“Yeah, it is. You’ve surely got a point there.”
Jonah dropped me off at home. I watched as his sports car drove away. A minute or so later a white van pulled into my driveway.
“You’re good at staying invisible,” I said to Kane after he got out of the van.
I was surprised to see that Donna was with him.
“I’m a professional, remember?” Kane said.
“Are you satisfied that Jonah isn’t the killer now?”
Kane looked doubtful. Donna barely looked up from some printed out pages she had in her hand.
“Just because he didn’t try to kill you, doesn’t mean he didn’t kill Bart or Derek.”
I rolled my eyes at Kane.
“I’m tired so unless you guys have some new info, I’d really like to get to bed. We can pick this up tomorrow.”
“Actually, I wish it was that simple. But Donna found something else.” Kane turned toward Donna. She looked up as if her hand was found in the proverbial cookie jar.
She looked around nervously as she fiddled with the pages in her hands. “Yes…I found some more irregularities. And I realized something while I was at it.”
“What is it?” I asked gently, trying not to let my tone show how little I cared at that moment. All I wanted to do was lay down in bed and replay that kiss with Jonah.
“Whoever is embezzling the money is going to take out more soon. Like in the next twenty-four hours soon.”
“And you know this how?”
“Patterns. A first it appeared random, but that’s only because the amount and time vary month by month. But every other month matches. If I’m right, whoever is doing this, will take out some money within the next day or so.”
Just thinking about it made my head hurt. Numbers weren’t my friends and looking at my bank account balance, I doubted they ever would be.
“How does this help us? We don’t even know who’s doing it or how.”
Donna and Kane looked at each other.
“You have to go on another date with Jonah,” they said in unison.
Twenty-One
“So let me get this straight. First, you’re telling me that he’s a killer and I should ‘be careful’ and now you’re telling me that I should go on another date with him? Not that I mind, mind you. We had a perfectly nice first date, but I doubt a normal second date is what you guys have in mind.”
“It’s the only way to clear him,” Kane said. “You have to get a hold of his laptop or his tablet or his phone, and then Donna and I can do some computer wizardry. If everything is clear, then he’s probably not the embezzler and therefore not the murderer. Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place? To clear his name?”
Kane was making a lot of sense but I still didn’t look forward to spying on Jonah. Though even as I was beginning to think of a rebuttal, I started to think of walking through Crane’s makeshift mansion and spiriting off various electronics.
“Fine,” I admitted. “Maybe it’s not such a bad plan. I just don’t really get the logistics of it all. I’m practically computer illiterate. At least when it comes to hacking and stuff like that. The best I can do is download an app and then tap it to open. Beyond that, I don’t know.”
Donna smiled at that. She seemed quite amused. “I’ll give you a flash drive and we’ll do the rest. All you have to do is copy whatever it is you find.”
“Seems kind of risky. I very much doubt that Jonah is in the habit of letting his devices just sit around unattended.”
“That’s why you’ll have to provide a distraction,” Kane said with a twinkle in his eye.
“You’re not being serious…”
Kane immediately put his hands up in defense. “What kind of man do you take me for? I was thinking you could pretend to see a ghost or something like that. Geez Louise.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The ground beneath my feet was solid again.
“Now can I get some rest?”
“By all means. Donna and I will go over everything with you tomorrow. Do you want us to stop by your office or do you want to come to the inn?”
“It’s probably better we meet up at the inn, just in case Jonah decides to stop by.”
I watched as Kane and Donna drove off into the night, probably talking about me and Jonah.
As soon as I opened the front door, Marmalade and Ebony almost tripped me by circling my feet. I checked their food supply and added a bit of wet food for both. Not surprisingly, Gran was sitting in the kitchen, a cup of tea in hand.
“You didn’t have to wait up for me, Gran. I’m not a kid anymore.”
I sat down and took a cookie in hand. Gran poured me a cup of freshly brewed tea.
“You’ll always be a kid to me, Mille. Especially with a killer in town.”
Just for one night, I would have liked to forget about the killings and focus on something normal. Just then, Rebecca came through the front door. Normal was a relative term when you could see the dead.
I didn’t argue with Gran. I didn’t have the energy for that. I nodded in the right places and answered all her questions. I did leave out the part about getting access to Jonah’s electronics with my super spy skills. I didn’t want to worry her over something that wasn’t such a big deal anyway.
Once Gran went to bed, so did I.
While going to bed I got a text from Sarah asking how the date was. I said it went fine and that there might be a second one in the works. She sent back a smiley face and a thumbs up emoji.
“Where’s Bart?” I asked Rebecca.
“Probably following Jonah.”
“That actually might come in handy,” I said.
“I overheard the plan,” Rebecca said. She looked more worried than usual. “I hope you’ll be careful. I wish I could protect you, but I can’t. All I can do is stand and watch.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Rebecca. You’ve helped me in more ways than I can count since we met.”
