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Story: Ghostly Dilemma (Ghostly #8)
Angus didn't want to get up. He shut off his alarm, then rolled onto his back, keeping his eyes closed. It had been an amazing night with Lance, and somehow it felt like as long as he didn't leave the bed and Lance's side, it wouldn't end. He was sure the moment he put his feet on the ground again, the magic would be gone.
"We should both call in sick today." Lance rolled over, resting his head on Angus's chest.
"I'd agree if I didn't think Franks would drive over here to check on us. We'd get caught lying and never be trusted again." Angus rested an arm around Lance. "Last night was amazing. We need more nights like that." After a wonderful dinner, they'd walked through the area window-shopping and had ended up at a small park where a live band was playing. They'd stayed there until after dark before heading home and getting lost in each other for several hours before they finally fell asleep .
Beside Angus, their dog, Haunt slowly crawled up the bed to lie by his side. Angus opened one eye and took in the dog's pathetic attempt for attention. "Haunt's missing her ghosts."
"Yeah, I noticed she's been clingier to us. She sat outside the shower door last night as I was getting ready for our date. I almost felt like she was stalking me as she stared at me through the shower door." Lance stretched his arm out to pet the dog.
"She's not used to being home alone all day. By the time we get here, she's desperate for attention." Angus closed his eye again and sighed.
"She'll have to get used to it. I have no idea when Bethany and Ray will be back, and it's not like we can take her to work. I'll see if Jeremy might want come play with her a bit during the day while I work, but I'm not sure she'll be happy until Ray and Bethany get home." Lance groaned as he rolled over and sat up.
"What are you doing? Come back." Angus reached for him.
"Can't. Have to work. Remember, we have a meeting with a ghost this morning so you can find out why his father killed his mother?"
Angus wrinkled his brow. "I'm more curious why he waited seventy plus years to tell someone."
"He thought he'd be in trouble for keeping his father's secret. He'd stayed silent thirty years, then when his father died, he was scared. I kind of understand that." Lance stood and made his way to the bathroom.
Without Lance beside him, Angus had no reason to stay in bed. He petted Haunt for a moment, then sat up, forcing her from the bed so he could get up. "I looked into the names. There is a report of Myrtle going missing, but it was never followed up on. I'll need to dig into the case notes to learn more, but again, I can't just start digging because a ghost tells me to. I need to have a reason for pulling up information that old." Angus stood and traded places with Lance, using the bathroom while Lance started to pull out clothes. They'd both showered around two in the morning, and he was fine waiting until he got home tonight to shower again.
"Can we at least get into the house to find the paperwork listing who his attorney is? That way we can get the ball rolling because he claims he wrote a confession he put with his will," Lance asked as he stepped into a pair of pants.
"You know, I may need to bring Captain Marshall in on this one. We haven't really talked to him about ghosts since the hostage situation, but for this, the case is so old, maybe he'll be willing to let me dig without having evidence to do so. If I tell him a ghost told you, he'll be curious, but add in the fact that you need info on who to contact for next of kin and he may let me go into the house and look around. Bradshaw and Case had the original call when the neighbor found the body. I'm pretty sure they don't want to go back and won't mind me stepping in to find information. I'll see what I can do today after we speak to this ghost." Angus brushed his teeth and shaved, before again trading places with Lance so he could shave, and Angus could get dressed. They really had their morning routines down. "I've got to meet Sergeant Openshaw at three to give him the keys to my house. He is moving in this weekend. John wants to have all his stuff moved before his son shows up with his things."
He was glad to finally rent the place, especially since it was to someone he knew and trusted. He'd worked with John before becoming a detective. John's son had gotten divorced and wanted to move back, and John had been living in a tiny apartment. When Angus offered his place, John had jumped at the chance to have a home for him and his son to live in.
"I'm looking forward to meeting him and his son." Lance walked out of the bathroom freshly shaved.
"They want us to come over for a barbecue one night once they get settled in. Alan, his son is a firefighter and will be joining the Fairway Fire Department, but he won't start for a couple of weeks. I remember the guy, but he was in high school last time I saw him." Angus turned, gripped Lance's shirt, and pulled him to him. "Have I mentioned how much I enjoy the way you smell right after you shave?"
"You better. You bought me the aftershave." Lance grinned before leaning in to kiss him.
When he pulled away, Angus had to force himself not to pull Lance back to bed. "I'm going to go make coffee."
"I'll be right out." Lance went back into the bathroom .
Angus made his way to the kitchen. He started the coffee and made sure Haunt had water and food. Even though it wasn't safe, they left the sliding glass door open a bit so she could run in and out of the house as she wanted to all day. Usually, with the ghosts around, it wasn't an issue, but Angus wasn't as comfortable with it without the ghosts around to let them know if someone was breaking in. He'd considered putting in a doggy door somewhere, but those were easily broken into as well.
"That smells amazing." Lance pulled two mugs out of the cupboard as he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. "So will Franks come with you this morning to speak to the ghost?"
Angus shook his head. "I didn't even mention it to him yet. I wanted to get more facts before I pull him into it. He's working with Detective Burns on a homicide at one of the bars yesterday afternoon."
"Yeah, we got the body, but I was told they had the murderer in custody. We'll do his autopsy today." Lance leaned against the counter.
