Zanita came to, glanced around her at the sea of stunned yet prudently interested faces, and cleared her throat again.
A dimple appeared in Tyber's left cheek as he silently dared her to continue relating the event without getting herself in trouble. He reclined into the couch with an air of unsuppressed enjoyment of the outlandish scene that was unfolding.
"Anyway," she continued more slowly, obviously monitoring her words carefully, "The next thing I knew, there was this light in front of my face—"
Tyber sat forward, instantly alert. "What did the light look like?"
"Well, at first it was sharp, very defined. Then it seemed to soften and spread as it moved over to the bookcases along the wall by the desk."
"Was it directly in front of you?"
"Not exactly, it—"
"Did it have any scent?" Mark interrupted in ghost-hunter euphoria.
Zanita scrunched up her nose as if she were trying to recall the scent and the only way to do it involved "proboscis tae bo." Tyber thought it was extremely cute. Not that he would ever tell her.
"There was an herbal scent, Mark, as well as the smoky smell of the logs burning in the fireplace."
"Weren't you frightened, Mrs. Captain?" Blooey was bug-eyed with morbid fascination. Even Hambone seemed to lean in toward her so as to not miss any scrap of this deliciously grim tale. Pirates always love a good yarn, especially if it involves something spine-tingling.
"It's strange, Blooey, I thought I would be terrified being alone and confronting this supernatural phenomenon, but I wasn't. Oh, I admit, at first I was kind of in shock and my heart was beating a tattoo, but I never felt in any kind of danger."
"And you weren't." Calendula put her hand on her shoulder. "As I said, there has never been a recorded incident in which a spirit has ever truly harmed anyone." She chuckled as she added, "Although many people have harmed themselves by being panic-stricken. All kinds of silly accidents have occurred, but you really can't blame a ghost for that."
Hubble rolled his eyes. "No, you can't." This conversation was too much for him. The others crowded him out and ignored him, interested to hear the rest of the juicy tale.
"The ghost sort of hovered for a few instants, then drifted over to the bookcases slowly. I realize now, it was trying to tell me something."
"Your shirt's misbuttoned," Tyber drawled.
"No, not that." Zanita bit her lip. "I was naked at the time, so—"
Hubble coughed this time.
Zanita's cheeks flushed.
Tyber chuckled, a deep, low, sensual sound that caused Calendula and Auntie and Todd to actually suck in their collective breaths. Not many were immune to physicists, it seemed.
"I mean your shirt's misbuttoned right now, baby."
"Oh." She narrowed her eyes at him. This was not the first time they had been on an investigation and her shirt had ended up misbuttoned! And both of those occurrences had evolved around Tyber and a bathtub.
Each time, the rascal had the nerve to bring it to everyone's attention! By the satisfied expression on that oh-so-arresting face, there was no doubt that he knew what she was remembering. Marble floors and steam heat.
The man had a penchant for causing trouble.
"So then what happened, Zanita?" Mark could not wait another second to hear the rest of the story.
"Well, the hazy blob seemed to get brighter for a second. Then, just like that"—she snapped her fingers—"it went, disappeared completely! That was when this book crashed to the floor as if an unseen hand had pulled it off the shelf."
They all gasped. Except for Hubble, who snorted, and Tyber, who appeared pensive. Hippolito remained, as ever, unconscious on the floor.
"The book—what is it, darling?" An exhilarated Auntie tried to read the title upside down. Unfortunately, it was now covered by Zanita's palm.
Everyone waited with bated breath.
Would the book be something arcane and slightly annoying like Faust? Or would it be foreboding with a nightmarish aftertaste like Poe? Maybe it would be witty and silly like Coward! What had the ghost chosen?
"Prominent Homes of
Nantucket
," Zanita merrily informed them.
A dead silence filled the room not unlike that which occurs when the plug is pulled out of a life support system.
Finally, Todd spoke. "I, ah, don't recall that book in our collection."
"Why would you?" Hubble scoffed.
Todd scratched his ear, completely at a loss. "What is it about? Is it a novel? Have you had a chance to look at it yet?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. It's exactly what it seems, I'm afraid. A collection of boring stats and vignettes on the property of prominent families that lived on
Nantucket
between
and nineteen sixty-five. It doesn't have much to recommend it."
"Geesh." Mark seemed deflated. "I was hoping there would be a reason why he picked that particular volume."
"We don't know that 'it' is a he," Calendula added. "Are you sure there is nothing of interest in there?"
"Absolutely nothing. I went over it three times with a journalist's eye for ferreting out details. Believe me, it's a dud." Zanita hesitated. "But still, it's all very exciting. Maybe the ghost is farsighted and picked the wrong book?" She shrugged.
Tyber watched her but said nothing.
"I think we should go to your room and see if there are any residual readings." Calendula turned to Tyber. "Do you mind?"
"Be my guest."
"Mark, let's take the Geiger counter. I think that's our best bet, since the event is past. By the way, Zanita, did you feel any change in temperature in the room?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did it get colder suddenly?"
Zanita's brow furrowed. "No. No, it didn't."
"Okay. Just thought to ask. Let's go." They all marched out of the library to go to the room.
Hippolito remained behind to keep close tabs on the library carpet.
He began as he ended.
With a snore.
"So what was in the book?" Tyber caught up with her in the hallway, pulling her behind as the others went ahead.
