She just stared at him for a time, making him uncomfortable. Anita hadn't completely forgiven him, but she was almost there. “I wouldn't say it was little or white because you did kill someone. But it was an accident, I guess. You didn't do it deliberately. But actually, how do I know that you're not an ax murderer?”
“Someone has a wild imagination. I'm not, but I suppose I could be, but I'm not.”
Anita closed her eyes and focused on the detective but still couldn't get back to her. She could sure use some help from Cuthbert right about now. Or support from someone who really knew the ropes.
Tim inched closer to her. “I can prove I'm telling the truth. There's a rock, a boulder really, and when one is near it, you are unable to lie. I know it sounds strange. No one knows why or, at least, no one I know knows why. Some think God was there once, but it is only a guess.”
It sounded far-fetched so he would need to take her there and prove it. “All right then, show me.”
Tim took her hand and then they were at the big rock that was in a field of daisies. The boulder was more than twenty feet high, and she thought there was a slight glow to it. Perhaps God had blessed it for some reason. Another question without an answer. But it was beautiful here and a feeling of absolute love.
Anita looked past the boulder as she gazed at the field of daisies that went for miles, all the way to the horizon, and what a beautiful photo it would make. A male mallard duck was sleeping near the rock and didn't even open his eyes to their presence. “So how does it work?”
“Just touch the rock and try to tell me a lie and you'll see that I'm telling the truth.”
It was a different world here. “Let's see. My name is, ah.” She tried to say Betty but couldn't, only when she spoke her real name did the words come out. “My name is Anita. That is incredible. I so wanted to lie but I couldn't.”
“I know.”
“Okay, Tim, tell me that the only lie you've said to me is about the accident. And say that you are a good person.”
He placed his hand on the rock. “Anita, the only lie that I've ever said is about the accident. And I am a good person.”
Anita now had a knowing look, making him wonder what she was going to say next. “If you're not an evil person then you should have no reason you wouldn't enter into the light. You have nothing to fear. So are you gonna?”
Tim shrugged. He supposed it was true, but already he didn't want to be away from her, hoping that he was destined to be with her. “I think I'll stay here for a while longer.”
What's going on behind those beautiful blue eyes? Why does he want to remain here if he can go to heaven? What am I missing? He might not be lying, but he's keeping something from me.
“Why don't you want to go into the light?”
He shrugged.
Anita smiled, confident that she would get it out of him eventually.
“My lady, would you like to go for a stroll?”
Anita felt a surge and was abruptly in a beautiful hotel room, the Melia Nassau Beach Resort in the Bahamas. She was compelled to look down and saw Detective Brown moving briskly toward the hotel as if in a rush, guessing that she was probably in her room. But what was with the palm trees? She was no longer in New York!
Olivia entered, annoyed that her morning jog had been interrupted, but her sister Charlotte had sounded frantic. “What? What's the big emergency?”
“You have to go to the front desk and get us another room. There's a fucking ghost in this one! I'm not joking! She was standing right there by the window. I am not joking!” Charlotte was beside herself.
Olivia feigned ignorance as she laughed. “A ghost?”
“Olivia, it's not funny. Someone must have died in here. Get us another room. Please.”
Disturbing that the ghost had followed her, but also satisfying that someone else could also see her. “A young female? A twenty-one-year-old?”
“What? How the hell do you know that? You've seen the ghost before?” Charlotte was trying to make sense of it. “You have a ghost following you around?”
“She's a case that I've been working on that went cold. Anita must want me to solve her murder, but it doesn't look like that's going to be possible.”
“You see ghosts all the time?”
“Nope, only this one.”
This is just fucking great. An incredible vacation screwed up by a ghost; they just had to be real. “You put something in my drink didn't you?”
“Charlotte, get real.”
“So, even if we change rooms the ghost is going to follow us?”
Olivia almost couldn't believe the conversation she was having. It would make more sense as a dream. “I guess so but don't worry–she's after me, not you. She's just trying to give me information. And even if she does tell me who did it I still need proof. Isn't it crazy though that spirits are real? Aunt Stella might be the sanest of us all.”
