Page 89 of Deadly Deception
The surrounding night was quiet and blissfully warm. It wasn’t warm like summer, but the wind didn’t seep through my jacket and into my bones. Leaning into Franklin’s broad chest, I inhaled the southern Mississippi air and finally felt something in my body settle.
“It’s good to be home,” I whispered, afraid to break the stillness of the evening.
“That it is,” Franklin agreed.
“When do you have to go back into work?”
“I’ll take tomorrow off and head in the day after. I need a day to recover from myvacation.”
“Is that what we’re calling the last few days?” I asked. “Because if that’s your idea of a vacation, we need to have a serious discussion.”
Franklin’s chuckle shook my body. “No doubt.”
I glanced towards Mrs. Hart’s house. Her lights were off. I knew her routine well enough to know that she’d be up in less than two hours. Mrs. Hart kept odd hours. By the time I reached her age, I hoped I’d have the luxury of choosing when I was up and asleep too.
“If you’re up before me, will you check in with Mrs. Hart and Miss Pattycakes? I want her to know we’re back, so she knows she doesn’t need to keep an eye on the house any longer.”
Franklin only chuckled harder.
“What’s so funny?”
“The fact that you think Mrs. Calista Hart will stopkeeping an eyeon your home when she knows you’ve returned. That woman thinks the world of you, Erasmus. Trust me, Mrs. Hart is always watching.”
I scrunched up my nose. “That sounds sinister and creepy.”
“Yeah, I chose my words poorly. In Mrs. Hart’s case, the monitoring is from concern, not voyeuristic malice. She genuinely cares. Mrs. Hart’s a good neighbor to have on your side. Miss Pattycakes is no slouch either.”
It was my turn to laugh. Twisting in Franklin’s arms, I pulled free and reached for the screen door. Thanks to Franklin and a little WD-40, it no longer squeaked when I opened it. “Come on. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of sleeping while sitting upright. I want a proper bed.”
“Right behind you,” Franklin answered, those brief words whispered warmly across the back of my neck, their promise hanging heavy in the air.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Erasmus
Ah…the joys of Halloween…
There wasn’t always a lot of joy to be found in my profession. Nights like this were the exception to that dreary rule. Laughter freely flowed through Meadowbrook Cemetery. Not just laughter, but drunken, raucous belly laughs. Leaning against Edith Merriweather’s headstone, my lips twisted into a grin. I stood back, allowing the friendly reunion to play out with as little interference from me as possible.
I’d done what I was paid for. I’d brought Henry Joseph Clemon’s soul back from beyond the veil. It was clear he’d been well-loved while alive. Not by blood relations, but by a group of friends that he’d found common ground with. The three men who’d hired me clearly missed their friend, and by the looks of things, age hadn’t slowed their love of an alcoholic beverage or twelve.
“Oh my God, Henry, you should have seen it.” Virgil said while slapping his hand on his thigh. Virgil was easily eighty-plus years old. His dark skin had grooves that only deepened as he laughed. Virgil’s deep brown eyes sparkled brighter as his inebriation increased. His living friends were no different.
“It wasn’t that bad, Virg,” Doug huffed. I figured Doug was even older than Virgil, although I couldn’t be certain and hadn’t carded the man. Doug’s features were weatherworn, showing the tell-tale signs of a man who’d spent too much time in the sun with far too little sunscreen.
“I never said it wasbad,” Virgil insisted. “It was funny as hell. That’s what I’m saying.”
When Doug started to protest, their third friend piped in. “Don’t be a stick-in-the-mud. Virg is right.” Standing, Daniel pushed himself off the grass. It took him a couple of steps before he managed to shake out the kinks. Pulling out his phone, he ran his finger over the screen and approached Henry’s casket. “I got a couple of pictures.” Daniel winked as he held the phone up for Henry to look at. Thankfully, Henry had been decently preserved and his eyes were still intact.
Opening his mouth, Henry laughed. I wasn’t sure if it sounded the same coming from his corpse as when he’d been alive, but all three living men chuckled along with him, barely missing a beat.
“You did not take pictures of that!” It took Doug a couple of attempts and more than a few curse words before he managed to get into a standing position. “I told you we should have brought some lawn chairs,” Doug grumbled as he stalked toward Daniel. “Give me that thing.”
Daniel sort of hopped back. He was taller than Doug and held the phone out of reach. “No way. You’ll erase it.”
“Damn right I’m erasing it. It was an easy mistake to make. The signs for the restrooms said, ‘Gents’ and ‘Gals.’ You know I didn’t have my glasses on. It was just a stupid mix-up.”
