Free Ghost Walking (A Maggie York Paranormal Mystery Book 1) by Ally Shields

around. Disbelief, then a sense of relief, even elation flooded over her. He was gone. Maggie grinned. Who knew it could be that easy?
    Still marveling over her success, Maggie entered her apartment, threw her clothes in the washer, and quickly showered. She’d changed into sweats and wandered into the kitchen to check out the contents of the fridge when she heard a noise. Unidentified but distinct enough to draw her attention. She tensed and automatically reached for her gun. It was still in the laundry room where she’d left it.
    Hurst? But he’d never made noise before or entered her apartment. Mice? Rats?
    Maggie flattened against the wall and listened, her heartbeat racing. Seconds ticked off slowly. When the sound wasn’t repeated, she pushed away from the wall and stepped toward the living area for a better look around. There was nothing. She must be jumpy from the encounter with Hurst.
    Her appetite had fled, but she returned to the kitchen for a soda. A little carbonation to settle her overactive nerves. She opened the refrigerator and crouched to grab a cola from the bottom shelf.
    A pistol shot rang out; a thud hit the fridge door. Maggie dropped to the hardwood floor and rolled behind the counter. Damn, damn, damn. Why hadn’t she gotten her gun? The kitchen drawer had a few knives. Not a good defense against a gun, but if he got close enough… She moved into a crouch and reached a hand toward the drawer.
    The front door slammed. Then silence. Maggie peeked over the counter. When no one shot at her, she sprang to her feet, grabbed her phone from the counter, and dialed 911. Retrieving her SIG Sauer from the laundry, she ran to the front door. The hallway was empty, except for a man looking cautiously out his door. She waved him back inside and took the stairs to the first floor, checking the street in front and then the side alley. She shook her head in disgust. The intruder was long gone.
    Two minutes later four street cops arrived, and she explained what happened. Two of them immediately checked the rest of her apartment, and two went downstairs to look around outside. She was staring at the bullet hole in her refrigerator door when Coridan walked in. Brandt was only a few seconds behind. She noticed neither spoke to the other.
    Coridan put an arm around her. “Are you OK? Did you see who it was?”
    “I didn’t see anything.” She explained what had happened. “When I heard the door slam, I got my gun and followed, but he was already out of the building.”
    “He?” her partner prompted.
    “Sorry, figure of speech. I didn’t even get a glimpse of the shooter. A neighbor guy was looking out his door in the hallway. Maybe he saw something.”
    “We’ll check it out.” Coridan frowned at her. “So you didn’t have your gun handy? Good thing he ran, or you could have been in real trouble. Must have been a burglar who didn’t expect to find anyone at home.”
    She shook her head. “I had the lights on. And the shower had been running just minutes before.” Maggie winced, thinking what could have happened if he’d caught her in the shower. From now on her SIG would go everywhere with her.
    “All that’s important is he didn’t get a chance to hurt you,” Coridan said.
    “I don’t think he wanted to,” Brandt said mildly. He’d been looking at the fridge door during the conversation. “Seems more like a warning, a threat of some kind. Any unusual phone calls lately? Anyone hanging around, following you?”
    She shook her head again. “Nothing out of the ordinary.” Except a ghost. And Maggie was pretty sure Hurst wasn’t carrying a gun. She frowned. But it was odd Hurst had been around tonight. Oh god. Had he tried to warn her? Was the intruder already inside her apartment…waiting? She shivered and rubbed her arms. She hadn’t checked. She’d assumed her apartment was safe.
    “Did you think of something?” Brandt asked.
    Maggie met his gaze. Did he have to notice everything?