The Ex Who Saw a Ghost (Charley's Ghost Book 4)
Page 5
Ross took out his cell phone. “I don’t have any bars.”
Jake pulled his phone from his pocket and shook his head. “Me neither.”
“Mine’s back in the car,” Teresa said.
“Mine’s...” Amanda hesitated, trying to recall the last time she’d seen her cell phone. On the coffee table in her apartment. She’d left in such a hurry, she’d forgotten it. Not that she expected to have reception if nobody else did.
“I’ll go back to the car,” Ross said, “find the sheriff or whoever, while you all stay here and, uh, guard the crime scene.”
“Like somebody’s going to stroll by and contaminate it?” Amanda asked.
Ross’ gaze dropped to Teresa’s scratched legs and battered sandals.
Ah! That was his concern. “Which could certainly happen with crazy men like those hunters we just saw,” Amanda added quickly.
“You stay here,” Jake said. “I’ll go.”
Ross looked as if he was going to argue but shook his head and mumbled, “All right.”
If his brother’s body was in the well, he probably wanted to stay close.
Maybe he wanted to stay there and watch over Teresa.
Jake nodded, turned and set off in the direction they’d come.
“Jake and Ross should both go,” Charley said. “Then the four of us can hang out and talk while they’re gone.”
Teresa narrowed her eyes at Charley and gave a slight shake of her head. “Thank you, Jake.”
“I should go with you.” Amanda followed on his heels. Enforced time alone together might be a good thing for Teresa and Ross.
“No!” Charley, Ross, Jake and Teresa protested. Only Charley sounded like he meant it, and his opinion didn’t count.
Amanda caught up to Jake and matched his strides through the underbrush. “You’ll probably need my guidance to get back to the car.”
“I was a boy scout. I have a very good sense of direction.”
“That’s great because I don’t.”
Jake kept walking. “I know you don’t. I also know you’re trying to help them by leaving them alone. If they’re going to have any chance, she needs to ease up on that ghost stuff.”
“Hey!” Charley protested. “Wait till he’s dead. Then he’ll have a different idea about that ghost stuff!”
But in the intervening years...hopefully a lot of intervening years...Amanda needed Jake to accept the presence of spirits. She didn’t think she could keep Charley a secret forever. “If you don’t believe she really talks to spirits, how do you explain finding the well with the dead bodies?” Amanda asked, stretching her strides to keep up as they plunged through the underbrush. She had long legs, but Jake’s were longer.
“We don’t know for sure Ross’ brother’s body is in that well.”
“Yeah, right. It’s just a coincidence that Teresa led us to a dead body. How would she know where to look if she didn’t have some kind of help?”
Jake stopped abruptly and turned back to her, his expression grim. “That’s a very good question. The authorities will probably want to know the answer to that, and I don’t think they’re going to buy into her ghost story.” He turned away. “We need to hurry. It’s going to be dark soon.”
Amanda dashed after him. “Wait! What are you saying? That they may think Teresa killed somebody?”
“Teresa wouldn’t kill anybody!” Charley said. For once they were in agreement.
“Jake! You know that’s not true!” She rushed forward, reaching for his shoulder to halt him, hit him...something. Her foot struck a rock hidden in the leaves and she stumbled, falling into the brittle debris of autumn.
Jake spun around. “Amanda!” He reached for her, but she was already struggling back to her feet. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” She focused on brushing leaves from her hands. She’d landed painfully on one knee but wasn’t about to admit that to someone who could suspect her friend of murder.
He took her hands in his and looked at her palms then at her face.
“Hey!” Charley protested.
She yanked her hands away. “No blood. Let’s go before it gets dark.”
Jake’s gaze lingered for a moment, intense and probing, then he nodded and turned away.
They’d trekked through the woods and found dead bodies, maybe Ross’ brother. Ross was not happy with Teresa and would probably be even more unhappy if one of the bodies was his brother. Teresa could be a murder suspect. The sun was sinking low on the horizon and it would likely be dark when they made the return journey to the bodies. And, oh, yeah, Charley was always there and her very pregnant sister was waiting back at her apartment.
Was there anything good about this day?
“I don’t like the way he held your hands,” Charley grumbled. “That’s just not right when your husband is standing here watching him.”
Nope. Not one thing good about the whole stinking day. And all the problems except her sister were a direct result of ghosts. Being able to communicate with spirits was not what it was cracked up to be.
The journey back to the well was faster and easier. The sheriff and his deputy arrived in a large truck and unloaded two four-wheelers. Small carts attached to each of them contained an impressive amount of equipment. When they set off into the woods, the sheriff rode one vehicle with Jake behind, and Amanda rode with the deputy on the other one. Neither man had been pleased to have their Sunday evening interrupted, but the promise of a well full of dead bodies got their attention. That situation probably didn’t happen often in Kraken County.
Teresa and Ross were waiting when they roared up to the well. Ross strode forward to meet them, hand extended. “Detective Ross Minatelli, Dallas Police.”
The sheriff, an older man with a graying mustache and a slight paunch, accepted his hand. “Richard Laskey, Kraken County Sheriff. This is my deputy, Clint Freemont.”
