Page 10 of Ghostly Bother (Ghostly #9)

"Easy enough as long as we have cheese. You pick the soup while I get Eden to come inside and talk.

" Lance headed to the sliding glass door and pushed it open.

He stepped out back to find Eden sitting with Ray and Bethany.

"Eden, can you come inside to talk now?" He was still super upset about her invading his shower, but he wouldn't get answers out of her if he started yelling at her now.

"It's about time." She floated up and without another word she drifted through the wall and into the house.

Ray shook his head. "She's an interesting one."

"Rude one." Bethany sighed.

"Tell me about it." Lance frowned. "She walked into the bathroom as I was showering. She's not my favorite person. You two are welcome to join us if you want."

"Thanks, but I think we'll stay out here," Bethany shook her head. "She's different."

Lance sighed. "She's horrid." He turned and went back inside, noticing that even Haunt chose to stay outside.

He frowned as he looked into the kitchen and saw Eden standing in front of Angus, waving her hands through his head.

Angus rubbed his cheek, probably from the feel of her energy, but still focused on the open notebook he had on the table. Lance stepped closer. "Stop that."

Angus looked up, confused. "What?"

"Eden. She was waving her hands through your head."

"He really can't see me?" She turned to look at Lance, a pout on her face.

"I told you, I'm the only one who can see you. Leave Angus alone or you can just leave." Lance noticed Angus already had soup warming on the stove and had pulled out everything Lance would need to make grilled cheese sandwiches. "Sit down and we'll get through this as quickly as we can."

"Don't boss me around. He should be out there trying to find why someone killed me. Not here letting you play house." Eden sat in one of the free chairs.

"He lives here and has every right to take time off and rest a little.

The whole police force has been working your case since they found your body.

Give him a break," Lance said firmly. "And never go anywhere near my bedroom or bathroom again.

Just because you're dead doesn't mean you don't have to still respect people's space. "

Eden waved her hand. "So, what do we know? Did he figure out why someone killed me?"

"No, they haven't figured it out. That's why he wants to talk to you." Lance fought to keep his voice calm and hide the irritation that hit him just talking to Eden. "Start at the beginning. Why were you going to the bridge?"

She didn't answer. Just folded her arms across her chest and stared at him.

"You're dead. It's not like you'll get in trouble for whatever you were doing," Lance pointed out.

"The person I was meeting will," Eden argued.

"The person you were meeting was probably the one who killed you." Lance tried to focus on cooking. "Who were you meeting and why?"

Eden groaned. "Fine. But it wasn't him. I know that."

"How do you know that? You told us this morning you didn't know who did it." Lance looked at Angus who was patiently letting the two of them argue.

"Because I was supposed to meet Lucas Jenkin of Jenkin Construction. Do you know who he is?"

Lance looked at Angus. "She was meeting a Lucas Jenkin."

Angus sat up straighter and made a note in his book. "I know him."

"Then you know he couldn't be my killer.

At least not easily. He's got Dwarfism. He's maybe what, four feet tall at most?

There's no way. I'm five-four without shoes and I was wearing heels when I was killed.

That would put me at five-six at the least. Whoever was behind me was taller. " Eden shook her head.

Lance repeated what she said for Angus, then asked, "Why were you meeting him there, in the dark, after hours?"

Again, Eden pursed her lips and said nothing.

"This is all going to come out no matter if you help us or not. If you want us to catch your killer, maybe work with us instead of trying to protect people and drag things out." Lance kept his back to Eden, focusing on dinner. "Why were you meeting?"

Eden didn't answer.

Lance sighed and turned. "She's not answering."

"Then let's move on to the pregnancy. We know her husband isn't the father, so whoever is could be our killer. Who were you having an affair with?" Angus asked.

"He's not my killer either. It doesn't matter who he is." Eden stood and started to float back and forth across the small room.

"He could easily want you dead. He might not want the baby or be upset that you're pregnant. If he's married, his wife could want you dead. Can you please just tell us who's the father of your child?" Angus asked after listening to Lance tell him what she'd said.

"No, because it couldn't be him. He doesn't even know I'm pregnant. He wasn't in the area last night." Eden shook her head.

