CHAPTER SEVEN

Lance walked into the house and gave Gail a warm smile. "Welcome to my home. Please make yourself comfortable. The only room off limits is my bedroom." He laughed as Haunt ran up to greet them. "And this is Haunt. She thinks she owns the place."

"She's so cute." Gail bent down and pet the dog. "She can see me too?"

"And feel your touch," Bethany said from the living room. She walked closer. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Lance saw the hesitation in Gail as she stood and took a step back. "It's okay. This is Bethany. She's one of the ghosts I told you about who lives with me." He saw Ray step up beside Bethany. While Bethany looked like any woman you'd see around today, Ray was from a different era. Dying over a hundred years ago, he still chose to where his newsboy hat and knicker pants. "And this is Ray." He met Ray and Bethany's curious gazes. "This is Gail. She was pushed off a bridge today and didn't survive. Angus and I are trying to help her, but I thought you two might be able to help her with a few ghostly tips too."

"Oh, honey, you just died? I'm so sorry. You're probably still in shock." Bethany walked up to her and appeared to put her arm around Gail. "Come on in back and we'll talk. I'm glad Lance brought you home with him." She led Gail through the house and into the backyard. Haunt followed, leaving Ray and Lance watching them.

"She's had a rough few days. Her two best friends were murdered yesterday, and then today she was pushed off a bridge. It was labeled a suicide until Angus or I can prove she was pushed. As of right now, Angus and I are the only ones who know her identity since she didn't have any on her when she died. Angus will want to talk to her when he gets home, but for now, maybe you two could help ease some of her fears?" Lance carried the takeout bags to the kitchen.

"Sure thing. Will she be staying the night?" Ray asked.

"That's up to her. I'll drive her to her house if she wants to be with her family once she speaks to Angus. Right now, she's just confused and upset. She asked me on the way home why her two friends weren't around if they'd just died. I tried to explain about the light, but I think you'll be able to help her understand better than I ever could." Lance watched Bethany and Gail appear to sit at the outdoor table. Haunt stayed right by Gail's side as if she somehow knew she needed her support.

"We'll help her adjust. It can be very confusing at first. How long had she been dead before you found her?" Ray asked.

"Maybe an hour or two. Someone saw her falling and called it in, so it wasn't long. Just the time for the police to get there and call us." Lance put the food in the fridge, unsure how long it would be before Angus would get home.

"Ooof, so very new. I'm glad you found her and brought her here." Ray shook his head. "Horrible when the young are dying long before their time. Has Angus got any new leads?"

"Not that I know of, but we didn't have a lot of time to talk. Gail was there and we were focused on her. I'll find out more tonight when he gets home. He wants to interview Gail tonight, but I think time with you and Bethany will help calm her. I wish the other girls had stuck around to be here with us. Maybe one of them saw their killer."

"I trust Angus to figure things out. Gail will be okay once she accepts that she's dead. Once you interview her, she can decide to stick around or move on. Her friends will be in the light waiting for her." Ray smiled. "Go shower. I'll go see what the girls are talking about."

"Thanks, Ray. I don't say it enough, but I'm glad you're here." Lance wished he could hug Ray. "You're the best friend I never knew I needed."

Ray laughed. "I wandered for a hundred years, and it took meeting you to find my home. The feeling is mutual. Now go wash the death off so you can eat." Ray floated through the wall and into the backyard.

Lance headed down the hall to his room and stripped out of his clothes. A hot shower was always first on his agenda after getting home. He didn't get dirty at work really, but he always had the scent of death on him. At least he thought he did. Angus swore that wasn't true, but no matter what, Lance wanted his shower.

He relaxed in the water longer than he should have, leaning against the tile and letting the water run over him. It was going to be a long night. Probably a long week with three murder cases going on. Angus would put in long hours and get little sleep. Lance understood why, but he hated it when they didn't get time together at night. It was when he was able to recharge and just forget everything with Angus by his side.

