11. Reese
Chapter 11
Reese
“ T he possible house ghost?” My low laugh rang out but when his lips didn’t curl up in humor, my laughter bubble popped. I sagged back into my chair. “You’re not joking.”
He shook his head. “She visited me last night.”
“What? You can see ghosts?”
“If they chose to come to me, though I’ll point out, they rarely do.”
“I can’t imagine how a ghost could hack into my social media accounts.”
“We’re assuming Tracy did that. The hack may not be related to the other incidents.”
He had a valid point. “Did she hint that she was involved?”
“She didn’t speak to me. She stomped around my room and loomed over me as if she thought that would frighten me.” His cryptic smile rose. “She soon realized behavior like that would not be rewarded.”
“What did you do to her?” Morbidly fascinated by all this, I leaned forward in my chair. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“It’s impossible to harm a ghost.”
“Did you scare her?”
“They don’t easily frighten either.”
“What did you do?”
“Bared my fangs. She popped from view and did not reappear again. However, she’s here, she was eager to make trouble if only with me, so she’s now on my suspect list. I’ll see if I can discover anything about her at the historical society. Perhaps we can send her on her way. That would be better for her than rattling around in her former home.”
“I feel bad for her. She might be lonely. Maybe she thought you were cute.”
He snorted. “The only person I want thinking I’m cute is you.”
“Oh, I do, Wolfie. I do.”
He growled and set his pad and paper aside, rising to stalk toward me, where he braced his palms on the armrests of my chair. Leaning in, he ran his nose from my earlobe, along my jawline to my chin, then down to my neck. “You smell amazing.”
“Boundaries, Wolfie,” I said, laughing because it tickled. “Boundaries.” I placed my palms on his chest to nudge him away but instead left my hands there, spreading my fingers wide. His heart beat at a furious pace, and yeah, he looked extra cute today dressed in jeans and a starched white shirt, still wearing his infamous cape. I loved how gorgeously clichéd he was, and I drooled whenever I looked his way.
“Boundaries, yes.” Backing, he lifted his hands, his face filling with horror. “I do apologize. You’re correct. I’ve overstepped the guidelines between us.”
“For what it’s worth, I was teasing. You can sniff my neck whenever you want.”
He growled again but turned and strode over to sit on the sofa, placing his pad of paper on his lap. “I’m going to mistify into town and look into each of our suspects. Would you like to come or remain here with me checking in often? You should be relatively safe in daylight.”
“You can’t keep me away.” I’d written my daily word count, and while I could write a newsletter and do some marketing, I could handle all that tonight. That was the benefit of being ahead with my release schedule. I could play hooky every now and then. “Did Jolene own a car? From the little I’ve heard about her, she died around the time of the second world war, and while there were cars back then and monsters can walk into car dealerships today, I doubt ghosts do. How would she get a license or sign the papers to buy a vehicle?”
“Ghosts follow their own set of rules, but you’re right that she can’t solidify enough to purchase a car. She lived long enough ago, she may not have known they existed, though she may watch you get into yours from the attic window.”
“Creepy, Wolfie. Creepy.”
He huffed, and heat swirled through his dark eyes. “You’re truly asking for it, aren’t you, my tiny little . . .”
“Tiny little what?”
“Nothing.”
“It must be something. You can tell me. In fact—” Someone knocked on the door. “Saved from answering by yet another door knocker. I’ve lived here for two months, and I’ve seen more traffic recently than I did all the prior weeks combined, outside of family, that is.”
“Your mother and aunt live in the area?”
“They’re both in Mystic Harbor. Mom lives in the house she and Dad bought right after I was born, and my aunt bought the place next to hers. She’s proprietary about my mom and . . . Okay, I already mentioned that my aunt doesn’t seem to like me much.” Rising, I strode into the foyer.
I opened the door to find Detective Carter standing on my small, covered porch.
“There you are,” he said. “I received a message that you had a crime to report?”
