Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man by Bobbi Holmes (great novels to read TXT) 📕

Walt shook his head. “No, she died years earlier. I was just a little boy. I’ve no memory of her ever being alive. He never remarried. Never had children.”

They moved down the wall, now turning their attention to the other photographs in the display. Walt stopped at the third one and pointed to it. “That’s August Becker’s house.”

Danielle leaned closer to the photograph of a two-story house with a horse and buggy out front. “Is that in Frederickport?”

“Yes.”

“Where? I’ve never seen it before.”

“It’s not there anymore,” Walt said. “It’s where Beach Taco is now.”

“Really?” Danielle looked from the photo to Walt. “They used to have residential houses along there?”

“No one knows that. How come you do?” a male voice asked them.

Walt and Danielle turned around to find a twenty-something man with dull gray eyes and scraggly dishwater blond hair standing behind him. He wore faded denims and a white T-shirt. Danielle thought he looked out of place at the museum.

“Excuse me?” Danielle asked.

The young man pointed to the picture they had just been looking at. “I heard what you said about that being where Beach Taco is now. No one knows that.”

“But you did?” Danielle asked.

“Cory, are you done?” Ginny asked as she walked up to the three. The couple she had been talking to had left the museum.

“Yes, I was coming to tell you, but you were with those people,” he told her.

“Thanks for all your help,” Ginny said. She then turned to Walt and Danielle. “Do you know Cory Jones?”

“I know who they are,” Cory said, looking at Walt and Danielle.

“I’m afraid we haven’t met,” Danielle said.

“Cory’s my neighbor,” Ginny explained. “He’s been helping me bring some things that I’ve donated to the museum.”

“They recognized August Becker’s house and where it’s at,” Cory blurted. “I didn’t think anyone remembered that house.”

Ginny glanced at the photograph and frowned. “I don’t understand. I haven’t labeled that picture yet.”

“I think Cory misunderstood,” Danielle said quickly. She glanced at Cory and then back to Ginny. “That’s what often happens when you overhear just part of a conversation. We naturally assumed that photo was taken in Frederickport, and since the house wasn’t familiar, I wondered where it had been. Walt’s done extensive research on the area and guessed it was where Beach Taco is now. Considering Cory’s reaction, I assume Walt was correct?”

“Yes, he was.” Ginny said.

“It didn’t sound that way to me,” Cory muttered under his breath.

“Did you say you were leaving now?” Ginny asked Cory.

“Yeah,” he grumbled.

“Okay. Thanks again for all your help.” Ginny flashed him a smile.

When he walked away, Ginny said, “I’m surprised you’ve never met Cory. He’s a little different, but he loves to be helpful. He grew up in the house next door to mine.”

“I was wondering, when did August Becker die?” Walt asked. “Do you know?”

“Right after the stock market crash of 1929. He lost everything. My grandmother used to say that’s what killed him, but I suspect his death had something to do with the fact he was a few months shy of his hundredth birthday,” Ginny said with a chuckle.

“When did they tear his house down?” Danielle asked, looking back at its picture.

“A few years later, I think. I still can’t believe you actually guessed where that house had been located. I really don’t see how you could look at that picture and come to that conclusion,” Ginny said while examining the photograph.

“I remember that house,” a voice called out at the same time glitter began falling from the ceiling. Oblivious to the voice and glitter, Ginny continued to chatter on, talking about the other photographs she intended to include in the exhibit.

Both Walt and Danielle glanced over Ginny’s shoulder and spied Eva hovering in midair so she could see over Ginny and get a better view of the exhibit.

“Remember that house, Walt?” Eva asked. “Old Man Becker lived there. We used to dare each other to go knock on his door and then run like the devil before he answered it.” Eva laughed gaily at the idea.

New visitors silenced Ginny, not Eva’s laughter. She excused herself so she could see to them, leaving Walt and Danielle alone with Eva. When Ginny left them, Eva’s apparition moved downward until her feet touched the floor.

“You used to do a knock and dash?” Danielle asked with a giggle.

“I believe it was Eva’s idea,” Walt said.

“True,” Eva said with a sigh. “And I appreciate the fact you didn’t blame me when Old Man Becker caught you running away that one time and told your grandfather on you.” Eva looked at Danielle and said, “Your husband is a true gentleman.”

Danielle chuckled. “Yes, he is.”

Eva turned to Walt and said, “I met Old Man Becker right before he moved on. It was at the church service for his funeral.”

“Was he surprised to see you?” Walt asked.

“He asked me why I hadn’t gone to hell for my sinful life,” Eva said with a snort. “He obviously had a low regard for motion pictures, not to mention the theater.”

“That was rude,” Danielle said.

Tilting her head ever so slightly, Eva absently tapped her right index fingertip along her chin before saying, “Actually, he seemed rather relieved.”

“Relieved?” Danielle asked.

“Yes. Coming to the end of his road, so to speak, and worried about being held accountable for his own sins.”

“I wonder what type of sins Becker worried about, sitting alone in that house all those years,” Walt scoffed.

“I suspect it had something to do with inappropriate feelings for a young married woman. I believe it might have been his sister-in-law, from what he said back then,” Eva explained.

“Would that be Ginny’s great-great-grandmother?” Danielle asked.

Eva shrugged. “He didn’t go into specifics.”

“I seem to recall Ginny mentioning there were about ten siblings in his family, so depending on how many of them were brothers, there could be quite a few sisters-in-law to choose from,” Walt noted.

“Maybe that’s why he moved here,” Danielle said in a wistful tone. “When he left to find his fortune, one