by D. S. Butler
I had a feeling today was going to be a definite challenge. Trying to remember not to respond to Elizabeth was tricky.
I pushed open the door to the diner and saw Archie was already there, setting up for the morning.
I could hear Sarah singing in the kitchen and smiled as I breathed in the familiar scent of the bacon she already had frying in the pan.
“Morning,” I said cheerily, walking over to the coffee machine and checking everything was working okay.
Archie had issues with technology, and he’d never gotten on well with this machine since we’d gotten it.
“Morning,” Archie replied, but he didn’t quite seem his normal, sunny self.
“Is everything okay?”
Archie sighed and looked out of the window. “I had a visit from Chief Wickham last night, along with that new officer.”
“Joe? Joe McGrady?”
“Yes, and they were both ever so interested in the scene Elizabeth created when she last visited the diner. I think they might consider me a suspect,” Archie said, turning to me and wringing his hands.
“That’s ridiculous. No one could seriously consider you a suspect. They’re asking everyone questions. Joe asked me questions last night, too.”
Archie’s face took on an expression of relief, and he let out a large sigh. “Really? Oh, that is good news.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, I meant it’s good news that they haven’t singled me out, not that it’s good news you were questioned.”
Elizabeth had been oddly quiet. It made me suspicious. I looked over my shoulder and saw Elizabeth hovering by the kitchen hatch.
“He’s definitely got the look of a guilty man,” Elizabeth declared.
I tried not to react, but it wasn’t easy.
“Are you okay finishing up here?” Archie said. “The sugar pots need filling.”
“Of course,” I said, and Archie bustled off to the kitchen to help Sarah with prep work.
Suddenly, Elizabeth gave a shriek, making me jump and tip sugar all over table ten. She zoomed across the diner and hid behind me.
“What on earth…?” I turned in surprise, and then I realized Elizabeth had seen Loretta, the diner’s resident ghost.
I really should have warned her about that.
Chapter Fourteen
Loretta met my gaze and rolled her eyes. “Great. Do you think next time you could bring a male ghost? I’m not so keen on the shrieking females.”
She said it as though I had a choice in the matter, but I managed to swallow my retort and turned to try and reassure Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth, meet Loretta. She’s a ghost, too. I imagine you two will have lots to talk about.”
When Elizabeth stopped crouching behind me, Loretta gave me a dirty look.
“I don’t talk to newbies,” she said, arching an eyebrow.
“Be nice, Loretta,” I whispered. “You were a new ghost once.”
“Hmm,” Loretta said, looking Elizabeth up and down. “I’ll give you five minutes.”
Elizabeth looked fascinated by the sight of another ghost, and she followed Loretta to a table, her hands clasped together, absolutely enthralled.
I smiled as I attempted to clean up the spilled sugar. Hopefully, Loretta would keep Elizabeth out of my hair for a while.
Over the next hour, we only had a couple of customers, and Elizabeth did what she was told and kept quiet.
The only time I heard her was when old Bob went to sit in his normal seat by the window, sitting down directly on top of Elizabeth.
She squealed and flew up in the air, and it was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Loretta wasn’t so kind. She guffawed loudly.
“How rude!” Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and glared at Bob, but of course, he was completely oblivious.
I ignored Elizabeth and Loretta as I walked over and gave Bob his coffee.
“Morning, Bob. The usual?” I asked.
Bob always had bacon, extra crispy, and two eggs, sunny side up.
“That would be lovely,” Bob said.
Leaving Elizabeth standing beside the counter, grumbling to herself, I walked into the kitchen to give Sarah the order.
“Old Bob’s here, Sarah, and he’d like his usual.”
“Right you are,” Sarah said and headed over to the stove.
“Are you okay, Sarah?”
Sarah was a sensible, stout woman. She had a gloriously beautiful head of red hair, which she always wore tightly pinned back and covered in the kitchen.
She turned to me and tried to smile, but I could see it was a struggle.
