Flirting With Disaster

by Kendra Ashe

  As far as I knew, I didn’t but I wasn't sure we could take the chance. If someone reported to Wren that he had a half-naked woman hanging out in his office, I’d have to explain what happened. That wouldn’t go over too well.

  “If you want me to go away, you’ll have to send me away with another spell,” she said. “I'd just as soon you remove my body and have a proper funeral before you do that.”

  “I can't send you away with a spell. I didn't even know what I was doing the first time.”

  No way was I going to mess with that book again. The next time, I might conjure a demon.

  Marie shrugged. “I don't know what to tell you.”

  “I can't even imagine what Wren is doing with that book,” I said as I chewed on my bottom lip. A bad habit I had when I was agitated and I was certainly agitated.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about Wren,” Marie said, her ruby lips tilting upward in a secretive smile.

  “Like what?"

  Marie shook her head. “It isn't my secret to tell.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  “Well, if you’re not going to make yourself useful, go back to doing whatever ghosts do when they aren’t haunting people.”

  “Do the spell then.” Marie shrugged her dainty shoulders. "I'll still be here but you won't see me.”

  “That’s not enough. You need to quit sneaking around and spying on people. And I’m not doing another spell out of that book. What I will do is some research on this place to see what happened to you. Maybe if I can find something to back up your story, I can convince Wren to pull some bricks out of the wall and see if you’re really in there.”

  “That's a deal,” she said. “But I warn you, I don’t like people who break their deals.”

  “Whatever.” I gave her an exaggerated eye roll. “I'm probably dreaming anyway.”

  “You do have some surprises coming your way,” Marie laughed before fading back into the wall.

  Chapter Four

  I no longer felt comfortable in the office. Even if I couldn’t see Marie, I was pretty sure she was hiding in the shadows, watching me.

  Locking up the office, I took an early lunch and walked the block to the Alley Den. Not only did the Den have the best coffee and bagel sandwiches in the city, but the owner was somewhat of a local historian.

  Miss Emma was nearly ninety years old and had spent most of her life in the Quarter. I figured if anyone knew about Jess's brothel, it would be Emma.

  The Den was nothing fancy but it was one of my favorite places to get a bite to eat. As soon as I walked through the door, my senses came alive. The scent of freshly brewed coffee, espresso, and jambalaya filled the air.

  Instead of finding a table, I sat at the coffee bar so I could talk with Emma.

  Black and white photos of Emma in her younger days hung on the wall. She’d really been quite pretty. Now, her black hair was mostly gray. Her coffee-colored complexion had once been smooth but was now marred by age and years of struggle.

  There was wisdom in Emma’s eyes that I could only hope to possess one day.

  “Hey, Em. How are you doing today?”

  “As good as my old bones allow. How about yourself?” she asked as she was making her way down the bar.

  “Not so good. Lynn was killed last night,” I told her.

  “Oh no! What happened?”

  “They think it might have been the Ripper."

  Emma shook her head. “That’s too bad. I really liked Lynn."

  “I’ll have my usual,” I told her.

  As she was pouring my coffee and pulling my ham and cheese bagel sandwich out of the refrigerator, I studied some of the old photographs that hung on the red brick walls, hoping there were pictures of the old buildings on St. Louis Street.

  “I do hope they catch the guy,” she said, setting my lunch down on the bar.

  “Thanks, Emma. I hope they catch him too.”

  I swallowed some coffee and then turned my attention back to Emma. “Do you know anything about the history of the building next door to our office?”

  Emma took out a rag and started wiping down the bar. “I know lots of history. What do you want to know?”

  “Did it used to be a brothel?”

  “Oh heavens, yes." Emma nodded. “That was before I was born but my mama used to talk about Jess’s Palace. That’s what it was called.”

  “Is it haunted?” I asked in an offhanded way, hoping she wouldn’t pay too much attention to how absurd the question sounded.

  Emma drew her brows together. “Why are you asking that?”

  “I just heard something about a working girl named Maria who might have been killed there.”

  Laughing, Emma waved a hand in front of her face. “Girl, half the Quarter is haunted. I’m sure there was more than one unfortunate soul to meet their end in Jess’s Palace.”

  “So you believe in ghosts?” I asked before taking a bite of my sandwich.

  “Sure do. I’ve seen more than enough to believe in ghosts. There’s more to the world than what we’re told is proper to believe.”

  “You think so?”

  Nodding, Emma put a hand on her hip. “I know so. Why you asking? Did you see a ghost?”

  “I don't know.” I shrugged. "Maybe.”

  “They do like to hang around when there’s unfinished business or if someone is playing with the dead. I hope you aren't doing that," she said, sternly.

  There was no way I was going to admit to using Wren’s secret book to conjure a ghost, so I said nothing.

  Sighing, Emma reached over and patted my hand. “Don't be playing with witchcraft. You'll bring some bad juju on yourself.”

  I had a sinking feeling that her warning was too late. The only thing left to do was wait for Wren and see what he knew. I just hoped I could do it without admitting going through his drawer and finding the book.

