by K. M. Waller
“My girl, Ris. She insisted I bring her along. She’s taking some beginner medium classes and wants to do a reading on the B&B.”
Ramona piped up from across the room. “Jordie has been regaling us with his ideas for the series. We’re very excited to have such an illustrious sponsor interested in the project. He and Ris suggested we add old-fashioned séances. I love the idea.”
Samuel stared out the window. It didn’t appear he was as impressed with Jordie as Ramona. It hit Lex with a punch in the gut that Amira’s great-aunt’s cloaking spell didn’t cover Jordie and Ris. He pulled out his cell phone and texted Amira a note about calling her aunts as soon as possible to work something up.
Amira hovered in the doorway. She checked her phone and nodded to him. He could almost see the steam rising from her head and wanted to shift the focus of her anger, so he asked her to bring him a cup of coffee. Her expression let him know he’d pay for that menial request later.
He needed to talk to Jordie alone, but he didn’t want to leave Ris with Ramona and Samuel.
This situation was loaded to blow up in their faces.
Dee walked in with a serving tray of coffee, her face pinched. “I’ve let Cookie know we’ll have extra guests for dinner, but we’re not really equipped to open up more rooms. The extra staff was put on leave until the spring.”
“I don’t mind sprawling out in Atlanta with my gal after our meeting.” Jordie glanced up at Lex.
“I really want to stay here.” Ris sat up. “You don’t have one extra room available?”
“Two rooms,” Lex interjected. Forget blowing a gasket, Amira would hit nuclear melt down if she thought Ris and Jordie were going to share a room.
Ramona stalked over to Dee and took the tray from her, desperation strong in the surrounding air. “Of course we do. We’ll make up the ‘Mother’ room and the one beside it.”
Samuel’s jaw worked as if he wanted to argue with the suggestion, but instead he kept silent.
Lex released Jordie. They’d have to make the situation work as is. There wasn’t enough time to regroup.
Ris stood up and stretched. “I’d love to see the stables. Horses are so cool. Did you know a lot of mediums can talk to animals too?”
Amira jumped into the room from the hallway, apparently listening in and waiting for an opportunity to pounce on her sister. She didn’t have the coffee he’d asked for. “I’d be glad to show you.”
If anyone took a closer glance at the two women, they’d see all the similarities, but right now Ramona could only see dollar signs.
Ris skipped out of the room under Amira’s death glare.
My turn.
“Before we discuss any further series development plans, I need to have Jordie sign a non-disclosure statement. We can’t have him pull out of the project last minute and then give out all our spectacular ideas.”
Samuel glanced over his shoulder at them, but stayed by the window.
Jordie stood up and shook out his jacket. “I’m good with paperwork.”
“It’s in my room.” Lex turned and didn’t wait to see if Jordie followed. He had better follow.
Lex didn’t speak until they entered his room and closed the door.
Jordie jumped in first. “I know you’re mad about the car, but Amira took my van. And that car fits what a port-a-potty king’s son would drive.”
“We’ll worry about the car later. What the heck were you thinking bringing Ris on an assignment? First you decide to not come because Amira ‘said so’ and now this. Are you trying to get fired?”
“These Walker women are out of control. All of them. The aunts, the sisters. Every single one of them. You don’t know what the past day and a half has been like for me.” Jordie flopped on the edge of the bed. He glanced at the floor. “I think I’ve been spelled or something.”
“That’s the defense you’re going with?”
Jordie lolled his head to the side, his cheeky smile back in place. “Depends. Will that one work?”
“Ris is not a trained agent. We’ll all be exposed, and then another clean-up crew will have to come in like with Burberry. That doesn’t look good for either one of us.”
Clean up crews consisted of groups of paranormals who could erase memories. If they were deployed, then the agency hadn’t done its job. Gramps and Sparsh kept a tally of which agents couldn’t get the job done, and even though Lex didn’t mind falling into that category, he didn’t want Jordie or Amira to be punished for any screw ups. He leaned against the door. If Gramps found out another Walker sister had joined an assignment, he’d ramp up his plan to pull the girls together as a team.
