The Ghost Detective Books 1-3 Special Boxed Edition: Three Fun Cozy Mysteries With Bonus Holiday Story (The Ghost Detective Collection)

by Jane Hinchey

  “I can’t.” I whispered. He’d be mad, rightly so, and I faced the genuine possibility that he’d cancel our arrangement and no longer be my supervisor. And if I didn’t have a supervisor, I couldn’t finish my PI training and if I didn’t have my PI license, I couldn’t run Delaney Investigations. My heart ached at the thought. I had to keep it going. It was the one way I had of keeping Ben’s memory alive. Not that it was a major issue for me, I got to see his ghostly hide every single day, but that wasn’t the point.

  “Why?” Galloway’s voice was as rough as nails and I chanced a look at his face. Yep. Pissed didn’t cover it.

  I sniffed. “You’re going to be mad.”

  “In case it’s escaped your attention, I’m already mad.”

  To my utter horror, my eyes welled with tears. No! No, don’t you dare cry, Audrey Fitzgerald, I scolded myself. Do not turn on the tears. You are stronger than this. You can handle an angry cop. Seems my eyeballs didn’t get the memo for a big fat tear overflowed, promptly followed by another.

  “Jesus.” Galloway swore, slamming his fist on the steering wheel, making me jump. I fumbled for the door catch and slid out of the car, bolting for the front door.

  With each step my side ached where the seatbelt had dug in, but I ignored the twinge, hustling as fast as I could. I hated to cry. And I hated having witnesses when I did even more. Sniffing, I felt in my pockets for my keys, doing a frantic pat down when I realized I didn’t have them. I stopped cold and stared up at the starlight sky in resigned disbelief. Of course I didn’t have them. They were dangling from the ignition of Ben’s totaled Nissan. Another tear fell, and I angrily wiped it away.

  The sound of a car door slamming jolted me out of my self pity. Fine. I’d just find another way inside. Pivoting, I headed toward the side of the house. Hearing footsteps behind me, I picked up the pace.

  “Audrey. Wait.” There was a world of emotion in his voice. Anger. Frustration. And something else I couldn’t put my finger on. But one thing I knew was that I wanted to be alone, for an emotional tsunami was bearing down on me and I did not want any witnesses when it hit. Rather than slow my pace, I was practically jogging when I skidded around the rear corner of the house. Moonlight spilled over the deck, lighting my way. I don’t know what I was planning, that maybe I could wriggle through the cat door, but it needn’t have mattered for my wrist was seized in a steely grip and Galloway ground out, “would you just wait!?”

  I turned on him. “Why?” I yelled, startling us both. “So you can yell at me some more? About how stupid I was? How reckless? You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t feel awful that I totaled Ben’s car and could have killed myself in the process? I guess you’re done with me now, huh? I guess this is it for you, you can’t continue to be my supervisor.”

  “Is that what you think? That I’m going to bail on you?”

  “Aren’t you?” I challenged.

  “No.” He still had a firm grip on my wrist but I stopped resisting and stood there, staring at him, mouth agape.

  “You aren’t?” The pesky tears filled my eyes again and all I could see was a blur, so when a rough thumb scraped across my cheek to wipe a tear away I jumped.

  “Audrey Fitzgerald, you do my head in.” He whispered, stepping closer to rest his forehead against mine. I froze. Being this close to him was divine torture.

  “In a good way, of course.” I joked, not sure what to make of this current situation. The corners of his mouth tugged into a devilish grin. “In all the ways.” He whispered.

  A wicked heat wound through my body, along with a little hum of pleasure. The hand that had been wrapped around my wrist now slid up my arm, across my shoulder and behind my neck, every stroke of his fingers spiraled right down to my toes as he sensually massaged my nape before sliding along my jawline to tilt my head back.

  I gazed into his eyes before my own fluttered shut as his face moved closer. His breath was hot on my face a second before his mouth covered mine. I’m pretty sure the earth stopped turning at that point and gravity failed as I floated up into the sky. I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, ignoring the twinges and aches in my battered body as a new ache took up residence. His kiss was everything and more. Hot and hard, yet sweet and gentle.

