A Ghostly Suspect

by Tonya Kappes

  “It’s worse than that. I can handle the heat when I do something illegal to make something right, but Jack Henry was with me and in one of his Kentucky State Police uniforms.” I knew it wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to because Cheryl Lynn looked so confused. “I know it’s out of Jack Henry’s character, but I wasn’t listening to him about sneaking into Debbie’s husband’s house. He followed me there and wouldn’t let me go without him.”

  “Aww… and we thought romance was dead,” she purred, her shoulders lifted toward her ears.

  “Yes. It’s dead. That’s where we found the new evidence, and he did the right thing and called Trevor. I would’ve done an anonymous call, but not him. Always by the book.” My eyes filled with tears.

  “Are you saying he got in trouble?”

  “Trouble? Off the force until further notice.” Hearing the actual words come out of my mouth made me so sick to my stomach, the gingerbread cookies were no longer appealing to me.

  “I’m assuming he’s really mad, and that’s what wrong.” She reached over and patted my hand. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”

  The bell over the door dinged, and we both turned to look.

  It was a customer for her and a client for me. Debbie Dually was standing outside the window looking in at me. She ghosted across the street and over to the sidewalk as though she were heading to Eternal Slumber.

  “I’ll see you later.” I got up so Cheryl could help the customer.

  “Let me know if you need anything. I’m always here.” I knew her words were sincere, and that made me feel good since I knew my true good friend, Mazie, was about to leave me.

  I checked my phone for any calls or texts from Jack Henry, but there was nothing. Debbie’s ghost looked back at me a couple of times to see if I was following. Was this the last time I was going to see her? Was this the meeting where she’d give me her final instructions before she headed up to the great beyond?

  “Emma Lee, your granny has lost her mind, and I’m not going to stand for it. I thought you were crazy all these years, but I think it’s her, and you need to make her an appointment immediately.” Doc Clyde came out of nowhere. His pointy chin stuck out under his pouty lips.

  I’d never seen that man move so quickly.

  “Doc Clyde.” I put my hand up to my chest. “You scared me to death. I think I need to be checked out for a heart attack.”

  “I’m not joking. You think this is a joke?” He put his hand on my arm to stop me.

  “I’m in a real rush. Can we talk about Granny another time?” I watched beyond him as Debbie’s ghost stopped right in front of the funeral home. I knew I had limited time before the Betweener clients had to move on and Debbie really needed to talk to me.

  “No, we cannot.” He acted as though I didn’t have a say in the matter. “That woman broke my heart. Her going around wanting to be a doctor’s wife, and when I proposed, she was happy. I mean really happy.”

  “Aww.” I patted his arm. “You know Granny. Give her time. You’ve just got to hang in there like a hair in a biscuit.”

  “You think so, because she was drinking a latte with that darn lawyer. A latte, Emma Lee.” Poor Doc’s mouth was quivering.

  “I’ll see what I can find out.” I waved at him over my shoulder, leaving him standing there with a broken heart. “Dang,” I said to myself. “Granny can bag four men in her lifetime, and I can’t seem to hang on to one.”

  The thought about Jack Henry was unsettling, and I knew I’d have to go see him at some point if he wasn’t going to contact me.

  “Hey, John Howard,” I greeted the town handyman and my gravedigger. He did a few things around Eternal Slumber, mostly lawn work and landscaping, but today he was taking down the folded chairs in the viewing room where Purdy Ford had been laid out. “Thank you so much for taking those down.”

  “The banker came to see you today.” John Howard was smart enough to know what it was about without me telling him. “He left some papers with me. I put them on your desk.”

  “Thanks,” I grumbled, knowing I was late on this month’s business loan. I had to take out the loan after Charlotte Rae had died so I could buy the entire business. The cancellations’ connection to me being tied to Debbie’s murder didn’t help matters.

  “Emma Lee, I’m real worried about Bea Allen.” John Howard never expressed any sort of concern for anyone as long as I’d known him. “I was down at the courthouse pulling weeds from the cracks in the sidewalk when I overheard Bea Allen and O’Dell discussing the funeral business.”

