“What can I do for you?” I asked. I’d tried telling people to make an appointment, but they never listened. Now I just asked them what they wanted outright.
“We were wondering if you see any spirits around us?” The third woman said, a bit older than me. They were all blonde and didn’t look like Silver Bells locals. This was probably a part of their vacation.
“All right, come in,” I said, opening the door for them. My office was tiny so one of them had to stand. It was the teenage girl, who was now on her phone, probably texting her friends that she was with the famous Meredith Good, the medium who spoke to Starius Darius after he died.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“I can’t believe they fall for that,” Rebecca said. “Why not just tell them that you don’t see anything and send them on their way?”
I ignored Rebecca and opened my eyes, intently looking around the three women. I didn’t see any spirits or ghosts, of course. It was obvious the moment I saw them that they were alone, but people wanted a little show and that’s what I gave them.
“There are no ghosts or spirits hanging around any of you at the moment. Consider yourselves lucky,” I said.
The trio looked disappointed.
“I was so sure someone was following me,” the woman my age said.
“Maybe it’s a stalker?” I offered. “I know a regular PI if you need any help with that.”
“What do we owe you?” The eldest blonde asked.
“Nothing. I only charge if there are actual ghosts I have to deal with. You guys have a nice day. The bakery here has the best pastries in the state, possibly the country,” I said, pointing to my left.
“This was a waste of time,” I heard the teenager say as they left, her face still glued to her phone. But they did go straight to Gran’s bakery. If I couldn’t make any money off of them, then Gran certainly would.
“You’re a savvy businesswoman, I’ll give you that,” Rebecca said.
“Really? Why thank you very much. Now if only I could be a savvy maid of honor. You know I even googled that stuff?”
“I was there,” Rebecca said. “I’m always there,” she had to add, with a faraway look in her ghostly eyes.
“Cut it out, Rebecca. I’m not keeping you prisoner. If you want to leave me for Darius, be my guest. You’ll always be welcome back.”
“You know very well that I can’t. I’m attached to you for some reason,” she said.
“Well, I’m sorry, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, I guess. Can we focus on the important thing now? This bachelorette party I have to throw, which I didn’t think Sarah even wanted until she mentioned it. I wonder if Jonathan is having a bachelor’s party?”
“I can spy on him and find out,” Rebecca offered.
“I really don’t care that much. But if he hurts my cousin, he’ll have something else coming to him. He better not be getting any lap dances, is what I’m saying.”
Rebecca laughed. “I don’t think Silver Bells has a strip club. Does it?”
“Of course not. We’re a wholesome, family-friendly town. The only controversial thing in this town is me, as always.”
“Not this again,” Rebecca said, rolling her ghostly eyes at me.
“You’re right. I think I’ve shown them that I’m better than all of them by now. I bet they all regret treating me like crap now that I’m famous.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it…”
“Shut up, Rebecca. I have a phone call to make.”
The bar confirmed that the place was all ours from nine to eleven. At least one part of my maiden duties was done.
“Am I forgetting anything?” I asked Rebecca.
“I don’t remember you buying her a gift. Isn’t that usually what happens at those parties?”
“You’re right. As if arranging the whole thing wasn’t enough. Why couldn’t she choose someone else to do this?”
Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. “You’re her cousin. Maybe she didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
I sighed. “The only thing hurting my feelings now is the fact that I have to waste time on such mundane things as arranging parties and making sure her dress looks good. I already told her she needs to lay off Gran’s pastries if she wants to fit in it.”
“You’re such a good cousin,” Rebecca said, though I thought I could sense a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“It was her idea,” I reminded Rebecca. “She wanted me to keep her ‘accountable’ or some other such nonsense. And now that I do what she asked, I’m the bad guy?”
“Saved by the bell,” Rebecca said.
Before I could ask her what the heck she was talking about, I saw Kane approaching my office.
“It’s surprisingly empty in here,” he said, closing the door behind him. “Has business dried up already?”
“No, it’s just next door. There were no spirits to talk to in this case.”
Kane leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I still found the whole thing a bit weird, especially with Rebecca right there.
“She’s here, isn’t she?” Kane said, looking around. “Hi Rebecca, wherever you are.”
“She’s in that corner,” I pointed it out for Kane’s benefit. “But how did you know? Are you becoming sensitive to the supernatural, Mr. Xavier?”
“Not as such. I just noticed the reluctance in your kiss. That meant someone was watching. And since we’re the only living beings in here, Rebecca made the most sense.”
“A PI to the core,” I said.
“I try my best. So, what are you up to today? I’m bored out of my mind. I haven’t had a job in over a week.”
“Poor baby,” I joked. “But at least you got to go with me yesterday, that’s something.”
“I guess. I just miss dealing with things I can actually see. Though if you have a job tonight, I’m more than willing to come along.”
“I’m throwing a bachelorette party for Sarah over at Sammy’s Bar & Grill, so don’t even think about going there for a drink between nine and eleven.”
“Will there be some male entertainment there? Should I be worried?” He raised an eyebrow.