“What’s happening with the assignment?” Jordie asked.
“It’s moving much slower than it should be. Amira wants to solve a cold case before we send the ghost to the other side.”
“Are we allowed to do that?”
“We’re not here to do the police’s job for them. We deal in the supernatural only. I keep telling her this, but she’s a tad headstrong.”
“That trait definitely runs in the family.” Jordie wiped his brow. “What do we do next?”
“I need you to ask for a thorough tour of the B&B. Get into the rooms that are closed off and look for a picture or anything that could be related to our ghost. Amira can tell you more about her and show you the one picture we’ve found. The object seems to be a memento kept by Mrs. Chase before she died.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I need to have another chat with Samuel. Now that we’ve identified the ghost, he might know if something in the house belongs to the girl other than the horse figurine.”
Jordie sighed, and his bottom lip puckered in a pout. “I thought this assignment was going to be fun and take a few hours tops. Then we’d file the paperwork, and I’d get to hang out with Ris.”
Lex glanced out the window and hid his smile as he watched Amira and Ris walk to the stables. It appeared Jordie had formed a crush. “I don’t think we’ll ever have the luxury of simple assignments now that we’ve been introduced to the Walker witches.”
Jordie shook his head and stood. They exited Lex’s room and descended the stairs to the first floor. The smell of sweet baked goods filtered out from the kitchen. Jordie wiggled his shoulders, his expression and body language asking the question for him.
Lex waved him off. “Get a snack and afterwards get back to work.”
Jordie bounced his way to the kitchen, and Lex returned to the sitting room. Before entering, he took stock of the three occupants. Samuel and his far-off gaze. Dee’s worried expression as she watched Samuel from the other side of the room. Ramona tapping her nervous fingers on the chair, obviously in need of a nicotine break.
Lex walked in and approached Ramona. “Jordie would love a tour of the house and grounds. He’s fascinated by the rumor of the ghost.”
Dee perked up. “I don’t mind taking him.”
“No! I’ll go.” Ramona shot Dee a dark glance—one which Dee returned.
Samuel turned to Dee. “Do you mind getting Lex and me some of those delicious-smelling rolls from Cookie?”
When Dee turned back to Samuel, Lex noticed something for the first time. She looked at Samuel with the same moony eyes that Jordie had for Ris. Interesting. That was some kind of love triangle. Tim wanted Ramona. Dee wanted Samuel. Ramona wanted Samuel’s money.
Lex stopped his train of thought. Good heavens, he was beginning to sound too much like Amira. He wasn’t here to get involved in their personal lives. Moving the ghost along mattered most.
Dee and Ramona left the room and Lex stood by Samuel at the window. Even though they had to debunk the ghost as fake, his gut told him in order to get Samuel on board with sharing information, he needed to give him a little push in the right direction.
“I don’t think the ghost is your mother. We’ve gathered some information in town and we think it’s a girl named Mellie Waterson.” Lex watched closely for Samuel’s re
sponse.
Samuel’s face twisted in confusion. “Mellie? I’d forgotten about her. But why would she haunt the B&B? That doesn’t make sense. Mom died here, not her.”
Lex jumped on Samuel’s conclusion. “Do you know what happened to Mellie?”
He shook his head. “She just disappeared one day. Tim left town not long after and there were some rumors that she’d run off to L.A. with him. I haven’t thought much about her since.”
Lex couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth. “We’ve noticed that your mom decorated with some pictures that include Mellie. Would she have anything else in the house that belonged to the girl?”
“I shouldn’t think so. Mellie’s mom and my mom were friends. We hung out. I don’t even think my mom stayed in touch with them.” Samuel sat down in an armchair. “Why would Mellie push me down the stairs? Do you think she pushed Mom down the stairs too?”
