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Lance pulled off his gloves and gown and was washing his hands when an older gentleman appeared beside him. Lance smiled at the ghost but took a moment to make sure they were alone before he said anything to him. "Hi, can I help you?" Lance asked.

"It's you. I was told there was someone here who could see me." The man's grin was huge. He appeared to be in his eighties when he died, but Lance couldn't be sure. "I need your assistance."

"Sure, but if you don't mind, can we hold off on talking more until we get to my office? The others don't know about my ability." Lance didn't want Carrie or Brayden to walk in and catch him mid-conversation with someone they couldn't see.

"Of course. I'm just so pleased to have found you. My friends at the golf course mentioned you. They said you could help." The ghost held up a hand. "No, don't respond until it's safe to do so. I'm just going to ramble on, but you don't have to say anything. I'll follow where you go until it's safe for you to speak."

"Thanks." Lance dried his hands.

"So, I died four years ago. I've been waiting around for my wife before I go into the light. I knew I wouldn't have to wait too long. I just couldn't bring myself to leave her. I know my marriage vows said until death do us part, but even upon death I still love my Mary. I want to spend whatever comes next with her. She's been so lonely since I died. Living alone in our home was hard on her, but she refused to move, even when she probably should have. If we'd had kids, it might have been easier, but we were never blessed with a family." The man followed Lance down the hallway to his office.

Lance shut the door. "What's your name?"

"Oh my." The man looked flustered. "I am so sorry. I should have started with that. I'm George Bennett."

"I'm Lance Turner. It's a pleasure to meet you." Lance took a seat at his desk. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, as I said, I was waiting for my wife to die so we could move on together. She died last week. The problem now is I can't convince her to leave her body. No one has found her yet, and I doubt they will anytime soon. As I said, we don't have kids, and no one comes to visit. I've told my wife her body doesn't matter anymore, and while she agrees, she wants to know she's been found. She promises me that the moment someone finds her, we can go into the light together. Is there a way you could have someone find her?" George asked.

Lance nodded. "I can call in a request to have someone do a wellness check on her. Is there a key hidden anywhere outside that I can tell them about so they don't have to break in?"

"The front door is unlocked. Mary's body is on the couch. She died watching her favorite television show. It's not pretty though. She died a week ago. The flies are getting bad."

Lance nodded. "Whoever goes in will be prepared for that."

"Thank you. I didn't know what to do. I can't get her to even leave the house. I told her about all our friends still around in ghostly form, but she didn't care. She wants her body found." George waved his hand. "Even in death we argue." He laughed. "But I'm so happy to have her with me again. I can't wait to see what is in that beautiful light. I know we'll be happy together."

"I think you will." Lance smiled. "I'll make a phone call right now. Give me your address." Lance wrote down the address, realizing it was only a few blocks from his house. He'd go there himself if he wouldn't have to explain why he'd gone there. "Did she die peacefully or was there another cause?"

"Just old age and a broken heart. She went downhill after I died. She'd talk to me in bed every night after I died, telling me how much she missed me. I wanted her to know I was there, but I had no way of letting her know. But even though I would go out during the day to see friends, I made sure I was back there every night to hear her talk to me." George smiled. "It made me love her even more."

Lance was touched. So touched in fact, that he decided to handle this himself. He'd lie his way through it. "You know what? I think I'll be the one to find your wife. If you'll give me just a minute to shut off my computer and grab my things, you can ride over with me, and we'll get you two off into the light tonight if you're both ready."

"You can do that?" George looked surprised.

"I'll just tell anyone who asks that Mary was an old friend of my mother's and I dropped by to say hello from time to time. Maybe tell them she was an old babysitter of mine. There's no one who will argue that. No one around who can prove it's not true." Lance started to shut down his computer, then grabbed everything he needed from his desk. He was in no rush to get home. Angus was working late and wouldn't be home for a few hours at least. He could do this, and probably still make it home before Angus did.

"You are a special soul. People told me you were a good man. I could hardly believe my luck when I was told there was a living man who could see and talk to us. I spent my whole life thinking ghosts were a bunch of made-up hullabaloos. Boy, was I shocked when I died and found out they were real. This afterlife isn't so bad, but I'm looking forward to going into the light. Hopefully, there will be a lot of old friends there we can catch up with as well. Mary wants to see her sister so badly," George told Lance.

"Well, I can't tell you what's in the light, but I'm told it seems welcoming. I hope it's something like Heaven. I guess I have to wait my turn to find out." Lance stood. "Follow me to my car. I won't be able to talk to you again until we're alone."

George nodded. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome." Lance opened his office door and started down the hallway. He made it to the front desk before pausing by Gretta's desk. "I'm off for the night. Going to drop by and visit one of my mother's old friends, then head home." Lance hoped telling the lie would help stop any questions as to why he was at the old woman's house.

"Oh, that's sweet. Is your mother still around?" Gretta asked.

"No, she died years ago. Mrs. Bennett used to be my babysitter back in the day before my parents passed. I've tried to visit a few times a year to stay in touch. Her husband died a few years ago and she's alone." Lance smiled. "You have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too," Gretta said before going back to work on her computer.

