Sweet Tea and Spirits Read online

  She gave a wry smile, as if reading my mind. “I beat out Virginia Wydell by two votes. Any other year she’d have had an easy victory. The woman was ready to spit nails.”

  Virginia was the vengeful type, but a racy mannequin arrangement wasn’t her style. I reached for the mayor and stopped halfway. “Wait. If someone living is behind this, we need to stop touching the evidence. I can call Ellis. He’ll be fair in his investigation.” Although I hated to put him in a position of questioning his own mother.

  “I suspected her too,” Julia said, reaching past me, taking the mayor by the shoulders. “It started Wednesday morning. When it happened again on Thursday, I set up cameras to catch Virginia in the act,” she said, lifting the figure and setting him on an empty stand. “The footage was filled with static at about three in the morning, but there’s a flash where you can see… they were moving by themselves.” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t even believe in ghosts until that moment. But there’s no question about it,” she added, turning to me. “A ghostly force is moving the mannequins.” She shook her head, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was saying. “I watched it more times than I can count. It’s so hard to explain.”

  I knew the feeling. “I wish you would have called me.”

  She straightened the mayor’s tie and stole a glance at me. “I thought about stopping by to talk with you when I realized this was indeed a haunting, but I found it…difficult.”

  “You’ll discover I’m pretty easy to get along with,” I told her.

  “Forgive me, but I don’t understand it.” Her brow furrowed at the job she’d done on the tie, and without hesitation she ripped it open to start over from scratch, her movements agitated. “I don’t understand how one minute you were normal and sweet and engaged to Beau Wydell and now you suddenly ‘see’ ghosts and start dating Beau’s brother.”

  At least she was honest. “A lot has changed since last summer,” I said. But even I could see how a proud woman like her would be reluctant to stake her reputation on me.

  She gave up on the mayor. “Last night, I had the chance to speak privately with Ellis. He said you not only talk to ghosts, but you were invited to be in a Yankee officer’s wedding.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as they settle on a venue,” I explained. Now that Matthew had reconciled with his family over being a Yankee, his mother had way too many ideas about the wedding. His bride, Josephine, wasn’t cottoning to meddling parents. She’d endured enough of that in life. So they were working it out. The ghosts certainly had time. And when it was all settled, Ellis would be my date. It pleased me that he talked about my ability so openly, that he believed in me.

  “Ellis is a good man,” she said, as if she needed to convince herself of my goodness as well.

  An ominous, ghostly laugh echoed behind me and I turned to see Frankie grinning ear to ear. “I lost track of time back there. What a great place. And now this!” he added, gesturing to the mannequins.

  “Just a minute,” I mouthed.

  I was still convincing this woman of my trustworthiness, not to mention my sanity. She didn’t need to see me talk to the dead.

  “Sorry, babe. You already got ten extra minutes. I think I lost a toe.” Frankie ripped back his power so fast it felt like whiplash.

  “Ouch!” I said on an exhale, resting my hands on my knees, feeling the sting down to my bones.

  Julia touched my shoulder. “Are you all right?” she asked, drawing back when I gave her the mother of all electric shocks.

  I nodded, catching my breath. “My ghost is acting up.”

  Frankie didn’t even appear sorry. “I’m not your ghost,” he ground out, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Now get me out of here.”

  Julia froze. “I feel a cold spot. Right here,” she said, her eyes widening, “Does that mean there’s a spirit present? I’ve felt them in the cemetery as well.”

  “Welcome to my world,” I said, straightening.

  Julia made the sign of the cross.

  “What good does she think that’s gonna do? I’m not a vampire,” Frankie huffed.

  The socialite reached into the pocket of her dress and drew out an overstuffed envelope. “I believe I’d like to hire you, Verity.” She took a deep breath. “If you’re willing,” she added, pressing the envelope into my hands. It bulged with cash.

  “Yes!” Frankie slapped his hands together, like he was at some kind of sporting event. “This is how we should get paid. In envelopes full of money!”

