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“Yes, little one. That’s her. She loves cats and hasn’t seen one in many years. Would you like to sit near her for a while? To let her talk to you?”
We can do that. I might be able to talk to her somewhat. Tell her to listen carefully.Xi turned toward Janet.Hi! Can you hear me?
Janet stiffened, staring at Xi.What? are you talking to me?
Yeah. If you like us, we can hang out with you for a while each day. But only if you like us and treat my mom right.Xi turned to me and purred.
Thank you. I miss my kitty so much. I miss so many things,Janet said. She hung her head.I’ve been alone so long.
“Well, you’re not alone now. Let me see what I can find out. Meanwhile, let me move this dress.” I turned to Esmara. “If you can talk to Janet, too, it might help.” I figured Esmara could keep an eye on her, as well, and make sure that Janet didn’t wig out on us.
Esmara nodded.Yes, why don’t you carry the dress into the other room now so I can help Janet get situated.
I immediately clued in that she also meant so she could get a better feel for the spirit. I carried my wedding dress into the guest room and hung it in the closet. Janet followed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Esmara joined her, as well as Xi and Klaus.
“All right, I’m going to get busy downstairs. Esmara, Xi, call me if you need me.” Notebook in hand, I shut the door behind me and headed downstairs, wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself mixed up with.
* * *
I immediately sat down at the computer and brought up a browser. First thing was to verify that Janet was who she said she’d been. And that would require some internet sleuthing. I stared at my notes. I hadn’t planned on spending my evening hunting down a random ghost, but it was no stranger than a lot of my days.
I typed Janet’s name and date of birth into the browser and sure enough, a number of links came up to news stories about her death, and most of them had pictures of her. Although a lot of them were fuzzy, it was clearly the Janet Kendrick who was in my guest room upstairs.
I began reading the first story from the Moonshadow Bay Monitor website:
The body of Janet Irene Kendrick was found on her wedding day, at 2:50p.m.on Saturday, June 7 by her father, Dudley, who was supposed to walk her down the aisle at 3:00. Dr. Laurence Ferris, who was among the attending guests, pronounced her dead at the scene. Miss Kendrick was strangled by an unknown assailant, and her neck was broken. The investigation is ongoing, and no suspects have been arrested in relation to this case.
Miss Kendrick is survived by her parents, Dudley and Marsha Kendrick, by her fiancé, Sirus Barker, by her grandparents, and by numerous cousins. The funeral will take place on Saturday, June 14, at 2:00p.m.at the Ludwig Funeral Home.
I stared at the story. There wasn’t much to go on, but at least it verified her story. She was who she said she was, and she had been murdered. I searched on, but couldn’t locate any article that stated her murderer had been found.
Looking up her home address, I jotted it down. Was it worth a try? Given her parents were dead, I wasn’t sure. I checked out the fiancé. He was still alive and kicking. And he didn’t look a day over sixty. He was the owner of a tea shop, which had opened a few years ago on the outskirts of town. I thought about giving the shop a call but it was going on nine-thirty and I decided that first thing tomorrow, I’d give both Sirus Barker and Millie a call. Reluctantly, I decided to head upstairs for bed. Esmara could keep an eye on Janet for the night.
* * *
Next morning, shortly after a quick breakfast, Killian took off to work and I called in to the office, telling Caitlin I needed the morning off. We weren’t that busy and she gave me the okay. My boss, Tad, was still in the hospital with a damaged liver from our fight with Bigfoot. He’d be back to work in another few weeks, but he had to take it easy for a while.
“Esmara? Are you around?”
Here,Esmara popped in, looking at the table.I miss eating. I miss eggs and bacon and hashbrowns and…She stopped, sighing.Oh well, it could be worse. What do you need, dear?
“Where’s Janet? How’s she doing this morning?”
She’s in the guest room, watching over the side yard. She told me that it’s so nice to see something else besides an attic, or the inside of the dress shop. I think she’ll be content for a while.
I had the sudden image of me, carting the wedding dress to all parts of the house so Janet could get a new view. I had to free her from being stuck with it. I couldn’t give the dress away to a thrift shop or sell it, now that I knew she was attached to it.
“Well, that’s good. I’m going to call her fiancé and ask to meet him, and I’m also going to call Millie and see if I can get a look at the files. Since no one was caught for the murder, it’s got to be a cold case by now.”
Be cautious. You have no clue who might have killed her. Watch out stirring up a hornet’s nest, all right?Esmara stood, her voice stern.
“I promise. Will you hang out and watch Janet for a while? I still don’t fully trust her.”
Of course. Run along now.Esmara vanished up through the ceiling. It always disconcerted me when she moved through the walls.
At tena.m., I gave Sirus’s tea shop a call.
“Violet’s Tea Dreams, may I help you?”
