by Elle Adams
Drew was a shifter—a wolf shifter, to be precise—as well as being the chief of police, but I doubted there was anything either of us could have done to prevent Harriet’s death.
“You couldn’t have known,” I said. “Are you ruling it an accident, then? Or do you think someone else might have been involved?”
“It’s difficult to say at this point.”
I was surprised he’d share anything, given how annoyed he’d been when I’d unintentionally barged into the middle of his investigation into Mrs Renner’s death when I’d first arrived in town. Okay, I hadn’t actually known I was interrupting a murder investigation at the time. I’d been looking for a ghost, that was all. And boy, had the universe delivered.
At first, I’d found the detective as infuriating as he’d found me, mostly due to his getting in my way when I was trying to extract Mrs Renner’s ghost. The job had turned out to be more dangerous than either of us had anticipated. In the end, we’d teamed up against said ghost and he’d let me take the lead, while I’d grudgingly accepted his help. From there, we’d ended up… well, I wasn’t entirely sure what we were. Friends, sure. I wouldn’t say no to working with him again, either.
But I couldn’t say for sure that was why I’d entrusted him with the truth about my Reaper senses. Maybe it was just that I wanted to get it off my chest, and he struck me as someone who might understand the misguided sense of responsibility I felt.
It didn’t hurt that he was kind, thoughtful and a good listener. That, too. In short, everything I needed in a potential boyfriend, as certain people kept on reminding me. I was a long way from considering pursuing a relationship with anyone, though, let alone the chief of police in a town full of ghosts. And now someone had died, and my Reaper powers were coming back… things had the potential to get complicated. Fast.
On the other hand, I’d like to know where I stood. “Do you need my help, then?”
“I’m not going to ask you to get involved,” he said, “but the fact that you were able to sense the time of Harriet’s death was a major help. I wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t told me.”
“It might be because I was so close to when her body was found,” I said. “Are you sure one of those wizards didn’t see what happened? Because they arrived at the bridge so soon after she died, you'd think one of them would have spotted her earlier.”
“They were drunk enough that I’m inclined to believe they weren’t paying any attention,” he said. “I don’t believe any of them would have intentionally killed someone, but I intend to question them again, with the added knowledge we have now about the time of Harriet’s death.”
“Okay.” I glanced behind me at the glass doors of the restaurant. “Are they in there?”
“They are,” he said. “Want to come with me to speak to them? You can tell me if any of the details don’t add up.”
I managed to hide my surprise with a raised brow. “Are you sure? I mean, it’s not really my business, even if we did work on handling Mrs Renner’s ghost together. I’m not really qualified…”
“I’ve never worked with a Reaper on a case until I met you,” he said, “but I might find myself in need of your skills to get in touch with Harriet’s ghost, if it turns out there was more to her death than it first appeared. You might have guessed we don’t have anyone on staff with that particular talent.”
I thought so. Finding her ghost shouldn’t be too much trouble, once enough time had elapsed. And I wouldn’t deny that it felt good that he trusted me to help him.
“Okay, I’m in,” I said.
3
As I’d predicted, all heads turned in our direction when we re-entered the restaurant. Apparently unbothered by the whispers or the attention, Drew made for a group of witches and wizards occupying a table in the corner, drinking copious amounts of coffee and looking more ghost-like than the group of spirits hovering in the opposite corner near the window.
“Bernard.” He nodded to a wizard wearing a crooked grey hat and a morose expression. “If it’s okay, I’d like to talk to you again about what happened when you found Harriet’s body. You said last night that you didn’t remember it all.”
“I remember seeing her body in the river when Archie nearly fell in,” he said. “I levitated her out and realised she was dead.”
“Did any of you see her fall in?” he said. “I’ve recently gained new information which suggests she drowned in the river only minutes before she was discovered.”
I twitched, resisting the impulse to butt in. I didn’t need to go around broadcasting my Reaper talents for the whole world to hear. Even telling Drew and Carey might backfire on me. If word reached the wrong ears, I might well find the Reaper Council behind me the next time I turned around.
“No,” said the droopy red-eyed wizard sitting opposite him, presumably Archie. “We didn’t see her until we got on the bridge and looked down into the water.”
“Do you think she might have been on her way here?” the detective asked. “When she went across the bridge?”
“Maybe,” said Bernard. “I don’t know.”
“Can I get you anything?” Hayley approached the table with an armful of plates and a set of dark circles under her eyes that matched the patrons’.
“No, thanks,” chorused the wizards.
“Give me a shout if you do.” She looked pretty subdued herself. No wonder, considering she’d run into a dead body on the way back from work. “Detective, have you spoken to Harriet’s ex-boyfriend yet?”
“I didn’t know there was one,” he said. “Was he here at the bar last night?”
“Who?” said the grey-hatted wizard. “Oh, Maxwell. No, he wasn’t. I don’t think.”
“He wasn’t,” confirmed his friend. “They broke up a few days ago, right? She was probably still pretty torn up over it all.”
“She was in here sobbing the other day,” Hayley added. “I saw her. Maybe I should have said something.”
