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

Chapter 3

Bazgul leaped from Mahogany's shoulder and landed on the obscured face of the hooded figure. The figure left out a pitiful cry as Bazgul's clung to their face before crumpling to the floor. In the distance, sirens cut through the night.

Mahogany stared open-mouthed at the writhing hooded figure before gathering her wits. Jumping to her feet, Mahogany raced towards the exit. As she passed the murderer, Bazgul hopped into the leg of her jeans. Mahogany reached the front door and yanked it open, escaping into the warm summer night.

The souls of Mahogany's boots hit the sidewalk with a wooden clomp, and she raced across the street, where she dove behind a parked car. The moment her back hit the car's cold metal door, three police cruisers skidded around the street corner and halted in front of the row of brownstones.

Somewhere nearby, a trashcan crashed to the sidewalk with an aluminum clang, scattering discarded glass bottles and soda cans. The cacophony made Mahogany's heart race anew. At the opposite end of the block, Mahogany caught a glimpse of a dark figure sliding around the corner to the south, heading towards Pandemonium's downtown.

Mahogany closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. Someone had just attempted to murder her. She'd been in the house with an assassin. All of the other relics she'd collected had been from wizards who's died of natural causes or spells of their own making gone wrong, not murder.

After half a minute, Mahogany peeked through the driver's side window at the ruckus across the street. Blue and red lights flickered off the sleeping row houses. A uniformed officer stood in the doorway Mahogany had fled through only moments before.

"Do you think they caught the murder?"

Mahogany turned her head so quickly that her neck cracked, sending a tingling pain up her scalp. Crouched beside her was none other than the injured young man from the study. The young man looked at her. "Did they catch him?" he asked again.

Mahogany placed her head on the cool glass of the driver's window, her neck throbbing. "This can't be happening."

"I know. It's crazy," the young man said, returning his wide-eyed gaze to the police cars.

"This is just my luck." Mahogany dusted off her hands and began to creep along the length of the vehicle back towards the park.

The young man turned his attention to Mahogany's retreating frame and started after her. She got to the end of the car and scampered, keeping as low as she could, to the next vehicle parked on the street.

The young man mimicked her movements and continued after her.

Mahogany ignored the young man, moving from car to car until she made it to the end of the block. Confident that she had placed enough space between herself and the police, she stood and began walking at a relaxed pace despite the cold sweat dripping down her ribcage. She crossed the street, heading toward the park.

"Wait," the young man yelled. He dashed into the street after her, not bothering to look for traffic. As he reached the street's broken yellow line, the headlights of a large van caught his attention.

Shocked, the young man froze. The van barreled towards him. Tensing for impact, the young man squeezed his eyes shut. But the impending blow never came. Instead, the van passed through him like he didn't exist, which was debatable at this point in his afterlife. Can one truly exist without a corporeal body? What is the definition of existing, anyway?

The young man stood, checking himself over in disbelief. "What just happened?" he screamed. "What's going on?"

Mahogany stopped and sighed, turning to face the frantic young man still standing in the street. "You're a ghost. You died back there."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No way. I'm right here with you, standing on the street."

"How else do you explain that van driving through you?" Mahogany glared. The young man looked only a couple of years older than herself but dumb as a brick.

His face crumpled. "I'm too young to die."

"And you're too dead to cry." Mahogany turned on her heel and continued to the park, Bazgul chattering in her ear.

"Wait," he said, running to catch up with her. "I, I'm dead, and you can see me. That means you were with me when I died."

"Unfortunately," Mahogany said through gritted teeth. She didn't have time to babysit a disgruntled spirit. She had work to do, and now that the cops were involved, her job just got a thousand times harder.

"This also means that you're stuck with me until my death is avenged," he continued.

"I am aware." They headed into the park, and Mahogany beelined for the parking lot. She strutted up to a sunshine yellow Vespa and jammed the helmet over her burst of curly hair.

"So, how are we going to solve my murder?" he asked, eying her. "Nice bike, by the way."

Mahogany glared at her uninvited and unwelcome tag along before getting onto her scooter and starting the engine. She revved the throttle a few items before zooming out of the parking lot and onto the street, leaving the ghost alone. A moment later, an invisible force ripped the ghost forward as if an unseen rope were tied to his middle. The spirit screamed as he hurtled through the air. He zipped around corners and through dark streets before the invisible tether deposited him behind Mahogany on the Vespa.

Bazgul, who clung to the back of Mahogany's blouse, hissed and scrambled onto her shoulder as the ghost landed on the seat.

"That was exhilarating!" the ghost yelled into Mahogany's ear. "I'm Guy, by the way. Guy Miller. What's your name?"

"Mahogany."

"Like the wood? That's interesting. Are your parents' carpenters?"

"I wouldn't know."

"You don't know what your parents do for a living? Did they not raise you? My maternal grandmother raised me. She's non-magical, so I didn't start learning the craft until six months ago when Mike started apprenticing me." His face fell. "I can't believe we've both been murdered. My poor gran is alone now. Mahogany, what?"

Mahogany answered by revving the engine again, speeding them toward the home she shared with Neema, her abductor.

_____

A/N: Well, well, well, the plot thickens. It appears that Mahogany has a tag along in the form of a ghost. It'll be interesting to see where this new relationship goes.

If you missed the dedication on this chapter, please head over to check out RichardDue. His story, The Moon Coin, is a tremendous piece of fantasy storytelling. It's one of my favorites, and it's sure to knock your socks off too.