Chapter 7
“Okay, I’m glad I have the bodyguard protection on nights like this,” I said as we crossed the road at the corner of Bay Street later that evening.
Savannah might have been warmer than my home in Michigan, but it still got dark early in April. The freshly built condo building to our right blocked off views of the Savannah river, but with the traffic, we wouldn’t have heard the water, anyway. I just pretended we were walking along a beach.
Reed laughed at my comment. “I come in handy on occasion.”
I wasn’t worried about being robbed at gunpoint like the previous journalist, but Reed’s hulkish form gave me extra security from any other bad guys.
“Do you remember the plan?” Reed asked as we neared the bar where we’d have our overnight paranormal investigation. Also known as our chance to poke around the potential crime scene.
I nodded. “Of course… but let’s review it one more time to be sure we’re on the same page.”
“Okay, remember it in bullet points. We get into the investigation as the cute couple we are,” he said, giving me an enormous grin. “One hour into the investigation you’ll fake sick, and I’ll have to accompany you to the bathroom like a good new husband.”
That’s the part I had some issues with. I hadn’t officially come up with my reason for needing the bathroom. Reed and I didn’t agree on the best approach. “Why am I the one getting sick?”
“Are you still having issues with the fake puking?” he asked, and I swear he lifted his brow with the question, but we were too far past the streetlight to be sure. “Can you handle it?”
“Oh, definitely.” I narrowed my eyes for good measure and then opened my mouth and made a fake gagging gesture.
But then… right on cue, like my other practice measures, thinking of the fake puke, sent my stomach into a tumble and the reflexes in my throat went into overdrive.
We were no longer in drill territory. I clamped my mouth shut and sucked in a slow deep breath through my nose to quiet the panicking muscles.
“You okay?” he asked, slowing his steps. “Maybe we should go with the other bathroom issue.”
My cheeks heated, and I picked up the pace, leaving him behind for a full stride until he easily caught up.
How horrifying.
I wasn’t going to stand on Bay Street talking about poop with an insanely hot guy.
“Absolutely not,” I said and crossed my arms over my chest while keeping my quick pace. We needed to hurry and get there so the nightmare of this situation ended. “I have everything under control. I’m just really lifelike. It’s superior acting skills.”
From the way he tilted his head, raised one side of his lips, dipped his chin, and then turned his attention to the street, he did not believe my lie. That made two of us.
That meant I had to show him. I’d be the best fake puker anyone in Savannah had ever seen. I’d fake puke myself right into the bathroom where they’d found Lisa’s body, and we’d do the best investigation Death Finds You First ever recorded. They’d probably make an award for our journalism prowess.
“It’s weird how quiet it is compared to this afternoon,” I said as we slowed our steps.
Our destination had a small black awning right in the middle of two big windows.
The multistory building had the name Savannah Brewing, displayed in big black letters right across the front between floors two and three.
We both stopped in front of the building and let our gazes travel upward to stare at the sign before meeting one another again.
“Savannah Brewing,” Reed said as he read the sign. “Are you ready?”
I tried to stare inside the bar for a hint of the madness we’d walk into but couldn’t make out the figures. The place was said to be a big tourist draw, so I expected a crush of people past the doors. “Let’s do this.”
“It’s go time.” Reed held the door open for me but casually glanced inside and frowned. “What the heck?”
“What in the world?” I asked, walking in and then stopping dead in my tracks to stare at the area around us.
The place was empty. Well… not empty, empty. A huge wooden bar took up a sizeable chunk of space in the middle. Wooden booths covered the areas in front of the large windows. It looked just like a bar should except for one important piece.
The people.
“Are you here for the overnight paranormal investigation?” a man asked as he walked out from a back room.
The way he wavered his voice at paranormal investigation seemed like he was mocking us.
Sure, I wasn’t here to fight ghosts, but making fun of paying customers wasn’t a smart business plan.
Plus, we didn’t want to anger the dead if the place was truly haunted.
“That’s us,” Reed answered.
The guy nodded. “We’re just closing up now. The rest of the tour will be here soon. Grab a place at the bar and get something to drink if you want, but the kitchen is closed.”
What bar in a popular tourist area closed before 10 p.m., even on a Tuesday?
Maybe mocking the customers wasn’t their biggest issue.
Even empty, the place had a weird… feel to it.
Was it the ghosts or the grime on all the wooden surfaces?
Why in the hell was this Casey’s favorite place? Did Lisa have a sense of humor?
Reed walked toward the bar but stopped and turned back toward me. “There’s no one here.”
“Right.” We’d visually established that.
He widened his eyes. “There’s no one here, meaning there’s probably no one in the bathroom if you wanted to go.”
