The Ex Who Saw a Ghost (Charley's Ghost Book 4)

by Sally Berneathy

  “Text me when you get home safely,” Amanda said.

  A smile lit Sunny’s tired features. “I will. Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For caring.” She closed the door and roared away.

  “If I had the energy,” Amanda said, “I’d go back upstairs and kill my sister.”

  “Not a good idea. What if she comes back as a ghost and you can’t get away from her?”

  “You’re right. Not a good idea.”

  Amanda climbed the stairs to her apartment.

  Jenny sat on the sofa holding a glass of water in one hand, staring at it in disgust. “It seems like a year since I’ve had a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.”

  Amanda sank down beside her. “I guess you can’t have Coke either?”

  Jenny shook her head. “Caffeine.”

  “Thank God for that,” Charley said. “Hyper as she already is, I’d hate to see her after a couple of cups of coffee.”

  “It won’t be long.” Please let it be long enough for her to get back home!

  “Sunny’s nice. You met her at Charley’s funeral? She knew Charley?”

  “She lives in a small town. Everybody knows everybody.” Amanda considered leaving it at that, but there was no point in trying to protect Charley’s reputation since he had none to start with. “She was Charley’s attorney on a drug charge.”

  “Blabbermouth,” Charley said.

  “Oh!” Jenny’s eyes widened and she lifted a hand to her mouth. “That doesn’t surprise me. I never trusted that man.”

  Charley made a rude noise. “I never trusted you either.”

  Amanda looked at her hands. She was not going to laugh at Charley’s rude comment. She bit her lip. She absolutely was not going to laugh.

  “She looks familiar,” Jenny said. “Have I met her before?”

  “Who?”

  “Sunny.”

  Charley burst into eerie laughter. “Duh! She looks like you. Or you look like her. How dense can your sister be?”

  Charley wasn’t funny anymore.

  “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if she figured out who Sunny is and realized dear old Dad isn’t a saint and your mother...” His voice trailed off. “Or maybe it wouldn’t be hilarious.”

  It would definitely not be hilarious. On a good day, Jenny would have major hysterics should she learn the distressing and scandalous truth about her family. And this was far from a good day. When the story of Amanda’s birth came out a few months before, they had all agreed that Jenny did not need to know. She’s too delicate, their mother said. She’s too ditzy, their father said. As usual, Amanda agreed with her father.

  “Sunny’s a lawyer,” Amanda said. “You probably saw her at one of the parties Davey dragged you to or one of the dinners Mother had for Dad’s associates.”

  Jenny’s forehead creased, but she nodded. “I guess.” She yawned and ran a hand through her short, dark hair. “Well, I’m exhausted. Past my bedtime.”

  “Guess that means she’s going to sleep here again tonight,” Charley grumbled.

  “So,” Amanda said, “did you talk to Davey today?” She tried not to look too eager.

  Jenny shifted her shoulders in a casual shrug. “He called, but I didn’t answer. He called your number too. I didn’t answer that either.”

  “You can’t work things out if you don’t talk to him.”

  “I don’t want to work things out. My mind is made up.” She leaned over and kissed Amanda’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re home safe.” She struggled to her feet and staggered to the bedroom.

  Damn. That last comment and gesture took a lot of the steam out of her anger at her sister.

  

  Dawson was hard at work repairing the shovel head engine of a 1971 Harley Davidson FX Super Glide when Amanda got down to the shop the next morning.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she mumbled, heading to the small office at the back of the work room to get a Coke. She’d dressed as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid waking Jenny and hadn’t wanted to risk opening the refrigerator and popping the top on a can of Coke.

  Dawson looked up over the frames of his glasses and gave her his shy smile. “I think it’s okay if you’re late since you’re the boss. Everything all right with your sister?”

  “She’s still asleep. Sorry about the hassle yesterday.” Amanda retrieved a Coke from the small refrigerator and took a long, slow, delicious gulp.

  “No problem,” Dawson called from the other room. “I wasn’t worried. You can take care of yourself. I’ve seen you do it.”

