Dr. Miller put on his reading glasses and examined the ring closely. Keeping ahold of it, he showed it to his wife, who was equally impressed. “I’m no expert, but to the naked eye that looks nearly flawless.”
“And large,” added Elizabeth. “Didn’t you say this stone was once set in a man’s ring? Seems rather large for that.”
“I vaguely recall Max’s wedding ring, the one Joanna gave him after they restated their vows. The stone was huge, but it was recessed in the band, so it didn’t sit up like in this setting.”
“I’ll bet that ring is worth a mint.” Dr. Miller gave it back to Emma. “Haunted or not, it shouldn’t be sitting around.” He got up and resettled in the club chair he’d vacated earlier.
“Why don’t you put it in the safe until you can give it to Lainey?” Elizabeth suggested.
Emma’s father shook his head. “They won’t let Lainey have anything that valuable while she’s at Serenity. She’d just have to turn around and give it to someone there to hold it for her.”
“Dad’s right.” Emma studied the ring, both wishing and dreading further communication with the spirit within it. “I’ll tell Lainey I have it and ask if she wants me to give it to her mother to hold.”
“Hey,” Phil piped up as a thought occurred to him. “If that stone originally belonged to Max, and Joanna only recently handed it over to Lainey and Keith, do you think that maybe she knows about the spirit?” While the other three contemplated his question, he added, “She does seem to be sensitive to spirits.”
Elizabeth looked at Emma with surprise. “Is Lainey’s mother like us?”
Emma smiled inwardly at the “like us” comment. Her mother could hear Granny but couldn’t see her, and so far had not demonstrated an ability to hear other ghosts beyond the one time Emma had helped her see Paulie, Emma’s deceased brother. Nor did Elizabeth seem to want to expand her abilities beyond that one time. Emma wished she’d set such boundaries for herself.
“I don’t think so, Mother. Joanna displayed a sensitivity to Max’s presence but claimed she could not see or hear him. I think it’s totally possible for non-mediums to sense spirits even if they cannot see or hear them, especially those they were close to in life. I’ve seen it at sessions with some of Milo’s clients.”
She gestured with her hand to Phil. “Phil has learned to communicate with Granny and can tell when she’s around.”
“Really?” asked Dr. Miller with interest.
“Absolutely,” answered Phil, “and not just when Emma’s present. Granny and I have become quite the pals.”
Phil unwrapped his arm from around Emma’s shoulders and leaned forward. “Right now,” Phil told them, “Granny is over by the fireplace. Just to the left of it.” He looked to Emma for confirmation. After she rewarded him with a nod, he continued his demonstration. “And I’ll bet she’s right behind Archie, possibly low to the floor or sitting on it.”
“You sure he can’t see me?” Granny asked Emma.
Emma’s mother sat back against the sofa cushion, her face filled with astonishment. “I’m beginning to wonder the same thing myself, Granny. I only know where you are by the sound of your voice.”
Emma laughed, her first in many hours. She was also warm again and shrugged off the afghan. “They think you’re holding out—that you really can see Granny.”
Phil shook his head. He lifted the coffee mug from the end table next to him and took a gulp, stretching out his explanation and enjoying it far too much.
“All it takes is a bit of observation,” he continued. Still holding the coffee cup, he pointed it toward where he rightly assumed Granny was sitting. “Archie has been glued to that spot ever since we came in here, and we all know he’s devoted to Granny. What’s more, right now he’s all stretched out, with his tail thumping away. I’m guessing not only is Granny over there on the floor with him, but she’s rubbing his belly.”
Emma turned toward Granny, who was still rubbing the soft fur on Archie’s black underbelly, putting the animal into doggie nirvana.
Suddenly aware of what she was doing, Granny stopped. “Well, I’ll be.” Archie, not at all pleased, whined.
“They also chat back and forth,” Emma informed her parents.
Dr. Miller, a man of science, sat back in his chair. “This I have to see to believe.”
“You mind, Granny?” Emma asked the ghost.
In response, Granny stood up.
