by K. M. Waller
Amira grimaced. She’d made a huge blunder by mentioning the show, and now the only person other than Samuel who believed in the ghost had shut her out. Maybe that was the problem. They were asking all the living about the ghost and not asking the ghost herself about what had happened.
She headed to her room to study the LSP manual on ghost communication. There had to be an explanation for why Mellie couldn’t speak.
Dee came out of a room at the top of the stairs, determination set in her features. She glanced up and down the hallway, then motioned for Amira to follow her. “Come inside.”
“What’s going on?” Amira asked, taking the opportunity to scan the walls for more photos of Mellie. Decorated in different shades of blues, this guest room had the same style of pictures and pictures frames as Lex’s. But no Mellie on the walls or horse figurines on the nightstand.
“I don’t think that Jordie guy is who he says he is.” Dee moved over to the window and peeked around the curtains. “That expensive car is a rental, and all the searches I’ve done on him suggest he’s recently come into his money. Like oddly recent.”
“I think Lex vetted him.” They’d underestimated Dee’s abilities as a thorough assistant.
“The son of the port-a-potty King of Detroit? He doesn’t even look old enough to have a driver’s license.” She turned back toward Amira. “And his girlfriend looks sketchy too.”
Whoa. Edgy maybe, but none of the Walker women looked sketchy. She’d definitely keep Dee’s comment about Ris to herself. Toning down her annoyance, she asked, “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t want to stress out Samuel any more than he already is, and I can’t tell Ramona. She wouldn’t listen anyway. I was hoping we could combine our resources and recheck that this guy is legit. I hate the thought of getting Samuel’s hopes up and having them smashed. I don’t know what that would do to him.” Dee twisted a gold stud in her ear and began playing with her necklace, swinging the charm back and forth.
“It must be difficult to feel like you aren’t being listened to.” Amira glanced out the window at the Rolls Royce. “Do you think Ramona would do anything to get Lex out of here? Even make trouble with ghost rumors?”
Dee sniffed and her hand stilled. “I don’t think she has the imagination for it.”
Amira reached for the sparrow around her neck. Most people didn’t have the imagination for what really happened in the paranormal world.
When she stilled her hand, Dee pointed to the necklace. “That’s lovely.”
“My mom gave it to me.” She nodded to Dee’s locket. “Yours is lovely too.”
“Samuel gave it to me.” Dee sighed. “So you’ll look into this Jordie guy?”
Amira needed to discuss the problem with Lex before she made any false commitments, but she could tell Dee wasn’t going to let this go. She started toward the door. “I’ll crack open my laptop in my room and see if I can find anything that looks suspicious. But I trust Lex, and if he says the Potty King’s son is good, we’re wasting our time worrying.”
Dee nodded her agreement. Amira dashed out the door and down to her room. Lies stacked on more lies. The only payoff would be finding peace for Mellie and sending her to the other side.
There wasn’t a way for her to make Jordie appear more legit, but she could try to poke holes in his cover the same as Dee and see if there was any way to shore it up.
She unlocked her room and stepped inside, relocking it behind her. She removed the LSP manual hidden beneath her mattress. Before she could open to the first page, the air around her cooled, and the temperature dropped so fast that she could see her breath swirl in front of her.
Mellie, in full wispy ghost form, stepped out from beside the dresser. A tear slipped from the girl’s eye, glinting in the light. It disappeared on her chin, evaporating into nothingness.
“I’m sorry,” Mellie mouthed. Then she grabbed the lamp from the dresser and swung her arm hard at Amira.
Amira ducked to block the blow, but not fast enough. A sharp pain reverberated through her head and her vision blurred. She felt her body meet the ground in an uncomfortable hug.
The lamp crashed hard on the floor beside her. Then blackness surrounded her vision.
Chapter Ten
The LSP amulet resting against Lex’s chest warmed to an uncomfortable degree. He’d been running his hands over some knickknacks in the sitting room, his intent to find something related to the ghost. Since he now stood in the middle of the room with nothing in his hands, it could only mean one thing—the ghost was causing havoc somewhere in the house.
