by Crin Claxton
“Process it,” Jade said.
“Yes, that as well. She’s only mentioned it once, and she couldn’t really get any words out, just cried a lot.”
“Maybe she just needs some time.”
“Maybe.” Tony tapped her fingers against the cold glass of her beer bottle.
“Anyway”—Jade took a swig from her own bottle—“are you going to fill me in on the case? How did Rose take it? Is the cute butch resting in peace?”
“You only think she’s cute because you haven’t met her.”
“She’s cute in my imagination.”
Tony leaned forward. “It was sad, actually. Rose looked like the fight had been knocked out of her. I expected her to be relieved to find out Frankie wasn’t murdered. She just looked defeated. She’s spent her whole life trying to get justice.”
“What a shame,” Jade said. “You said she was gorgeous?”
“Who?” Maya walked to the dining table with steaming plates of spaghetti. She placed them squarely on each place mat. “Get it while it’s hot,” she said, beckoning them over with a finger and a wink.
“Rose,” Tony said, walking to the table. “Yes, my God, such a beautiful woman! I bet she had some admirers in her day.”
“Listen to yourself. I bet she’s got lots of admirers now.” Jade grabbed a chair.
“Didn’t you say she was in her eighties?” Maya asked.
Tony and Jade nodded.
Maya stared at them.
“So?” Tony shrugged.
“Well, she’s twice your ages,” Maya said.
“She’s not twice both our ages. Anyway, that, Maya, is ageism. When a woman’s gorgeous, she’s gorgeous whatever her age, surely?” Tony said.
“True, I guess,” Maya said. She caught sight of herself in the mirror above the table and grimaced. “Why didn’t you tell me I had tomato sauce on my nose!” She marched back into the kitchen. Shortly afterward came the sound of running water and brisk scrubbing.
Tony pushed all thoughts out of her mind while she savored mouthfuls of Maya’s tasty, tangy, and utterly moreish pasta. She had almost cleared her plate and was thinking of second helpings when Jade put down her fork.
“I’ve had a visit from a ghost,” she said, studying Tony’s face.
“You have?” Tony asked. That hadn’t happened before.
“Who?” Maya asked.
“A woman called Felicia. She’s American. From Florida. Her girlfriend’s over here, and she wants to say good-bye to her.”
“Oh, that’s sad.” Maya looked at Jade sympathetically. “It’s nice she came to you.”
“Is it?” Tony said.
Maya frowned at her. “Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Tony was trying not to, but she felt childishly put out the ghost had gone to Jade.
“I don’t know why this woman come to me.” Jade swallowed, glancing at Tony. “I don’t like her. She’s whiny and annoying, and she scared the life out of me for several nights pretending to be a fox.”
“What do you mean, pretending to be a fox?” Maya asked.
“She made a crying noise like a fox in heat. I kept waking up thinking there were foxes outside the boat.” Jade thought for a moment. “Or maybe there were foxes outside the boat. But she was definitely talking to me in my sleep, giving me nightmares.”
“Do ghosts do that a lot?” Maya looked horrified.
“They can be disturbed,” Tony said quietly. She’d thought Jade looked tired. How long had this been going on? Why hadn’t Jade said anything before? “Is she hostile?” she asked Jade.
Jade took a breath. “Not now. Well, she’s talking to me at least, rather than just screaming in my face.”
“Can you see her?” Tony asked.
Jade shook her head.
“So how do you know she was screaming in your face?” Tony remembered Deirdre’s warning about not going through spirit guides.
“Let me show you.” Jade got up and picked her tablet off the coffee table.
Tony and Maya followed as Jade moved to the sofa.
Jade pulled up an image. It was a strong head and shoulders shot of Jade with a faint, distorted image beside her. Tony’s stomach tightened as she made out an angry woman in profile, her mouth frozen in a scream. The distorted image looked like it had been superimposed. If Tony hadn’t known Jade, she would have been sure it had been created by image software.
Maya shuddered. “Is she here right now?” she whispered.
Tony double-checked. “No,” she said.
