Page 15 of The Accidental Ghost

Nina rolled her eyes, clearly impatient. “I’m not surprised this place is familiar. You two have been to almost every single store in the tri-state. They all start to look the same after a while, don’t they? Now, hurry the fuck up. We’re at a fucking crime scene. Let’s not linger.”

She gave them a light shove as Ralph led them to the back of the store through the alley. She had access to her apartment there, as well as from inside the store. As they took the long stairway up to her apartment, Ralph swallowed hard, praying Blanche was still alive.

If they’d found her body yesterday, maybe someone had remembered Blanche and taken her. But if they had, how would she find her? How would she know for certain she was safe?

If the police had investigated her apartment, they’d find her best friend Hazel imprinted all over her life, from text messages to Skype calls. Maybe they’d called her to come get Blanche. That thought gave her some solace.

They all stood crammed up against one another on the tiny landing in front of the door where yellow crime tape blocked it off, the one she’d only recently painted a teal green to make it more inviting.

“Keys,” Ralph muttered. “Dang. I don’t have the keys, and while I can go through the door, you guys can’t. And I can’t open it, so how will we get?—”

Nina grabbed the doorknob, twisting until the lock broke. She pushed the door open with her foot and motioned everyone inside, holding up the tape.

If Wanda was nice, Nina was brute force without a single fear. She stomped through the door without even checking to see if anything looked out of order.

Ralph gasped. Oh, dear. Her entire apartment was trashed. Drawers were tossed, cabinets were opened, her small end table on its side.

But she wasn’t thinking about that. She was thinking about Blanche.

Ralph rushed in behind Nina, floating toward her tiny kitchen, where her cat sometimes hid under her little table for one. “Blanche!” she called out, swishing her thumb and middle finger together in a familiar gesture Blanche understood.

Her feeder still had a least a week’s worth of food in it, and so did her water. That at least meant she’d been eating and staying hydrated.

“Blanche? Come see Mommy!”

Panic began to set in as she floated toward her bedroom, but it was Nina to the rescue again. She came out of the bedroom with Blanche in her arms, the cat’s long tail wrapped around Nina’s neck, enmeshed in the vampire’s silky black hair.

“Is your mommy a ghost, cuddle bug?” the vampire asked Blanche, as she ran her knuckles under her chin, burying her nose in her fur. “Can’t believe the police didn’t find her. Good job hiding from the coppers, little lady. You’d have ended up in some disgusting shelter unbefitting of a fine feline like you.”

“Oh, Blanche Devereaux!” Ralph cried, instinctively reaching out to touch her, only to find her hand slipped right through her fur. She hadn’t anticipated how much that would hurt, but it felt like a searing poker to her heart. She looked to Shamus. “Can she see me like everyone else because of the fairy dust?”

Shamus nodded, his words as gentle as his eyes. “Maybe even without the fairy dust. Some animals can see ghosts, or sense them, like my boy Dale. But for the moment, she can definitely see you with the dust.”

Leaning forward, Ralph brushed her ghostly face against Blanche’s nose in their familiar boop. Her cat bumped foreheads with her, purring madly, forcing her to tamp down a sob.

She couldn’t feel it. Ralph wished with all she had, with every bit of her soul, that she could rub her face against Blanche’s soft fur. But she felt the intention, and it made her shoulders quake as she fought tears that frustratingly wouldn’t come.

“Her name’s Blanche Devereaux?” Nina asked.

Ralph nodded. “It is.” She couldn’t explain the reasons why right now, her throat was too tight.

“That’s our girl Ingrid’s dog’s name. Another paranormal we’ll explain later. Fucking great minds think alike, huh?” For the first time, Nina’s eyes held sympathy as she stroked Blanche’s jaw, holding Ralph’s eyes captive. “Mommy loves you, pretty girl. You wanna come with us back to my dark lair? Waffles would love you. If Calamity shows up from wherever the hell she is, she’ll share her cat perch. Charlie and Carl are gonna love you, too.”

Ralph’s shoulders slumped in deep sorrow. “You’ll take her?” she whispered hopefully, her soul shrouded with grief at the thought of never seeing Blanche again, once they found out where she was supposed to be.

“Of course, I’ll fucking take her,” Nina said, her tone hoarse, turning away from them. “Right, pretty? Tell Mommy that Auntie Nina will take good care of you. Always.”

Wanda was suddenly beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders that Ralph couldn’t feel but needed regardless.

“I know you can’t feel this, but I’m hugging you anyway, Ralph. I know this is painful, honey, and I’m so sorry. But I promise you, Nina’s an animal lover. She’ll take the best care of her. We all will.”

How strange that she could smell Wanda’s perfume, a light floral scent, wafting to her nose, comforting her.

She turned her head into Wanda’s shoulder, praying for composure so she wouldn’t look nearly as weak as she felt. The idea that these people would take care of the one thing that meant the most to her, knowing nothing about her, touched her deeper than almost anything ever had.

“I…I saw you all with your dogs…Waffles, Muffin. I know Blanche will love you all as much as you love your pets, but…”

Marty stood before her and held out her palms for Ralph to place her hands on. Ralph set her hands on Marty’s, watching them disappear like smoke, but closing her eyes anyway and letting the warmth of her next sentiment fill her up.

---