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“Oh my. How about meeting for a Chinese while we discuss our stubborn ghosts?” Maggie suggested.
“Good idea. Should we phone the others?” Mariah asked.
“Probably not. They’ll think we’ve lost the plot!”
“Leave!” Benedict roared.
“Tell him to shut up, or you’ll suck him up in a hoover too!” Maggie giggled.
Mariah repeated her words, and silence fell. Mariah wondered what Benedict was thinking when the ghost finally replied.
“Hoover?” the curious word floated through the air.
“Okay, honey, I will see you about seven. Meet at your hotel?” Mariah asked while Benedict was distracted.
“Deal!” Maggie said and disconnected.
“Hoover?” Benedict challenged.
“Oh yeah, push me too far, and I’ll suck you straight up!”
“Have to find me first!” Benedict replied smugly, and then he must have decided he’d have the last word. “Leave!”
Mariah
Benedict made a fair point. She’d have to find him first. Except, she knew exactly how to, thanks to her Fluffers! Mariah considered her options over the next two days before deciding to drive and visit Maggie. Tomorrow she had Mr Evans coming, and she planned to deal with Benedict before the man arrived. So far, Benedict had terrified three gardeners with his shouting and moving items, and none had lasted half an hour. She needed a plan, and Maggie was a great sounding board.
When Mariah pulled up outside the Jekyll and Hyde, she was stunned by the prettiness of the inn once again. A slow smile crossed her lips as she realised how the building suited Maggie. She’d be in heaven here. Once she dealt with her ghost! Maggie’s sudden scream made her run towards the Jekyll and Hyde. She dashed through the entrance just as Maggie whacked a rotting skull into the wall with a tyre iron. Her mouth dropped open as Maggie warily looked around, expecting something else. An idle thought passed through Mariah’s mind that Benedict being invisible was better than dealing with this! She whipped her phone out.
Just as the thought crossed Mariah’s mind, a huge black hellhound with slobbering jaws and drool dripping from them appeared. Mariah swallowed a scream as Maggie stumbled backwards and tripped over a bucket of water. Maggie bent and threw it at the hellhound, landing it straight on its head. To Mariah’s amusement, Maggie stormed forward and began belting the bucket with the tyre iron. Tears flooded Mariah’s eyes as Maggie went to town on it. The clangs and then a loud groan followed by the disappearance of the hellhound made Mariah cry with laughter.
Maggie spun around as Mariah lifted her hands up helplessly, and Maggie lowered the weapon sheepishly. Mariah held up her phone as she laughed.
“I recorded all of that!” she said. “That was bloody amazing, honey!”
“Oh Lord, I give up; he’s getting worse,” Maggie gasped out.
“For now, mine keeps shouting at me, but I hate to think of him starting stuff like this!” Mariah exclaimed.
Maggie sent her a sour look before motioning outside.
“His Lordship will be listening in. Let’s go outside,” she suggested and led the way. They sat on a bench at the front of the inn as Maggie fetched some sandwiches and drinks.
“Do you two fight all the time?” Mariah asked.
“God, yes. And it’s getting worse. He wants me out because he’s guarding some sort of evil. I want him and the evil gone, and I am not leaving my inn. The Jekyll and Hyde calls to me. I’m meant to be here. I can’t describe it any other way, but I know this is home,” Maggie replied.
“Yes, I’m the same with the Black Cat. My ghost hasn’t shown himself; he might not have the strength. But he certainly likes to bellow! Leave, get out, flee, death, oh, it gets tedious. But somehow, the Black Cat has hooked me. Deep inside, I’m at peace when I am there. It’s more than being at home, like you. I can’t explain, but I assume we feel the same!”
“Like there was a missing piece of us, and the inns filled the hole?” Maggie asked with a smile.
“Yeah. What are you planning to do with your ghost?”
“Kick his ass.” Maggie grinned.
Mariah laughed.
“And I think I’ve found a way to make mine visible.” Mariah turned to Maggie and winked. “Let’s see the coward hide now!”