“Well, thank God for that. She looks horrible.” Maya grabbed Tony’s hand. “To be honest, I don’t like the idea of her talking to you,” she said to Jade.
“Neither do I,” Tony said. She was worried. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Jade smiled weakly. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. She would have come to you, wouldn’t she, if she’d wanted to? This woman’s been freaking me out.”
“Oh no. I don’t want you getting freaked out, Jade. Why don’t you talk to Deirdre about it?” Tony said.
“I might. I’m glad I’ve told you. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what was going on for ages. I just got the photos back yesterday. I think Felicia’s come to me because she doesn’t trust white people.”
“That’s not very nice,” Maya said.
“Sure, but you don’t know what her background is. Maybe she has good reason.” Jade rubbed her eyes.
“You can’t write off a whole group of people.” Maya looked indignant.
“Of course not,” Jade said in the calm voice that Tony knew Jade used when she was getting annoyed herself. “I can understand it sometimes, though. Felicia said she wanted to speak to a sister. I said she should talk to Tony. When she found out Tony’s white, she didn’t want to.”
Tony shrugged. “I appreciate that, but I have to say she doesn’t look very sisterly in that photograph. You should do what you think best, Jade. I’m here if you need me, that’s all I’m saying.”
Jade smiled. “Thank you. I thought that, as Felicia has come to me, I will go and see the girlfriend. She’s an acupuncturist.”
“The horrible ghost woman is an acupuncturist? She doesn’t look like a healer. But then I suppose healers can be disturbed,” Maya said.
Tony waited for her to finish asking and answering her own questions.
“The girlfriend, Suni, is an acupuncturist,” Jade clarified.
Maya stared at her. “Suni? A new Ayurvedic healer has just started at my practice. She’s an acupuncturist.”
“Ah,” Tony said, “that’s why she’s come to you.”
Maya and Jade were both looking at her.
“Why?” Maya asked.
“Well, there must be a connection. Maybe Jade is the nearest black medium. Maybe that’s how these things work.” Tony plucked an answer out of the air.
“You really haven’t got a clue, have you?” Maya asked.
“Not so much,” Tony admitted.
Maya took a sip of her white wine. Tony liked the way she ran the tip of her tongue over her lips after tasting it. “Well, meeting her will be easy enough.”
“Will it?” Jade asked. “Oh, yes, of course! I could hook up with you after work.” She broke into a strong Trini accent. “I could be yuh Trini cousin!”
“Why?” Tony asked.
“Or we could do the sales rep thing again. I could be selling herbal supplies. Of course I’d have to gen up on Ayurvedic medicine and acupuntery.”
“I think it’s called acupuncture,” Tony muttered.
“Or, seeing as she’s an alternative practitioner,” Maya said, “you could just make an appointment.”
Chapter Four
Jade was unprepared for the utter gorgeousness of Felicia’s ex-girlfriend. As she sat across from Suni in the minimalist practice room, Jade’s heart was beating fast as she looked into Suni’s dark chocolate eyes. Her mid-brown skin glowed as if she’d just come in from ly
ing in the sun. Suni’s jet-black, dead-straight hair was cropped short at the sides and back but left a little longer at the front, and swept to one side. She was making Jade’s breath shallow and her body tingle in a way it hadn’t in the longest time. All thoughts, except how stunning the woman in front of her was, promptly vanished from Jade’s head, including whatever question Suni had just asked her.
“So, can you remember when the neck pain started?” Suni leaned her head to one side. Her closed lips formed a smile.
Jade rubbed her neck. Her mouth was dry. She reached for the glass of water on the little white table between her and Suni. “A few months ago.” Her voice was husky.
“Are you taking any medication?”
“No.”
“That’s good. So you’ve described the pain as starting here…” Suni leaned across the table, reached under Jade’s hair, and touched the nape of her neck. Jade shivered and then bit her lip as heat flushed through her. The feeling was intense and absolutely indecent. “And you said it runs as far as here.”
Suni ran her finger down the outside of Jade’s T-shirt along her spine to the small of her back. Jade closed her eyes. “Um-hmm,” she murmured.
