“Did you say Garby?” The ghost of Madeline Kurtz stepped forward.
“Yes,” answered Emma. “There are two Garbys, Gene and Howard. They may be brothers and related to Nemo. One’s a detective, the other runs the rest home where Nemo died.”
“They are brothers,” Madeline confirmed, “and Nemo’s sons. If one of them is a cop, don’t trust him.”
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.”
Everyone but Phil and Quinn whipped around toward the door to the suite, the direction from where the voice came. In a matter of seconds, the ghost of Nemo Morehouse materialized.
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR •
“MADELINE, my dear, so nice to see you again.” The ghost of the old criminal approached her. “I understand we died on the same day. How perfect is that?”
“Get away from me, Nemo,” snapped Madeline.
Nemo smiled at Emma. “In our day, Maddy and I were quite the hot item. In fact, the four of us—Lenny, Dolly, Maddy, and I—made a cute foursome.” He turned to Lenny. “At least until Lenny here went and spoiled it all by becoming a traitor.”
“I was trying to do the right thing, Nemo,” Lenny said. “You should try it sometime.”
Emma walked over to the table. “Nemo’s here,” she whispered to Phil and Quinn. She tapped the iPad screen, making the information on it disappear. The two of them quickly understood, but Emma was worried about the ghosts, hoping none of them spilled the beans about knowing where Dolly and Laura were being held.
“I thought it was getting cold in here,” said Phil, keeping his voice low.
“Right now,” Emma told them, “the dead outnumber the living, four to three. So just sit tight.”
Nemo eyed Phil. “And who’s this, Emma? Another suitor? Or a cop? He looks kind of like a cop.”
“That’s Emma boyfriend,” Granny answered. “He’s a lawyer.”
“Ah, a mouthpiece,” Nemo answered in an oily voice. “I used to own several.”
Nemo wandered around the suite, looking at the other three ghosts. He dismissed Granny with a casual glance as he passed her. She lifted her upper lip in distaste.
“Yes, the gang’s all here,” Nemo said again. “Except for Dolly. And who knows, she might be joining us soon. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Don’t you dare hurt Doll!” Lenny charged Nemo but only ran through him. Lenny tried again, and again he only flew through the hazy image of the other ghost.
“You never were very bright, Lenny,” Nemo sneered. “But now’s the time to grow a brain and save Dolly. Where did you stash the money?”
“Your boys are going to kill her whether I give it to you or not.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” said Nemo with hands outstretched. “You always liked the tables, Len. You willing to gamble with Dolly’s life? You’ve got a fifty-fifty chance that she’ll live if you give us the money. Zip chance if you don’t.”
Nemo’s boys, Emma thought. She glanced at Lenny. He’d been saying that Nemo’s boys were coming for her. It fell into place. Lenny had been trying to warn her about Nemo’s sons but hadn’t made himself clear. She looked at Nemo. “Both of your sons are involved, aren’t they, Nemo? Even Howard.”
“And what do you know about my sons?” Nemo set wary eyes on Emma.
“I know Gene is the director of Desert Sun, and Howard is a detective. The very detective assigned to this case.”
“I knew you were smart when I met you, Emma.” Nemo looked at Lenny and laughed. “Then again, motormouth there probably told you about them. Or even Dolly.” Nemo stretched, a luxurious catlike stretch like he had all the time in the world and no place to go. “Who knew one of my boys would become a cop?” Nemo gave her a wide smile. “He’s a good cop, too. Straight as an arrow. Above reproach, until now. Until his brother convinced him this whole cockamamie thing with ghosts and mediums could work.”
Emma wondered about John Foster. “Is Howard’s partner involved in this, too?”
“Foster?” Nemo laughed. “No. But he is an unwitting catalyst. I don’t think Howard would have gone for the scheme, but the force brought that young upstart in from outside and promoted him over my boy. He’s put his life on the line and this is how they repaid him. I’ve always told him only crime paid.”
Emma stared at Nemo, wondering if he was telling the truth about John Foster and if she should have kept her mouth shut about knowing the identity of Nemo’s sons. She turned to Madeline when another idea struck her. “Please don’t tell me you’re Howard and Gene’s mother. Although I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.”