Refusing to get caught up in negative emotions, Lance shut off the shower and stepped out, quickly drying himself off. He knew what he was getting into when he fell in love with Angus. He wouldn't want him any other way. He cared about his cases and finding the killers. It wouldn't be long before things were back to normal, and they'd be curled up on the couch together again.

Once dressed, he wandered out back and took a seat at the table with Bethany, Ray, and Gail. He was glad to see Gail looking a bit calmer than she had been. The nervous energy was gone as she asked Ray and Bethany more about a ghost's abilities.

"How come you can see us, but others can't?" Gail asked him.

"I'm not sure. I had a bad car accident and soon after, I was able to see ghosts. There are a few of us who can see you. Angus's mother can, and I know a few others who can, but I don't think there are many like us around. I thought I was going crazy and seeing hallucinations at first. Angus's mother came over and talked me through it," Lance explained.

"Are there a lot of ghosts around?" Gail asked Bethany.

"More than you'd think. Did you meet Jeremy at the morgue?" Bethany asked.

"He wasn't there. He went home for the night to be with his family. He should be back tomorrow. Cel is coming over on Friday. She's a ghost who is teaching me to cook. And there are a few others around. Angus's mother has a ghost who lives with her named Betty. They're out of town right now, but if you stick around, you'll meet her."

"I'm not sure if I'm going to stay here. I like the way the light feels, and if Liz and Fiona are in the light, I want to be with them. I'll stay to find out who killed me, but after that, I think I'm going to go." Gail shrugged. "I think I'd get bored here alone."

"The choice is yours. You're welcome to stay here with us until you decide. If you want to go home to your house, I can drive you over later. Just know that you won't be in the way here if you want to hang out with Bethany and Ray." Lance never minded peaceful ghosts around. It was rare he found angry ghosts, but there had been a few he wouldn't invite to his home.

"Thanks. I'm not sure what to do. It's not as if my parents can see me. They won't even know I'm there." She sighed. "They don't even know I'm dead yet."

"We'll try and get your body identified as quickly as we can," Lance promised. "It won't take long once they realize you're missing."

"They'll know something is wrong when I'm not home by ten tonight. I sometimes stay and help get dinner out, then if there's an evening activity, I'll stay for that. I just hope they don't think I killed myself because I was upset over Liz and Fiona dying. Someone has to tell them that I didn't jump." Gail stared at Lance. "You have to make sure they know."

"I think they'll be able to tell something isn't right. Let the police do their job. Angus will do everything he can to show you didn't go there on your own. I don't know where there were cameras, but if there are any, he will look through every single one for video of you." He wanted to assure her they'd prove she was murdered, but he couldn't.

"Thanks for being so nice about this," Gail said softly.

"Of course. You've been through so much the last couple of days with losing your friends, then being kidnapped and killed. I'm glad I could at least introduce you to Ray and Bethany to help you understand things."

"It helps knowing I'm not alone." She smiled at Ray.

"No matter what you decide, you won't be alone. You have us here, and if you go into the light, you'll have friends and family there help you," Ray told her.

They talked a while more, then Lance excused himself and went inside. As much as he wanted to wait for Angus to get home to eat, he was starving. He pulled his lasagna out of the fridge, slid it on a plate and put it in the microwave. While he waited for it to warm, he poured himself a glass of lemonade. He drank half of it before the food was done warming. He refilled the glass and sat down to eat. It was funny how eating alone was now such a lonely thing. He'd gone years before meeting Angus where he'd come home to an empty house and spend every evening by himself. Now, he was so spoiled by having someone by his side, that the few nights they couldn't be together seemed to drag on forever.

He finished eating and grabbed the novel he was reading and curled up on the couch. Haunt hadn't left Gail's side, so for once he had the couch to himself and took advantage of it, lying back as he lost himself in the story so he would quit worrying about Angus.