“You would clearly benefit from Abhyangam massage. I have a suitable oil for you, but I need to warm it. Could you take off your T-shirt and jump up on the couch? I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Jade was relieved when Suni turned away from her and poured oil into a bowl set on a small electrical burner. Jade began to take her clothes off. It was hard to do when she was attracted to the masseuse. Fortunately, there wasn’t a peep from Felicia. Jade prayed the ghost was nowhere near the practice room.
Suni glanced over when Jade was sitting self-consciously on the couch in her bra.
“Would you be upset if oil got on your underwear?”
Jade swallowed. “No, that’s fine,” she said quickly. She wouldn’t be able to focus if she took any more clothes off.
“Then lie on your front and think pleasant thoughts. I’ll be right over.”
Jade had imagined the meeting differently. She’d watched several episodes of Ghost Whisperer and knew better than to blurt out that she had a message from beyond. She’d thought she would suss Suni out, getting a massage as a bonus. Then, once she knew Suni a little, she’d imagined she would find a way to gently pass the message on. She hadn’t anticipated finding Suni so attractive.
Ask her something about herself. Get her to open up. Jade didn’t want to think about Felicia, let alone talk about her, but that was why she was there. Maybe she could steer the conversation to ex-girlfriends.
“Have you got family, friends, anyone back in the States?” Jade mumbled into the couch.
“You will get more benefit from the massage if you don’t talk. Just relax.” Suni’s voice was calm and persuasive.
Suni’s warm, wet fingers found her back. Jade sighed under Suni’s touch, and she felt herself drifting. She relaxed as knots evaporated and a pulse began to beat in her most primal self. Nothing mattered except the fingers on her body kneading all her tension away. Her skin was warm, oiled, looked after. The muscles around her neck and shoulders dissolved until she lost all sense of her bones and her joints, until she was a pool of warm liquid floating on air. Her breath was deep and even. Jade was calm and secure. Nothing outside the moment mattered. She was suspended in a pure, spiritual place.
“We will stop there for now.”
A towel was laid over Jade’s shoulders. The magic touch was gone, but Jade was okay with that. She was calm to her core. She didn’t think she had ever felt as relaxed as she did in that moment. Tentatively, she stretched, and then turned over.
“Most of the oil has been absorbed into your body, but there may still be some on your skin. Do you want me to wipe it off with the towel before you put your clothes on?” Suni’s voice was as sweet as her touch. Jade felt taken care of. The intense desire had lifted to leave Jade feeling something deeper. She shook her head. Her body felt wonderful. She had been making it up about the neck pain, but she now realized how full of tension her body had been. She slipped her T-shirt over her shoulders.
“I think you would benefit from another session,” Suni said.
“Absolutely,” Jade said straight away. She wanted to come the next day, but she forced herself to make an appointment for several days’ time.
At one with her body, she walked to the door.
“It’s been lovely to meet you, Jade.” Suni held Jade’s eyes for a moment before Jade pulled herself away.
*
Tony rushed into the lighting box determined not to be late. Maya had come home early from the clinic, having splashed tincture on her top. She’d taken it off to wash out the stain just as Tony had come out of the shower. One naked body had led to another. When the steam was cooling off the bathroom mirror, Tony had noticed she was an hour later than she wanted to be. It had been worth it, as long as she didn’t incur the wrath of the deputy stage manager.
Tony stopped short at the sight of Beth standing in front of the control board in dim lighting.
“Why are you in the lighting box in show light?” Tony asked suspiciously.
Beth arched one eyebrow and pushed a strand of hair off her forehead with the end of a pencil. She had a hand on her hip and her body leaned toward Tony. She glanced pointedly at the clock positioned over the lighting desk. “Because it’s practically the Half,” she said. “And I wanted to be sure to see you.”
“Well, you would be sure to see me, as that’s where I sit all the way through the show.” Tony thought Beth had got the message that she was with Maya. Anyway, it was well known that Tony didn’t like going out with anyone she worked with. Of course, there was that trapeze artist, but that was a one-off, and trapeze artists were hard to resist. They were so very bendy.
