She causes trouble. Thinks she’s better than everyone else. Oh well, Blissful is about to be gone soon. Just wait until I find the right dirt to sling her way.
So it had all been planned like Xavier said. From the very moment Anita took the job she had decided to oust me.
I was about to forward the e-mail to myself when a file blinked at the bottom of the screen. I pulled it up.
It was another e-mail, but this one had been saved separately. It was from Meredith Wilkes to Xavier.
My gaze scanned the text, and my jaw slackened.
A knock came from the door. “Just a minute.”
I glanced at the handle. Crap. I’d forgotten to push in the lock button. The knob turned, and I found myself staring at Meredith.
She clutched a knife in her hand.
“You doing some cooking?” I raised my voice in a pleasant manner, hoping that she was going to use the cutlery to chop something other than me.
Meredith shook her head. “No, I’m afraid this knife is for you, Blissful. From the look in your eyes, you know my secret. I can’t let you leave here alive.”
TWENTY-THREE
Several thoughts raced through my head. I could throw the computer at Meredith, but I hadn’t sent myself the e-mail.
Dang it. Why hadn’t I done that? Why had I allowed myself to get distracted by a blinking file at the bottom of a screen?
I guess I was like many women—I enjoyed bright, flashy bling. As much as I hated to admit it, that was true.
“I don’t understand,” I said coolly.
“I know you saw his files,” Meredith said. “Come out. I don’t want to get blood on the bathroom floor.”
I slipped from the room and noticed a plastic sheet had been spread on the floor. “Doing some painting?” I said hopefully.
“That’s so you don’t make a mess,” she said.
I tucked the computer under my arm. “Care to explain?”
Meredith gestured with the knife as she spoke. She reminded me of a blade thrower at a carnival.
“Xavier was going to back out, see. He discovered I have some, um, financial problems and wasn’t going to back me on the building.” Her voice rose, becoming frantic. “I couldn’t have that. I must buy this building. We argued the night of the shooting. He said he wouldn’t give me any money. He made me so mad, so angry that I waited for y’all to come out. I figured that stupid ghost in the place would scare you sooner or later. She’s horrible.”
A disgusting gleam glinted in Meredith’s eyes. “When he came out, I killed him. It was easy.”
“But now you don’t have the money,” I said.
“Well, as soon as I get into his computer, I’m going to change that. I’ll just wire myself some cash from his bank and I’ll be all set. The only thing standing between me and that laptop is you.”
And she’d be getting this laptop over my dead body. Meredith was no match for me. I could punch, kick and shoot like a man. It was all that Ghost Team training. We had to be physically fit to keep up with spirits. I was the best on my team.
I gave her a solid front kick to the chest and sent her pinwheeling back. But Meredith, though she looked fragile, was strong. She only wheeled back a couple of feet.
But it was enough for me to dash from the apartment down the stairs. The main door was locked. I pulled and yanked, but she must’ve had a key. I turned around. The only other door led into the restaurant.
I made a break for it, shoving the double doors wide open. Footsteps clambered down the stairs behind me.
“You can’t run away from me, Blissful. The whole place is locked up.”
I ran past the dining room and tugged on the door to Meredith’s office. It was unlocked. Sweet!