"Give us his name so we can verify he wasn't in the area," Lance said.

"He wasn't around. He was in jail, okay?" She dropped her head as if ashamed to have to admit that.

Lance's eyes went wide as he told Angus, "The baby's father is in jail."

"Shit, no." Angus arched his head back and blew out a long breath. "Please don't tell me the baby's father is Mel Wickman."

"You can't tell him about the baby. He's got enough going on right now." Eden stared at Angus.

Lance turned off the stove as he told Angus what she'd said.

"I didn't even know I was pregnant when you arrested him." Eden slumped back down in a chair. "And you know he doesn't have a wife, so she didn't kill me either."

"Why don't you tell me who you think it could be?" Angus asked as Lance repeated her words while he set soup bowls on the table.

"I don't know. I'm the mayor. I have enemies.

Not everyone likes the decisions I make.

" She held up her hands. "It could be Lester Gregory.

He's going to be running against me in the next election.

He has to know he doesn't stand a chance.

" Eden paused. "Shit, I guess he has a chance now, doesn't he?

" She stood up again. "This being dead stuff is hard to get used to. "

Wanting to keep her on track, Lance put the plates on the table and sat down. "Was there anyone who was so upset with you that it was obvious? Had someone threatened you or fought with you in public?"

Eden appeared to shrug. "Someone was always making threats.

That's why I hired fulltime security. The mayor didn't get security when I was first elected.

They said I would only need it for bigger events, but I was worried.

I can't recall anyone who made threats, but there were some.

You could ask my security about it. Will Atherton is in charge now that Mel's gone.

" She rubbed her stomach as she mentioned Mel.

"You're not telling Mel about the baby, are you? "

Lance swallowed and told Angus everything.

Angus shook his head. "There's no point in telling Mel unless we need to confirm paternity. For now, I don't think we'll need to." Angus took a drink, then asked, "You don't think your husband realized you were pregnant and decided to kill you?"

Eden laughed. "Michael? Nah, he wouldn't hurt me. He might have gotten angry, but he wouldn't have killed me over it. He likes the money I make. He wouldn't give up a good thing."

"You were going to have to tell him about the baby," Lance said.

"I didn't mean to let it get this far. I was going to have an abortion, but then Mel got arrested and I hesitated, thinking he might want to have a child since he'd be locked up and never get a chance to have another.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I knew Michael would find out eventually, but I could smooth that over, especially since Mel's no longer around. "

Lance couldn't believe what she was saying. How horrible of a person was she? Did she really think she could get away with anything and everyone would just forgive her? It baffled his mind. "What about the rumors of pay for play going on in your office? Did you take bribes for contracts?"

Eden looked at Lance, then at Angus. "Maybe a bit. It's going to come out now anyway. That's why I was supposed to meet Lucas. He was bringing me money so he could get the contract on the new rec center we're building. It wasn't a big deal."

Lance and Angus exchanged a look, and Lance wondered how many other deals were made. "Can you give us a list of contractors you screwed over?"

Eden laughed. "No. I don't pay attention to that. As I said, it didn't happen often. Just a time or two on major projects."

"I heard rumors you even took bribes from car dealerships when you bought the Mayor's Office that new fleet of cars." Angus raised a brow.

Eden waved him off and stood back up. "Listen, if you're just going to sit there and accuse me of stuff, I'm not going to stick around."

Before Lance could even repeat her words to Angus, Eden rushed through the wall and was gone. "She just left." Lance stared at the wall Eden had floated through. "She is horrible."

"Yes, she is." Angus picked up his sandwich. "Well, at least we'll get a quiet night."

"Hush. Don't jinx it." Lance smiled as he leaned over to give Angus a soft kiss. "Looks like you'll have to work this case out the old-fashioned way. Doesn't seem as if she's going to be much help."

"It's just as well. I'm not sure I'd trust anything she tells us. I don't want to think about her anymore tonight. After I finish this amazing meal you made us, I'm going to curl up on the couch beside you and forget everything else."

"You're welcome for dinner, though it's hardly amazing." Lance smiled, hoping that unlike last night, they could get lost in a show together without the phone or Eden interrupting their time together.