  And then something clicked in my brain. I was kissing a cop. A cop! Hell of a time for that pesky thought to surface, but once it appeared I couldn’t push it down, couldn’t ignore it. All my distrust raced to the surface, and I stiffened, panic sweeping through me. As sexy as I found Captain Cowboy Hot Pants, we shouldn’t be doing this. Despite me pining desperately for a date for the last few weeks now he’d finally made a move? I panicked. Breaking the kiss, I pushed away from him.

  “It’s too soon. You’re not ready.” Galloway’s voice was low, rough, laced with one hundred layers of emotion. I shook my head. No. For as much as I lusted after this very fine specimen of manhood currently standing in front of me, he was right. Now was not the time. I was a mass of contradicting emotion, not to mention physical pain.

  He ran a finger over my cheek and blew out a breath. “Balls in your court, Fitz. I won’t push but I know you feel it too… we have a connection. I’ll be here when you’re ready.” I blinked, at a loss for words, not sure what to say or what to do.

  “Ahem.” Thor cleared his throat from behind me. “Are you finished?”

  I never thought I’d welcome a cat’s interruption, but now it seemed Thor’s appearance was divine intervention. I leaned down to run my hand over his fur, buying time to regain my composure.

  “Guess he must be hungry.” Galloway commented, leaning around me to look at the meowing Thor.

  “That’s a given. There’s never a time when he’s not.” I had to bite my lip to keep from saying more.

  “If you’ve finished sucking face,” Thor huffed, “perhaps we can go inside. It’s rare I see you at this time of day.” His words triggered a wave of guilt and I realized that despite Thor’s insistence that he was fine spending nights on his own, perhaps he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

  Galloway turned toward the deck. “Let’s go inside and you can tell me exactly what happened, and then you need to get some rest. Hurt or not, you were just in a car accident and I suspect the adrenalin rush has well and truly worn off.”

  I blinked in surprise. That was it? No more talking about feelings and emotions and that kiss? That one that had just rocked my world. That same one where I’d pushed him away? Fine. That was exactly what I wanted. I think.

  Putting on my game face, I straightened my spine and nodded. “Don’t suppose you have my keys by any chance?” I rolled my shoulders and began the monumental effort of climbing the three back steps. Every cell in my body ached. They’d clearly got the memo—en masse—that it was time to hurt, and every muscle and nerve ending joined in with great gusto. Hiding the grimace, I heaved myself up, my hips and pelvis protesting the loudest. I was in a sweat by the time I reached the sliding glass door.

  A jingle of keys caught my attention, and I shuffled around to see Galloway holding a set of keys aloft. I squinted, peering closer. “Are those mine?”

  “They are. If you hadn’t bolted out of the car, I would have given them to you. And your phone.” He climbed the stairs with ease and handed me the keys, waited patiently while I took an inordinate amount of time unlocking the door because my fingers were refusing to behave.

  “Need a hand?” His breath was hot in my ear, and I shivered. Ordinarily I’d baulk at the idea of needing a man, let alone a cop, help me open my door, but now was not the time for foolish pride, for my legs were rapidly turning into overcooked noodles and I feared I’d be reduced to crawling over the threshold any second.

  “Yes, please.”

  He didn’t say a word, just closed his big hand over mine, guided the key into the lock and turned. My arm dropped to my side, and he slid the door open, the heat of him behind me a comfort, but I couldn’t lean back and bask in it, n
ot if I didn’t want to end up in a puddle at his feet, so I pushed myself forward, shuffling toward the sofa. I made it just in time, flopping face down along the length while Galloway flicked on the lights. Closing my eyes, I listened as he pottered around in the kitchen. I heard kibble being poured into a bowl and his deep voice talking softly to Thor; I heard the coffee machine fire up—that was almost enough for me to poke my head up... almost. I lay there on my stomach, one arm dangling, and watched Ben, who was sprawled on the sofa opposite.

