I had told Alice and Ruth about my experience outside the gas station with the three brutes. They were obviously worried about me, and as much as I cringed at what they were wearing, a slip of a smile tugged my lips.
“Okay then.” I clapped my hands. “Looks like y’all are thinking. Good idea. Now. We’re just waiting on Francine.”
“I’m here,” purred a voice.
I twisted my head. Francine had draped herself in my doorway. She’d been a large woman in life—close to six feet and probably weighed over two hundred pounds. So when Francine draped herself, it was no small feat.
Francine’s mouth curled into a wicked smile. “Are y’all ready?”
“We are,” I answered.
She gestured for me to follow. “Then let’s get going.”
I drove the four of us to an amphitheater outside town. Large freestanding Greek-inspired columns dotted the path toward the hollowed-out circle of land.
Crumbled stone benches ringed the flat stage. We’d arrived late, which was perfect. Spirits hovered over the seats, facing the stage as if waiting for the performance to begin.
I tucked myself behind a pillar and pointed to Ruth and Alice. “Y’all find a spot to hide behind.”
“But how will we know what’s going on?” Alice whimpered.
She had a point. Alice and Ruth couldn’t normally see spirits. We couldn’t all crowd around my pillar. There simply wasn’t enough room.
I gave Francine a hopeful look. She snapped her fingers. “I’ll take care of it. Make sure they can see and hear, at least just this once.”
I grabbed Alice’s arm. “Francine’s going to make sure y’all can watch.”
Alice’s eyes widened with glee. “I’m so excited.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Ruth said. “We might not like what we find out.”
They got into position, and we all settled down to watch the show.
After a few minutes Jeffrey stepped out onto the concrete platform.
I turned to Francine. “Why’s he here?”
Francine whispered in my ear. “You asked me to follow the other man, and I did. They’re partners. He took the package and showed other spirits. That’s how this became organized.”
I nodded in understanding. “But Jeffrey is the one who had the pictures first.”
“Exactly,” Francine said, “so it’s his meeting.”
Jeffrey raised his hand, and the ghostly voices that filled the night hushed.
“Thank y’all for coming,” he said with authority. Jeffrey was debonair, as if everywhere he went, people stopped and listened to what he had to say. He commanded folks’ attention like a natural orator. I wouldn’t have been surprised if in life Jeffrey had held public office.
Jeffrey surveyed the crowd, seeming to drink them in. “Over the course of a long investigation I finally have proof that the living conspire against us.”
Gasps sprang from several spirits.
Jeffrey nodded. “That was my same response. I was shocked. Outraged. I had long suspected it. The living that I haunt—”
“Huh?” Alice said.
“He means Tallulah,” I replied.
She nodded in understanding.