  “I’m listening.” I walked into the room with him. I picked up the stack of chair covers and put them in the cleaning bag he’d started so we could get them down to the dry cleaners in case someone did come back to Eternal Slumber now that I was no longer a suspect in Debbie’s case.

  Speaking of Debbie…

  “You know what, I’ve got to do something really fast.” I pushed the coverings in the bag so it would pack down. “Can we talk about this in about twenty minutes?”

  “Yeah. I guess.” He looked perplexed. “But I think you need to hear what…”

  “I will in a little bit,” I called over my shoulder.

  Whatever he had to say about the Burnses could wait. Nothing they did was pressing to me, and I wasn’t about to lose these precious, last few minutes I had with Debbie.

  I hurried back to my office, thinking Debbie was there. When she wasn’t, I looked in Charlotte’s old office, and when she wasn’t there, I headed to my apartment, where I found her in my family room.

  “There you are.” I gave her a good once-over so I could remember her. “Well, I’m ready to learn how to help David.”

  “You’re a good friend, Emma Lee. I’d never had a client who was a Betweener, and it thrilled me to know you embraced your gift.” Debbie waved the feather in front of the smoldering incense. “David is a good boy. Man. He’s going to be fine. I want him to finish his college. He will be able to help people better that way.”

  “He really wants to take over your business.” It made me remember the CDs I’d taken from her house that I needed to give back now that Mervin was in custody. “He thinks he can do well.”

  “He will use his gift later in life, and his gift will help him do the right thing to achieve his purpose.” She confused me.

  “But I thought…” I blinked a few times trying to wrap my head around how I was going to tell him this, so I asked. “What do you want me to say to him?”

  “Exactly what I just told you.” She floated around my family room, swiping the feather into the smoke, forcing it into the corners of the walls.

  “Is it time?” I asked when I felt like she was creating a smoke tunnel to help her cross to the other side. “I want you to know how much you helped me. When Jack Henry first made the appointment with you about my gift, I was a mess. I thought I was nuts and the medication Doc Clyde had me on made me sad. You changed my life. I’ll never forget how much you made me feel normal and helped me to embrace my gift.”

  “Thank you.” Debbie smiled. “Now, can you go catch my killer because I’m ready to move on.”

  “Your killer?” A nervous laugh escaped me. “Mervin killed you.”

  “Lordy no. Mervin couldn’t kill an ant.” Debbie ghosted away. “The killer is still out there.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Still out here? Not crossed over?” Mazie asked from the stack of papers on the floor in her office in the library. “Are you sure?”

  “She’s right out there, in the reference section.” Debbie had showed up in the hearse on my way over to see Mazie and followed me into the library.

  I looked out into the library and saw Debbie’s ghost had moved next to John Howard Lloyd.

  My mind was so jumbled with knowing that Debbie’s killer was still out there, the wrong persons were in custody, and I was going to have to tell David he wasn’t to be a psychic. This was not how I saw this little Betweener client situation
going down at all. “When I solve their murders, they go away,” I mumbled. “I’ll be right back. I think John Howard wants to talk to me.”

  John Howard greeted me with a toothless smile when I approached him. “Emma Lee.”

  “John Howard, are you following me?” I asked.

  “No, ma’am,” he grunted and looked down at his shoes. “I was coming in here to get a cup of coffee.”

  “I have all the coffee you want at the funeral home.” I didn’t believe him. There was something going on with him, and I’d seen him behave like this one other time.

  When Bea Allen Burns stole him from me as an employee, it took me some fancy accounting work to get him back, and I sure hoped it wasn’t happening again. That’s why I didn’t press him on why he was really here.

  “Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He nodded and walked around me to head back to the coffee stand Mazie had set up near the computers as a complimentary offering to the library guests.

  “What about Kent?” Mazie smacked her hands together. “We never listened to the CDs because we thought Mervin did it.”

