Audrey Claire - Libby Grace 01 - How to be a Ghost (12 page)

Before my energy fizzled, I yanked at the drawer, and it flew open.

“What was that?” Sharon asked. I had the feeling she was afraid to come into the office.

“Shush,” the mayor ordered. “Hello, this is Mayor Olivia Walsh of Summit’s Edge, and I want to speak to the president of your company. I have a complaint about one of your contractors. The work he did was shoddy, and I will be talking to my lawyer. Oh, yes, I will give you all the information you need as soon as you put me through to someone higher than a secretary! I have no use for
you
.”

I shook my head. No one had killed her yet? That could be why the accident frightened Sharon. She might think the lights were the attempt and wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. I didn’t blame her.

I blocked out the mayor’s voice when the small four by six handwritten note came into view. Tucked at the very back of the top drawer where anyone might find it in a search, it had to be the most incriminating piece of evidence I could think of.

The words jumped out at me, and I read them over and over.

Miles,

Please don’t leave me. I will do anything to make you stay.
Anything
. I love you.

George

I started to pick up the sheet but then drew my hand away. The police might want to dust it for prints. They might even analyze the handwriting. I frowned. Did Summit’s Edge police department have an officer skilled at handwriting analysis? I knew from a case a few years ago with possible food poisoning, the potato salad had to be sent to a lab. Everyone had waited around on pins and needles to know whose salad had been the culprit. What a scandal that was. Sadie had wanted it to be Mama, and she was hopping mad when it wasn’t. Turned out the local Piggly Wiggly was at fault and the matter cleared up. New management and fresher products fixed everything, and no one died.

This situation was different. Someone had committed murder. Did Miles place the note in the mayor’s desk to frame her? Or did the mayor steal it to turn it over to the police as evidence? After all, it looked like Miles intended to break off the relationship with George. Miles might be desperate enough to kill him to be free. Doing so might seem extreme to me, but one never knew what others would do when pushed to their limits.

I decided against taking the note since I would not be able to carry it once I turned invisible and closed the drawer. After pausing long enough to fill out the employment, application, I hurried from the office and breezed by the mayor and her frightened secretary. The mayor bellowed something about cranking the A/C higher as I made to exit the building.

Chapter Seven

I burst with pride in myself as I rode with Monica to take Jake to school. In fact, I even sang a few lines of a song blasting from the radio to Jake’s delight.

Jake impulsively leaned forward in the back seat and wrapped arms around my neck. “You sound great, Mom.”

I laughed, and Monica chimed in, “By that he means you sound less like a dying cat in a back alley today.”

I shook my head, grinning. “Thanks a lot. I feel so much better about myself.” I knew Monica was just joking. We loved each other very much and embraced our differences. From the beginning, I felt like she was the sister I never had, and I could tell she felt the same about me. Monica had a mouth on her, and she held nothing back when defending those she cared about, but to me that was just her, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“We’re here,” Monica announced a few moments later. “Kiss your mom, and let’s go, Jake.”

I expected Jake to blanch at showing me affection in the car right outside his school, but to my surprise, he hugged me and kissed my cheek. He drew away, and our gazes met. I had the feeling Jake sensed I wasn’t the same, and he needed to love me as much as he could now. Thinking that way broke my heart, and I pushed the thoughts from my head.

“Go on, monkey,” I teased. “I’ll see you after school.”

“Promise?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

He hopped from the car and walked with Monica into the building. I blew out a sigh of relief and glanced around. No way could I let go now, and I willed Monica to hurry back. When she returned, I groaned.

“Hurry, Monica,” I urged her.

She buckled in and threw the car into gear. “Are you losing energy?”

“Not really.” I gestured to the building. “All the people so close by are supplying me, but I hate pulling from kids. Plus, it’s not just the energy. I have to concentrate, and it’s kind of like working a math problem.”

Monica made a sound of commiseration. “I get it. We’re out of here.”

