Page 28 of Ghostly Bother (Ghostly #9)

As he stepped out of the shower, Lance readied himself for Eden to be waiting for him.

He was relieved to find the bathroom empty.

He'd started wrapping a towel around his waist before stepping out since several times over the last week, he'd found Eden sitting on the bathroom counter waiting for him.

He took his time dressing. He could hear voices coming from the kitchen and though he couldn't identify who was speaking, he knew Betty and Eden were there since they'd rode home with him.

For a minute, he debated on just curling up in bed and skipping dinner, but the truth was, he was starving.

Besides, he wasn't about to let a ghost keep him from going into his own kitchen and having dinner.

He slowly made his way down the hall and sighed in relief when he heard Ray and Bethany speaking with Betty.

It didn't mean Eden wasn't there, but having the three other ghosts around to keep Eden distracted would make his night better.

Haunt heard him before the others did and she bounded from where she was lying under the kitchen table and ran to him, her tail wagging hard as she greeted him for the second time since he'd got home.

Lance laughed as he stooped down to pet her.

"Hey, you missing Angus as much as I am?

" He spoke softly to her as he pressed his face against her soft neck.

"How about we get some dinner? I bet you're as hungry as I am. "

"Lizzy said she'd bring some ribs over if you aren't up to cooking. Just give her a call," Betty told him as he started to get Haunt's food bowl so he could feed her first.

"Haunt would love the bones, but I'd rather just make myself something quick.

" He smiled at Betty where she sat beside Eden at the kitchen table.

"I need to write Jackson a letter then I'm going to try and finish the book I've been reading.

" He hoped Eden would get the hint that he wanted to be left alone.

Other nights he'd tried to read, she'd sat on his bed or beside him on the couch and asked a million questions he couldn't answer.

Mostly about the afterlife and what he knew about it.

She wanted to know about every ghost he'd met.

When he hadn't answered, she'd get mad and start singing or doing other things that she knew would annoy him.

"We have news." Ray smiled. "Our day hanging around the police station paid off."

"What news?" Eden asked, her attention fully on Ray.

"Don't tell her. If she wants to know what's going on, she can go hang out there on her own." Lance pulled a frozen chicken dinner from the freezer.

Betty laughed. "I told you we should have gone over there today instead of hanging around the morgue."

"Hush." Eden glared at Betty, then turned back to Ray. "What did you find out? Do they know why someone killed me?"

Bethany glanced at Lance, then back to Eden. "If he doesn't want to talk about it…"

"We can go out back and talk." Eden stood.

"The point is, Lance wants you to leave him alone and go do your own investigating the way we did today.

It only took us a few hours to learn things.

You could have figured this stuff out days ago if you'd been hanging around the right places and people.

" Ray shrugged. "If Lance doesn't want to talk about it, we won't."

"But I deserve to know." Eden pouted.

"And I deserve to live my life without you hounding me." Lance stuck the meal in the microwave, then turned to lean against the counter. "I do have a question for you, Betty. At my office earlier, you appeared to shove Eden. Did I really see that?"

Betty grinned. "You did. It's something Ray and I have been practicing.

We figured we could always feel each other's energy.

You know how it looks like we're holding hands when dancing or even how Haunt can feel our energy when we pet him.

We started to question if we could manipulate each other's energy.

So, we started practicing by holding our hands up against each other and pushing our energy against the other. It worked."

"That's amazing." Lance looked at Ray. "You didn't know it could be done?"

"I've witnessed a ghost or two in the past do something like it. Never with a solid object or a living person, but with another ghost. One guy threw a punch and while the punch didn't really hit the ghost, the force of energy did and caused the other ghost to take a step back." Ray smiled at Betty.

"Show me how." Eden held up her hands.

"You won't be able to do it," Bethany told her.

"I can't. We think it has to do with how long someone's been a ghost. Their energy seems to get stronger the older they are.

Ray's much stronger than Betty. All I feel is the other's energy and if I push my energy at them, I merge into their energy.

Somehow, Ray and Betty can keep their energy separated if they want so they don't meld into each other.

I'm sure there is a scientific way to explain it, but I'm not smart enough to figure it out. "

"The best way to explain it to a living person is, have you ever held your hands close together, palms facing each other about an inch apart, and moved them in circles?

Some can feel an energy between their hands.

As ghosts, that energy is what we're made of.

Betty and I are learning to control that energy better so we can use it to our advantage.

So far, we can't do much more than push each other back.

" Ray held his palms up, facing each other, and started to circle them.

"But as you witnessed today at the morgue, it comes in handy." Betty smiled at Eden. "I didn't stop her from annoying us, but I was able to push her away so that next time she decides to try and walk through me, she might reconsider."

Lance wanted to ask Betty more about being able to push Eden into the light, but he didn't want to do that with Eden sitting right there.

He never dreamed he'd hate a ghost enough to consider forcing them into the light, but he was past that point with Eden.

If she didn't go away soon, he might start researching ways to rid himself of a ghost. He was pretty sure that if there was a way to get rid of one, Ray would already know about it and would have suggested it.

