Dying For Redemption
Page 23
I moaned as Ann and Abigail looked at me expectantly, their tiny feet tapping out the impatience, anger, and plotting entering into their minds and souls. Yes, with the murder rate doubling on Earth, many lost souls occupied Limbo, and another detective would be good for the firm.
But a kid? A girl?
"There's too much for her to risk. Too much danger."
Ann gave my arm a quick squeeze, then ran her hand up and down it. "Not with you watching out for her, Callous. Your strength, wisdom, and abilities have kept me safe. It would help Abby rest more comfortably if she got to be here for just a while longer."
"It would." Abby shot me the please-Uncle-Callous look.
My weakness. It had been over a decade since I had that look thrown at me. And wouldn't you know… I missed it.
"I'd help."
I spun around and glared at Denver. The man had no say in the matter. The look in his eyes spoke of the possibility that he might. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "Do what?"
"I'll watch out for her. Be around to answer questions." Denver held his hand out to me. "Between the two of us, she would be safe."
I shoved my hands into my pockets. "Don't you have a date in Hell scheduled soon?"
Denver lowered his arm. "So do you, but I don't see you making it firm in your date book."
"No need," I replied.
Abby stepped between us. "Uncle Callous, I understand your concerns about me staying here but, if I wasn't family, would you allow me to stay?"
"It would depend on your reasoning."
Ann stamped her foot. "Would not. You don't have a say, Callous, in who stays or goes. It all depends on that soul."
I glared at Ann. Why was she interfering, trying to help Abby stay?
Abby hugged me. "I want to get to know you. I want to help you. I want my life to have meant something. Anything. I don't feel that I mattered in the world."
I patted her back. "And you think you can mean something by being in Limbo?"
"What if this is my purpose?" She loosened her hold, pulling back to look up at me. "To help you find peace and rest for the murdered?"
"It is possible," Ann agreed.
Denver stood beside Abigail. "She's here to help me."
"To help you?" I shouted.
"What?" Ann sounded like a cat trying to stay out of a nice, warm bath.
"Yes," Denver said. "It hadn't been set into motion in the beginning to be that way, but that's what's been written now."
"What in the name of basic word usage are you trying to say?" I remembered the one minor trait of Denver's that always got on my nerves—besides shooting me in the back—his tendency to speak over, around, and through his thoughts rather than going down a straight path.
"When I drove myself over that cliff, I vowed that I'd never allow myself to rest until I was able to make it right with you." Denver twisted the brim of his hat. "I hadn't intended to betray you, to kill you, but I had done it. I have to make it right. And I can do that by helping Abby. By helping her find her peace, I can make peace with you."
"And then you can both rest," I said, still not liking it, but seeing this plan of adding to my business was a path I needed to take. The fact did remain that while I knew who hired Abby's killer, I still didn't have the name of the person that delivered the fatal blow. Would knowing only the person who signed the check help Abby? Cause her more pain? I know it hadn't done my soul any good to solve only one part of a two-part equation.
"Two for the price of one," Ann chimed in, batting her long lashes.
My secretary knew I was crumbling like a milk-soaked cookie in the chubby hand of a toddler. "So, you want to work here?"
Take a note: Sometimes you have to make a concession for the better good.
Abby jutted her chin. She wasn't going to answer just yet.
I pulled the fedora over my eyes. "Do you want to work here as a detective?"
"Yes," I heard her squeak.
I felt her arms around me, squeezing tight. I returned the embrace, then slipped from her hold. I walked into my office, tugged off my hat, and tossed it toward the rack. Hit the mark.
The trio followed me. Great. Shadows.
"Well, get to work. First order of business is to get out of my office. I have paperwork to finish." I pointed toward the door with a final, no arguing motion. Telling Abby who had killed her two days, two years, or two decades from now really wouldn't make a difference.
Abby's eyes locked onto the front door of my detective agency. "What about the sign?"
"The sign?" Heaviness filled my stomach. I wasn't going to like where the conversation was leading.
"Yeah, the sign," Ann trumpeted. She pointed at the glass door announcing that this was the office of Working Shadow, Inc. "Who should we call to get it changed?"
Right, more than one now. Problem easily solved.
I pulled out a pen, a piece of paper, and roll of tape. I drew an 's' on the paper. Nodding at the dames, I carried the piece of paper over to the door, ignoring the dubious looks overtaking their features.
With a twist of my wrist, I placed the piece of paper with the letter 's' on it expertly between the "w" and the comma. With a snap of my other wrist, I tore off a nice-sized piece of tape and secured the announcement of my expansion.
"You can scratch that off our to-do list, doll," I told Ann, giving her a sexy smile, a nod, and a nice swat on her backside. I walked back over to my desk and sat down. I leaned back in my chair and placed my feet on my desk.
A satisfying end to a rather complex case. It was always complicated when a matter could be resolved by the simple, the ordinary, or the clichéd. We were always on the lookout for the sinister, the wicked, and wary of the obvious.
Take a note: Sometimes the butler does do it.
# # #
About the Author
C.A. Freeburn has loved books since she can remember. There was nothing better than picking up a story and finding herself in another place and meeting new people. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing and she's been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel, Parental Source, was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary award nominee. Her stories usually involve some sort of crime, whether it's a detective story or an inspirational romantic suspense, and those wrongs are righted. In The Working Shadow, Inc series, a detective opens up shop in Limbo to help the recently murdered solve their crimes so their souls can rest. Her inspirational romantic suspense series, New Beginnings, features a skip tracing business specializing in relocating abused and stalked women.
You can connect with her online:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/christinafreeburn
Her blog: http://www.theselfrescueprincess.wordpress.com/
http://www.christinafreeburn.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One - Hell, they were dead.
Chapter Two - If I was alive, I'd be dead.
Chapter Three - Be careful about assumptions.
Chapter Four - Abby
Chapter Five - Abby
Chapter Six - Hell was still an option.
Chapter Seven - A soul in turmoil wasn't one to shake up.
Chapter Eight - Why wouldn't you believe the one you loved?
Chapter Nine - It was all based on perceptions.
Chapter Ten - Ain't murder the biggest one.
Chapter Eleven - Abby
Chapter Twelve - Never speak ill of the dead.
Chapter Thirteen - Abby
Chapter Fourteen - Silence made the tongue rattle.
Chapter Fifteen - Abby
Chapter Sixteen - Do you remember how well that turned out?
Chapter Seventeen - No sneaking necessary.
Chapter Eighteen - Abby
Chapter Nineteen - Couldn't get much easier than that.
Chapter Twenty - Abby
Chapter Twenty-One - Crimes don't come from nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Two - It looked like my dance card was fi
lled for the night.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Abby
Chapter Twenty-Four - Even innocent acts were suspicious.
Chapter Twenty-Five - Calling it a lie doesn't make it not the truth.
Chapter Twenty-Six - Abby
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Ignorance is simpler.
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Abby
Chapter Twenty-Nine - You never asked.
Chapter Thirty - Abby
Chapter Thirty-One - I'm not holy, and I'm no hell.
Chapter Thirty-Two - Abby
Chapter Thirty-Three - Well, besides that.
Chapter Thirty-Four - You're a lawyer. Lie.
Chapter Thirty-Five - Abby
Chapter Thirty-Six - She left the same way she had entered.
Chapter Thirty-Seven - Sometimes a lie is easier to live with.
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Abby
Chapter Thirty-Nine - Abby
Chapter Forty - Dead, buried, and gone.
Chapter Forty-One - Abby
Chapter Forty-Two - Sometimes you have to wallow in your own dirt.
Chapter Forty-Three - Can we keep her?
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE