The Girl with the Uninvited Ghost: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #1

Chapter 25

"Was it just me, or was Karrie acting strange?" Guy floated around the Haughty Hemlock as Mahogany closed up. A troubled expression pulled at his pallid features.

"Oh, she was strange, all right." Mahogany locked the front door and flipped the sign. "But that goes without saying. She was dating you, after all." Mahogany gave him a wry smile.

"Har, har," Guy said.

Mahogany let the smirk slip from her lips onto the floor, where it shattered. "But you're right. She wasn't telling the whole truth."

Guy's visage flickered, and he let loose a yell, startling Mahogany. "I hate this. It's frustrating not being able to communicate with anyone. Being invisible is the worst. If only I could talk to her. I could get some answers."

"Hey, I'm someone." Mahogany pulled out her phone and texted Tony: Intercepted new Thaddeus letter. "Besides, this new letter might provide some answers."

A second later, her phone buzzed with Tony's reply: Get over here now!

Butterflies bumped and fluttered in Mahogany's stomach as she tiptoed out the back door while Neema sang in the shower.

"Get over here now," Guy singsonged. "Aren't you going to text Evelina?" He took a seat behind Mahogany on the scooter.

Mahogany rolled her eyes as the Vespa purred to life. "Not just yet," she said. Bazgul stared sullen-eyed out the kitchen window from his perch on the cat tree. His two front fuzzy legs pressed against the glass.

Guilt churned in Mahogany's stomach, smashing the butterflies to a pulp. She lifted her hand in a meek salute, and Bazgul dissipated into an orange-brown cloud, vanishing from sight."What's gotten him so down?" Guy asked.

"Not sure," Mahogany said, but she had an idea. She revved the engine, and they headed off to Tony's.

As Mahogany walked up the path, the front door flew open. Evelina stood, backlit on the threshold.

"Another letter? What are the odds?" She rushed out the door and slipped her arm through Mahogany's, pulling her into the house.

"When did you get here?" A tightness cinched around Mahogany's chest, and she found it hard to breathe.

"Oh, I didn't leave," Evelina said. "We went for beers, which turned into pizza, and then we rebuilt the murder board."

"What do you think?" Tony smiled. He spread his arms wide at one of the living room walls. His energy was intoxicating, and the tightness in Mahogany's chest faded. "We've upgraded."

Mahogany approached the new and improved murder wall. The suspects were color-coded and arranged in neat rows with the motives and connections labeled beneath their names. A town map listed the significant points of interest in the case, and off to the far side hung a tight cluster of clues, their significance listed on post-it notes.

"It's beautiful," Mahogany said. A pang of jealousy crept into her throat, and she bit her tongue to keep from saying something she couldn't unsay.

"So, how about that letter?" Tony said. He held out a bottle of beer to Mahogany. Beads of sweat trickled down the bottle's dark sides.

She took it with a thankful nod and drank deeply. "Got any pizza left?"

Evelina skipped into the kitchen and returned with a plate. Two large pieces of pizza sat at the ready. "I made sure to order something vegetarian in case you came back."

"Thanks for remembering." Mahogany wished for a second Evelina wasn't so kind, so she could hate her for spending so much alone time with Tony.

"She's the nicest bitch I've ever met," Guy said, reading Mahogany's thoughts.