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With a quick hand, she brushed the glass pieces off her shirt to the ground. “I’m okay. Just startled, Mr. Sable. I was hoping to talk with you for a moment. I’m here to do a short follow-up on your initial interview about Mel Coster.”
She picked up the consultant badge from where it hung around her neck.
“Oh, yeah. Poor Mel. Come on in. Watch the glass.” He waved her in, leaving the door open.
The apartment was a tidy mess. Clean lines of modern design elements filled the space, but there was no doubt two people lived in the apartment. Two dirty plates sat on the small table in front of the entertainment system. Passing by the living room, two sets of clothes were tossed on the back of the rumpled couch. As Jason led Anastacia to the kitchen table, Mel walked around the small living space, looking at the pictures and trinkets on the shelves. A couple of framed photos of Judy and Jay looked like they were printed straight from social media.
“Son of a… I was supposed to go on that trip with them! Look at them. They look like the perfect, happy couple without me.” Lights around the room dimmed and the kitchen light behind Jason flickered on when Mel stared too long.
Jason turned to the lights and frowned in confusion. “Sorry about the electrical. It’s never been like this before.”
“No problem. Sometimes things just go crazy. We have a light in the station mail room that does the same thing.” Glancing at Mel, she widened her eyes at him to simmer him down.
He gestured to a picture of the three of them in a small frame, Mel’s face tucked behind a book. She subtly nodded in understanding; Jason was still distracted by the light behind him. Mel centered himself with a quick moment of silence, leaving the bookcase to stand behind her, his presence cold at her back. And growing colder.
“You said you wanted to follow up?” Jason leaned back in his chair now that the kitchen light went back off on its own.
“Yeah, when did you start sleeping with my girlfriend?” Mel seethed. Anastacia felt the cold sensation grow as his anger manifested. His hands gripped the chair as he phased through her. “It's strange since you never liked to share the good things in life. I guess it doesn't cover girls, huh?”
Anastacia closed her eyes in an effort to calm Mel. Past angry spirits fed off her emotions, maybe she could do the same for him. She put her hand over Mel’s behind her shoulder, playing it off as a crick in her neck. Her fingertips doused in freezing temperatures, she caught his eyes flashing down to hers and his shoulders fell. He swallowed back some choice words and faced away from Jason.
Anastacia shook her shoulders and continued, “Ah, yes, I have a few questions for clarification's sake.”
“Shoot.”
“Right.” Anastacia frowned. It was not the best word given the situation. She pulled out a file and the small notepad she had been using since she started the case. “You said you lost the phone Mr. Coster was texting the night he died.”
“Yeah, the damn thing up and walked off about a month ago now.”
“Isn’t it the only number Mr. Coster had of yours?”
“Uh, no, he had what I consider my personal line.”
“Lie number two, Jay. You gave me your best number, remember?" Mel growled behind her and the lamp over the table flashed on. Mel paced behind Anastacia, moving to the side table, where he slid a couple of magazines to the floor.
Jason jumped back from the table, his chair crashing to the floor behind him. “The fuck?!”
Anastacia sat stunned. Mel didn’t have control over the physical other than the basics all spirits went by. He was pulling from something more than usual. “My goodness, Mr. Sable. It seems like you may have a ghost or something.”
“I’ll have to get the air looked at along with the electrical.” He stayed standing at the side of the table furthest from the magazines. “Anyway, yeah, Mel knew to call me on the personal number. I thought he was probably using the other number because he knew it was a business line and he was going to a supposed meeting, right? I should have told him about the stolen phone.”
Anastacia caught Mel’s eyes and subtly wiggled her fingers, gesturing for him to stand by her again. He paced twice more before stopping beside her. She felt his energy calm almost immediately.
“It’s strange, Mr. Coster’s phone didn’t have any other number listed for you. And the one he texted that night was labeled as ‘Best Jay.’”
“Maybe your lab needs to check again. It might not be under my name. I mean, I have him under ‘partner’ in mine.”
“Why did he think he had to be at a meeting that night?”
“I don’t know. I usually do the meetings alone.”
“So, you didn’t meet him at City Park earlier in the day and tell him that you were both going to meet backers for the bar?”
“How d’you know what we talked about?” Jason’s attention instantly focused on her.
“The detectives are very good at what they do, Mr. Sable.” Anastacia smiled professionally, writing a few things on the notepad. “What did you tell him earlier that day about the meeting?”
Jason shook his head and laughed uncomfortably. “It’s just hard, you know?”