Anita shook her head. Apparently, neither one could see her right now. Maybe she would have better luck after dark. If the killers were already headed to Florida, then all was lost. Vacations usually only lasted about a week, though she had no way of knowing if it would be too late by then or not. If time existed in the spirit world, she was unable to grasp it, like trying to corral smoke.
The day turned to evening and Anita managed to hang around and was happy when the kitten showed up. She played with Sun-Jade on the bed, at times making her laugh by its antics, and rubbing herself against Anita and purring. The sisters had left the room, and it was now a waiting game. It seemed that when there were too many people around, her energy was somewhat diminished. The cat's tail appeared to be a little too long for her, but she was a cutie nonetheless, jumping on her shoulder and even climbing and balancing on her head.
An hour after midnight the sisters returned. They weren't walking a straight line in the hall that led to their room, both had imbibed a little too much. Charlotte even more so than Olivia. As Charlotte entered, she saw Anita on the bed with the cat. She covered her eyes and fell over the ottoman by the bed.
“That fucking ghost has a dead cat on the bed!”
The detective looked and sure enough, the spirit had the kitten on her shoulder and as she leaned against the headboard, greeted her with a wave of her fingers as Olivia returned the greeting. Charlotte let herself fall on her bed and soon after she was snoring.
The detective sat on the bed and gazed at the kitten and then at Anita. The spirit was clearer than she had ever been. Though the cat was translucent, she could see her lovely green eyes. The spirit was mouthing something.
“I need your help.”
“You need my help to solve your murder?”
Anita was pulled away by unseen hands, ending up near the lake by the cabin. “You asshole! Why did you pull me here!”
Stephen had a cocky smile on his snarky face. “Anita, I need you to stay away from that woman. It's not safe for you in the real world now; you'll get trapped there and wander the earth forever.” What he was saying was false, but he was willing to give it a try.
“I knew there was something off about you. You need to stay away from me.” Anita thought about Olivia and had started to leave when he again grabbed her and tugged her back. “Hey!”
“You'll get trapped and never be able to go into the light. Is that what you want?”
Anita looked him up and down. “Why don't you pop over to the rock with me and tell me that stuff with your hand on the boulder.”
“Oh, you people. I'm warning you!”
“I'm already dead, you fool.”
When Stephen tried to grab her a third time the cat appeared and jumped in his face, giving her time to vanish back to Tim's location.
Chapter Thirty-Three
OLIVIA'S AUNT STELLA was surreptitiously making her way through the apartment, now approaching the bathroom, wearing boy's Spiderman pajamas. She held a 9mm Ruger LC9 handgun, perfect for her small hands, with a seven round magazine. Stella was frightened but whoever was screwing
around in there was going to get a bullet; she had no qualms about defending herself. Aunt Stella would send an intruder into the world of spirits if necessary. The thief was almost sure to be a man and, of course, a lot stronger. However, a bullet was a great equalizer.
What is this son-of-a-bitch up to? Steal my money and kill me, I have no doubt about that. I guess I really should have a cell phone instead of the one in the living room. He is terribly quiet now, trying to wait me out. Maybe Olivia will soon be trying to solve my murder?
Stella was immobile near the washroom, realized that should she put herself in the doorway a prowler would be able to overpower her, and so wasn't certain of her next move. Might be best just to back up a little and wait him out. It was mostly men that did the robbing and the killing. Too much testosterone and not enough brain power, she guessed. She heard a slight bump, barely perceptible, or did she imagine it? The sun would be up in less than an hour, but she anticipated that it would all be over by then, one way or another. Stella would do her best to make sure that it wasn't her dead body that ended up on the floor in a pool of blood.
Should I tell him to get his arse out of there? Or would that get him to panic? I can't stand here for ten hours either. Damn it; I had the safety on! A gun with its safety on may as well be a hamburger. Why would I think hamburger? I must be hungry. I'm gonna sit on my bed and let him hear me and see what happens. I could say I'm going back to bed, and he might think I was just mumbling to myself. Or would that be too obvious?
