Whittaker shook his head. “I’m an old man, and you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Nonsense.” Marie turned to Tennyson. “Where is your little miss?”
“Everly is at home and mad as a wet hen that we didn’t bring her with us today. I didn’t know how the conversation would go with Joseph, and I didn’t want her to be there if a commotion erupted.” That was putting it mildly. If Whittaker had killed Marie all those years ago, finally being caught could have sent him into a rage. Ten didn’t want Everly in the line of fire.
Marie smiled fondly. “She is young in years but old in spirit. I’m not sure how she freed me, but I can never thank her enough for her kindness and grace.”
“I’ll make sure to—” Before Ten could finish his sentence, his phone rang. He didn’t need to use his gift to know who was on the other end of the FaceTime call. “Hi, Everly.”
“Daddy! Is Miss Marie there? Can I see her and say hello?” Gone was Everly’s earlier grumpy mood. Now the little girl was all light and love.
Tennyson nodded and turned the phone toward Marie.
“Hi, Miss Marie!” Everly waved to the spirit.
“Hello, Everly. I was just asking your father to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Because of you, I’m reunited with Joe after all these years.”
“Your afterlife is going to be filled with so much love. If you need anything or want to talk, you know how to find me.” Everly paused, and Ten could see the emotion building in her eyes. “I wish you’d been my kindergarten teacher!”
“That’s the kindest thing you could have said.” Marie batted away fresh tears as they fell.
“Bye, Miss Marie!” Everly waved, and the call ended.
Ten felt a little emotional himself, seeing the effect Everly had on Marie. Miss Fairbanks lived the last week of her life under a cloud of suspicion. Most of the town thought she murdered three innocent children. Worse was that the people of Salem, New Hampshire, thought that the vigilante killers who took Marie’s life were heroes. “We know you didn’t poison the children. Do you have any idea who did?”
“I’ve thought long and hard about that over the years,” Marie said. “For whatever reason, parents treated me as if I were some kind of shrink, telling me private family secrets I had no business knowing. I suppose it was a way for parents to make excuses for their child’s bad behavior. Things were rocky at Katie’s house. Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother was looking to break free. It’s possible the father knew this and took the worst possible action. Tommy also came from a tough background. His parents worked a lot, and when they weren’t at the factory, they were at the local pub, leaving his brother, Michael, in charge. There was more than one night when the parents never made it home, sleeping instead in the drunk tank at the Salem Police Department. It’s possible one or both of the parents did something to their sons. He never went to the hospital, but Michael was sick that day too. I remember him bent double, with his hands on his knees, vomiting violently.” Marie shook her head sadly. “I wish there was more I could tell you. Thank you for believing I wasn’t the one who harmed my students.”
“You’re so welcome.” Tennyson had known all along that Marie hadn’t been the one to poison the kids. Now that her murder was solved, it was time to find out who’d been the one that hurt those kids.
“I’m so sorry for all the pain I caused you.” Marie set her hands on Whittaker’s shoulders.
“Nonsense.” Whittaker smiled brightly. “You brought nothing but love into my life. It was me who caused you pain. My ex-wife—” His voice cracked. “If I’d known what she was going to do, I would have stopped things between us in a heartbeat. It would have devastated me to be separated from you, but you would have been alive to raise our child.”
“It was the baby that pushed her over the edge,” Marie said. “I don’t know how she knew I was expecting, but she did. I’ve never seen so much rage inside one person before. She unleashed it on me. On our child.”
Ten thought back to the autopsy report and the number of stab wounds to Marie’s body. Several had been concentrated in the lower abdomen. The medical examiner stated the wounds were that of a frenzied killer, but it was clear Sheila Whittaker was taking revenge on Marie and Jospeh’s unborn child.
“I have a surprise for you,” Marie said, sounding shy.
“Seeing your beautiful face after all these years is all the surprise I need.” Joseph took Marie’s young, unblemished hands in his own aged and gnarled grip. He looked as if he was about to say something further when something else caught his attention. The air shimmered again, and the white light appeared behind Marie.
In all the years Ten had worked with spirits, he’d never seen it shine so brightly. If he’d had them, he would have put on sunglasses. Ronan and Jude were beside him, each of them with a hand shielding their eyes.
Marie pulled her hands from Joseph’s and reached toward the light just as a young man stepped forward. “I’d like you to meet Jeremy Joseph. J.J. for short. He’s our son.”
Whittaker stared at the young man, who waved from within the light. His eyes were wide with shock. “My son.”
Ten couldn’t help but notice J.J. looked just like his father. They had the same eyes and oval face. The young man appeared to be about twenty years old, when in reality, he would be in his mid-fifties if he’d been born into the physical world.
“We’ll be with you, waiting to welcome you home,mon cheri.” Marie brushed a kiss to Joseph’s lips before stepping back. With her shoulders straight, her eyes on her son, Marie walked into the light, which blazed impossibly brighter for several seconds before fading away.
Whittaker stumbled backward. Max caught him and lowered him into Marie’s desk chair. “Marie was here. My Marie. Did you see her, Max?”
Wiping away his own tears, Max nodded. “I saw her, Joe. She was as real as you and me.”
Whittaker reached out for Max’s hand. “My time on Earth is short, Max. I want you to do something for me after I’m gone.”
Max looked like he was about to argue but took a deep breath instead. “Anything. Just name it.”
