Betwixt Read online

  “So she’s mentioned us,” Adam said with a chuckle.

  I grimaced. “Great.”

  I could only imagine.

  Scarlet hurried around the counter and went to the front of the shop. She flipped over the wooden sign hanging from the door handle and then tugged at the chain attached to the neon Open sign. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about what Posy discusses here; everything is confidential.”

  Adam held up a hand. “Okay, hold on.”

  Scarlet turned, her back flat against the front door.

  “This is all legit?” he asked. “You’re really a ghost … counselor? A ghost hunter?”

  “As a member of the ghost community, I object to that terminology.”

  I snapped around at the voice just as a silver-hued Himalayan cat leapt up onto the counter. It calmly licked its front paw then stroked its face. “I know I’m beautiful, but I’m not some kind of trophy for a hunter.”

  “The cat talks?” Adam said, leaning forward.

  “Endlessly.” Scarlet sighed.

  The cat continued grooming itself, unconcerned.

  Scarlet tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and then gestured at the cat. “This is Flapjack.”

  “I think I’ve officially seen everything,” Adam said.

  “Flapjack was my childhood pet, turned not-so-imaginary friend and he’s been with me ever since.”

  Flapjack glowered in Scarlet’s direction. “Unfortunately, Scarlet’s parents let her select my name.”

  “I was five.” Scarlet’s lips twitched. “Would you rather we go back to the first three weeks of your life when we thought you were a girl? I’ve got no problem calling you Annabelle from here on out.”

  Flapjack scowled at her and then continued grooming his feather duster of a tail.

  “Is that a no?” she prodded.

  No response.

  “As to your question,” she continued with a slight smile. “I prefer the term mediator. Most of the time, my role is to foster communication between the living and the dead, with the goal of helping both parties find peace.”

  “And she does a simply smashing job of it!” a new voice chimed in, using a cheery British accent.

  A man wearing coattails and a top hat floated through the wall and perched at the opposite end of the counter from the cat. Judging by the wary look in the gentleman’s eyes when he gazed at the cat, that was his preference.

  Without even glancing sidelong at the new arrival, Scarlet said, “And this is Hayward Kensington II.”

  “Kinda crowded back there,” Adam said, gesturing toward the storeroom.

  “You have no idea,” Scarlet replied.

  “You’ve seen ghosts all your life?” I asked her.

  “It started with Flapjack,” she said with a nod. “My parents got him when I was starting kindergarten and, tragically, he died a few years later.”

  “I had a rare genetic disorder,” Flapjack explained, clearly taking issue with being discussed as though he weren’t in the room.

  “That was my first exposure to death.” Scarlet inclined her head toward the fluffy cat. “A few days after we buried him, I saw him in my room. He looked a little different than I remembered, but otherwise, he was my Flapjack. Then I found that he could talk—something I’d often dreamed of, or imagined, I suppose, when he was alive. My parents thought I was working through grief by pretending he was still alive when really he was always with me.”

  I tipped my head toward the genteel human ghost at the other end of the counter.

  Scarlet smiled. “Hayward found me a few years ago. I was traveling overseas on a study-abroad program. He had been haunting one of the London underground tours and when he realized I could see him, decided to follow me all over the city until I finally talked to him.”

  “She was a tough nut to crack,” Hayward said with a gleam in his eye. “She wanted nothing to do with me. But I won her over in the end.”

  “He wanted to see the States,” Scarlet explained.

  “Aha.” I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely sure I understood. “And what brought you to Beechwood Harbor?”

  “A little over a year ago, my grandmother passed away and left me some money. She knew I always wanted to open my own florist shop and earmarked part of her estate for me. It took me a while to find the right location, but when this place came on the market, I just knew it was the right fit.”

  I smiled. “Do you like it so far?”

  “I do.” Scarlet nodded. “Although, to be honest, I hadn’t expected to find so much paranormal activity. I was barely here for a week before Gwen—you know Gwen?”

  Adam and I nodded.