Samuel had returned to his room to clean up. Lex rushed toward the stairs in case the ghost chaser was once again the target. The staircase was empty, and he took them two at a time to the top. He pounded on Samuel Chase’s door several times.
Chase answered, shaving cream on half of his face. “Yes?”
Dee came out from the room diagonal to where Lex stood. “What’s going on?”
The heat from the amulet strengthened. The ghost was somewhere upstairs. He glanced at Dee. “Is anyone else upstairs?”
“Amira might still be in her room.”
Lex rushed down the hall and tapped on Amira’s door. When he touched the doorknob, the amulet sizzled against his skin. He snatched it off and tossed it to the ground. He tried the knob again. “Amira? Are you in there?”
Panic gripped his gut, telling him she needed his help. Lex put his shoulder against the door and shoved with all his strength. The door didn’t give, so he backed up and kicked it.
Dee and Samuel stood to his left, and Dee gasped when the door crashed open.
His stomach dropped at the scene before him. Amira had fallen in an unconscious heap on the floor, almost facedown. Her LSP manual was open beside her. Lex kneeled beside her and held his breath while he checked for a pulse. When the low throb bounced against his fingers, he released his pent-up breath in a whoosh, yet his heart still thumped wildly in his chest. He shoved the book under the bed and out of sight.
Turning her gently, he checked for signs of an injury. A goose egg purpled on her temple.
Lex called over his shoulder, “Dee, call an ambulance. Now!”
Amira’s eyelids fluttered open and closed several times. She opened her mouth, but words didn’t make it out. Instead, she moaned and reached for her head.
Lex pulled her into his lap. “I don’t want to move you until the paramedics get here.”
He motioned for Samuel. “Gather all the guests and get them into the sitting room. Cookie and Tim too. I don’t want anyone upstairs. Got it?”
“Is she going to be okay?” Samuel wiped away the remaining shaving cream from his chin.
Lex nodded to the lamp on the floor beside Amira’s body, a burst of anger making his jaw clench. “Someone hit her pretty hard. I want to know who that someone is.”
Samuel nodded and backed out of the room. Amira’s eyes fluttered open again, and this time focused on his face. “Mellie.”
His eyes narrowed. “The ghost did this to you?”
“I don’t…” She stopped and another small moan slipped out. “I don’t think she wanted to. Someone made h-her.”
“We can talk about that later. Just keep your eyes focused on my face until the medics arrive.”
The side of her lips formed a half smile. “That’s easy.”
Lex smiled back, wanting to keep her reassured. Inside, his anxiety rose with every agonizing second it took for help to arrive. His basic first aid training told him the bump protruding out was a good sign. Her talking and making sense—also a good sign.
He could hear sirens blaring, but they were still far off.
She put a hand on the side of his face. “Talk to me.”
“What do you want me to talk about?”
“A Merc Squad story.” She squeezed his hand.
His jaw clenched. How had she known about his Merc Squad days? Tippie or Jordie must’ve said somethin
g. Talking about his past made him uneasy, but with her laid out on the floor, he didn’t feel he could deny her anything.
He brushed her blonde bangs away from her face. “You want a horror story, huh? Okay.” He lowered his tone so no one would hear if they approached. “I was eighteen on my first assignment with my team. A scary vampire named Largo was our team leader. We went in to take out a hive of vampires living in New York City’s sewers.”
Her eyes widened.
“Maybe I shouldn’t tell this story.”
“Keep going. I can hear the sirens getting closer.”
“You have to understand, in the Squad, they don’t investigate the way the LSP does with assignments. Merc Squad deals with out-of-control paranormals and they shoot to kill. Anyway, we’re trudging through the gross sewers at midnight, and I’m rethinking making LSP a career choice, when a vamp crawls across the top of the sewer tunnel. In my excitement to take it out, I shoot like a maniac. Three of the bullets ricochet off of the pipes and hit Largo in the leg.”
