5 The Ghosts in the Audience

by SUE FINEMAN

  Dinner finally wound down and Ginny helped Mom collect the dirty plates and take them to the kitchen, so Mom could serve dessert. Her three-layer chocolate cake sat on the kitchen island, ready to be cut and served. Kayla and Sarah carried more plates to the kitchen, chatting about music like old friends.

  Nice girl. No wonder Steffen took her in.

  Dinner finally ended, and after the mess was cleaned up, Kayla talked Sarah into coming out to their house to spend the night instead of staying in town. Sarah glanced over at Steffen, who nodded, so Sarah collected her bag from the guest room upstairs and left the house with Billy and his family.

  Ginny and Steffen sat in the living room with her parents.

  “Steffen, where did you find Sarah?” Dad asked.

  Steffen related the story of how Sarah came into his life. “I’m sure when her father wrote the letter he didn’t believe in psychics, and he never believed I’d find his daughter or he’d end up in jail, but he believes it now. The doctor took a DNA sample from Sarah’s baby. She’ll have to go back to Chicago to testify against her father, and I know that won’t be easy, but he can’t touch her again.”

  “What about the other letters?” Ginny asked. “Anything interesting happen with them?”

  “I saw the body of a little girl in Texas and called the detective in charge of the case, and I helped the Chicago police find a missing girl.”

  “Dead or alive?” Dad asked.

  “She was dead, buried under the roses in the killer’s backyard, but he was going to kill another girl that night. I saw the killer’s house and the garage where he kept her captive, and the police found her in time. After her torture sessions with that sadistic pervert, she’ll never be the same kid, but she’s still alive.”

  Ginny saw the sad look on his face and knew how hard it must be to see the things he did. “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

  He nodded. “What happened with the Morrison case?”

  “Mark wanted to arrest her husband for the murders, but Molly and I squeezed the truth out of Judd’s girlfriend. She came home a day early from a business trip and caught them together. So she shot them both, then tossed the gun off the Ninth Street Bridge into the river. He’d already given her an STD from a previous affair, and she said she ‘wasn’t putting up with that shit anymore.’ The judge refused bail. She’s in jail awaiting trial.”

  “I told you the husband didn’t do it.”

  “I know, but Mark doesn’t believe in psychic visions. He interviewed Judd’s girlfriend and she gave him a line of bull, so he dismissed her as a suspect.”

  Dad shook his head.

  Ginny knew what he was thinking. Mark was being considered for the captain’s position, and he had no business being captain. “If Mark ends up as captain, I’ll have to look for work elsewhere, because I won’t work for him. In some ways, he’s more sexist than Captain Pierson. So far Karen has been patient with him, but that won’t last with the way he’s been behaving.” She sighed. “I’m sick of all the conflict at the station. She gave him a direct order the other day and instead of obeying, he stormed out of the office.”

  Dad’s brows came together in a questioning look. “Does the chief know about this?”

  Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m trying to keep my fingers out of it. If she stays on as captain, she’ll have to do something about him.”

  “Princess,” Steffen said with a smile. “They call you Princess.”

  “Why?” Dad asked.

  “Because I’m your daughter. Mark thinks that’s the only reason I got promoted to detective.”

  Dad’s face turned dark with anger. “That’s the biggest load of—”

  “Donovan,” Mom said quietly. “This isn’t your problem. You’re no longer involved.”

  “If I was, I’d fire Montgomery and throw his ass out of there. There’s no room for that kind of insubordination. With police work, you have to follow orders and rely on your fellow officers or detectives to do the same.”

  The room grew quiet, then Steffen said, “I want to thank you for your hospitality and a wonderful dinner. I could have stayed in a hotel.”

  “Nonsense,” said Mom. “We have six bedrooms in this house. We’ll have seven when Andy moves his office out to the inn.”

  “Enough room for a big family.”

  A warm smile spread on her face. “We had a big family – four kids, Donovan’s father, and Trevor. Since Ginny moved out, this is the first time since we’ve been married Donovan and I have lived alone.”

  “Trevor?”

  “He was my ex-husband. The kids called him Uncle Trevor. He came to visit one day and stayed.”

  “I hope to have a big family someday,” Steffen said.

  Ginny cringed. He wanted this baby, and if she didn’t marry him, he’d probably want custody. She loved him, but she didn’t want to marry a man who could mess around in her mind, and she didn’t want her baby to grow up in Chicago when her entire family lived here in River Valley.

  Mom stood. “Donovan, let’s go for a walk.”

  Dad glanced at Ginny and Steffen, then stood. “Good idea.”

  After they left, Steffen asked, “How long have you known?”

  “A few days. I saw a doctor today to confirm it. She said I was about two months along. That would put the conception date—”

  “The first time we slept together.”

  She sighed. “My fault. You said you didn’t have condoms and I wanted you so much I didn’t care.”

  “You don’t want my baby?”

  She stood and walked to the fireplace. “I never planned to be a mother. My job is dangerous, and I didn’t want to risk—”

  “Then quit your job.”

  “No. I might have to take some time off, but I don’t want to quit. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am. I’m good at what I do, Steffen.”

