Amanda stomped upward, picturing Charley’s face on every step as she slammed her foot down. “And if I don’t want to give you my DNA?”
“I think you should.” He sounded serious...scary serious.
Amanda opened her door and went inside, shutting it through Charley as he followed her. “You don’t think I had anything to do with that man’s death, do you?”
“Of course not,” Jake said.
“Amanda’s going to pri-i-son,” Charley sing-songed.
“But you want my DNA.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll come visit you in prison,” Charley said.
Of course he’d come to visit her. He’d be stuck there with her.
It was bad enough having him around now. She could not survive being confined with him in a small cell.
She sank onto the sofa. “What are you going to do with my DNA? Are you planning to clone me?”
Jake was silent for a moment. A long moment. Finally he laughed. A little nervously, but it was better than his serious tone. “I think one of you is all the world can handle.”
“So tell me what you plan to do with my DNA.”
Charley planted himself directly in front of her. “He’ll match it to DNA found on the victim and send you straight to prison.”
“We can match it to DNA found on the victim and eliminate you as a suspect.”
Amanda jerked upright. “I’m a suspect? You think I killed him?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You kind of did. If I refuse to come in, are you going to issue a warrant to forcibly take my DNA?”
Charley was talking, his lips moving, but she didn’t hear him. All she heard was the long silence on the other end of the phone.
Cold gathered around the edges of her heart. “Jake? You’d issue a warrant?”
“I didn’t say that.”
There were a lot of things he wasn’t saying. “You didn’t deny it.”
“Next he’ll be asking you to take a plea to avoid the death penalty,” Charley said. “How’d you like to be dead, Amanda? It’s not as much fun as you might think.”
She turned away from him.
“I’m sorry,” Jake said. “We have to do this. It’s procedure. The man was found on your property. Please come down in the morning and let Ross take your DNA. You’ll be out of here in ten minutes.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll come by and let Ross add my blood or spit or whatever to his macabre collection.”
“Thank you.”
Charley appeared in front of her again.
She twisted the other direction.
“You’re welcome.” Her tone was acerbic, her words clipped. He wasn’t welcome. This conversation had gone off the rails. Where was the fun, sexy man she’d been with on Padre Island?
Jake cleared his throat. “So...how did your first day back at work go?”
Really? After all but demanding she come in to give her DNA, this man thought they could have a normal conversation? “Other than finding a dead body, it was uneventful.” She’d planned to tell him about Dawson’s odd behavior, about the mysterious woman’s motorcycle he was working on, everything about her day except, of course, Charley. But after the last few minutes, the closeness was gone.
The man on the other end of the phone was a cop, not a lover.
“Don’t talk to him without a lawyer,” Charley said. “Anything you say can be used against you.”
“Yeah, finding a dead body is not a good way to start your day,” the cop said.
“You started your day the same way,” Amanda said.
“That’s true, but I get paid for doing it.”
It was Amanda’s turn to speak. The only words that came to mind were angry accusations. She wasn’t ready to go there but she could not have a polite conversation with him either. “Well, nice to talk to you. Have a good evening. Bye.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Good—”
She disconnected the call before he could finish the last word.
“What do you think about my replacement now?” Charley lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her.
Amanda clenched her fists and her jaw and every muscle in her body. She wouldn’t let Charley get to her.
But he was saying things she was thinking.
Jake’s callous attitude...
Was it callous or professional? Was she overreacting?
“If that man cared even a little bit about you, he wouldn’t make you go through this,” Charley said.
She couldn’t get away from Charley.
Threats of bodily harm wouldn’t faze him.
She couldn’t demand a divorce. No lawyer would take on that case.
She narrowed her gaze. “Bite me!”
She called Teresa.
“Want to meet for dinner and margaritas at Chabela’s? I’m buying.” She owed Teresa at least a meal and a couple of margaritas after sticking her with Charley for seven days and nights.
“That would be great. But after the third round, we’ll split the tab.”
Third round? Sounded like her day had been as bad as Amanda’s.
***
Amanda pulled her motorcycle into the space next to Teresa’s blue BMW convertible in the parking lot of Chabela’s Mexican Restaurant.
Charley went through the motions of dismounting from the back. “You ride like a crazy person.”
Amanda took off her helmet. “You are a crazy person. A crazy ghost. You’re not a person anymore.”
“That’s mean, Amanda.”
“Waking me at six thirty in the morning was mean.” Taunting her about Jake was mean, but she wasn’t going to let him know that part bothered her.
She brushed past him and stalked into the restaurant.
Teresa waved from a table toward the back.
Amanda joined her.
Chips, salsa, and two frozen margaritas waited on the table. Teresa’s drink was already at the halfway mark.
Usually Teresa humored Charley by setting a place for him, putting food on his plate, and getting him a margarita.
Tonight there were two place settings.
Amanda slid into her chair, lifted her glass, and took a long pull through the straw, as much as she could swallow without getting brain freeze. “Found a dead man in my parking lot this morning.”
