Ghost of a Gamble (Granny Apples Mystery)

by Jaffarian, Sue Ann

  The door to Dolly’s room was flimsy and locked using an old-fashioned hook lock fastened near the top. It was pretty rickety security, but it would hold up against an old woman. Emma unlatched the lock and opened the door. Dolly was crouched on a dirty double bed. The room was hot, with only a fan for circulation. Across from the bed was another TV. This one was turned on to a game show. Dolly looked up at Emma, but her gaze wasn’t focused.

  “It’s me, Dolly, Emma Whitecastle. I’m getting you out of here. Can you get to your feet?”

  “Emma,” the elderly woman finally said, clearing her head. “Thank God.”

  “Stay with her, Granny. I’ll get Laura, then come back to help.”

  Granny nodded and stayed next to Dolly, who was trying to get to her feet while Emma dashed to the door directly across the hall. It had the same hook lock and in seconds Emma was inside. Like Dolly’s room, it was hot with only a small fan moving the close air. Laura was sitting on the edge of a single bed, her long hair pulled back away from her damp scarred face into a ponytail. She looked up at Emma and a small smile crossed her lips. “I knew you would come. I’ve been waiting.”

  Nemo stood beside the bed. “I won’t let you do this.” He made a dash at Emma but just passed through her, just as Lenny had done to him the night before. A cold chill passed through Emma, like a damp draft in her bones, but she shook it off and went to Laura.

  “Come on, Laura. We have to get out of here.”

  Like an obedient child, Laura got to her feet. Just as she stood, Nemo charged her, but his spirit didn’t go through Laura Crawford. It entered her and disappeared. Just as quickly Laura’s scarred face changed from sweet and obedient to defiant. “I won’t let you ruin everything,” she said, but it wasn’t Laura’s voice but the voice of Nemo Morehouse.

  Laura started for the door, but Emma stopped her. “You’re not going anywhere, Nemo.”

  Laura started yelling, “Lloyd, it’s a trap! The cops are here!”

  Even with the AC and TV noise, Emma was worried the men outside would hear Nemo’s warning. She grabbed Laura’s arm, dragging her away from the door, and shoved her onto the bed. Quickly, Laura got to her feet and charged the older, stronger, and taller Emma, screaming as she aimed for her and the door. Emma again pushed the girl back, slapping her hard. “Come out of it, Laura. Fight him off.”

  Granny came in. “What’s going on?”

  “Nemo’s inside Laura, using her body. Stay with Dolly until I come for her.”

  “No problem. She’s a bit dizzy and having trouble standing.” Granny disappeared to follow the order.

  Again Laura charged, surprisingly strong from Nemo’s borrowed rage. She slammed Emma against the wall, knocking free the gun. Emma punched and slapped the possessed Laura, trying to knock clarity into her mind and free it from Nemo’s grasp, but the tiny medium only fought harder. Seeing the gun on the ground, Laura made a lunge for it, but Emma kicked it away. When Laura followed the gun and stooped to pick it up, Emma zapped her with the Taser.

  Laura let out a guttural cry and fell to the ground. She twitched and shivered in pain, then went limp. Emma retrieved the gun. While she watched, Nemo’s ghost left Laura’s body.

  “It’s over, Nemo,” Emma said to the ghost. “The police have your sons and shortly Frankie and your grandson will be in custody, too.”

  Nemo glared at her. “I underestimated you, Emma Whitecastle. I won’t do that again.”

  “Come, Nemo.” In the corner of the room the ghost of Madeline Kurtz materialized. “Come with me.” She held out her hand to Nemo. “Come where there’s no hate or greed or anger. Come with me and find peace.”

  “But my boys!” Nemo’s voice was full of anguish. He pointed at Emma. “She did this. She’s responsible.”

  “No, she’s not, Nemo. You are. It’s time to let go of all this and put it behind you. Gene and Howard will have to find their own way. You can’t help them. And you can’t hurt them or anyone else anymore.”

  The ghost lowered his head. “It was for them. All this was for them. That money was their legacy. A chance for them to have whatever they wanted. Howard was going to retire to Florida near his mother. Gene wanted his own business. They were both leaving Vegas to start over.”

  “Come with me,” Madeline urged in a soft voice. “For you, it’s over.”