“Goddesses alive.”
“He vamps out and punches me in the face so hard they had to carry me back to the truck. But first, they left me to stew in the sludge until they’d cleared out the nest.”
“Three bullets?”
“He healed within minutes. I had a concussion and became the laughingstock of the group for months after.”
Her half smile spread into a full one. “That may be the last time I ask you about what happens with the Merc Squad. But thank you for telling me.”
Footsteps echoed from the stairs and pounded down the hallway. Two paramedics, both women, pushed through the broken door. Dee stayed out in the hall, but peeked in, a worried expression making her look much younger than she acted.
The paramedic closest to Amira put on a blood pressure cuff while the other made Lex leave the room. He backed up to the door. After a couple of questions, they helped Amira sit up. They tested her motor function and used a pen light to check her eyes.
The heavyset paramedic backed him out into the hallway. “She refuses to take a ride to the hospital. She says she tripped and hit her head.” Her gaze traveled up and down Lex as if she knew it was a lie. “Do I need to call a sheriff’s deputy?”
Dee stepped in, placing her hand on Lex’s shoulder. “The Britton police chief is already downstairs. If he feels the need to call the sheriff’s office, we’ll make sure that he does.”
The paramedic didn’t budge.
“Lex, why don’t you go downstairs?” Dee suggested. “Samuel has everyone assembled in the sitting room. I’ll stay up here with Amira while they finish up.”
Lex descended the stairs, unsure how to address the group. And now the police chief had come to call because of Amira’s earlier snooping in town. Ris hovered at the doorway to the sitting room. He knew she was worried, but they couldn’t break cover. Not yet. If someone controlled the ghost, he needed them to think they were still in control for a little while longer.
He bypassed Amira’s youngest sister, not giving her a chance to ask questions. But as he passed, he squeezed her elbow in reassurance. He walked straight to the police chief, who stood beside Samuel near the front door.
“Hello, I’m Lex Dimas.”
“Mr. Dimas. I’m Chief Bowman.” The men exchanged a quick handshake. “Mr. Chase was telling me about a stunt gone wrong upstairs with your assistant.”
“Stunt gone wrong?” Lex glanced between the men.
“I told the chief all about the test shooting we’re doing for the new television show. Poor Amira was setting up a camera in her room when she tripped and hit her head.” Samuel clapped Lex on the shoulder. “The paramedics think she’ll be fine, but they’re going to give us instructions for watching over a concussion.”
Chase was a better liar than most of the agents at the LSP. Now that he knew his mother wasn’t the ghost, he appeared more focused. Lex would have to be on guard to keep the man from exploiting the situation to his advantage.
“I’m actually here because of your assistant,” Bowman said. “My officer said she dropped by this afternoon to ask some questions about a cold case we have on file.”
Samuel nodded, taking over the conversation again. He really was almost back to normal. “We were going to use Mellie’s case as a trial to impress our sponsor. See if we could entice her ghost to join us here.”
“I have to tell you, that’s not a good idea. No one knows what happened to that poor girl, and her family suffered enough not knowing. This could bring up a lot of bad things for the community.”
“No remains were ever found?” Lex asked.
“We issued a three-state missing persons alert and scoured the hills where she was known to ride. Every few years after, her parents applied to have volunteer search dogs come out, but they never uncovered anything.”
“Where is her family now?”
“They moved out of town a couple of years back. Down below Atlanta, I think.”
“Did they search this area?”
“I’d have to check my files, but the area surrounding Britton has a lot of farmland like this. The dogs can’t search every blade of grass in the county. It’s too much.”
Ramona cleared her throat. “I need a cigarette and it’s too crowded in there.”
Lex backed away from the men when the paramedics descended the stairs. His concern for Amira took priority over solving the cold case. “I’m sorry if we crossed any lines, Chief. We won’t be pursuing that course of interest for our show.”
