Page 73 of Ghostlighted
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “She doesn’t have to sign them, does she?”
My stomach dive-bombed my toes. “The light box. He’s going to forge her signatures on those, too.”
He nodded. “I tried to stall him. I was able to”—he waved his hand through the air—“disrupt the electrical circuit in the light box a couple of times, but it wasn’t fatal. He got it to cycle back on.”
“Dammit,” I muttered.
“But, Maz. There’s something else.”
“Something worse than him trying to victimize his own grandmother?”
“Well, maybe not that, but you be the judge.” Avi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “He came in through the back door. It didn’t latch.”
My head swam as if I’d stood up too quickly. “Gil?” I croaked.
Avi nodded. “The light box was padded with bubble wrap and Liam tossed it on the floor. Gil?—”
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. “Gil pounced.”
“Yes. And popped a bubble. Liam jumped nearly a foot before he figured out it was Gil and not, I don’t know, a gunshot. When he shouted and lunged for him, Gil darted outside. Liam slammed the door then. I manifested on the porch, but he must have run outside my range so I couldn’t find him. I’m sorry, Maz.”
I took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s… Well, it’s not okay, but we’ll deal with that later. He hates sharp movements, especially from strangers, so it makes sense that he’d hide.”
Avi nodded, still looking absolutely miserable. “When I got back inside, Liam was lining the power of attorney up on the light box and talking on the phone. I could only hear half of the conversation, but I think he was talking to an appraiser.”
I ground my teeth together. “For Sofia’s jewelry?”
“No. For Sofia’s house.”
My jaw sagged. “Herhouse?”
Avi nodded. “He said he wanted everything settled so the house could go on the market ASAP.”
“That ratbastard.”
“We can’t let him get away.”
“You’re damn right.” I grabbed my phone again. “Let me know if he tries to bolt?”
Not bothering to reply, Avi vanished.
I pulled up my recent calls and dialed Yaz. “It’s a go. Tell Kamilla to hurry.”
“Copy that. But it could be at least fifteen minutes. She’s still on her way back to Ghost.”
“Thanks, Yaz. We’ll be on the lookout for her.”
Avi returned. “He’s on the move. Shoving everything back in the messenger bag.”
“Crap.” I chewed on my lower lip. “We’ve got to stall him somehow.” My gaze zeroed in on the garage door, across the mudroom from where we stood. I bared my teeth at Avi. “Feel like a road trip?”
He returned my feral grin. “I call shotgun.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Iglanced over at Avi in the passenger seat as the garage door rolled up behind the Civic’s rear bumper. I almost told him to fasten his seat belt as mine clicked into place. “Ready?”
“Wait.” Avi swiveled to face me, one of his knees passing through the gearshift. “What is your plan, exactly? You shouldn’t confront him inside the house. That could give him a way to shift blame onto you.”
