Page 43 of Ghostly Bother
"Can you do that?" He had never heard of a ghost being forced to move on by other ghosts or living.
"Maybe." She winked at him. "Now let me go meet with the captain. He's expecting us. Tell Franks he's welcome for dinner tonight if he wants. Your father has ribs on the smoker. Theyshould be ready around six." She waved as she walked down the hall.
Angus smiled. Seeing his mother was just what he needed. Was it crazy to be nearly forty and still need your mother's smile and encouragement in your life to get you through bad days? He didn't care. He loved her and nothing would change that. He made his way back to the office to find Franks working on something at his computer. "Ran into Mom. She said you're invited to dinner tonight. Dad's smoking ribs."
"Damn, that sounds amazing, but I actually have a date tonight."
"Oh, going out with that dispatcher again?" Angus asked.
"No, this is someone new. It's our first date. She's new to town and asked me to show her around. We're going to dinner, then headed over for music in the park." Franks didn't look up from whatever he was working on.
"That's great. I hope things go well. I'm glad you're getting out." He was a bit shocked that Franks was going on an actual date and not just dinner with one of his friends. He'd been going out with a dispatcher off and on but swore they were just friends. This sounded like it might be something more. He had a ton of questions but knew Franks well enough to know not to ask. He'd share when he was ready.
"Thanks, we'll see how it goes." Franks finally glanced up. "Seriously, tell your mom thanks for the offer."
"I'll pass that on, but you know the offer stands." Angus stared at his computer. He had to get to work. Answers weren't going to appear out of nowhere. Trying to push thoughts of Franks' date and worries about his own relationship from his mind, he focused on what was important. He'd solve this case, and hopefully, be rid of Eden once and for all.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
As he stepped out of the shower, Lance readied himself for Eden to be waiting for him. He was relieved to find the bathroom empty. He'd started wrapping a towel around his waist before stepping out since several times over the last week, he'd found Eden sitting on the bathroom counter waiting for him.
He took his time dressing. He could hear voices coming from the kitchen and though he couldn't identify who was speaking, he knew Betty and Eden were there since they'd rode home with him. For a minute, he debated on just curling up in bed and skipping dinner, but the truth was, he was starving. Besides, he wasn't about to let a ghost keep him from going into his own kitchen and having dinner.
He slowly made his way down the hall and sighed in relief when he heard Ray and Bethany speaking with Betty. It didn't mean Eden wasn't there, but having the three other ghosts around to keep Eden distracted would make his night better. Haunt heard him before the others did and she bounded from where she was lying under the kitchen table and ran to him, her tail wagging hard as she greeted him for the second time since he'd got home. Lance laughed as he stooped down to pet her. "Hey, you missing Angus as much as I am?" He spoke softly to her as he pressed his face against her soft neck. "How about we get some dinner? I bet you're as hungry as I am."
"Lizzy said she'd bring some ribs over if you aren't up to cooking. Just give her a call," Betty told him as he started to get Haunt's food bowl so he could feed her first.
"Haunt would love the bones, but I'd rather just make myself something quick." He smiled at Betty where she sat beside Eden at the kitchen table. "I need to write Jackson a letter then I'm going to try and finish the book I've been reading." Hehoped Eden would get the hint that he wanted to be left alone. Other nights he'd tried to read, she'd sat on his bed or beside him on the couch and asked a million questions he couldn't answer. Mostly about the afterlife and what he knew about it. She wanted to know about every ghost he'd met. When he hadn't answered, she'd get mad and start singing or doing other things that she knew would annoy him.
"We have news." Ray smiled. "Our day hanging around the police station paid off."
"What news?" Eden asked, her attention fully on Ray.
"Don't tell her. If she wants to know what's going on, she can go hang out there on her own." Lance pulled a frozen chicken dinner from the freezer.
Betty laughed. "I told you we should have gone over there today instead of hanging around the morgue."
"Hush." Eden glared at Betty, then turned back to Ray. "What did you find out? Do they know why someone killed me?"
Bethany glanced at Lance, then back to Eden. "If he doesn't want to talk about it…"
"We can go out back and talk." Eden stood.
"The point is, Lance wants you to leave him alone and go do your own investigating the way we did today. It only took us a few hours to learn things. You could have figured this stuff out days ago if you'd been hanging around the right places and people." Ray shrugged. "If Lance doesn't want to talk about it, we won't."
"But I deserve to know." Eden pouted.
"And I deserve to live my life without you hounding me." Lance stuck the meal in the microwave, then turned to lean against the counter. "I do have a question for you, Betty. At my office earlier, you appeared to shove Eden. Did I really see that?"
Betty grinned. "You did. It's something Ray and I have been practicing. We figured we could always feel each other's energy.You know how it looks like we're holding hands when dancing or even how Haunt can feel our energy when we pet him. We started to question if we could manipulate each other's energy. So, we started practicing by holding our hands up against each other and pushing our energy against the other. It worked."
"That's amazing." Lance looked at Ray. "You didn't know it could be done?"
"I've witnessed a ghost or two in the past do something like it. Never with a solid object or a living person, but with another ghost. One guy threw a punch and while the punch didn't really hit the ghost, the force of energy did and caused the other ghost to take a step back." Ray smiled at Betty.
"Show me how." Eden held up her hands.
"You won't be able to do it," Bethany told her. "I can't. We think it has to do with how long someone's been a ghost. Their energy seems to get stronger the older they are. Ray's much stronger than Betty. All I feel is the other's energy and if I push my energy at them, I merge into their energy. Somehow, Ray and Betty can keep their energy separated if they want so they don't meld into each other. I'm sure there is a scientific way to explain it, but I'm not smart enough to figure it out."
