Murder Beach

by Rena Leith

  I sat down opposite her. “Doris, you could have just appeared to him. Now he’s mad at me. Thinks I’m lying to him.”

  She looked at me slyly. “Will you help me?”

  “And you’ll appear to him?”

  “In Technicolor.”

  “Deal.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be good. There are things I can do to help you. Things you don’t know about yet. I have ways of getting information.”

  “I’m sure you do, but I’ll start with Google. I also need to spend some time looking for a job or I won’t be here very long to help you.”

  She leaned back. “You should talk to Ricardo and Mia.”

  “Why?” I thought about the two who’d come to my door. “Is he hiring?”

  “When they play on the beach, they talk about their plans. He has some ideas for a company he and Mia are trying to start. He’s a little…um…unfocused. He’s looking for someone who can execute on his business plan while he handles the graphics and Mia handles the techy side.”

  “Doris, the ‘techy’ side? I thought you were from the Twenties.”

  “Get a grip. I’ve been dead since then, but I’ve been paying attention. At first I tried to hang on, but things went from bad to worse. The Thirties were beautiful and fragile. The Forties frightening. The Fifties boring. The Sixties rocked my world.”

  I bit my tongue hard but didn’t interrupt her. This was so not what I was expecting.

  “I loved the demonstrations over at the college. Ban the bomb. Civil rights. Women’s Studies Program. Lately, it’s been against the tuition hikes. I miss disco.”

  “That makes sense.” As much as anything she was saying did. “I can really see a flapper getting into disco.”

  “The point is that I’m not stuck in time even though my time was the best, most stylish time ever. Bix Beiderbecke. Best jazz cornet ever.” She closed her eyes and shimmied.

  “I apologize. I was stereotyping you. I guess I thought I knew what a ghost was. You know. All woo woo. Stuck in the past. Moaning. Doomed to haunt the place they died.”

  “That last bit is true.”

  “Ah. That’s unfortunate.”

  “Tell me about it.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’m working on ways around it. Since you moved in with the mangy beast, I’ve had a few ideas.”

  “You aren’t going to hurt Thor, are you?”

  “Oh, please. I love animals…mostly.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means there are downsides to possessing them. Desire to eat mice. Lick between my toes. Yuck.”

  “Possessing them?”

  “When I’m possessing someone or something, I can go anywhere they can. At least, I think so. I’m still testing that theory.”

  “You can possess us?”

  “I haven’t tried a human yet, but there are a lot of stories about it, so it should be possible.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” I said, scowling.

  “Oh, I’m already thinking about it. If you won’t help me, I’ll have to do some poking around on my own.”

  “I already said I’d help. You’re not as forthcoming, though. I’d like to know more about Ricardo and Mia.”

  “He’s an art major. She’s a computer science major. He wants to make a go of the company now while he’s in school to help with his expenses and tuition. They’re piling up student loan debt. He’s tried to sell their services as a web site design company, but they’re kids and only a few places have taken them seriously. He needs someone older, someone more professional to sell the web sites and designs and handle the business end of things. The two of them will handle the back end, coding, graphics, and stuff. I’ve watched you on your laptop. You need a job; he needs a front man.”

  “Front woman. Keep up.”

  She grinned at me.

  I couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across my face. “Thanks, Doris. I will follow up on your tip and then get to work on your little problem.”

  Planning to try to catch up to Jack and Gillian to lure them back so that Doris could dazzle my brother, I pulled on my old dark green sweater and my black nylon windbreaker to offset the wind chill and started for the door. Thor beat me to it.

  “Uh uh. No. No way. You’ll run away, and Jack will kill me.” A shiver shot down my spine. “Sorry. Didn’t mean that,” I said to the universe. Enough death on this beach.

  I started to push the door open. Thor stuck his nose in the crack.

  I sighed. “Look, Thor, you can’t go with me. Cats stay indoors. There are things out there that want to munch you. Haven’t you already had enough of the seagulls?” I looked at Thor’s menacing frame. “Then again maybe not.”

