He had up and lost his ghost mind. “Are you suggesting I walk into the police station and tell a bunch of cops that the friend they’ve lost is actually not gone, but here with me as a ghost, and he wants me to relay information to help solve a cold case?”
“You got it.”
I jumped to my feet and folded my arms across my chest. “No.” My ability was my secret, one I kept bundled up and hidden from the world. I didn’t want to expose my gifts to a bunch of cops to give them amusement.
“You want to get rid of me?” The side of his mouth curved up. “This is how. I need your help and I’ll do anything to make it happen, including a repeat of last night’s events if I need to.”
I considered my options, which were limited at best. Annoying to find that part of me was hell-bent on saying no because I kinda liked looking at him and didn’t mind hearing his voice, which disturbed me. The situation turned into some sick movie I’d watch because I didn’t have a choice, but then I’d complain about how morbid the movie was afterward. I had to put a stop to this insanity. “Fine, I’ll help you. But just so you know, they’re not going to believe me.”
He winked and aimed his sexy grin my way. “You won’t see me arguing that point with you, gorgeous.”
* * * * *
G E Patterson Avenue led to anything and everything in Memphis; exactly why I loved downtown living. I strode next to Kipp, heading down the road toward the police station, while he stayed quiet and thoughtful.
He didn’t even chime in after I called in sick to work—Dylan would hand me my ass later—to handle my current predicament. Doris, as always, wished me well and sent a big dose of love over the telephone line.
We continued down the street and the silence became unbearable. So I did what I always do when uncomfortable and blurted out the first thing to enter my mind. “How long have you been dead?” I clamped a hand over my mouth. “Sorry,” I mumbled beneath my fingers.
Kipp smiled. “Nah, it’s a valid question and I suspect if I were you I’d wonder the same thing. If I woke the night I died, then a week has passed.”
A week didn’t seem too long, but to a dead person I assumed it’d feel like an eternity. No one to talk to or acknowledge your presence, I imagined minutes would feel like hours. “And you’ve just been wandering the streets?”
“I went home for a few days, actually, but as expected, I ended up getting nowhere, so I decided to venture out.” He winked. “Luckily, I stumbled across you.”
Yeah right, lucky me!
Main Street came into view and the downtown core buzzed with pedestrians, which explained why every person I passed looked at me like “oh that poor crazy person”, since I was having a conversation with myself. “The glowing bit caught your attention, didn’t it?”
“The glowing bit?”
“The golden aura.” I waved my hand across my body. “It made you approach me, right?”
“Initially, yes.” He cocked his head. “And why do you have an aura around you?”
“Good question, and I’ve never found an answer to why.” Even though it made me curious what he meant by initially, the intensity in his stare told me to leave the subject alone. Moreover, his sexy grin, which grazed his face, left me all too aware he was once a man—a smokin’-hot man with a dirty mouth.
I needed to change the subject to direct the conversation into an appropriate one. “How long have you been a cop?”
He chuckled, apparently aware I dodged his attempt to flatter me. “I joined the force a few years back and I’ve lived and breathed it ever since.”
His admission stunned me. He seemed too personable to only care about his career. “Not married, then?”
“You up for a proposal?”
“No,” I retorted. “I just want to get to know you better since I’m on my way to talk with your partner.” Good God, did I probe him to actually learn more about him?
His smile confirmed my interest showed. “No, I’m not married. Too busy working to have time for relationships.” His eyes twinkled. “Well, ones lasting longer than a night.”
We turned left onto Main Street. “Sounds like you had fun.”
He nodded, solemnly. “Yes, I have had that.”
I recognized immediately I’d made a terrible mistake. If I could’ve, I would have buried myself underground and stayed there. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make you relive the life you’ve lost.”
His eyes filled with profound sadness, yet he shook his head. “It doesn’t bother me for the reasons you think.”
No denying the misery on his face, something made him regretful. “What—”
A stern voice interrupted, “Ma’am, are you all right?”
I glanced away from Kipp to find a uniformed cop staring at me. “Ahh…” I peered over his shoulder to see the police station. I’d been so lost in the conversation and my own thoughts, I hadn’t realized we had arrived. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m…er…just going into the police station.”
The cop nodded. He clearly agreed I made a wise decision, considering he must have seen me talking to thin air. “Go on in.” He held the door open and gestured for me to enter. “You’ll find the help you need with the officers, and not to worry, you can trust them.”
I fought against the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I offered him a kind smile. “Thank you.”
He tipped his hat. “Good day to you, miss.”
I strode into the building and the door closed behind me with a whoosh of air. The station had a simple design, with a main counter in the front, hall down to the left and cubicles behind the counter where police officers sat.
Approaching the main counter, I spotted a young woman fresh out of college—bright-eyed with an eagerness to work—who sat with a phone stuck to her ear. “You owe me so big,” I whispered.
Kipp chuckled.
The receptionist hung up the telephone and looked at me. “What can I do for you?”
“Tell Betty you need to speak with Zach Foster,” Kipp said.
Before I could respond, the door next to the desk opened with a loud bang and startled me. Two cops came in with a drunk, elderly man who slurred and spit while he fought against the cuffs around his wrists.
