by Lotta Smith
“Ghost cake it is. One?” the young girl manning the orders asked, slightly squinting at me.
“Yes, yes.” I nodded, because I didn’t seem to have much choice.
“Are you sure?” Jackie squirmed. “You’ve just placed an order for a squid-ink-flavored cupcake.”
“What—” I glanced at the cupcake in the very dark hue of black. “Oh…”
“Anything to drink?”
“A glass of iced tea would be nice, thank you,” I mumbled, trying my best not to flinch.
“Okay. Proceed to the right and pay that guy at the register.” She handed me the order sheet scribbled with illegible handwriting.
As instructed, I went to the cashier guy, handing him the order sheet. “Twelve eighty-nine!” he said.
“Mandy, you’ve got to tell me all the juicy details about your cupcake,” Jackie said happily, grinning from ear to ear.
I rolled my eyes. I was tempted to express my dismay to the guardian angel in a neon yellow skimpy dress, but I opted out. I was getting more than enough stares that screamed “suspicious” for the day, so I started walking toward the dining area carrying a tray with my black cupcake and iced tea.
My name is Amanda Meyer. Most people call me Mandy. I used to work for the FBI’s New York City headquarters, but Rick Rowling, my boss and only colleague at the Paranormal Cases Division—and gasp! my fiancé—left the feds and joined USCAB, United States Cover All Bases, a huge security-based conglomerate owned and run by his family. I guess you’ve figured it out by now, but I have a unique skill communicating with dead people. And thanks to—or rather no thanks to—this ability, the FBI invited me to keep working for them after Rick’s departure, but Rick didn’t trust my expertise of staying out of danger, and to be honest, neither did I. So I joined USCAB with him as one of his secretaries. However, having our wedding scheduled within a month—we were having the ceremony in early August, and it was already July… it’s so true that time flies!—most of my time was focused on meeting with the wedding planner about the wedding dress, bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers, food, and beverages.
On this special day, I had just visited the wedding planner’s office in Tribeca. My mission du jour was deciding on the color and theme of bridesmaids’ dresses. Except for Alicia, my younger sister, I hadn’t had a meeting with the bridesmaids, but the wedding planner strongly suggested that I decide on the color and theme prior to meeting them.
On my way back home on Fifth Avenue, I stopped at a cupcake place in Midtown. I was going to meet up with one of my bridesmaids, in an attempt to chill a little and discuss the dress and other stuff. However, I ended up practically zoning out as the colors exploding in the glass showcase jumped into my line of sight.
“Is that you, Mandy?” someone called from one of the tables.
“Yes?” I looked that way and my eyes widened. “Fiona! Oh my God, long time no see!”
Fiona Edenfeld, née Kimmelstiel, and I went to the same college in Queens. She was one of my few friends who didn’t ghost away from my life despite the unfortunate nickname “Grim Reaper.” She was going to be one of the bridesmaids at my wedding.
“Is that your friend you’re supposed to meet up with?” Jackie asked me, and I responded with a small nod.
“You’re early, Fiona,” I said, doing a little finger wave at her. “I was thinking about bridesmaids’ dress colors, about how I’m a little early. Wow, I’m so glad to meet you!”
“Me too. How have you been?” Fiona smiled. Then she glanced at the cupcake the color of total darkness on my tray. “Are you thinking about black bridesmaids’ dresses? Perhaps black might be good in a goth way.”
“No.” I shook my head. “There was a misunderstanding between the girl handling the orders and me, and she looked somewhat cranky.”
“Oh, I see.” She nodded. “Typical New York City worker.”
“I know,” I agreed. “So Manhattan.”
“Oh, where are my manners? Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Taking a seat at her table, I glanced at the black-hole-colored cake. “Hey, wanna try some? Though I can’t guarantee it’s yummy or anything.”
“Whatever. I always wanted to try this one, but I couldn’t gather my courage.” She poked her fork into my squid-ink-flavored cupcake, picking up a small piece of it. “Oh….” Her eyes widened.
“Is it that bad?” I asked, flinching a little.
