A Ghost of a Chance: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery Romance (Ghost Detective Book 4) by Jane Hinchey

Author:Jane Hinchey [Hinchey, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baywolf
Published: 2020-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

9

New phone in hand, I stepped inside The Shack, a popular café on Main Street that was usually crowded with patrons. This morning was no exception, with more customers than there were tables. Not that it mattered. I was ordering to go. While waiting my turn in line, I admired my new phone—complete with a glass screen protector and a heavy-duty case that the sales rep assured me would protect the phone in case I dropped it. Which I knew I would at some point. It was a given. In fact, it would be a miracle if I got through today without dropping it.

“Notice how quiet it got when you arrived?” Ben asked conversationally. I glanced up from my phone and looked around to find at least half the patrons staring at me and the other half pretending they weren’t.

“What’s up with that?” I whispered out the corner of my mouth.

“Dunno.”

The line shuffled forward, and a man with a thick body and thin hair stepped away from the counter, takeaway coffee in hand. He stopped when he saw me, giving me the once-over. “Fitzgerald,” he said, drawing level.

“Deputy Police Chief,” I said in return.

He took a bite out of the donut in his other hand, swallowed, then smirked. “Heard you had an interesting day yesterday.”

“You could say that.” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, my deposition in the morning or my abduction in the evening.

“You might want to watch yourself.”

I cocked my head. Was that a threat? Or friendly advice?

“Thank you, Deputy Police Chief,” I said, with an extra degree of pep in my voice. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“And for once, Detective Galloway didn’t come running to your rescue. I guess he was… otherwise engaged.”

I blinked, squared my shoulders, and smiled sweetly. “Thank you for your concern, James, but contrary to what you may believe, not every woman needs a man to save her.”

James Clarke was mid-fifties and carried himself with an air of smug superiority. It occurred to me that he may be caught up in the net Galloway and Savannah had cast. It would explain the display of veiled hostility.

He gave me one more leisurely appraisal, took another bite of his donut, then sauntered out the door. The café had been silent throughout our exchange, but as soon as the door swung shut behind him, everyone began speaking at once. Thankfully, not to me. I was back to studying my phone, in particular, looking for missed calls or messages from Galloway. Of which there were none. Now I was starting to get concerned. Twenty-four hours with no contact.

“Morning, Audrey. The usual?”

I glanced up in surprise. It was my turn to order, and I hadn’t even noticed the line moving.

I nodded. “Thanks, Andy.”

“What was that with Clarke?” Ben leaned an elbow on the counter and surveyed the café.

I lifted the phone to my ear and pretended to be on a call. “What do you mean?”

“That was personal,” he pointed out. “That dig about Kade. The insinuation that he’s up to something with Savannah.

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