It was almost an hour later when Lance heard Angus pull his car into the garage. He set his book down and stood, going to the door that connected the garage to the house to greet him. As the door opened and Angus walked in, Lance knew it had been a horrible day. He could see the lines around Angus's eyes deepen, the color of his skin a bit paler than usual, and the slump of his shoulders, bearing unseen weight from whatever information he'd been carrying all day.

"Hey." Angus gave him a small smile.

"Hey back." Lance frowned. "Bad day?"

"Possibly the worst of my life." Angus tossed his keys on the small table beside the door and stepped into Lance's arms.

Lance hugged him, feeling how drained Angus was. He wondered what had happened since he'd seen him just a few hours ago to cause him to be so stressed. "What can I do?" He brushed a kiss over Angus's neck.

"Nothing. No cure for this." Angus sighed as he pulled back. "It's an internal dilemma I have to sort out."

"Let me get your dinner warming and we can talk." Lance started to turn away.

Angus gripped his arm. "No food. If I tried to eat, I might throw up. My stomach is twisted in knots right now. I need to sit for a bit before I even think about food." He made his way to the living room and sank down on the couch.

"What happened?" Lance sat down beside him.

"I can't do this. I just can't." Angus closed his eyes as he leaned his head back on the couch.

"What?" Lance rested a hand on Angus' thigh.

"What I did tonight. I went and spoke to Gail's parents, knowing she was dead, but acting like everything was just fine. They're going to spend the night wondering where their daughter is, if she's okay, and I could have just told them the truth, but because it would label you and me crazy, I couldn't say a word. I can't do that again. It's not right. Maybe I should have sent Mom over to talk to them, but I hate putting that on her."

"She left town this morning anyway, but I get what you're saying. My moral issues aren't as severe as yours. I'm just doing an autopsy on a Jane Doe that really isn't a Jane Doe. In the end, she'll end up in the right hands, but for you, it's different. I don't know how to solve the issue. Maybe I stop telling you when a ghost shows up. I'm not sure. I had no idea when Gail spoke to me today that she would end up being involved in the case you were actively working."

"You had no way of knowing. This isn't your fault. I want you to tell me when a ghost has information. More than once, it's helped me solve a case. This one though…" Angus shook his head. "I've never had to outright lie to a child's parents. They're sitting there right now, still expecting their daughter to walk in the door, and I know she's not going to be doing that."

"You didn't have a choice. You couldn't tell them without making you look either guilty or crazy. Tomorrow, we'll figure out a way to identify her and right this wrong. I get how horrible it is and how wrong it feels, but you really didn't have any other options."

"It makes me want to quit my job," Angus admitted.

Lance didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to respond to that? "This is a rare case. It may never happen this way again. You had no way of knowing it would turn out this way when you set up that interview. Normally, if you knew a person was dead, you'd wait to talk to the family. You could have postponed the interview, but that would have seemed strange to do so late. By the time you wake up, they'll have reported her missing and I'll do her autopsy first thing. She's already on record with a preliminary description. Once she's listed as missing, it will be a matter of a few phone calls to confirm we have her."

"I know. I just felt like shit looking them in the eyes and knowing their daughter was dead. Now I'm going to have to sit down with them again for a much darker interview and watch them grieve." Angus sat up straighter. "I'll work through this. Right now, it just sucks I had to do that. Is Gail here?"

Lance nodded. "In back with Ray and Bethany."

"I need to talk to her. Whoever pushed her probably killed Fiona and Elizabeth too. I want to find out what she knows before she might go into the light, and I lose my chance."

"I'll grab her." Lance stood and went to the back door. He smiled seeing Gail on the ground, petting Haunt. "Hey, Angus is back. He'd like to ask you a few questions if you're up to it."

"Sure." Gail floated up to appear standing. Haunt stood, still staying right by her side. "Can she come in?"

"Of course. She's got full run of the house." Lance grinned at the dog who was supposed to be his, but clearly belonged to the ghosts. If they ever moved on, the damn dog would be heartbroken.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Ray asked Gail.

"Please." She nodded.