“Actually, it’s good. It’s not sweet like the colorful ones topped with sugar cream, but I like it. This one tastes like squid-ink pasta with a savory tomato flavor topped with basil.”
“Are you sure?” I picked up a small piece of charcoal-colored cake. “Hmm… you’re right. It’s not bad. What’s this stuff that looks like a roundworm?” I frowned.
“That should be a piece of shredded squid?” she said, sounding more like a question than a statement.
“Okay, girlfriend, we’re going to eat this stuff on the count of three.” I put a piece of the white mysterious shred on each of our plates. “One, two, three!”
“Hmm… This is different, but not bad.”
“Oh my God, I kinda like it.”
Fiona and I spoke at the same time, and we both laughed.
“Anyway, Fiona, I’m so very glad to be meeting up with you. I’m having a hard time deciding on the bridesmaids’ dress color,” I said. “I’ve been calling not just you but my other bridesmaids, but everyone has their own opinion, and whenever a new color is mentioned, my decision wobbles like mad.”
“So true.” Fiona nodded. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.” I grinned like an idiot. “Anyway, I was practically saved when you called me, suggesting to meet. Oh, and you have to tell me your secret of keeping a happy marriage. You’ve been married like three years, right?”
“Right.” She was smiling when she said that, but then her face turned serious. “Actually, I’m the fortunate one, meeting up with you. I was so anxious to meet you. Mandy, I… I don’t know what to do….” Clasping my hands, Fiona burst into tears.
“Oh… darling. It’s okay. No need to cry,” Jackie tried to soothe her by cooing, but Fiona kept on sobbing.
After a while of consoling words, I handed her some tissues and asked, “What’s happened? Remember college? You used to be the one giving me the moral support when I cried over my crush, you know.”
“I remember,” she mumbled between hiccups. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I’ve made such a mess of myself. Lately, my life has been rough with family drama, and I couldn’t help it when I saw you. I was meaning to call you much earlier, but something came up whenever I tried to, and….”
“Family drama? What’s happened?” I asked.
“Technically, nothing has happened…. Okay, my mother passed away last year, but that’s not the biggest issue. I don’t even know what my problem is in the first place.” Fiona took a deep breath. “I heard you’re with the FBI, right?”
“I was, but not now. I’ve left the bureau as Rick joined his family business.”
“I see. That’s okay.” Then she lowered her voice. “I heard you’d been working with… what’s the right word… paranormal? That kind of stuff. Sorry if I’m not making much sense. Oh, I’m practically babbling.”
“It’s okay. I get what you mean. And actually, yes, I had been working with the Paranormal Cases Division,” I whispered. Paranormal Cases Division was an official section at the FBI’s New York City field office; however, it was one of many sections of the bureau that existed under the veil of secrecy.
I went on. “Remember the unfortunate nickname ‘Grim Reaper’? Actually, that wasn’t just a stupid nickname. When I was on clinical rotation, three of my patients, who happened to have slipped out of the justice system, dropped dead immediately after touching me. Indeed, that series of unfortunate incidents stigmatized me with that G-moniker. That’s why I got kicked out of med school.”
“No kidding!” Fiona’s eyes were shap
ed like saucers. In silence, she stared at me for a few seconds, then continued. “Actually, that’s hard to believe, but I really want to believe you because someone like you is what I’m in desperate need of right now. Besides, I still remember the time when you said that Bob, the singer of that slightly lame college band, was a good guy to be just friends but not good for dating. You had a huge point because when we were dating, we were always fighting over nothing despite sharing lots of laughs and fun times when were just friends. At that time, you also mentioned that I was going to meet someone with romantic potential a few weeks later, and I actually met Matt two weeks later. Even though my relationship with Matt faded out, as he got a job in Switzerland after college. Anyway, I thought it was just a silly game back then, but in retrospect, I think you actually predicted my future.” She was no longer crying and seemed to have recovered her cool.
“So, Fiona, what’s happened?”
“Well, my mother has passed away, so Leo and I have been staying at my family home.”