Madeline started to say something, but Nemo spoke up first. “She could have been, but she’s not.”
“No,” Madeline confirmed, shooting daggers at Nemo. “After what this louse did to Lenny, I wanted nothing more to do with him. He’d already started running around with some tramp from Boulder City—a cocktail waitress named Lola—before then. She’s the boys’ mother. She popped them out one right after the other.”
“So the boys didn’t take your name?” Emma asked Nemo.
“I never married Lola,” Nemo explained. “But I supported the boys and spent time with them. Lola married a guy name Garby, who adopted them. Considering the heat I was always under, we thought it best that their relationship to me was kept under wraps. When they were all grown up, Lola and her husband moved to Florida, but the boys and I got close again.” He turned a stern eye on Lenny. “That money is my legacy to them.”
“So close Gene murdered you?” Emma stepped forward. “And tried to stick that on Dolly?”
Nemo laughed. “Dolly wasn’t under any real suspicion. In the end it would have been deemed natural causes. I was very old and going to die anyway, within two months according to the doc. It was all about timing. And by the way, Gene did not kill me.”
“Not directly, but he hired Frankie Varga to do it. In the eyes of the law, it’s still murder.”
“You’ve been snooping around, my dear.” Nemo tightened his lips, them relaxed them into a smile. “Frankie reminds me a lot of Lenny in his early days—none too bright but willing.”
Before Lenny could process the dig, Emma said, “And by timing, you mean Laura Crawford or someone like her.” Emma got even closer to the dead hood. “You couldn’t die until you had a medium you could trust to be the communicator between you and your sons.”
Nemo laughed. “You and your kind are amazingly ethical, Emma. At least the real ones are. We met up with a lot of crackpots who couldn’t contact a ghost if they were one themselves. Others were wary of Gene’s queries. It took us a while to find Laura. She’s young and impressionable, and almost unaware of her gifts, which makes her both perfect and maddening. There’s no quality control to her communication.” He gave Emma a short jerk of his head. “What we need is someone like you.”
“And you never knew about Milo?” Emma asked.
“Ah, yes, Milo.” Nemo turned to Lenny. “Who knew you and Dolly would produce such a talent, but alas, Dolly insisted he was a scam and I never saw him enough to judge for myself. And when he was older, he moved away.”
Lenny stepped forward, ready to charge Nemo again. “You keep Milo out of this.”
“For years,” continued Nemo, ignoring Lenny, “I believed her and even forgot about little Milo, then I read in the paper about his upcoming event at the university. Gene contacted Dolly and strongly encouraged her to set up a little meeting with us when he was in town to try and contact Lenny, but she insisted Milo wasn’t capable of doing that, even though he was famous for it. That’s why Dolly came to see me the night I died. She wanted to tell me she’d found someone better suited to help than Milo.”
“Me,” Emma said, pointing as herself.
Nemo winked his confirmation. “You.”
Emma closed her eyes as more of the puzzle came together. It wasn’t that Dolly hadn’t believed in Milo’s gifts all these years; she was trying to protect him. That was why she wanted someone e
lse to look into Lenny’s presence. She knew Nemo was about to make his move, and she wanted to be sure that Lenny was around and Emma could communicate with him. Not that Emma appreciated being thrown into the mix as a substitute, but she could see Dolly’s motive from a mother’s viewpoint.
“Over the years I kept in touch with Dolly,” Nemo continued, “sure she knew where Lenny stashed the money, but if she did, she wasn’t touching it.”
“I never told her,” Lenny insisted. “And I saw you hovering around her, watching her every move over the years. I just couldn’t tell her anything.” Lenny looked down at the floor. “If I could have, I would have told her so you would have left her alone.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” sneered Nemo. “She was a good-looking woman. Who knows, maybe I could have picked up where you left off.” Nemo was pushing Lenny’s buttons and it was working. Once again he tried to charge Nemo and missed.
“He’s provoking you on purpose, Lenny,” Madeline said with disgust. “Didn’t you learn anything working with him all those years?”
“For,” Nemo corrected her. “Lenny worked for me, not with me.”
“Stop the bickering,” Granny said with impatience. “It’s not getting us anywhere.”