  “Right, she and Posy are thick as thieves.” Scarlet waved a hand. “She introduced me to the local ghosts and we started meeting here once a week. There’ve been a few new ghosts in town over the last couple of months and the support group helps get them up to speed.”

  “How to be a ghost 101?” Adam asked.

  “Something like that.” Scarlet smiled. “Most of the time it feels like trying to referee a baseball team of chimpanzees.”

  “The umpire for the undead.” Adam snorted. “That would look great on a business card, you know.”

  I elbowed him and his laugh turned to a sputter.

  “You mentioned there are some new ghosts in the area. Would you happen to know someone named Lenny Knowles?” I asked Scarlet, trying to ignore the two ghosts that flanked her as she took her place back behind the counter.

  Scarlet considered the question carefully and then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  Adam explained the encounter with Lenny Knowles. Scarlet cringed when he reached the end. “You dispersed him with a poker?”

  Hayward and Flapjack both shifted angry glares in our direction.

  “He wouldn’t leave,” Adam replied with an unaffected stare.

  “He did give him the opportunity to leave peaceably,” I rushed to add, before they all thought we were complete monsters.

  Scarlet held up a hand. “All right, fair enough, but in the future, there are better ways to ward off unwanted spirits.”

  “I’m all ears,” Adam said.

  “For starters, ghosts are very sensitive to smell,” Scarlet explained casually, as though we were discussing the weather. “If you can find a scent the unwanted intruder doesn’t like, you’ll be able to effectively deter them from places you don’t want them.”

  “I didn’t realize ghosts could even smell things,” I said, nervously eying Hayward and Flapjack. We already had one angry ghost on our trail. I didn’t want to risk alienating Beechwood Harbor’s entire spectral population.

  Scarlet nodded. “The trick is finding out which scents will work. It can take time as it’s all trial and error. What repels one ghost might attract another. For example, Flapjack loves the smell of fish. Hayward would go metaphorically running for his life if a place smelled like that.”

  Hayward shrugged.

  “Thanks for the tip. I guess the real reason we’re here is to get your thoughts on Posy’s current state of mind. In the past, when she’s reached a breaking point, the manor itself manifests the energy.”

  “Usually with disastrous results,” Adam added with a wince.

  “That makes sense,” Scarlet replied with a sage nod. “Posy’s soul is intertwined with the manor. I imagine it always will be.”

  I frowned. “You don’t think she’ll ever be able to pass into the Otherworld?”

  Flapjack stretched, his back arching into a half-moon, and breathed a sound that was half purr, half chuckle. “Posy? No.”

  Scarlet shot him a dirty look. “No one asked you.”

  “Fine, fine.” He twitched his feather-duster tail and then jumped down from the counter. He landed soundlessly and trotted across the black-and-white tiled floor. Without another word, he disappeared through the front door.

  “Where’s he going?” Adam asked.

  Hayward scoffed.
“Probably to roll around in something unseemly.”

  I grinned at Adam. That was one of his specialties when he was in his dog form.

  “In my opinion, Posy isn’t anywhere near ready to cross over to the Otherworld. She might never be. As it is, she has the manor to run and finds a lot of purpose in that role.” Scarlet shrugged her narrow shoulders. “I suppose the only thing that would motivate her would be if she knew she’d be reunited with her late husband, Earl. But she seems fairly convinced he’s still here in this realm.”

  “And if she were to find out he is?” I ventured.

  Scarlet’s deep blue eyes snapped to mine.

  Adam jumped in. “Before Lenny was … dispersed, he mentioned that Earl would be upset about finding out his manor was inhabited by our kind. The way he said it made it seem like it was more of a threat rather than a hypothetical statement.”

  “Do you think Lenny was scouting the manor?” Scarlet asked.

  I shook my head. “We don’t know. He mentioned that his father helped build the manor. He clearly knows Earl, or at least who Earl was. But if Earl is really hanging around, why hasn’t he returned to the manor? He’s been dead for over a hundred years.”

