Page 20 of Ghost Walk
Shedidn’tneed him.
In his whole life and afterlife, Jamie wasn’t needed by anyone. Growing up, he’d heard that enough times that it had imbedded itself into his psyche. In fact, “No one fucking needs you!” had been the last thing his father shouted after him when Jamie left home forever. It was possibly the only time the old man was completely right. In the two hundred and fifty years since that day, nothing had proven him wrong, that was for damn sure. Nobody hadeverneeded him. No one ever would. Certainly not this fay creature of ice cream and mermaid pillows and clean, shiny hair.
Grace stared up at Jamie for a beat like she could seeinto his thoughts. “I’m sorry.” She said softly. “I love my aunt, but she drives me nuts sometimes. It’s not your fault that I got upset. It’s just been areallybad day, okay? Let’s just get back to the whole ‘clearing your name’ thing.”
If she was willing to discuss finding the truth behind the murders, Jamie didn’t have much of a choice but to follow her lead. No doubt she knew that and it was exactly why she was suddenly so eager to tackle the subject. The whole situation still pissed him off, though.
“You just told me clearing my name is impossible.” He reminded her sarcastically. “Where else can the conversation go?”
“Itisimpossible. Whoever killed those girls, the evidence against him is probably long gone. You can trust me on this. I used to be a crime scene investigator.”
Jamie stopped brooding and gaped at her. “Like on TV?” Sudden joy filled him. With Grace, there was always some new reason for hope. He was beginning to see that. She was forever opening doorways that he’d thought were sealed tight. He could never stay irritated with this small, fay miracle sent to save him. “You know about fingerprints and such?”
“Hang on, ghosts watch TV?”
“What else would I be doing with eternity? I can’t exactly hold a book.” He demonstrated his insubstantial-ness by passing his hand back and forth through a particularly hideous lamp with a flamingo painted on it. Bleeding Christ, it was like the girl made it her mission to rescue all the hopeless furnishings in Virginia and give them a home. “Movies and television have made my unlife bearable.”
Once again, she seemed absurdly fascinated with the wrong thing. “What kind of shows do ghosts like? I mean aside from multiple viewings ofStar Wars.”
“I donea know any other ghosts, so I can’t be sure. Personally, I like that show with the magical high school best. The one with the bonnie little cheerleader, who hunts werewolves and loves the Frankenstein boy. They get the facts of ghosts all wrong, but it’s quite a nice production.”
“Haunted High?” Her eyebrows soared. “The teensoap opera?”
“That’s the one.” Jamie nodded. “But I watch other shows, too. I can’t change the channel, so I have to watch whatever the living do. And about a dozen shows on television are about murders that get solved in an hour, thanks to the computers.Morethan a dozen. Sometimes I think that’s the only plot your writers can think of.” And it was exactly what he needed. Someone to use the magic of science to clear his name. “You solve murders professionally?”
“Iusedto be a small part of solving murders, but I don’t anymore. I told you, I burned out.”
So she’d said, except Jamie had no idea what that meant. “Burned out?”
“Yeah, burned out. As in, I used to investigate blood spatter and collect DNA evidence, but now I give ghost tours for minimum wage.”
“But you have the skills to…”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “I can’t go back to what I was doing. I’ll have another breakdown and I can’t have another breakdown. Normal people don’t have breakdowns.”
“Didn’t we establish that you’re a bit abnormal, lass? I mean --Jesus, Mary, and Joseph-- you’re seeing ghosts.”
The woman didn’t like hearing that opinion. She heaved a pillow at him and only seemed to get angrier when it passed right through his body. “God! You are the most annoying person I’ve ever met!”
“Nonsense. I met that wanker Robert and he’sfarmore annoying than me. Aunt Serenity is right. The man’s a complete asshole.”
Justthinkingabout him put Jamie in a foul mood, again. His jaw tightened every time he recalled the way Robert grabbed Grace’s arm, jerking her to a stop when she tried to walk away from him. It kept playing in his head on a loop, reminding him that he was essentially useless to Grace. The same way he’d been useless when his bastard of a father had manhandled his mother. Robert could have harmed Grace rightin front of his eyes and there wasn’t a damn thing Jamie could’ve done about it.
“He’s a bad man, Grace. I donea know why you didn’t realize it sooner.” Jamie paused. “Also his taste is justabysmal. Both in furnishings and in women, if he fancied that shrill pizza girl.”
Grace hesitated for a beat, realizing there was a compliment buried in there somewhere. Large brown eyes blinked in surprise, just as they had when he’d talked of her beauty back at Robert’s. Even a small bit of flirting seemed to befuddle her. “Thank you.” She said with a bemused frown. “I think.”
Jamie’s gaze traced over her amazed face. “You’re welcome.”
Who would choose another girl over Grace? It made no sense, but he supposed he should thank Robert for his stupidity. Grace had left the wanker and that was all that mattered. Not only was Robert a dangerous man, but Jamie couldn’t tolerate the idea of another male having a claim on her. Maybe hewasjust a ghost, but he hated the idea of some living, breathing rival, who could offer her things Jamie couldn’t.
The woman was his.
“I’d be happy to haunt the bastard, if you’d like.” Jamie offered helpfully. “Least I can do.”
Grace drew in a deep breath and muttered something about cornfields again. “I’mtryingto be normal, alright?” She said. “Maybe it’s a work in progress, but I’m not having you paranormally torment my ex and I’mcertainlynot helping you CSI a two hundred year old murder case. Those are not things normal people do.”
Jamie wasn’t giving up. “Someonekilledthose girls. Two hundred years ago or not, they wererealpeople and theyreallydied. They deserve to have their murderer brought to justice.”
