“What do we need to do?” asked Eric.
“Contact the customers,” said Shay, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ve never had to complete the work of someone else. If it’s straightforward, like the wildlife and the jerseys, we should be just fine. The portraits will be different. They might have wanted her style.”
Eric stood in front of a wall with dozens of sketches and small paintings of people. He couldn’t tell what type of style she was using compared to anything he’d seen from their own team of artists. He turned to see Cassidy staring at a grouping of drawings on the wall nearest Morgan’s bed.
“Cass? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know. There’s something about these drawings. They’re similar but not. And these two, it’s almost as if she smeared the faces.”
“Maybe she was worse than we thought,” said King.
“Did you ever find her parents?” asked Ela.
“We did,” said Eric. “They were of no help whatsoever. Neither had spoken to her in weeks. Neither knew anything about her work. And neither knew that she’d broken off her engagement with Javier until he called to tell them of her death. I want to talk to both of them more but they were not willing in the moment.”
“Involved parents,” frowned Brit.
“It could have been her that wasn’t involved,” said Joseph. “This place is heavy with sadness. I feel it in my chest and I can’t tell you why. I know she was depressed but this is something different. Something very strange.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to help us with these projects,” said Cassidy. “What do we need to do to get these things moved to our studios?”
“Let me call Javier,” said Eric. “He was making a lot of the decisions simply because her parents refused to do so. The landlord has been very easy to work with. I guess we could set up a scholarship fund for whatever commissions she makes on these works.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” said Shay. “This poor young woman was really in a dark place. It reminds me of when Sean found me. Losing my son was the worst day of my life. I contemplated taking my own life but he wouldn’t let me.”
“I’m glad he didn’t,” said Joseph. “We need you with our team.” She smiled, nodding at her friend.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She looked around the room and then back at the others. “Is there any indication that she lost a loved one recently?”
“Afraid not. Parents are living but not very good in my opinion. She had no siblings, never been married,” said King.
“Okay. Let’s see if we can get some of this back to our place,” said Eric.
“Eric, I think we need to be prepared for her to react when she sees her work in our space,” said Lily. “This woman was obviously disturbed. Ghost or not, she’s going to feel something with her works being in a different space.”
Before Eric could respond, his phone rang and he frowned seeing the number for Isaac Andrews.
“Mr. Isaac, how are you sir?”
“Well, I’ve been better. My ghost isn’t leavin’ anytime soon. She was on my bus when I arrived this mornin’ and she’s still sittin’ here.”
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Corner of Canal and Bourbon,” he said. “I’m off-duty but stopped here to see if she would leave.”
“We’re only a few minutes away. We’ll be right there.” He looked at the others, giving a nod to Cassidy and King. “You two come with me. Joseph, if you’ll help to get the approval for us to take all this with us, that would be helpful.”
“Where are you guys going?” asked Brit.
“To talk to a bus riding ghost.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Eric, Cassidy, and King could see through the windows, the ghostly figure on the bus, and Isaac standing at the door. The winds had died down some but it was still cold. The strange thing was that when they called home to tell them what was happening, Luke confirmed that Morgan was still standing with the other ghosts on their property.
Apparently ghosts could be in two places at one time. A useful skill they’d discuss later.
“Sure glad you’re here,” said Isaac. “Folks are thinkin’ I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.”