“Come on in.” I waved toward my office.
We all sat, and I explained.
“You found no evidence after the person departed?” he asked Wolf, who shook his head. “Then I’m not sure what I can do about it. I noted cameras on the house.”
Wolfram grunted. “They were installed after I chased the person away.”
“Well, let me know if you see anyone else snooping around. As for the social media hacking, I’ll question Tracy, of course.” A frown filled the detective’s face as he took notes on his phone. “I’ll see if she’ll voluntarily surrender her phone for a forensics’ analysis, though I could obtain a warrant if need be. Plus, I can ask the social media providers for information about who might’ve posted instead of you. They’d have access to an IP address. That sort of thing.”
“I deleted the posts.”
“There will still be a record. I’ll tell you right now, if Tracy did this, it might be a challenge to prove. I’m not giving up. Not one bit, but I want to be honest with you.”
“I thought this would be the case,” I said. “I’ve done damage control, and I believe I’ve mitigated any major problems. I don’t want to let it go, however. If she did it, I hope we can prove it and see she’s punished.”
“Believe me, she will be.” He stood. “I’ll keep you informed about my investigation.” His gaze shot to Wolf. “You as well, I assume?”
“Yes, please,” I said as Wolfram nodded.
He left, and we opted to mistify to the garage who’d called to say my vehicle was ready to be picked up. I’d filed with my insurance company, but I had a high enough deductible that I’d have to eat most of the cost of replacing the tires. At least they weren’t new.
After we’d picked up my SUV, we drove to Mom’s house to quiz her about Wilber and Flint, though I doubted she’d have much information about my old professor. My aunt was there, but while she pursed her lips as Wolf and I took a seat at the kitchen table, she didn’t say more than a mumbled greeting.
“Coffee or tea?” Mom held up the coffee pot.
“I’ll have coffee,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Tea, please, my lady,” Wolf said.
“My lady.” Mom blushed. “I like that.”
Aunt Beverly rolled her eyes. I might’ve spied humor there—or I might not have.
“What brings you by today?” Mom asked after she’d served our drinks and placed a pretty dish full of cookies in the middle of the table and sat herself.
“Wolfram works for Monsters, PI,” I said, sipping my drink. “And he was assigned to my case.”
“Wonderful.” Mom clapped her hands and gazed at Wolf raptly, slanting her eyes my way and wiggling her eyebrows after.
Got it, Mom. He was a hot guy, and she wanted to make sure I saw it as well. Couldn’t miss it.
“We have questions about people here in town,” I said. “You remember Wilber Blight, don’t you?”
Mom’s smile wavered. “Hard not to after what his mother did. Oh, most people in town didn’t know all the details like Bev and I did. Or they’ve forgotten. The nerve of his mother doing something like that.”
“What did she do?” This was news to me.
“Well.” Mom peered around the room as if someone might be standing nearby, eager to overhear what she had to say. Although, if she had a resident ghost like me, she might not be wrong in that. “She was an accountant and managed the books for many of the businesses in town. I told you all this, didn’t I? Although, what she was doing was discovered while you were in college. I’m sure I mentioned it at least in passing. It was all hush-hush back then, but I do like to share tidbits of gossip. I mean, her husband was a prominent physician. Imagine the scandal if it got out? But Beverly here was part of the group questioned, and she has the inside scoop.” Mom dimpled a smile her sister’s way. “Maybe you should tell them about it. I’m sure you remember the details better than me.”
“I don’t gossip,” my aunt said, taking a long swallow of her coffee. Her sharp gaze fell on me, and I got the idea she might be open to gossiping any day of the week with my mother. With me? Not on any day ending in Y. She lifted a cookie from the plate and took a bite, slowly chewing. “These are perfect, Alice. I don’t know how you do it. It amazes me every time. Your cookies are always delicious.”
“Thank you. I’ve had that recipe for years. I’m happy to share it with you,” Mom said. “But tell them. The story is equally delicious.”
