Chapter 5 #2
“Well, after working every day a month straight, I’m ready for a woman’s night,” Angie said. “Oh, texted Jasper. He’s joining us. As he is an honorary gir—woman.”
We laughed. He was definitely one of our little gang.
After a quick change, and remembering to take off my ghoulish makeup this time, we walked down to the pub. We could have worn our costumes as there were several people dressed up. A band played out on the back patio, but the music was loud enough that we could hear it in the pub.
Angie grabbed some pints from Mara’s granddad, and we headed out to the patio. Jasper had nabbed our favorite table by one of the heaters.
“You all look gorgeous,” he said.
“You’re looking mighty handsome, love the jumper,” Angie said. The sweater was a deep green and it did look good on him.
“Of course you do, it’s one of yours.” He winked at her.
It was hard to hear over the band, but we chatted and caught up with one another. It had been a few weeks since we’d all been in the same place. About an hour later, Mara came out. She looked exhausted. Though, I would never say that to her.
She picked up one of the chips we’d been eating and stuffed it in her mouth.
“I can get you some fresh ones,” Jasper offered. “You look knackered.”
She blew out a breath. “Remind me to never volunteer again,” she said.
“You know you like being in charge,” Angie said.
“Shhh. Let me complain.”
There were smiles around the table.
“Did everything go OK at the haunted house tonight? We were busy, at least,” I said.
“Yes. There were a few groups looking for info or to see where the poor man died. People are so macabre. I don’t understand it. But Ewan was right, it ended up being good for business.”
“There’s a reason why there are so many true crime shows these days,” Jasper added.
I preferred fictional crime shows, but he was right.
The streaming services were full of them, and I had to admit to watching my fair share of the ones where police were actually solving the cases.
I considered it part of my education for my job as medical examiner.
I’d taken several courses, as well. Abigail and I were always discussing what we’d learned. We felt it made us better at our jobs.
“Oh, I love this song,” Angie said. “Come dance with me.” She pulled us all from our chairs. I was exhausted but dancing was fun. Especially with my amazing friends. By the time we sat down, we were all out of breath. Exhaustion rolled over me.
“I don’t want to be the first, but I need to head home. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“I’m right there with you,” Abigail said.
“You two are no fun,” Angie pouted. “But I get it. You were up all night and dealing with so much today. Thank you for coming with me tonight. I should check on Grandad and make sure he’s still upright. He’ll never admit that two whiskeys are his limit these days.”
“Baker’s hours have me knackered,” Jasper said. “Sorry, Ang.”
“I’ll hang out with you a bit longer,” Mara said. “You all go on and get some rest.”
They waved us off.
“I’ll walk you home,” Jasper said.
“You don’t have to do that,” I countered. “We’ll be fine.”
“I can take the back path to mine. It isn’t out of my way. Besides, every time someone dies around here weird stuff happens, and you end up with stalkers.”
He was right.
“There is safety in numbers,” Abigail said.
We grabbed our jackets from the hooks near the front door and headed out.
“I’m going to sleep most of tomorrow,” I announced.
“I would, but if I don’t keep my hours on my day off, it’s even tougher to wake up on Monday morning,” Jasper told me.
“I don’t envy you having to get up in the middle of the night.”
“If I didn’t love what I do, it would be a chore, I’m sure. But I do, so it isn’t.”
“And you’re very good at it. How is your new kitchen help working out?”
“They are both amazing. Tom has become quite the baker, and Suzie is an amazing decorator. I keep telling her she should open her own shop. In a different town, of course. But she swears it’s too much responsibility.
As long as she’s doing it for someone else, it’s fun.
I’m lucky.” He yawned. “Tired. But lucky.”
We made it up the hill behind the pub, but something was off. My spidey sense tingled. I put a hand out to stop them.
“What’s wrong?” Abigail whispered.
“The safety light didn’t come on when we walked past. And look.”
There was a lump by the front door to my place. It was hard to distinguish.
I took out my pepper spray. It wasn’t exactly legal in Scotland, as the law didn’t allow for any sort of weapons to be carried. But I’d been attacked more than once, and what the law didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
“Hey, there,” I said.
The lump didn’t move.
Great.
I swallowed hard and my shoulders tensed. “Move away from the door, please.”
“I’m calling Ewan,” Abigail whispered.
I didn’t argue.
“Should we go back to the pub and wait?” Jasper asked.
I pressed on. Whatever was in front of the door, it wasn’t moving.
I used the flashlight on my phone, and it appeared to be someone sitting there. They wore a mask.
“If this is some kind trick or joke, I’m not finding it funny,” I said loudly. I’d heard more than one tale about Halloween gags people pulled in town. I’d been hoping to skip all that.
Said the woman who spent hours scaring people earlier.
Again, the figure didn’t move.
I threw caution aside and ran forward.
The figure wore a cape and a Dracula mask. One of those cheap plastic ones that often stick to your face and smell terrible.
“Are you OK?”
I flipped the mask up. The man’s eyes were closed, and he wasn’t breathing. He was to the right of the door.
“Abigail I need your help.”
She and Jasper ran forward. We clumsily picked the man up and moved him inside, still on the floor. I started CPR.
“Grab the defib.” The man was still warm. If we could restart his heart, he might have a chance.
The lights came on and Abigail ran off. Two seconds later, she and the oxygen mask came hurtling toward us.
“Tell me what you need.” Jasper said across from me.
“Put that over his mouth and pump when I tell you to,” I said.
We went to work on the man. He seemed familiar but I was too busy trying to save him to think much about from where.
By the time Abigail made it back, I didn’t have much hope, but we kept trying.
“Three hundred,” I said to her, and she flipped the switch and then turned the dial on the defib.
We shocked him three times, but there was no sinus rhythm.
“Who is he?” Jasper asked.
“I’ve seen him before, but I can’t place him.” I prayed it was natural causes and had nothing to do with our other victim. Otherwise, we had a double murder in Sea Isle.