  Nemo looked up at Emma. When their eyes locked, she said, “Madeline’s right. You can’t do anything to save them.” She looked at the old gangster, knowing she should provide words of comfort like Madeline. She usually did when speaking with tragic spirits, but Emma couldn’t. Not this time. Nemo hadn’t acted out of pain and loss as most angry spirits did. He’d been motivated totally by greed. “Go, Nemo,” Emma told the ghost with authority, “and do not come back.”

  From the floor, Laura moaned and moved. Emma sighed with relief. She looked up at the ghosts in time to see them fade together. She bent down and checked on Laura. She was still moaning, but was coming slowing back to herself. Emma helped her sit up and propped her against the wall of the bedroom. “I’m so sorry, Laura, but I had to do that.”

  Shots split the air, the sharp sound making its way through the TV and AC noise, and nearly stopping Emma’s heart. After telling Laura to stay in the room, she retrieved the gun and stuck her head in Dolly’s room. Milo’s mother was curled up on the bed, her eyes wide with fear. “Stay put,” Emma told Dolly, then jerked her head at Granny. “Go see what’s going on, Granny. I’m right behind you.”

  “Me,” Dolly said, not understanding that Emma was talking to a ghost. “You want me to go out there?”

  “Dolly, you stay here and stay low,” Emma clarified. “I’ll be right back.” She grasped the gun in one hand, and stuck the Taser in her pocket. With bullets flying, a Taser wasn’t going to do her any good now.

  More shots rang out as she made her way to the window she’d looked through earlier. Quinn was on the ground near the front of the Jeep. Frankie Varga was also down. Emma nearly collapsed but forced herself to stay strong.

  Where’s Phil? Where’s Phil? The question went through her mind like a mantra on Red Bull.

  “Quinn’s down,” Granny reported, popping up next to Emma. “He’s shot in the leg.”

  “And Phil?”

  “He’s behind the Jeep. His gun is on the other guy.”

  “I can’t see Lloyd, Granny.” Emma’s voice was frantic. “Where is he?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think he’s behind the truck, at the tail end. The cop is still between the trailer and the car with his gun on Lloyd, too. The kid is penned in, and if he runs, there’s nowhere to go, just open desert. They’ve got him.”

  “Look, Granny.” Emma pointed out the window. Quinn was moving, trying to crawl to safety behind the Jeep. Phil appeared, snagged him under the arms, and started to drag him. A shot was fired and hit the ground near the Jeep.

  “Hold your fire, Garby,” yelled Foster, “or you’re going down.”

  “Yeah, but I’m taking your friends with me.” Lloyd fired again, this time hitting the ground near Quinn and Phil just as they disappeared behind the cover of the Jeep.

  “Uh-oh,” said Granny. “We’ve got company.” Emma turned her attention down the road and spotted a car coming at them.

  “Please let that be the police,” Emma prayed under her breath.

  Granny disappeared, returning in a flash. “That’s the Garby boys.”

  “But the police were supposed to pick them up.”

  “It’s them, I’m telling ya.”

  The car slowed down, stopping in a cloud of dust just before it reached the property. The passenger’s door opened and a man in a suit stepped out. Emma guessed him to be Gene Garby since it wasn’t Howard. In his hand was a gun, but it wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular. “What’s going on here?” he yelled.

  “Dad!” screamed Lloyd. “They’ve got me pinned by the truck. Frankie’s dead.”

  “Who are you?” aske
d Gene Garby. “Show yourselves.”

  No one answered.

  Emma was relieved that Phil and Quinn were both out of sight.

  “It’s Foster,” Lloyd yelled to his father. “Uncle Howard’s partner.”

  The driver’s side door opened. Howard Garby stepped out. Like his brother, he stayed behind the door for protection. A gun was in his hand. “John, is that you?” Howard called out. “I think this is all a big misunderstanding.”

  “No misunderstanding, Howard,” John called. “I know what you’ve been up to. It’s all over.”

  “John,” Howard called in a friendly voice. “I’m sure we can work this all out.”

  Before Foster could answer, Gene Garby shot in the direction of Foster’s voice. Emma paled at the sound but recovered when she spotted the top of Foster’s head moving away from the street toward the back of the car.