  “The better question is what Posy is going to do once she finds out.” Adam shifted. “Not to sound selfish, but if she goes off the deep end, we might be homeless.”

  Scarlet alternated her glance between us. Hayward stood to her left, his chest slightly puffed out, surveying us with interest. “To be honest, I’m not sure what would happen. Posy’s not exactly an open book. Most of what I know about her is thanks to Gwen.”

  Adam smirked. “Sounds about right.”

  “I’ll see if I can find out where she’s at. In the meantime, if this Lenny character comes back, I’d recommend steering him clear of Posy until we know how she’ll react. I’ll ask around and see if any of the other ghosts in the group have run into him around town. If I find anything, I’ll let you both know.”

  “Thank you, Scarlet,” I said, inclining my head.

  “Yeah, thanks a lot,” Adam agreed.

  He turned and took a few steps to the shop’s door. He tugged it open, the bell jangling as we stepped out.

  “Cheerio!” Hayward called after us.

  Adam snickered under his breath. “Cheerio to you, too!”

  We let the door fall closed behind us, then paused on the large, brightly colored welcome mat. For a long moment neither one of us said a word, still marveling over everything that had transpired.

  Adam gave a slight shake of his head. “This town gets weirder every day.”

  I laughed but had to agree. “Sometimes I wonder if living in the Seattle haven would actually be less odd.”

  “No joke.” Adam pocketed his hands as he considered the dusky streets. The street lamps were starting to come on, one by one, up Hydrangea Lane. A light drizzle started and we were still several blocks from McNally’s, Adam’s favorite go-to eatery. “It’s too bad that Evie and Teddy are out of town for the week. We could use the extra sets of eyeballs.”

  “Yeah. You think we should call Lacey and give her a heads up in case Lenny decides to come back?”

  Adam shrugged. “Let princess figure it out. She can handle herself.”

  I suppressed a smile. “A raging vampiress might be just the ghost antidote we need.”

  “If anyone can scare him off, it’ll be her.” Adam chuckled. “Come on, gorgeous, let’s go get some dinner. I’m starving.”

  “Breaking news out of Beechwood Harbor tonight …” I teased.

  He slid a hand out of his pocket and wound it around my shoulders before dragging me out into the rain. We barely made it two steps, laughing together, before Adam suddenly skidded to a stop.

  I looked up to see what had caught his eye and my stomach clenched into a tight knot.

  “Adam? Holly?”

  Posy was floating down the sidewalk, and she didn’t look at all pleased to see us.

  Chapter 3

  What are you two doing here?” Posy demanded, her thin lips pursed. Her bespectacled eyes moved suspiciously to the logo on the frosted glass window panel on Scarlet’s door. “Were you just in Scarlet’s shop?”

  “Uh, yeah. We were out for a walk and thought we’d stop in,” Adam replied evenly as he glanced back at the shop. “You checked this place out yet?”

  Posy didn’t answer.

  “What are you up to tonight?” I asked Posy, hoping my smile looked more convincing than it felt.

  She shifted her eyes between us. “I’m meeting a friend.”

  Adam brightened and took a step forward. “All right, well we’ll let you go then. See you back at the manor!”

  We almost got away with it.

  “What are you two still doing here? Relentless gossips … tsk tsk tsk.”

  I cringed at Flapjack’s caustic tone. The fluffy ghost swept between Adam and me. Goosebumps rose on my arms at the sudden wave of chilled air caused when his tail swiped through my leg. “Scarlet’s too polite to tell you to get lost. Me? I don’t have that same hang up. So scram!”

  “You were talking to Scarlet?” Posy asked, her face pinched. “About me? I knew it!”

  “No!” Adam replied a tad too forcefully.

  “Posy, it’s not what it looks like,” I rushed to add.

  “Did you ever think that maybe there was a reason I didn’t ask to host the group at the manor? That maybe I was trying to keep one thing to myself?” She crossed her arms and if her polished loafer could have tapped impatiently on the sidewalk, I had no doubt it would have been drumming a frantic beat. “I thought I saw you following me the other night,” she said to Adam.