He left Samuel and the chief with Ramona at the front door and sought out Ris. She’d had to wait long enough for news on her sister, and even he knew it wasn’t fair to keep her waiting.
Ris chewed on her nail and let her hair cover most of her face.
Lex approached her first. “Amira is okay. Just a bump on the head. After the paramedics leave, we need someone to sit with her, and I was wondering if you would give Dee a break?”
Ris hurried out of the room and up the stairs.
Tim and Cookie watched them from a sofa on the far end of the room. If Amira was correct, then someone had used Mellie’s object to make the ghost attack. It could be any of the occupants of the B&B. Whoever it was must’ve thought that Amira had asked too many questions.
He mentally retraced her steps. Who had seen her with the figurine or the picture? Samuel, Cookie, and Dee.
Samuel stormed back into the room, Ramona in tow. “We have a ghost problem and I’m going to solve it.”
Jordie nudged Lex until he had to swat away his hand. He couldn’t let Samuel hijack the assignment with his usual brand of antics.
“You mean for the show?” Tim asked.
Cookie stood and shook out her pink cooking uniform. “I don’t have time for this. I have a dinner to finish.”
Samuel stood in front of the doorway. “No one leaves this room until we call the ghost forward.”
Lex rubbed a hand over his face. He didn’t believe Samuel knew anything about calling forth Mellie, but he couldn’t take a chance she showed up in front of a room of witnesses. Samuel had been genuinely surprised the ghost wasn’t his mom. In fact, he hadn’t had any interest in chasing ghosts until he knew it wasn’t connected to Mrs. Chase.
“We should really wait to capture all of this on camera,” Lex said.
Ramona moved to stand beside him, the smell of smoke heavy on her designer clothes. “I agree. We can’t waste anything the networks would want to see in the pilot.”
Samuel shook his head up and down, but Lex didn’t think that anyone’s words had sunk in. It appeared he ran on the adrenaline of ghost hunting.
“I’ll go out to the barn and grab my equipment.” He charged out of the room.
Cookie followed close behind him, mumbling beneath her breath in Russian.
Tim picked at the edge of the couch. “Maybe I’ll help Samuel with the equipment.”
Lex turned to Jordie. “Go with them.”
; “I don’t know much about cameras,” Jordie said, staying in character. “I only know port-a-potties.”
“You can handle a load.” Lex kept his tone dry.
Jordie moved close and whispered, “You sound like Sparsh when you try to make jokes.”
∞∞∞
Amira’s head throbbed and she wanted to sleep, although she’d been advised against it. The paramedics had left a few minutes prior and Dee sat quietly in a chair near the bed.
Ris showed up at the door and popped her gum. She looked at Dee. “That guy that acts like he’s in charge of everything said I should give you a break and sit with Amira.”
Dee smiled. “Thank you. If she falls asleep, you need to wake her every hour after.”
As soon as she left, Ris shut and locked the door. She climbed into bed, nose to nose with Amira. “Are you okay? No one will tell me what happened.”
Amira wrapped an arm around her sister and gave her a quick hug. “The ghost attacked me, but I think she’s being forced to hurt people. First Samuel and now me.”
“Why you? And why would she be forced? By who?”
Amira let her eyes flutter closed. “Because I’m trying to investigate her death, maybe? I feel like if we can figure out how to beckon her, we can ask her some questions.”
Ris sat up beside her. “Can we do that?”
“I came up to research the manual when she attacked me. I could’ve missed something.” Amira rubbed the spot below her bruised temple and forced her eyes open. “I think Lex shoved it under the bed.”
Ris slid to the floor and felt around. She pulled out the manual and placed it on her lap. “Are you really okay?”
She didn’t want to admit her weakness to her sister. Amira needed to be the strong one. “I’ll be fine. Let’s focus on Mellie so she doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
Ris flipped through the pages. “This reads like a textbook.”
“That’s probably why no one at the LSP reads it.” Amira smiled, slowly feeling like her old self with each passing minute. “How did your intel mission go with Tim?”