Ghost Mortem (Ghost Detective #1) - Jane Hinchey Page 0,60

to my place." There was still plenty of water and kibble in his bowls so I knew he'd be okay, but my maternal pet instincts were kicking in and, okay, I admit, I was worried about leaving him alone in the woods. What if he got hurt? What if some bigger animal figured he was prey? I never cared before because Thor was Ben's cat—I saw him as a nuisance. Now he was wriggling his way into my heart and I didn't know what to think about that.

"Awww, look at you," Ben teased. "You're worried about him. Audrey Fitzgerald, you're turning into a cat person."

"Wash your mouth out," I grumbled, but I smiled, snatched Ben's keys from the bowl in the foyer and headed out.

21

Ben was right. It was heartbreaking to see his dad. Dementia had really taken its toll. His short term memory was completely gone and his long term memory was now affected. Bill Delaney was a sixteen-year-old youth living in a sixty-year-old body.

"You're pretty," he told me as we sat drinking tea in the garden of the care facility.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"What's your name again?"

"Audrey. Audrey Fitzgerald. I'm a friend of your son’s."

William spat his tea back into his cup with a snort of laughter. "That's hilarious." He giggled. "I don't have a kid. Gosh." He leaned forward to whisper to me, "I'm still a virgin. I haven't ever..."

My face heated at having such a conversation with Ben's dad—a man who'd been a second father to me. I took another sip of my tea. I was a coffee girl, but I could choke down tea when the occasion warranted it, and since Bill had insisted on tea because his dad said he was too young to be drinking coffee, we were drinking tea.

"See?" Ben whispered in my ear and I gave a slight nod to indicate I'd heard him. The care facility was nice enough, I suppose, although the locks on every door and gate were disconcerting. But dementia patients had a habit of escaping, so keeping them locked in was for their own safety. I understood that, but it still made me incredibly sad. I'd handed over my ID at the reception desk and had my photo taken so they could upload it to their system. I'd also met with one of the facility's doctors who'd advised me not to mention Ben's death to his dad. He was concerned it would only lead to more confusion and ultimately distress for Bill.

"So what do you want to be when you grow up, Bill?" I asked, trying to move the conversation away from his non-existent virginity.

"A mechanic!" Bill nodded with great enthusiasm, then launched into a monologue on cars he'd like to work on and cars he'd like to own. I smiled and nodded where appropriate, all the while my heart aching.

And then he said something that jarred me alert. "Ben's neighbor had a Cadillac in really great condition, a collector’s piece it was, till that nephew of hers got hold of it." I almost spilled my tea.

"Do you mean Mrs. Hill? Ethel Hill?" I asked, afraid to hope that he'd actually remembered anything.

"Ahhh, Ethel. Always was a looker." He sighed dreamily. "She's older than me by a few years, but that doesn't bother me. An older woman has more experience, you know." He winked.

"And Ben?" I prompted.

"Who's Ben?" He frowned and my heart sank. "Do you mean Brett? Her nephew?" he added.

"Brett?" It couldn't be...could it? The name Brett was pretty common but what if Brett Baxter was Ethel Hill's nephew? "Brett Baxter?" I asked.

"That's him. Looney tune that one." And then he was back into his world of cars, how the girl he liked, Beryl Sanderson, drove a VW Beetle and it was as cute as she was. I grinned. He'd ended up marrying Beryl Sanderson and it made my heart happy that he was at least remembering some of his life and the love that he had for a woman for decades.

I finished up my visit with Bill, then spent ten minutes searching for my car in the parking lot before remembering I was in Ben's Nissan. Ben had decided to visit with his dad a while longer, so I pulled out of the lot and headed back toward Ben's house, pondering how ghosts could travel while I enjoyed my new smooth ride. This thing felt like I was driving on marshmallows, and the steering! Oh my God, it was so light compared to my