  “I’d like you to work directly for me,” Julia insisted. “Tell no one.”

  “I haven’t even told you my rate,” I said, feeling strangely indebted. I didn’t think I’d ever held so much cash. These were hundred-dollar bills. Loads of them.

  “It can’t be more than the cost of a private detective,” she said. “There should be plenty in there.”

  “You’re hiring a detective?” I asked, thumbing through the wad of bills. I had no idea they made this much.

  She drew back. “I have a personal matter to handle,” she said tightly. “I’d like your discretion with that information as well.” She waved a hand, as if the entire conversation were distasteful suddenly. “Take the money. It’s yours. I can always stop for more after the committee meeting this morning,” she added to herself.

  “I’m certainly willing to help,” I said. I had a responsibility to whoever had called me last night. “But this money,” I said, furrowing my brow. I could hardly believe it was real.

  “If you need more, you’ll get it,” she assured me. She looked into my eyes. “I won’t be undermined. I refuse to be compromised any longer. Put this to rest, Verity. For me and for our ancestors. Find out what’s troubling them and let’s fix it. Let’s make this a happy place again.”

  She was being too generous. And I’d return whatever portion of my fee I didn’t use. But it would feel good to be paid for my services. “I’ll do it,” I told her. There was only one catch. “I know you want this kept secret, but I have to at least inform Ellis. It’s a necessary step,” I added quickly before she could protest. “I might need backup. You can trust him.”

  She stiffened. “He’s Virginia’s son.”

  “He’s gotten me out of more jams than I can count,” I assured her.

  Ellis had helped me break out of a haunted bank vault, he’d taken on a poltergeist to save my life, he’d even driven the getaway car after I ticked off a speakeasy full of ghostly gangsters.

  “He can’t tell his mother or anyone,” she insisted.

  “We won’t let you down.” Ellis and I could certainly keep a secret. Besides, Virginia and the rest of the society ladies would only make the job more difficult if they knew about it.

  Frankie cocked his head. “We better split. You got people coming.”

  “All right,” I said. “My ghost is telling me we need to go. You’re about to have visitors.”

  Julia’s eyes widened. “The special committee!” She checked the slim gold watch on her wrist. “They’re early.”

  No doubt eager to get the scoop from last night.

  Listening to the police scanner was a form of entertainment in this town, but it was always better to get the dirt directly from the source.

  Of course, I had no interest in gossip, but I had to ask. “Are you deciding something big?” Any major changes to the property might be enough to rile up the ghosts.

  “It’s none of your concern,” she shot back.

  I didn’t have time to explain. “I’ll just get out of your way.” I headed for the door, shoving the envelope of cash into my pocket without the hole.

  “Wait,” Julia said. “Take the side exit.” She rushed out to the wood-paneled room with me on her heels and opened a door that led out to a small porch. “We don’t want anyone to see you.”

  Fair enough. “Meet me back here at ten o’clock tonight,” I told her. “Will the house be deserted then?”

  “It will. Yes. Goodbye,” s
he said, closing the door.

  I hurried down the side steps and out to the land yacht parked in the middle of the ruined flower bed. I yanked open the door as I saw a pair of sleek cars advancing down the drive.

  I fired up my engine and slammed the land yacht into reverse.

  The tires spun and the engine whined.

  Frankie stood up in the center of my hood. “You got something caught under your tire.”

  “You think?” I said, pushing harder on the gas.

  My tires spit dirt and begonias.

  Frankie bent down. “You’re just digging a bigger hole,” he said, his voice muffled by the whine of the engine and the blood pounding in my ears.

  My tire wedged on something solid and, for a second, I thought I was home free. But then it slipped again, and when I checked for clearance in my rearview mirror, I saw a black Mercedes pull up behind me and a green Jaguar slide in next to it.

  “All right,” I said, shoving my car into park. I turned off my engine, smoothed my hair, and dug in the console for a tube of lip gloss.

  “That ain’t gonna fix this,” Frankie said, from the other side of my windshield.