  Grabbing him before he could get his teeth fully loaded, I tossed him on the couch and dashed out the door. I got twenty feet before I heard a sound like a boxer rhythmically drumming a punching bag with his gloves. I turned and saw Thor, standing on his hind legs, beat against the glass pane with his front paws.

  “You’re going to break the glass,” I said. “Okay, you asked for it. I’m going to lock you in the bedroom.” I walked back and opened the door a crack, preparing to ease in and grab him. “I’m beginning to understand why Jack and Gillian got rid of you.”

  Thor threw himself against the door. Startled, I relaxed my grip for a second. He bolted past me and out the door.

  “No!” I yelled after him. “There’s something creepy about you, hairball.”

  He chose that moment to meow-howl.

  No, he couldn’t be answering me. Then again weirder things had been happening. I stuck my hands in my pockets and walked across my sandy lawn toward the rocks that kept the beach at bay. I looked down the beach to see if I could spot them.

  With the tide in, the water was wild. The wide flat boulder that marked the border of my property was the best starting point to walk down the beach. I half-jumped onto it, not wanting to get too frisky since the rocks got slippery quickly, and, given the water temperature, I didn’t want to go swimming. Not when that might have been what killed Alan Howland.

  The sea was gray today, the palette of colors ranging from pearl gray spray that fanned around the rocks to slate gray in the thickest part of the waves. The patchy surf swirled and then was sucked back into the sea. It was quickly becoming too dangerous to continue walking that close to the water. I found a small trail that led away from the beach and started up the steep incline, using my hands to steady myself. Perhaps it would lead to the road, and I could make my way back home. Tendrils of fog crept up the hillside. I looked up to gauge the distance I still had to go when I saw a large black cat with amber eyes watching me.

  “Thor?” I called out, not sure.

  The fog swirled around the cat, and it was gone. I headed in the direction I’d last seen the cat, picking my way carefully through the fog and over the uneven ground. I felt cut off from the world, almost as though I’d traveled to another dimension. Sounds were muffled, and it seemed to be growing dark even though it was still afternoon.

  Then the fog cleared, and I was standing on my road above Mina’s house. Traffic sounds were back although distant, and I could see my own front door. I hurried down and discovered Thor sitting on the front porch, grooming himself. I bit my tongue before I said something that would make him scurry off again. Gently, I turned the doorknob and let us both in. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Cass!”

  I jumped a mile. “Jack! Don’t do that.”

  He got up from the couch. “We were worried about you.”

  Defensively, I said, “I went after you. I was only gone a few minutes.”

  He frowned at me. “Are you all right? Hit your head? We’ve been back an hour.”

  That startled me. “You must have come in the front door when I went out the back, but I can’t have been gone an hour.” No point in arguing. Besides, I was anxious to have Doris show herself to Jack. “Doris said she’d show herself to you,�
� I blurted out. I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t the concern that washed over his face.

  “Why don’t you sit down?” He tried to take me by the arm, but I pulled away.

  “I’m not feeble,” I said angrily.

  “I’m going to have a glass of pinot. Want one?” Gillian caught my eye with a warning look.

  “Yes.”

  “Jack?”

  “Grab me a Heineken.”

  I watched him warily as I took my windbreaker and jacket off and hung them on the Arts and Crafts hall tree. Gillian returned from the kitchen and handed me a glass of wine, which I took gratefully before saying quietly to her, “Doris?”

  “Drink first,” she whispered. “Before I forget,” she said at normal volume, “Ricardo from the beach called.” She looked down at some notes. “He works at the Comic Shack in town and also at a place called Crystalline. Busy boy. He left his cell number and said that, if he didn’t answer right away, he might be with a customer.”

  I wondered how he’d gotten my phone number. I didn’t remember giving it to him, but then again this was a small town. “I’ll track him down later, but now… Doris!”

  She materialized five feet in front of Jack.

  “Shit!” He dropped his beer.

