Page 7 of Ghostly Bother
Lance looked up at her. "Even after you died? You didn't see them leave the scene?"
"I saw someone running away and jumping into a car, but I was too confused to realize what was going on. It took me a minute to recognize I was looking at my body and that I'd…" She paused and waved her hand up and down in front of her. "Changed."
Lance nodded. "So, you have no clue who killed you?"
"No, but I'm going to find out." She glanced at Jeremy, then back at Lance. "But first, I have to stop you from cutting into my body. There's nothing an autopsy can do to help you figure out who killed me."
"That might be the case, but it's the law. Even if we don't find anything, we have to do the autopsy." Lance had come across several ghosts since he'd first started seeing them who hadn't wanted their body autopsied. He understood how unsettling it could be to think of your body being cut up.
"But you can't." Eden was now standing in the middle of his desk, her legs nearly touching his underneath it.
"Will you please step back?" He looked up at her. "I don't mind helping you figure out who killed you, but you need to be respectful and understand that there are things you can no longer control. The autopsy is one of those things. If it freaks you out, go spend time with your kids while I do it. Most ghosts don't worry about their body once they've died."
"I've already been there. My kids can't see me. No one there can see me. You can see and hear me, so I'll stay here, but I don't give you permission to do an autopsy on me."
Lance raised a brow, a bit amused at Eden's attitude. He hadn't liked the woman when she was alive and was pretty sure he wasn't going to like her in her ghostly form. "You do realize I don't need your permission, right?"
She glared at him. "I was strangled. My body still has a scarf around my neck. There's nothing more you need to know other than why someone strangled me. Cutting into my body won't tell you that." Eden threw her hands up and floated backward, then started floating back and forth in the small office.
Lance focused on his computer and the new emails he'd received overnight. He wondered why Eden was so upset about having an autopsy done. Was it simply the idea of her body being cut into or having them see her naked or was there something more that she was trying to hide? He couldn't resist teasing her a bit. He glanced up at her and narrowed his eyes. "You have some hidden tattoos you don't want us to find?"
She paused her movement and glared harder at him.
"Piercing?" Lance wiggled his eyebrows.
Jeremy laughed. "Those are always a surprise."
"Is this how you act with everyone?" Eden stood with her hands on her hips. "I'm glad I didn't give this place more money."
That was the wrong thing to say. Lance stood. "No, you would rather remodel your office, give your staff new cars every year, and make sure your bank account grows instead of worrying about what goes on here." Lance shoved his phone into the desk drawer and turned to Jeremy. "Let's get her autopsy done. Then maybe she'll leave us alone."
"Shouldn't you call Angus first?" Jeremy asked. "He'll want to know she's here, won't he?"
Lance sighed. For the first time since he started seeing ghosts, he was tempted not to let anyone know the victim's ghost was around. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat back down at his desk. Jeremy was right. He needed to let Angus know. He'd want to interview Eden and find out if she knew anything. "Yeah, he will." He opened the drawer and pulled his phone back out.
"Who's Angus?" Eden turned to Jeremy.
"His boyfriend. He's a detective with the Fairway PD," Jeremy informed her.
Eden's eyes widened. "The one who arrested my head of security?"
"For murder," Lance reminded her.
"If he's in charge, we'll never find out why someone killed me." Eden shook her head. "The police made a public spectacle of that arrest. It should have been handled quietly, behind closed doors. You have no idea the damage that caused me."
"He murdered your secretary," Jeremy told her.
"She was my administrative assistant." Eden started to float back and forth again. "Arresting him in public made the city look bad. It was all over the news."
Lance ignored her and placed the call to Angus. He wasn't even sure Angus would answer, but he had to let him know Eden was around. The phone rang four times before Lance heard Angus answer.
"Hey, sorry I haven't called." Angus sounded tired and distracted.
"It's okay. I wouldn't even bother you, but I thought you'd want to know your victim is here at the morgue trying to stop me from doing her autopsy." Lance glanced over to see Eden staring at him.
"She's there? Does she know who killed her?" Angus whispered. "Give me a second. I need to step out of the office. Too many people."
"She doesn't know. She saw someone running away and getting into a vehicle, but she doesn't know who. She says she was too confused at finding herself dead to pay attention. On that, I do believe her. She had to be in shock."
