Page 37 of Dumbstruck
“Did you get visited by the ghost last night?” Karina asks.
I nearly let slip a swear as I sit back, startled, and remember to stay in character. “You scared me, Karina,” I say with a breathy laugh and press a shaky hand to my heart. “My eyesight must be worse than I thought—I didn’t see you coming!”
She winces and places our food in front of us. “I’m so sorry.”
“What did you say about a ghost?” June asks. “And don’t you worry; Martin scares so easily it’s a wonder he hasn’t had a dozen heart attacks.”
I snort. “It’s because my heart belongs to you, Margaret dear. You will always keep it safe for me.”
Glancing between us and worrying her lip between her teeth, Karina seems to debate answering June’s question, as if it might scare me again. But weneedher to answer it.
“I do love a good ghost story,” I say, picking up my utensils and throwing a smile up at Karina. “Small towns always have one.”
“Oh, well…” Karina shrugs. “No one fully knows what to make of it, but there have been strange things happening around that movie set in town. It’s nothing, really.”
I cut into my steak, hoping that puts her at ease. “What sort of strange things? I was once convinced we had a ghost in our attic, but Margaret assures me it was a raccoon.”
“There is no such thing as ghosts,” June says, rolling her eyes. “I have told you this so many times.”
“Normally I would agree with you,” Karina says, “but no one can explain this one.”
I meet June’s gaze, forcing my expression to remain neutral. She isn’t as skilled at hiding her skepticism, so I speak to pull Karina’s attention back to me. “The whole town believes it’s a ghost? You have me intrigued, Miss Karina. What has it done?”
“Oh, it’s—”
“Karina!” Someone deeper in the diner waves at her and holds up a mug.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Karina says, offering a quick smile, “I should get back to work. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Once she’s gone, June’s shoulders slump. “That was disappointing.”
“That was interesting,” I argue, taking a bite of my food. It’s delicious but a far cry from my strict diet. If I weren’t in the middle of filming, I wouldn’t care as much, but I’m likely to start craving mashed potatoes and gravy now.
More than usual, anyway.
We eat the rest of our meal in silence. I can tell June is thinking hard, probably wondering like I am if Karina was telling the truth about no one having an explanation for the disasters happening on set. If other people are like Karina and nonplussed, that could help us narrow down suspects.
When Karina comes with our bill, I pay with cash and leave a much smaller tip than I normally would, trying to come across as average. I make sure Dexter knows we’re leaving, and then I struggle to stand and help June out of her seat. Maybe we’ll get some answers when we find Glen the electrician, but something tells me we’re far from solving this thing.
But if it means I get to spend time with June, I don’t even care.
Chapter Eleven
June
I’veonlybeeninGlen’s garage office once, when I first bought my store and realized the wiring was all sorts of wonky. It’s been a couple of years since then, but I’m pretty sure everything looks just as it did back then, down to Glen himself and the mug of coffee sitting in front of him. The grizzled man, somewhere in his fifties, sits hunched over a paper planner, muttering to himself as he compares a couple different dates.
Jonah glances at me, holding my arm as we stand in the doorway. “Does he keep track of his appointments on paper?” he whispers, his eyes wide.
I nod. “A lot of people in Laketown are old school.”
“I would miss so many meetings and auditions if Dexter didn’t put everything into my phone for me.”
“You’re hopeless, Jonah James.”
Glen still hasn’t noticed us, so I clear my throat. He looks up, surprised, and takes us in. “Well hello. What can I do for you?”
Jonah nudges me, his mouth clamped shut. He told me on the walk over that he doesn’t know enough about electric work to ask the right questions, so I get to handle this round of questioning.