Lance turned and headed back inside. He found Angus still on the couch, but with his notebook out and ready to get to work.

"Hi again." Gail sank down on the floor beside the coffee table and Haunt settled beside her. "How were my parents?"

Lance quickly started repeating what Gail said so Angus could hear.

"Good, they think you stayed late to work. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell them the truth." Angus seemed to know where Gail was because of how Haunt was acting.

"No, that's okay. I don't want them to be sad. The longer they go without knowing, the better. I hate how upset they'll be when they find out. And if they believe I jumped, it will be even worse."

Lance repeated everything she said.

"We'll do all we can to prove you didn't commit suicide. I'll start looking for camera feeds as soon as I get into work tomorrow. Do you remember seeing anyone when you left work? As you walked out the door, was there anyone there or anything that seemed out of place?" Angus asked, getting right to the questions.

"Not that I remember. I went out the side door because that leads to the back parking lot where employees park. There was a silver car parked by the curb, but that wasn't strange. People always park there when they're picking up or dropping off employees. I didn't see anyone in or around the car though. I looked across the lot at my car, stepped off the sidewalk, and that's when something hit the back of my head. I think I cried out, but then I don't remember anything until I was being dragged to the bridge." Gail moved her hand along the back of her head, but her ghostly hand appeared to move through her head instead of rubbing it.

Lance again told Angus everything, pausing as Angus wrote things down.

"Tell me about that. What happened when you started to wake up?" Angus asked.

"The pain was so bad. I was being pulled by my hair. I fought to get away, grabbing at the person's arms. I think it was a guy. I clawed and tried to get my feet under me, but he was moving too fast. My vision was blurry. I'm not sure if it was because I was crying or bleeding. I think I was bleeding. I know I was crying. I knew I was outside, but I didn't know where I was until I saw the train tracks. Then I saw he was pulling me onto the bridge. I fought harder, but he lifted me like I weighed nothing. I knew I was going over the railing and tried to hold on to him. I remember his shirtsleeve tearing, then I was falling. I don't remember anything after that. It took me a few to realize I was standing outside of my body, staring at myself crumpled there. I was in shock and couldn't understand for a bit. It wasn't long before some guy ran up, freaking out as he called the police. I just stood there watching until Lance got there and could see me." Gail grinned at Lance. "I'm glad you came. I wouldn't have known what to do. I was scared to go into the light because I wanted to know who killed me and wasn't sure I could find out if I went to it. I also hoped I could find Fiona and Liz, but I guess they didn't stick around."

Lance explained everything to Angus, then focused on Gail. "Tomorrow, I'm going to do your autopsy. Hopefully, we'll be able to let your parents know your body is at the morgue. You don't need to be there for any of that. You're free to stay here with Ray and Bethany or I can drive you to your parents and you can be there with them. It's up to you."

"Once we figure out where your car is, and see if there are cameras, I'll start investigating who grabbed you. Just the fact that you died a day after Fiona and Liz makes your death curious. We'd investigate it anyway just because of your link to the other girls," Angus told her.

"Is it true that Liz was strangled, and Fiona drowned?" Gail asked.

Lance repeated her question.

"Yes, that's all true," Angus confirmed.

"Did you talk to Gavin, Tom, and Terrance?" Gail asked.

Again, Lance told Angus what she asked.

"I did talk to Gavin, but he didn't seem to know anything. Why? Is there something I should know?" Angus asked.

"Well, it's just strange. A few weeks ago, we were all talking, and we had this conversation about what would be the worst way to die. I'm scared of heights, so I said falling. Liz said choking because you wouldn't be able to get air into your lungs and would know you were dying. And Fiona, she's scared of water. She will swim, but only if someone is with her. She said drowning would be the worst for her."

Angus sat forward as Lance repeated everything. "Who was all there for that conversation?"

"Just the six of us," Gail told him. "But I don't think any one of the guys would do this to us. I mean, I trust all of them. I can't see why one of them would want to hurt us."