“Granny,” Phil asked her. “Do you think Joanna Reid is lying? Do you think she can see or hear Max?”
“No,” Granny answered. “She can’t.”
“Tell Phil, Granny,” Emma told her. “Mother and I can hear you, but tell Phil.”
Phil stood up and moved to the middle of the room. The ghost drifted over to him. Archie got to his feet and followed, planting his butt on the carpet where Granny stopped. The Millers watched, fascinated.
When Phil repeated his question, Granny got on tiptoe and blew into his left ear.
“Granny said no, she doesn’t think Joanna can see or hear Max.”
“Granny,” Phil said to the spirit. “Do you think Emma should help Lainey and this new ghost?”
The ghost gave it some thought before blowing into Phil’s left ear.
“No? You don’t think she should?”
Granny moved her head and blew into Phil’s right ear.
“Oh, so you do think she should help them?”
“No.” Granny stomped her foot soundlessly on the carpet. Archie started in surprise. She blew into Phil’s left ear again, then quickly blew into his right.
“Are you confused?” Phil asked the ghost.
“Nothing confusing about it, you old fool. I think she shouldn’t help the ghost, but she should help Lainey. You gotta ask the right questions, not jumble them all together.”
Emma and her mother broke into laughter. So did the men when Emma’s mother conveyed Granny’s words.
“You gotta teach me that trick, Phil,” Dr. Miller said. “Might liven up the football games she watches with us.”
Phil sat down in a club chair that matched Dr. Miller’s. “Nothing tricky about it. Like I said, you just have to be observant. You already know it gets a bit cool when she’s here. Just watch the dog and pay attention. Left ear is no, and the right is yes.”
“I ain’t no parlor trick,” huffed Granny in a barely audible voice. Turning on her heel, she stomped back over to the fireplace. Archie followed. Emma watched Granny retreat, noting the ghost’s image was fast dissipating.
Phil watched the dog trot across the carpet, stopping short in his tracks as if he’d come across a wall. “Did Granny leave? Was it something I said?”
“She’s gone,” Emma confirmed. “You have to remember that being with us takes a lot of Granny’s energy. The more she speaks or is visible, the sooner she has to leave us to recharge.” Emma walked over and sat on the arm of Phil’s chair. “Remember how I said it’s not possible for Granny to blow into your ear?”
“But she did blow into my ear,” Phil stated with emphasis. “Just now and before.”
Emma shook her head. “She can’t blow. Not really. But she can cause the air around her to move. It takes a lot out of her though.” She put an arm around Phil’s shoulders while she explained. “Today, when Joanna thought she was being forced back down into her chair, Max was doing it. He was causing the atmosphere around Joanna to weigh her down. But right after that, he disappeared again. He’d used up his energy. Even petting Archie is like that. Granny isn’t really petting him but moving the air around his belly so it feels like a caress. It’s exhausting for her, but she loves doing it.” She gave Phil a squeeze. “But not to worry, Granny will be back and her old self soon—at least I hope so. I wanted to ask her why she didn’t want me to help that other ghost.”
“Whoever that is,” Granny answered, her whispery voice coming out of nowhere, “she’s up to no good. She’s killing people, Emma. I don’t want you messing wi
th her.”
“Granny’s back,” Elizabeth told the men before reporting Granny’s words to them.
“Yes, but only her voice,” said Emma as she stood up.
Emma walked toward the fireplace, hoping to hear Granny better. “But I have to help that ghost if I want to help Lainey. It seems to go hand in hand.”
Elizabeth continued to report the conversation to the men.
“Granny and I are on the same page here, Emma,” Phil announced. “I saw what that vengeful ghost did to that poor girl today.”
Emma thought about Summer’s fall and what she’d just explained to Phil and her parents. “And now I’m pretty sure Summer didn’t slip. I believe that ghost pushed her over the railing using the same technique Granny uses to blow into your ear.”
She looked down at the ring still clutched in her hand. “She murdered Summer Perkins the same as if she’d shot her through the heart, and she’ll keep on murdering unless we find out why and stop it. It’s likely the spirit in the diamond was the reason Max Naiman died in that car accident.”
