The First Ghost (19 page)

“Of course not. You have to go on living,” I said. “Corinne will understand.”

Susie looked at me oddly. That hadn’t come out right. “I guess she would. I’ll just get a hotel room and take a taxi. It’s no problem.”

“At least let me make dinner for you tomorrow,” I said.

“That would be nice.”

“Good. Tomorrow I’ll pick you up and we will go get Corinne’s things and then we can have a nice meal.”

“I’d like that. I’m glad Cori had a friend like you. I didn’t think she had any gal pals here. She didn’t get along with other women her age.”

“I’m not so good at that either.”

I helped Susie check into the XYZ Inn and took Billy home. He whined when I took him from Susie’s arms. “Sorry, bud,” I said and wondered if I should offer to give him to Susie. Maybe they belonged together.

I had plans for the night. Ethan wanted to make dinner for me at his place, and considering how well the last date had gone, I wanted to shave my legs first. Corinne flitted around my bedroom. She had been jumpy since the demon attack.

“Your Aunt Susie is at a hotel,” I announced.

“I thought she would stay here.”

I flopped onto the couch. “I offered, but she wanted to stay at a hotel. It’s understandable. I’m a stranger. She’s coming here tomorrow.”

Corinne clapped her hands and brightened. “I’m so excited.”

“Then it will be time to cross over.”

Her chin trembled. “But...but...”

“I’m working with the detective. He’s all over your case now. We’ve got some leads. One last goodbye with your aunt and then it’s time.”
Before it’s too late
, I thought. She turned away, her shoulders shaking. “It will be okay,” I said softly. “You were a good person. I can tell.”

“I’m scared anyway. Do you believe in heaven? There’s a church over on Sela Street. I liked going there.”

“Then that’s okay, isn’t it?”

“It was supposed to be. Why am I still so scared?”

I didn’t have any good answers, but I was in a somber mood when I left for Ethan’s place.

I left the hearse parked. The thing guzzled gas and the train was too convenient.

I stayed alert for demons, but only foul smell wafted up from the sewers. When I got off at Bellingrad, the neighborhood smelled noticeably better. Rows of classy townhomes lined the streets with cute little yards for kids and pets.

Stop that. Don’t think that way. Third date. Think third date.

Of course, I had gone all the way on my second date, which was unusual for me, but when Ethan answered the door I remembered why.

He didn’t say anything, just leaned in and kissed me long and slow as the blood deserted my brain, rushing downward. My awkwardness melted away.

“Hey there.”

“Hey there yourself,” he said, drawing me inside.

Ethan’s two-story townhome was unspeakably cute. It was so warm and homey that I suspected a woman’s touch. Then again, he could have hired a decorator. Maybe that’s what doctors did. Something smelled wonderful. I said this out loud.

“Cooking is a hobby of mine.”

Score. “Smells like my lucky day.”

“Pinot Grigio?” He held up the wine bottle.

I accepted a glass and a tour of the town house. It was a two bedroom completely done in harvest colors, like an advertisement for the Pottery Barn. “It’s beautiful,” I said.

I followed Ethan into the kitchen. “Do you mind eating in here?” he asked. “It’s less formal, but it’s my favorite room in the house.” I could see why. Buttery yellow plaster walls, Italian tile. I’d live in that kitchen too.

I perched on a padded barstool near the granite island. “Can I help?”

“I’ve got it covered. How was the rest of your week?”

I sipped the wine. “More of the same. I managed to keep the scientists from taking apart the electronics. There’s a lot of transcription involved. I had no idea. It’s a little like learning to read hieroglyphics. Some of those scientists are as bad as doctors when it comes to writing.”

“I hear that complaint all the time. The nurses claim mine looks like a five-year-old wrote the chart notes.”

“So tell me about your week.”

“More of the same. Lots of car wrecks with this weather. Lots of homeless people with cold-related injuries. Flu. Pneumonia.” He shredded field greens into a tangerine ceramic bowl.

“That’s sad. Why don’t they go to a shelter? Surely there’s enough room.”

He added whole pear tomatoes and sliced cucumber to the salad before answering. “There probably are enough beds.”

“Then why don’t they go to them?”

“There are reasons a lot of them are homeless aside from the obvious economic ones.”

“Like they’re addicts?”