  Amanda sat down at the cluttered desk and took her cell phone from her pocket. Such a small object to have caused so much trouble yesterday.

  She looked at her list of missed calls. As Jenny had said, Davey had phoned yesterday and left a voice mail.

  “Amanda, this is David Carter, Jenny’s husband.” Duh. “I’m very worried about her and the baby. She’s been gone for two days. If you hear from her, would you please let me know?”

  Returning his call would be the polite thing to do. It wasn’t as if she was interfering in her sister’s affairs. He’d called her first.

  He answered immediately.

  “Hi, Davey. This is Amanda. I’ve got your wife.”

  “Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”

  “Jenny and the baby are fine. I think she’d like to come home—”

  Charley burst into laughter. “You’d like her to go home!”

  “But you know how stubborn she can be,” Amanda continued. “I don’t know what you all fought about, but I’m sure if you were to show up with roses or a box of chocolates—”

  “She can’t eat chocolate with the baby.”

  “Remind me never to get pregnant,” Amanda mumbled.

  “What?”

  “I’m sure the baby will have no objection to roses. Or a piece of jewelry.” Surely there was a piece of jewelry out there somewhere that Jenny didn’t have. “Mostly I think she’d just like to know you’re concerned about her. Come by and tell her you’re sorry about whatever happened.”

  “But I don’t know what happened. I came home to find her gone and a note saying she couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t say what it was she can’t take anymore. She’s been a little temperamental since she got pregnant.”

  And before she got pregnant. Amanda took another long drink of her soda. “It doesn’t matter what she can’t take anymore. Yes, she’s a little irrational right now. Hormones and all. Just bring her flowers and jewelry and tell her you’re sorry.”

  “How can I apologize when I don’t know what I did wrong?”

  Amanda looked toward the ceiling. Instead of divine guidance, she saw only Charley.

  “It’s easy. Just open your mouth and say, Jenny, I’m sorry, I miss you, I love you, please come home.”

  Silence.

  “Pretend you’re trying to convince a client to sign a contract.”

  “There’s a diamond and emerald ring she’s been wanting.”

  “Good! Get her that and say the words I taught you. Jenny, I’m sorry, I miss you, I love you, please come home.”

  “I’ll have to get a larger size since her fingers are swollen from the pregnancy. She could have it resized after the baby comes.”

  “Bad idea. Get her a necklace. Her neck isn’t swollen. What did I tell you to say?”

  “Jenny, I’m sorry, I miss you, I love you, please come home.”

  “Good. I’ve got to go. A customer just came in.”

  “Thank you, Amanda.”

  She disconnected the call. “If I had to talk to him every day, I’d be as nuts as my sister.”

  “He has to talk to your sister,” Charley said. “That would make anybody crazy.”

  “I’m going to work on a nice, uncomplicated motorcycle.”

  “I’ll help.”

  “In that case, I need another Coke.”

  She tucked her phone into her back pocket to keep it close. The list of
people who might call was getting longer by the minute. Davey, Jenny, Jake, Teresa, Ross—and she didn’t expect good news from any of them.

  

  Amanda, Dawson, and Jenny were finishing the salads Jenny had ordered for their lunch when Teresa burst into the shop.

  “Amanda!”

  “Back here in the office.”

  Teresa paused in the doorway, gazing with wild eyes at the three of them sitting around the littered desk. “I need...is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

  “I’m done.” Dawson rose and picked up his almost empty plastic container. “I have an engine to work on.”

  Jenny rose also. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jenny Carter, Amanda’s sister.” She extended a hand.

  Teresa’s expression became even wilder as she accepted Jenny’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Teresa Landow.”

  “Oh, you’re Teresa! You and Amanda had quite the adventure yesterday! I’m so glad you’re both okay. Sunny and I were quite worried. Do you know Sunny? She’s a friend of Amanda’s. She met him at Charley’s funeral.”

  Teresa gave Amanda a desperate look.