“You think it might be a curse or grudge against the Naimans specifically?” asked Emma’s father.
“I doubt it, Paul,” answered Phil. “The girl who died today didn’t seem to be related to them.”
“But she was wearing the ring that belonged in the Naiman family,” Paul pointed out.
Emma paced in front of the fireplace as she tried to remember what Joanna had told them about the ring. She spun back around to Phil. “Didn’t Joanna say the ring was a vintage piece she’d found?”
“I believe she did say that.”
Going to where she’d dropped her bag, Emma retrieved her cell phone and placed a call to Joanna Reid. She only reached voicemail. “Joanna,” she recorded. “Emma Whitecastle. I think I know what might have killed Max and Summer Perkins, and tried to kill poor Lainey. I need to talk to you as soon as possible.” After giving Joanna her cell phone number, Emma ended the call.
“You think the police have contacted her yet?” asked Elizabeth. “She might not know about Summer unless she saw it on the news.”
“Hard to say, Mother, but even if she doesn’t know, mentioning Summer’s death might compel her to return my call, if only out of curiosity.”
Going down her list of recent calls, Emma hit the number for Serenity Place. When someone answered, Emma gave her name and asked to speak to Dr. Kitty Garvey, saying it was important and had to do with Lainey Naiman.
She was told Dr. Kitty was out but she could leave a message. “Please ask her to call me.” Again, Emma left her number.
“Is that the Dr. Kitty Garvey who is married to Dr. Michael Garvey?” Dr. Miller asked.
“Yes, Dad. Do you know them?”
“I met them many years ago at a medical conference.” He turned to his wife. “Remember, dear, they sat at our table during dinner one night, and later we all played bridge.”
Elizabeth Miller rooted around in her memory as if looking for a pair of lost gloves. “Was that the winter conference on Kauai?”
“Yes.”
“I do remember them. They were both psychiatrists, and as I recall, she had just had a terrible skiing accident and was in a cast. Was mad as can be that she was in Hawaii and couldn’t snorkel.”
“Dr. Kitty does have a noticeable limp,” Emma reported.
Dr. Miller leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands together. “If it’s the same pair of doctors I’m thinking of, they were quite adamant about treating depression and other mental conditions naturally.”
“What do you mean, Dad?”
“Naturally—without drugs except as absolutely necessary. I remember them being quite passionate about it. Said doctors and patients both were too eager to put a bandage on problems with drugs instead of getting to the root. Can’t say I disagree.”
“The few people I saw at Serenity Place didn’t look under the influence of drugs at all. You would have thought they were on vacation at a spa with regular exercise and art classes.”
“Exercise,” Dr. Miller repeated. “I recall the Garveys were very big on exercise being a major part of therapy. Wholesome food, lots of physical exercise, and digging deep to discover and face personal demons.”
Emma thought about Dr. Kitty’s comment about hooey. “I wonder how the Garveys would feel about facing an angry ghost?”
thirteen
“Have you decided what to do with that ring?” Phil called out to Emma. He was tucked into Emma’s bed, reading, while he waited for her to finish brushing her teeth.
Emma came out of the bathroom, her electric toothbrush humming inside her mouth like an industrious bee. She stopped it and pulled it out. “Still thinking about it. Might offer to keep it for Lainey until she’s out of Serenity. Then again, she might want me to give it to her mother.” She stuck the toothbrush back inside her mouth and ducked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. A minute later, the humming stopped.
Phil glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Emma had been in the bathroom a long time. Putting down his book, he climbed out of bed to investigate. He put his head close to the closed door but couldn’t hear anything. He softly knocked. “Emma, you okay?”
No reply.
Opening the door, Phil found Emma sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, lost in thought.
“Hey, Fancy Pants,” he said in a gentle voice. “What’s up?”
Emma turned her head slowly to look at him. It took her a second to return her thoughts to the present. When she did, she smiled. “You look quite fetching in those PJ bottoms and spectacles, Cowboy.”