  “You’re right. Problem,” I groaned and dug down into my bag where I’d stuck the CDs in there. I took out a stack. “I don’t have a CD player.”

  “The library has several.” Mazie wiggled her brows in excitement and pushed up to stand. “They are in storage, but I’ll get them.”

  Mazie went to retrieve the ancient compact disc player, and I took my phone from my pocket. I clicked my favorites button from the call screen and clicked on the only name on there.

  Jack Henry.

  “Hi,” was all I could think of when he did answer. I was a little surprised. “I love you. We have a problem.”

  “We have several problems.” He wasn’t talking about the murder; he was talking about us. “I know we started dating when we found out you were a Betweener. I love that you can help people. I adore it, actually. You’re sensitive and caring. It’s another thing when it hurts people you love.”

  “Jack, I didn’t force you to go into Mervin’s house. You insisted,” I blurted out when I knew I should’ve just agreed and moved on. I put my hand over my mouth and the phone, whispering, “That’s not why I called. Not that it makes a difference to your situation, but Mervin didn’t kill Debbie. She’s still here.”

  The silence on the other end of the phone reminded me of the first time I did tell Jack Henry about me seeing ghosts. The memory ruffled through my mind. It actually made me smile.

  “It’ll take Trevor a day or so to go through all of Mervin’s information, which will buy some time.” Was Jack Henry on my side? I sat there trying to analyze what he’d said. “Emma Lee?”

  “I’m here. I’m trying to process what you just said.” Instead of trying to figure it out, I waited to see his response.

  “I’ve got nothing else to do.”

  “Oh, Jack Henry!” I couldn’t help but get excited about the fact Jack Henry was going to help me, and I knew he was going to do anything to help. “Where do we start?”

  Mazie walked back into the office with an old CD player. I grabbed a piece of paper off her desk and wrote down “Jack Henry.” She nodded and started to thumb through the CDs.

  “I’ve already started.” Of course he had. “You told me David had gone to the psychic convention. I wanted to know why he went there. Was it because he wanted to try to connect with his mom? Did he know his dad was there? Did he even know about his dad? So I called David.”

  Mazie held up the CD she’d settled on. There was a date on it from a week ago.

  “Most recent,” she whispered, shrugging her shoulders, and took the CD out of the protective sleeve. She fiddled with the CD player while I finished my conversation with Jack Henry.

  “Did he answer?” I asked Jack Henry about his phone call to David.

  “Yeah. He said he went there because he’d went through his mom’s papers, and there was a note from Mervin. He wanted to talk to Debbie at the convention since they both were going to be there. When he went to see Mervin, Mervin seemed happy that Debbie was dead because it made their divorce final. Only…” I could hear the worry in Jack Henry’s voice. “He did tell David he was entitled to half of Debbie’s things.”

  I gasped.

  “What?” Mazie jerked up and looked at me.

  “Mervin told David he’s entitled to half of what she had because they weren’t divorced.” I couldn’t believe it.

  “That’s not true!” Debbie ghosted into the library office. “He is a freeloader. He’s got Deborah Holt pretending to be psychic. He saw how much money I was making with my gift, and he’s such a con, he’s going to try to fool people.”

  “Is she here?” Mazie must’ve seen me focusing on the empty space in front of her.

  “Yes.” I nodded. “I understand that, but you didn’t sign the divorce papers.”

  “Cool.” Mazie plugged in a pair of earphones into the CD player and put them on.

  “Emma, are you talking to Debbie?” Jack Henry asked from the other end of the phone.

  “Emma Lee, whose side are you on?” Debbie growled. “You wouldn’t tell me you’re a Betweener before I was murdered, and now you want help so David keeps what is rightfully his?”

  “That’s not fair. I’m more than happy to get you to the other side, but I can’t manipulate the law with the undone stuff you left behind.” I didn’t answer Jack Henry because I was afraid Debbie would leave if I didn’t continue to talk to her. “I’ll help David out in any way I can, but I’ve got to help you get crossed over.”