  Charley twirled a finger around his ear to indicate Jenny was nuts.

  “No, Teresa hasn’t met Sunny.” Amanda lifted the container holding the rest of Jenny’s salad. “Why don’t you take this upstairs and eat in a cleaner place where you don’t have to smell paint and grease?”

  “Oh! Of course. You want to talk in private. I’ll just go upstairs and leave the two of you alone.” She crossed the room then turned back at the door. “Nice to meet you, Teresa. I’m staying with Amanda for a while. My husband and I are separated, and I’m pregnant. I’m so grateful to Amanda for taking me in.” She wiggled her fingers in a cutesy good-bye and left, closing the door behind her.

  Teresa sank into the folding chair and pressed her hands to the side of her face. “You’re not going to believe. I don’t know where to start.”

  “How about the middle?” Amanda sat in the chair behind the desk.

  Teresa spread her hands and drew in a deep breath. “Ross is rich.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Ross is...” Amanda repeated. “What?”

  “Well, you did tell her to start in the middle,” Charley said.

  “I’m pretty sure Dallas doesn’t pay cops exorbitant salaries. How did Ross get rich? Did he take bribes or inherit the family fortune?”

  “Actually,” Teresa said, “he did. Inherit the family fortune, not take bribes.”

  Amanda went to the small refrigerator, retrieved two Cokes, and handed one to Teresa.

  “We may need something stronger than Coke for this,” Teresa said. “Have you got a bottle of wine tucked away in that little refrigerator? Better yet, a bottle of tequila?”

  Amanda popped the top of her can. “No, I think I need to be completely sober for this.” She sat down and took a long drink then leaned back in the office chair and put her feet on the desk. “Okay, Ross is rich.”

  “He told me about it last night. We had a long talk.” She smiled and a faint glow suffused her cheeks. “He still can’t totally accept the spirit thing, but he said he cares for me. He wants us to be exclusive. I thought we already were, but it was nice to hear him put it into words, and it was really cute to see Mr. Macho Cop blush and stammer.”

  Teresa seemed more interested in the caring part, not the rich part. Interesting. “Okay, he wants you to have an exclusive relationship. That’s good. How about the rich part? His family’s wealthy? Didn’t he say his parents were dead?”

  “Yes, they are. His dad was a cop who got killed on the job when Ross was three.”

  “Another cop? So where does the money come in?”

  “Probably stole it from a drug bust,” Charley mumbled.

  Teresa’s lips thinned. “Really, Charley?”

  He shrugged and looked away. “I guess not.”

  Teresa turned her attention back to Amanda. “Two years after Ross’ father died, his mother married Nicholas Minatelli who adopted Ross and raised him. He barely remembers his real father except what his mother told him, but it was enough to make him decide to be a cop.”

  “So his step father wasn’t a cop?”

  “No, he came over from Italy and opened a small pizza parlor. He was making enough money to pay the bills and was perfectly happy with that, but Ross’ mother saw potential. She jumped in and helped him turn it into a chain which they sold for a lot of money when Ross was twenty-five. But they didn’t get to enjoy their wealth for long. They were in Hawaii on vacation, took one of those helicopter tours and crashed.”

  Amanda flinched. “That’s horrible!”

  “Yeah. Ross doesn’t like to talk about it. That’s why he hadn’t said anything before. All the money went into trust funds for him and Parker. He hasn’t touched his. If he thinks about the money, he thinks about the death of his parents.”

  “And Parker is Ross’ brother? His half brother?”

  Teresa nodded. “Technically, yes, but Parker came along a couple of years after Ross’ mom married his step dad, so they grew up together. Parker is his little brother, and he’s always taken care of him. Parker was only seventeen when his parents were killed, so he got an allowance from his trust until he turned twenty-one, which was last year. A few months ago he changed, became very secretive, something he’d never been before.” She stopped talking and looked around the room.

  Amanda and Charley followed her gaze.