Ms. MaryAnn had confirmed that Mellie and the two men were inseparable. Was she remembering wrong or was Samuel? Lex lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “I’m not sure I’d jump to the conclusion that she pushed anyone down the stairs.”
“I felt something on the stairs. I just thought it was Mother so I didn’t say anything.” For the first time since they’d arrived, the old Samuel Chase showed through. He sat straighter in the chair, and cockiness framed his features. “If some other spirit is the reason behind my mother’s death, I’m going to find out why. It’s time for me to get back to work.”
Lex closed his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
“Ghost Getters is going to catch that ghost.” He tapped Lex’s arm with his fingers. “This is perfect. I didn’t want to expose Mother but now that I know she isn’t responsible for the haunting around here, we can get some great footage to use for a pilot.”
The puzzle pieces clicked together, and now the purpose of the assignment took a clear shape. If they didn’t send Mellie to the other side and soon, Samuel could expose a real ghost and exploit her.
Samuel hurried out of the room. Lex grimaced and rubbed his chin. Time for a new plan.
∞∞∞
Amira walked closely beside Ris to the first stable but didn’t speak until they’d gone inside. She pulled her sister into an empty stall by the sleeve of her lacey black shirt. Ris tried to bat her hand away, but she increased her death grip.
“Great goddesses above, what are you thinking by coming here?”
Ris scrunched her nose. “Uh oh. You’ve got your ‘angry sister’ face on.”
“This isn’t a joke. This is my first real assignment with the LSP, and I don’t need you to ruin it.” She backed away from her sister’s bubblegum breath. “And what is up with the gum?”
“It’s part of my girlfriend to the rich guy persona.” Ris’s expression soured. “I’m not here to ruin anything. And why should you be the only one in the family who gets to do cool stuff? I’m better at magic. The LiSP should hire me too.”
“It’s not LISP, it’s the L-S-P. And no, you will not work for them or any other paranormal agency.”
“You don’t control my life, Amira. I’m an adult.”
“And that doesn’t sound immature-ish at all, does it?”
Ris crossed her arms. “Ally would support me.”
“You’re going back home tonight, and that’s final.”
Ris narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine. Whatever. I just wanted to help. As usual you’re trying to smother me.”
“I smother you because I love you.” Uh oh. Even as Amira said the words out loud, Tippie’s advice came back to slam her in the chest. People showed love differently. Her concern for Ris’s safety paralleled the same stifling concern Lex showed for her. Maybe if she could learn to let go a little, she could in turn teach Lex to let go a little too.
Scuffling from outside the stable caught their attention. Amira pulled Ris back toward the side and held a finger in front of her lips to shush her. They didn’t need to be caught arguing in an empty stall.
Tim’s voice rang out through the stable as he tugged Charcoal along by his tether. “Come on, you beast. We’ll keep trying to charm the ladies until one of us makes it out of here.”
He walked the horse down to the stall at the end of the stable and put Charcoal inside. When Tim entered the tack room, Ris squeezed the side of her arm. She whispered, “Let me have the cowboy.”
“I will not let you have anything. We’re conducting an investigation into a cold case which has resulted in a ghost.”
Ris stopped squeezing and smiled. “That may just be the coolest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Amira rolled her eyes to the side. How did they share the same genetic pool of chromosomes? “How can you help?”
“The aunts have been teaching me this really neat desire spell. I can use a little magic to find out what he desires most and use it against him if need be.”
Amira toyed with her bottom lip. Why was she considering this? “He could be a killer.”
“Killer body, you mean.” She winked. “Come on. It’s broad daylight, and I have a set of screaming pipes that would rival a banshee. Plus the aunts have also taught me some things that would make his hair fall out if he tried to hurt me. I’ll be super careful.”
She’d pretty much removed Tim from the suspect list and keeping Ris busy would keep her out of trouble. Probably. This could be step one in letting go. An example she could use later for Lex. The anxiety prickled her skin but she acknowledged it and moved forward. “I don’t have enough time to brief you on everything we’ve discovered so far.”