“Granny’s right,” added Emma. “Nemo, I want to talk to Lenny alone. Maybe I can learn more about the money.” She stepped even closer to the ghost and pointed her right index finger in his face. “But if we do turn over that money, you have to promise to return both Dolly and Laura unharmed.”
“You really think that creep is going to keep a promise?” Granny moved closer, but Emma signaled her to stay where she was.
“And if I don’t,” goaded the ghostly criminal.
“Then you’ll just have to wait and see what I have up my sleeve, won’t you?”
Nemo locked eyes with Emma. “In return for the money and their safety, you have to promise not to turn in my boys. The money is exchanged. The women turned over. And my boys walk away without a hitch.” He looked over at Quinn and Phil. “And that goes for them, too.”
Emma stared at Nemo a long time, weighing the proposition. She nodded, agreeing to his terms.
“Say it,” Nemo demanded as he started to fade.
“I agree,” said Emma, her voice strong, her eyes latched on to the ghost. “Just return them without so much as a scratch or the deal is off.”
“Tomorrow, Emma. You have until tomorrow to deliver the money. My boys will be in touch about the time and place.”
When Nemo was gone, Emma updated Quinn and Phil.
“Talk about a deal with the devil.” Quinn shook his head.
“What are we going to do about Dolly and Laura?” asked Phil. “Knowing you’ve learned about his sons might make Nemo concerned about you finding out about Dolan Springs and attempting a rescue.”
“But there’s no overt connection between the Garbys and Dolan Springs,” Emma said.
“True,” Phil said, “but he might be worried that somehow you’ll stumble upon something to link them. If so, he may try to move them.”
“Good point,” Emma agreed, “but in order to do that, he’d have to communicate with his sons or with Frankie and that other guy. It sounds as if they had all this set up in advance of Nemo’s death, but now communication is sketchy at best.” She turned to Granny. “Granny, you and Madeline go back and keep watch on Dolly and Laura, and report back immediately if anything changes. Eavesdrop on everything as much as you can, but be careful and stay out of sight if Nemo is there. I don’t want him knowing we know where they are. And Granny, try to communicate with Laura. If they do try to move them, I don’t want her making it easier by being the go-between.”
“Gotcha!” Granny said. “Come on, Madeline, let me show you how to be a ghost detective.”
“If you don’t mind, Granny, I’d like to move on to the other side.” Madeline turned to Emma. “I can see that Dolly is in good hands. Keep her safe. It’s not her time yet.”
Emma nodded and assured the ghost they would do everything possible to save her friend.
Next, Madeline went to Lenny, who was looking confused and dejected. “Len, I know you love Dolly and Milo very much. And I know Dolly loved you. Now is your chance to make it all up to them. Listen to Emma and do exactly what she asks. It’s Dolly’s only chance to get out of this.”
Lenny looked down at the floor and nodded. “You’re right, Mad. As much as I hate the idea of Nemo and his sons getting that money, I know you’re right.”
As soon as Madeline and Granny left, Emma sat down on the sofa with a pen and notepad. “Okay, Lenny, where’s the money?”
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE •
EMMA never got to the gym.
After Lenny gave Emma the directions to where he’d stashed the money, she, Quinn, and Phil put together a plan to retrieve it.
Quinn went back to the iPad and looked up the information. “He said Highway 95 south, right?”
“Yes,” confirmed Emma. “It’s a road named Jasper off of the 95 heading towards Boulder City.” She consulted her notes. “Yes. Jasper will dead end. From there we have to go on foot.”
“I see Rocky Point but nothing called Jasper intersecting with the 95.”
Phil studied the map over Quinn’s shoulder. “What’s that road there?” He pointed at the screen. “Can you enlarge the map?”
“Sure.” Quinn enlarged the map, then smiled. “Good catch, Phil.”
“What is it?” asked Emma.
“There are two 95s,” Quinn explained. “An old road and the highway. I’ll bet that highway was built after Lenny was killed.”
“Let’s see.” Emma did some calculations. “Milo was around two when his father died, and he’s fifty-three now, so if that highway was built in the last fifty years, it’s not the highway Lenny’s talking about.”
