Page 7 of Ghostly Bother (Ghostly #9)

Angus knocked on Lance's office door. "Lunch has arrived." He held up the bag of burgers and fries. "Franks took the drinks to the breakroom."

"I'm starving." Lance pushed up from his seat and went to Angus, pausing to give him a quick kiss. "Did you get my message?"

"I did, but figured we needed to discuss the autopsy anyway.

Maybe Eden will show up before we leave.

If nothing else, Franks and I needed a break.

Things are crazy. The media is all over this, and since we have no information to share, they're getting pushy.

" Angus turned and headed down the hallway to the breakroom.

"I'm not sure I'll have anything to help. A few interesting findings, but nothing that is going to solve your case for you." Lance shut the breakroom door before taking a seat at the table. "Hey, Franks."

"Have I ever told you how much I like how quiet it is around here?" Franks passed Lance a drink.

"No, but I'm not surprised you find it that way after being at the station all the time." Lance jabbed his straw into the center of the lid. "Thanks for bringing lunch."

"I brought your boyfriend. He brought lunch." Franks laughed.

"He's better than food anytime." Lance grinned at Angus across the table.

"Don't start flirting or I'm going to go out and talk to Gretta." Franks unwrapped his burger.

"No time to flirt. We've all got a busy afternoon ahead." Angus sighed. "How'd the autopsy go?"

Lance finished chewing a fry, then took a drink.

"Well, she hadn't been dead long. Probably less than an hour when she was found.

The cause of death was strangulation, but that's not a surprise.

I think that was assumed by how she was found.

What I did find interesting," he lowered his voice to keep anyone in the hall from overhearing, "was that Eden didn't want us to do an autopsy on her at all.

She went as far as standing in the way to keep me from doing it.

With her standing pretty much in her body, I had to let Brayden do the autopsy because I just couldn't see to do it with her in the way.

Eden was pissed. She did all she could to keep us from doing the autopsy. "

"Why?" Franks looked confused.

"Seems she had a secret. A pretty big one. She was around four months pregnant." Lance grinned as both Franks and Angus stopped eating and stared at him in shock.

"The mayor was pregnant? But why would she hide that?

She already has kids. It's not as if another on the way would be a big deal.

" Angus took out his notebook and started writing.

The pregnancy was a huge break, especially if the child wasn't her husband's.

Sadly, they'd be waiting weeks for DNA to come back to verify that.

"I got the impression that it might not be her husband's.

I can't say for sure until the lab does its thing, but she begged me not to put the pregnancy in the report and not to tell her husband.

" Lance shrugged. "Could be she just hadn't told him yet, but you have to question why after four months she hadn't told him. "

"She didn't say who the father was? He could be our killer. Maybe he wasn't happy about the pregnancy." Franks narrowed his eyes. "Could this be why her husband was divorcing her? Did he find out she was cheating on him?"

"He was divorcing her?" Lance looked surprised by the news.

"He was getting ready to serve her papers. He claimed he wanted to stay clear of the legal mess the Mayor's Office was involved in, but maybe it was more." Angus continued to make notes even as he spoke.

"Eden didn't mention anything about who fathered the child.

She was just desperate not to have it in the report or let her husband find out.

Since I couldn't speak to her with others around, Jeremy let her know that we had to put everything in the report.

It was the law. She got upset and took off before we'd even finished her autopsy. " Lance unwrapped his burger.

"Other than the pregnancy, was there anything worth mentioning about the autopsy?" Angus asked.

"Not really. We did all the usual, but that, like most everything, will depend on the lab.

Everything other than the pregnancy was normal other than the strangulation.

I did ask Eden if she saw who did it, but she only saw a person running to a car.

She didn't share any details that would help.

Honestly, I was glad to see her go. I know you want to question her, but she really was a distraction. "

"Death hasn't changed her." Franks reached for his drink. "I've never had a pleasant interaction with her."

Angus had to agree. The few times he'd spoken with the mayor, she'd been bossy and treated everyone around her like they were there at her command, or better yet, for her to command.

"We'll speak with the husband this afternoon and let him know about the pregnancy. See what his reaction to the news is."

"Wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation," Lance said.