The moment we were away from the school, I relaxed and faded from view. I shut my eyes and worked on keeping myself at her side. Monica chattered about work, about Miles, about our lack of love life, and anything else that popped into her head. I found it interesting and satisfying in a way that she kept talking even though she had no evidence I remained in the car. She trusted me to be there, and it made me happy. I started thinking if I never got my body back I could just haunt Monica and Jake forever.

No, Libby, don’t think that way! You will get your body back.

“Hey, Monica?”

Monica broke off her diatribe. “Yeah?”

“Do you think Jake has figured out what’s happening to me?”

She frowned and glanced my way but then must have realized it made no sense and focused on the road. “Why would he?”

“I don’t know. He’s intelligent. He thinks outside the box all the time. The way he stares at me sometimes when I’m visible. They say kids…”

“Yeah, but if he figured out you’re a ghost, don’t you think he would have said so by now?”

“Maybe.” I chuckled. “He would probably think it was cool.”

“He would have to tell all his friends,” Monica agreed.

“And his dad.” I moaned.

“Which probably means he hasn’t figured it out yet.”

Monica’s conclusion encouraged me, but then I had a new thought. “Unless he’s somehow heard I’m a murder suspect, and he’s scared I’ll be whisked off to prison at any moment.”

“Stop worrying and focus on finding yourself,” Monica ordered.

We both laughed at her wording. I felt so cheered, I decided to practice being visible longer. Sitting across from my friend, I chatted with her as we drove along Main Street.

“Hey, how about we drive over to Windsor and see if there’s any information about you over there.”

I sat straighter. “That’s a great idea. Since I talked to Clark, I assume he called off the APB, so it’s not likely he’ll even pay attention to anything coming in that might be about my body.”

“Might be a good idea to check his office again too,” Monica said.

I agreed.

We drove out of Summit’s Edge by one of the lesser-used route and ended up on a quiet two-lane stretch of road alongside a river. I liked this area, and often during the warmer months, and even sometimes during the cold ones, people stood on the small bridge fishing. We were still a few miles away from the highway, so the area was remote. Less people meant I could be invisible, but I held my form to push myself further.

When the car jerked hard, and Monica veered toward the railing, I frowned at her. “Let’s get there in one piece.”

My friend’s face was tight, and she peered in the rearview mirror. “That wasn’t me, Libby.”

I looked back and found we were being tailed by another car, riding our bumper. “Wave him around. People think they own the road.”

Monica powered down the window a little and waved her fingers to signal to the other driver. In response, he rammed their car again. My stomach knotted.

“I’m going to stop and tell him about himself,” Monica vowed.

I shrieked. “Don’t stop. Just pull to the side.”

Monica’s voice rose. “I can’t pull over any more, Libby. He’s being a jerk. Go around!” She half leaned her head out the window, and I almost sighed in relief when the driver started to pull into the opposite lane for oncoming traffic. I squinted, trying to get better look at the driver, but all I had the impression of was a man with a ball cap pulled low over his eyes. I didn’t recognize the car, which meant nothing since I barely knew what kind of car Monica drove. Silver, was all I would have been able to tell the police.

The car swerved hard toward us and this time smashed into us with enough force to send Monica into the wooden slats, which were the only barrier to careening over the side of the bridge. Monica screamed, fighting with the steering wheel. I froze in shock as the slats splintered. Monica had the presence of mind to slam on the breaks, and my stomach lurched hearing the tires squeal. Another crunch of metal on metal and I realized our attacker was determined we would go over the side of the bridge. Then we were airborne.

The dark, rippling water hurtled toward me, and all concentration left. One minute I was inside the car. The next I floated above it invisible. I swooped down through the roof to find the car filling with water at a rapid pace. I knew from swimming in this river it was at least twenty-five feet deep in parts. Monica hadn’t lowered the window all the way, but she’d done so enough that soon, the car would be submerged.

“Get out of here, Monica. Hurry!”