"How do you know something was in the book?" She brushed some curls out of her eyes as she gazed up at him.
"The same way you knew there was something at the top of that circular staircase."
She batted her lashes at him.
"C'mon, baby." He snaked his arm around her waist. "Give," he mouthed at her.
"All right." She stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his ear. "There's a connection to our lovely and radiant entry from the State of
"Sasenfras, hmm?"
"Yes. It seems our dour, more-than-strange caretaker originally hailed from
Nantucket
. Or his family did."
"And… ?"
Zanita rocked back on her heels to stare him in the face. "And what?"
"What is the relevance of that?"
"I have no idea, but I am sure there is some."
The right side of his mouth tipped up in a half grin. Yep. Enjoyment. "You think, huh?"
"Mmmm-hmmm."
"I see."
"And you're going to figure it out."
"Really." He rubbed her nose with his own in a very teasing way.
She caught the tip of his nose in a quick nibble-kiss. "Yessss!"
"You're just smug because you think you've seen a ghost." He sipped at her bottom lip.
"Think?" She paused and frowned up at him. "I did see a ghost, Tyber."
"Show me," he breathed against her lips. Zanita was not at all sure he was talking about the haunt.
"Okay." She slipped out of his arms and, taking his hand, led him down the hall to their room.
"Tell me how the book fell, Curls."
"Well, I was still in bed across the room when it happened, but as I said, the light seemed to diffuse right over that spot." She pointed to the empty slot in the bookcase. "That was when the book came shooting out and fell to the floor."
"Hmm." Tyber walked up to the built-in bookcase and stared pensively at the wall. He ran his finger lightly over the wall behind the empty space and checked the books on each side of it.
"I didn't see anything unusual. Do you?" Zanita came up to stand beside him. The others were all with Mark, checking the Geiger counter.
"No. Looks okay." He rubbed his jaw. "So you went to get the book when the coast was clear— which reminds me, I'm not leaving you alone in here again."
Zanita smiled softly. "I was never in any danger, Doc. You heard Calendula."
"Yeah, I heard her. And I'm not leaving you alone. And be sure to tell your aunt to lock her door at night."
Zanita beamed. "Tyber! You're worried about Auntie!"
A dull flush washed over his face. He chose not to respond to that. "So you went and picked up the book. Was it lying on the carpet or the floor?"
Zanita put her hands on her hips. "Really, Tyber, I don't see what—"
"Humor me, I'm a physicist." Hmm, great bumper-sticker. He decided then and there to make one up for all the guys at the local.
"It was on the floor."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. It fell straight down like a leaded… book."
"You took me literally, didn't you?"
"What?"
"Never mind. Let's reenact this. You bend down, pick up the book—"
"No, first I glanced up at the empty slot above my head."
"Good. And?"
"Then I picked it up."
"Okay."
Zanita rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I think you just bait me."
"Why would you think that, baby?" He knelt down and carefully examined the floor, running his fingertips over the wood.
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
"Nope. Didn't expect to."
"Why are you doing it, then?"
"So you'd ask me if I found anything." He grinned at her, revealing perfect white teeth.
Zanita exhaled heavily in mock annoyance.
"By the way, was the front cover facing you or away from you when it fell?"
"Neither."
His focus remained on the floor. "To the left, right, what?"
"Actually it was up."
"Up?"
"Ahuh. It fell open like a tent."
"It fell spine up?" He seemed surprised.
"Yes."
Still kneeling on the floor, Tyber looked up at the slot just as she had done. Whereupon he grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks." He handed the book back to her.
"What? What does it mean?" Zanita hopped next to him as they left the room.
Tyber bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Uh-uh. Not until I piece it all together."
"But you have a segment?" She worried her lip.
"Yep." He walked a few steps forward, stopped, and turned back. Over his shoulder, he gave her the most sensual, male, "I got that one and I'm not gonna tell you, don't you love me?" look.
"Hmf." Zanita swished by him, book clutched tightly to her chest.
His provocative laughter followed her down the hall.
If there was anything more irritating than a sexy physicist-pirate (who was also a genius), Zanita had yet to meet it.
"Did you find anything, Mark?" Zanita tossed the book onto an end table in the library.
Mark tramped back into the room. "No. No readings on the Geiger at all. I was hoping we could still pick up something even though the event had passed."
"Does that happen at times?"
"Yes. When Calendula and I were in
England
this past spring, we had a case where we were able to catalog several reverberations many minutes after the sighting actually occurred."
"How long have you been working with Calendula, Mark?" Tyber sank into a nearby Morris chair.
"For about five years now."
"How did you two hook up?"
Mark crossed the room and sat in the chair opposite Tyber. "It was one of those remarkable career stories that you always pray will happen to you. Calendula had been an astrologist for several years before she realized she had mediumship abilities. One thing led to another, and it wasn't long before she was sought out by the Society. She began doing investigations just as I was graduating from tech school. Of course, she was already well known by then. You can imagine my surprise when she wrote to me, asking me if I'd like to join her team as a technical investigator."
"She asked you?" Tyber flicked on the light that rested on the table between them.
"Yes. She had heard about me from a mutual friend and knew my knowledge of electronic equipment would be invaluable to her research. I was always interested in the supernatural, so I jumped at the chance to work with her. So it was because of her that I got into this field in the first place."