a concerned voice.
“I’m sorry to call you at this time of night.” I paused, trying to think of the right way to ask. “This may sound like a strange question, but I have to ask anyway.”
“Please, go ahead,” she nudged.
Steadying myself, I finally asked, “Were you just at my house?”
“No.” She paused, then asked, “What makes you ask that?”
If it hadn’t been her, then I had an even bigger question: who was it?
“This may sound strange, but I thought I saw you in my front yard out by the trees. When I noticed the person, they ran away.” I left out the part about Elvis because I already sounded wacky enough.
“I wasn’t there and if I had been you know I would have come to your door.”
Her voice sounded terse and a little taken aback that I’d even asked something like this, which was completely unlike her. Well, I guess I hadn’t known her that long, so maybe it was like her and I’d never witnessed it. She’d never lied to me that I knew of, so why would she start now?
I let out another deep breath. “Maybe I was just seeing things.”
“Perhaps it was a bird,” she said.
She sounded like she thought I’d lost my mind. Heck, maybe I had. Had I dreamed the whole thing? Maybe I’d been sleepwalking. Stranger things had happened. I pinched myself. Yeah, I was awake.
“Listen, Karyn I’m really sorry for bothering you.”
Candy Cherry snorted and Mr. Fine blew smoke in my face. I was going to take those cigarettes and shove them… oh, he wasn’t worth the energy.
“Would you like to chat for a little while longer?” She sounded more like her usual self.
“No, no. I’m just going to bed.”
“You’ve been through a lot. You just need to get some rest.”
It felt as if all the air had escaped my lungs. “I guess.”
Everyone kept saying that, but my tiredness could only be blamed so many times before I didn’t believe it anymore.
“If you’re sure you don’t need me?” she asked.
“I’m positive.”
“You’ll call me if you need anything? Don’t worry about the time either.”
Didn’t she know by now that obviously I didn’t watch the clock? Like an idiot I’d called her in the middle of the night to ask her if she’d been hiding behind a tree at my house. Yeah, I’d officially lost it. No wonder she’d acted strange when I’d called.
I hung up and trudged back to bed, ignoring the sneers from Candy Cherry and Mr. Fine. As soon as the show was over and I had time, they were so out of here. Don’t let the light hit you where the good Lord split you, nasty ghosts.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mindy, Cooper, and the television crew were set to pick me up within the hour. I’d already dressed in the nicest pair of black pants I owned and a silk turquoise blouse. I’d taken an hour on my makeup compared to my usual two minutes only to realize the show would have a hair and makeup person to do it for me.
It was a strange feeling to be hanging out with Elvis at my kitchen table. He sat across from me while I drank my morning coffee and enjoyed blueberry waffles. Mr. Fine leaned against the counter as if he was thoroughly bored with the whole scene. I wasn’t sure where evil Candy was, but I knew she was in the house somewhere—I sensed her. I thought she was in my bedroom looking around. She was the nosiest ghost I’d ever encountered. Maybe she’d been a kleptomaniac when she had been alive.
“So, tell me,” I said stuffing a forkful of food into my mouth. I chewed, swallowed, then continued the sentence. “What do you think of today’s music? I bet you visit your daughter a lot and your grandchildren.”
Hmm. I wondered if he popped in on Priscilla occasionally. That would be a bit awkward, seeing the ex. He probably couldn’t resist a visit every now and then. I wouldn’t ask; that was just too personal. I didn’t want to seem like a crazed fan. Oh, who was I kidding? I already looked like a crazed fan.
“Well, you know, I’m not really here to talk about me. I came here to help Callahan and you.”
So Elvis Presley was my guardian angel? Finally my luck was turning around. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. On second thought, if my luck was changing I wouldn’t have crazy ghosts lingering around and a shadow person stalking me.