stomach, and she pressed a palm to her gut, trying to settle the unease.
BOOM!
They both stumbled to a stop as the sound reverberated through the house again.
“Go!” Grace demanded, giving her friend a tiny shove. If the ghosts were destroying the house, they had to stop them somehow.
Hope cursed under her breath and then ran up the rest of the stairs. The two of them raced toward the end of the hall, following the ear-splitting noise and ending up in the master bedroom.
The house went eerily silent.
“Um, Hope?” Grace asked.
“Yeah?”
“I think we’re not welcome here.”
“You’re not wrong about that. We should’ve summoned a goddess.” She let out a breath and held the sage bundle high in the air.
“Can we still do that?” Grace did the same with her sage bundle.
“Maybe, but I doubt anything we do today is going to help. We’ve already pissed them off.”
Dammit. How was Grace going to show Matt the house the next day? The spirits would scare him off in five seconds flat. Not to mention that she wasn’t exactly crazy about selling someone a house that was haunted by spirits that might be of the evil variety.
“It’s probably better at this point to wait and see what Joy comes up with and try to figure out why the spirits are tied to this place. That might make it easier to form a game plan.”
“You’re probably right.” Grace started to move toward the bedroom door, but then the bathroom light flashed on.
Both Grace and Hope moved into the large en suite bathroom to investigate.
“There,” Hope whispered, pointing at the mirror that was fogged over despite the lack of steam or moisture in the room.
Grace focused on the mirror and watched as a message in the most beautiful handwriting she’d ever seen appeared in the condensation on the surface.
Roots run deep. Family is the only thing that matters. We will never give up.
“Family is the only thing that matters,” Grace said, repeating what seemed to be the most important part of the message the spirits had left in the mirror. “Do you suppose they want us to solve a mystery? You know, like they can’t move on until justice is served or something?”
Hope flipped the menu over and stared at the cocktails. After they’d left the house, the pair had headed straight for Hallucinations, a beachside bar, to drink a late lunch. “It’s a possibility I suppose.” She pointed at the concoction at the bottom of the cocktail menu. “Lost Your Bikini. That one sounds like me, doesn’t it?”
“Is it a mix of both light and dark rum and something teeth-achingly sweet?” Grace asked, eyeing the totchos. They were a mix of tater tots and nacho toppings and were to die for. So many calories, but after her day, she rationalized that she deserved the indulgence.
“You know me so well.” Hope grinned. “I hope it comes in a bucket.”
Grace snorted. “I’m sure you can just order more if necessary.”
“But that’s not as fun,” she whined.
After the encounter at the big white cottage, Grace couldn’t blame her. In fact, when the waiter arrived, she ordered the same drink and had to stop herself from asking for a double.
“We probably need to hit the gym after this.” Hope sighed as she glanced down at her belly.
Grace shook her head. “Forget it. After the day we had, I’m now planning to go home, take a long bath in the spa tub and read a book.”
“No you won’t. You’re much more likely to take a long walk on the beach and spend the rest of the night thinking about what that message means.”
“What message?” Joy asked as she slid into the booth next to Hope. Her long blond hair was pulled up into a bun that was secured with a No. 2 pencil.
Grace just looked at her and sighed. “You know, if I rolled in here with my hair like that, a pencil smudge on my cheek, and zero makeup, I’d be a candidate for a production of Night of the Living Dead. But this wench? She looks like she belongs on the pages of Maxim selling laptops or something.”
Hope snorted. “You’re right.” She peered at Joy. “How do you do that?”
Joy rolled her eyes. “Stop it. It’s just because I’m wearing a pencil skirt and this button-down shirt. I went to the courthouse right after a meeting for the new Arts Market co-op.”
“And you decided to dress like a hot schoolteacher for that?” Grace asked. “Why?”
“I’m on the board,