“This is Silver Bells, what do you think?”
Kane leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Then I guess I’ll just have to give you a show later tonight.”
“I heard that,” Rebecca said and I had to laugh.
“Is that so ridiculous? I’m hurt, you know,” Kane put on a sad face, which was obviously fake.
“Sorry, Rebecca said she heard you.”
“I bet she’s even seen me. Isn’t that right, Rebecca?”
Rebecca’s see-through face almost looked like it was getting red.
“You made her blush. Stop it, Kane.”
“I’m going for a walk,” Rebecca said and flew through the glass window.
“You made her leave,” I admonished Kane. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“Sorry, Rebecca,” he yelled after her, then he turned back to me. “But at least now we’re alone and I expect a real kiss this time, all right?”
He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss, which I reciprocated. It was hard to resist his charms.
“What do you say we get out of here while you still have some free time?”
“Um, I’m working, Kane. That’s not appropriate.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I thought we could get something to eat or…”
“I already ate,” I said. “Maybe we can have lunch together. Unless you pick up a case or something?”
“It’s a date,” he said and made his leave. He didn’t go back to his van, though. He went straight to Gran’s bakery.
I turned my attention to the files I had to keep up to date and my books, which were now filling up pretty fast. Money was coming in, and that was a good feeling. How long it was going to continue coming in remained to be seen.
But my mind wasn’t really on what I was doing. All I kept thinking abo
ut was Sarah and Jonathan’s wedding. My parents were soon going to arrive in town for the wedding and that was something I definitely wasn’t looking forward to.
Three
“Are you nervous?” Rebecca asked when she saw me change my outfit for the umpteenth time.
“Why would I be nervous?”
“Because her friends are probably the girls that made fun of you back in high school,” Rebecca helpfully offered.
“That was then, this is now. Besides, I’m better than all of them and they know it. Right?”
“I’m not sure if that’s the attitude you should be bringing to this. Isn’t this supposed to be about Sarah, not about you?”
I gave Rebecca an annoyed look. “You’re the only one bringing up the past. Do you see me doing it? Yeah, I didn’t think so. So, are you excited for your first ever bachelorette party?”
Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. “I would be if I could actually drink. But since I can’t…”
“Yeah, drinking is half the fun of those things. I just hope I don’t end up being the designated driver.”
“Just call Kane up if you feel too tipsy.”
“I might just do that,” I said. “Though I don’t know if we can all fit in his van. The last thing I need is those mean girls talking about my boyfriend’s creepy van.”
“It’s not creepy, it’s actually pretty cozy,” Rebecca said.
She had a point. “I like it, too, I guess. Though I can’t figure out if it’s because I like the man driving it so much.”
I picked Sarah up. Jonathan looked concerned as I was dragging her away.
“Have fun, but not too much fun, you hear?” He called after us but we just ignored him. This was Sarah’s last night as an unmarried woman. Well, not exactly but close enough. Her wedding was only days away now.
We arrived at Sammy’s Bar & Grill just before nine. People were leaving in droves, angry looks on their faces.
“Aww, why is everyone leaving?” Sarah asked.
“Because this is your night and they’re not invited.”
“Look at their sad faces. I feel bad now.”
“Don’t. They’re trash anyway,” I pushed the doors open for her.
“And you wonder why people don’t like you that much.”
“I was just joking! Jeez, Sarah, get a grip. Or rather, go get yourself a drink.” I pointed to the bar, which was being manned by none other than Danny, the owner, and supposedly Sammy’s son.
“And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make sure everything is as it should be,” I said.
“This place is getting pretty empty. Maybe Sarah is right. It would have been a lot more fun having people around. Why didn’t you just reserve a couple of tables or something?” Rebecca said.
“And why didn’t you suggest that in the first place? It’s a little late now and I already paid Danny a hefty sum to keep this place empty for two hours. Now I just have to make sure Sarah’s friends are coming. I did send the invitations, right?”
“Yeah, I was there. Texts, phone calls, you did it all.”
That made me feel a bit better.
Once the parking lot was empty, two cars arrived together. Sarah’s friends were here. I took a deep breath and prepared myself.
“Meredith,” one of them said. “So good to see you.” She gave me a mock hug with some mock kisses to round it out.
“You, too,” I said, just as fake but trying to hide it for Sarah’s sake.
Once we were all there, we took the biggest table in the joint, which was actually a big round booth. Danny kept the drinks coming, and Sarah’s friends blushing. Even the ones with husbands and boyfriends seemed to have a crush on the guy. He was pretty cute, I had to admit, in that scruffy, flannel-shirt and muscles kind of way.
“You’re blushing,” Rebecca said.
“No, I’m not,” I was quick to say.
“Who are you talking to?” Karen asked. She was a tall brunette with a lawyer husband and a couple of kids. She was a real estate agent. Oh, and she never gave me the time of day back in high school.
“Myself?” I offered.
“OMG, don’t tell me there’s like a ghost here?” Daisy, ex-cheerleader who didn’t know I even existed in high school, said. “That would be like so cool, am I right guys?”
