“Let’s head down to the bar. It’s not quite dinner time, we might be able to catch Lainie in a lull of customers. We’ll drop Everly with Fitz,” Ronan was out of his seat, patting himself down for his phone, which he found in his back pocket.
“No way, Daddy. I’m coming too. It’s not just a bar, they sell wings, fried pickles, and pizza there too.” Everly’s hard look softened.
Ronan knew she was trying to butter him up. “Okay, let’s go, but no selfies. I don’t want there to be pictures of you in a bar.”
Everly snickered. She patted Ronan’s arm. “Deal!”
They headed for the elevator and after a short wait, boarded and went down to the first floor. When they walked into the bar, Fitz, Jace, and Aurora were at a back table. Fitz looked like he was eating soup, while Aurora and Jace had wings.
After a quick wave, Ronan sauntered up to the bar. “Hey, Lainie.”
When she turned, her face fell. “Oh, hi, Detective O’Mara.”
“There’s no detective, just Ronan. I’m on vacation.” He offered Lainie a wide grin. “Do you have five minutes to talk to us about the history of the hotel?”
Lainie looked like she was about to refuse, when Everly climbed up onto a barstool. “Your nails are gorgeous! I can’t wait until I’m old enough to have sparkly nails.”
Lainie laughed. Her nails were painted with pink glitter. “You must be Everly. Your Dads told me about you last night.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty famous.” Everly giggled. “We need to talk to you about Vivienne. It’s really important.”
“You know about Vivienne?” Lainie asked, shooting Ronan a questioning look.
“Don’t hate me yet. Wait until you hear what we have to say. We’ll be over at that table.” Ronan pointed to a free high top halfway back toward the dartboards.
Lainie nodded and poked her head into the kitchen, while Ten and Ronan got Everly settled at the table. Lainie came back with a drink on a tray. It was pinkish with bubbles. “This is for you.” She took the glass off the tray and set it in front of Everly. “Your little friend told me how much you would love it. Aurora’s had three so far, so pace yourself. It’s called a Shirley Temple.”
Everly took a sip. Her eyes bugged out. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted! What’s in it?”
“Ginger ale and grenadine,” Lainie said, her eyes sparkling as brightly as her fingernails. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“My name is Tennyson Grimm, I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, but I’m a well-known psychic medium back in Salem. Everly has gifts too.”
“Psychic?” Lainie asked, looking skeptical.
Everly’s face lit up. “You miss your cat named Mr. Spock, because he has long, pointy ears. Your Mom is taking care of him for you and your father loves to take naps with the cat.”
Lainie’s eyes widened. “Dad said he hated the cat.”
“Well,” Everly said, patting Lainie’s hand. “He lied. But just a little white one.”
“The reason I asked you about ghosts at the hotel last night was because I hadn’t sensed any. It’s unusual for me to go to a public place, where people congregate and not see spirits. This afternoon when I was standing on the second floor deck, I met Vivienne. She was dressed in an old fashioned maid’s uniform with the apron pinned to the front,” Ten said.
“You met Vivienne?” Lainie sounded stunned.
Ten nodded. “She told me that the reason she is still here is to protect women from being hurt the way she was by Walt. Is there anything else you can tell us about him? Do you know what happened to him after the hurricane?”
“Yeah, he was-” Lainie stopped and she tilted her head toward Everly.
“It’s okay, you can say it. I’ve helped Dad work on cases like this before.” Everly took a sip from her drink which left a small pink mustache on her upper lip.
Ten passed his daughter a napkin.
“Walt was killed in the hurricane. He drowned in his car. The car was found on its roof about a quarter of a mile down the road. It had been days since the hurricane passed before he and Vivienne were found.”
“Do you know what happened to them after that?” Ronan asked.
“No one claimed Vivienne or Walt’s bodies. They were buried in a local cemetery in an unmarked grave. Together forever.”