  Gillian ran for paper towels.

  “See?” I was all hands on hips.

  To Doris’ credit, she didn’t disappear when Jack lunged at her, waving his hands in front of him. Encountering her slippery coldness, he jerked back and wiped his hands on his jeans.

  “I think I’m offended,” Doris said and went hands on hips, too.

  He jumped again when she spoke. Then he looked around wildly as if looking for the source of a projection.

  “Seriously, Jack, you lunged at a ghost?” I said.

  “She’s real, Jack.” Gillian finished mopping up.

  “We tried to tell you,” I said. “Believe us now?”

  “Where’s the projector?” he asked.

  I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. “Jack, you felt the clammy coldness, right? How could we have simulated that even if I could have afforded state-of-the-art holographic projectors?”

  Doris walked over to face him with an exaggerated sway to her hips that caused the beaded fringes on her dress to swing back and forth. “Hello, handsome.” She batted her eyes at him.

  “Cass, what the hell?” He backed away in the face of her advance.

  “Jack, hold on. Doris, I’m really going to have trouble helping you if you scare my brother and sister-in-law away. Can you take it down a peg?”

  She pouted, but she backed away, flouncing down into a chair.

  “She’s so real.” Jack walked over to her and poked a finger through the top of her head.

  “Hey!” Doris frowned and ran a hand over the top of her head as if smoothing her hair.

  “Jack, you’re not helping. She’s a real ghost. The sooner you make peace with that, the better. She lives here. With us.”

  “Actually,” Gillian said, “you live here. We’re just visiting.”

  “Chicken,” I said.

  “Yeah? So?” She smirked at me.

  Doris stood up. “I’m still here, and I can hear you. If you’d care to notice, I haven’t hurt any of you. I’ve asked for your help. What does that tell you? Maybe you’re more powerful than I am? Hello?”

  “Jack?” I asked.

  “Sweet Pea?” Jack turned to Gillian.

  “My original vote was for running screaming into the night. However…”

  “However?” I asked.

  “However, she’s growing on me.”

  For the first time since she’d appeared, Jack spoke to Doris as if she actually existed. “You said you asked for help. What kind of help?”

  “I’ll get you another beer,” Gillian said, heading for the fridge.

  I sighed, knowing the first battle was won.

  “I want to find out who killed me and why.” Doris crossed her arms.

  “Talk about a cold case,” Jack said, taking the proffered beer from Gillian and taking a long pull. “Cold and clammy. Brrr.”

  I stifled a laugh. “What time is it?”

  Gillian checked her cell. “It’s getting on for dinner time.”

  “Doris, would you be horribly offended if we went out to dinner? I think we need to talk about everything that’s happened by ourselves.”

  She shrugged, trying to look as though it didn’t matter to her. “I guess I’ve waited this long.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Jack finished his beer, grabbed his brown leather jacket, and headed for the door.

  I got the impression he was trying hard not to run. “Thanks, Doris. I think that did the trick,” I said. “See you later.”

  We left a light on for Thor—I wasn’t really sure that a cat would need a night light but hey—and went out to the car.

  We drove down the road a few miles in silence and noticed a quaint old restaurant by the sea with a few parking spots available. I pulled in and turned off the car. Once inside, we only had to wait a few minutes to be seated.

  I pulled off my leather gloves, unwrapped the red knit scarf from around my neck, and took the captain’s chair by the window. “Great choice, guys.” I looked up at the waitress. “Hi. Anything special?”

  The waitress, whose nametag read Nita, rattled off the specials.

  None really appealed to me. “I’ll just have a Greek salad and hot tea. Earl Grey. Thanks.”

  Gillian ordered blackened salmon, and Jack went for the prime rib.

  When Nita left, Jack leaned forward, elbows on the white, linen-draped table. “So, that was a ghost? You really didn’t rig something up?” He looked around. “Are you sure she can’t follow us?”

  “Jack, seriously?” I said.

  He looked down. “I guess not.”

