Free Gem of a Ghost: A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Scotch to wash down a bottle of sleeping pills.”
    Emma weighed the truth of Joanna’s story. “I don’t recall hearing about that.”
    Joanna gave up a sad chuckle. “Of course you didn’t. The studio, his agent—everyone—managed to squelch it. He did it at the house in Malibu while I was at my office and Lainey was at school. His agent found him in our bedroom when he dropped by for a meeting. He called a private doctor. One used to dealing with celebrity screw-ups.” Another sour laugh. “Had it happened today, with all the social media and bloodthirsty gossip mongers, it probably would have been all over the news.” Joanna glanced at Emma. “Just like your ugly divorce.”
    Inside, Emma flinched, remembering how her personal life and the divorce battle with Grant had been featured on every celebrity news program, entertainment Internet blog, and supermarket checkout rag.
    Joanna straightened in her chair. “We also caught a break because it happened on the same day Jan Banks decided to kill his pregnant wife.”
    Jan Banks—another Hollywood horror. Banks had been the star of a long-running TV prime-time game show. On the day the network announced it was canceling the show, Banks returned to his home in Bel Air, shot and killed his young wife, then turned the gun on himself. When it happened, it had dominated the news for days.
    In his chair, Phil shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. “I remember that day.”
    Emma gave a slight nod. “Yes, me too. Jan and Grant were friends.” She reached over and patted Joanna’s arm. “I’m sorry, Joanna. I had no idea.”
    “A couple of weeks later, Max seemed almost his old self. He’d even stopped drinking. Driving over that cliff was the last thing any of us expected.”
    Joanna started to take a drink of her coffee but decided against it. “Lainey doesn’t know about the pills, Emma. I’d like to keep it that way. We told her Max had an allergic reaction to something he ate and went into anaphylactic shock. He was horribly allergic to shellfish, so it was an easy sell. Max’s death was difficult enough for her without adding an earlier cover-up.”
    Emma got up and went to the edge of the patio to think. It was a large area with several cozy arrangements of outdoor furniture, like a living room without roof or walls. She stood looking down the steps that led to the lower level and its large deck, cabana, and pool house. A few moments later, she returned to the table.
    “Close to his daughter or not, you still don’t think Max had anything to do with Lainey’s suicide attempts? It seems too coincidental to me that he doesn’t, especially if he showed up about the same time they started occurring.”
    “But you said ghosts can’t hurt us.”
    “Not physically,” Emma repeated, “but who knows what other influences they might be capable of. While I don’t want to believe that Max is behind this, Lainey is being tormented by something. She told me each time she tried to kill herself, it felt like someone was telling her to do it.”
    Joanna looked aghast. “I didn’t know that.”
    Emma fixed the other mother with an accusatory eye. “You would have if you’d taken the time to listen to the poor girl. Haven’t you even checked with her doctors about her progress?”
    With shaking hands, Joanna returned her sunglasses to her face. “I didn’t want to know,” she said in a clipped but quiet tone. “I couldn’t bear it, and I had other very serious matters to consider.”
    “More serious than your own child?” Emma wanted to slap her.
    “Halloooo,” a man called from the house.
    Phil and Emma turned toward the sound. Joanna didn’t.

eight
    Linwood Reid took the path from the house down to the patio at a confident clip. He was tall and lanky, dressed in conservatively colored golf apparel. On his head was a white cap from Hilton Head. He came toward them with a tall drink in his hand and a wide smile on his face.
    “Hello,