Jeffrey must’ve somehow shielded her from being seen by me.
They were in on something together. But what?
The dark figure drifted to the other side of the gas station. I stalked forward, trying to keep an eye hooked on him.
“Francine,” I whispered.
“Yes?”
“I need you to do me a favor.”
She smiled. “Will it help me get into the cemetery faster?”
“Yes.”
“Then darling, I’m your woman.”
“Follow that dark spirit.”
“Which one?”
I pointed to the window. Her gaze washed back and forth until it landed on its mark. “Yes, I see him.”
“I need to know who it is and where he goes. Can you do that?”
Francine’s lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Can I do that? And is bread white?”
“Sometimes it’s brown.”
She fluffed her hair, uninterested in the detail I pointed out. “Yes, I can do that.”
With that, she zipped off, following the spirit, who had slinked from the gas station and was floating down the road.
I watched until she disappeared and turned to leave. Stupid me, I wasn’t looking where I was going and ran right into an old aluminum trash can.
The can crashed to the ground, making a deafening sound.
I winced. I’d wanted to remain invisible. My only hope was that the spirits hadn’t heard the crash.
I righted the can and whirled around.
Three rough-looking spirit men hovered over me. The first one cracked his neck from side to side. The second cracked his knuckles, and the third punched a fist into his hand.
Tattoos blazed up and down their arms. The foul looks on their faces suggested I was in more trouble than I’d bargained for.
“No living allowed,” the first one said. “That’s the rule.”
I grinned. “Sorry. I didn’t see a sign.”
The third one pointed to a wall. “There it is.”
Sure enough, a ghostly sign was tacked to the outside of the gas station. In black letters it read NO LIVING ALLOWED.
I laughed nervously. Normally I wouldn’t give a rat’s behind about a few ghosts trying to intimidate me, but ever since I had been attacked by a dark spirit in the middle of the night, my confidence had plummeted.
Even so, I couldn’t afford to look like a sissy in front of these three. “I guess I missed your sign. Maybe you should put it where it’s more visible. Now then, I’ll just be going.”
I moved to brush past them, but one of the lugs clamped a hand around my arm.