“There’s no Jasper intersecting the Old Highway 95 either,” noted Phil, “but there are a couple of unnamed turnoffs. One of those is probably it.”
“And like most everything else in Nevada, it’s out in the middle of nowhere.” Quinn looked at the two of them. “As much as I’d love to run out there tonight, I think we need to hold off until daybreak.”
“Why can’t we go now?” asked Emma. “The sooner the better.”
Phil and Quinn exchanged looks. Phil said, “City folks.” Quinn chuckled.
Phil turned to Emma. “That’s the Mojave Desert, Emma. Lots of dangerous creatures roam the desert at night and I’m not talking about unhappy ghosts. Ever hear of the Mojave rattler?”
She shook her head.
“It’s considered the most poisonous snake in all of North America. It’s nocturnal and we’ll be digging around smack in the middle of his home.”
“He’s right,” agreed Quinn. “Not to mention burrow holes that can snap an ankle long before you ever see them. Trust me, I know about digging in the dirt in dangerous places. Our best bet is to get some rest and head out there as early as possible.”
Emma wasn’t happy about waiting, but running around in the desert in the dark with poisonous snakes wasn’t something on her bucket list. “Okay,” she agreed. “Daybreak it is.”
“According to this map,” said Quinn, “it will take about forty minutes to get there. Probably less at that time of day.”
“Sunrise is around five thirty this time of year,” noted Phil. “How about we hit the road no later than four forty-five or five.” The other two nodded in agreement.
Quinn continued searching the Web. “One thing is for sure—we can’t take Emma’s SUV, even that time of day. The cops know it and might be keeping an eye out for it, especially Detective Garby.”
Emma slapped her hands over her face. “Arghhh, you’re right.” She turned to Phil. “You didn’t by any chance drive, did you?”
“No,” Phil answered, “I white-knuckled it here in a plane. Now I wish I hadn’t.”
“No problem,” announced Quinn as he got up from the table. “Conside
r me in charge of the motor pool and supplies.” He started to leave. “I’ll pick you guys up in the morning. I’ll text you a place to meet me when I’m on my way.” He was almost out the door when he shot back, “But you guys are in charge of breakfast. Something quick and portable—easy to eat while driving. And don’t forget the coffee.”
“Don’t you want to stay for dinner?” asked Emma.
Quinn looked from Emma to Phil, then back to Emma. He shook his head. “Thanks, but I have things to do for tomorrow.”
An awkwardness fell between Phil and Emma after Quinn left. Emma went to the closet and pulled out clothes for the morning. Phil started to turn on the TV, then stopped and put down the remote.
“Do you want to go out to eat or should I order room service?” he asked. When Emma didn’t answer, Phil added, “Or should I go ask the front desk for a room of my own?”
Emma hugged the shirt in her hands to her chest and stared down at the carpet a long time before answering. “You can stay here, but …” Her voice trailed off.
“But sleep on the sofa,” finished Phil. He pushed down on the cushions of the sofa, testing them. “I’ve slept on worse, and at least I’ll be with you.”
They went quiet again, then Emma went to him, “I’m serious, Phil. We need to talk.”
He sighed and passed a hand over his bald pate. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass about Quinn. He’s really a decent guy. I appreciate that he’s been watching over you for the past couple of days. Really I do.”
“This isn’t about Quinn. At least not to me.” Emma looked Phil in the eyes. “A little jealousy is fun in a boyfriend. It lets you know he cares. But when you get crazy jealous like you’ve been, you’re telling me you don’t trust me. That’s what I have the issue with.”
“I know. I—”
Emma put a hand gently to his lips. “Let me finish. I need to say this.” She moved her hand so that it cupped the side of his face. “I’ve told you a hundred times that what happened in Pennsylvania with Quinn is over and that he and I are just friends. That’s the truth and he knows it. If I had any feelings beyond that for him, you and I would not still be together. I’m not the sort of woman to tell one man I love him when I have possible feelings for another. And if you don’t know that by now, Phil Bowers, you need to learn it fast or move on, because I’m not giving up my male friends and I can’t go on this way with you. Not if we’re in this for the long haul.”
Ghost of a Gamble (Granny Apples Mystery) Page 18