Page 60 of A Midsummer Night's Ghost

But I would anywhere that wasn’t here right now.

I shoved the charcuterie into the fridge and got the hell out of Dad’s den of iniquity.

Sara Murphy didn’t looklike she belonged in Danny O’s any more than I did, and yet when I walked in she was the center of a group of four or five men and they were all laughing and taking a shot together.

“Bailey, hi!” She waved enthusiastically. “Come over and meet the guys!”

At that moment, it occurred to me that I should tell my boyfriend where I was so I waved back and then shot off a text to Jake that Dad’s was terrible and I was out with Sara for an hour or two. I couldn’t bring myself to type out that I was at Danny O’s but we shared locations with each other so if I disappeared he could figure out from where.

But no one seemed ready to attack me, so that was a good start. I was wearing leggings and a sweatshirt, which should help me blend, but didn’t. I actually stood out as underdressed next to Sara’s very sexy crop top and denim shorts.

“This is Brian,” Sara said, pointing to the man immediately next to her.

“Hi,” he said. It was tattoo guy.

My shoulders tensed.

But he was smiling so I didn’t feel in danger. Not yet anyway.

“Let’s go over here!” Sara said, grabbing her drink and hopping down off of the stool. “No, no guys, not another shot right now,” she said with a laugh when the other men all protested her departure. “I’m going to have a chat with my friends and then I’ll be back and we’ll see how drunk you can get me.”

That resulted in a loud cheer of approval.

Sara Murphy was feeling some kind of way. I was a little concerned for her safety.

“I don’t think you should do multiple shots with random men,” I told her. “And yes, I’m that girl, but that doesn’t seem safe.”

“Oh, I’m not actually going to do that.” She waved her hand. “I paid the bartender twenty bucks to make my shots non-alcoholic. But it gets the guys to open up to me if I seem like a party girl.”

Wow. That was impressive. “Bartenders will do that?”

“Hell, yeah, they will. They keep the bribe, and up charge the other customer for a shot that is dirt cheap because there’s no alcohol in it.”

I needed to get out more or watch more crime TV. That would have never occurred to me.

She rattled her straw. “This is just club soda with a lime.” She looked over. “Brian, come join us for a second.”

“Coming.” Brian grabbed his beer and followed us.

Once the three of us were seated at a high top table, Sara smiled at me. “Brian is James’s brother. It’s been so great talking to him and getting to hear about what an intriguing life James has led.”

“Oh, wow, I didn’t know. I’m sorry for your loss,” I told Brian.

He nodded. “Thanks. I’m sorry about what happened last week when you came in here. Emotions were just raw for all of us and that was the first Joy heard about James’s death so she was obviously upset.”

“But you knew.”

He gave another nod. “Yes. My mother was notified and she called me the day it happened. I was in shock. I didn’t even tell my girlfriend because she’s tight with Joy and well, Joy and James were toxic together. I can’t stand that bitch for what she’s put my brother through.”

“Custody issues,” Sara said, nodding sympathetically. “Joy was basically blackmailing James into staying with her.”

“But she has a boyfriend. Why did she want to hold onto James?”

“Control.” Brian sighed and sipped his beer. “I like her boyfriend, Don. He’s nice enough but he’s under Joy’s spell too.”

Don was the guy who had helped me off the fence, clearly. “He did seem nice.”

I wasn’t sure what this mysterious power was that Joy had over men. Then again, Brian’s own girlfriend was mean, so this group of guys had bad taste in women. Who was I to judge?

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