  Another shot rang out. This time from the direction of the Jeep. It hit Gene square in the shoulder. He howled in pain and dropped his gun.

  Lloyd responded by firing several shots at the Jeep while Howard continued to pin Foster. Another shot came from the Jeep, this one hitting the front tire by Howard.

  More gunfire came from near Lloyd’s car. Foster was returning his partner’s fire. Between the Jeep and John Foster, it was the Garbys who were now pinned down with only their vehicle for cover. Gene Garby tried to pick up his gun with his good arm, but another shot from Phil discouraged his plan. He crawled back into the car and ducked low. Lloyd tried shooting at Phil and Quinn, but his shots only hit the body of the Jeep.

  Emma yanked open the door she’d entered and took the steps two at a time. In her hands, she still held the gun.

  This side of the mobile home offered no cover. Pressing herself against the side of the structure to stay out of sight, Emma quickly made her way as close to the end of the trailer as she dared. The crash with the Jeep had pushed the front of the truck close to the front of the trailer. It was too small of an opening for Lloyd to squeeze through. He was trapped in the triangle created by the truck and the trailer. His only way out was past Foster.

  Emma peeked around the corner and saw Lloyd edging for the far end of the truck, getting closer to the carport. His broad back was to her. Lloyd got ready to shoot again, not at Quinn and Phil this time, but at Foster.

  Like Phil showed her, Emma took aim with the pistol.

  “Lloyd,” she shouted into the small space.

  When the startled young man turned, Emma fired.

  • CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE •

  EMMA sidled up to John Foster. “Granny and Lenny want to know where Nicholas is. They want to play with him.”

  Foster laughed and looked at the empty air on both sides of Emma. “Sorry, guys, but I told my wife to stay at her parents’ place awhile longer.” Then he turned his attention back on Emma. “You did say he’d grow out of this ghost thing in time, right?”

  “Most children do,” Emma assured him. “Then there are those like Milo who never lose it and those like me who develop communication with spirits later in life.”

  “No offense, but let’s hope my son is of the first variety.”

  “Humpf,” groused Granny. “He’s no fun.”

  It was Saturday evening. They were at Dolly Meskiel’s home. She had wanted to have a combination going-away and thank-you party for everyone. The next morning Emma and Phil were driving back to California. Quinn was catching a plane home and they were giving him a lift to the airport on their way out of town. Milo and Tracy had decided to stay a couple more days. Milo was getting to know Lenny and acting as the conduit between him and Dolly. He was learning a lot about his father, and his spirit communication skills were no longer on the fritz.

  Phil came up to Emma with a glass of wine and handed it to her. “Pretty fancy spread just to say good-bye to us, isn’t it? And I’ve just seen the hors d’oeuvres. God only knows what’s going on in the kitchen. They won’t let anyone in there.” He indicated the screens that had been placed across the entry to the dining area and kitchen to make his point.

  “Smells good, though,” said John. He lifted his nose and sniffed.

  “It was Tracy’s doing,” answered Emma. “She hired a caterer so Dolly wouldn’t have to fuss and went all out.” Emma laughed and looked at Foster. “Tracy is an all-or-nothing person. Always has been.”

  “So, John,” said Phil, “what’s going to happen to the Garbys?”

  “They’ve been charged with soliciting to commit murder and kidnapping. Lloyd Garby has been charged with kidnapping. Howard cut a deal, which doesn’t surprise me. He confessed and told us everything about the setup. It really does seem like it was all Gene’s idea. Lloyd also confessed. It’s just a matter of time before Gene does, too. There’s too much evidence against him.”

  “I’m glad they’re cooperating,” said Phil. “I’d hate to see this ghost business and Emma in the limelight during a trial.”

  “Me, too,” said Emma.

  “Yeah,” said Foster, “but it would make for an interesting trial and would certainly boost your show’s ratings.”

  “Sensationalism is more my ex-husband’s style,” Emma answered, “not mine.”

  “You know,” Foster told them, “that woman from Desert Sun came forward.”

  “Claudine?” Emma asked.

  “No, Gloria Youngblood. She’s the one who tipped you off to the Garbys, isn’t she? At least that’s what she told us in her statement.”