“I truly don’t like to spread tales. Let it rest. Wilber’s a decent enough fellow. He’s a lawyer. He’s running for office.” Her gaze landed on me. “You could do much worse than him.”
“Oh, what an interesting suggestion.” Mom leaned toward me. “Wilber is single. His family has considerable money and a lovely home on the water. As for his mother, that was in the past, and I doubt it would matter to anyone now.”
I hadn’t shared what happened back in high school. After the principal brushed it off, I worried everyone else would, too.
“I have my own lovely home on the water,” I said, wondering if I should bring the incident up now. Maybe not. “I don’t need his. And I have money as well. I don’t need to hook up with Wilber to make my life better. Besides, I don’t believe he and I share the same political views.”
“I thought your mother taught you better,” my aunt said with so subtle a huff, I doubt Mom heard. It pinned me to my chair like always, and I floundered, trying to figure out how to respond. Funny how, with one glare, she could turn me back into that uncertain fifteen-year-old who’d spoken up and been ground into the dirt for doing so. Everyone said they wanted to raise strong girls, when in actuality, they preferred meek ones.
“In what way?” I asked sweetly, taking a cookie with a shaky hand and biting into it. Amazing. In that, my aunt was right.
“Politics should never be brought into the marriage bed,” she said.
Wolf watched our interaction with a sharp gaze, and the longer he looked at my aunt, the deeper his frown grew.
“What makes you believe Reese would wish to be with Wilber?” he asked.
“She should dream of being with him,” my aunt said casually. “He has prospects.” From the way she looked Wolfram up and down, she must believe he did not.
Not that he and I were dating or even talking about anything like that. But my heart kept pattering whenever he was around, and I was looking forward to getting to know him better.
Kissing him.
“Wolfram comes from a very old family,” I said.
“You’re a vampire, aren’t you?” Mom asked in a bubbly voice, oblivious as always to my aunt’s mean girl attitude.
He dipped his head forward.
“Where do you get your blood?” Her smile held true even when it slid to my neck. Please, I wasn’t that gauche. If there was biting in my future, there were cooler places than my neck for something like that. A neck bite would be the teenage equivalent of a hickey.
“Bags,” he said. “Many are eager to donate.”
“What about people who need that blood after surgery and things like that?” my aunt asked with a touch of fascination. “I understand that everyone deserves to live, even those of questionable parentage, but surely that disturbs you.”
“All our donated blood is shared. You’d be surprised how many will eagerly give to a vampire but not to the blood bank. We ensure they receive more than they otherwise would.”
Aunt Beverly nodded. “Hmm.”
“Wolfram showed me his home on the water last night, and it’s gorgeous,” I said. Not that something like that mattered, though it must to her.
“Purchased or . . . did you lure someone into giving it to you?” my aunt asked.
Could I smack her? I really wanted to verbally do so. This time, I’d find a way to win the argument. I wasn’t a bumbling teenager any longer.
“Beverly,” Mom said with a roll of her eyes. Her lips thinned, and she paused as if gathering her thoughts. “Finish the story about Wilber because I’m sure Reese would enjoy the gossip if nothing else. As for him dating Reese, I believe she’s right, now that I think about it. They wouldn’t be compatible.” Mom patted my hand sitting on the table. “He’s not a cheerful person like my daughter.”
“Wilber’s mother embezzled money from one of the businesses,” Aunt Beverly said, speaking around another bite of cookie. “As if that wasn’t enough, she was caught shoplifting. Her husband fixed it for her, and whatever he said or did made everyone stop talking about it fast. I’m not sure anyone but me and Alice remember.”
Since Wilber was on Wolfram’s suspect list, I tried to see where this new information might lead him to attack me.
Anything I could come up with would be a stretch.
Unless he suspected I knew about what his mother had done and worried I’d tell the community about that, in addition to what he’d done to me.
Both of those juicy details could ruin his bid for the legislative position.