Soon after, I drifted off to sleep. If there was something else Rebecca wanted to talk about, it would have to wait until morning.
“Keep Silver Bells green! Keep Silver Bells green!” was not a sound I expected to hear when I parked in front of Gran’s bakery and my office, but that was the sound booming all around me.
There were people in the streets carrying signs, passing out flyers, and chanting those words, of course.
Mindy Kale shoved a flyer into my hand as soon as I got out of the car, and then put a few in my windshield for good measure.
“Keep Silver Bells green!” She practically shouted in my face before she moved on. I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t.
“This is certainly interesting,” Rebecca observed as a bunch of people walked right through her. Once she fully reformed again, “Okay, now I’m over it,” she said.
To my surprise I found Bart waiting for me in my office. I peeked into the bakery to see what Gran was up to, but she seemed quite busy feeding all the protesters. She had a smile on her face so I decided not to bother her. I knew how much she supported their cause, so who was I to say anything? Even I supported the cause, though maybe not so much how these people were going about it. Especially Mindy. That was just rude.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Bart as soon as I closed the door behind me. “And why do you look so agitated?”
“I followed Jonah back to Crane’s place last night.”
“And? Did you see something?”
“That’s the thing. I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t even get through the front door. There was some kind of force field around the whole house. How is that even possible?”
“Oh crap,” I said. “I was afraid of this.”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you helped that bastard out!”
“Hold your horses, cowboy,” Rebecca said. “Meredith would never do something like that.”
“Of course not. I never share that part with anyone.”
Bart looke
d thoroughly confused so I explained.
“I only found out about it a couple of years ago. After I already made peace with seeing the ghosts. Some old lore talks about salt or iron protecting against spirits. I’ve found they both work. But when put together, it’s a total blackout to the ghosts. You can’t pass or see anything beyond the boundary.”
“That’s exactly what happened! But how could Crane know to do this if you haven’t told him?”
“Apparently, someone else did. It seems Crane is savvier than I thought. It looks like he hired another medium or psychic or whoever and got a second opinion.”
“That’s not good,” Rebecca said. “That means I can’t go there with you.”
“I just have to find the boundary and break it. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
“Have you met Crane?” Bart reminded me. “The whole thing is probably buried ten feet below ground, or at the very least heavily guarded.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to lure Jonah and one of his electronics away from the house. The boundary was around just the house, not the whole property, right?”
Bart nodded. “For now at least. If he’s certain it’s working, I’m sure Crane will double the protection.” Bart looked in deep thought for a few seconds. “You don’t think me trying to choke him has anything to do with all of this, do you?”
“It probably didn’t help,” I answered honestly. What use was there in lying to him now?
Just then I saw a familiar car parking next to mine. Jonah was here.
Both Rebecca and Bart jumped up in fright. It was quite the sight to see. Did they really think Jonah was behind all of this?
I unlocked the door and let Jonah in.
“It’s quite the scene out there, isn’t it?” He said, with eyebrows raised ever so adorably. It was hard not to think of anything but that kiss last night when I saw his lips.
“Don’t say anything about what I told you,” Bart reminded me. “We don’t want to tip him off that we’re onto him.”
I smiled in Bart’s general direction. I was very much aware what the stakes were. And it seemed the stakes were getting higher by the day. If Crane had a ghost-seeing person in his employ now, he certainly didn’t have any use for me. Suddenly, a chill went up my spine.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? But can you blame them?” I tried to focus on the crowds outside, not the tempest that was starting to grow inside me.
“I guess not. I just hope Crane gets the message so we can get out of here. Both of us,” he added as he came in closer.
Either Jonah wasn’t aware of what Crane was doing or he was playing dumb for my benefit. I wasn’t sure I could trust anyone at the moment.
As if reading my thoughts, Jonah continued: “I’ll have to warn you. Crane seems to be cozying up to another woman who claims to talk to ghosts. She’s probably a charlatan, but still…”
I forced a smile. “There’s a lot of charlatans in my profession. Or people who are simply deluded. It’s very rare that I come across someone who can actually see what I see, though I’ve met one or two over the years.”
“The good news is that you’ll be able to judge her for yourself. Crane is having a dinner party tonight and he insisted that I invite you. Perhaps he’s trying to pit you two against each other? The winner takes all it seems, so I’m hoping you win.”
“And why is that?” I asked as he drew closer.
“Because I find you a lot more attractive.”
Jonah kissed me then.
When he finally pulled away I had to remember to breathe.
“See you tonight?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Jonah walked out then, presumably with a busy day ahead. But when he came to his car, he didn’t go in and drive away. He just stared at the hood. Once I got out to see what was wrong, I didn’t even have to ask. It was as clear as day. While we were conversing (or rather kissing) in my office, someone had managed to spray paint Jonah’s fancy sports car. “Go Home!” “Get Out!” and a slew of other not so nice statements were spray painted all across his car, not just the hood.
