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

occupants headed down a trail. Determined, she returned to Cory to tell him where they had headed.

Thirty-Six

Danielle didn’t leave breadcrumbs as they stumbled through the forest, attempting to retrace Walt, Brian and Heather’s steps from the last time they had been on the mountain. But she didn’t want to get lost, so she snapped photos with her phone to help them retrace their steps when the time came to head back to the van.

Had Marie or Eva accompanied them, she would not have been as concerned, but the ghosts had stayed back in Frederickport, looking for Caitlin’s spirit. Eva didn’t believe the unsettled spirit had moved on. Considering the energy Caitlin had harnessed, they felt uncomfortable letting her go unchecked. Perhaps the universe saw to it she could not hurt an innocent. It didn’t mean there might not be collateral damage, which could have been the case had Ginny hurled the paperweight at Heather.

It had been almost twenty minutes since leaving the van when Heather called out, “Over here!” She hurried ahead of her friends to lead the way. “I recognize this place, around that bend. It’s where I first saw him.”

“And if he was telling the truth, it’s where he’ll be waiting,” Walt added.

They followed Heather, none of them realizing they were also being followed. When they rounded the turn, Heather let out a little yelp in surprise. Yet she should have expected to find him standing there. He had told Walt this was where he would be waiting.

“You came,” Bud said. He still wore his denims, flannel shirt and boots. Gone was the hat and beard. Without the beard Bud no longer looked like an old man.

The others caught up with Heather, with Chris and Brian to her right, and Walt and Danielle on her left. In the nearby shrubs, Cory and Caitlin watched.

“We did what you asked,” Walt told him.

Bud looked over the group. “Can you all see me?”

“No, Brian can’t.” Heather nodded to Brian.

Bud glanced to Brian and back to Heather. “I remember him. He wasn’t afraid when I shot at him.”

“Pretend bullets aren’t that scary,” Heather snarked. “Especially when you can’t see them.”

Bud smiled at Heather. “I suppose you’re right. And I’m weary of pretend bullets and being up here alone. I want to move on. I’ll take you to where Alex put me.”

“I don’t believe my father killed you, much less buried you,” Walt blurted.

Bud looked at Walt and said, “You were just a child.”

“Do you remember seeing Alex bury you?” Danielle asked.

Bud cocked his head to one side, his expression quizzical, and then said, “I would assume someone had to have buried me. It makes sense it was my killer.”

Brian frowned and said, “Can someone tell me what is going on?”

Heather reached out and patted Brian’s wrist. “Bud’s going to take us to his grave.”

Bud turned his back to the group and headed down the trail. They followed. The trail ended along a hillside. Bud pointed to a pile of small boulders pushed against the base of the hill. The boulders’ arrangement might have been placed by nature or by the intervention of man. Yet if they covered Bud’s grave, the latter was more likely.

“You’ll find me there, under those rocks,” Bud announced.

Walt looked to the pile, and his energy lifted one boulder-size rock and moved it five feet away before dropping it to the ground. Yet instead of moving another boulder, Walt asked, “When was the last time you saw Teddy?”

“Why do you want to ask me about this now?” Bud asked.

“I’ll be happy to do what you want. But we came all the way out here. The least you can do is answer a few questions,” Walt said.

“It was in the morning in Frederickport. After I spoke to Teddy, I came up here. The next morning, your father murdered me.”

“How do you know it was my father?” Walt asked.

“Because he shot me. I saw him. There, I told you. Are you still going to help me move down to Frederickport so I can be with my sister, or will you betray me like your father did?” Bud asked.

“What did you and Teddy talk about the last time you saw him?” Danielle asked.

Bud looked at Danielle. “We argued. I told him I knew about his girlfriend.”

“Can you tell us more about that?” Danielle asked.

When Bud did not respond and just stared, Danielle added, “Please?”

Bud let out a sigh and said, “Ted had started a business in Astoria, and he hired a woman to work in the office. That’s one reason Anna was always staying with Maddie, because Ted would spend days in Astoria. He told everyone he couldn’t move Maddie down there, she was too ill, and made everyone think he was doing this for her. But I found out Teddy was seeing the woman he hired. She was far more than just an employee.”

“Did you tell him you were going to tell Maddie?” Danielle asked.

“No. I told him I had already told Alex. I thought Alex had a right to know, since Anna spent so much time with Maddie. When I told Alex, he was furious. Alex claimed he was going to tell Maddie, convince her to move to Marlow House and leave Teddy. I thought it was a good idea.”

“And that would mean Teddy would lose Maddie’s inheritance,” Danielle asked.

Bud shook his head. “No. It didn’t matter at that point. There wasn’t much left. Ted had burned through Maddie’s money. But even if she had money and left him, Ted still controlled it under the terms of her parents’ will. Yet at that point there was not much left.”

Danielle frowned. “So basically, Alex taking Maddie off his hands should thrill Teddy. Free him to be with his mistress, not have to deal with an invalid wife he didn’t love.”

“Yes, if it weren’t for Ted’s uncle August. August was leaving his estate to Ted. But only because he adored Maddie. Had a thing for her, if