The Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventure 3 Book Bundle

by Jason Paul Rice

  All the ugly looks from the people had turned into bitter looks of jealousy as Whitney scanned the crowd. Her self-esteem soared again as she pulled Trent in for a public kiss. She didn’t realize that she had been missing for two and a half days this time. She thought about how to get in touch with her parents until she saw Robert Powers, standing along the bank of the pond with a relieved look on his face.

  The rest of her family flanked her dad. Whitney Powers felt complete again.

  11

  Whitney walked inside Bo’s front door and screamed, “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

  The yawning man came out wearing a Hugh Hefner style robe and a tired look on his face.

  “What up, buttercup?” he asked.

  “I need help on the Susan Foley case.”

  “Well just like the Dukes of Hazzard, here comes Bo to the rescue,” he said.

  “I thought Luke was the one who usually saved the day.”

  “Look, do you want my help or not? I didn’t wake up early to argue about old TV shows,” he said in a bitchy tone.

  “Easy there, buttercup. I have a clue about Joey Left Shoe.”

  “You already had that clue, I thought,” Bo said as he scratched his head and started a pot of coffee.

  “I’ve been told to use that clue again, but I’m not sure what to do. As far as I know, he just paid that kid to alert the mob as to when Susan showed up at the library. That’s not much leverage.”

  “No, but it’s some leverage. I’ll bet he’s got a lot of other convictions in the closet and this might put him over the top. It’s technically accessory to murder, a felony,” Bo told her.

  “Right, but everything is circumstantial. I can’t prove that he paid that kid for that reason.”

  “He doesn’t know that. For all he knows, you’ve got the goods on old Benno Dante and it would be in his best interest to flip or spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Bo said.

  “So basically you’re suggesting that we blackmail him.”

  “Not basically, that’s exactly what I’m saying. We have the pictures of him making the drop off. Send him a little love letter with the picture inside and see what happens. Chances are he will never respond, so I say it’s worth a shot to at least feel like a badass,” Bo opined.

  “Yeah, but I’m not just going to give him my phone number and hope he doesn’t look it up to find and kill me.”

  “Now is when your buddy double-O Bo will come in very handy. I’ve got a burner phone. It’s a prepaid joint that you don’t have to give up any personal info when you buy it. You tell him to call that number if he wants to talk,” Bo advised.

  “Wait, so I should call him on that phone and tell him to call me back?”

  “No. First thing you have to do is find out where he lives and send him the letter and picture like I said. It just so happens that I scored some official letterhead from the Pennsburgh Police,” Bo said as he walked into another room with Whitney following him.

  He reached into a desk and announced, “Here we are. Official seal in the upper right corner.”

  Whitney inspected the stamp and it looked real. They wrote the note on Bo’s laptop and printed out the picture of Joey Left Shoe making the money drop off. Bo even had an envelope with the return address stamp of the city police force. Whitney felt a bit nervous as she licked the glue and sealed the letter shut.

  “Alright, now let’s hope he doesn’t kill me.” Whitney halfheartedly laughed.

  “You’ll be fine. Here’s your new secret phone, Ms. Double Agent. What are you getting into tonight?” Bo asked.

  “I’ve got dinner with Victoria and Aaric.”

  “You’re not taking that man of yours?” he wanted to know.

  “No, I am.”

  “Oh, so we’re already at the implied state that he is going to be there. Damn girl, this is getting serious, huh,” Bo said.

  “Yeah, kind of. It’s different, but I’m not complaining at all. I’m head over heels for him.”

  Bo smiled. “More like heels over ears for him. Am I right?”

  Whitney shook her head. “Knowing you, I guess I did leave that one wide open. I just hope I don’t screw this up.”

  “Whit, come on. You are an incredible woman and someone finally realized it. You deserve this more than anyone and you should never think that you are going to do something to mess everything up. I was too jealous to say this, but I can see it in his eyes. He really loves you,” Bo confessed.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It’s nice to see even though I’m lonelier than a rogue planet without a star or even a pulsar to orbit,” Bo said.

  “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds like someone’s been binge watching the Science Channel. Things will work out for you eventually. If anyone knows to remain patient, it’s yours truly.”

  “Thanks, girlfriend. It’s just tough when you can’t bring anyone around your family. My boyfriends always think that I’m ashamed of them when it is totally the opposite,” Bo told her.

  Whitney felt bad for her best friend. He had to keep his sexual preference a secret from his family because he thought they would never understand. Whitney had posed as his girlfriend over the years to keep up his charade with his family. She really hoped that one day he would be able to tell everyone who he truly was, and that his family would understand.

  Later that evening, Whitney sat next to Trent at a table on the deck of a restaurant called the Good Gobbler. Victoria and Aaric sat across from them as they sipped post-dinner drinks and the sun slowly set over the horizon.

  The flaming torches danced in the breeze, and smells of citronella filled the surrounding summer air. Whitney finally enjoyed being around her sister and Aaric. She had always felt out of place without having a boyfriend or husband to match her younger sister.

  “So if you’re ever looking to invest, I can help you out, Trent,” Aaric offered.