“That’s news to me,” said the detective. “What did you see, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Hayley blinked at him. “I just saw her crying in the corner of the bar. Maybe three or four days ago. I didn’t say anything, because I figured it was none of my business.”
“I saw her, too,” added Bernard. “She wasn’t alone, though. She was with… what’s her face.”
“Who?” said Drew.
“I don’t know, the blond one.”
“Fran,” interjected Hayley. “She wasn’t here last night, though.”
“Hayley!” Allie walked into view. “You look like death. You should have called in sick.”
Hayley shook her head. “I know you’re understaffed—”
“I have Maura,” Allie said, beckoning me over. “You can take over from Hayley for a bit, can’t you?”
I hesitated, ready to tell her I was helping the detective with the case, then I remembered that it was unlikely that Harriet’s ghost would have shown her face yet. I was supposed to be working later anyway, and there was no harm in starting my shift early. It’d give me something useful to do while I waited for Harriet’s ghost to appear. “Sure. I’ll let Drew know.”
“Oh, I didn’t know the two of you had plans.”
“We don’t.” I knew I’d spoken a touch too quickly when her brows rose. “I mean, he’s here asking the wizards about the witch who died yesterday.”
“And you got curious, did you?” she guessed.
“More or less.” I didn’t want the whole world to know I could sense when people died. It wouldn’t exactly do my non-existent social life any favours. Though the alternative—getting a reputation as a ghost-whisperer—wasn’t much better.
Drew approached Allie and me. “Everything okay?”
“I have to take over from Hayley,” I told him. “She’s pretty shaken up after yesterday.”
“No worries,” he said. “I’ll finish up here, and then I’ll need to update the rest of my team. Will I see you later?�
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“I’ll be working until the evening, but sure,” I said. “If you have anything else you want to ask, shoot me a message.”
“Will do.”
We’d finally exchanged phone numbers—not that I’d made much use of his, since he seemed to be here all the time anyway. I knew Allie was watching our interactions with interest, hoping that he’d finally make a move, but part of me was more than happy to take it slow. Especially now I’d got myself involved in a police investigation thanks to my Reaper skills making a comeback. That alone had enough potential to land me in trouble without bringing my personal feelings into it.
Yet that knowledge didn’t mean I could entirely ignore the way my heart lifted at the notion of seeing him later.
The restaurant was pretty quiet for most of the day, which worked in my favour, given how tired I was after the ghostly shenanigans I’d had to deal with last night. I loaned Carey my laptop again so she could continue going through footage of the old house, while Mart flew around making sarcastic comments and complaining about the new ghost in my room.
“Now she’s in the shower and she won’t get out,” he whined. “I can’t live like this. You can ask Allie to move us to another room, can’t you? She’d do it if you asked her, I’m sure.”
“I’m not asking to move rooms so I can get rid of a ghost,” I told him. “She’s not doing any harm.”
“Why not just use your Reaper powers to get rid of her, then?” he said.
“Because there might be a reason she picked my room to hide in,” I said. “She might need my help, and it’s bad manners to kick her out. I’ll talk to her after I’m done here.”
Mart floated across the restaurant, muttering under his breath. I rolled my eyes after him, checking the time. Ten minutes until the end of my shift.
“Having trouble with ghosts?” said a deep voice. Detective Drew walked into view, having caught the tail end of my discussion with Mart.
“Just my brother,” I said. “Want anything?”
“Coffee would be good.”
I went to make us both a mug of strong coffee. I was on my fourth, which I’d probably regret tonight when I couldn’t sleep, but Mart’s antics last night coupled with a long day on my feet had taken their toll. “Late night, was it?”
“I had to escort those drunken wizards home without any of them falling into the river, so yes,” he said. “You weren’t back too late, were you?”
“Nah, but I had to deal with two arguing ghosts in my room all night.” I stifled a yawn. “Occupational hazards of being a Reaper.”
“Your brother?”
“And his new nemesis.” I made both coffees and carried them to the bar. “A new ghost decided to move into my room and Mart threw a fit. Not sure I wouldn’t prefer to deal with Harriet’s ghost, to be honest.”
“Aside from that, I never asked you how you’re getting on with your new job.” He took the coffee mug from me and sipped at the dark liquid. “I notice you haven’t joined the local coven.”
“Covens and I don’t get along.” My Reaper side made sticking to the rules tricky, and I was better off being independent. Much easier for me and for everyone else, too. Besides, I didn’t need a coven. I had everything I wanted already.
Almost everything.
“When does your shift finish?”
He couldn’t have picked up on my thoughts, could he? No, he was a werewolf, not a mind-reader. Besides, I’d agreed to help him with the case.
“Not long to go now,” I responded. “Did you speak to Harriet’s family?”
Why, Maura? If he’d been building up to anything, I’d thoroughly wrecked the mood by bringing up the dead witch.
“I informed her family yesterday,” he said. “The funeral is later this week. At the moment, we’re ruling her death an accident, though I’ve let it be known that anyone is welcome to come in and tell me if they have more information. I’m particularly concerned that it seems nobody knew she was out last night. However, I’d rather not distress her family any further by implying her death wasn’t an accident. They’ve dealt with enough in the past day already.”
