“There’s a graveyard just on the west side of town,” she said. “Good?”
“Tell her good, Lorde.”
Lorde gave a short woof. Lu nodded. “All right. Let’s get some sleep, girl.”
I slid out of the way and watched Lu unlace her boots and shuck out of her jeans. She left her shirt on and climbed between the sheets, patting the side of the bed to tell Lorde to sleep there between Lu and the door. Lu settled on her side, facing the big window.
The blinds were closed, but sunlight still trickled through at the edges and corners.
“I got it,” I repeated. “I’m right here.” I eased down into the chair—the one by the dresser, not the one in the corner that the ghost had been in.
Lou shifted and pressed her back against Lorde, who was already snoring softly.
I watched Lu drift off to sleep, dividing my attention between the slice of sky I could see out the window, and the rest of the room.
“I found it!” Stella appeared in the chair, her knitting once again in her lap. “I found the journal.”
“Where is it?”
Stella looked exactly as I’d seen her earlier, except for the glint of determination in her eyes. “I want to talk to my sister first. Then I’ll tell you where it is.”
“That’s not going to work, Stella. You could be lying.”
“You could be lying too.”
I shrugged. “Chance you take. Show me the journal, and I’ll find some way for you to talk to your sister.”
She frowned, working through the risk and reward. I’d had this conversation, or similar ones, with a variety of people and creatures over the years.
Me, I was dead. So there wasn’t much on the line. It gave me leverage in negotiations most couldn’t wield.
“How do I know I can trust you?” she asked.
“You don’t. But if it’s any solace, Lorde trusts you.”
She studied the dog snoring happily on top of the bed in what had once been her own room.
“Lorde isn’t worried about you,” I went on, “so I’m not worried about you. Maybe you can’t trust me, but dogs have a nose for quality people.”
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for the chance to speak to her…”
“Don’t talk to me about longing, Stella.”
Something in my expression must have tipped her off that I had an intimate knowledge of the pain of waiting for someone you loved.
“You’re right. I…I’ll take you to it. To the journal. But I won’t let you take it. You can’t have it until I speak to her. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“You give me your word?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Good then.” She stood and quick as a blink, flickered out and was standing in front of me.
Ghosts. Always showing off.
Lorde lifted her big bear of a head to assess the situation. Then she yawned and lowered her head with a snort.
