Booker went straight to Gwyn and put the messenger bag in her lap. “A welcoming present.”
“Oh! Thank you.” Gwyn opened the bag and then blinked downward. “What all is in here?”
I let Booker go over each item, only chiming in a little to explain why such a thing might be helpful, and we did get sidetracked a time or three with a funny story of what happened when wedidn’thave a backup light on us. Or ran out of salt. Things could get hairy.
Gwyn looked touched that Booker had assembled all of this for her. She got up to hug him, and he smiled softly as he hugged her back.
“Well,” Eli said with a huge breath, “I’m feeling better about taking you with us, now you’ve got things to fall back on if you need them. Though I doubt much will dare hassle you, not when you’re with us.”
“I’d pay good money to watch a ghost try to hassle you.” I winked at Eli to show I was kidding. “Can ghosts be suicidal?”
“Sometimes I do wonder.” Eli shook her head. “Okay, boys with the map, we got a plan?”
“We do. Starting with the mayor.” Quinn refolded the map but handed it to Brandon for some reason. “I reached her while you guys were out playing in the car. She’s eager to meet with us, so we need to leave now, as our meeting is in thirty minutes.”
“Then let’s move.” I motioned Gwyn up. “I’m so sorry about this, Gwyn, and if it proves to be too much, I can arrange for youto sit out somehow. That said, this is an amazing opportunity to learn from some of the best. I don’t want you to miss out.”
“I do feel like I’m being thrown into the deep end,” Gwyn admitted a little ruefully. She lifted the bag in illustration. “But I’ve also been thrown a floatie and a line, so I think I’ll be okay. I’d rather learn how to fight the ghosts than how to hide from them.”
Likely the reason she’d survived this long was her determination, her spine of steel. She hadn’t known how to fight before this, but my god, when she did learn, she’d be unstoppable.
“Then let’s go.”
We used our rental SUV—it was basically empty and had enough seats. Gwyn sat in the very back with Eli, Brandon driving, because let’s face it, Brandon preferred to drive over being a passenger princess. We weren’t in the car for long because the town was only five minutes away. The mayor’s office, unless I missed my guess, used to be a mercantile store. It had the interesting brick architecture of a much older time, with freshly painted white trim and cornices. Parking was out on the street and only half full, but I couldn’t imagine this town’s parking ever being truly full.
We parked, then trooped in through the main doors. None of us were wearing windbreakers because it was too hot, but we all had badges on either necklaces or clipped to our belts.
The mercantile store image was reinforced by the long, worn-in wooden bar greeting us. The receptionist eyed us, blinked, then visibly looked relieved. I was a little surprised to see a receptionist until I realized the office was open until noon on Saturdays.
Eli sauntered up to her, holding up her badge. “Hi, we’re the FBI ghost wranglers. The mayor’s expecting us, I believe?”
“She is. Please step through there.” She pointed to the door immediately to our left. “I’ll notify her of your arrival, and she’ll be in momentarily. I can bring in coffee and water bottles, if anyone’s thirsty.”
I already was, so I lifted a hand. “A water would be lovely, merci.”
We filed into a conference room with a large table and many rolling computer chairs; at odds with the architecture, but at least comfortable. I made sure Gwyn sat next to me, with Brandon on her other side. I’d already seen signs of this building being haunted, too, and I was taking no chances. Most of the ghost trails were white, but there were a few murky grey or light yellow ones, and it was them I didn’t trust.
Gwyn leaned in to whisper, “I brought my tablet and a notebook. Should I take notes?”
“That’s a fine idea, ma petite chère. Booker likes to take notes too.”
Booker glanced up from the slim laptop he’d pulled from his bag, brown eyes twinkling a little. “I can’t remember for shit what I’m told. Notes are my lifeline. Gwyn, come sit next to me. I’ll teach you how to take notes on meetings like this.”
Gwyn got up and shifted over. I watched her go, feeling a rising suspicion. Now, why was everyone trying to take off with my apprentice?
Granted, she was rather the new toy, in a sense.
Two women entered the room, prompting us to stand. One of them was short, with thick black hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a bright red blazer, white button-down shirt, and jeans—a business casual look. Next to her in all tan with a gun on her hip was a female officer. I stood corrected after a glance at the name tag above her pocket identified her as the town sheriff.
The mayor openly beamed at us. “You are a sight for sore eyes. Welcome, Agents. I’m Juana Hernandez. This is Sheriff Lila Parker.”
Sheriff Parker looked like a middle-aged track star. I was sure she could outrun me without even breaking a sweat.
We went around the room, introducing ourselves, and when we got to Gwyn, the mayor was surprised but still welcoming.
After we resumed our seats, Mayor Hernandez looked us over and made a face. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but not all of our residents are happy about you being here. There’s some stubborn ones who want to bury their heads in the sand. We’ll work around them as best we can. That said, do you have an idea of where you want to start?”
Now that was the question, wasn’t it?
