Free Unbinding Love: An Angela Panther Mystery Novella (The Angela Panther Mystery Series) by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

my eye occasionally and I’d laugh as he’d drop into a hole and jump out. When he didn’t come out of one, I pushed myself up and hobbled toward it.
    “Where’re you going?” Mel asked.
    I pointed to the hole. “Benny’s in there and hasn’t come out.”
    “Wait for me,” she said, then pushed herself up and hobbled behind me.
    “Oh crap,” we both said in unison.
    “Well, that ain’t good, “Ma said, staring into the hole.
    Just then, Aaron showed up.
    “What on God’s earth are you two thinking? This is an active crime scene—“
    Mel and I glanced back and him and then pointed into the hole. When he saw what we were staring at at the bottom of the hole, he grabbed his radio on the side of his shirt and said, “This is Detective Banner, I need the medical examiner over at the Marx property. We’ve got a body in the back yard.” 
    “Who do you think it is?” Mel asked.
    “From the looks of him, he’s not been there long,” Aaron said.
    “Come on, Benny boy, come here!” The ghost-dog was still in the hole with the body, and it freaked me out. The man lay there, face up, covered with only a thin layer of dirt. Contrary to what people think, unless you’re asleep or your eyes are already closed, they don’t automatically close when you die. If they’re open, they stay open. This guy’s eyes were wide open when he took his last breath, and from the look on his face, he was pretty shocked too. It made my skin itch from the inside.
    “Is he here?” Mel asked.
    “Who?” Aaron asked.
    She pointed to the man in the hole. “Him. Is he here?”
    “Oh, you mean his ghost?”
    “No, Santa Claus.”
    “You’re asking me a question I can’t answer.”
    “Actually, I’m asking Angela.” She poked me in the shoulder. “Hey, you listening?”
    “Ouch. What?”
    “Is the dead guy here?”
    I glanced around just to make sure. “The only dead one with us is Benny the dog. The rest took off.”
    “Even Fran?”
    “Yup.”
    “Odd.”
    “Something’s up with Bill,” I said. “He really wanted me to open the box. The box!” I grabbed the box and gave it to Aaron. “The combination is one-zero-two-five. Whatever’s inside means something to Bill, and I know you’re gonna think this is crazy but I think he killed his wife.”
    The eye roll he gave me confirmed my suspicions.
    The medical examiner arrived, along with his team and a crew of crime scene technicians. Benny was not pleased. He ran circles around them all, barking and nipping at their heels. I watched as one tech kept glancing and swiping at his feet, and wondered if he also had the gift. When I caught a glimpse of him crouched down and talking to Benny, I knew. He noticed me noticing him talking to nothing and quickly stopped, so I walked over to him and whispered in his ear. “The Golden’s name is Benny. Your secret’s safe with me.”
    His mouth about hit the ground, but when it had time to sink in, he smiled and said, “Thank you.”
    We stood around the make shift grave while the ME asked us questions.
    “Do you know the man?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Find any ID?”
    “No, sir.”
    He leaned into the hole. “Looks like a recent death. Body is clearly in rigor, smell is limited.”
    Praise God, thank you, Jesus. The last thing I needed was Mel or I throwing up all over a crime scene. Again.
    Mel leaned on her good foot and grabbed hold of Aaron. “The victim appears to be approximately mid-thirties.”
    I might have thought too soon about the puking at a crime scene thing. Mel playing detective made me want to hurl.
    I leaned in on my good foot, but didn’t use Aaron as a support. I should have because I lost my balance and went tumbling into the hole, head first. I flung my arms out in front of me, hoping they’d stop my face from hitting the dead guy and the dirt.
    They didn’t.
    I heard the crack first and felt the pain second. I just wasn’t sure which pain it was. The pain of my fingers snapping or the pain