When my friend didn’t answer, I looked at her, and the world fell apart. Blood stained Monica’s forehead, and she was unconscious. I called her name over and over, but she didn’t respond. Maybe if I could get her out myself. I first materialized and unbuckled her seatbelt. Then I tried to open her door. Nothing. I floated into position and solidified again to kick at the door. Talk about a real energy drain. If you need a drawer opened, I am the woman for the job. If it’s a crushed car door, I’m useless. To be fair, maybe most humans were as well, but knowing it didn’t help.

I switched my efforts to the passenger door, but I had no strength to push against the water pressure. The windshield would not break no matter how I kicked it, and holding my form proved more and more difficult. I sobbed and screamed Monica’s name as the water reached her neck. Gallons poured in through the half open window. The electronics were shot so I couldn’t even raise it to slow down the flow. Panic rose inside me. I could not lose my friend.

“Monica, wake up,
please!”

Monica moaned and then coughed, choking on the water. I reached out to raise her chin, but my fingers passed through her skin. I wailed—lost, afraid, alone. Something crashed down on the hood of the car, forcing the car into a steeper nosedive, but by the time I squinted through the half submerged windshield, all I caught was a blur. The next instant Monica’s door was torn from its hinges and Monica herself snatched from the car. I blinked to see Ian holding Monica tight to his chest, and he flew—or it could have been an incredible leap—straight up to the bridge.

Dazed, I floated out through the gaping hole he had left and then remembered my hurt friend. I zoomed up to where Ian had laid her beneath the shade of a tree. Steam rose off Ian’s shoulders and arms, and I spun to look up at the blazing hot sun. He really was a vampire, and he had risked his life to save Monica for me.

I grabbed for his arm but couldn’t get a grip. “Ian, you have to get out of here. We’re fine. Go home before you…um…” Melt? Explode? “We’re okay now. Thank you for saving Monica.”

He kept his head lowered, and I had the feeling he couldn’t even look at the sun without burning his eyes. After he gave me a once over, he was gone in the same blur he had appeared in. I sank down beside Monica and scanned the area around us. There was no sign of the other car, and I hoped he wouldn’t come back to finish the job. Soon a siren blared in the distance, and I wondered if Ian had phoned the police.

Clark’s squad car rolled to a stop, and I sighed in relief. He bent over Monica not even looking at me. No sense trying to appear. Getting Monica help was all that mattered. I stayed close the entire time when the ambulance arrived and the medics loaded my friend in the back of the vehicle to rush her to the hospital.

* * * *

I hovered above Monica’s bed wringing my hands, my heart aching. This was my fault. I didn’t know the specifics, of course, but I had been the one nosing around to find a killer and to find my body. Somehow, the killer had found out and wanted to get me out of the way. Okay, my line of thinking was a stretch, although not impossible. Worry over Monica did not produce rational thought patterns, especially when I recalled how I was unable to get her out of the car. My heart warmed thinking of how Ian had saved us. If it weren’t for him… I choked up thinking of it, and floated lower to my friend, lying so still in the bed. I brushed a hand over her cheek but made no connection. If I were to appear, I might seep energy from her, and I would rather be cast into the pit than do that.

Then a new thought occurred to me. If the killer did have my body, and he was in Summit’s Edge, wouldn’t he think it odd that I was still walking around? Maybe he did know, and it was a matter of time before he outed me as a ghost. With this new worry, I floated toward the floor and paced while chewing a nail. How much more would my world fall apart?

The door opened, and I whirled around to see Isabelle, Clark’s sister, come in. I’d forgotten she was a nurse. Just across the threshold, she paused and glanced around as if she searched for something. Her gaze passed right over me where I stood in the corner and moved on to Monica. Isabelle walked to the bed and checked Monica’s vitals. When she was done, she gently fluffed Monica’s pillow and straightened her covers. I sent her a silent thanks for taking care of Monica.

Weariness came over me, and I felt myself sinking into nothingness. I seemed to drift, and the scene before me faded away to a dull white. Peace descended, touching a desire within. I almost allowed it to take me when I heard Ian call my name. Surfacing slowly, I picked up Clark’s voice, and then the hospital room came into view. How much time passed? I glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. A mere hour remained until Jake got out of school. How had I lost hours, and where did I go?