Free A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) by J A Whiting Page B

dressed in eighteenth-century garments, the ghost of Lin’s ancestor, Sebastian Coffin, stood glimmering in the sunlight.

11
    “ W ho is it ?” Viv gripped her cousin’s arm. “Where is it?” Even though she couldn’t see ghosts, her head moved from side to side scanning the area.
    Lin made eye contact with the ghost of her ancestor. “It’s Sebastian,” she whispered. “He’s standing across the street.”
    “Thank heavens he’s on that side of the road.” Viv’s grip on Lin’s arm loosened a bit. “Tell him to stay over there.”
    “He won’t come closer if you’re with me.” Lin closed her eyes for a second trying to clear her mind in the hopes the ghost would send her a mental message. She tried to relax her muscles and calm her thoughts, but her brain was jumping from thing to thing trying to determine the reason for Sebastian’s appearance.
    Lin sighed and opened her eyes. The ghost was still standing in the same spot. She marveled at how beautiful the atoms were that made up his form, both transparent and shimmering at the same time. Lin smiled, amused by the fact that tourists and island natives bustled by the ghost with no idea that a spirit stood so close to them and for a moment, she felt lucky to be able to see the ones who had passed. She gave Sebastian a slight nod.
    “What’s he doing?” Viv’s voice sounded less shaky.
    “Just looking over here.”
    “Is he communicating with you?”
    “No, just looking.” Lin kept her eyes locked on Sebastian’s. “Let’s stand quietly in case he tries to tell me something.” Her hand went to her necklace and she ran her finger over the horseshoe on the pendant. The necklace was once owned by Sebastian’s wife, Emily.
    As Lin watched, it seemed that the particles that made up the ghost’s body started to glow brighter and she couldn’t tell if it was just the daylight and the way the sun was striking the atoms that made him glow or if it was the atoms themselves that sparkled so brightly. She felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off of the ghost even though the gleam was becoming so glaring that it almost caused pain to look at him.
    Unconsciously, Lin raised her hand to shield her eyes and then the ghost’s light started to dim. The atoms began their now familiar swirling and Lin knew Sebastian was about to disappear. The first time the ghost had shown up in her yard several months ago, he had frightened and alarmed Lin and she hoped that he would never appear again, but now, when he made one of his rare appearances, her heart filled with happiness and when he left, a twinge of sadness pinched her.
    “He’s gone.” Lin blinked several times at the spot where the ghost had stood.
    “Did he tell you anything? Why did he come?” Viv let go of her cousin’s arm.
    Lin shrugged. “I’m not sure why he came. He didn’t tell me anything.”
    “These ghosts,” Viv huffed. She led the way up the sidewalk to the center of Nantucket town. “Why can’t they be more straightforward? Everything’s a guessing game. Everything is a puzzle. What if we’re not good at puzzles? Well, you’re good at puzzles, but you know what I mean.”
    While her cousin continued with her fussing, Lin couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t matter that Viv was right about the spirits, the ghosts did things in their own way and in their own time.
    The only thing Lin could do was try to figure out what it all meant.

    * * *
    W alking up the street to Viv’s bookstore, Lin spotted Anton hurrying down the sidewalk towards them. The historian had his head down and looked deep in thought as he stepped briskly around the people strolling along. Anton carried a black leather folder under his arm and was about to enter the bookstore, when Lin called to him. He stopped abruptly and glanced around suspiciously not realizing who spoke his name.
    Lin and Viv approached.
    “It’s just us,” Viv told the short, wiry man. On her way inside to check on her employees,