“I’m feeling a bit off kilter, to be honest. It was awful finding Elizabeth’s body yesterday, and then last night, I had a thorough grilling from Chief Wickham and Joe McGrady. Chief Wickham is normally such a nice man, but he was ever so cold last night.”
I leaned back on the kitchen counter. It was starting to sound as if Chief Wickham and Joe had questioned most of Abbott Cove last night.
“I suppose the chief has to do everything by the book. It’s the first murder he’s ever had to work, and he is under a lot of pressure.”
Sarah nodded as she broke two eggs into the pan. “I suppose you’re right. But I don’t think that excuses rudeness.”
“Rudeness?” Chief Wickham was an old-fashioned gentleman. I couldn’t imagine him ever being rude to anyone.
“Yes, that new one, Joe McGrady. He was all charming and kind at first, and he got me to trust him, and then he asked the most impertinent questions!”
“Impertinent?”
Sarah looked behind us to make sure we were alone in the kitchen. “He asked me if I’d been having an affair with Elizabeth’s husband.”
My eyes grew wide as I stared at Sarah. “You hadn’t been, had you?”
Sarah shook her head vigorously. “No, of course not.”
Elizabeth chose that moment to float through the door.
“What’s going on in here? Do we suspect Sarah now? She was ever so upset when I criticized her cooking,” Elizabeth said and floated right up to Sarah, hovering in front of her face, but Sarah didn’t bat an eyelid.
A loud bang sounded from the storeroom, a large room just off the kitchen where Archie stored the diners’ supplies.
“What on earth was that?” I asked.
Sarah shrugged and rolled her eyes. “It’s Archie. He’s in ever such a funny mood today. I think he’s decided to rearrange some boxes in there.”
I peered out of the kitchen hatch to make sure that none of the customers needed service, and when I saw that everyone was happily sipping their coffee, I poked my head into the storeroom.
I couldn’t see Archie at first, so I stepped a little further inside, and Elizabeth followed me.
Archie was bent over at the waist with his butt in the air as he rummaged through a large cardboard box.
“What are you doing, Archie?” I asked.
Archie shot up in the air and turned around, looking panicked and clutching something to his chest.
He looked absolutely terrified.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the object he was desperately trying to hide behind his back.
Archie’s eyes looked down. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just doing a spot of spring cleaning.”
“Archie, it’s Fall, not Spring.”
I stepped closer to Archie and saw exactly what he was trying to hide.
“Archie, is that cheese wire?”
Elizabeth began to fly around the storeroom. “I knew it! Didn’t I tell you so, Harper? He did it! Quick, call the police.”
Archie’s lip wobbled a little. “Joe McGrady told me last night what weapon the killer used, and I knew I had a great bundle of it here. I thought it would make me look guilty, so I was trying to hide it. But it wasn’t me, Harper. You have to believe that.”
“Of course, I don’t think it was you,” I said and patted his shoulder.
“What? Are y
ou crazy?” Elizabeth screamed. “He just practically admitted it. The man is clearly a cold-blooded killer!”
“Hey!” I shouted at Elizabeth.
Archie looked puzzled. “What?”
I flushed, realizing that I’d spoken to Elizabeth out loud in front of Archie.
“Er, I thought I saw a mouse.”
I was terrible at making up excuses on the spot.
“What!” Archie squealed in a high-pitched voice, his eyes frantically searching the floor.
“My mistake. I think it was just a shadow, Archie. Why don’t you come into the kitchen and get a cup of coffee? I’ve got to get back to serve old Bob his breakfast.”
Archie nodded, but he didn’t stop searching the floor for the mouse.
“I’ll be along in a moment,” he said.
I moved out of the storeroom, into the kitchen and collected old Bob’s breakfast from Sarah. As I carried the plate through to the diner, Elizabeth snootily said, “I’m not surprised he has mice. It’s only to be expected in a terrible place like this.”