“I’m so sorry about your loss.” I offered my condolences, and I meant it. “So, you moved to Norwalk. That’s a beautiful historical manor, isn’t it?” I had visited the place when I was in college with her.
“Right.” She nodded. “And there’s this storehouse that is as old as the main building itself. Remember that storehouse?”
“Yes. That was a lovely building,” I said.
“And… I saw my grandmother there.”
“So your grandmother is still alive?”
“Oh no. I wouldn’t be having trouble had she been still alive.” She shook her head. “The problem is Nana passed away eight years ago.”
“Excuse me?” My eyes widened.
“I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but I’m sure it was Nana.” Fiona furrowed her eyebrows. “I know I sound crazy, but I think I’ve encountered the… ghost of Nana?” Again, it sounded more like she was questioning herself rather than stating a fact.
“No worries, pretty lady. Seeing ghosts is nothing out of the ordinary.” Jackie waved her hands at Fiona. “Mandy here is my BFF, and she communicates with a ton of ghosts, you know.”
Fiona didn’t react to Jackie’s words.
“Mandy, what are you staring at?” Fiona tilted her head to the side. “You’re staring at this place as if there’s a ghost or something.”
“Actually, I see one,” I confided in her in a small voice. “It’s Jackie, the ghost of a drag queen. She’s in a short, sunflower-colored dress. I’m guessing you don’t see her.”
“Excuse me?” Fiona gasped and looked carefully into my face. “You’re not joking, right?”
I shook my head. “I’m not. By the way, Jackie is waving at you, saying hi.”
“I didn’t know you had friends from the other side,” she muttered. Then she did a little wave of her hand, mumbling, “Hi, Jackie. Nice to meet you…. Hey, I’d be offended if you’re pulling a prank on me.”
As she said that, Jackie and I exchanged a glance. “So you don’t really see Jackie here?” With the palm of my hand, I indicated the place where my ghostly friend was floating.
“No.”
“And the encounter with your deceased granny is bothering you, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not the only problem.” She furrowed her perfectly sculpted eyebrows once more. “So, I’m at the same table as Jackie, but I can’t see her. Now I’m not really sure if what I saw was real. Then again, Nana was waving and talking to me, and everything was so real.”
Jackie cocked her head to the side. “I’ve met some fellow ghosts who were able to have limited communication with their family and loved ones. However, none of those folks could see me. So perhaps your friend here was able to see the ghost of her granny only because of the family tie.”
Before I responded to Jackie, Fiona said breathlessly, “You know, what’s really bothering me is what Nana said.”
“What did she say?”
Biting her lower lip, Fiona clasped my hands. “Mandy, please tell me who’s going to kill me! Is it a drunk driver? Will burglars rob my home and attack me? Or is it the person stalking me?”
“What?” My jaw dropped. I looked at Jackie because she occasionally offered deep insights from the perspectives of the deceased, but for the first time in forever, she was silent, her crimson lips hanging wide open.
CHAPTER 2
“That’s interesting. Absolutely interesting,” Rick Rowling muttered, taking a bite of a pineapple upside-down cupcake. Even though I’d purchased the black ghost cake, he refused to touch it, much less put it in his mouth.
Four hours after meeting Fiona, we were at the dining room of his lavish condo on Fifth Avenue.
Even though we were yet to tie the knot, we had been living together for almost a year. Until a few weeks ago, we used to work as the boss and his assistant, and our current daytime arrangement—him working with USCAB, and yours truly working on our wedding—was quite new.
“You know, the funny thing was Fiona couldn’t see or hear Jackie even though she was 100 percent sure that she met her late granny,” I said.
I was filling him in on my meeting with Fiona and her mysterious encounter.
“Hmm… so either Fiona had an extremely vivid daydream, or she was able to communicate with her late grandma because of the family tie,” Rick commented.
“Right.” I nodded. “Jackie supports the latter possibility.”
“I’m coming with you,” Rick said matter-of-factly.
“Are you sure?” I asked, looking into his mesmerizing green eyes.