  * * *

  Playing solitaire on the computer is a downright waste of time, but if there’s nothing else to do, it helps. I didn’t mind getting paid to play computer games but I would have preferred to be doing something useful. The entire office had been dusted and I’d even vacuumed. There just wasn't anything else to do but wait.

  I’d sat in the office for two days and in all that time I’d only had one call. How did Wren keep his head above water with business being this slow?

  Wren had called and asked me to stay at the office and wait for him. He promised he wouldn’t be too late.

  It was already after 7:00 and he still wasn’t back yet.

  Seeing how the computer screen was giving me a headache, I got up to make some coffee. Wren would probably want a cup after being on the road.

  Almost as soon as the coffee was done brewing, Wren came through the door.

  “How was your trip?” I asked, pouring coffee into two mugs.

  “It was a long drive. I’ll have to go back for the funeral this weekend, but we’ll be able to keep the office closed while I’m gone.”

  Nodding, I handed him a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks,” he said, sipping at the hot liquid.

  “How are Lynn’s parents doing?” I asked, knowing it was a dumb question but thought it was only right that I should ask.

  “As expected.” Wren frowned. “They were always aware that her job was dangerous, but they thought that once she no longer worked for the police, she would be safer.”

  All-day I’d been trying to come up with a way to tell Wren about the book, and the resulting ghost. I finally decided the best course of action was to just spit it out.

  “Don’t be mad at me, but yesterday, I was going through your desk, looking for a notepad and I found a book.” I stopped when I saw the look on Wren’s face.

  For the first time that I could remember, my boss looked frightened.

  “Tell me you didn't mess with that book. It was hidden for a reason."

  “Well, I kind of just read one passage,” I said, somewhat sheepishly.
r />   Judging by the look on his face, I wasn’t sure if he was ready to fire me or rip my head off.

  “What is it anyway?” I asked.

  “You didn’t read any of the passages in the book out loud?"

  “Well, I kind of did,” I admitted.

  “Oh, great!” Wren threw his hands in the air.

  Flinching, I looked away. “Sorry.”

  Opening the drawer, he grabbed the book. “Show me which spell you read.”

  When I showed Wren the spell, he sighed, visibly relieved. “That one's not too dangerous. You called a spirit.”

  “So you believe in witchcraft and magic?” I asked, stunned that my normally, levelheaded boss was involved with such stuff.

  “I do,” he nodded. “As long as you’ve lived in this city, I’m surprised that you don't.”

  It was time. I had to tell him that I’d conjured a ghost.

  “In fact, I didn’t believe it before, but I do now.”

  Frowning, he drew his brows together. “Why. What did you do?”

  “I accidentally conjured a ghost. Her name is Marie and she says her body is hidden in the wall.” I pointed to the wall we shared with the bookstore next door.

  “So now we’re going to be haunted by a ghost?”

  “She’s been haunting us, we just couldn't see her. Marie was murdered. That’s a mystery we could work on,” I suggested.

  Wren shook his head. “We have way too many problems right now to work on a murder that’s been cold for heaven knows how long.”

  “It’s been cold for over a hundred years. She worked next door when it was a brothel.”

  “You see. It can wait a while longer.”

  “Can we at least pull the wall out and give her a funeral. She wants a proper funeral,” I informed him.

  “Are you kidding me? You want me to tear out the wall to give some prostitute a funeral?”

  “Okay, that's enough,” I said, holding up a hand. “Prostitutes are human too. Just because you don't approve of her profession, as if she needs your approval, doesn’t mean she doesn't deserve a proper burial.”

  “You tell him, sister.”

  Marie was suddenly standing right next to me. I figured she’d probably been listening in for the entire conversation and just now decided to make her presence known.

  Collapsing in his desk chair, Wren folded his arms. “You have to admit, she kind of did put herself in a situation to get killed.”

  My mouth fell open. “So now we’re victim blaming?”

  I was shocked. In all the time I’d worked for Wren, I never guessed him to be a bigot. If it weren't for the fact that I now felt it was my responsibility to help Marie, I’d have quit right then and there.

  Marie’s reaction was even worse than mine. Grabbing a book from the bookshelf, she flung it at Wren.

  “Okay – okay,” he said, ducking as the book flew by his head. “I’m sorry, Marie, or whatever your name is. We’ll work on this as soon as we can.”

  That seemed to mollify Marie somewhat. She was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Wren, though he couldn’t see her.

  “I would never have guessed you for someone who blames victims for their misfortunes.” I was still a little perturbed with him and wasn’t sure he should get off so easily.

  “I’m not blaming her. All I’m saying is sometimes risky behavior gets you into trouble.”

  “When can we take care of it?” I asked.

  “I don’t know yet. We have some stuff to deal with first. In the meantime, I don’t want you touching this book. Things could have been much worse than just a ghost.”

  “What is that book anyway?” I asked again.

  “It’s a Latin version of the Book of the Dead. There are very few copies of it and this is one of them.”

  “Why do you have it and what does it do?” My anger with him had faded but now I was curious about what my boss was up to.

  “Suffice to say that it can cause some really nasty spirits to manifest. It can also cause a lot of misfortune for the person using it.”