  “That’s mighty kind of you, but police officers don’t end up with very much cash to play with so it might not even be worth your time. I donate most of my extra money to charities too,” Trent said as the waitress dropped off everyone’s drinks.

  “See, that’s a write-off right there and I can work with you on whatever you have. We could make you some money so you could give even more to your charities,” Aaric said with a wink.

  “Why don’t we talk about something that doesn’t involve business?”

  Aaric said, “Alright, although I wouldn’t even charge you guys for it. How about this, why don’t you guys come out to the property next Saturday to do some shooting?”

  Trent answered, “That sounds great. Maybe I can teach this little lady how to handle a gun.”

  Victoria and Aaric laughed before the former asked, “You haven’t told him?”

  “It never came up.”

  Trent looked confused, and asked, “What the hell is going on here?”

  Victoria said, “Whitney is one of the best shots around. She’s won several contests against so-called professionals. It’s the only reason our father likes her better than me.” Her sister stuck out her tongue at Whitney.

  “That’s not true. Dad loves us both the same and you know it. I just have more things in common with him than you. Trent, I never told you because I didn’t feel the need to brag about something like that.”

  “I’ll only be mad if you can outshoot me. I guess we’ll find out next week though if you want to go to the range,” Trent said.

  “Sure, but you might end up leaving a little angry. My dad always said, ‘Annie Oakley would have been jealous of you.’ And I’m not going to let you win, so you better bring your A game. You haven’t seen it yet, but I’m pretty competitive.”

  Victoria said, “We heard about Trent finally giving Todd and Vance a taste of their own medicine. That was so romantic, how come you’ve never kicked anyone’s ass for me?” she asked Aaric as she pinched him his side.

  He squirmed away and responded, “Ho
w do you know I haven’t? Maybe I’ve just never done it in public. I do agree that it was necessary for those goons to take a whooping. Most people grow up after high school, but you’ve got too many guys still trying to hang on to the past. Probably because their futures are going to suck. After all the bullshit they put you through, I’m especially glad that you got to witness it, Whitney. Kind of wish you would have kicked them a couple of times while they were down though.”

  “Trent took care of them pretty well, I must say. The joke is ultimately on them. They will always be losers and my life is doing just fine right now.”

  Victoria said, “That’s so very true and the best way to win. Trent, I almost forgot to apologize for our girls prying into your personal life.”

  “Aw, come on. No need for an apology. Little girls are going to ask questions, that’s what little girls do. Just as long as they don’t try to cover my face in makeup, the girls and I will be just fine,” Trent told her.

  The stars began to shine as Whitney gazed at the most perfect man she had ever seen. Every conversation seemed to amplify her love for Trent.

  She had hoped to meet a good guy one day, but she had never expected to date a man with all the qualities she cherished. She noticed that even her family seemed to be treating her differently and their strong concern for her social situation had dissipated after they had met Trent.

  The only issue she had was the secret about trying to set up a meeting with Joey Left Shoe. She knew that Trent would try to talk her out of it and didn’t want to have a fight with him about it.

  Whitney was glad that Trent was extremely concerned about her safety, but she was a woman capable of doing anything a man could do and wouldn’t let anyone tell her otherwise. She wanted to be treated like a fellow officer involved in the investigation.

  They had a few more drinks and went back to Trent’s house for some hot lovemaking. Her man fell asleep afterward, as usual, and she stared at his perfect face. She knew she had to do something deceitful and started to feel terrible.

  She wanted to tell Trent her deepest secrets and did not want to keep anything from him, but she also felt a responsibility to the ghosts and solving the murder case. Her emotions were being tugged back and forth until she slowly got out of bed making sure not to wake Trent, and slipped into her robe.

  She snuck into the evidence room and tried to be as quiet as possible. Whitney looked frantically for the Dante Crime Organization files. She tiptoed over to the desk covered with the files and stacks of papers that she was looking for. She found the file marked Joseph Luensia.

  Her hand was shaking as she grabbed a small piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down the address of Joey Left Shoe, folded up the scrap of paper and stuffed it into the inside pocket of her red silk robe. Whitney ran into the bathroom and flushed the toilet before returning to bed.

  Her heart was pumping fast as she entered the bedroom, but it slowed down when she heard the light snoring of her lover. She carefully slid into bed and tucked the address into her purse that was sitting on the nightstand. Whitney quickly fell asleep next to Trent.

  12

  “Thanks for coming in,” Tara said as the only person in the library left. She turned to Whitney. “You know I want to believe you, but how can a golden dragon transpose into a man?”

  “I don’t know and I couldn’t begin to tell you, but I saw it with these two eyes.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you saw? I’m starting to wonder about you, Whit. Let me ask you this, what do you think he’s like in bed?” Tara asked.

  “Oh, now you’re interested in the story because it can somehow relate to sex. To answer the question, he probably has over a thousand years of experience. I would think he picked up a few tricks over the centuries.”

  The two women sat at the Granny Larson Library’s front desk as the sun dipped behind the huge oak tree across the street. Whitney had mailed the letter to Joey Left Shoe three days ago and was starting to worry that he wasn’t going to respond. She didn’t have any backup plan and felt the building pressure to solve this case.