“Of course.” He nodded, rather enthusiastically.
“But… you’ve been very busy these days.”
“Which makes it easier for me to ditch a party or fundraiser or whatever boring shit to accompany my bride-to-be, visiting her bridesmaid. I can’t think of a better excuse to leave town.”
“Still, visiting Norwalk might turn out as boring as a fundraiser in case Fiona’s granny decides not to talk to me.”
“I doubt that will happen. If Fiona’s granny cares for her little girl enough to pop up and start talking to her, even if she could only alert her granddaughter of her coming danger without providing specific details, then I’m sure she’ll talk more to someone with better inter-world communication skills—such as you—especially if she feels Fiona is in grave danger.”
“Hmm… you have a point.” I nodded.
“By the way, are you sure it’s edible?” He grimaced at the black cupcake.
“Of course, it’s edible. Don’t worry about its color. The black comes from the squid ink, and when you eat it, it actually tastes good, like squid-ink spaghetti with seafood, tomatoes, and rich spices. You should really try it.”
“Okay.” He took a microfraction of the black crust and took a bite. “Hmm, it’s not as bad as it looks, but I’m fine with a pineapple upside-down cupcake. So, what do we know about Fiona’s stalker?”
“According to her, she’s been receiving strange texts, like: ‘I’ll be there for you. Always,’ ‘Leave your husband. He doesn’t deserve you,’ ‘Be my angel. I love you,’ and so on. She started getting those messages about two months ago, from numbers she doesn’t know. At first, she thought they were some kind of prank, and she blocked the first number as the messages got annoying, but the sender kept changing his number and continued texting.”
“So the messages are mostly nonthreatening for now.” He crossed his arms. “Is she still getting them?”
“No, she changed her number and the messages stopped, so it might have been one of those spammers, like the ones that send info about Viagra and so on.”
“Still, the texting kinds of stalkers are really dangerous,” Jackie commented, popping up from out of nowhere. “Believe me, my stalker had been harassing me with weird messages, and then he killed me. So better safe than sorry.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Rick, Jackie says we’ve got to be extra careful about texting stalkers.”<
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“I see. Is Jackie here?” He looked around the room.
“Yes. She’s floating right here.” I indicated by my side with the palm of my hand.
“Okay. So, Jackie, suppose you’re trying to warn Mandy about some danger headed her way. Wouldn’t you provide more details?” he asked.
“Of course, I’d tell her much more, except I’m lacking in predicting the future.” As Jackie tilted her head to the side, her long, shiny blonde hair swayed like a wave. “Still, it seems as if Fiona’s granny is a lovely person, and I’m sure she cares for Fiona very much.”
“I know,” I agreed with Jackie. Then I relayed her words to Rick and went on. “Anyway, I’m a little concerned about Fiona. She looked really stressed out. She isn’t one of those women who shed tears easily, but she was practically sobbing. And she’s convinced someone is going to murder her, be it the stalker or some random burglars. She wants to show me the reason she believes the paranormal encounter is an omen predicting her murder in the near future. Under normal circumstances, I’d assume she was trying to pull a prank on me, but she seemed so serious.”
“I have a hunch she’s not joking.” Rick put his fork on one corner of the dish. “Some parts of her story sound crazy, but she seems sincere.”
“Right, but personally, I hope she’s just kidding,” I confessed.
“Me too.” He nodded. “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her, regardless of the reliability of her and her granny’s words. It’s my first time to meet one of your bridesmaids, other than Alicia. I have to ask Fiona all the juicy details about your college life.”
“For your information, my college life was extra boring.” I chuckled. “Anyway, having you tagging along with me might turn out to be convenient. Perhaps we’ll be able to talk to Fiona’s late granny and be able to fend off the potential killer. You know, dead people seem to have their own set of rules, and sometimes they can’t tell you stuff they know, but if you ask the right questions….”
“And having me around, you’ll have extra security.” Rick reached for my hand across the table. He looked at the air and said, “Jackie, no offense, but can you excuse us for a little while?”