“Will you stop?” I hissed at Elizabeth. “I didn’t see a mouse. I only said that to cover my reaction to you. I have quite enough problems, thank you very much, without my boss thinking I’m nuts.”
I gave her a furious look and then pursed my lips together, determined not to speak to Elizabeth for the rest of my shift.
After work, I was still thinking about Archie as I grabbed my coat and headed outside with Elizabeth following me closely.
“I don’t know why you’re so grouchy with me,” she complained. “I’m the victim in all this.”
I didn’t respond and instead nodded to Mrs. Townsend as she passed us, walking her little Pomeranian.
When we turned the corner, I couldn’t see anyone and so figured it was safe to speak. I said, “Elizabeth, I am not grouchy.”
“Yes, you are, Harper. You haven’t spoken to me all day.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Elizabeth, I can’t talk to you because if I did, people would think I was crazy. Surely you can see that?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I still think it’s rude.”
It had been a long day, and all I wanted to do was get home and have a nice hot bath, but I didn’t know what I could do to help Elizabeth. I needed to do something soon, or she was going to drive me crazy.
I hoped that as time passed, something would trigger her memory.
Suddenly, I stopped walking, forcing Elizabeth to float right through me, which made me shiver and the fine hairs on my arms prickle.
“What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked in irritation.
She followed my gaze and saw her son, Robert Jr, bundled up in a huge coat, rushing across Main Street ahead of us.
“What’s he doing?” I said, but it was really a rhetorical question because I was quite sure Elizabeth had no idea what he was doing either.
The coat he wore was huge, and he was definitely hiding something beneath it.
I held up my hand, waved and called after him, “Robert? Robert Jr, wait up.”
He turned and saw me behind him, and his face contorted in a mask of panic, but instead of slowing down, he sped up, racing along Main Street and then ducked down a side street.
Elizabeth was as perplexed as I was. “What on earth is he doing?”
We dashed across the road, trying to keep up with him, but when we finally reached the side street he’d turned down, there was no sign of him.
“He’s gone. Why would he be running like that?” I asked Elizabeth.
She shook her head. “I’ve no idea. It’s very unlike him.”
“I know he heard me calling him, but he ignored me.”
Elizabeth shot me a sideways look. “Well, my son has always been careful about the company he keeps.”
My temper flared. “And just what is that supposed to mean? I’m not good enough company for him, is that what you’re saying?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s not your fault, Harper. The whole town thinks your family is a little…odd.”
I put my hands on my hips and turned to face Elizabeth. “The whole town thinks I’m odd because of things like this. Because I’m trying to help you. And another thing …” I pointed at Elizabeth, but then slowly dropped my hand to my side when I saw Joe McGrady and Chief Wickham striding along Main Street towards us.
I groaned. Perfect timing. No doubt, in their opinion, I was no longer simply odd. I’d risen to full-blown crazy.
But before they could reach me, Mrs. Townsend called them over. “Cooee, Cooee, Chief Wickham.”
Being the polite gentlemen they were, they stopped to talk to Mrs. Townsend. Elizabeth and I took the opportunity to rush off. They would catch up with me before long, and I would have to explain my weird behavior yet again, but I figured I would leave that problem to future Harper.
Chapter Fifteen
Jess and I decided to have dinner at the main house with Grandma Grant that evening. Elizabeth’s presence could be overbearing, and she’d given me so much to worry about that I’d almost forgotten to be concerned about the mischief Grandma Grant was planning.
We sat at the kitchen table, eating my Grandma’s famous potato pie, which was pretty much the only thing she could cook well. Elizabeth had insisted on having a small plateful, and she kept trying to pick up her fork, but her fingers went right through it.
“I thought ghosts could pick things up,” she said grumpily. “Poltergeists do it all the time.”
I shrugged. “Maybe it just takes some practice.”
Grandma Grant looked down at the plate in front of Elizabeth and shook her head. “Honestly, we’re pandering to ghosts. Whatever next?”