“And mental problems or alcoholism. Some are too proud to go for help. Others have been banned from the shelters because of violent behavior.”

I touched his arm. “Sounds like a sad week.”

“Just a typical one. At least I do something to help.” He caught my hand and kissed it. “It’s all better now.”

“Do you go to church?”

“Sure. St. Matthew Cumberland Presbyterian. It’s right around the corner from the hospital. The head administrators go there. It’s a smart move.”

“So more of a career decision than a religious one?”

He shrugged. “Only partly. How about you?”

I drained the last of my wine. “Lapsed Catholic.”

“Hand me those?” He gestured toward the beige oven mitts. A quick check in the oven assured him that dinner was ready. The chicken was flavorful, and the veggies barely blanched. The salad was healthy and organic, but it all left me wanting something more. We adjourned to the cozy den. I would have to find my own dessert.

Ethan dimmed the lighting, adjusted the music volume and sank down next to me on the couch.

He pulled me close. “Portia?”

“Hmm?” I leaned back against his chest, entranced by the crackling fire.

“You asked me once why I was single and unattached. What about you?”

“No mystery. I date inappropriate men.” This made us both laugh. “Or I did in the past. You, on the other hand, would make my mother squeal with delight.”

His hands kneaded my shoulders and neck. “I hope to meet her soon. I’d like to meet your parents. Oh, there’s a knot.”

Forcing away the little bits of panic, I reminded myself I was the new and braver Portia Mahaffey. I could handle ghosts, face down demons, and date a nice guy without running away. “This girlfriend you had. How long ago did you break up?”

His hands paused and then continued. “Last year.” I relaxed a bit. That was long enough. “Confession,” he said. I tensed again. This was where he admitted he was a closet transsexual or that he had been married three times, or-- “We lived together.” That wasn’t so bad. “For three years.” Oh crap. That was almost like marriage.

“That’s a long time,” I said.

“I know. But sometimes things don’t work out. Or sometimes they work out for the better,” he whispered against my ear. He nibbled the lobe and trailed kisses down the side of my neck. I tilted my head, exposing my entire throat.

Ethan slid lazily around to the front, in no great hurry. I needed him, though, and pulled him up to my mouth for a long, deep kiss. Running my hands up the inside of his shirt caused him to groan. Just a third date. I’d feel slutty if he wasn’t Mister Perfect, if he wasn’t right for me in every way.

He rose up and crossed his arms, stripping off his shirt. I trailed an admiring hand down his hard abdomen. He leaned over me, propping himself up on his arms, teasing me with little butterfly kisses until I couldn’t think anymore.

* * * *

The rotten thing about having a dog at home is it made spending a night away almost impossible. Much as I loathed the idea of dragging myself out of the warm bed and away from Ethan’s arms, the thought of cleaning dog pee out of the carpet was enough to leverage me upright. He spread sleepy kisses down my back and I rationalized that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have my carpet steamed.

“I need to get up and shower,” he groaned. “I have an early shift.”

I pushed away from the bed. “If you don’t stop fondling me like that, we’ll both get fired.”

He laid back and grinned at me. “It might be worth it.”

“Says the doctor who can get another job and make wads of cash.” I pulled on my clothes.

He was singing opera with his beautiful baritone in the shower when I trudged out into the cold. Was there anything the man didn’t do well?

I found it hard to concentrate at work. I was thinking about perfect men and sneaky roommates and crossing over into the unknown. On a break, I opened the fridge to find the burritos all gone. “Damn it. Damn, damn, damn.”

“Problem?”

I turned to look at Duncan. “There was some food here and now it’s gone.”

“Again? I thought the problem stopped when...” His face blushed until it matched his rose colored jacket.

“Corinne ate people’s food, didn’t she?”

“She liked to eat.”

“You mean she was a cow.” Beth leaned against the doorjamb. “I’m going out to smoke.”

“She wasn’t a cow,” I said.

“Of course she was,” Kelley said, hand on her skinny hip. “You’ve sat in her chair. They had to order a special size.” The girls snickered. “They kept breaking.”

“Not funny,” I said through my teeth.

“Why? It’s not like she cares. She’s in the great beyond.”

“Hope they had a big enough cloud.”