  “Grandma used to say nobody ever regretted being a lady.” I checked my side-view mirror and spotted a pair of socialites at seven o’clock.

  I exhaled, pasted on a smile, and slid out of my car, prepared for battle.

  Chapter 5

  Gird your loins,” I murmured to Frankie as Eudora Louise Markam slid out of her black Mercedes and hurried toward my stranded car.

  “You’re the one she’s looking at,” Frankie said, as if it wasn’t his problem.

  I supposed it wasn’t. He was nothing to her, quite literally.

  As for me? I’d never wanted to be a ghost before, but at the moment, I could understand the appeal.

  The society matron halted at the edge of the parking lot, her perfectly layered platinum blonde hair swirling in the breeze. She clutched her pink designer purse, her Botoxed forehead unmoving. “Why hello, Verity,” she said, as if she hadn’t noticed my land yacht on top of the ruined flower bed. “Car trouble?”

  “Acceleration issues,” I said, standing my ground. It wasn’t as if I could hide the monstrosity behind me. There was nothing to do but grin and bear it, even if my galloping heart hadn’t quite gotten the message.

  Kelli Kaiser slammed the door on her green Jaguar. “You should get rid of that old wreck. It’s a menace to society.”

  “Yes, well”—seeing as Kelli graduated only a few years before me, I doubted she’d earned the money it took to drive the well-oiled machine that took her from luncheon to bridge club—“the Cadillac is sentimental,” I said breezily. I owed her no explanation, but I had to be sociable if I wanted to survive this. I clasped my hands in front of me like a well-bred lady. “I don’t suppose either of you has a set of towing cables or perhaps a large shovel.”

  Eudora laughed at that, and I honestly think she meant it as a sweet, social gesture. Kelli nudged her on the arm. “Quit it,” she said, in the worst stage whisper ever. “She’s actually serious.”

  “Oh.” Eudora eyed me with a mix of pity and curiosity, as if I were on the wrong side of a zoo display. She fiddled with her diamond earring. “I suppose you could call Triple A.”

  I didn’t have Triple A. I didn’t even have power steering. “It’s okay,” I said brightly. “I’ll figure it out. You go on inside.” I tried for a smile and failed. “Don’t stand here on my account.”

  Please don’t make me dig my front tires out in front of an audience.

  Then again, I didn’t see how I could do any good without a shovel or a board to brace the tires. I might do better to set the car on fire and walk home.

  I felt my body heat and my cheeks flush.

  Eudora appeared as if she wanted nothing more than to bolt. “It wouldn’t be neighborly just to leave you here,” she said, even if it meant staring at me, making it worse, wallowing in my embarrassment with me.

  “Nothing about this is neighborly,” Kelli said, taking a quick picture with her cell phone.

  Frankie walked in between me and the two ladies. “I don’t get it. Nobody’s even mentioned the muddy pit you made.”

  No. It was more polite and infinitely more humiliating not to say a word.

  “Just don’t do anything crazy,” he warned, fading away. “Like give the money back.” His voice trailed behind, even after he’d disappeared completely. “I gotta see a man about a pony.”

  A chilly wind blew, driving the floral carnage directly at the two ladies.

  Frankie.

  Kelli tilted her head. “Are you here because of a ghost?” she asked, braving the storm from the safety of the parking lot. Neither lady had stepped into the no-man’s-land of the grass.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Julia said. She stood on the front porch, with her hands on the rail like a commander overseeing the troops. “Sakes alive, the conclusions you draw,” she said, descending the stairs like Scarlett at Tara. “Verity was here for another reason entirely.”

  Eudora gave me the once-over, from my secondhand dress to my perfectly serviceable sandals. “I can’t imagine what that might be.”

  I wasn’t even offended. There would be no way I’d set foot on this property without a spirit in peril or a gun to my head. Julia didn’t want to admit I was here as a ghost hunter, and I respected that. She’d paid me well and asked me to keep her secret, but I also had no other way to justify my presence on their front lawn.