The tall, lanky deputy shook Ross’ hand.
Teresa stepped up to join them, stood straight and proud, and held out her hand. “And I’m Teresa Landow, the medium who found this place.”
Amanda flinched. Jake had simply told the sheriff they got their information from a “trusted source.”
The sheriff stroked his mustache. “Is that right? You’re one of those psychics, like on TV?”
“I’m a medium, yes. Detective Minatelli’s brother told me his body is in this well.”
Ross focused his gaze on a tree off to the side and said nothing.
“Well, then,” Laskey said, “let’s see what we’ve got here. We couldn’t bring in a lot of fancy equipment, but I think we can handle this.”
The four men went to work unloading the small carts. Soon the place was flooded with light and the men were working diligently with ropes and pulleys to raise whatever was in the dark depths of the well.
Amanda would have liked to squeeze in and see what was going on, but she stayed back with Teresa, just outside the lighted area.
“Is Parker here?” she asked quietly.
Teresa nodded. “He’s staying close to Ross. He says they’re hauling up his body and he knows Ross is going to be upset.”
“Does it bother him, seeing his body?”
“No. He’s just worried about his brother.”
“Didn’t bother me,” Charley said, “even though my head was blown off. But it’s like it wasn’t my head. I mean, my head is right here.”
“Yeah, Parker says that’s what it’s like. Omigawd. They’re bringing something up.”
“Something?” Amanda gulped. “It’s a man. He’s wearing blue jeans.” Somehow that simple item of clothing made the horror worse.
The sheriff and his deputy pulled the body out of the well and rolled it onto the ground.
Teresa clutched Amanda’s hand.
For several long moments nobody said a word or moved a muscle.
Then Ross squatted beside the body. Jake put a hand on his friend’s back.
Chapter Six
Amanda and Teresa were civilians, and Ross was personally involved. They had to leave while the Kraken County Sheriff’s Department came back with more men and more equipment to bring up the other “body or bodies” from the well.
Three people on each four-wheeler was cozy but doable. Amanda didn’t mind having Jake’s arms wrapped tightly around her, but wrapping hers around Sheriff Laskey’s middle was a little weird.
Nevertheless, they made it back and climbed into Ross’ car. They sat in darkness and silence watching as Deputy Freemont rode back to the scene and the sheriff’s truck drove away to bring more officers.
“You knew.” Ross stared out the windshield. “How?”
“I told you.” Teresa’s words were barely above a whisper.
“Who did this? Who killed my brother?”
“I don’t know that. He won’t tell me.”
“I see.” Ross leaned forward and started the car. They began the journey home through the darkness.
Amanda sat rigidly beside Jake in the back seat. No one spoke, not even Charley.
When they reached the highway, Ross let out a long sigh then cleared his throat. “I can’t believe you talked to my brother’s spirit.”
Teresa turned toward him and opened her mouth to speak.
He held up a hand. “But I don’t disbelieve you.”
“What the freak does that mean?” Charley demanded.
“What the freak does that mean?” Teresa repeated.
Ross stared straight ahead as the car followed its headlight beams into the night. “I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t know?” Charley asked. “If he doesn’t know, then who does?”
No one spoke.
“Go ahead, ask him,” Charley said.
Teresa compressed her lips as if holding the words inside. Surely she wasn’t going to let Charley lead her into a fight with Ross.
She lifted her chin and looked directly at Ross. “Whether you want to believe or not, your brother has another message for you. Now that you’ve found his body and know for sure he’s dead, he wants you to transfer all his accounts into your name, especially the bank account that his trust fund pays into.”
In the rearview mirror Amanda saw the scowl on Ross’ face. “At a time like this, you want me to believe my brother’s concerned about money?”
Teresa lifted her hands in a defensive gesture. “I’m just repeating the message.”
A dark, heavy silence filled the car.
“I could really go for a burger when we get back to civilization,” Amanda said. Food was always a good diversion.
“Sounds great to me,” Jake said. “I think I saw a Whataburger on the drive down here.”
“Whataburger,” Amanda repeated. “Great. Yeah. Let’s do that. Burger with everything, fries on the side.”
“Sounds good to me,” Charley said.
No one else commented.
Teresa’s cell phone beeped several times. “Guess we’re back to civilization. I’ve got a signal.” She took her phone from her purse and studied the display. “That’s odd. Nine messages, all from the same number, and it’s not a number I recognize.”
Jake’s cell phone pinged. He took his from his pocket. “I’ve got eight messages, all from the same number. Teresa, what number called you?”
Teresa read out the digits.
“That’s the same person who’s been calling me,” Jake said.
Amanda studied Jake’s phone and repeated the number. “I think that’s my sister’s number.”
Teresa called voice mail and put it on speaker.
“Hi, this is Jenny Carter,” said the little-girl voice. “I’m trying to find my sister, Amanda, and she phoned you recently so I thought you might know something. Please return my call as soon as you can.”
Amanda groaned. “She found my cell phone. I’m sorry.”
“No problem,” Teresa assured her. “She’s just worried about you.”
