Page 39 of Ghostly Bother
"And I'm going to tag along with Eden today. She thinks it's fun following you around, we'll see how she feels having someone follow her." Betty glared at Eden.
Eden appeared to roll her eyes. "So how did you find out about me?"
Betty laughed. "You don't want to find out. Trust me, if you think having me around is a pain, you have no idea who much worse it could get."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Eden looked confused.
Lance knew exactly what it meant. Lizzy would be a nightmare for a ghost like Eden. He imagined her recruiting every ghost in the city to find a way to get Eden to leave or at least back off. He was grateful the others were concerned about him, but he didn't want to bring his chaos into their lives. That was why he hadn't told anyone how bad Eden had gotten. Besides, there wasn't much they could do to stop her from harassing him. No one could physically remove her. If she started singing in his bedroom or sitting on his desk at work while he was trying to fill out paperwork, they couldn't do a damn thing about it.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and took his toast to the table. "So, what's new with you, Betty?" He turned to face her, giving Eden his back.
"We're going on a cruise next spring. It's Cruising with the Hair Bands. Every night will have a different performance from an eighty's hair band. Lizzy was so excited to get tickets. It's not until next May, but I'm looking forward to it."
"I wish Angus and I could take the time to go with you. That cruise we went on was amazing. I can't wait to do another." Lance sighed. "How's Angus?"
"He'll be okay. I didn't stick around to hear everything he said, but just the fact he's not here with you told me enough. The two of you just need a chance to talk. Alone." Betty glared at Eden. "We'll all make sure you two get that time soon. For now, he's going to focus on the case, and you're going to do your job. This insanity won't last forever. Things will be back to normal before you know it."
Lance sure hoped so. He wasn't sure how many nights he could go without Angus by his side. "Let's hope."
"Have faith. Before too long, we'll be back to Friday night dinners and Eden will be nothing more than a bad memory." Betty smiled.
"Hey," Eden called. "That's rude."
"And so are you." Betty smirked at Eden. "You might have been important when you were alive, but dead, you're just another ghost hanging around and wondering what comes next. You forget we all saw what a fuck-up you were while living. We aren't going to let you try and control the afterlife the same way."
Lance hid his smile by shoving a bite of toast into his mouth. It was so good to hear someone calling Eden out. He'd wanted to do it so many times, but most of those times were when others were around and would have found him crazy for yelling at something they couldn't see.
"You have no idea the pressure I was under being mayor," Eden told them. "Everything I did was to make this city better."
"Everything you did was to line your pockets," Betty spat back. "I may be dead, but even I could see how you focused on your friends' and families' interests over the good of the city. If a project didn't make you money, you weren't interested in it."
Lance stood. As enjoyable as it was listening to Betty go off on Eden, he had a job to get to. "I need to get ready for work." He smiled at Betty. "If I could hug you, I would. Thank you for coming over."
"Anything for you. Next time, don't wait so long to seek my help," Betty told him.
"Let's hope there isn't a next time." Lance headed to his room.
Forty minutes later, he was walking into work, followed by Eden and Betty. The two ghosts were arguing like they'd been enemies for years and Lance was starting to wonder if having Betty around was going to make things worse. While he enjoyed hearing Eden be put in her place, he wasn't going to have any luck getting through reports with the two of them going at each other.
"Morning," Gretta called from her desk.
"Good morning." Lance paused by her desk. "Anything come in overnight?"
"Another probable overdose. A friend found the body in the man's apartment on the bathroom floor. Drug paraphernalia was found near the body. You also have a stabbing victim. Bar fight."
"Police catch his killer?" Lance asked.
"Mac said that the people at the bar held the attacker down until cops arrived." Gretta sighed. "I was at that bar just a few weeks ago. Seemed like a nice place."
"I've learned murders can happen in places we'd never expect them. Once I had a pick up at a church. Two women got into a physical fight, and one hit their head on the pew. Died almost instantly." Lance glanced at the clipboard where Mac left notes from the nightshift. "Carrie here yet?"
"Not yet. And Kyle took the day off. Hopefully it's slow. Brayden's in back. Said he had some reports to catch up on." Gretta turned and waved at him as she answered the phone.
Lance headed to his office. He could hear Betty and Eden still arguing. He wasn't sure where in the building they were, but he was glad he was the only one who could hear ghosts, sincethey weren't quiet. As he sank down in his desk chair, he closed his eyes. He couldn't wait until Eden crossed over and he would never have to hear her voice again.
He was just about to start working on a report when his cellphone rang. His chest tightened seeing Angus's name. "Hello?"
"Hey, I'm sorry," Angus said softly.