  Emma nodded. “But she was so frightened, there was no way I would have given you her name. She’s really the one who changed the game for us. That and figuring out the Dolan Springs location.”

  Emma’s face clouded over as she took a drink of her wine. “It’s too bad about Frankie Varga, though.”

  Foster shrugged. “He made his choices.”

  Granny’s intel about the gun had been wrong. Frankie had more than one gun and had taken one with him when he left the trailer. He’d pulled it and fired at Quinn in anger over his truck, striking him in the thigh. He was about to fire again when Foster shot and killed him, kicking off the gunfight on Ironwood Drive.

  “Still, a death is a death,” Emma said with a half sigh. “But better him than any of you.” They were all silent for a moment.

  “What about Nemo?” Foster asked, breaking the silence. “Will he be causing any more problems?”

  “I doubt it,” Emma answered. “When he left with Madeline, I asked him not to come back. He may or he may not, but I don’t think he’ll be causing any mischief if he does.”

  “What about the money?” Phil asked Foster. “Will your family get it eventually?”

  Foster shook his head. “The casino was insured, so it will go to the insurance company once it’s released from evidence. I called my great-uncle and told him about it. He was quite excited. He said the insurance company initially didn’t want to pay up because they were sure it was an inside job.”

  Emma thought about Bert. It had been an inside job, but she didn’t say anything. There was no need.

  “By the time they did,” Foster continued, “the casino was sold. He wanted to call up the insurance company and give them a piece of his mind, but I think I talked him out of it.” Foster laughed. “Uncle Nicky is quite a character.”

  Quinn hobbled over on crutches. “Hey, sports fans.”

  “Saw you talking to Laura,” noted Phil. “How’s she doing?”

  “Seems okay,” Quinn answered. “She’s a pretty fascinating young woman and very resilient. I learned she’s from Oklahoma and has been on her own since she was like thirteen or fourteen.”

  Emma studied the girl, who was sitting on the sofa with Dolly. The two were talking with their heads close together. Dolly was holding Laura’s hand. “Did she say anything about how she got the scars on her face?”

  “Her father did that,” answered Foster. “According to her, he cut her up in a drunken rage when she was a young girl. She’s had several surge
ries. After the final one healed, she took off.”

  “What an awful thing to go through.” Emma’s mouth turned downward as she fought the tears threatening to well.

  “Uh-oh,” said Phil. “I know that look.”

  Emma turned to him. “What look?”

  “That here’s another little chick to rescue look.”

  Emma gently slapped Phil’s shoulder, but didn’t deny her tendency to help young people.

  Phil turned to Foster. “Emma’s the earth mother to all lost girls and boys, both living and dead.”

  Foster laughed and took a sip from his own drink. “I can see that, and it’s not just boys and girls, I’m betting.” He looked at Emma. “You went after Lloyd Garby like he was threatening your personal brood.”

  “He was.” Emma’s words held no humor. She’d shot Lloyd without so much as a second thought or shake of the hand. The bullet from her gun caught him in the shoulder just as he turned to face her. He now had an injury to match his father’s. Soon after, they’d heard sirens approaching. Surrounded by Mohave County deputies, the Garbys surrendered. Foster had called the sheriff as soon as Frankie was down.

  “That’s my girl,” Phil said with pride, putting an arm around her. “She’s a dead shot on the range,” he told Foster. “A natural.” He gave Emma a squeeze. “And to think you fussed when I taught you about guns, saying you’d never need it.”

  She gave Phil a small smile. “That I did. But I hope I never need it again.”

  Phil gave her a quick kiss on the side of her forehead. “Me, too.”

  “Well, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about Laura,” said Quinn. “Dolly’s applying to be her mother figure.” They looked back over at the sofa and saw the two fortune-tellers in an embrace. “And Milo is going to be her mentor.”

  “Yes,” said Emma. “He seems quite eager to test her skills and see where she is with them. He’ll be very good for her. He’s already told me that Laura is a ball of raw talent that needs shaping.” She looked around. “Speaking of Milo, I haven’t seen either him or Tracy for a while.”

  Foster indicated the hallway. “I saw the two of them head that way a bit ago.” He was about to say something else when he noticed Dolly waving him over to the sofa. “Excuse me,” he said to them with a smile. “I’m being summoned.”