All the while, the people kept marching through the streets, chanting their little chant. “Keep Silver Bells green!”
Jonah took out his cell.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling the police. This won’t go unanswered,” Jonah said as put the phone to his ear and looked angrily at the protesters marching on. I never thought his beautiful face was even capable of looking that full of hatred. I guess his sports car meant to him more than I realized.
I waited with him in the street. Bart and Rebecca looked amused more than anything. I considered myself lucky that all my poor beat up car suffered was a few flyers. In fact, Jonah’s car was the only one that was spray painted. It seemed the protesters knew exactly what they were doing.
Twenty-Two
It wasn’t a surprise when Jonathan showed up.
He took one look at the car and then at the crowd and a dark look fell over his face.
“Aren’t there any security cameras around here you could check?” Jonah asked him.
“I’ll have a look around but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Most of the businesses here don’t have that kind of thing. The best thing I can do right now is write up a report and see if anyone saw anything.” Jonathan looked my way then.
“You’re right in the line of sight. Did you happen to see anything?”
“No…I, uh, I was otherwise occupied. Jonah and I were talking and I guess neither of us paid much attention.”
“Thank you, Ms. Good. I guess I’ll just have to go to the bakery and ask around.”
“Well, that was a waste of time. I doubt anyone will talk even if they do see anything,” Jonah complained when he saw Jonathan going into the bakery. “What do you bet he’ll come out of there with a donut in hand?”
I laughed. “A chocolate eclair is more likely.”
Jonah got serious again. “What about your ghostly friends? Did they see anything?”
“Ghostly friends? Really?”
“You know what I mean.”
“There weren’t any around while we were talking,” I lied. “I’ll ask if I see one around, though.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“I doubt they’d be much more helpful than the living,” I reminded him.
“Working for Crane sure does keep things interesting, I’ll give him that.”
“Is that a pitch I hear?”
Jonah’s smile widened. “Maybe. Well, I best be on my way and get this thing to the local body shop. Don’t want to drive back to Crane’s place with a car like this.”
“He doesn’t take well to criticism?”
“That or anything ugly.”
I watched as Jonah drove away, looking like he was trying very hard not to run over any of the protesters.
“He got exactly what he deserved if you ask me,” Bart said.
“And why do you say that? We don’t know if he’s even responsible for any of this.”
“If not responsible, he’s at least complacent. I doubt that there’s anything Crane is doing that that kid is unaware of.”
“You should lock up,” Rebecca reminded me. “You don’t want one of the protesters getting inside and wrecking the place.”
“I guess not.”
I locked the door and just then had a chance to peek into the bakery. It was still busy, though it slowed down a little since Jonathan entered the premises. He was asking questions and writing things down. He had a chocolate eclair in one hand, because who could refuse my grandmother’s pastries?
When I got to the inn, we all met up in Donna’s room. Even Bart was there.
“That’s perfect,” Kane said when I told him about Crane’s dinner party. “The only tricky part is how Donna and I will get in.”
I was stumped on that, too. But Donna wasn’t.
She turned her laptop over and showed us an e-mail.<
br />
“You are cordially invited to Warwick Crane’s residence for a special occasion. You may bring a guest if you so desire. The festivities start at 8 PM. Formal wear for all or not admitted.”
“How fancy,” I said. “Pity it didn’t come in the mail.”
“It usually does. I toss them out with the trash because they’re not my thing. I only went to a few because Bart took me along.”
Bart smiled at that. Apparently, there were some good memories between the two.
“It was Jonah’s idea to digitize the invitations. Crane probably sent the physical ones to the office. There’s no one there now…”
“He’s here Donna,” I reminded her. “He’s determined to catch whoever did this to him.”
“I know, I know,” she said but the tears started to fall anyway. “It’s just hard to believe that I’ll never see him again.”
Kane put an arm around Donna and reassured her that everything was going to be okay. Donna composed herself and got to the task at hand. Mainly, showing me what I needed to do to hack into an iPhone, an iPad and a laptop. I nodded but inside I was thinking that I’d never get away with it.
Kane made me practice putting in the USB in the laptop and the adapter and USB on the phone and tablet.
Pretty soon it became clear that I was never going to be a spy, a bad one or otherwise.
“Can’t I just hand the phone or whatever over to one of you guys and then you can do your thing?” I asked them.
Donna nodded. “That actually might be faster. We just have to be extra careful not to get noticed.”
“That’s going to be quite the task. All eyes will be on you three if I know anything about how Crane operates, and I know a lot,” Bart said.
I relayed his concern to Donna and Kane.
“Nothing worth doing comes easily,” Kane said. “Plus, I doubt Crane has had the likes of me at one of his parties before.”
“You look stunning,” Jonah said when he saw me coming down the patio steps.
Ghostly Apparitions (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 1) Page 14