  That didn’t sound good. “You mean like breaking a mirror. Am I going to have bad luck for years because I totally don’t need more bad luck.”

  “It’s a lot worse than breaking a mirror, but I don’t think you handled it enough to have an effect on you. I hope not anyway. I took it from a witch a few years back. The reason I have it hidden is to keep it out of the wrong hands.

  That made sense, kind of.

  “Let’s lock up now. We have to meet Mason tonight,” he told me.

  The mere mention of his name had my pulse racing. This kind of reaction to a guy just wasn’t normal.

  “What do you mean, we? Am I going with you? I thought this was supposed to be some kind of secret meeting. That's the impression I got when I talked to him.”

  “It is.” Wren nodded. “But with Lynn gone, I’m going to need a new investigator. You’ll still have to get your license and your gun permit but for now, you can come with me to this meeting.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or run for the exit. For months, I’d been trying to talk Wren into making me a fulltime investigator. Now that I was getting a promotion, I wasn’t sure I wanted it. Working for Wren had gotten Lynn killed. Plus, it meant I’d have to see Mason Romero again.

  Chapter Five

  I was confused. What were we doing at the Lafayette Cemetery?

  I wanted to bombard Wren with more questions but he was fidgety and seemed a little on edge. My boss was acting like he was on his way to what he knew would be a particularly nasty dentist appointment.

  But my silence didn’t last long.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked. “I thought we were going to meet Mason Romero.”

  After killing the engine, he switched off the headlights. In the faint moonlight, the entrance to the cemetery looked even eerier than usual.

  The Lafayette Cemetery was old and creepy.

  Leaning over the car’s center console, Wren opened the dashbox and pulled out a flashlight. “We are meeting him. This is where he likes to have our meetings. Mason figures no one will notice us here.”

  “Okay, I’m lost,” I said, shaking my head. “Why does this have to be such a big secret again?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said, giving me a secretive smile. “If I tell you right now, you won’t believe me.”

  Drawing my brows together, I started to ask another question but Wren shoved the flashlight at me. “Take this, but don’t turn it on unless I tell you.”

  I was somewhat hesitant to follow Wren when he got out of the car.

  What kind of mess was he getting me into this time?

  There was no question about it. Working with Wren had been an adventure from the start. When I’d first hired on with his agency, he’d told me that I would be doing some basic filing and office work. I hadn’t counted on late night trips to the cemetery.

  Still, I have a tendency to be over-optimistic so I ignored the warning bells ringing in my head. I let them go in one ear and out the other.

  Working at Dark Side might have been a little strange but any job was better than my last one.

  Before going to work for Wren, I’d been a cashier at Malone’s Stop & Go. In some ways, it had been the ideal job. Although cashiering didn’t pay worth a damn, Malone's was just down the street from my apartment and easy to get to. That had been the only good thing about working there.

  But all that was behind me now. I had a new job and a new life. There was no disputing the fact that working for Wren paid much better, but it had its odd moments.

  Hesitating, I stared at the huge wrought iron gate that led to the cemetery. This was definitely weird.

  Wren sure wasn’t an average everyday boss. Aside from the fact that he paid a living wage, he also collected antique witch books and arranged meetings in cemeteries. There were lots of other things that were really odd about Wren.

  I hadn’t
noticed the oddities at first. When I met him, I’d been too busy thwarting a robbery to pay a lot of attention.

  The night I met Wren, I’d been working late. Most nights I got off at 11:00, but that night my employer had talked me into staying. The nightshift guy had called in to tell us he was going to be late. Unfortunately, my manager had a hot date that night and he was determined not to miss it.

  I tend to be a pushover for budding romance so I agreed to work late. My manager had a chance at romance so I figured he should go for it. It wasn’t as if I had anything better to do.

  Working nights had always made me a little nervous, especially when strange guys came into the store. I was usually pretty quick to know if someone was off their rocker. When Wren came in, he seemed normal enough.

  Smiling, he’d placed some money on the counter to pay for his fuel. As I was ringing him up, a masked gunman burst through the door and demanded I empty the register.

  It is incredibly stupid to argue with someone holding a 45 Glock, but my first thought wasn’t for my life. As crazy as it sounds, I’d been more worried about losing my job. Without a job, I would have no money to pay rent. This meant I’d be out on the street or living with my mother. I wasn’t sure which was the better option.

  Instead of opening the register, I did the stupidest thing imaginable. I grabbed the baseball bat the manager kept hidden beneath the counter.

  The guy with the gun wasn’t expecting me to fight back, and I used his lack of foresight to my advantage, swinging the bat at his head. Although I missed, he was startled, which caused him to lose his grip on the gun. The gun fell to the floor, making a loud clanking noise when it hit.

  In that instant, there was an explosive crack. When I saw the hole in the cooler’s glass doors, I realized what had happened. The gun had gone off when it hit the floor.

  Wren knew enough to take advantage of the guy’s confusion. He tackled him to the floor and held him down while I called the police.

  No doubt grabbing the bat had been a really dumb move, and after the excitement died down and the police left, Wren didn’t have any qualms when it came to telling me just how stupid it was. But on a positive note, he did offer me a job that night.