His point hit me like a bowling ball, taking out the last pin. “Ohhhh. Right. The bathroom.”
We were basically free range.
I never expected an empty bar, so he didn’t plan for it.
Reed pointed at a red sign hanging against the back wall advertising bathrooms. He gave one quick glance behind us before we both slipped past the women’s door.
“Here’s what we know,” I said, stopping in the middle of the three-stall bathroom. “Lisa left Casey a note saying they had to talk and to meet at his favorite place. Since that meeting never happened and she died here, this has to be it. Right?”
Reed shrugged. “Maybe they serve good wings.”
“Bar wings are the best.” Hmm, thinking about wings had my mouth watering. “But why did Lisa want to talk to Casey and why here?”
Why not just talk to him at home? It’s not like she didn’t know where he lived.
“I don’t know,” Reed said, not helping in the slightest. “But you think she might have hit her head on this hand dryer? It’s got blunt force trauma written all over it.”
He was facetious about the writing. I checked.
I turned around and stared at the old white metal box attached to the wall close to the door. The coroner’s report said Lisa suffered a contusion to her head, which ultimately killed her. The report didn’t disclose what caused the contusion or how hard she hit. “Could be.”
Reed shook his head. “If this caused the blow, she must have been pushed. It’s too high up the wall for her to gather enough force to hit it hard enough during an accidental fall.”
“Plus, she was missing her favorite ring.” That’s why the police called it a robbery.
“I’ll be right there!” someone on the other side of the door said and laughed.
I panicked and jumped toward Reed. If the killer ghost came to take us out, I wanted that bodyguard protection they promised. Either I pushed him or he stepped forward right as the door opened.
“Oh,” said a female voice and then a second time with more volume. “Oh!”
“Selene,” Reed answered, sounding as surprised as the blonde-haired woman.
I peeked over his shoulder and smiled. “Hey.”
What in the hell was she doing here? And in the bathroom?
She raised her hands in front of her, pretending to cover her eyes. “I didn’t know anyone was in here. Let alone newlyweds.”
I clutched the back of Reed’s black polo shirt as she bit her lips in a judgmental stare. The ends of them still tipped upward like she was laughing at finding us in the bathroom. Sure, we had a guy in the women’s room, but surely it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Unless.
My chest tightened. Oh, no. Did she think? “We weren’t having bathroom sex!”
Reed’s body tightened at my outburst, and he sucked in a deep breath.
“If you say so,” Selene said, obviously holding back the laugh. “But I promise your secret is safe with me.”
“We weren’t. Reed was just helping me with…” Shit. What did I say? I hadn’t done my fake puking, and it’s not like I could admit we were searching for clues in the death of her future mother-in-law. “Stuff. He was helping me with stuff.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, completely unconvinced.
I stepped around Reed and stared at her in her light pink T-shirt with the bar’s name embroidered over the left pocket. “Why are you here?”
She reared back in defense. Okay, maybe I asked it a little harshly, but this was my bar stakeout. And it was weird she’d walk in here now. Almost like she was watching. Or followed us. “I work here.”
My eyes widened as she pushed out her breasts to highlight the logo on her shirt. “Is that why Casey’s mom said this is his favorite place?”
“We met here. I waited on him one night.” Selene’s expression slipped into a wide smile. “Do you two want a picture before you go on the paranormal investigation?” She also said “paranormal investigation” like she was on a ghost show. It still annoyed me.
No, actually it might have annoyed me more when she said it.
“Sure,” Reed said, and opened the bathroom door, letting us out. “Let’s take it by the bar.”
Selene walked out right before me, and as I went to pass her, she leaned in to whisper. “The best time to sneak in a bathroom quickie is to take a break about an hour or two into your investigation.”
“Oh, um. Thanks,” I mumbled and hurried to catch up with Reed, who was already positioning himself by the bar.
“You two are so cute,” Selene said in a cooing voice as I handed her my cell phone for the photo. We stood by one another. Reed wrapped his arm around my middle, and Selene snapped the photo. “Okay, now take one kissing.”
“What?” I jumped, hitting my elbow on the edge of the bar and cursing under my breath.
Reed forced a quick laugh. “She hates PDA.”
“It’s the honeymoon. Come on, for the memories,” Selene pushed as she used her free hand to motion us moving together.
I turned my upper half toward Reed and apologized with my eyes before taking a big breath.
What if I had onion breath? He lowered his top half, arching over me.
I froze, my muscles stiff. I ran through all the food I ate.
Had we eaten onions? I couldn’t kiss the hot guy.
What if he thought I was ugly or smelled bad or tasted weird?
He inched closer and whispered, “Come on, Elenore. We have to make this look good.”
I slammed my eyelids shut and inched up on my tiptoes.