“Give me the abridged version then.” Mischief sparkled in Ris’s eyes.
Amira chewed the inside of her cheek. “You’re still leaving tonight even if I have to drive you back myself.”
Ris bopped the end of Amira’s nose. “We’ll see.”
Amira brushed her hand away and tried to hold in a smile at her sister’s tenacity. “The cowboy is Tim, and he’s Cookie’s nephew. He wants to be an actor. He works in the stables. Dislikes Samuel Chase. Knew Mellie when they were younger. Mellie is our teenaged ghost who I think is being used to create chaos by her killer.”
Ris smacked her gum a few times and then popped a bubble. “Got it. Get him to confess.”
“No. Just get him to talk about himself.” That task wouldn’t be too hard. “And we’ll save the desire spell as a last resort.”
“Fine.”
“I’m only letting you help because I need to keep you busy until you leave.” Ris started out of the stall and Amira grabbed her wrist. “No additional magic for any reason unless it’s an emergency. Understand?”
Ris blew a breath hard enough to blow her pink bangs out of her eyes. “You’re killing all the fun.”
“Promise me.”
She held up her hand. “I promise not to use magic even though I’m a witch and magic is cool and would probably solve this assignment in half the time.”
She and Lex did need the extra help; that was why they’d called Jordie in the first place. Every little detail got them one step closer to finding out what happened to Mellie. Ultimately, the mystery surrounding Mellie took priority. The police could never have the details of knowing that something connected the ghost to the house and the people who lived here. If it wasn’t, Mellie probably wouldn’t bother with haunting them.
Ris fluffed her bangs and sashayed out of the stall.
Amira waited until her sister stood in front of the tack room before she snuck out of the stable and headed back to the house. If everyone stayed occupied with the new guests, then she could finally have a conversation with Cookie.
She’d left her purse hanging from a chair in the kitchen so she didn’t have to run back up to her room for the picture of Mellie.
She passed by Jordie in the hall. He crammed a fresh-baked cookie into his mouth. He wrote something on his phone and showed it to her. It said picture.
She nodded her understandin
g and made him stand by the door. After pulling the picture out of her purse, she flashed it at him and pointed to the girl.
He nodded and ambled back down the hall.
Cookie stood in front of the stove and waved Amira over with a taster spoon. “Tell me what you think. Is good?”
Amira sipped the thick, white sauce from the tasting spoon and hummed with appreciation. “Wow. That’s the best chowder I’ve ever had.”
“Chicken corn chowder is a specialty of mine. I put bacon bits and ham in it just to irritate hoity-toity Ramona.”
“You really don’t like her do you?”
Cookie grunted a response and kept stirring. “She only thinks of herself.”
“How long have Ramona and Samuel been together?”
“Unfortunately, too long now. He cannot shake that woman.”
“When I was in town this morning, someone mentioned that Tim and Samuel were good friends when they were younger.”
“Maybe not so good, but there are not many choices in small towns.”
“They mentioned a girl who disappeared. Mellie or something.”
Cookie’s hand stilled, and she slowly lifted the spoon, her gaze staying on the soup inside the pot. “That poor child.”
Amira picked up the picture from the counter. “Is this her?”
Cookie didn’t take the frame, but nodded. “I don’t know why Samuel’s mother decorated her walls with those pictures. I think she wanted to punish him for ghost hunting by surrounding him with ghosts.”
Amira went all in on her next question. “Do you think this girl is the prizrak?”
Cookie’s eyes clouded with indecision. “Why do you ask all these questions?”
“If the B&B is truly haunted, we could use it for an audition for the networks we’re trying to hook.” Amira bit in her bottom lip and held it with her teeth. The fake show had taken on a life of its own.
“I will not help you unless my Tim is guaranteed the position he wants. Too long I’ve watched Samuel get what my Tim deserves. Make that deal and then come back for more information.” Cookie’s eyes hardened before she turned her back. “I have to finish dinner.”