I waited for something. “All right,” I said. “I guess I’ll have to tell the spirit at Soul Food and Spirits where to find you.”
I smirked and headed toward the door. If that didn’t do it, I didn’t know what would.
Plop.
I turned around. Lying on the floor was my wallet, not a scratch on it. I picked it up and shook it toward Hodges.
“See? I told you being nice doesn’t work.”
I shoved it in my pocket and smiled. With that, I headed out of the store and on to find Alice and Ruth. We had work to do.
THIRTEEN
It wasn’t hard to figure out which shop was Alice and Ruth’s. There was a large sheet ghost hanging on the awning with the words GHOST CATCHERS inked in black beneath it.
“Looks like the place,” I said.
I pushed the door bar and walked inside. A row of baby booties in the shape of ghosts greeted me.
“Nice,” I said. “Are those for sale?”
“It’s how we make our money,” Ruth said. “Alice makes the booties. I sell them.”
I traced my finger over the white crocheted delight. “And how much ghost catching do you do?”
“None,” Alice said, popping in from the back. “At least not yet. But we will. Soon.”
I nodded. Several thoughts hit me at once. I needed to find Lucky Strike, but I also needed to get Xavier’s computer. If I caught Lucky, I’d be back on the team but would still have to deal with Anita. If I had proof in the form of e-mail that she wanted to get rid of me, I could get her tush booted from the director’s chair and take the job.
Or at the least get her booted.
But I couldn’t drag these two women into this with me. My problems required solutions along the lines of breaking into houses—namely Truck’s. Alice and Ruth were responsible members of society.
Me, I was just an outsider. I was nothing more than a traveler. Here today, gone tomorrow.
So my mind was made up. They could help me find Lucky, but I was on my own with everything else.
That’s how it was going to be.
I cleared my throat and puffed up my chest, ready to talk about their equipment, when the door opened.
In sauntered Sheriff Kency Blount. She tossed strands of long red hair over her shoulder and gave me the stink eye to end all stink eyes.
“I didn’t see you in my office this morning, Miss Breneaux.”
Shoe-butts. I’d forgotten. I snapped my fingers and put on my wow-that-totally-escaped-my-mind expression. “Sorry. I woke up late. There was a plate of apple pancakes that made every thought vanish from my brain.”
She quirked a brow. “Oh? Roan making you his apple-pancake special?”
Ew, looked like I struck a nerve. Now how to get out of this without really ticking her off? No clue.
“No. I actually found a plate sitting on the table at the B and B. I have no idea who left them.”
“Cute,” she said, clearly not buying it. She crossed her arms and slowly stepped inside the room. “Anyway, what happened to you last night?”
“It was like I said, I got scared and ran back to the B and B.”
“So you don’t know what happened to Xavier Bibb?”