  Gillian put her hand on his forearm. “Kind of shakes up your world, doesn’t it?”

  He shook his head. “You have no idea.”

  Gillian and I exchanged glances. “I think we do.”

  Gillian and Jack hugged and kissed. I looked out the window, but the dark only threw back a muted reflection of the old restaurant with its brass chandeliers glowing against the carved ceiling beams.

  “Cognitive dissonance,” Gillian said.

  “Rocked my world,” Jack said.

  “Freaky,” I said.

  “Your house is haunted,” he said.

  “No shit.”

  He laughed shakily. “Are you going to stay there?”

  “I am, but are you guys? She’s growing on me. She startles me, but I don’t feel afraid of her. In fact, the whole town is growing on me. Don’t know why, but it’s true. It’s taking my mind off the divorce.”

  “I’ll bet. You could call in an exorcist.”

  “Ah, no. I’ve struck a bargain with Doris. We’re partners of sorts.”

  Jack looked incredulous.

  “Yeah. Strange, I know, but look at it practically. I’ve sunk everything I have into this place. This is my home now. I’ll figure it out.” I took a deep breath. “You two don’t have to stay.”

  They looked at each other.

  It was so easy to read Jack’s face, had been since we were kids. I could see the fear, the wonder, the uncertainty, and finally the stalwart support of one sibling for another.

  “Don’t be silly. Of course we’re staying.” But there was a slight tremor in his voice.

  I’m sure I was grinning ear to ear. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

  Chapter 8

  “Dessert?” Nita stood above us, pen poised to jot down our choices.

  “No, thanks.” I looked up at her. “I think I’ve just gotten my treat. My brother and sister-in-law are sticking around for a while.” I looked at them. “Do you two want anything?”

  “Nothing for us,” Jack said, smiling up at her. “Just the bill.”

  As she walked away, Ricardo and Mia walked up to our tabl
e. Ricardo was in jeans, boots, and a black Henley, his dark hair pulled back. Mia, by contrast, was tip-to-toe in gold and white.

  “Ms. Peake.”

  “Hi, Ricardo. Mia. Are you having dinner? We’re just leaving or I’d invite you to join us.”

  “We just finished. We were leaving when I saw you.” Ricardo hesitated and looked at Mia. “We were wondering if you’d have some time tomorrow to talk?”

  “Sure. I have to pick up some cat food from Marcy, but I’m free after that. Want to come by for lunch?”

  “Sounds good. See you then.” Ricardo put an arm around Mia’s waist, and they left.

  Jack raised his eyebrows. “What was that about?”

  I leaned back as our waitress brought the bill. “Thanks.” I waited until she was out of hearing. “It probably has to do with Alan Howland’s death on my beach. Mia cried on the beach the other day, so I’m guessing they want access or have questions. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “Seems odd.”

  Gillian poked him.

  “Doris told me some stuff about them, so I’m guessing they’re on the beach where she can mingle with them fairly often.”

  He shivered. “You’re pretty matter-of-fact about her. I’m expecting her to go all Beetlejuice.”

  “Great. I really didn’t need that image in my head,” Gillian said.

  “Relax. She won’t.” I reached for my credit card, but Jack beat me to it. “Thanks.”

  “If she murders us in our sleep, I won’t have to pay the bill,” he said grimly.

  “Jack.” Gillian’s tone was chiding. “Don’t be so macabre.”

  ****

  To everyone’s relief, Doris didn’t do us in overnight, so the next morning after breakfast I grabbed the car keys and headed for the door. “I’m going by the vet for more cat food. I can stop by the store on my way back to pick up stuff for lunch with Ricardo and Mia. Did anyone start a list?”

  Gillian ripped the top sheet off a pad and handed it to me.

  “Beer,” Jack said.

  We both stared at him.

  “What? It’s not like I didn’t drop one when your ‘friend’ popped in. I’m running low.”

  He sounded so indignant that I had to laugh. “All right. This time.” I grabbed the keys and headed out the door.