Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,44
swiftly changed theories. “An unbearable nuisance, then. The person you wanted the most wanted you back, but you could never allow yourself to have him.”
“That’s… overstating things.”
“He wouldn’t let go. And when he’d give you that special look, it brought you right back to old times. A weaker man might want to remove that temptation from his life. Permanently.” I waited for a few beats, letting my words sink in. “Did you?”
“What?” He looked startled, even though Ray Charles could’ve seen where I was going with that line of questioning. “No, of course not.”
“Are you certain?”
“Look, I know you’re just doing your job. But you’re barking up the wrong tree. I had a wife. Kids.” He shook his head. “Whatever we could’ve had wasn’t to be and that’s just that.”
“Where were you on the night Joey died?”
“At home with my wife.” His tone was curt as he stood abruptly. “And if you have any other questions, you know where to find me. I need to get back to work.”
Even though he practically had steam pouring out of his ears, he stuck out his hand for me to shake. Professional and polite to a fault. Obligingly, I reached out as well. His palm was a little damp against mine, and I didn’t think it was from the humidity. Clearly, something we’d talked about had made him nervous.
When I went to pull back, his grip tightened. I opened my mouth to ask him just what the hell he thought he was doing, but his expression made me falter. He looked like he’d seen, well, a ghost. He swallowed hard, still staring at my hand.
The handholding went on for an uncomfortably long moment. I cleared my throat and gave my hand another discreet tug. This time, he let go. “Well,” I said, “glad we could leave things on an awkward as hell note.”
“Hmm?” His gaze seemed stuck on my wrist. “I’m sorry, I just… he’s been in contact with you, hasn’t he?”
I looked at him blankly. “He who?”
“Joey.”
“Joey is dead,” I said carefully.
“And we both know that’s not nearly the obstacle it should be,” he countered.
This polished man in the three-piece suit with his probably three-hundred-dollar haircut was about the last person I expected to believe in ghosts. He just didn’t strike me as the type. Although, I suppose people could say that about me as well.
He pressed on. “He’s been talking to you, hasn’t he? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we look kind of alike.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I lied.
“You know, it started simply enough. Something I’d left on the counter would be on the floor when I got home. Or the lights might be on when I was sure I’d turned them off. I felt someone watching me sometimes, but when I looked, there was no one there.” He let out a long breath, raking a hand through his short hair. “It’s rather spooky business. I thought I was going crazy. Still do, sometimes.”
Yeah, I was familiar with that feeling. “Maybe we’re getting a little offtrack here,” I said slowly.
He barked a short laugh. “No, Detective, I feel like we’ve finally gotten to the root of things. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You don’t have new evidence. You’ve seen him, haven’t you?” He shook his head without waiting for my confirmation or denial. “The final straw was the note on the bathroom mirror that I found after my shower.”
“A note?”
“Just a heart and the letter U.”
“Maybe your girlfriend left it.”
“I live alone.”
“Maybe she stopped by.”
He didn’t bother to entertain my weak-ass excuses. “All those other incidents could be explained away. I told myself it was the product of a fevered imagination, but I didn’t imagine that note.”
I swallowed. “Even if that was true, you don’t have anything to worry about. Joey loved you.”
He went on as if he didn’t hear me. “You need to be careful,” he said flatly. “An angry spirit is nothing to trifle with.”
“I’m not sure why you’re so convinced I’ve been in contact with a ghost.”
“That bracelet.” He looked at the offending piece of jewelry again. “It has Alex engraved on the back of the cross.”
I didn’t even need to look. I could almost feel the letters burning against the flat of my wrist. “And how would you know that?”
“He bought it for me.” He swallowed. “And we buried him with it.”
Spooky business indeed.
*
When I got back in my car, my first order of business was pressing the Max button on the AC. The next