Another message from Jenny played from her phone, this one a little more frantic.
Jake handed Amanda his cell. “Call her and let her know you’re okay.”
“Thanks.” She took the phone and tapped one of Jenny’s calls to return it.
Her sister answered immediately. “Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me. I’ve been with Jake and Teresa all day, and we’re heading home now. Sorry you were worried.”
“I didn’t hear from you and I tried to call you and your phone rang here and I knew you’d left it at home and I couldn’t call you and you couldn’t call me! Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I get home.”
“I was just frantic! I called the police—” Amanda cringed— “but they said you had to be missing some really long period of time before they’d investigate and they said I should call your friends, so I did.”
“I know. We were out of cell phone range. Sorry.”
“I called your assistant and he said you were going out with Jake and Teresa and somebody else on Saturday night, and he hadn’t seen you since Saturday noon when the shop closed. He’s worried too.”
Amanda would have to call Dawson to reassure him she was all right. “Who else did you call?” Please say no one!
“I called Charley’s mother.”
“She called my mother?” Charley exclaimed.
“She seems like a really nice lady,” Jenny continued. “She’s very worried about you. She said you got into some trouble last spring when you were down there. I didn’t know about that. Why didn’t you tell me about that?”
“You’d just found out you were pregnant and I didn’t want to stress you.” Damn! She’d have to call Irene too. She and Herbert would still be up, worrying about her.
“And Sunny Donovan. You never told me about her, either.”
Amanda’s heart sank to her toes. Sunny was her birth mother, a fact she’d only discovered last spring and had deliberately chosen not to share with her sister. Sunny would be worried too.
“All right, I’m on my way home. Should be there in half an hour. I need to go so I can call Dawson and Irene and Sunny and tell them I’m okay.”
“You don’t need to call Sunny. I’ll tell her. She’s right here.”
Chapter Seven
Amanda opened the door of her apartment.
Jenny hurried toward her as fast as her bulk would allow. “We’ve been so worried!” Her small features were pinched with genuine concern.
“We have.” Sunny stood just behind Jenny. “You look exhausted.” So did she. Her usual vibrancy didn’t quite make it to her eyes or her voice. Even her red hair, so much like Amanda’s except for a few strands of white, appeared listless and tired.
Jenny took Amanda’s arm and urged her inside. “Where have you been? I’ve imagined all kinds of horrible things. You always have had a knack for getting into trouble. Remember when you rode off with that guy on a motorcycle and we thought you’d been kidnapped? And the time you were trying to smoke and almost set the house on fire? And—”
“Okay, enough reminiscing about the good old days. I’m sorry.”
Jenny frowned, spread a hand on her stomach and rubbed.
Was the baby coming? Amanda looked at Sunny and saw the same panic on her face.
“Are you all right?” Amanda asked.
Jenny sank onto the sofa, still holding her stomach. “Your niece was worried too. She’s been kicking like a football player.”
“I’m sorry,” Amanda repeated. “I went to see Teresa. Ross and Jake came over and we went for a drive in the country.”
Jenny and Sunny looked at her expectantly.
“Don’t tell her you were out looking for dead bodies,” Charley said. “She’ll have that baby right here. Then we really won’t get any sleep because babies cry a lot.”
“We drove down a long country road a
nd we went for a walk and it just took longer than we thought to get back here. I’m really sorry you all were worried and that you made that drive up here at this time of the night, Sunny.”
“Not a problem,” Sunny assured her. “I don’t have to be in court until tomorrow afternoon. I’m glad your sister called me. I’ll sleep better tonight now that I know you’re okay.” She picked up her purse from beside the sofa. “And speaking of sleep, I’m going to head home and let you all get some.”
Jenny struggled to her feet. “I wish we could offer to let you stay here tonight, but Amanda doesn’t have a guest room.”
“It’s okay,” Sunny said. “It’s only about fifty miles, and since I know a good lawyer who can get me out of a speeding ticket, I’ll make it in half an hour.”
“I think that’s just wonderful that Amanda has a friend who’s a lawyer. Our dad’s a judge, and my husband’s a lawyer.” She frowned at the mention of Davey. “Can I get you another Coke? Amanda, Sunny doesn’t drink coffee either. Amanda is the only one in our family who doesn’t. The rest of us love our coffee, but Amanda’s never liked it. Very strange that she didn’t get the coffee gene. I wonder if my baby will? Davey drinks coffee too.”
Sunny grinned and winked at Amanda, sharing the knowledge that she wasn’t really the only one in the family who didn’t like coffee. Neither did her biological mother.
“A Coke for the road would be great.”
Jenny turned and left the room.
“I hope she and her husband patch things up before the baby comes,” Sunny said. “I can’t picture her as a single mom. She seems kind of...helpless.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about her. She’s helpless in a very tough way. She’ll be back with her adoring husband long before that baby gets here.” Amanda looked at Jenny’s protruding stomach as she waddled back from the kitchen with a red can in each hand. “I hope.”
Amanda and Charley walked downstairs with Sunny.
Sunny slid into her little red sports car.