Free Ghost of a Gamble (Granny Apples Mystery) by Sue Ann Jaffarian

done with Kelly. Emma had invited Tanisha to visit them in California when Kelly came home over her last Christmas break. At first wary, Tanisha agreed and came for the visit the week between Christmas and New Year’s. She and Kelly divided their time between the Los Angeles area and Julian, the small mountain town where Granny was from and where Emma maintained a vacation home across from Phil’s ranch. Granny and Emma also spent a lot of time with Tanisha, and included some time with Milo. By the time Tanisha headed home, she was more comfortable with her abilities and they had determined that for now Tanisha seemed only to be able to see faint images and hear some audio from the spirits. Whether that would increase in time, they would just have to wait and see.
    Emma had liked Tanisha Costello immediately. The daughter of a famous crime novelist and a college professor who died when she was young, Tanisha was a budding journalist, tough on the outside and as soft and vulnerable inside as a high-end caramel. Emma had taken her under her wing like an abandoned chick. Something Kelly accused her of doing with many of her friends, but Emma noticed Kelly’s accusation came with a sense of pride and amusement.
    Emma’s maternal instincts and observation told her Laura was very different from Tanisha and Kelly. Judging from her language and appearance, she was probably less educated than both and most likely from humbler beginnings, but she had the same independence and fire. She also had the early signs of advanced medium and clairvoyant skills. Skills that went far beyond the telling of fortunes to eager tourists.
    “So which part are we tackling first?” asked Granny, who perched on the bench next to Emma. “The murder, finding out why Lenny’s here, or that secret door that’s supposed to open for you?”
    Emma fiddled with the label on the water bottle, picking at a loose edge. “We can’t do anything about what she said to me personally until it presents itself, and right now only a headache is making itself known.” Emma dug into her bag until she located a small container of aspirin. She shook two into her hand and tossed them into her mouth, followed by another pull on the water bottle.
    “As for the murder,” Emma continued in a low voice after a few seconds, “who knows if Laura’s vision was literal.”
    The ghost shivered. “She said it was happening right then, while we were with her.”
    “Yes, but you know sometimes psychics aren’t always on schedule with visions. If there was a murder, it could have been in the past, or in the future.”
    “But she also said the spirit of whoever was murdered is going to be locking heads with Lenny the Lightbulb.”
    “Again,” Emma noted, being cautious, “if she was literal in her prediction.”
    Granny got up and faced Emma, her hands on her hips. At that moment a couple walked by, hand in hand, heads together, laughing. They went right through the ghost without a second thought. Granny stomped her foot. “Boy, I hate that!”
    Emma could only shake her head and hope the aspirin would do its magic in short order.
    Granny stomped her foot again. This time at Emma. “Aren’t you forgetting the most important part of our time with Laura?”
    Emma knew what Granny was getting at, but chose instead to look up and watch the current batch of people fly by on the zip line.
    “Lenny was there,” Granny went on, a deep scowl on her face. “He said Nemo’s boys were coming after you. I would think you’d be focused a little more on that, don’t ya think?”
    Emma picked again at the label, this time until she had it half off the plastic bottle. “I’m not sure Lenny, Spirit of the Lightbulb, can really be considered an oracle of doom. Do you?”
    Granny leaned in closer. “And denial is just a river in Egypt.”
    Emma yanked the label off the bottle and shot a look at Granny. “And where in the world did you hear that phrase?” She sighed and held up