"Witnesses said there were two shooters. One we caught, but the other got away in a truck. We're looking for him, but we need to know which bullet killed him or if both were kill shots." Angus started pouring the coffee before it was completely finished. "The one we caught had a thirty-eight on him. Other bullets on the scene came from a forty-five. I'm sure Amy or Franks will be in to watch the autopsy."
"Sam's got meetings this morning. That means I'll be doing the autopsy once we finish talking to Scott about his father. Sounds like a good case to let Brayden work and I'll assist. He needs practice on more than the usual strokes and heart attacks we see." Lance took the cup that Angus offered him. "Thanks."
"So how is Brayden? He still dating Christine?" Angus liked the intern that was working with Lance. The guy was fun to be around. He was dating one of their other friends, a young doctor they knew who, like Lance, could also see ghosts.
"Yeah. He says things are going good with them. I haven't seen her in a while, but he's with her every free moment they have. He even took her over to meet his parents a while back." Lance sipped the coffee as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
"You want food?" Angus asked.
"We can grab some breakfast burritos or something on the way in. No point in cooking." Lance glanced at his phone. "In fact, I'll grab them on my way in."
"I hate we have to take two cars, but I have no idea if I'll be around to pick you up this afternoon." They'd learned long ago never to count on being free unless it was for something important.
"It's okay. I need to drop by the store on the way home. We're almost out of dog food, milk, and I wanted to pick up some fruit or something to munch on. I've had a sweet tooth for too long. I need something healthy to snack on at night."
"You and me both. I feel my belt getting tighter every day. I need to add more walks with Haunt to keep myself from having to buy new pants." Angus smiled as Haunt lifted her head and wagged her tail at him.
"Maybe we should join a gym." Lance sighed.
Angus laughed. "Right, because we'd go so often. You forget, I have use of the gym at the station and never go. I'm not a gym person. I either need to start walking more, take up jogging, or cut out the crappy food we eat. Since I love our crappy food, I'll start with more walks."
"We can try, but I'm not sure we'll be any more successful at that than going to the gym. You know how we are when we get off work. We both just want to put our feet up. But I'm willing to try." Lance downed his coffee. "I need to be in early since Sam's in meetings. Find me when you get there, and we can talk to Scott." He stood and set his cup in the sink before moving over to Angus and kissing him.
"I'll be right behind you." Angus stole a second kiss, then let him go. "Drive safe."
"You too." Lance grabbed his keys and headed into the garage.
Angus listened to the garage door go up, then Lance's car start. As badly as he didn't want to start his day, he needed to. He had too much to do to be lazy. He had no idea how he was going to handle a seventy-year-old murder case. There wouldn't be any evidence left. Maybe a few bones at most. Still, he believed every victim deserved to be found and have their story told. Even if there wasn't anyone still alive to prosecute, Angus would do his best to figure out what happened to Myrtle so long ago.
He finished off his coffee, rinsed his cup, then gave Haunt a belly rub and said goodbye to her. As he drove to the Medical Examiner's Office, he thought more about the case and how he could get the information he needed. The neighbor who found the body probably told the police that there was no next of kin, so that would mean the police could search the home for information to find someone to claim the body. A will and legal papers would probably be easy to find. Most people kept them in a home office or security safe. He laughed at himself as he realized that he had the advantage of being able to question the ghost to find out exactly where things were and who might have a key to the home to let him in. He would quit worrying about the case until he spoke to the ghost and got all the facts.
It was early and there were plenty of places to park in the lot. He picked one beside Lance's car and headed inside. It was still a shock to see someone other than Kathy behind the front desk. The older woman had been there so long it had been a blow to everyone when she retired. He smiled at Gretta as he signed in. "Morning."
"Morning, Angus. Lance said you'd be in. He's in his office." She hit the button that released the half-gate that connected to the counter so he could go into the back.
"Thanks." He pushed through. Gretta was already busy typing, so he didn't bother her more. He made his way down the hallway to Lance's office and knocked on the open door. "I might have seen you just thirty minutes ago, but I have this urge to say good morning all over again."
Lance laughed. "Come in. We're not alone. Jeremy and Scott are here with us."
Angus smiled as he shut the door. "Good morning to both of you."
Lance laughed and blushed before looking at Angus. "Jeremy said that something tells him they didn't get the same good morning greeting that you wanted to give me."
Angus grinned even bigger. "That might be true."
Lance slid a coffee and two breakfast burritos across his desk. "Take a seat and eat. I need a minute to finish up this email, then we can talk."
Angus took the chance to focus on the food. He glanced around the office, wondering where the ghosts stood, but he couldn't tell. He'd get a better idea when Lance started talking to them and he could see where he directed his questions to. He'd learned to be patient long ago, having grown up with a ghost in the house and a mother who could see them. While he ate, he wrote down the questions he would need to ask Scott, wanting to make sure he got all the information he needed before he went back to the station and figured out a way to get into the house.
He was probably making this harder than it needed to be, but when it came to ghosts, he was cautious, because it only took one person to label him crazy. The last thing he needed was anyone questioning his sanity. Even though the captain knew his mother could see ghosts, and seemed to believe her, it didn't mean he was ready to bombard his captain with a ton of ghostly information yet. He was still nervous about others knowing, especially when it came to work.
He took a deep breath, hoping everything worked out. For now, he'd gather what information he could, then figure the rest out as the day went on. There was no point in stressing over it all now.