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

the museum. That was wrong. She shouldn’t have given away the nugget. And now that the museum has it, pretty soon everyone is going to find out about the gold mine up here.”

“How does he know any of this? And who is he?” Bud demanded.

“Cory,” Walt said, “tell us what you know about Uncle Bud. I assume Caitlin told you?”

“Who is Caitlin?” Bud asked.

“I told you, a relative of yours. Shush so we can hear what he says,” Heather told Bud.

Cory turned to Heather and frowned. “What?”

Heather shrugged. “Danielle is not the only one who thinks out loud. Go ahead, answer Walt’s question.”

Cory looked from Heather to Danielle and then to Walt. Brian cleared his throat, getting Cory’s attention. When Cory looked at Brian, the police officer flashed him a stern look, as if saying, go on, answer Walt’s question.

Cory let out a sigh and hesitantly said, “There was a story in Caitlin’s family about a great-uncle Bud who had gone prospecting up here and struck gold. His sister didn’t believe him, so he brought back a gold nugget and gave it to her. She wanted him to file a claim, but he was afraid to do that, worried that someone would follow him back up here and kill him for his gold.”

“But that is why you file a claim, to protect your interest,” Chris argued.

“No one knew there was gold up here,” Bud interjected. “The minute I filed a claim, these hills would be swarming with people. I just wanted to remove as much gold as possible first, and I could file my claim later.”

Cory shrugged at Chris’s comment. “I don’t know about that. Caitlin just said he never filed a claim, but he got a lot of gold out. And then he disappeared. Caitlin never believed he just took off or that anyone killed him. She figured he did something stupid like got bit by a rattlesnake, and then some mountain lion ate him. Leaving behind his treasure.”

“This Caitlin has a morbid imagination,” Bud grumbled.

“If that grave belongs to Uncle Bud, then Caitlin was wrong. Someone did kill him,” Brian said, nodding to the grave.

Cory furrowed his brows, looking from the grave back to Brian. “Are you saying that is Uncle Bud?”

“What’s left of him,” Brian said.

“Hey, I am right here!” Bud shouted.

“And someone already found the treasure, and they killed him?” Cory asked.

“Why did Caitlin say pirates kidnapped Uncle Bud?” Danielle asked.

“Pirates?” Bud frowned.

“Who told you about the pirates?” Cory asked.

“A friend told me,” Danielle said.

“Oh, Adam,” Cory grumbled. He shrugged and said, “When Caitlin’s mom was a kid, she heard a story about pirates hiding in the mountains or something like that. Caitlin liked to say pirates kidnapped Uncle Bud, like the story her mom told her, but she figured he probably just died a boring death by doing something stupid.”

“Boring death?” Bud squeaked. “Death is death!”

“What did you hope to accomplish following us here?” Danielle asked.

Cory shrugged. “I’m not sure. Not really. I had a dream, and Caitlin told me to follow you up here. Figured, if I came up here, the dreams might stop. I didn’t really have a plan for once I got up here. But then when I was watching from behind the trees, I felt something push me, and suddenly I am standing here, in front of all of you. So I did the only thing that I could do; I made a declaration for the treasure, for Caitlin. Because it really should be hers.”

“You’ve been dreaming about Caitlin?” Danielle asked.

Cory nodded. “Yes. Ever since she died. It upset her when her mother donated the gold nugget to the museum. It had belonged to her.”

“Do you believe Caitlin’s spirit really visited your dreams?” Danielle asked softly.

Cory shrugged again. “I don’t know. It felt real. But I want the dreams to stop. Not because I don’t want to see Caitlin, but I don’t like the way they make me feel. She’s always so angry. I just want them to stop.”

“I don’t understand any of this,” Bud said.

Danielle looked at Brian and asked, “Um… when are they supposed to get here? We really need to talk to Bud before they do.”

“Cory, where’s your car?” Brian asked.

“What did she mean she needs to talk to Bud?” Cory asked.

“I’ll explain it to you, but let’s walk to your car and do it there. When they get here, I have to show them where the grave is,” Brian explained. “We’ll talk down by your car.” Brian looked at the others and asked, “Is there anything else you want to ask Cory before we go?”

Danielle glanced at her fellow mediums before answering. They all shook their heads in a silent no. She looked back to Brian and said, “No, nothing now.”

“Am I under arrest?” Cory asked.

“You don’t seem to be armed and dangerous, perhaps a little confused,” Brian said.

“His ghost friend was the one who was armed and dangerous,” Heather muttered.

“Heather, why don’t we go with Brian in case she’s still hanging around. And let Walt and Danielle handle the situation here,” Chris suggested.

“In case who’s hanging around?” Cory asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brian muttered, giving Cory a gentle nudge to get him walking back to the road.

Thirty-Eight

“Who exactly is this Caitlin you were talking about?” Bud asked after Cory left with Brian, Heather, and Chris.

“She was the one who threw a rock at you,” Danielle explained.

“And she’s dead too?” Bud asked.

“Yes. But I don’t think she completely understands. There is a lot of anger there,” Danielle said.

“She looks so young. I should have dealt with her differently. But it all happened so fast.”

“Caitlin is volatile,” Danielle said.

“That’s an understatement,” Walt muttered.

“Who is she?” Bud asked. “Is she really related to me?”

“Yes, distantly.” Danielle explained the family connection between Bud and Caitlin.

“So you did give your sister a gold nugget from your mine?” Walt asked.

“Yes. She didn’t believe me when I told her I’d struck gold.”

“They passed the gold nugget down in