  “Holy Smokey the Bear, Alonzo Ichrab was murdered in a mob-style hit. Did you see this?” Tara asked.

  “Yes, that’s from weeks ago.”

  Tara flipped around the paper to find the date and said, “Well then, why is it on this desk?”

  “I read it and forgot to put it away. Pretty crazy though that somebody that high up would get murdered right after Larry Laramie, which might be the worst name ever.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty bad. It says Alonzo was the consigliere, what’s that mean?” Tara asked.

  “First off, it’s pronounced con-sig-lee-air and it means that he was his main counsel or right-hand man. The consigliere is second in line to the boss and Larry was like fourth or fifth in line as a capo. Could be a revenge murder from Larry Laramie’s loyalists, but I’m not so sure.”

  “Could be anything,” Tara said as she moved her lips while reading the rest of the article.

  Whitney hoped that Tara would be able to add something to the conversation that might spur some thoughts about the murder case, but that never seemed to happen. She waited for her friend to finish reading.

  “So what do you think? Who killed him?”

  “Not me.” Tara giggled. “I mean, mob-style hit says it all, I think. Getting one of those guys to talk and rat out another one might be harder to do.”

  You finally say something and it’s not what I want to hear. I already know that getting one of these guys to talk is going to be impossible.

  “Alright, I’m going to get out of here so I can meet my dad.”

  “Sounds good. Tell pops I said hi,” Tara said.

  “You’ve got it.”

  Whitney raced across town to her favorite ice cream shop and pulled into the parking lot. She saw her father standing next to his Jeep and ran over to him.

  “EEEHHH.”

  “EEEHHH,” her father returned and she gave him a big hug. He said, “Seems like my smiling little girl is doing alright, huh?”

  “Things are going well right now, but I’m never too busy for my good old dad.”

  “That’s right, and don’t ever forget it. How’s Trent? We didn’t scare him away did we?” her father asked as they got in line to get ice cream.

  “Not yet. Seriously though, he really likes you guys. We just had dinner the other night with Victoria and Aaric and the boys seem to be all buddy-buddy now. It’s kind of strange.”

  “That sounds great to me. Trent’s new in town and he’s going to need a friend to talk to every once in a while that’s not a girl. Sorry to inform you, but guys do need that and Aaric isn’t the devil you try to paint him as,” Robert Powers said.

  “Why does everyone think I hate Aaric? I just think he cares about money a little too much and needs to adjust his priorities, that’s all.”

  “Well, did you hear about the proposed upgrade to the Children’s Hospital?” her father asked.

  “You mean the one for like eighteen million dollars?”

  “That exact one. Do you know where that donation is coming from?” her dad asked as he raised his bushy eyebrows.

  “The paper said the donor wanted to remain anonymous.”

  “That’s because some people might have their priorities straight even though you don’t know about it. Aaric is the donor,” her father revealed.

  “I’m stunned.” Whitney looked at the worker. “Hello. Can we get a soft twist dipped in cherry in a waffle cone and a double scoop of coffee ice cream?”

  She looked back at her dad and said, “I guess maybe I could be nicer to Aaric. I sort of got the impression early on that he was going to screw over Victoria and I’m protective of my little sister. I just wanted to make sure he was right for her.”

  Her father laughed so hard he nearly spit out his first taste of coffee ice cream. He stopped for a second to wipe some off the bottom of his mustache. “I’d say you gave him a tough time. He t
ried so hard to get you to like him and you were having none of it.”

  “Well, what about you? I know you weren’t a huge fan of the city boy at first.”

  “I was feeling him out just like any dad would. I was trying to be intimidating and, besides, what could I really do? What would you do if I told you that you should stop seeing Trent?” her father asked, peering at her through his tinted glasses.

  “I’d tell you to take a hike.”

  “Exactly. And Victoria would have done the same thing. You two have a lot more in common than you might care to admit. So how are you doing with the murder?” he asked.

  Whitney almost started talking about the case until she realized that her father didn’t know about her secret activities. She wanted desperately to tell him, but knew he would worry endlessly if she mentioned any dangerous aspects.

  Trent had gotten her car repaired quickly after the shooting and nobody else had found out about it. The police had a report of a shooting, but there was a lack of credible eye witnesses and not enough information to form a case. Trent had told her that the police weren’t going to pursue the matter.

  “I’m doing fine with all that, dad. Still kind of shocking and sad though. It’s turned the library into a ghost town. We only get about ten people a day now. Granted, we weren’t getting hundreds of people before all this, but now it’s surprising to see more than five people in the library at the same time.”

  “It is a library with a haunted reputation and when you throw in what just happened, people might just read an ebook or go to a different library. So how’s Trent?” her father wanted to know.

  “He’s great, thanks for asking. We’re going out to Aaric’s range to do some shooting on Saturday and I think you and mom should come over too. Trent’s never seen me shoot before.”

  “Then I might want to be there just to see his jaw drop after you wear out the bull’s eye. I’m so happy that you’ve found someone. I really like the guy and when you are with him, there is a glow about you. Like a pregnant woman, it’s that kind of look. Wait, you’re not…”