Stella put her weight down on the bed which made the slightest sound, but nothing happened. She cocked the gun and then dropped her shoe on the floor as he would hear that. Thump! Ten seconds and no reaction. No reaction and now she wondered if there was, in fact, someone there. Stella knew that the devil was cunning, so she wasn't about to look in the washroom, at least not yet. If there were no one in there, she would feel foolish. Never good for a senior to feel stupid, confidence almost always lacking.
This time she was sure she had heard something, sounded like the toilet brush being knocked over and Stella had done that a few times herself. Time to get this over with, one way or another. A fellow in a top hat appeared; the spirit pointed to the washroom and nodded. “So there is someone in there! Come out I know you're in the bathroom! I'm calling the police!” He wouldn't know that she didn't have a cell phone.
A young Chinese man made a run for it, and Stella discharged her weapon. Bang! He fell and hit the floor hard, got up and was out the door like a flash. She missed but almost scared him to death, or had he seen the ghost? That gunshot had been so loud she almost dropped the gun. She hadn't fired it in such an extended time, might be time to get back to the shooting range. Stella brewed herself a cup of green tea and waited for the police. They took the report and flushed it down the toilet as soon as they got back to the station, she guessed. She laughed at how fast he'd gotten out of there.
She stood with her tea, staring at the wall. “Look at that! Shot my own wall! They couldn't even figure out how he got in here. I'm sure I bolted that door. I think.”
After the dust had settled Stella went back to bed but soon thought she might have heard something else. She sat up to see that the spirit had returned, standing in her bedroom, in the process of dropping droplets of water on the floor. With each one, a ripple went through the apartment, much like a drop of water in a pond.
“Hey, you, stop that.”
The ghost vanished. Stella got up and checked the floor, but there was nothing.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ANITA CONCENTRATED HARD and returned to the detective's side, only this time she was sitting in a chair on the beach. The only one in a row of ten empty seats. It was midday, and Olivia was enjoying the tropical scene. No matter how hard she tried, Anita could not make her presence known. Angry, she screamed in the detective's face but, clearly, Olivia couldn't hear her. Anita tried to knock over Olivia's drink but couldn't. She watched the waves roll in for a bit.
A butterfly would have better luck getting her attention. Sad but true. Under the sun might be the absolute worst place for a ghost to be seen. I still can't believe I'm dead. My family is crying their eyes out and here I am, perfectly fine. This is so bizarre. Wow, that guy is so sexy! She watched as a young Spanish man went by. He had an excellent physique and so handsome.
Anita sighed, or tried to sigh. When a spirit attempted to take in a deep breath, it just felt peculiar. Sun-Jade appeared on her left shoulder, and she lost her footing and fell over. All about perception now–she imagined that a spirit couldn't fall. “Hello, you cutie.” The kitten got on top of her head, and she could feel it trying to balance, making her giggle. What is it with this cat and my head?
Olivia's eyebrows tightened. She heard a chuckle, but there was no one near enough for her to hear. Was the ghost laughing at her? She took another drink of her margarita.
Today could be the day that her sisters died. Anita shook her head, attempting to tell herself not to think like that, but it was hard to ignore the facts. How can I save Eva and Courtney? If only there was a way to stop those two killers? Maybe I should go to them? She thought about the bald one and found herself in the hot atmosphere of a Georgia morning, birds singing and a small green lizard scurrying across the front walk. There was a beautiful palm tree in the front yard with a big green canopy, making her wonder if this was Florida. Maybe her sisters were already dead, but no, supposedly the two also die in a hail of bullets. That meant Eva and Courtney were very much alive, at least for now.
John, on a riding mower, was cutting his lawn and seemed happy for whatever reason. Anita floated over to the front porch, but to her, it felt like she walked. She looked down at the Georgia newspaper as a small Green Anole lizard scurried across it. Did that indicate that she was in Georgia? Probably. Look at this place! It's a freaking mansion. I guess crime does pay.