The microwave dinged and he pulled his food out, setting it on the counter to cool. "Interesting, though I'm not sure what good you can really do with it. I mean, Betty let her anger be known by pushing Eden when she walked through her, but other than that…" Lance let the sentence hang.

"You're right. There isn't much we can do with it.

But it was interesting to learn we could do it.

The next time I meet someone who's been dead longer than me, I'm going to see if they're stronger than I am.

Test the theory that the longer you've been a ghost, the stronger you are.

" Ray stood. "Bethany and I are going to head over to Lizzy's and give them an update on what we learned today. You okay with us leaving?"

"I want to know what you learned. I'm going with you," Eden said, then paused. "Wait, if you're going over there to talk to someone, does that mean there's someone there who can hear you?"

Betty groaned.

"She didn't know?" Bethany put her hand over her mouth.

"Nope. Don't worry about it. Eden's not the first annoying ghost we've come across." Betty smiled.

"No, we won't go. We're not going to be the ones to lead Eden to others." Ray sat back down.

"There are others who can see and hear me? I knew there had to be. Who is it?" Eden appeared to clap her hands with excitement.

Betty sighed. "Of course there are others. We've warned everyone to avoid you. Told them what a nuisance you are. Did you really think Lance was one of a kind?"

"No, but I hadn't seen anyone else notice me." Eden frowned. "Have I met them? Did they really just ignore me?"

Lance grabbed his food and sat down at the table, wondering how his life got so crazy.

He was very curious what news Ray and Bethany had gotten today, but there was no way he was going to discuss anything concerning Eden while she was around.

Curious or not, he was done dealing with her and her murder.

"Don't worry about others. Your focus should be on helping us figure out who killed you.

From what we heard today, the audit report names several of the companies who bribed you and your office for contracts.

I don't see why you're still worried about giving the police more information.

It's all going to unravel anyway. It would just be quicker if you helped. "

"I don't think any of them would kill me. I mean, what reason would they have? The contracts they got were worth millions of dollars sometimes. Killing me would lose them money in the long run." Eden sighed. "You just don't understand."

"And those who you ignored or refused to accept bribes from?" Ray asked.

"People I didn't trust or who I knew did subpar work.

I wanted the best for our city. I wasn't going to accept bribes from companies who didn't meet the standards.

Even without the bribes, most of the other companies often failed inspections.

" Eden shook her head. "I personally don't think any of the business owners would risk their career by murdering me. "

"Okay, what about your personal life? We know you were having an affair recently. Were you seeing anyone since Wickman was arrested?" Betty asked.

"No. Of course not. Wickman and I had plans.

We were going to be together. I just had to time things right.

I planned on divorcing Michael, but then Mel got arrested.

Stupid fool. We had a good thing. I had no clue he was so violent.

He never laid a hand on me. Once he was out of the picture, I figured I might as well stay with Michael. " Eden shrugged.

"Then you found out you were pregnant?" Betty asked.

"About a week after Mel's arrest. I was horrified.

I thought about an abortion but then felt guilty.

This would be the only child Mel would have, and I didn't think I could go through an abortion, even to protect my marriage.

I was trying to figure out how to tell Michael.

Guess it doesn't matter now." Eden sighed. "He was going to divorce me anyway."

"Did anyone know about Mel or your pregnancy?" Bethany asked.

Eden sat quietly for a moment, then nodded. "My sister knew. I told her a few weeks ago. She'd known about Mel for a few months, but I finally confided in her about the pregnancy, hoping she'd help me figure out how to tell Michael."

"She didn't?" Bethany asked.

"No," Eden said. "She was mad at me. Said I was irresponsible and that a pregnancy would ruin my career.

I don't know why she was so upset. She tried to push me to get an abortion, but by that point, I was already about four months along.

I was already attached to the baby." Eden pressed her palm to her stomach.

She turned to Betty. "Do you know if when we died if my baby had a soul and went into that light? "

Betty shook her head. "I don't know. I've never been around when someone pregnant has died to witness if I see a soul leave the body. How about you, Ray? Do you know?"

Ray shook his head. "I've never even thought about it. I haven't witnessed anything. I do know that babies and younger kids usually go directly into the light. I've known a few kids to stick around, but very few. Never babies."

Everyone sat silent as they thought about that. Lance had often wondered if children stuck around. He'd never seen any. Wasn't sure he wanted to. It was hard enough seeing them at the morgue, but to actually talk to them about their death and what caused it wasn't something he looked forward to.

He quietly finished his meal before standing up, putting his container in the trash, and rinsing off his fork. "I'm going to go start that letter to Jackson. I might not be back out tonight."

Betty smiled. "Go rest. I'll be here if there are problems. Tell Jackson we're all looking forward to him coming home soon."

"I will." Lance wished he could give Betty a hug. "Thanks for this."

"Anything for my boys." She blew him a kiss. "Sleep well."

Lance headed to his bedroom, praying that Eden didn't follow.