Sarah gave me a “do you need to be rescued?” look. I just shrugged my shoulders. If they wanted to talk about ghosts, I’d give them ghosts.
“I was actually talking to a friend of mine. She just happens to be a ghost.”
“Still letting the freak flag fly, I see,” Nicole, one of my main tormentors from high school said. Once she saw the looks she got from Sarah and the others, she quickly backtracked. “I mean that in the nicest way. It’s cool that you’re…different.”
“I like it,” I said. “But this night’s not about me or ghosts, it’s about Sarah. Am I right? Another round of shots, Danny!” I called out.
He came back with shots and a huge grin on his face. “Should I bring you guys something to eat? You need something to soak up all this alcohol.”
I ordered a sandwich and a salad while the others took something from the grill. Pretty soon, we were so busy drinking and eating, that everyone had forgotten about that whole ghost incident.
“So, why did you choose that hotel for the reception, Sarah?” Karen asked.
Sarah and Jonathan had chosen a new hotel that had just been built in town. It was actually years in the making.
“It’s new and we thought it would be appropriate since we’re looking for a new start, together and all.”
“Aww, that’s so romantic,” Daisy said. “I wish my boyfriend thought about stuff like that. He hasn’t even proposed yet and we’ve been together for like three years.”
Daisy was dating a firefighter, a fact that she kept mentioning throughout the night like she had won the lottery or something. I just smiled while I cringed inside.
“The wedding is still at the church, right?” Nicole said.
“Of course,” Sarah said. “Jonathan insisted. He’s so traditional.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” Nicole said. “I wish my boyfriend went to church. All he does on Sundays is watch football.”
“Hey, football is our national treasure,” Daisy said. “Plus, church is so boring anyway.”
“What about you, Meredith. Do you go to church?” Nicole asked.
“No. Too many dead people for my taste,” I said.
Everyone except Nicole laughed. She was such a humorless person.
“You’re so weird,” Nicole said.
“Weird is my middle name.” Rebecca gave me a look. “So, are you going to tell us how Jonathan proposed?” I said to Sarah.
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was play referee between me and her friends.
“He actually took me to the spot we first kissed. It was so romantic…”
While Sarah babbled on about their magical engagement, I disengaged and thought about Jonathan’s proposal to me. Once I came back to, Karen was talking about her own engagement and perfect husband. I wanted to tell her that no one was perfect, but I kept it to myself. This night wasn’t about me.
Eleven o’clock was fast approaching and I was starting to think that I should have booked the place until twelve. But thankfully, no one dared say that out loud. We gave Sarah gifts at the end of the night. Most of them were jokey.
Karen drove Daisy and Nicole home while I drove Sarah. Keeping my drinks to a minimum in that crowd was quite the accomplishment, but I managed it.
“Did you have fun?” I asked Sarah once we were at her house.
“Yeah. Thanks for a great night.”
I was glad she didn’t mention the ghost talk that took over the night for a bit.
“Did you have fun?” I asked Rebecca when we were driving home.
“It was all right,” she said. “Danny was the best part.”
I laughed. “You too, huh?”
“What can I say? I may be dead, but I still have eyes.”
I’d already texted Kane that I was too tired to hang out tonight. He sent me a sad face and told me to rest up.
Once I was at the house, it was getting close to midnight. I was definitely tired and all I wanted to do was curl up under some covers and sleep for at least ten hours. But as soon as I parked my car, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
There was something different here.
Just then the front door opened and my mother stood there.
“It’s about time you came home, missy,” she said. “I’ve been waiting here for over an hour. Now give your mom a hug.”
I gave her a quick hug. “What are you doing here? Is dad here?”
“I don’t know where your father is and you know it. And I’m here for Sarah’s wedding, you silly girl. Madeline told me you had a bachelorette party for her and I wasn’t invited?”
“You weren’t even here.”
“That’s no excuse. Now get inside before you catch a cold and invite all kinds of critters inside.”
“Is Gran awake?”
“No, she went to sleep right after I arrived. Apparently, eleven at night is super late for her.”
“She gets up early,” I said. “She runs a bakery in town.”
“I know, I know. Just because I haven’t been here in a while doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on. There are some leftovers in the oven if you’re hungry.”
“I already ate,” I said. “Now I’m super tired. I should probably go to bed.”
Rebecca gave me one of her “you’re in danger” looks.
“Sleep can wait. I want to catch up with my favorite daughter.”
“I’m your only daughter.”
She laughed. “Of course you are, sweetheart. Now let’s sit down and have a cup of tea or something.”
I had to make the tea, of course. Once the tea was ready, we sat at the kitchen table, Marmalade and Ebony occasionally coming in and circling our legs. My mother shooed them away. She was allergic, she kept saying, but I had a feeling she just didn’t like them.
“I saw you on my favorite celebrity news show,” she said once we’d settled down. “You won’t believe how jealous all my friends were when I told them you were my daughter.”
Ghostly Wedding (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 3) Page 2
