Free Little Ghost Lost (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 5) by J.D. Winters

breath. “Yes,” I said haltingly. “Yes. Wow. I’m really glad you weren’t there with me.”
    “But when I went in with you, they stayed hidden.”
    I nodded. “But they were really worked up. I don’t think they would have held back for anyone this time.”
    She leaned over, studying my face. “What was it?” she asked softly. “What were they trying to do to you?”
    I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and shook my head. “Let’s get out of here,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it as we go.”
    I started to back out of the driveway, looking toward Celinda’s big old Craftsman next door. The police cars were still there, but the paramedics had taken the body away. A long dark sedan had just pulled up. And out of it stepped my boss, the impaler himself.
    I stopped the car and gaped at him. At first I assumed he’d come to check up on what I was doing and had pulled into the wrong driveway. But no. He was definitely on his way into Celinda’s house. I wasn’t sure what to make of that one.  
    “Hey,” Jill said. “Isn’t that…?”
    “Yeah, it is,” I responded, finally beginning to get my heart rate back down to something close to normal. “I wonder what he’s doing over there?”
    “Maybe he was a friend of Celinda’s husband.”
    “Maybe so.” I shrugged, not really all that interested. At this point, I just wanted to go. I drove out of the neighborhood, then gave Jill a quick description of the scene I’d fought my way through inside the house, leaving out what they were yelling at me about.  
    “Wow, I should have gone back in with you,” she said stoutly.  
    I pulled up in front of Mad For Mocha and sighed, looking at her affectionately. “Maybe that would have kept it from happening,” I agreed. “Okay, from now on, I’m never going in alone. Never.”
    She gave my arm a squeeze. “Tell you what. Get your boss to give that job to someone else. Tell him you’re allergic to the plants on that lot. Anything—just get out of having to go there.”
    “Good idea,” I told her, though I knew I wasn’t going to follow up on it. Good old Vlad was just looking for an excuse to let me go and hire his niece in my place. I was going to have to think of some other solution.  
    I left Jill at the Mocha and headed home. It was well past noon by now and I was hoping to catch Bebe and find out how things had gone with the babysitting experience.  
    “It’s kind of weird,” she said when I found her in the back bedroom. “You know, I can sort of feel her. I can feel emotions, feel vibes. And every now and then I think I can catch sight of something….I can’t really describe it.” She flopped down on the bed beside where Mandy was curled up. “I wish I could see her,” Bebe said softly, her voice heavy with longing.  
    Mandy smiled and moved over to curl up against Bebe. My breath caught in my throat as I watched. Bebe closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Mandy’s little arms came around her and she held on tightly.  
    “She’s cuddled up against you right now,” I whispered.
    Bebe nodded, her eyes still closed. “I can almost feel her,” she whispered back. “Sweet baby.”
    I slipped away and went out back to see if I could find Aunty Jane, hoping to get her take on what had happened at the house. I searched up and down the rows of brightly blooming flowers, enjoying the colors and the scents, but I couldn’t find her. The parrot yelled at me, and I called a few insults back at him, and went back into the kitchen. Normally, Bebe would have been there, making me lunch and chattering about her day and all the work she had to do that afternoon.  
    But Bebe was taking care of Mandy. Taking care of a ghost she couldn’t see. If only I’d had more time, I would have searched harder for Aunty Jane. She was going to have to do something about this—but I didn’t for the life of me know what.
    I went back to the bedroom to give Bebe the lowdown on Jerry