“You bastard!” she screamed at him. Anita stood in front of the mower and as it went through her she swiped at his wide-brimmed sun hat. The hat flew off and landed to his right. Was that a coincidence? The moderate wind might have been sufficiently intense to blow it off, but maybe just maybe.
John stopped the machine, retrieved his hat, and took a drink of his cold Pepsi, which was getting watered down from all the ice but was still refreshing. He removed a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. As John again moved forward, she positioned herself in from of him and again attempted to knock his hat off, but this time it didn't work. If Anita had knocked his hat into the grass the first time, would it be sufficient to alter the timeline? Probably not, grasping at a lifeline that hadn't been thrown. Anita tried several more times to remove his hat but, unfortunately, it wouldn't budge.
Mexico ran barking as John entered the foyer with his newspaper under his arm, shutting the door in Anita's face. She followed him inside, and Mexico ran squealing and barking as if he'd seen a ghost and, in fact, he had seen two of them.
“Mexico, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you lost your little doggie mind?”
Sun-Jade went in the kitchen after the dog. In life she'd had an unfortunate encounter with a Chihuahua and now she was getting her revenge though, regrettably, it wasn't the same dog. When the kitten jumped on Mexico he went berserk, trying to attack the cat but, of course, it was futile. The dog charged the bottom of the cupboard, biting at it viciously.”
“Mexico, what the fuck is wrong with you? Someone press your insane button?”
Sun-Jade jumped on the dog's back and he took off squealing. Faster than John thought possible, he ran up the stairs and under the bed. Mexico no longer felt safe in his home.
“Sun-Jade, leave the poor dog alone, please. This asshole you can shred.”
The kitten went back to her shoulder, the left side this time, and they watched the bastard read the paper. The more she fixed on him, the angrier she got; he had destroyed her life. Hard to turn the other cheek to someone who had murdered her
, never mind that he was going to be responsible for getting her little sisters killed.
John bent down to pick up a splinter of wood, and she gave him a solid kick in the ass and he felt it. He jumped up and looked around. “What the fuck? If that's you, Henry, I'm gonna kill you!” He looked around the corner, but there was no one else in the house, just him and his dog, and Mexico was upstairs hiding.
“Sun-Jade, did you see that? I actually kicked him.” Anita tried to hit him again, but it didn't work. I remember something. He's the one that stabbed me. Did he say something like “Is this yours?” And then he drove the knife into my chest. She tried to kick him in the crotch but her foot, unfortunately, just went through him. Why had it worked the first time?
Mexico had snuck downstairs and was vigorously sniffing the air as he entered the living room, before cautiously approaching the kitchen once again. John took a cold Budweiser out of the fridge, twisted off the cap, and drained it. The dog squealed and ran as Sun-Jade chased after him, scaring the hell out of John, making him drop the empty beer bottle. Not much scared John, but that kick had him a little spooked. Having a ghost was one thing, but if the spirit could touch him, it could be a serious problem.
“Stupid dog.” He picked up the beer bottle and looked around curiously. John could deal with most people, but how could he deal with a ghost? “Listen, you stupid bitch. It was business–nothing personal. If you keep hanging around here I'm gonna have you exorcised by a priest.” John felt stupid for saying it, but it was worth a try.
Sun-Jade, do you think could he do that? And if so where would I go? Back to Tim or somewhere different? I don't know if it's a genuine thing or not.
John brought his laptop to the sofa and balanced it on the arm rest as he brought it to life. He went back to the site with the goats and bought ten more. “See, I'm not all bad.” As if that was going to make a difference to someone he had killed.
John wanted to check out the new riding mowers at Ace Hardware, not that his old one needed replacing but he was considering it, always nice to get a new toy. He left the driveway with company, Anita in the back seat and the kitten looking out the rear window.
I Was Murdered Last Night (Olivia Brown Mysteries Book 1) Page 10