Lance repeated everything, stunned at the news. This had to have something to do with the case. He stared at Angus. "That can't be a coincidence, can it?"

Angus shook his head. "I wouldn't think so." Angus looked to where Gail was. "Tell me more. Did everyone comment about how they'd hate to die?"

"Yeah, let me think. Um, Terrance said he'd hate to be crushed. Like rocks falling on him or a building collapsing on top of him. Tom said he thought poison would be bad, especially if you could slowly feel it working. Gavin said starvation or lack of water. He went into this gruesome thing about the body starting to shut down and devour itself." She frowned. "This means the guys are at risk too, right?"

"I think it would mean exactly that," Lance said after telling Angus what Gail had said.

"I'm not going to ignore it. I'll talk to them in the morning and warn them to be careful. I wonder why Gavin didn't mention this to me when I interviewed him." Angus set his notebook down. "Was anyone else there at the time?"

"No, not with us. His parents weren't home. They were hardly ever home until late. Like nine or ten most nights. That's why we'd go over to Terrance's house. No one would bother us." She looked troubled. "You can't think one of the guys did this to us."

Lance repeated everything, wishing he could comfort Gail. Bethany and Ray were standing behind her, but even they could only listen. There was nothing that was going to make this easier on Gail.

"I have to investigate all angles," Angus told her.

"Well, I know it wasn't Gavin or Terrance who had me. The guy wasn't tall enough. Even Tom is tall, but not as tall as the other two. I just don't think any of them would hurt us. We were close. And there is no way Gavin would hurt Liz. They were so in love." Gail appeared to bury her face against Haunt.

Lance had seen too many cases where a couple was supposedly too in love to harm one another but ended up doing so anyway. He was sure Angus would investigate each of the boys and look into each alibi. He figured it was no coincidence that they'd had the conversation about dying and then suddenly started dying exactly how they most feared. He finished telling Angus everything. He saw the added stress on Angus's face as he got more information. Knowing Angus as well as he did, he was sure he wanted to go back out and talk to the boys now, but it was nearing ten at night and everything would have to wait for tomorrow.

"Is there anything else you think I should know? Anyone who had a problem with you guys or threatened one of you?" Angus asked.

Gail shook her head. "No, things were good. I can't think of anything. We would have talked about it if something happened, or someone had a problem."

Lance shook his head at Angus. "She said there is nothing she can think of." He then turned his attention back to Gail. "Did you want to go home tonight or stay here?"

"It's okay if I stay here? I think I'd get lonely at my parents since they can't see me. I don't want to sit in the dark alone. I kind of want to go with you tomorrow for my autopsy, if that's okay." Gail shrugged. "I'm just curious."

Lance learned long ago that ghosts weren't as queasy about death and dead bodies as the living were. "I don't think you should sit through it all, but if you want to, you're more than welcome. I won't be able to talk to you much while I'm at work, but there is a ghost who stays at the morgue you can visit with if he's around."

"You'll like Jeremy. He's cool," Ray said. "But you're welcome to stay with us if you want."

"Thanks. I'll decide in the morning." Gail kept petting Haunt.

Lance gave Angus's thigh a pat. "You hungry yet?"

"No, but I need to eat. Let me go shower and I'll try." Angus stood.

Lance got up as well. "You go shower. I'll warm the food."

"You're good at taking care of me." Angus paused to kiss Lance softly. "Thank you."

"It goes both ways. You got me through that migraine last week. It's what couples do. Now go shower and change. You look exhausted." Lance wanted to go with him, wash him, dry him, clothe him, and just let Angus relax, but he was sure Angus would never let him go that far. "Once you eat, we'll head to bed."

"Sounds good." Angus headed down the hall.

"We'll leave you two alone." Bethany stood and called Haunt to her. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Night." Lance watched the ghosts and dog head into the backyard, leaving him to get Angus his food, then tuck him into bed where they both could forget murder for a few hours while they slept.