  “Hurts huh?” He said sympathetically. I nodded. Just a tad. But I trusted what the hospital had told me. Soft tissue damage, which meant there was nothing they could do other than administer pain relief. And I also knew Galloway had been right. The adrenaline rush I’d had from fleeing the bad guys and then flipping my car had worn off, unmasking the pain waiting to hit me. My wobbly emotions were still wobbly, but my aching muscles had taken the focus away and for that I was grateful.

  “You should tell him the truth.” Ben cocked his head, indicating Galloway. “He might be mad but that’s not the worst of your problems.”

  “I’m scared he’ll quit being my supervisor.” I whispered. Understanding dawned on Ben’s face, “Ahhh. Look, he’s a good guy, Fitz. He won’t bail on you. And this wasn’t your fault—it was mine. I should have known better. But it seemed a good idea at the time, searching the warehouses for the van. I was caught up in the excitement of it, just like you were, forgetting that you don’t have the experience. I put you in a dangerous situation and I’m sorry.”

  “Forgiven.” I tried to smile but only one half of my mouth obeyed, quirking up in more of a sneer than a grin.

  A steaming cup of coffee appeared on the coffee table in front of me, along with a glass of water. Pushing myself upright, I swung my legs to the floor and watched in horror as Galloway sat on Ben. My mouth opened to warn him and my hand reached out as Ben floated up through Galloway to stand to one side. Galloway shivered, muttered, “someone just walked over my grave.” Then his gray eyes turned in my direction. Leaning forward, he held out a hand. “Take these. Then tell me exactly what happened.”

  6

  After swallowing the painkillers I took a sip of the coffee, buying time, trying to figure out how much to tell Galloway. How do you explain to a cop that your ghost friend was materializing through walls to search for the van the bank robbers had used without sounding certifiable? Short answer, you didn’t.

  “How’s your case going?” I asked instead.

  “My case?” One eyebrow arched.

  “Corruption in the force? I see Mills is still on the payroll.” I said the last with a grumble. It turns out, before Ben had died he’d agreed to help Galloway with a secret internal investigation into corruption within the Firefly Bay Police Department. Only Ben hadn’t had the chance to give Galloway any of the evidence he’d collected from when he’d been forced out of the job he loved—fighting crime and bringing criminals to justice—by liars and cheats within the force. My stance towards cops had softened somewhat when Galloway had told me of the investigation and his determination to bring down the corrupt officials who’d made Ben’s life hell.

  Galloway took a sip of his own coffee. “Slow going. I have to be careful I don’t tip anyone off. This isn’t just about Mills, he’s small fry. This goes higher up the food chain and I need to find out if it’s all the way to the top before I make a move.”

  “All the way to the top? You think Police Chief Hart could be corrupt?” I don’t know why I was surprised. Galloway told me when I’d handed over Ben’s files that he thought it was integrated deeply in the Firefly Bay Force and if that meant the top dog was corrupt then Galloway would have a hell of a job proving it.

  Galloway shrugged. “Anything is possible. Now enough deflecting. Time to talk. What happened tonight?”

  Knowing I was out of time, I answered in a rush, my words running together. “After the hold up today, I figured I’d go down to Driftwood Landing to check out the warehouses. They ditched our phones in the wharf district so I figured they probably hid the van there somewhere so it couldn’t hurt to have a look around.” To give him credit, Galloway didn’t react like I thought he would. I’d been expecting an eye roll—as if the cops hadn’t already searched the area. Or berate me for sticking my nose into a police investigation. He did neither of those things, merely took a sip of coffee, then asked, “and? Did you find the van?”

  “I didn’t.” I shook my head. “But I found something else. Clown masks in one of the warehouses.” To be honest, it was Ben who’d found the masks, but Galloway didn’t need to know that.

  “Clown masks?” He straightened and placed his coffee on the table, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees.

  “I know, right? What are the odds that someone happens to have clown masks lying around in their warehouse the day a bank robbery takes place where the perpetrators are wearing clown masks? I figured it couldn’t be a coincidence, so I waited to see if they’d come back.” A slight surge of adrenaline rushed through me at the memory.

  “But you didn’t see the van?”

  Shaking my head, I continued, “not from my vantage point.”

  “Which was?”

  “Side window.”

  His eyes narrowed. “So you were poking around down at the docklands, peering in through windows, and no one stopped you?”

