure why he came. He didn’t tell me anything.”

  “These ghosts,” Viv huffed. She led the way up the sidewalk to the center of Nantucket town. “Why can’t they be more straightforward? Everything’s a guessing game. Everything is a puzzle. What if we’re not good at puzzles? Well, you’re good at puzzles, but you know what I mean.”

  While her cousin continued with her fussing, Lin couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t matter that Viv was right about the spirits, the ghosts did things in their own way and in their own time.

  The only thing Lin could do was try to figure out what it all meant.

  WALKING up the street to Viv’s bookstore, Lin spotted Anton hurrying down the sidewalk towards them. The historian had his head down and looked deep in thought as he stepped briskly around the people strolling along. Anton carried a black leather folder under his arm and was about to enter the bookstore, when Lin called to him. He stopped abruptly and glanced around suspiciously not realizing who spoke his name.

  Lin and Viv approached.

  “It’s just us,” Viv told the short, wiry man. On her way inside to check on her employees, she said, “Lin saw Sebastian Coffin.”

  Anton looked wide-eyed at Lin. “Where did you see him?”

  “Are you going in?” Lin gestured to the bookstore entryway. “Are you meeting Libby?”

  Anton shook his head. “I’m not meeting anyone. Libby’s gone to the mainland. I was going to get a coffee and do some paperwork at one of the tables. I have a meeting later on in town.”

  “Can you spare a few minutes to talk?”

  “Absolutely.” Anton stepped back for Lin to enter. They found a table in the corner, got cups of tea at the counter, and settled in their chairs.

  “Tell me what happened with Sebastian, Carolin.” Anton’s eyes were like lasers.

  Lin explained her and Viv’s visit to Lacey Frye’s basket shop. “When we stepped outside, Sebastian was across the street watching us.”

  “Did he communicate?”

  “No. I didn’t get any sensations about why he might have appeared. He stood for only a few seconds watching me and then he was gone.” Lin gave a shrug. Whenever she saw a spirit, she always wished she had more information to share with Viv and Libby and Anton. Her experiences with the ghosts often felt inadequate and unhelpful to whatever needed to be solved.

  “Hmmm.” Anton stroked his chin. “Why today? Why right then and there?”

  “I have no idea.” Lin hoped to get some information about Lacey. “Do you know Lacey Frye?”

  “Yes, I know her. I haven’t seen her for some time. She’s had health problems all of her life. The poor woman looks much older than her years. I think she’s in her mid to late fifties, but her illnesses have aged her at least ten years. I’m impressed that she’s still working.”

  “Do you know anything about her? She asked me a lot of questions about what I saw and heard the evening of the robbery.”

  Anton shifted in his seat. “I don’t know much about her. I know her side of the family has some Wampanoag blood, but she only has one distant ancestor related to the tribe. She’s skilled at making the baskets, in fact, she’s better than Nathan Long … she’s had that shop in town for years … twenty years probably.”

  “She doesn’t seem to like Martha Hillman.” Lin shared her observation with Anton.

  Anton let out a sigh and leaned back against the chair. “There are many people who don’t care for Martha.”

  “Do they have reason not to like her?” Lin watched Anton’s face.

  Anton flapped at the air with his hand. “I can’t speak for others. Martha can be abrasive, forceful, demanding. She can rub people the wrong way. Martha has definite opinions which sometimes don’t jive with what others think or want.” Anton looked thoughtful. “Some people think I can be abrasive.” His eyes twinkled. “That might come as a surprise to you.”

  The corner of Lin’s mouth turned up.

  “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have strong ideas and opinions.” Anton went on. “I think it’s important to bring people together who think differently, get different perspectives and outlooks.”

  Lin gave a nod. “Have you heard about some missing money at a non-profit that was never found? It happened years ago. Martha worked there.”

  Anton’s right eyebrow went up. “I know about it. Marguerite Reed was let go from her position because of the incident.”

  “Leonard’s wife.” Lin nodded. “She was cleared of wrongdoing though.”

  “Yes.” Anton gazed across the café. “Leonard feels that the dismissal without cause led to his wife’s death. She was killed in an accident on the mainland when returning from a job interview.”

  Lin saw the historian’s Adam’s apple rise and fall as he swallowed hard.

  “The hand of fate.” Anton’s eyes looked moist. “Marguerite was a lovely woman. She did some volunteer work with a group of us when we were trying to start the cultural museum.”

  Something pinged in Lin’s chest. “What kind of work?”

  “She helped with the bookkeeping, did some financial projections. We were trying to raise money to start the new museum. There was a building that we were considering buying, but the numbers didn’t work, so we had to abandon the idea.” Anton rubbed his forehead. “We had to put the idea of the museum on hold for a few years.”

  “So you were part of the original group that worked on founding the museum?” Lin sat up. “Who else was in the group?”

  “Marguerite, Martha Hillman.” Anton paused. “It was so long ago and I’ve been on so many committees, let me think. Oh, Lacey Frye was involved as well … and Nath
an Long. A few others you wouldn’t know.”

  “All these people’s names come up when I ask about the robbery of the basket,” Lin observed.

  Anton’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, these are all people who have been involved in the community for years, they’ve served on committees, volunteered, fundraised.”

  Lin leaned forward. “Do any of those people have motive to steal the basket?”

  Anton’s jaw dropped. “I … I,” he stammered. “I would never consider that these people would do such a thing. They care so much for the island, the town.” The historian seemed to be struggling with the idea that someone he’d worked closely with had done wrong. Little beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. “Oh, my. I suppose it’s possible, however disturbing the idea may be.”

  “What about Martha Hillman? She worked at the non-profit when the money went missing. She works at the cultural museum and was the one who discovered the basket missing.” Lin made quotation marks in the air with her fingers when she repeated, “‘Discovered.’ Maybe Martha didn’t discover it was gone. Maybe Martha stole it.”

  “Oh.” Anton blinked. “Oh.” He shook his head. “No, it couldn’t be Martha. She wouldn’t steal the basket. She works so hard.”

  Lin made a face. “People who work hard are capable of wrongdoing.”

  Anton pressed the small white paper napkin against his brow. “Next, you’ll be suspecting me.”

  Lin hated to see the man in such distress and wanted to lighten the mood so she raised one eyebrow in mock concern and leaned closer. “Did you steal it?”

  Anton nearly toppled from his chair. He gripped the table staring at Lin for a moment, missing the fact that she was kidding when suddenly it dawned on him that she was joking. “Carolin,” he chided her. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  Lin grinned. “You reacted so strongly to my question about stealing the basket that I wondered if maybe I should put you on the list of suspects.”

  Anton pushed his glasses up his nose, studied Lin’s face, and then relaxed. “I didn’t realize you had such a wicked sense of humor, Carolin.”

  Lin couldn’t resist teasing the man one more time. She gave Anton a sly look. “Who says I’m joking?”

  12

  Lin carried a platter of salad to the deck table just as Viv came into the house through the front door with a big bowl of her homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce. She and Lin went into the kitchen to heat them on the stovetop and Queenie found Nicky on the deck and the two ran into the back field to do some exploring.

  “I think Queenie is really a dog.” Lin took out a wooden spoon and stirred the sauce and meatballs in the pot.

  “Or, Nicky is really a cat.” Viv put a mousse pie in the fridge.

  The two chuckled. The dog and cat had been fast friends since Lin and her little rescue dog returned to the island several months ago to make Nantucket their home.

  Viv poured a glass of wine and sat at the kitchen island. “What did Anton have to say about you seeing Sebastian?”

  Lin blew out a sigh. “Really? Not much. There isn’t much to say when a ghost shows up and just stares at me. I didn’t pick up on any message or clue or whatever he might have been trying to send me.” Lin’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know why I have this skill. I feel like I’m deaf to receiving messages from the ghosts.” She turned the burner’s heat down to simmer, covered the pot, and joined Viv at the counter.

  “Remember right before Liliana died and I went to meet her?” Liliana had been a friend of Libby and Anton and she and Lin shared the gift of being able to see spirits. “Liliana told me that I’d get better at communicating with the ghosts, but how? She said I would take her place. How can I ever do that? I feel like a big dummy.”

  A gentle smile spread over Viv’s lips. “You are not a dummy. Things take time. Liliana didn’t expect you to fill her shoes right away. When I first picked up a guitar or sat at the piano, I couldn’t play a song. I just plunked out notes. No one is good at anything without practice.” She chuckled. “Without a whole lot of practice. It must be the same with your talent. The more ghosts you see, the better you’ll get at picking up what they have to tell you.”

  Lin leaned on the island. “How are you so smart?”

  “I was born that way.” Viv sipped from her wine glass.

  “You didn’t need to practice to get so smart?” Lin eyed her cousin. “Doesn’t that negate your statement that every talent must be honed and practiced?”

  Viv threw her head back and laughed. “Now who’s acting like a smarty pants?”

  Before Lin jumped down from her perch on the stool, she gave her cousin a little poke in the side. “Me.”