Teresa’s eyes widened. “A dead man with a body?”
“I think that’s the usual definition of a dead man.”
“Not necessarily. I see them all the time without a body, and you have Charley.”
“Yes, I have Charley.” Amanda dipped a chip into her bowl of salsa. Better she should crunch a chip than grind the enamel off her teeth. “Thank you for the vacation without him. Jake and I had a great time, but now Jake thinks I killed the man in the parking lot.”
Teresa lifted a perfectly arched brow. “Seriously?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I have to go in tomorrow and give my DNA to Ross.”
“Are you ladies ready to order?” Their waiter stood beside the table, pen poised over his pad. He appeared calm, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation about a dead man and DNA.
“Steak fajitas for two?” Amanda asked.
Teresa nodded.
“Guacamole appetizer and another round of margaritas,” Amanda added.
“I’ll bring the guacamole and margaritas shortly.” He left.
Teresa leaned closer. “Why does Jake think you killed the man?”
“He was found in my parking lot, and I knew him. He was a customer. A dead-beat customer. I threatened him with a hammer.”
Teresa laughed. “A hammer? You go, girl! Did anybody see you threaten him?”
“Yeah, Dawson. And he told the cops.”
“Dawson snitched on you?”
“It wasn’t like that. I think he was kind of bragging on me. He’s so...”
“Young,” Teresa supplied.
“Yes. Young. He’s got a crush on some girl. He’s doing a lot of wo
rk on her bike, work he’ll probably never get paid for. But I’m glad he’s happy. He’s a good guy, even if he did out me for threatening the dead man.”
“Have you met this girl? What’s she like?”
“He hasn’t admitted to anything, but he blushes when he talks about her.”
“Ah, young love. I hope Charley stays out of their relationship.” She looked around the room. “Where is he? Did you actually get here without him?”
“Of course not. He’s here somewhere. He’s mad at you and me both.” Amanda scanned the tables. “There he is, over there beside that brunette, staring at her cleavage.”
A man who looked as if he owned a gym joined the woman, sitting down in Charley’s lap.
Teresa and Amanda burst into laughter.
Charley floated across the room toward them, anger furrowing his brow. “You think that was funny?”
“Yes.” Amanda lifted her margarita in a toast. Teresa joined her.
Charley sat on one of the empty chairs at their table. “Where’s my plate?”
“Really?” Teresa said. “After the way you acted when you were staying with me, you think I’m going to humor you by sharing my food with you?”
“You held me captive so I couldn’t rescue my wife from that damned detective.”
“She’s not your wife, and she didn’t need rescuing.” Teresa set her glass on the table with a thud. “And I certainly did not need rescuing from Ross.”
“I didn’t—”
“You didn’t get between us and freeze his lips when he was kissing me?”
“But—”
“You didn’t refuse to leave the bedroom when he was with me?”
“Well—”
“Do you deny that you blew the entire sound system when we went to that concert?”
“Charley!” Amanda exclaimed. “You destroyed a sound system?”
“I was just fooling around. I didn’t know it would blow up.”
Teresa leaned closer to him. “But you dove into it, knowing you can do wonky things to electronics.”
Charley’s face contorted the way it always did when he was trying to lie.
“I have talked to dead people all my life,” she said. “I’ve even talked to some who were still dealing with anger issues. But you are the first dead person I’ve ever talked to who stands absolutely no chance of ever making it into the light.”
No chance of ever making it into the light?
“I don’t want to go into that stupid light, and you can’t make me.”
The waiter arrived and set two margaritas, guacamole and another basket of chips on the table.
Teresa gave him a forced smile.
He returned her smile and walked away, unaware or uncaring that she had been having a heated discussion with an empty chair.
“Damn it, Charley,” Amanda said, “I can’t leave you alone for one minute without you causing problems.”
“It was seven days! You left me for seven days and seven nights.”
Amanda put her elbows on the table and tented her fingers. “Remember that time when you were alive and we were married and you left me for a week? You said you were working on a business deal, but you had a really good tan when you came home. Where did you go, Charley? Who did you go with?”
Again his face contorted briefly with the unfulfilled desire to lie. “I don’t have to take this.” He disappeared.
Amanda released a long sigh. “I’m sorry he put you through all that. I owe you way more than dinner and a few margaritas.”
“That’s what friends do. Babysit their friend’s obnoxious ghost.” Teresa grinned and took a sip of her fresh drink.
“He’s always liked you. I didn’t realize he was going to blame you for my deeds and take out his anger on you.”
Teresa shrugged. “He’s a spirit. He can’t cause any real harm. Well, except for that sound equipment. Spirits don’t usually damage things on this plane.”
“That’s Charley. If there’s a way to be destructive, he’ll find it. Were you serious when you said he’ll never make it into the light? Please don’t say I’m going to be stuck with him for the rest of my life.”