Beth narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t got time to dally words with you. Is your fit friend Jade still looking for work?”
Tony nodded.
“Then be sure to tell her about the auditions for Mary’s part.”
“Sadly, that’s a no go. She had a disastrous previous audition for the new choreographer.”
“Oh no. I was relying on her being the new ‘woman on skid row.’” Beth’s face fell.
“Yeah, Jade would make a good ‘woman on skid row’ or a great ‘wino number two,’” Tony said. She dropped her bag and switched on the lighting board. A fuzzy movement by the door caught her eye. Deirdre materialized in a bright pink nineteen eighties sweatshirt and tiny pink shorts. Beside her stood a teenage white boy in a black hooded top and baggy dark blue jeans. He was skinny, with a drawn face. He had the hood pulled up over his head. He scowled at Tony.
“I said, I’d better get down to the stage manager’s desk!” Beth stepped in front of Tony, looking at her crossly.
“Of course, of course.” Tony bustled about getting the lighting cues loaded.
When Beth had gone, Tony glowered at Deirdre. “How many times have I asked you not to come when I’m at work?” she said.
“You may have mentioned it once or twice, but quite frankly, Tony, I don’t see what the problem is. You just sit there pressing a button. You don’t even have to listen for your coos or whatever they’re called,” Deirdre said.
“Cues! Obviously, they’re called cues. Why would they be called coos?”
“Why’s a green room a green room? Why is laughing on stage called corpsing? Why are you going out with a stunning Portuguese lady? There’s a lot of mystery in theater.”
Tony glared at Deirdre. “Don’t start comparing me to hamburger again. And she’s not from Portugal. Her people are, way back. She’s from Provincetown.”
“Yes, I know,” Deirdre said. “I was there, remember, in your last adventure.” She turned to the boy beside her. “She’s not the sharpest penknife in the scout toolbox. Anyway, as I was saying, you just press a button and don’t have to concentrate because that Sappho-come-lately is always whispering
in your ear, telling you when to press.”
“I suppose you mean Beth, and yes, she hasn’t been out long, but really. And I do have to concentrate, so whatever you want you’d better be quick,” Tony snapped. Honestly. Deirdre could try the patience of a saint. Tony glanced at the boy. He looked like he was having a bad day. “What can I do for you?” she asked more softly.
The boy folded his arms. “It ain’t easy for me to ask outside my fam, but I need bare help.”
Tony glanced at Deirdre, who was smiling encouragingly, or she could have been wincing; the pink shorts looked sardine-can tight. Deirdre turned to Tony. “Translate?”
“He’s saying he needs a lot of help and he doesn’t like to ask me.”
The boy nodded. His lips were pressed together and his eyes narrowed. Tony guessed he was sizing her up. “You think she can handle it? She don’t look that street smart,” he said to Deirdre.
Tony tried not to bristle. She also tried not to react to the boy’s hostile attitude. She’d misinterpreted youth energy on a previous case, and that boy had turned out to be scared rather than scary.
“Tony, are you in preset?” Beth voice came over Tony’s headset.
“Sure am,” she replied. She glanced over at the ghosts. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but you’re going to have to go.”
The boy scowled. “What about the other one?”
“What other one?” Tony asked.
Deirdre averted her eyes. “They work together. Anyway, she’s smarter than she looks. I was joking earlier.”
“You mean Jade. I thought you were my spirit guide.” Tony wondered if she sounded as childish as she felt. There was no reason Deirdre couldn’t go to Jade, she supposed.
“Oh, you want to talk to me now,” Deirdre said with more than a hint of smugness. “Suddenly, the big singing plant can go whistle for her lighting changes.”
“It’s not Audrey Two you want to worry about. It’s Sappho-come-lately who’ll have my guts for garters if I don’t get the cues right. And Beth isn’t someone you’d want to mess around with.”
“I’m pleased to hear you say that, because she would most certainly like to mess around with you. I’m constantly amazed at how many women find you attractive.”