  Great. Adam wasn’t exactly a fly-under-the-radar kind of guy. Even less so when he’d shifted into his beast form and was enjoying the freedom of carousing as a massive stray dog.

  Flapjack released another chuckle-slash-purr and slipped through the door of the shop. Meddling little fuzzball!

  “Posy, we’re really sorry. But if you’ll hear us out—”

  Posy’s eyes narrowed and my words faltered. “I’m disappointed in you most of all, Holly. I expect this behavior from Adam. He’s a scoundrel, but you—”

  Adam growled. “Hey!”

  “I never thought you would try to spy on me. I’m going to have a long talk about this with Scarlet!”

  “She didn’t tell us anything—” I tried to insist.

  Posy launched herself off the sidewalk like a missile and disappeared into the dark sky above.

  I frowned as I considered the gloomy clouds that were still dumping rain down on us. “Well that went well …”

  “She’ll be fine,” Adam said with a flap of his hand. “You know how she gets.”

  He had a point. Posy tended toward the dramatic, but still, I couldn’t help but feel guilty over the poor handling of the situation.

  “What do you think Scarlet will tell her?” I asked, pausing to peer into the florist shop’s front window. There was no sign of Scarlet or either of her ghostly sidekicks.

  “Hopefully she’ll know how to bring up the whole ghost-husband thing a little better than we would.”

  “Considering our ‘tactful’ score is at an all-time low right now, I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet.”

  “It’ll work itself out, gorgeous. Now, come on, let’s go get some dinner.”

  In Adam’s world, a hot meal could solve a multitude of problems. He wasn’t necessarily wrong.

  A shriek greeted us as we entered the manor. At the piercing sound, I lost my grip on the takeout bag in my hand and it landed on the wood planks of the entryway with a loud thump. Then it was Adam’s turn to shout in horror.

  He scrambled to rescue the bag of food as I started up the stairs toward the source of the noise. “Lacey?” I cried out.

  My foot hit the fourth step and then I reeled back as the source of the commotion became all too clear: Lenny appeared in the middle of the stairs, wearing a wide
grin.

  “This night just keeps getting better and better,” Adam groaned. “What are you doing back here? I thought I made myself clear.”

  Lacey bolted onto the landing, dripping wet, clutching the thick towel she’d wrapped tightly around her chest.

  Lacey snarled at us. “This a friend of yours?” She tightened the knot on the towel and glared at Lenny. “He’s a pervert! He was watching me while I showered!”

  I cringed.

  “That’s it,” Adam growled as he backed up a step. “I don’t care what the ghost whisperer said, there’s only one way to get rid of this guy.” He swiped up the fire poker.

  “Adam, no! Wait!” I waved my hands at him. “Lenny, tell us what you know about Earl!”

  “Are you serious?” Lacey scoffed. “You’re not going to blast him?”

  “Spells don’t work on ghosts,” I said.

  “Well isn’t that just perfect.” Lacey glared at Lenny. “Who is this cretin?”

  “We don’t really know,” Adam replied, still brandishing the poker.

  “He knows Earl,” I added.

  Lacey cocked her head. “Earl?”

  “Posy’s late husband.”

  Lacey’s eyes widened.

  “Lenny, tell us where Earl is,” I demanded, flicking my glare back in his direction.

  Lenny gave an infuriating shrug. “Why should I?”

  “Did he send you here?”

  “Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t.”

  “I don’t care why he’s here. He needs to go! Now!” Lacey hissed. Her irises, normally a cold blue, shifted. Her pupils expanded until her eyes were nearly pure black. “I’ll find a way to make you pay, ghost! You had better hope you don’t have any family members still walking this earth. I’m a little out of practice but I have no problem hunting them down and turning them. Then you’ll be stuck here in this plane, watching them turn into immortal monsters right before your eyes!”

  Yikes. That was dark, even for Lacey.

  Memo to self: never interrupt her while she’s in the shower.

  Adam’s eyes went wide, as though he were seeing her for the first time. “Damn, Lacey.”