The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds by Bobbi Holmes Read Free Book Online

you,
being alone in the house with…with a ghost?”
    “No, not really,” Lily
lied.
    “Well, don’t worry
about Walt. He’s a good guy.” Danielle glanced at the plate with Lily’s second
partially eaten sandwich of the day. “You never finished your lunch.”
    “I sort of gave up on
the idea of eating. Anyway, Ian asked me out to dinner tonight, so I’ll go with
a healthy appetite and order everything on the menu—a payback for him taking
Cheryl to the beach.”
    “I guess that means
I’ll be alone tonight with my dear cousin.”
    “Sorry, afraid so.”
    “Oh well, maybe Mr.
Renton will have good news for me and I’ll be able to convince Cheryl there’s
no reason for her to stick around.
    • • • •
    After Danielle left for
Mr. Renton’s office, Lily went back upstairs to retrieve the croquet set she’d
left on the second floor outside the Red Room. The set, including the mallets
and balls were crammed into a large canvas bag Lily had found in the attic.
Alone in the hallway, she heard what sounded like Sadie running back and forth
in the attic overhead. Looking up at the ceiling, she stood silently and
listened. What is going on up there?
    Cocking her head ever
so slightly, her attention focused on the sound overhead, she heard Sadie let
out a bark then run across the length of the attic, and then back again. Sadie
barked a second time, and repeated the series, running back and forth across
the attic, before coming to a stop and barking.
    Curious, Lily left the
croquet set on the floor and walked to the staircase leading to the attic. With
her hand on the banister, she trod lightly, not wanting to alert the attic
occupants of her arrival.  
    Just as she entered the
top floor, a tennis ball hurled by her head and smacked the wall as Sadie raced
in her direction. The dog snatched the ball in her mouth just after it hit the
floor and bounced up. Turning from Lily, Sadie raced back across the attic and
dropped the ball in the far corner. Sitting down, the ball on the floor before
her, Sadie looked up and barked, her tail wagging excitedly.
    Motionless, Lily stared
across the room. Sadie’s playmate was not rushing to throw the ball, much to
the dog’s disappointment. Sadie stood up and barked again. 
    Is he watching me? Lily wondered. Clearing her throat, Lily mustered her courage and said, “Hello
Mr. Marlow.”
    There was no response,
although she didn’t really expect one. She hadn’t been able to see or hear him
before, there was no reason she would be able to now, just because she was
aware of his presence. She took several more steps in Sadie’s direction. The
dog continued to wait for Walt to toss the ball.
    “I think Sadie’s
getting impatient. I don’t mind. You can throw the ball if you want.” Lily
said, her voice shaking.
    She took two more steps
toward Sadie, when the ball seemed to rise on its own from the floor, and then
flew across the room and hit the wall. Sadie was already racing for it, and
once again grabbed the ball mid-air before it hit the floor for a second time.
    “Holy crap…” Lily
muttered, her eyes wide in disbelieve. It was one thing to say you believed in
ghosts, it was quite another to bear witness to paranormal activity. Lily
gulped nervously, her heart felt like a war drum beating wildly in her chest.
    “You two have fun!”
Lily called out, her voice no more than a squeak. She turned to the attic door
and raced from the room.
    Walt leaned over and
picked up the ball from the floor. Sadie sat down and looked up at him, her
tail wagging.
    “I believe we may have
frightened poor Lily,” Walt told Sadie as he stared at the doorway. He could
hear Lily’s footsteps racing down the wooden stairs. He tossed the ball across
the room again. Sadie raced for it.
    “I must say,” Walt said
aloud, “I would rather not have frightened her. Wasn’t a bit satisfying, like
with those two thieves.”
    When Sadie returned
with the ball and dropped it on the floor,