Phil sucked in his gut and patted his thick chest with its sparse blanket of gray hair. “Ya think? Or is that just some crazy ghost talk?”
Emma’s smile faded into overcast clouds. Turning her head away, she stared at nothing in particular, her hands clasped together.
Phil took a seat on the wide, rounded side of the custom tub across from her and leaned forward, wrapping his large hands around hers. They felt hot to his touch. “Are you feeling okay, Emma?”
She continued staring at her closed hands. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Somehow I’m not convinced.” Keeping one hand on hers, he felt her forehead and cheeks. “Your hands are burning up, but you don’t have a fever.”
She pulled her hands away from his and opened them. Inside was Lainey’s diamond ring. “It’s the ring, Phil. It’s giving off heat.”
“I thought you put that in your parents’ safe downstairs.”
“I was going to, but …,” her voice trailed off, and she returned her attention to the ring.
Phil wasn’t happy knowing her answer to his next question even before he asked it. “You want her to come out of the ring, don’t you?”
Emma looked up, her blue eyes returned to clarity again. “Yes, Phil, I do. Until I talk to her, I can’t help anyone. I’ve been trying to get her to come out. She did it at the condo, so I know she can if she wants.”
Phil took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Emma, I’m worried about this ghost. She seems more dangerous than any you’ve encountered before.”
“But I need to know more about her, Phil. I think if I put on the ring, I might be able to connect with her.”
Phil dropped his glasses and jumped to his feet. “No, Emma.” Remembering Emma’s parents were in their bedroom on the other side of the house, he lowered his voice. “You know damn well wearing that ring has caused people to die.”
She scrunched her face up at him in challenge. “Are you going to forbid me, Phil?”
He stooped down to pick up his glasses and stayed in his crouch longer than was necessary, his eyes cast down at the gleaming tile floor. When he looked up, his displeasure was clear. “No, Emma, I’m not going to forbid you. You’re not a child. I simply want you to consider the consequences and the people who would be devastated if something happened to you—Kelly, your parents, even my aunt and uncle.”
He stared into her eyes, his unhappiness replaced by fear. “I’m at the top of that list, Emma. The King of the Hill. I’d be lost without you. Next to my boys, you’re my reason for getting up each day.”
She leaned forward and kissed him, letting her lips linger on his. “I’ll be fine, Phil.”
He pulled away. “Don’t make promises you might not be able to keep. Until you know more about that damn ghost, you don’t know what it’s capable of.”
“Then help me.”
“How? By keeping you away from balconies, cars, and sharp objects?”
“Yes.”
Phil did a double take. “You’re serious.”
“Yes, Phil. I am.”
Without answering, he turned on his heel and went into the bedroom. He plopped down heavily on the edge of the bed, his feet planted firmly on the floor to display his stand on the matter. Emma followed, the ring clutched tightly in her hand, as if that alone might prevent the ghost from escaping like a firefly.
“Phil, I need your help.” Emma stood in front of him and placed a hand on his bare shoulder. “Please.”
Not mollified, he asked, “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“I want to slip the ring on, and—”
He cut her off. “Absolutely not.”
She removed her hand. “At least hear me out first.”
Phil crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m all ears.”
“Now that your ears are open, how about opening your mind a little?”
He uncrossed his arms, but his brow remained suspicious.
“That’s better. What I propose is that I slip on the ring and see what happens, but only with you here. If anything bad starts, you can grab the ring and pull it off my finger. We could do it tonight.”
“What if the ghost doesn’t want to come out and play? Except for Summer, didn’t the others wear the ring awhile before it started haunting them? It might not be as instantaneous as you want it to be.”
She took a seat next to him on the bed and opened her hand. In her palm the ring looked like a harmless, large stone—beautiful but hardly deadly. “I realize that, but the stone is different tonight. It’s buzzing with heat and energy. I also think since the ghost revealed herself once, she might do it again, especially to someone like me.”
Gem of a Ghost: A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Page 10