  “I know, but the baby—”

  “This baby doesn’t need an unhappy mother. Don’t you understand? Police work is part of my identity as a person.”

  “Like my psychic abilities are part of mine?”

  “Exactly.”

  He stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. “Do you love me, Ginny?”

  She looked away and heard his mind say Look me in the eye and tell me the truth.

  Glaring at him, she snapped, “Get out of my head, Steffen. And stay out.”

  “I don’t have to be in your head to know you’re confused and upset. But whether you want this baby or not, I do.”

  “My child is not going to grow up in Chicago. He’s going to have a yard to run in, cousins to play with, and pets to snuggle. He’ll learn how to grow corn on Uncle Andy’s farm, play hide and seek in Grandma’s house, and have all the love a big family can provide. I know damn well he won’t get any of that in Chicago.”

  “What about the baby’s father? I don’t want my child growing up without me.”

  Silence filled the room. Ginny wanted their baby to have his father nearby, but Steffen had made it very clear, his life was in Chicago.

  And hers was here, in River Valley.

  The kitchen door opened. Ginny’s parents were back from their walk, and she couldn’t face either of them now. “I’m going up to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Ginny escaped from the living room and ran up the stairs. Time to move back home. She needed time alone to think, and she wouldn’t get it here.

  Steffen followed Ginny upstairs, but she closed and locked her door, shutting him out of her bedroom and out of her life. He knew she loved him, but she didn’t want a man who could read her thoughts. What would she do if the baby turned out to be psychic? Would she reject him, too?

  With a heavy heart, Steffen retreated to Hannah’s guest room, unpacked a few things, and settled in for the night.

  Spirits hovered in the old house, remnants of the Taylor family’s past, reminding him Ginny belonged here. So did their child. Whether Ginny wanted him or
not, if he wanted to be part of his child’s life, he’d have to move to River Valley. If his baby inherited his father’s psychic abilities, someone would have to teach him how to use his gifts properly, as his grandmother had taught him.

  Ginny didn’t want a psychic man. If he could turn off his radar, if he could somehow turn into a normal man, would she want him then?

  Steffen was almost asleep when he felt someone turn the covers back and climb into the bed beside him. Ginny’s warm body curled around his back and she kissed his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, Steffen. So sorry.”

  “Sorry about what? Sorry you don’t love me? Sorry you’re pregnant? Sorry you’re confused and upset?”

  “Sorry I can’t be what you want me to be.”

  He rolled onto his back. “Apparently I’m no prize either.”

  “Yes, you are,” she whispered. “I just don’t know how to deal with the mind stuff. It scares me.”

  “It’s part of who I am. Ginny, honey, I want to marry you and build a life with you and our baby, but it won’t work if you can’t accept who I am.”

  “It won’t work anyway, because I can’t be what you want me to be. I can’t stay home and be a full-time wife and mother. I can’t live my mother’s life.”

  He ran his hand over her shoulder and down her soft arm. “I don’t want you to be unhappy. That’s why my mother left. She was desperately unhappy with her life in Chicago. She married my father out of necessity, not out of love.”

  “Is she happy now?”

  “I don’t know. Honey, if you don’t love me—”

  “You know I love you, Steffen. But love alone doesn’t make a happy marriage.”

  “It’s a good start.” A damn good start.

  <>

  Three more days before tax season ended. Roland dragged himself home every evening with numbers dancing behind his eyes, and his beloved Phoebe was always there to greet him. No matter when he got off work, she fixed him a hot dinner and rubbed his neck and shoulders to ease the stress of the day.

  They’d decided to have a judge perform the marriage ceremony instead of a rabbi or minister. He wasn’t sure what she intended to do about their children, if they had any. If she wanted to teach them Jewish traditions, that was fine with him, but she’d have to teach him, too. There weren’t many Jews in River Valley, Ohio. River Valley started out as a small farming town and grew as manufacturing plants moved here. Then Ohio State opened a campus here, and there were several community colleges in the city now. The river was a huge draw to plants that wanted to ship goods down the river. Many of Roland’s clients were executives from manufacturing plants, canneries, and shipping firms. He had enough business to provide job security, and he’d need that security when he took on a wife.

  “Roland, what would you think about me going back to work at the library after the wedding?”

  “That’s up to you, sweetheart. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”

  “I want to keep busy, and Julie says she has someone interested in buying my mother’s home.”

  “Are you sure you want to sell it?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Do you have all your personal things out?”

  “Almost. I still have to go through my father’s study. Roland, do you think we could find room in the living room for my mother’s piano?”

  “Of course. Keep whatever you want.”

  “All I want is my mother’s piano and my father’s desk. I thought we could turn one bedroom into a study. We could line one wall with bookshelves for my books, and—”

  “Wonderful idea. If we run out of room, we can always add on or buy a bigger home.” He’d give her anything she wanted.

  Anything.

  <>

  Steffen was having breakfast with Ginny and her parents Saturday morning when she was called to work. After she left, Steffen asked, “Do you know a good real estate agent? I want to buy a house in River Valley.”