I squished myself against the desk to get away from him. He reeked of day-old booze and urine. Lord, I didn’t belong here. I glanced back at the receptionist, who stared at me with an impatient expression. “Is Detective Zach in?”
“Detective Zach?” Kipp repeated.
What? If he wanted better, he could go float away to find someone else to help him.
“Zach Foster?” Betty asked.
“That’s him,” Kipp replied.
I nodded. “Yup, Zach Foster, is he in?”
Betty picked up the telephone again and placed the receiver against her ear. “Who can I tell him is here and what’s the reason for your visit?”
“Tess Jennings.” I stole a quick glance at Kipp to find him nodding encouragingly. I sighed, focusing back on Betty. “I’m here to talk to him about Kipp McGowen.”
Her eyes widened before her fingers typed quickly as she entered in the extension. “Tess Jennings is here to see you and says she has information regarding Kipp.” She paused. “Mm hmm.” Another pause. “Yes sir, I’ll send her along.” She hung up the phone. “Detective Foster is unavailable right now, but Detective Eddie Perez will meet you in interview room one now.”
Great! More cops to enjoy the show!
She pointed down the hall. “Just go straight down the hall and it’s your first door on the left.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
Kipp led the way to the interview room, but he didn’t need to. The cop who waited outside the door told me I went in the right direction. His cute face held a world of suspicion and his deep brown eyes examined me.
“I’m Detective Perez,” the Jersey-Boy cop said. “Are you Tess Jennings?”
I nodded. “I am.”
Eddie opened the door and I entered
the typical police interrogation room with two-way mirror, steel table and plastic chairs. I only hoped Eddie would forget me after today, which I doubted would happen. He was a cop, after all—trained to never forget a face.
He followed me in, closed the door behind him and looked at me with a stern gaze. “What information do you have on the incident with Kipp?”
“Well…” The simple word marked the beginning of a one-sided conversation as Eddie sat and listened to me with an unreadable expression while I replayed the past events. “And that brings us to now.”
Eddie’s brow furrowed. “Let me get this straight. Our comrade, Kipp McGowen, is a ghost—here with you now—and wants to talk with his partner, Zach, about a cold case they were working on?”
Seemed so simple the way he said it, but it pleased me he understood. “You got it.”
The furrow on his brow slowly lessened and amusement showed on his face before he burst out laughing. “Wait here. I’ll return in a minute.”
The moment the door closed behind Eddie, I aimed a glare at Kipp. “I told you no one would believe me.” Not that I hadn’t expected to have the cops to laugh at me, but how the situation made me feel was far worse than even my imagination could have concocted.
Kipp smiled in a reassuring way. His attempt did nothing to ease my irritation. “Just give Eddie time. He’s never come across anything like this before and probably thinks you’re crazy.” At my deepening glare, Kipp cleared his throat and added, “We’ll show them you aren’t.”
The door suddenly opened, and to my utter horror, another cop joined the one I had the not-so-great pleasure of meeting. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Have patience, Tess—we’ll show them,” Kipp said.
As if I hadn’t already been patient enough! I huffed, watching the two cops take their seats at the table. The new man apparently dealt with the crazies, and I understood why. His warm chocolate eyes and kind smile were trusting.
“My name is Max Phillips, Ms. Jennings. Eddie tells me Kipp is here with you.”
I gave a tight nod, forcing myself to give the guy the benefit of the doubt since he hadn’t directly asked me the question, and held back my snappy retort. “Yes, that’s what I said to him.”
Eddie laughed.
Max hid his smile—not so well. “And Kipp has the answers to solve the disappearance of Hannah Reid.”
These men and their stupid questions were going to end my life. My patience hung on by a thin thread. “No.”
Max’s eyebrows rose. “No?”
“Yes, I mean, no.” I threw my hand up, exasperated. “What I’m trying to tell you is he doesn’t have information on her disappearance, but on her murder.”
“You do realize her body hasn’t been discovered?” Max asked.
I shrugged. “The papers said as much, but Kipp hasn’t told me that himself.”
Max cocked his head, studying me. “So what exactly has Kipp told you?”
“He said he thinks whoever shot him is also the one responsible for killing Hannah.”
Max frowned, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. “Have you ever been institutionalized, Ms. Jennings?”
My blood boiled. I gritted my teeth. “No. I. Have. Not.”
Max didn’t appear swayed by my anger since his expression remained lax. “Do you have a history of mental illness in your family?”
“No.”
“So…” Max surveyed the room. “Kipp is here and telling you these things.”
If he didn’t care about making me feel stupid, I’d simply have to return the lack of curiosity. “No.”
Max glanced at me with an equivocal expression. “No?”
“He’s not…” I waved my hand around the room. “Everywhere you looked.” I pointed to the chair next to me. “He’s sitting right there.”
Loud laughter soared through the bland white room and their blatant amusement happened to snap the last string holding my control together. It was one thing to have them chuckle, another thing to see them smirk, but outright laughed at? Oh no, my limit had been reached and anger burned wicked in my body.
