Semi-Psychic Life (Glimmer Lake #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,25
into the sun. “Who’s the chick in the purple?”
“Monica?” Val looked at him from her corner of her eye. “That’s Monica. She was married to Gilbert Vasquez.”
“Was married?”
“Gil died a couple of years ago. Heart attack, really sudden.”
“That’s fucked up.” He hadn’t taken his eyes off Monica. “That minivan hers?”
Val waved a finger at West. “Don’t disrespect the minivan. She loves the minivan.”
“She needs to be driving a muscle car with curves like that,” he said under his breath, his eyes still locked on Monica. “Take care, Val.”
“You too. I’ll call you.”
Val walked toward Monica and Robin, hopping over the low shrubs near the sidewalk. “He doesn’t know anything about Josh, but he’s gonna ask around about the Maserati.”
Monica said, “He’s staring at my car. He better not be judging my van.”
“Pretty sure he’s staring at your ass, not your car.” Val crawled into the second row. “Come on. Let’s head back. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
Chapter 8
“Why would he be staring at my ass?” Monica started her car. “What’s wrong with my ass?”
Robin said, “I’m pretty sure he thinks nothing is wrong with your ass.”
“You mean he was… like, checking me out?” Her voice rose. “What?”
Val snorted. “Monica, you can’t be serious.”
“He’s like TV-biker hot.”
Robin shook her head. “False modesty doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m just saying I’m in jeans and a hoodie. It’s not like I’m dressed up.”
“Pretty sure your ass does not need dressing up to attract attention,” Val said. “But getting back to Josh, did you guys find any leads?”
Robin said, “Monica, turn down that alley behind West’s garage.”
“Right.”
“So you did find something?”
Robin looked over her shoulder. “Not exactly something. More like someone.”
Monica drove past two porta-potties and stopped near a trio of large shipping containers across the alley from West’s garage.
“What are we looking at?”
Robin rolled down her window, and the cold air rushed in. “Hey, Harry. You still around?”
Val’s mouth formed an O, but she stayed silent. Now she knew what Robin was talking about. Someone might not be living, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a valuable source of information.
“Hey, Harry?”
Monica asked, “Did you bring your sketchbook?”
Robin shook her head. “I’ll bring it tomorrow and we can try again. He’s gone.” She turned to Val. “Pretty sure Josh has been around here recently. I can’t say for sure, but I think this ghost saw him around the shipping containers.”
“The shipping containers?”
“Weird, right?”
Robin asked, “Did Josh keep anything in storage? Would he have used these?”
“I don’t think so. I think these are West’s.”
“Interesting,” Monica said. “Then why would Josh have been hanging around West’s storage unit?”
“Are we sure he was?” Val asked. “How well do ghosts tell time? Could it have been years ago?”
“Completely possible,” Robin said. “The best thing to do would be to ask about hairstyles or things like that, because ghosts are super bad at telling time as far as I can tell.”
Monica continued through the alley. “Okay, so tomorrow bring your sketchbook, but right now I think we better head out. It’ll take us an hour to get back to Glimmer Lake.”
“Where are we going tomorrow?” Robin said. “I can leave earlier tomorrow.”
“I’d like to visit Luxury Pro Autoworks and take a look at Josh’s house,” Val said. “If we have the time.”
“Do we need permission from what’s her face?” Monica asked.
“Who? Rachel?” Val shrugged. “I’ll call her, but I know where Josh left a key.”
“He told you where he left a key to his place?”
“Yep. I’m still on his life insurance too.”
“He has life insurance?”
“Weird, right? It’s like the only responsible thing he ever did. He got a big-ass life insurance policy right when Jackson was born. He was racing bikes right around then, remember?”
“Oh, I do remember that,” Monica said. “I think Gil was the one who harassed him into it. Glad he kept it up though.”
“Me too.” Val took a deep breath. “But I really, really hope I don’t have to think about that anytime soon.”
They pulled into Misfit to drop Val off just as she saw Americano Asshole pulling out of the parking lot at high speed. He was driving a silver-grey sports car Val didn’t recognize instead of his usual blue BMW.
“That guy,” she muttered. “He’s such a jerk. Rich as hell and yet so cheap.”
“That’s annoying,” Robin said. “Have you met his wife though? She’s really sweet. She bought a dresser from me last month. Said it was for her new ‘me room.’ I thought she was so cute.”