  Hannah said, “Andy’s wife, Julie.”

  Donovan cocked his head. “You plan to live here?”

  “Yes, I do.” If Ginny and his child were here, he didn’t want to live in Chicago.

  An hour later, a pretty blonde came in carrying a laptop computer. “Steffen, I’m Julie, Andy’s wife.” She handed him a business card. “I understand you want to buy a house.”

  They talked about his needs, then looked at homes on the computer. Julie made a few phone calls, then drove him around the city, showing him the million-dollar neighborhoods. She pulled up in front of a beautiful home with a fairy tale look about it. “This house is vacant. The man lost his job and moved his family to Cleveland.”

  She unlocked the front door and they walked inside. The house smelled dusty and musty. Steffen rubbed his nose. “Needs to be aired out.”

  “Yes, it does. It’s listed for two million, three hundred thousand, but they’re anxious to sell, so there’s a little wiggle room in the price. Four bedrooms, five full baths and three powder rooms.”

  He smirked. “Does it come with a maid service to keep all those bathrooms clean?”

  Her eyes sparkled. “If you buy this house, I’ll find you a housekeeper.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  Steffen liked the way the house looked from the outside, but he wasn’t sure he could make the layout work with a baby, especially with the open staircases. And he couldn’t get Carolyn’s grand piano into the great room without tearing out walls.

  “I like the outside, but…” He shook his head. “I’d like to see another house, if there’s anything else available.”

  “Okay. House number two coming right up.” She locked the house and they settled in her car. “If we find something that almost works, we can always talk with Andy about possible renovations. He designs remodels as well as new homes.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  The second house was also vacant. He didn’t much care for the way it looked on the outside – with the low roof line, it looked like more roof than house – but he loved the floor plan. The master bedroom, study, and one other bedroom were grouped on the left side of the single-story house. A great room filled the center, and two bedrooms, each with a private bath, were off the hallway behind the kitchen. Stairs led to a big room upstairs that also had a full bath. “This could easily be turned into another bedroom.”

  “Yes, it could,” said Julie. “There’s also a little cottage on the back of the property. There’s a tenant living there now, a college student, but he plans to move out this summer.”

  “Is there a basement?”

  “Not in this house. Most of the older homes have basements, but this home is only two years old.”

  “Did this guy lose his job, too?”

  “No, this is a divorce sale. The judge ordered the house sold and the equity split. The price on this one is a million six, much less than the other house, but it’s quite a bit smaller.”

  It was plenty big enough for him and Ginny and their baby.

  Julie showed Steffen one other house that day, a huge brick two-story home perched on a low hill. “This one is new. No basement. Three-car garage. Four bedrooms, four full baths and a powder room or two. And there’s an unfinished in-law apartment in the attic. One acre, fenced in the back for kids and dogs. The builder customized it for a couple, even added an elevator, then the buyers backed out of the sale.”

  “It’s huge. I’d have to go shopping for furniture.”

  “Kayla can help you with that. She furnished Ginny’s house out on Honey Creek. Don’t you have furniture in Chicago?”

  “Yeah, but it’s that dainty French stuff. Looks pretty, but I wouldn’t want to sit on it.”

  She laughed.

  Steffen walked through the house, looking at the master suite, an adjacent study that could be used as a nursery, and three bedrooms upstairs. There was also a fully equipped home theater, and a big play room upstairs. Perfect for a big family.
r />   He wondered which house Ginny would like.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ginny crept down the alley and scanned the suspect’s big, open backyard. While Mark and Karen covered the front, Ginny and Al had to get to the back door without being seen. Other officers and detectives waited around the corner, out of sight. Al glanced at his watch and motioned her on toward the dingy yellow house. The timing on this had to be perfect.

  She and Al were in the open, running across the backyard, when shots came from the front of the house. An instant later, the back door burst open and the suspect ran out spraying bullets. Al yelped in pain, grabbed his stomach, and rolled to the ground. Ginny felt bullets whiz by her face and body as she hit the ground beside Al. She quickly fired two shots at the suspect, who ducked behind a garbage can near the alley. At least one bullet connected, because he left a trail of blood, but he wasn’t down.

  “Officer down and suspect hit but not down,” she said into the radio on her shoulder. They were still in the open, targets for a man who had nothing to lose. “We need some cover back here.”

  Al swore as the suspect shot from behind the garbage can. “Why in the hell didn’t Mark wait until we were in place?”

  “Because he’s an idiot!” she muttered.

  Ginny wanted to check Al’s wound, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the suspect. He leaned to the side to take another shot, exposing his right shoulder and most of his head. She fired one shot, nailing him in the side of the head. His gun dropped to the ground and the suspect slumped on top of it, blood pouring from his head.

  “Suspect down,” she said into the radio. “We need the paramedics.”

  Uniformed officers ran around the house and Mark came out the back door, gun drawn, too late to do them any good.

  Seconds later, two paramedics pushed her out of the way so they could take care of Al. A third paramedic examined the suspect and shook his head. Ginny hadn’t just shot him.

  She’d killed him.

  Another paramedic asked her, “Are you hurt?”