Free A Ghost to Die For by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

halls of San Francisco to the opera houses of San Diego, it was generally known that possessing a calling card of Ruby’s was a souvenir of her companionship, rather than a mere means of her introduction. Considering Ruby’s unique use of her personal cards, it is not a leap of the imagination to speculate that Ruby Red lent an exotic definition to the social transaction of calling cards.” Alex laughed. “In other words, Miss Ruby Red was a high-priced call girl.”
    “Some how, that does not surprise me. When was that article written?”
    “It says here, this information was extracted with permission, from the original article by Audrey Sinclair, contributing editor to the Old West Gazette, first published and copyrighted, October issue, 1982.”
    “That’s recent enough. Is the Old West Gazette still being published?”
    “I don’t think so. I do believe it was published here in San Diego. I can find out for you. A colleague at the university would know. Anything else?” Alex asked.
    “Not much in that article was about Ruby, yet she was important enough to use as an example. Still....”
    Alex leaned in closer and said, “I now that look of yours, your wheels are spinning, close your eyes Shannon, let you thoughts flow.”
    I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Alex was right, my brain was racing and my thoughts kept returning to that article, but why? Why? Why?
    “Send Claire,” I whispered.
    “What?”
    “My dream, or nightmare, or whatever you want to call it, that’s it. Oh, it is perfectly clear, don’t you see, Alex, it is not the phrase of send Claire , instead, the dream is about the last name of Sinclair. I’m sure of it. Audrey Sinclair, the editor who wrote that article, I need to get a hold of her.”
    “Okay, we will, if we can. Shannon this article was written thirty years ago.”
    “Move over, let me at Google. If Audrey Sinclair is still around, I’ll find her.”
    It took me all of ten minutes. “Bingo, here she is. Says here that after the Old West Gazette folded in 2002, Audrey retired and now only writes occasionally. And get this, she resides not far from here in Pacific Beach.” I turned to face Alex. “I’m going to Pacific Beach tomorrow. First thing in the morning I’ll call Audrey. Do you want to come with me?”
    “What if she won’t see you?”
    I rolled my eyes and said, “Alex, that is not an option.”
     
     
    Chapter 14
    That morning we left at eight. Alex drove and I told him about my conversation with Audrey Sinclair.
    “Here’s the directions,” I handed him the slip of paper.
    Alex glanced at the few sentences. “Seems straightforward. I know this area of Pacific Beach, it’s upscale. Should take us about fifteen minutes.”
    “Good. Audrey said she only had a few minutes to spare. Evidently she has some kind of crazy busy agenda for this morning. Anyway, I should warn you, Audrey sounds, uh, rather, shall I say, squawky, like a parrot. Hoarse, loud voice. Oh, and she cackles.”
    “How old is she?” Alex asked.
    “I can’t say, not for certain. Audrey said that after the Old West Gazette folded, she wasn’t disappointed. She had known it was just a matter of time and that she didn’t need to work, anyway. She was ready to retire. Alex, that was in 2002. Do you suppose she could be quite elderly?”
    “Did she sound old?”
    “Yeah, she sounded ancient, but very loud and like I said, she was squawky.”
    “I gather by your description you’re trying to be diplomatic and say Audrey does not strike you as a genteel elderly lady, like my Aunt Dora?”
    I laughed and said, “See, you do know me, and quite well.”
    “Okay, so Audrey Sinclair is not genteel and maybe she is loud, even crass, but she did agree to meet with you. How did you manage that?”
    “I was honest. I told her I was researching Ruby Red and that I enjoyed her article and asked if she had more information. She said she’d give me copies of her file. It was old news anyway