  “Then do your job!” she yelled, fanning the smoke my way before she stepped into a big plume of it and disappeared.

  “Emma? What’s wrong?” Jack Henry’s tone held concern.

  “I’m not sure what kind of help we are going to get from Debbie here on out.” I gnawed on my bottom lip. “She insists I have to help David keep all her money.”

  “Do you know how much money she has?” Jack Henry asked.

  “Not a clue, but she lived simply, and it only cost thirty-five dollars to see her for an hour, so I’m assuming not much.” It was simple observation.

  “She’s squirreled away a huge 401(k). I’ll probably get caught, and I’m prepared for it, but I used my credentials to make a few phone calls to someone I know in the IRS. I gave him Debbie’s social, and she’s got over one million dollars in her account.” Jack Henry dropped a bomb on me.

  My jaw dropped. To. The. Floor!

  “Wa… wa… wa…” I stammered over my words. “One million dollars.” I finally got it out. “Debbie has a 401(k) worth one million dollars.”

  “Yes. If she’s still here, and Mervin didn’t kill her, he sure will get some of that.” Jack Henry’s voice faded out.

  “Emma!” Mazie ripped the earphones off her head. “Kent Luebe threatened to kill Debbie. And I don’t think he knew she was taping him.”

  “Did she just say someone threatened to kill Debbie?” Jack Henry asked.

  “She’s listening to the CDs. I didn’t know the full details because I’ve been talking to you.” Kent definitely could be the killer, especially since he’d been stalking her and unhappy with what Debbie had done to his marriage.

  “Emma Lee, meet me at Eternal Slumber with the CDs so I can hear them. I’ve got to grab this phone call from my mom. See you soon.” He clicked off the phone.

  His mother.

  “What? Your face just went white.” Mazie looked around the room like there was another ghost or something there.

  “Jack Henry is taking a phone call from his mother.” The thought of him telling her he’d been let go from the Kentucky State Police after she’d driven him crazy for a couple of years to take the job. “He wants to meet me at Eternal Slumber with the CDs because he’s going to help figure out who killed Debbie.”

  When he didn’t take the offer to join the force when they initially offered it to him, his mom blamed
me for keeping him here, and it didn’t establish a great relationship between us. She tolerated me, and I was overly nice to her.

  “We can’t worry about her.” Mazie grabbed up the CDs and handed me the CD player. “You go meet him and figure this out. Get Debbie to the other side before I have to leave town.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  You’re going to call Natalia and tell her you were wrong. Kent Luebe’s voice made me physically shake as the images of how frightened Debbie must’ve been when he would approach her flashed before me. You tell her that I’ve had a job and I can provide for her. You made her leave me, and if you don’t tell her how much I love her and do some sort of fake voodoo crap you do and tell her she’ll die if she doesn’t come back to me, I’ll kill you.

  Jack Henry hit the back button.

  I’ll kill you. Jack Henry replayed it again and again. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.

  “We’ve got to find this man.” Panic rioted deep within me as the tears sat on the edge of my eyelids.

  331 Downhair Road, said a faint whisper from the recording.

  “What was that? Did you hear that?” I asked Jack Henry.

  He rewound it.

  331 Downhair Road. It sounded like one of those recordings you’d hear on the Ghost Hunters show where a ghost saying something was picked up but was a little skewed.

  “I think it’s Debbie giving an address.” I grabbed my phone off the desk and punched in the address on my maps app. “It’s in Lexington.” I turned the phone around.

  Jack Henry walked straight over to my computer and pulled up the Internet. He typed until he hit enter.

  “If this is a lead, you and I are going to find it because it’s your ticket to get off leave.” I rubbed Jack Henry on the back, trying to make this easier for him. “Not only do I want Debbie to cross over, I want you to get your job back.”

  It was hard for me to say that since I really wanted him here back in Sleepy Hollow full-time, but the Kentucky State Police had been a dream for him. Not to mention his mother. Jo Francis Ross wasn’t my biggest fan since Jack Henry had turned down the first job the state police had offered because we were dating.