“Listen here,” I shouted, which caused both men to shut their traps. “Do you think I came here because I’m in the mood to look like a fool? Well, I didn’t.” I pointed to the ghost next to me. “Kipp will not leave me alone and I won’t even subject you to what he put me through to get me to help him. The only reason I’m here is because Kipp asked me to pass along a message. So either get on with your questions and ask me something important or I’m outta here.”
Wide surprised eyes gawked back at me. Both Eddie’s and Max’s mouths gaped open.
Kipp merely grinned from ear to ear. “Not only beautiful, but you’ve got some zest to you too.”
Before I determined if his statement flattered or annoyed me, the door flew open and Kipp stood. “Zach.”
“Thank the Lord Almighty.” I sighed. “Zach has finally arrived. Now this horrible day can end and I’ll put this memory into the vault, never to revisit again.”
Max blinked before he glanced at Zach. “Do you know her?”
“I haven’t a clue who she is.” Zach’s gaze zeroed in on me. “How do you know who I am?”
What a bunch of idiots! “Well, maybe because Kipp just said your name when you walked into the room.”
Silence and blank stares were the only reply I received. I could’ve counted thirty Mississippis before anyone moved, blinked or did anything to show they were still alive.
Zach blinked, stepped further into the room and approached the table. “Leave her with me for now so we can have a little chat.”
Max and Eddie didn’t argue and left the room.
I gulped, watching Zach making his way around the table. If bodybuilders were my thing, then he’d be something to look at. His dark eyes showed a resolve that could, and did, shake me in my boots. The tight line of his lips declared he wasn’t the type of guy you pissed off and lived to tell about it.
He grabbed a chair across from me, spun it around and straddled the seat. “Now tell me what you told them.”
I shrieked in frustration and dropped my face into my palms. “If I have to say this one more time, I’m seriously going to lose my mind.” Kipp laughed and I raised my head to glare at him. “It’s not funny.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it kinda is.”
“I didn’t laugh,” Zach said.
The continued insinuations I was slow or somehow mentally instable was irritation in its top form. “I know you didn’t laugh.” I pointed at Kipp. “He did.”
Zach’s gaze followed my finger. He looked around the room a couple times. “And the he you’re talking about is Kipp?”
I huffed. “No, I’m talking about Casper the Ghost.”
Zach sat straighter in his chair and laced his hands behind his head. “Your story is that Kipp, who is a ghost, has come to you and said he knows how to solve the Reid cold case.”
“Precisely. Do you believe me or not? Because if you don’t, I’d like to go home.”
“You won’t be going home,” Zach retorted. “As to the matter of whether I believe you? That remains to be seen. The only way to discover if you’re being truthful is to ask you a few questions.”
“Get on with it then, I’d very much like the show to end.”
Zach lowered his hands, placed them on the table and stared at me intently. “So Kipp is here with you now?”
I smacked my forehead. “Oh my fucking God.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Zach raised his hands in surrender. “All right, if he’s here with you, ask him what we did last Sunday.”
“Watched the football game,” Kipp responded.
“First of all, I don’t have to ask him. He can hear you and he said you watched football together.”
Zach’s brow furrowed, but he shook his head and relaxed his features. “Too easy. Sunday night football, everyone watches that.”
&n
bsp; “Ask something more personal. This isn’t rocket science.”
Zach looked at his hands on the table, stayed silent a moment before raising his gaze to mine. “What do I take in my coffee?”
“Two sugars,” Kipp replied.
“Two sugars.”
Zach’s expression flashed with surprise, but he removed the shock in an instant and settled back into a focused look. “Who was my last girlfriend?”
“He doesn’t have girlfriends,” Kipp said.
“You’re gay.”
Zach’s eyes widened. “Pardon me?”
Kipp burst out laughing.
I shrugged. “He said you don’t have girlfriends, so I thought it meant you were gay.”
“He plays, not stays,” Kipp barely managed to say through the spurts of laughter.
“Oh oops, you’re a player.” I couldn’t help but think of Caley. She’d be smitten over Mr. Muscles and the two could play each other to death.
Zach’s firm expression wavered. Clearly I’d broken through his disbelief. “Tell me the name of the last woman Kipp took to his bed?”
The question made my stomach tighten into knots, but I clamped down on that bit of silliness. I shouldn’t care one bit who Kipp’s previous lovers were. Then why do you?
I glanced over at Kipp, awaiting his answer, and he stared at me curiously, which made me wonder if my reaction showed on my face. I waved my hand for him to get on with the answer.
“Candi,” he said.
I snickered. “Candi! You cannot be serious. You slept with a woman named Candi? Let me guess, she’s a stripper, right?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the name Candi.” Kipp shifted in his seat as if uncomfortable. “She was a lovely lady.”
“I bet she was a nice lady, to you.” I gripped my middle as my stomach muscles clenched. “Candi, that’s priceless.” I sighed away the laughter, wiped the tears off my cheeks and happened to look at Zach.
He leaned in toward me with a steady gaze. “On the last cold case Kipp and I solved, what did we find with the body?”
Supernaturally Kissed (Frostbite, Book One) Page 3