“You mean she might have died by suicide?” I said. “That, or someone pushed her into the water, but everyone said she was alone. If they’re telling the truth, that is.”
“There’s no way to verify that for certain,” he said. “Unless…”
“Unless I speak to her ghost.”
I’d suspected it might come to that, and while I hadn’t wanted to draw attention to my Reaper skills, the fact that I’d felt her moment of death made me reluctant to step away. Besides, I could trust Drew not to tell the entire universe he had a Reaper helping him out. Right?
“Is that okay?” he asked. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if you hadn’t suggested it yourself.”
“It’s no problem,” I said. “I talk to ghosts all the time. I can’t guarantee she’ll show up, but the chances are higher here in Hawkwood Hollow than they would be if we were anywhere else.”
“I thought so,” he said. “I’ve spoken to all of Harriet’s relations, and I don’t get the impression any of them have the ability to see ghosts, nor have they considered the possibility of her returning after death.”
“Depends where she shows up, too,” I said. “If it’s in her own house, alone, then they won’t be any the wiser. If it’s someone else’s house or a public place, it’s a different story. My Reaper senses might be able to point me in the right direction, but there are just too many ghosts here in Hawkwood Hollow.”
There were ways for a Reaper to track a specific ghost, but most of my old skills were rusty to say the least.
Allie walked into the restaurant from the inn’s lobby. “You can sign out, Maura. Oh, hello, Detective.”
“Hey, Allie,” he said.
“Are you here to take Maura out?” she asked.
“We’re off to do a bit of ghost-hunting,” I told her. “I’ll just go and change first.”
I drank the rest of my coffee, then I went upstairs to change into a clean outfit, telling myself that it was courtesy to make the effort to change out of my sweaty work clothes and not that I wanted to look nice when we went out together. Eventually, I settled on a pair of dark leggings and one of my nicest tops. The detective himself wore a shirt and trousers, smart casual wear which indicated he wasn’t on duty, though he could snap into work mode when he wanted to. He gave me a smile when I returned to the lobby to meet him. “Ready?”
“Sure.” With a little luck, we’d have more luck with this ghost than I had with the last one I’d tried to find.
The two of us walked in companionable silence, the evening air pleasantly cool. I halted on the bridge over the river first, peering down into the murky water. It was deceptively still, and you wouldn’t guess that the same river had burst its banks and swamped a huge proportion of the town two decades ago, including Healey House.
“Anything?” he asked. “Is it likely that she’ll show up here?”
“Ghosts don’t always appear in the place where they died,” I said. “Sometimes they show up where they lived, or somewhere they spent a lot of time. That said, it’s possible that the ghost might be around here. Her death was recent enough.”
I doubted that was the case, though. If she’d been there, I’d have spotted her right away. Ghosts didn’t tend to hang around in the water, so she’d have been on the bridge, if at all. I spotted three other ghosts floating down the nearby road, and my gaze followed them.
“More ghosts?” asked the detective.
“You’ve got it,” I said. “I’ll see what they have to say.”
Leaving the detective on the bridge, I waylaid one of the other ghosts. “Hey. Have you seen Harriet Langley?”
The ghost gave me a wary look. “Who?”
“The witch who drowned yesterday,” I said. “I wondered if her ghost might have shown up here.”
“No new ghosts,” he said. “Are you the Reaper?”
“Not exactly. No, I’m not,” I added when he edged away. “I’m not here to reap anyone’s soul. Can you let me know if you see her?”
He floated away without answering, but it was obvious no new ghosts had appeared on the bridge. I re-joined the detective, who said, “No luck?”
“Ghosts aren’t always that reliable,” I said. “I don’t think she’s here, though.”
“I have her address,” said the detective. “I also have permission to enter the property from her family.”
“That does make it easier.” I flashed him a sideways smile. “Easier than swiping a key like in Mrs Renner’s house. Guess it pays to have the law on your side.”
“It does, but I hope for all our sakes she isn’t like Mrs Renner,” he said. “She lived alone, according to our records, though she had a boyfriend who moved out fairly recently.”
“What, you think she might decide to haunt her friends or family?” I asked. “It’s possible, for sure. Depends on how well they got along when she was alive.”
We walked the rest of the way across the bridge. I still didn’t know my way around the whole town, and the bizarre numbering system on most of the streets didn’t help. The road signs seemed to be arranged at random in a lot of places, too, and there were more dead ends and strange detours than the average town. I’d gathered that the randomness was another aftereffect of the floods twenty years ago, which had caused so much destruction that Hawkwood Hollow as a whole still hadn’t quite recovered. It didn’t help that the Reaper had gone into permanent early retirement, leaving the place flooded with ghosts even after the water had gone.
If my own Reaper instincts came back and started prompting me to banish all of them… that might cause problems. Big ones. I didn’t need to be dragged back into an unwanted Reaper career because of my half-Reaper senses refusing to get a hint.
If this particular death was a one-off, though, I needed to know why my senses had chosen to alert me. Which meant going with the detective to speak to Harriet’s ghost.