This caused them to cackle with laughter. My face felt hot and I turned away. I desperately hoped Corinne wasn’t hovering close by. There was a time I might have engaged in the same mindless cruelty, laughing about the chubby spinster from Omaha with pictures of her dog on her desk.

“Enough,” Duncan said. “Fifteen minutes and not a second more. And don’t smoke out front. It looks bad. And I better not smell anything in the stairwells.”

Beth and Kelley slunk off grumbling.

“Sorry,” he said. “They don’t know she was your friend. Now about your food...”

“It wasn’t my food. I was wondering whose it was.” My mind reached for a plausible answer. “Those burritos looked good. I was wondering where they bought them.” Weak, but the best I could do.

“Really? Those beef and bean monstrosities?” He gave me a strange look. “They’re disgusting. I would think you could find them at any supermarket. Why Seleman buys them is beyond me.”

“Dr. Seleman eats them?”

“All the time.”

“But where did they all go?”

Duncan shrugged. “Maybe they got old and he threw them out. I don’t keep up with it.” He tapped his watch meaningfully.

“I know,” I said. “Back to work.” A sudden thought occurred to me. “I haven’t seen Ruth today.”

“She went on a trip. She was due some vacation time.”

Sounded like a good way to spend some money. “When will she be back?”

“A few days. So enjoy it while you can.”

* * * *

As soon as I could grab Aunt Susie, I would whisk her off to search Ruth’s place. I concentrated on the city streets. I had driven more this week than in the last two years, and the roads were slick. Seleman bought the burritos. I was wrong to think he couldn’t be involved because he seemed harmless. His medicine. His food.

“I know about the burritos.”

I almost drove off the road. “Shit! Corinne, you scared me half to death. Yeah, they belong to Dr. Seleman.”

“I thought they belonged to Tamaguchi.”

“Why would you think that?” I couldn’t picture the uptight scientist in white eating cheap burritos.

“Because he took them all from the fridge. I staked out the fridge like you suggested. He came up there midmorning, put them all in a sack and left with them.”

“But Duncan said that Dr. Seleman buys them.”

“I know what I saw.” She crossed her arms.

“How long did you stay?”

“Until I saw Dr. Tamaguchi take the burritos. I followed him. He took them out back and threw them in a dumpster.”

“Maybe they were all tainted. I need to go get them.” I looked for a place to turn around.

“Too late. They emptied the dumpster already. Tamaguchi put them in a few minutes before the trash people came.”

“Did he know when to expect the trash pickup?”

“I don’t know. I’m just…”

“Telling me what you saw. I’ll pass it all on to Fierro.”

“Who’s that?”

“The detective handling your case. He’ll know what to do.”

“My, aren’t we chummy? Is that where you were last night?”

“Of course not.”

“Must have been that cute doctor.”

I allowed myself a little smile. “He looks even better with his clothes off.”

Corinne gasped. “I don’t know whether to be shocked or envious.”

“You can be both if you want to. I think Ruth is out of town. Either that or she’s holed up in your apartment and pretending to be gone. Where is the key again?”

“First step of the staircase. There’s a key holder taped in there. Will you go in the apartment if she’s not there?”

“Of course. I want to search it without Ruth there. And if she comes back I can act all righteous on Susie’s behalf.”

“I can’t wait to see her. There she is!”

I had called ahead. Susie Simpson was standing in the vestibule near the glass doors. I pulled in and she ran out and got in the car. The wind had started picking up around three, and the skies were full and heavy.

Susie was understandably nervous. “Did you get ahold of Ruth?”

“Aunt Susie looks so good.” Corinne began crying immediately. It took effort to ignore her sobs.

“Ruth wasn’t at work today,” I said.

“What if she’s not home?”

“We don’t need her. We have a key.”

Susie’s face was creased with worry. “Can we do that? Are you sure?”

I had pondered how much to tell her. Looking into her guileless blue eyes, I knew that the answer was nothing. I couldn’t spoil her vision of the world. “I’m absolutely sure. It has to be legal. I have a key.”

“But is it right?”

“The right thing to do would have been to pack Corinne’s things up and send them to you. The right thing to do would have been to return your calls. The right thing would have been to give you Billy, not drop him off at the pound as soon as Corinne died. I don’t care what Ruth thinks.” The vehemence in my voice surprised even me.