Page 43 of Ghost Town Boogie

As he’d suspected it would be, the place was still filled with ghosts. There were more here than at the depot, though almost all of these spirits seemed to be disconnected. Unlike last time, most didn’t even seem to be aware that he could see them. Fine by him. Others looked at him and moved on. They didn’t care about anything, not anymore. A couple of the ghosts looked familiar. He’d probably seen them last time he was here, maybe ten years ago. They were stuck, caught in between worlds.

He didn’t see the ghost he was looking for, the one he needed to talk to. Maybe Crystal wasn’t here. Maybe she wasn’t even dead…

Though Jack had said differently. Could he trust anything Jack said? Did ghosts lie? If any ghost would, it would be Anna’s brother.

Colt ordered a beer from a disinterested waitress, because if he didn’t order something they were going to toss him out. He asked about Tuck, but the woman who brought him a cold bottle of beer and a small napkin said he wasn’t in tonight. Too bad. Tuck wouldn’t mind if he just sat a while, even if he didn’t buy anything but this one beer. They weren’t close friends, but they did see one another in town now and then and they had mutual friends and acquaintances. As a business owner, Tuck sometimes attended the Seawolf Beach Business Owners’ Association meetings. He was an easy-going guy, unlike the uncle who’d left him this place.

The uncle’s spirit didn’t seem to be in attendance tonight.

Colt had learned to keep his cool with the ghosts at the depot. He saw them every day; they were familiar. The pirate at the little house on Jasmine Street, annoying as he could be, didn’t bother him. There were regular spirits around town. Most of the time he ignored them and they returned the favor. Nicole’s presence did disturb him, he couldn’t deny it. She was new, and her death had been so wrong. Sadly he was already becoming used to seeing her in the depot.

Here the ghosts were not at all familiar. The back of his neck tingled in warning, unease. If he hadn’t had a mission he’d be out of here like a shot. Maude was a happy spirit. Even the pirate seemed to be content with his circumstances. These haunts were maudlin, some even tortured.

Colt took his beer and headed for the patio out back, where the pictures of Walter Wakefield and an unhappy Crystal had been taken.

Several wooden picnic tables were arranged under a rickety roof that would protect patrons from rain or sun. Instead of Cinco de Mayo decorations, colorful fairy lights had been strung overhead. Maybe Tuck would eventually update out here, but so far he hadn’t made any changes. This patio was just as it had been for more years than Colt could count.

Two couples and a threesome of cheerful young men were scattered about, but there were a few empty tables. Colt chose one as far away from the others as possible and sat.

Crystal joined him.

She was more solid than the ghosts inside, and she immediately recognized that he could see her.

“Are you here for me?” she asked.

“I am,” Colt whispered. It didn’t really matter if the other people on the patio thought he was talking to himself. Wouldn’t be the first time. He should be used to it by now.

“I’ve been waiting for someone to come,” Crystal said. “Someone has to know what happened to me.” The expression on her face shifted from not quite angry to sad. “I thought it might be Jack.”

That got Colt’s attention. “Jack Miller?”

She nodded. “He was supposed to come for me. We were going to go away. Run away. Start fresh with all the money he was going to… Where is he? What happened to Jack? Why wasn’t he here when…”

“What happened?” Colt whispered.

What did Jack do…

Crystal shimmered, going almost transparent then coming back to the present again. “It seemed like a simple plan,” she said. “I mean, the people Jack got to invest in the new building had plenty to spare. They wouldn’t miss it and the money we collected would give us a chance to…” She faded again, going in and out.

“You were scamming people.” The way Jack had once tried to scam him, the way he’d scammed his own parents…

“I suppose. But like I said, they had money to spare and we didn’t. I could tell Jack who’d been winning big at the casinos and who’d been bragging about their latest windfall or inheritance, and he did the rest.”

“You conned someone you shouldn’t have and they killed you.”

She looked sheepish. “Yeah, kinda, but…”

Without warning, Jack was there. The spirit was more faded than he’d been when he was near his mother; he worked hard to present himself here, in this place. “Come home,” he said. “They need you, now.” Then he looked at Crystal. Even as faint as Jack was in this moment, Colt saw the heartbreak in his eyes. “Oh, Crystal, I’m so sorry…”

Colt didn’t stick around to hear more. He bolted.

They need you, now.

CHAPTER 17

Two huge bags were delivered to the front door right at six o’clock. Anna recognized the logo on the white bags. Was Colt trying to impress her or her mom? Whatever the intent, he’d succeeded. He’d ordered from one of the best restaurants in town. She hadn’t even realized Maggie’s delivered!

Colt hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he ordered a bit of everything. It took all three of them to lay out the feast. There was barely room on the round table for plates and silverware, with all the takeout boxes, but they managed.