I quickly changed the subject before Elizabeth got too upset. I told Jess and Grandma what had happened with Archie and the cheese wire, and then told them how we saw Robert Jr running away from us and hiding something beneath his coat.
Grandma Grant put a large forkful of potato and cheese in her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully, then she said, “Well, Robert Jr always was a little bit twitchy.”
Elizabeth shot three feet in the air, and I groaned.
“He is not twitchy!” Elizabeth exploded. “He’s a good boy, and anyway, you’re a fine one to talk. Your son ran off to New York City as soon as he had the chance to get away from you!”
I gasped at Elizabeth’s words, and Grandma Grant turned to me with narrowed eyes.
“What did she say?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Elizabeth is just a bit upset. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
“I certainly did mean it,” Elizabeth said and floated over to Grandma Grant, trying to pinch her arm and failing miserably.
“Elizabeth, please sit down.”
But Elizabeth ignored me.
“Harper Grant, tell me what she said otherwise I’m never making you this potato pie again,” Grandma Grant said, looking fierce.
I weighed up my options. The pie was certainly the best thing Grandma Grant made, but then again, she was not going to be happy if I told her what Elizabeth said.
I couldn’t win.
“Harper, spit it out.” Grandma Grant’s voice had a steely edge to it.
I blurted out, “Elizabeth said, your son went off to New York City as soon as he got the chance to get away from you.”
Grandma Grant put her hands on the table and pushed herself to her feet. Standing up, she pointed to a spot of empty air. “Get out! Elizabeth Naggington, you are no longer welcome in my house. Get out right now!”
“Um, Grandma, she’s actually behind you,” I said.
Grandma Grant gave a tremendous roar that didn’t seem like it could come from such a small lady, and then she started smacking the air behind her, waving her hands around wildly.
Elizabeth screamed as if she was really being attacked, although I was sure she couldn’t actually feel Grandma’s arms as they passed right through her.
I stood up. “Come on, Elizabeth
. You’ve outstayed your welcome,” I said and then looked regretfully down at my half-eaten potato pie.
Trying to help Elizabeth Naggington was turning into a nightmare.
I left Jess trying to calm down Grandma Grant and led Elizabeth back to our little cottage.
I was thoroughly fed up. We hadn’t managed to unearth any clues that could help find the killer, and Elizabeth was just getting me into trouble with everybody in town.
“I didn’t mean to upset her,” Elizabeth wheedled. “But she did insult my son first. So it wasn’t my fault really.”
I sighed heavily and opened the front door. I just could not be bothered to argue. I didn’t have the energy.
I hung up my coat and dumped my purse on the kitchen table and then went through to the bathroom to run myself a bath. I put a large dollop of lavender bubble bath under the taps, and it bubbled up beautifully.
Elizabeth hovered by my side. “Oh, surely you can’t still be angry at me.”
I turned to Elizabeth with my hands on my hips. “Elizabeth, I’m going to have a bath, and no, you are not going to float through the wall to join me. I need some alone time, just half an hour. That’s all I ask.”
“Fine,” Elizabeth said grumpily.
After Elizabeth finally left me in peace, I stripped off my clothes and slid into my warm, fluffy robe. Then I popped on my huge frog slippers. They were a joke birthday present from Jess, and each slipper resembled a frog’s head. Not exactly attractive, but they were surprisingly comfortable.
As the bath was running, I went into the kitchen to make myself a cup of herbal tea. I looked over the tins of special herbs that Grandma Grant had prepared. I selected the one for relaxation. I certainly needed it today.
I poured the hot water into a mug just as there was a knock at the front door.
My first thought was that Jess had forgotten her key, so I stomped over to the front door in my bathrobe and threw the door open before wandering back to the kitchen.
“That’s the second time this month you’ve forgotten your key,” I called over my shoulder.
“Um, I don’t have a key,” a deep voice said.