At that moment, the doorbell rang. They both jumped.
Miranda gave Kyle a sideways glance as she rose to her feet and hurried to the front door. “You must be the only ghost in the universe who gets spooked. Seriously.”
“Hey,” Kyle called after her. “Don’t just open the door without checking to see who it is first. You don’t know who’s behind it. It might be the burglar come back again.”
“Kyle, I’m pretty sure burglars don’t knock. If you want to be helpful, why don’t you push your head through the wall and tell me who you see out there, okay?”
“Uh, right. Spirit guide to the rescue.”
Miranda smirked at him. Ever since coming back from the next place, back to haunt her as his ghostly self, Kyle had styled himself as her personal protector. Her spirit guide. Sometimes she couldn’t live without him. Sometimes, he was about as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane.
She watched as he floated through the wall, just his head and shoulders, and a moment later pulled back in again. “It’s just a guy,” he said.
Miranda cocked an eyebrow at him as another knock came at the door. “Just a guy? Well. I’m so glad I had you look.”
His shrug was almost apologetic. “I don’t know what to tell you, Miranda. I don’t know the bloke. He’s tall and skinny. He’s wearing jeans and he’s got a really bad haircut. What do you want me to say?”
She grimaced at him, and his help, and then opened the door. The man stood there just as Kyle had described him. His checkered shirt hung off his shoulders but his smile was cheerful. “I’m sorry to bother you.”
She waited for him to say more, but instead he just leaned against the doorframe as his smile slipped away. He was sweating, and now she could see he was out of breath. “What’s the matter?”
He swallowed, shaking his head.
In Miranda’s mind, she had flashbacks of when Josh Bates had rushed up to the back door of Ragged Rest, murder hot on his heels.
Was it happening again?
“Sorry, sorry,” the man finally said to her. “I’m Leon Peniston. I was looking for you, Miss Wylder. I’m sorry, can I… can I possibly get a glass of water?”
Miranda could see that he needed it, for sure, and she was just about to let him in and get some water from the fridge, when she stopped. Without making it obvious she looked up at Kyle. She could see the same question written all over his ghostly face.
“How in the world,” he said, “did he know your name?”
Exactly what she was wondering. He’d called her Miss Wylder even though she hadn’t introduced herself. She looked him up and down, but she definitely did not know this man.
“How do you know who I am?” she decided to ask him, taking a good grip on the door in case she needed to slam it quick. “Look, my boyfriend is a police officer, and I expect him back any time now…”
She trailed off as Leon started sliding down. His knees buckled and he used the doorframe to keep from falling flat on his face. Even if he had arrived with some malicious intent, he was slowly succumbing to some illness, or something that was sapping his strength.
“Leon?” she said to him. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, he better not be contagious!” Kyle said frantically. “If he dies and gets you sick too then I’m going to make his afterlife a living Hell!”
Miranda ignored him. Leon was obviously in distress and needed help.
“I don’t know… what’s wrong,” he said, panting, “I just feel suddenly really ill. My heart is racing. My stomach is all twisted in knots. Please, please can I have some water?”
“Um. Sure. Yes, of course. I’ll just get it for you, but you wait right here, okay?”
With obvious effort, he nodded for her.
Glancing at Kyle, she flicked her eyes to Leon, passing on the silent message to watch the guy as she darted away to the kitchen to get the water. She took a bottle quickly from the fridge and then she was on her way back to the front door.
When she gave it to him he drank it down greedily, as if his life depended on it.
She waited until the last of it was gone. “Is that any better?”
He seemed to be breathing easier, at least, even if his color was still pale and gray. “Yes, it is. A little, I guess. Thank you, Miss Wylder.”
He handed her the empty bottle, and she tossed it aside on the floor to keep her hands free. “Why are you here Leon? What brings you to my door, and how do you know who I am?”
“I’m here…” He stopped to take another breath. “I’m here to confess something.”
Kyle blinked at the man, floating closer. “Say what now?”
“What do you mean?” Miranda pressed. “You want to confess what?”
“Something that’s getting to be more trouble than it’s worth,” he said. “You see… I was the one…”
Suddenly, his eyes widened and turned glassy. Sort of blank.
“Leon?” Miranda said, but an awful feeling was already creeping up on her.
This time, Leon couldn’t keep himself from falling. When he hit the ground, his eyes were still open. Miranda realized immediately that he was gone.
“For God’s sake, he’s dead!” Kyle blurted out.
Pre-order Now Available!
Click here to find out more.
