Page 36 of The Accidental Ghost

It was all they had at this point, no one else had offered them any help. So she’d agreed, even after Shamus told her she didn’t have to help if she didn’t want to.

But once Ralph understood the person in the care home was dying, that strange voice called to her like it had with Gloria, mentally poking her to help Drucinda.

Now they were here, standing in the dark parking lot under a barren tree, facing the quaint brick structure. The lights inside glowed softly, welcoming those who were coming to spend the last moments of their loved ones’ lives with them in peace.

Drucinda hadn’t said much about the resident she wanted Ralph to talk to. Only that this person, whom she appeared to care a great deal about, had fallen into a coma and their last hours were upon them. She claimed she’d heard from others in the afterlife that when someone was in a comatose state, they could hear ghosts.

Drucinda’d had no luck reaching out to this person, but she hoped, because of what Ralph had done with Gloria, she might be able to help.

Apparently, the afterlife was all abuzz with Ralph’s recent accomplishment, even if they didn’t understand why she hadn’t ended up in the afterlife, and that’s what had sent Drucinda to Shamus’s séance.

She wanted Ralph to be her conduit, to relay an important message to whomever waited inside. And Ralph was willing to try.

“Are you ready?” Shamus asked, grabbing her hand. “I can’t exactly go in there with you two.”

The pull of something stronger than she was capable of resisting called to her. “It’ll be okay, Shamus. At least, I think it’ll be okay…”

“We’ll be right here if you and the mouthy lady need us. Got that? First sign of someone who wants to fuck with you, you’re out. Clear?” Nina said.

Ralph nodded as Shamus threw fairy dust on her to keep her from frightening the night nurses. “Can you see me, Nina?”

When Nina didn’t respond, she had her answer. Ralph let her hand slip from Shamus’s, following Drucinda inside.

She heard Nina whisper “good luck, Glow Stick,” as she floated inside the hospice care.

Drucinda weaved her way along the halls. It was clear she knew her way around. The facility was posh, filled with big leafy green plants, soft music drifting through the halls, and somewhere, the tinkle of a waterfall splashed gently.

The floors were carpeted in Berber, what seemed like miles and miles of cream-colored pathways. The door to each room was stained walnut, their numbers listed.

When they found room 215, Drucinda stopped. Her sharp blue eyes, now filled with sadness, searched Ralph’s. “Are you ready? I know this is new for you. If you want to back out, I’d understand.”

Reaching for her hand, Ralph gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m ready.”

Drifting through the door, they entered the hushed room, where the only sound was the beeping of the heart machine. Painted a soft moss green, the walls held paintings of the ocean, and a beautiful mural of angels and clouds adorned the ceiling.

In the center of the room, an enormous king-size bed boasted a tufted cream headboard, with crushed-velvet pillows all around the person lying in the middle of the mattress.

As Ralph followed Drucinda to the edge of the bed, her eyes opened wide.

She knew that face. Hell, everyone knew that face.

It was Katriana Wellington.

A supermodel before they called them supermodels.

Even in the last stages of death, this woman was beautiful. Her silver hair brushed back from a lean face, all sharp angles and high cheekbones. Her slender hands had nary an age spot, though her skin was milky white, blue-green veins peeking through.

She wore a beautiful negligee of pale blue beneath the fluffy gray comforter.

Ralph knew this woman from the countless fashion magazines her mother had pored over. Long and slender, with a tiny waist, a famous walk and glacial gaze, she’d been the toast of the town in the late sixties and early seventies.

As Ralph studied the occasional lift of her chest when she breathed, she knew without a doubt her time was upon her. She didn’t know how she knew, but the time for her to leave this Earth had come.

Looking to Drucinda, whose eyes were glued to this stunning woman’s face, she asked softly, “She was one of your models, wasn’t she?”

Drucinda lifted her chin, her slender throat creamy and white, and she inhaled. “Yes…and then she was the love of my life.”

Chapter

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