  The girls sat on the deck with dinner plates of spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. They chattered about their boyfriends, a movie they’d recently seen, and plans to go to the beach together late Saturday afternoon. When the sun slipped below the horizon and darkness fell over the yard, Lin lit the candles on the table and brought out the chocolate mousse pie.

  Lin filled her glass with sparkling water and passed the bottle to Viv. “Anton told me that years ago, a group of people we’ve been talking about or who we’ve recently met, worked together to start the cultural museum. The finances wouldn’t work and they had to shelve the idea for a few years.”

  “Who was involved?” Viv lifted a forkful of the pie to her mouth.

  “Anton. Martha Hillman. Lacey Frye. Nathan Long. Leonard’s wife, Marguerite.”

  Viv lowered her fork. “All of those people?”

  “Anton said others were involved, but that I probably wouldn’t know who they were.”

  “So those people go way back. They’ve known each other a long time.” Viv’s eyebrows knitted together in thought. “And now, Marguerite is dead, Martha and Nathan are involved with the museum, and Lacey doesn’t seem to care for either Martha or Nathan. What about Anton? Does he have anything bad to say about any of them?”

  “No, he really doesn’t. When I proposed that one of them could be involved in the theft, he was horrified to think that it was possible.”

  “I wonder what the relationship is between those people.” Viv tapped the side of her face.

  “And I wonder what the relationship used to be between them.” Lin made eye contact with her cousin. “Does someone bear a grudge towards one of the group? Could someone have stolen the basket to make one of them look bad? Tarnish their reputation?”

  Viv’s eyes went wide and she leaned forward on the table. “Or, what if they’re all working together? What if they planned the whole thing together?”

  “For what purpose?” Lin looked confused.

  “Sell the basket and split the money? Set up someone they hate to take the fall? It hasn’t been that long since the crime occurred. Maybe the thief will try to pin the robbery on one of the group?”

  “What a tangled web.” Lin put her chin in her hand. “We need to find out what the relationships are between them. Anton is innocent. He’s only involved because he helped secure the loan of the basket from his curator friend.” Lin sat up. “Oh. What if one of them tries to set up Anton? What if one of them is out to get Anton for some reason? They must have known that Anton was friends with the curator on the mainland and could use his influence to bring the basket to the cultural museum on loan. What if one of them has a grudge against Anton? What if this whole thing was done to ruin Anton’s reputation?”

  “That’s terrible.” Viv scowled. “We need to suggest this to Anton so he can be on guard.”

  Lin nodded. “We also need to talk to Martha and Lacey and Nathan. Ask some questions about the past, and the present. See if we can figure out if there’s bad blood between any of them.”

  Nicky and Queenie had been resting on the grass beyond the deck when they suddenly stood up and stared at the side yard.

  “What’s wrong with them?” Viv glanced at the animals.

  Just as Lin was going
to get up to see what the cat and dog were looking at, Anton Wilson dashed around from the other side of the house and hurried to the deck. “I thought you’d be back here. I need to talk to you.” Anton plopped onto one of the deck chairs. His skin looked ashen.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Lin could feel the nervous energy flowing out of the man.

  “The police came to see me. They asked me a million questions. I thought I might pass out.”

  Lin poured Anton a glass of sparkling water and handed it to him. “They were doing some follow-up questions?”

  Anton shook his head. “Well, maybe, but their tone was different this time. When they first questioned me at the museum on the night the basket went missing, they were polite. Today they were downright rude, accusatory, condescending.”

  “What did they ask?” Viv looked at Anton’s pale face.

  “I think they believe that I’m the thief.” Anton sucked in a breath and sat straighter. “They think that I secured the loan of the basket from the mainland museum in order to steal it.”

  “Oh for heaven’s sake.” Viv groaned.

  “Did the police actually say that or are you letting your mind run wild?” Lin eyed the troubled historian.

  “They didn’t come right out and say it. It was their manner, their tone, subtle things.”

  “They can’t pin this on you, Anton.” Lin was careful to keep her voice calm. “You were with me. I can be your alibi.”

  Anton looked down his nose at Lin. “You were with me when we went inside the museum. You were not with me prior to entering. We met on the steps. You can’t be my alibi unless you lie.”

  “Lin won’t lie.” Viv’s voice was forceful.

  Anton’s face screwed up. “I would never ask Carolin to do such a thing.”

  “Where were you before I met you in front of the museum?” Lin asked.

  “I was at home and then I walked to the museum.” He shook his head. “I was alone until I met you so I have no one who can vouch for me being at home.”

  “Did the police actually accuse you?” Viv turned to face Anton.