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Anna returned the smile, but on her, it was despaired. “I appreciate y’all working on this case again. I do hope that you’ll discover what truly happened to Lizbeth. If it’s all right, I’d like to go into the house now.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you for your time.” Zach shook Anna’s hand, and then she started toward the house.
“This is by far the weirdest situation I’ve ever been in,” I whispered to Kipp. “I’ve never experienced a missing ghost before.”
“Quite unusual, to say the least,” he grumbled. “Let’s go to the station and fill Max in on what we’ve discovered.” He sighed. “Or not discovered.”
Without hesitation since I was more than happy to leave, I headed to the truck with the boys following. Anna climbed the steps of her porch, and I remembered there was something I needed to tell her. “Anna,” I called.
She turned.
“You have a very grumpy old ghost in your house, but don’t worry, he likes you.”
She didn’t appear nearly as surprised as I’d expected. Maybe she already suspected a ghost lived with her. Maybe not. But my job was done.
Now on to finding a missing ghost…
Chapter Two
At the station, I followed Zach and Kipp in, cursing at myself for not finding Lizbeth’s ghost. My bank account had never looked better, and it seemed wrong that I received a paycheck but didn’t fulfill my side of the gig.
Not to say that I wanted to return to my old boss, Dylan Cobb, Event Manager of Randall Marketing. He acted like a two-year old on good days.
The look on his face when I quit still amused me. I might have felt a tinge bad for leaving him high and dry on such short notice. That is, I quit the second I reentered the building. If I cared, which I didn’t.
Dora, the receptionist, was the only one I’d miss. But we kept in touch via email.
We passed the main desk where Betty sat, and she gave me a wave, which I returned. Busy cops sat at their desks behind her, no doubt working on loathsome paperwork.
Zach headed down the hallway and up ahead, I spied the cubicles where the detectives in the Homicide Division were located.
At the fourth door, Zach entered the meeting room, but Kipp slowed and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Hold up a sec.” He cocked his head, studying me, and finally said, “You seem quiet. That’s not like you.”
I shrugged, not wanting to go there, but knowing he’d never let it go. He’d proved a thousand times over he could be persistent and at most times got what he wanted. “I’m disappointed I couldn’t find her.”
“Don’t do that to yourself,” he replied, soft and tender. “This job will eat you up if you let every failure get to you.”
“It’s not so much of the not finding her that’s bothering me, but letting the team down, and I’m only just part of the team.”
I’d been brought into the cold case squad as an adviser, and I still didn’t know how Max pulled it off. But I wasn’t about to question him. All he had said was, “a few important people know of your ability, which allows this.” That ended the conversation.
“Why do you think you’re failing the team?” Kipp asked.
“Ah, ‘cause I was hired to find ghosts, and on my first case, I found shit.”
His brow creased. “You can’t hunt for something that isn’t there, Tess. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”
I smiled, adoring my ghost, but shook my head at him. “I’m getting tired of you always saying the right thing.”
He laughed. “Most women would love that about me.”
“Well, I’m not most women, am I?”
His laughter remained, as he skimmed my cheek with his finger causing a little shiver to speed through me from the icy embrace. “No, you’re certainly not.”
“Would you stop with the endearing shit, Tess, and get in here.” Max’s deep voice sounded from inside the room.
I winked at Kipp, and entered the room. Max, sergeant of the cold case squad, scowled at me. I saluted. “Ready to serve you, Sir.”