  “It’s okay,” Teresa said. “I just wanted to be sure he isn’t here. It feels weird talking about him in front of him. He was with me most of the night. After Ross left, he confirmed everything Ross said, that they were close and Ross took care of him after their parents died. Then he had charge of his own money and his own life. Suddenly it hit him that his parents were really gone and he had to become an adult. He won’t tell me what he was being secretive about, but he didn’t deny it. He just said it wasn’t important.”

  “Good grief,” Amanda said. “There sure are a lot of things that aren’t important to dead people.”

  “Hey!” Charley protested. “Don’t stereotype dead people. Lots of things are important to me.”

  Like seeing to it that she and Jake didn’t spend time alone together.

  “What was important to him,” Amanda said, “was that Ross find his body and get his accounts transferred into Ross’ name?”

  Teresa nodded. “Ross was designated the beneficiary of the trust if anything happened to Parker.”

  “But what difference would it make if Ross is already rich? Not like he’s going to lose his house if he doesn’t get his brother’s money now instead of seven years from now when he’s declared legally dead. And if that was the reason, why is he still here since he’s already done that?”

  “I’ll ask him next time he comes around, but I doubt if he’ll tell me.” Teresa looked at Charley. “Why did you come back to Amanda?”

  “I came back to save her from Kimball, the man who murdered me.”

  Amanda leveled her gaze at him. “And Kimball is now in prison serving life without parole. Why are you still here?”

  Charley considered her question for a moment. Finally he looked down at the floor. “I don’t know. So maybe Parker doesn’t know either.”

  No one spoke for a long moment.

  “I think he knows,” Teresa finally said. “He seems determined and purposeful. Maybe it’s something as simple as not wanting Ross to worry about him. But I don’t understand why he doesn’t just tell me that.”

  “I don’t understand why he doesn’t tell you who killed him,” Charley said. “I told Amanda right away. They tried to blame her for killing me.”

  “Because I had plenty of motive. Are they trying to blame you for Parker’s death, Teresa?”

  Teresa leaned back in the metal chair. “I told Sheriff Laskey last night that Ross’ brother led us to the bodies through me. He didn’t say anything at the time, but
now he wants me to come in and explain how I knew where to find a well full of bodies. That’s what I get for being honest.”

  “It would have come up eventually. Jake told him we got the information from a trusted source. He’d have wanted to know the name of that trusted source, and you know neither of them would ever lie to another officer of the law.” Amanda was learning that the occasional white lie could serve a good purpose, but Jake and Ross were the ultimate cops. “So when do you have to go in?”

  “Next couple of days. He was pretty nice about it, but he seems to think I can tell him something that will help solve the case. I can’t because Parker won’t tell me.”

  Amanda nodded slowly. “I see. You’ve got to convince the man that you knew where to find the bodies because you talked to one of the dead men who told you where his body was but he won’t tell you who murdered him. Maybe you need a lawyer.”

  “People always get lawyers on TV.” Since Charley could no longer go to bars, scam people, pick up women and gamble, he spent a lot of time watching TV.

  “Yeah, I need somebody who’s tough and who won’t think I’m nuts because I talk to dead people.”

  “Actually, I may know somebody like that.” Sunny was smart, tough, and if she accepted that Amanda saw Charley, surely she’d accept that Teresa communed with other spirits. “I’ll call her.”

  “Thanks.” Teresa turned to Charley. “Yesterday when we were walking through the woods, what were you and Parker talking about when you went off to the side together?”

  Charley shrugged in an apparent attempt to look casual, but his expression was pleased. “Spiritual stuff. He’s new to this whole ghost thing and he needs guidance.”

  Amanda shuddered. “Please don’t guide him.”

  “That was very nice of you,” Teresa said. “You can be a big help to him. Did you discuss how it felt to leave your bodies?”

  Charley nodded. “We were both pretty confused at first. He’s still a little confused, but he’s getting better.”

  “Did you talk about how it felt to be murdered?”

  “We didn’t get that far. It was mostly how to move around from place to place and how to control coming back to visit with you all.”