Lance walked out to his car, glad to be out of the office finally. His feet ached today, which was unusual. Maybe it was time for new shoes. He unlocked his car and got in. George sat in the passenger seat beside him. "You live a few blocks from me. I'll get us to the area and you can lead me to the house from there. "

"Again, thank you. I wish we didn't have to make you face this. I never realized how quickly a body decomposes." George shook his head.

"I'm used to it. I promise I've seen much worse. I am a bit surprised your wife is clinging to her body this way. Most ghosts I meet don't really think about their physical body once they've died."

"Yeah, I never worried about mine. I died in the hospital and the moment I was free from that old body and realized nothing hurt anymore, I never looked back. I did go to my funeral, but that was more because Mary was there. She's just worried no one will ever find her. I promised her that at some point someone would, but she's determined to stay there until she's sure she's been found. She doesn't know I went looking for you, so she'll be surprised when you walk in. I told her I was going to watch the game at the bar with a few friends who have passed on but linger here." George looked relaxed in the passenger seat.

Lance glanced over at him as he pulled out of the lot. "You know that since she was home when she died, they'll bring her body to the morgue and do an autopsy, just to make sure there wasn't a murder or suspicious activity concerning her death."

"I know, and I warned Mary of that. She doesn't care about any of that stuff. She just wants someone to know she is dead. The paperwork for her burial and our wills is in a file box on the kitchen table. We kept it there in case something happened. People wouldn't have to search hard for it. We've prepaid for her burial and all fees should be covered already. We left the house and any money we had to the church down the street. They can sell what they want and use the money however they need. It's all in the will. Pastor Donaldson knows all this. If you want to act like you know about it, go ahead and let the police or whoever deals with things that they can contact him. Mary didn't attend church as often in the last few years. It was too hard on her. The pastor would come by once in a while to visit, but his wife has cancer and he's been so busy. We thought he might be the one to find Mary's body, but I got tired of waiting. It could be another month before the pastor dropped by." George pointed. "Turn right up here on Carnival Street."

Lance did and followed George's directions to the house. As they climbed out, a woman floated out of the front door to meet them.

"Mary, this is Lance. He came to find your body so we can move on." George smiled at his wife as she floated to stand beside him.

"How? I don't understand." Mary looked confused.

Lance pulled his cellphone out so it would appear he was talking on it. "I'm going to tell them you used to know my mother and babysit me. Nobody will ask many questions. You are free to move on now and go into the light."

"You see us? How is that possible?" Mary appeared to press her hand to her chest.

"I'm not sure why I'm allowed to see you, but I'm glad I am. I'll take care of your body and you won't have to worry any longer," Lance told her .

"It's horrible in there. It's been a week." She looked ashamed.

"I'm a medical examiner. I've seen much worse. Don't you worry about me. Go into the light and enjoy whatever it is that comes next. You don't have to worry about things here." Lance wanted to assure her that the physical world no longer mattered to her.

"Are you ready, Mary? Can we go now?" George looked hopeful.

"Are you sure? You don't want to tell your friends goodbye?" Mary looked worried.

"Nope. I've said what I need to. They'll come into the light when they are ready. I'm ready right now. Let's do this." He held out his hand to her.

Mary put her hand against George's, appearing to almost hold hands, but Lance knew it was just a connection of energy that ghosts shared.

"Thank you." Mary smiled at Lance.

"Glad to help. Enjoy whatever comes next." Lance watched, hoping to see a flash of light or something, but the two ghosts just disappeared. There one moment, and gone the next. He took a deep breath, wondering what the ghosts were seeing now. He was so curious, but he wasn't meant to know. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and went up the steps of the house. He knocked on the door as if he were just visiting in case anyone was watching. After waiting a few minutes, he tried the door. As promised, it was unlocked. He pushed it open and knew the smell as it hit him. He braced himself and stepped inside. He saw her from the entry. The living room was to his left and she was on the couch just as George had said. Lance pulled out his phone and called it in before stepping back outside. There was nothing he could do now but wait. He'd stay long enough to give his statement, and to help Mack get the body loaded, then head home.

This was why he had this gift. He was sure of it. Seeing the look of love and happiness on George and Mary's faces as they left this realm made him glad he could help. He sat on the front porch steps, waiting for the police to arrive. As he did, he thought about all the ghosts he'd met since he'd started to see ghosts. He'd made a difference. A big difference. If people weren't so closed-minded about there being ghosts, he could do so much more. People like him around the world hid their gift in fear that they'd be called crazy, some even medicated or hospitalized. He wondered how many through the years had been locked away in asylums because no one believed them. His biggest hope was that someday the world would change, and people like him wouldn't be called crazy, but blessed because they could see things others couldn't. In Lance's mind, that was a gift he should never be ashamed of.

As the police car pulled in front of the house, he sighed, dreading what he was about to lead the officer into the house to see. He couldn't protect everyone. It was part of the officer's job, but just once, Lance wished he could keep someone from having to see death without knowing that there was so much more to come after it.