“All spirits go into the light.” She selected a chip from the basket and looked fixedly at it. “Eventually.”
“Eventually? How long is eventually?”
“I don’t know. This so-called gift of mine didn’t come with an instruction manual. He’s the first one who didn’t want to go. Even the ones who were confused and didn’t understand what had happened to them were eager to go once I explained it to them.”
“You almost tricked Charley into going a couple of months ago. Maybe you could try again. I can’t deal with him being around all the time. How am I going to have any kind of relationship with Jake?” After their last conversation, she wasn’t sure she was going to have a relationship with him, Charley or no Charley.
Teresa nodded. “I know what you mean. He made my time with Ross a nightmare. I don’t know what to try next. I have no idea what I did that attached him so I can call him to me. I don’t want to accidentally make that attachment as strong as the one he has with you so I can’t get rid of him.”
“Have you ever come across this attachment thing before? Until you did whatever it was you did, he could only go a couple of hundred feet away from me. If we could break that invisible leash, maybe he’d hang out in bars or casinos or the women’s locker room at gyms. The places he used to hang out when he was alive.”
“No, I’ve never encountered that attachment with a spirit before. Usually they come and go wherever they want. Some like to hang out in places they were happy when they were alive, like Mr. Finfrock in the room where he taught history. But except for Charley, they have a choice.” She looked around the room. “We need to talk about him while he’s gone.”
Amanda sat back and groaned. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re having a respite from him, and we’re still talking about him. Let’s stop and enjoy ourselves while we can.” Amanda piled a chip high with guacamole.
“I want to tell Ross about Charley, that he’s your ghost.”
Amanda choked on the chip with guacamole, coughed, grabbed her first margarita and drained the glass. “Why would you want to do a thing like that?”
“You know Ross isn’t comfortable with my career.”
“Talking to dead people, you mean?”
“That’s the only career I have.”
“Surely after you communicated with his brother, found his body, and solved his murder, Ross must believe you really are a medium.”
“He can’t deny the evidence, but he can’t totally accept it either. Mostly we avoid the subject.”
“And telling him about Charley is going to make that better...how?”
“Charley made his presence known when Ross and I were together this weekend.”
“I understand he was horrible. But Ross knows you see dead people whether he admits it or not. What good will it do to identify one of them?”
“The normal dead people don’t interfere with my life. They’re not rude and overbearing and obnoxious. Charley was terrible. He went out of his way to do things that would get him noticed, like freezing our steaks and blowing up that sound system. I lost it a couple of times and yelled at him, called him by name. Then I had to explain to Ross that a spirit named Charley was causing all those problems.”
The waiter arrived with their food and set it between them.
If he heard any of their strange conversation, he was very good about not reacting. Amanda made a mental note to leave him a large tip.
Bribe, tip, whatever.
She took a steaming flour tortilla from the serving dish and fashioned a fajita. “So Charley brought the whole spirit thing out in the open, and Ross wasn’t comfortable with that.”
“Exactly.” Teresa threw meat strips, onions, and peppers on her tortilla. She added guacamole and sour cream with so much vehemence, a few bits of each splash
ed onto the table.
Teresa was angry.
Charley had outdone himself.
“And you want to tell Ross that Charley is my ghost...why?”
“So he’ll know I’m not the only one who sees spirits. So he’ll know this weekend was a one-time thing, a special situation. It’s hard enough for him to accept the whole spirit thing, but I’m afraid having a ghost like Charley around on a regular basis might be a deal-breaker.”
“If I tell Ross, he’ll tell Jake who will think I’m nuts, and that could be a deal-breaker for us.”
“You’re going to have to tell Jake eventually. Charley’s not a problem you can hide. I learned that this weekend.” Teresa took a bite of her tightly rolled fajita.
Amanda set her half-eaten fajita on the plate. Her appetite had vanished. “This was supposed to be an escape dinner, not a confront-your-problems dinner.”
“You could tell Ross when you go in tomorrow to give your DNA,” Teresa said. “It might go over better coming straight from you.”
“How do you figure that?”
“We could come up with a spin on the whole Charley thing.”
“Spin Charley? Really? How do you think we can spin the fact that my ex-husband’s ghost lives with me?”
“Jake already thinks you might be a murderer. How much worse can it get if he knows your ex-husband’s ghost lives with you?”
Amanda picked up her second margarita. Brain freeze be damned.
Chapter Four
Sleep should have come easily after Amanda’s early rising and late margaritas.
She turned over for the tenth time—or maybe it was the twentieth—punched her pillow and slammed her head down on it.
Why did Jake want her DNA?
She flopped onto her other side.
How should she handle Teresa’s desire to blab about Charley?
She drew the covers up more tightly.
What would Jake think about her ex-husband’s ghost sitting across from them in a restaurant, walking between them on a moonlight stroll around the lake, being with them for every moment of their relationship?
Every.
The Ex Who Hid a Deadly Past Page 3