  “I get it!” Kelli clapped her hands together. “You’re joining the society,” she said in a rush. “I do hope you are. We need fresh blood in this place.”

  Hardly. The blood would be mine as the ladies devoured me piece by piece at one of their fancy luncheons. “Not exactly,” I cautioned, my mind spinning as I tried to come up with another possible explanation. I was never very good at lying.

  “Yes, I offered her a membership,” Julia said. Her stony expression gave nothing away, but I noticed the blush in her cheeks had gone from a chic peony to the color of the hot pink begonias under my wheels. She lifted her chin. “We would like nothing more than for Verity Long to join our venerated society.”

  She wanted me in that society like she wanted termites. I pasted on a smile. “I did enjoy seeing the house,” and I wouldn’t mind having unrestricted access to it, “but I really don’t think—”

  Kelli’s pretty face twisted into a ruthless smile. “I’ll be your second sponsor if you need one,” she said, toying with her thick, gold monogram necklace, “as long as I get to break the news to Virginia Wydell.”

  “That would be…too kind,” I said, a trickle of sweat making its way between my shoulder blades. As much fun as it would be to watch Virginia fake heart palpitations, like she did when her plan to steal my house failed; or even to watch Virginia faint dead away, like she did when her plans for my perfect wedding to her lying, cheating youngest son had fallen apart, I really didn’t want to antagonize the woman. Not when I was building something new with her middle son.

  And, yes, that was about as messed up as it sounded.

  “Now, Verity,” Julia said, stepping onto the grass, “we’ve had a member of the Long family in the society for nearly sixty years. Even your grandmother used to hold a position on the board.”

  Before it had become a nest of vipers.

  Her heel sank into the dirt. She winced and drew it out, but it didn’t slow her advance in the slightest. “Your family has given us some of our most hardworking and dedicated members.”

  Yes, but in my grandmother’s day, the society had been focused on charity functions instead of social ones. They’d cared more about helping people afford good food rather than what chef prepared it.

  Julia stopped in front of me. “When your mother left town, we were all very disappointed.”

  “No one more than me,” I said. Mom didn’t love this town like I did. After my dad died, she hadn’t wanted to stay.
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br />   “But you took over the family home. You care,” she said, and I could tell she treasured Sugarland as much as I did. Not that it made me want to stick around this place. “I can’t think of a better person to represent your family as a legacy member,” she concluded.

  I was touched. I truly was. But not enough to put my neck on the chopping block.

  “Please,” she said, eyeing me carefully. “Think of the history.”

  “I am thinking plenty,” I ground out as politely as I could. I’d keep my end of the bargain, but I shouldn’t have to sell my soul to do it. She had to see that.

  If I joined the society, if I gave them an opening, they’d scrutinize any little thing I did, even if I could manage to keep the land yacht from jumping onto the front lawn again.

  I’d be having tea with them, meetings with them, I’d go through my small wardrobe way too quickly and have nothing else to wear for them. I began to feel a bit ill at the prospect of being judged so thoroughly.

  Problem was, it would be near impossible to keep this ghost-hunting assignment under wraps if I wasn’t somehow part of this group, and I could really use this job.

  Eudora took a tentative step up onto the grass. “It’s okay if you feel you don’t fit in,” she said, as if that could diffuse my discomfort. “The society isn’t for everybody. You don’t have to do what Kelli and Julia say, even if it would be fun to stick it to Virginia.”

  Two minutes in and we were already scheming. I clutched my hands in my pockets, trying to ignore the wad of money. I had to remember what I’d come here to do. I had to think of the poor ghost who had called on me for help last night.

  This house was an important piece of our town’s history. It belonged to all of us, not just the society ladies. The ghosts here had acted out because they were unhappy. Those poor widows and children had suffered enough in life. I didn’t want them to keep hurting, not if it was in my power to do something about it.

  I could do this. I had to.

  “I can’t wait to join the Sugarland Heritage Society,” I said before I could change my mind.