by Angie Fox
I waited patiently as the flame stilled. "I know she's gone." His voice was like a whisper in the air. "But I need you to write it down. I need it to be real before I go."
"I have a pen and paper right here," I said, producing them from my pocket. "I'm ready."
"My dearest mother," he said slowly, practiced, as if he'd thought about this a good long while. "I forgive you." I nodded, writing his words. "Now sign my name at the bottom. Don't say private. Just say, 'Johnny.'"
I did. And with the final stroke of my pen, Johnny Baker's flame flickered out. He was gone.
I stood, not quite sure what to make of it, or where I'd even deliver the note, when Frankie materialized next to me.
"Sometimes, you just need somebody to listen," he said.
True enough. "Thank you for this," I said, "and for everything, really." Yes, he complained sometimes, but he'd always been there for me when he could. "We make a good team."
He raised a brow. "The last 'team' I was on earned me this," he said, lifting the brim of his hat, revealing his death wound. He shoved the fedora back into place.
"Well, this team is going to focus on less dangerous projects from now on. I'm not doing this for a living," I reminded him.
He nodded, as if he'd expected that. "I'll stick around and see how that works out. It's not like I have a choice."
The library doors creaked open, but it wasn't the injured Confederates this time. It was Ellis. He glanced around, surprised to see me alone. "Are you…working?" he asked, hesitating before he approached.
"Frankie and I were just finishing up," I told him. The gangster had already wandered over to join the poker game. "How's your mom?" I asked when he drew near.
He shrugged. "Let's just say you're not coming over for Thanksgiving dinner anytime soon."
I hadn't been out for revenge, just the truth. "At least she can look at my wedding reception tape if she wants to cheer up."
"I hear she's baking up some rhubarb pies," Ellis said dryly.
I shouldn't have smiled, but I did. A pair of ghosts had caught my attention. It seemed Josephine didn't need her house in order to be herself. She was currently mashed up against the circulation desk, kissing Matthew Jackson for all she was worth.
She caught me watching and blushed.
"No need to be embarrassed," I said as they materialized next to me. "It's a new millennium with new rules. I'm glad you're expanding your horizons."
She'd let her hair down, and it flowed out in ghostly tendrils behind her. "Now that our secret is out in the open, Ma moved on. I suppose she needs the rest. And I think she was holding Pa down, because he's back. Although he just putters around the forest and lets me go where I choose."
"Good," I said. Maybe Jeremiah Hatcher could find some peace as well. "I just wish I could help Frankie."
At Matthew's questioning gaze, I explained how Frankie was trapped on my property.
"The solution is quite simple," he explained. "I've seen it done before."
"Really?" I asked. I wished Frankie hadn't been off goofing. He'd want to hear this.
"With his ashes mostly gone, you need to find the one thing he treasures above all else. Place that with his urn, inside if possible. That will give him the strength he needs to leave you."
Wow. That was it?
"Thanks," I said. "We'll work on it from that angle." Presuming Frankie was in tune with his needs and emotions enough to understand what he truly considered valuable above all else.
Still, I wanted Frankie to be happy, even if that meant his leaving me. So we'd try.
Josephine chewed at her lip. "Verity, maybe it's not my place to give advice of this nature, but…you should kiss your man more often," she said, as if she were scandalized by her own suggestion.
I glanced at Ellis, and couldn't help but smile.
"What?" he asked, aware that he was missing out on the joke.
I reached up and slid my hands over his shoulders, and then I kissed him. If it shocked him, he didn't show it. In fact, he kissed me back with so much enthusiasm I wondered if I'd be the one putting on a show for Josephine for a change.
"That's enough," I said, drawing back with a grin. "We have an audience."
Ellis mirrored my mirth. "I figured." He leaned down and brushed his lips once more against mine. "Can't fault a guy for seizing the moment."
I played with his uniform collar. "You realize we just broke the curse."
He cocked his head and waited for me to explain.
I couldn't help but blush a little. "We kissed, and we didn't have to be buried alive, shot at, or set on fire to do it."
He tightened his grip on me. "Let's break the curse again, just to make sure," he said, getting saucy. "We certainly don't want to take any chances."
~THE END~
A note from Angie:
Thank you so much for dropping in on Verity, Frankie, and the rest of Sugarland. I'm truly grateful for the wonderful response this series has received. Just so you know, there will be at least five books total. The next (untitled) book will release in early 2016. In the meantime, be sure to sign up here to receive an email when the next book comes out.
Happy reading,
Angie Fox
COMPLETE BOOKLIST
KEEP TRACK OF Angie's new book releases by receiving an email on release day. It's fast and easy to sign up for new release updates
Most of the following Angie Fox titles are also available in print format.
THE SOUTHERN GHOST HUNTER SERIES:
Southern Spirits
A Ghostly Gift (short story)
The Skeleton in the Closet
Untitled Book 3 - coming early 2016
THE BIKER WITCHES/
ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER SERIES:
The Accidental Demon Slayer
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers
A Tale of Two Demon Slayers
The Last of the Demon Slayers
My Big Fat Demon Slayer Wedding
Beverly Hills Demon Slayer
Night of the Living Demon Slayer
Date with a Demon Slayer
THE MONSTER MASH SERIES:
Immortally Yours
Immortally Embraced
Immortally Ever After
SHORT STORIES:
The Tenth Dark Lord 'A Leaping: Lizzie and Dimitri's first Christmas (a demon slayer novella)
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo
Love Bites
Murder on Mysteria Lane (from The Real Werewives of Vampire County anthology)
What Slays in Vegas (from the So I Married a Demon Slayer anthology)
About the Author
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Angie Fox writes sweet, fun, action-packed mysteries. Her characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, Angie is afraid of basements, bees, going up stairs when it's all dark behind her, and (her friends have way too much fun with this one) puppets.
Angie earned a Journalism degree from the University of Missouri. During that time, she also skipped class for an entire week so she could read Anne Rice's vampire series straight through. Angie has always loved books and is shocked, honored and tickled pink that she now gets to write books for a living. Although, she did skip writing for a week this past fall so she could read Victoria Laurie's Abby Cooper psychic eye mysteries straight through.
Angie makes her home in St. Louis, Missouri with a football-addicted husband, two kids, and Moxie the dog.
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Angie Fox Copyright 2015
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or
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Table of Contents
The Skeleton in the Closet
Also by Angie Fox
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
COMPLETE BOOKLIST
About the Author
Copyright