  “No one saw me.” I corrected, “I was being discreet. Plus, I figured the robbers probably weren’t there. If it were me I’d have hidden the van, ditched the phones, gone to my day job or whatever to establish alibis should any suspicion come my way.”

  He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his arms across his chest. “Then what? You settled in to wait all afternoon? On the off chance they’d return?”

  “Yes.”

  “And they did. This evening.” He prodded.

  “Yep. I was in my car, parked up in the lot, but I could see the warehouse in question. When a car rolled in just after dark, I snuck down to look through the window again. Only I slipped on the gravel and fell against the siding, making a noise.”

  “Ah. They heard you.” He nodded, putting together the pieces before I got the story out.

  “They did.”

  “So...?”

  “I ran.”

  “Why run? Why not hide?”

  He would not be happy with this next part, and I screwed my face up in anticipation. “They had guns.”

  Kudos to him, he stayed remarkably calm. “You saw the guns? How many men?”

  “Three men. And I kinda saw the guns.”

  “Kinda?”

  “Well, they were shooting at me, so I figured they had guns.”

  “Shooting at you?!” His voice went up, and he jumped to his feet, startling me. I pressed back against the sofa, chewing my lip. Here it came. He would be all sorts of mad. I watched while he raised his eyes to the ceiling and appeared to count to ten. Then he blew out a breath and resumed his seat.

  “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You spent the day peeking through windows at Driftwood Landing. Then, upon your discovery of clown masks, you staked out a warehouse for several hours, until the suspects returned. By then it was nightfall. Only you were discovered, and they opened fire. I’m assuming what happened next was that you successfully returned to your car and sped out of there—with them chasing you. You said they returned to the warehouse in a car. Not a van?”

  “No, not a van. A sedan. A dark one. It could have been black, but since it was night, I really couldn’t tell, it may have been blue or gray, but definitely a dark color.”

  “And did they give chase?”

  I paused, thinking back to the events of earlier this evening. They’d opened fire, taking shots at me through the warehouse siding. I’d sprinted to the car with Ben yelling at me the entire time. I’d been in panic mode. I’d sped out of the parking lot with wheels spinning and gravel flying. I’d seen light spilling out from the ware
house doors in my rearview mirror, but had I seen headlights behind me? I’d thought they’d been chasing me, but I couldn’t be one hundred percent certain.

  “I thought they were.” I told Galloway. “But I’ll be honest once I was behind the wheel I was focusing on driving and getting the hell out of there.” I let my eyes drift from Galloway to Ben, who was leaning against the wall just behind Galloway’s left shoulder. He shrugged. “I was too preoccupied with your maniac driving to look behind us.” He said. But they hadn’t been behind me when I’d rolled the Nissan, otherwise I’d be sitting here with a bullet in my head. Which meant they’d given up the chase sometime beforehand. But why?

  Galloway read my mind. “At some point they ended the chase. Probably realized that you’d report the shooting, that you could have been on the phone to the police during the chase, they’d have returned to the warehouse to destroy evidence.”

  I sat forward, wincing at the protesting of my bruised flesh. “We need to get to Driftwood Landing, to the warehouse.”

  “Nuh uh. You aren’t going anywhere. It’s time to hand this one over to us—which is what you should have done in the first place.” He let that sink in. “Which warehouse was it?”

  I gave him the information he needed and showed him the photos I’d snapped that afternoon of the view from the window. You could just make out the clown masks on a workbench, almost out of shot. Galloway examined them closely, then looked at me. “You must have exceptional vision,” he said. “If you hadn’t told me they were clown masks, I wouldn’t have picked it.”

  I shrugged. Same. Cradling my coffee cup, I watched Captain Cowboy Hot Pants from beneath my lashes, my eyes lingering on his lips. That kiss. I sighed, remembering the feel of his mouth on mine, the brush of his tongue, the taste of him, the way my toes curled and heat swirled through me. And then the panic returned, squashing those warm fuzzy feelings into cold hard terror. Despite knowing I could trust Galloway, some part of me wasn’t one hundred percent convinced kissing him had been a good idea.