Free southern ghost hunters 01 - southern spirits by angie fox Page A

began. 
    A harsh chill whipped through the police cruiser. "Zip it," barked a voice from the front.
    A ghostly figure glowered at us from the front passenger seat. He wore a tan Sugarland Sheriff's Department uniform with black trim and a gold badge. He had to be at least sixty, but he was built as solid as a drill sergeant. He wore his gray hair in a crew cut and his nametag read: Hale.
    He wasn't black and white, and he wasn't as translucent as Frankie, but he was definitely a ghost.
    I turned to Frankie. "How come I can see him in color?"
    The gangster shrugged. "He probably hasn't been dead that long."
    My heart lodged in my throat. So this Officer Hale was as real as Frankie or Josephine. I flopped against the seat. "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm seeing random ghosts now."
    "You asked," Frankie shot back.
    Hale raised his brows and I was almost perversely glad to see I'd surprised him. "She knows I'm here?"
    "Verity Long," I said, reaching out a hand and then thinking the better of it. I gave him a short wave instead. "Pleased to meet you." 
    The officer answered my wave with a stern frown. "I'd say you're in a lot of trouble, young lady." He gave Frankie a stony look. "And you've always been bad news."
    Frankie sneered. "How do you know? It looks like you just got here."
    "Word gets around," Hale shot back.
    Lordy. "Okay, stop." Maybe he could help us out. "We're suffering from a misunderstanding," I said. "Your police buddy seems to think there's a problem here and there isn't."
    Hale braced an arm on the seat between us as he twisted around. "Wydell's a damn fine officer. As for you…" He assessed me coolly. "What I don't get is why you had to leave that poor boy at the altar. Little Beau didn't deserve that."
    Heavens to Betsy. Now I was taking flack from the dead. 
    Besides, 'Little Beau' was twenty-eight. "I didn't leave him," I said automatically. "I mean, yes, I refused to marry him, but—"
    Hale grunted his disapproval. "You found out he didn't have as much cash as you thought and so you called it off. Guess my nephew was lucky to be rid of you."
    I drew in a sharp breath. "Hardly." Now I remembered who this guy was. One of Beau's uncles was a police officer who'd been killed in the line of duty. I barely knew him.
    "Now we've got you red handed, taking money from an old lady," he said.
    "Is that what you think?" Of all the… "Does Ellis know you're here?" 
    The ghost didn't answer. Instead, he pulled a pack of Marlboro cigarettes out of the front pocket of his patrol uniform. He knocked the pack twice against the seat and pulled out a smoke.
    I crossed my arms over my chest and hunkered down in my seat. "Those things can kill you, you know."
    He didn't even look at me as he felt his pockets for a lighter. "So can a bullet." 
    Frankie pulled out a box of Tiger Head matches from his front suit pocket and struck one against the seat of the cruiser. He held it out to Hale and the officer leaned forward for a light. He breathed in a long drag of his cigarette and nodded to Frankie. "I keep forgetting I left my lighter under the steps."
    "Now remember that was me doing you the favor, right?" Frankie said. Even in death, it seemed he wasn't above getting in good with the fuzz.
    Smoke curled from Hale's nostrils. "I ain't that hard up for a cigarette."
    The door opened and Ellis stood outside. He didn't acknowledge the ghost cop, or Frankie. Of course, why would he? I was the only one living this crazy nightmare. "Come on out." He didn't look happy. I hoped it meant good news for me.
    I shimmied out of the car and saw Maisie behind him. "I'm very proud of you," she said, giving him an affectionate squeeze on the arm, even as he grimaced at her words. "Now I'm going home. It's late and I need my rest."
    "Stay here for a minute," he said, as she began her way down the road, "I'd be glad to drive you." 
    She kept going toward her house, her shotgun hitched over her shoulder. "I'm fine," she said, waving him off.