"If Eden shows back up, let her know we want to speak with her.

I'm not sure what to even ask her. I feel like we need to dig into the rumors of money laundering and bribery going around.

If she was making deals with people, maybe one got upset with her.

Now that she's dead, maybe she'll be honest with us about what was really going on in the Mayor's Office.

" Angus put his pen down and went back to eating.

"Or she'll keep lying and playing like she's innocent and loved by all.

" Franks crumpled up his burger wrapper and tried for a three-point shot at the garbage can across the room.

When he missed, he sighed and got up to retrieve the trash and toss it in the can.

"If her husband isn't the child's father, we have no way of knowing who the father is, do we? "

"Not unless the DNA is in the system already." Lance met Angus's stare across the table. "You're talking months of waiting. Even putting a rush on it won't get you answers now."

"We work with what we have. Maybe now that Eden's secret is out, she'll share more.

It's not like she's alive to face the wrath of her husband or constituents.

The rumor mill is already at work. The media isn't being nice.

They're bringing up the audit and all the accusations of fraud and favoritism that have been circling the Mayor's Office for months now.

" Angus frowned. "She met Jeremy, but does she know about the other ghosts? "

"Not that I'm aware of. I didn't tell her." Lance licked ketchup off his finger.

"Don't. The last thing you want is her hanging around the house. She'd drive Ray and Bethany insane," Angus warned.

"Not to mention me." Lance shook his head. "I'm just fine talking to her here. I'm hoping she'll move on."

"Once we release the body, the family can focus on the funeral. I'm guessing because she was the mayor, it will be a huge thing. How long before you have the autopsy report done?"

"Brayden is working on it as we speak. I'm guessing tonight or tomorrow, minus any lab reports.

I hesitate to release the body just yet.

Being such a high-profile case, I'd rather hold on to the body a day or two until we are sure we don't need anything else.

" Lance sighed. "I can't imagine what we might need, but I'd rather be cautious on this one. "

"I doubt anything is going to pop up, but if your gut says hold her a few days, we'll do that. I'll let the captain know. He's been in meetings with the chief all morning." Angus stood to put his trash in the can.

"Shoot, I forgot about that. Jeremy went to meet with the other ghosts to track Isaac's son. I guess Captain Marshall won't have time to meet with them until this is over." Lance took the lid off his drink and tipped until ice fell.

"No, the whole department will be busy until we figure out who killed the mayor.

I'll have Mom meet with the ghosts and make notes.

I can pass those on to Captain Marshall, but Isaac is going to have to wait for any action unless something big is going down.

" Angus walked over and placed a hand on Lance's shoulder. "You doing okay?"

Lance glanced up at him and nodded. "It hasn't been bad other than Eden's temper tantrum. I've never had a ghost try and block me from doing their autopsy before. It was frustrating and I couldn't do anything about it. With Carrie and Brayden in the room, I had to let Jeremy yell at her for me."

"Hopefully, she'll be focused on her kids." Franks glanced at his watch. "You about ready?" We're supposed to meet Mr. Anderson in thirty minutes."

"You're speaking to him again so soon?" Lance stood.

"We have a warrant to search Eden's home office. He left the house last night to stay with his brother, so he's meeting us there to let us in." Angus leaned in and gave Lance a quick kiss. "Not sure what time I'll make it home."

"I'll stop at the store and get some frozen meals. Don't hesitate to wake me, even if it's late." Lance stared into his eyes. "Go do what you do best. Catch a killer."

Angus leaned in close and whispered, "that's not what I do best, and you know it. I'll prove that once I get another night off work." He nipped at Lance's ear before pulling back. "Love you."

"Love you too." Lance laughed.

Angus smiled as he turned and followed Franks out of the breakroom and down the hall to the front office. They said their goodbyes to Gretta before heading out to the car. Franks was driving, so Angus got into the passenger seat and slid his seat belt on.

"The pregnancy just made this case a bit more interesting." Franks started the car.

"Maybe. It could be Michael's child, and she just hadn't told him." Angus didn't believe it for a second, but it was possible.

"Right, and that's why she was trying to keep Lance from mentioning it in the autopsy report?" Franks rolled his eyes.