Meanwhile, Back in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 6) (11 page)

Doc’s Camaro was not in the parking lot. He’d mentioned something last night about a trip over to Spearfish to meet a new client. He must still be busy impressing them with his big, money-savvy brain.

He and I were supposed to put our heads together soon to discuss what I could do with the money I had made off the hotel sale to Cornelius so that it wouldn’t burn a hole in my account and float away. Make that whatever money would be left after I bought myself a used set of wheels and could give Harvey back his aromatic Picklemobile.

I crossed the parking lot. Ben was the only one in the office. As I neared my desk, he smiled up from a book he was reading. Reading on the job? That was new. Usually Ben had his nose to the real estate grindstone while I surfed the Internet and daydreamed about the fancy dancing I’d do when I sold more houses in a month than Ray.

“Wow, Violet. You look very bohemian today.”

“Thanks, Ben.” I was tired of looking at the same boring clothes in my closet, so I’d raided Aunt Zoe’s.

“That top looks nice on you. What color is it?”

“Periwinkle.” I shoved my purse in my drawer. “Where is everyone?”

“Mona and Ray are both out with clients, and Jerry had to run down to Rapid to see about a business property someone wants him to sell personally.”

“What’s with the book?”

“Jerry wanted me to read it. You have one, too. Check your chair.”

I pulled out my chair and stared down at the book sitting on it. A Post-it note was stuck to the front. I picked up the book and read Jerry’s scrawl on the note:
Violet, this will help you warm up for the camera
.

I tore off Jerry’s note and read the title aloud. “
Giving Good TV—How to Knock ‘Em Dead on Camera.
” I dropped the book on my desk and then fell into my chair. “Is this crap for real?”

Ben shrugged. “It’s not that bad of a read. I’ve only fallen asleep twice since I started it.”

“How far in are you?”

“I just started the second chapter.”

I laughed in spite of the absurdity of our situation.

We eased into a companionable silence. Ben read while I finished up some paperwork on Freesia’s Galena House and worked on an ad I wanted to place for Cooper’s and Jeff Wymonds’ places on a vacation homes website.

Midway through the afternoon, I stepped out to grab a quick sandwich. When I returned, Doc’s car was still missing from the parking lot. I called his cellphone and got his voicemail, so I left a message filled with some heavy breathing, a few sexy moans, and a sultry “Call me, hot stuff,” request. That should give him a chuckle.

Everyone but Jerry cycled through during the rest of the afternoon. After sharing a few dirty looks with Ray, exchanging some jokes about starting a book club with Ben, and getting a few tips from Mona about the website ad, it was time to head home. Ray and Ben wasted no time hitting the road. Mona followed in their wake. Harvey had called earlier to tell me he’d picked up my kids from school. He’d agreed to hang out with them until six, but then he needed to go home and get Cooper’s dinner prepared, the lucky detective, so I took my time shutting down and packing up.

I was checking my cellphone one last time for any messages when someone knocked on the front window. I looked up to find Doc waving at me on the other side of the glass.

I smiled at him. It felt big and silly, very loose on my cheeks, but I couldn’t help it. Doc had a way of turning me into a loose woman all around.

He pointed at the door.

His wish was my command.

A breeze blew in with him, carrying a couple of leaves with it from the courthouse’s Silver Maple trees across the street. I locked the door behind him.

He took his time inspecting my outfit, his gaze darkening when he saw my choice in footwear. “I got your message, Boots.” He caught my hand, drawing me closer. “I like this uninhibited, gypsy look. It makes me want to do wicked things to you. Especially since you’re wearing my favorite cowboy boots.”

Doc smelled like the outdoors, all fresh and woodsy and cool. But his lips were hot, and his kiss was positively steaming.

“What kind of wicked things?” I asked when he took a break from making me burn from the inside out.

“The kind that make you moan and pant, like you did on my voicemail.”

I grinned. “I thought you might get a grin out of that.”

“I’m going to make it your ringtone on my phone.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Then again, I have enough trouble not thinking about you naked whenever you call.”

He kissed me again, slow and enticing, tantalizing me with his tongue and magic hands.

As tempting as it was to get all breathy and moan-filled for real in my empty office, I had kids waiting at home. Plus, those damned plate-glass windows offered a first rate peep show to anyone passing by. Public exhibitionism made my skin turn red. The one show Doc and I had performed for a pack of bikers needed no encore.

I pulled away from his heat. “Feel like walking me out to the Picklemobile?”

“Sure.” He followed me over to my desk. “What’s this?” He picked up the book Jerry had given to me and read the title. Disbelief creased his forehead when he finished. “No way.”

“Yes way. I have homework. Jerry gave a copy to both Ben and me.” I took the book from him and shoved it into my purse. “You want to come over for supper and a movie tonight?”

“What about your homework?”

“Here’s an idea: After the kids go to bed, you could read it to me while I give you a relaxing rubdown.”

“That sounds more like a bribe.”

“They say studying with a partner is more fun.”

He frowned at the book sticking halfway out of my purse. “How fun and relaxing are we talking?”

“Very, very fun and super relaxing.”

His focus locked onto my lips. “Like that time in my shower with the chocolate and peanut butter flavored soap?”

I trailed my fingernails down along the buttons of his dark green shirt. “You’ll have to come over and find out, hot stuff.”

“Deal.” He caught my fingers, which were now toying with his belt buckle, and lifted them to his lips. “But this time, how about keeping your claws retracted.”

“Why? Did I hurt you last time?”

“Only in a good way.” He kissed my knuckles. “But your kids will be within hearing distance this time.”

True. We’d have to keep things PG tonight, darn it. “What if I promise to be gentle?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Come read to me and I’ll show you.”

He hesitated.

If he opted out of tonight, it was probably just as well. Earlier, while skimming the first chapter of Jerry’s book, I’d been considering broaching the subject with Doc of how I was carrying the DNA of a line of killers. I’d played the “what-if” game with several different endings to our conversations, none of them happily-ever-afters.

“You got yourself a deal, Boots.” He let go of my hand. “But first I need to take care of a few things in my office.”

On second thought, maybe I’d stick to erotic massage and leave the truth-telling for another day.

I hoisted my purse strap over my shoulder. “How did the meeting with your new client go?”

“She liked what I had to offer, had already checked with my references, and wanted to start right away, so I followed her back to her office and we got busy.”

“She?” Gotten busy doing what?

“A widow.”

“A widow as in a twenty-five-year-old stripper who married a rich, old dying oil tycoon, and now that he’s pushing up daisies she has tons of cash and is on the hunt for a hot and sexy boy toy?”

He chuckled. “More like a sixty-six-year-old successful entrepreneur who is ready to retire but afraid to stop working since her husband is gone.”

Okay, so my version was a little heavy on the Hollywood drama. “You could still be her boy toy.”

“Your name is already written on the bottom of my foot.”

Ah, hell. When he said stuff like that, I felt like leaping into his arms and licking his whole face. Rather than slobber all over him, I decided to switch subjects to something less heart palpitating.

“Cornelius called me today.” I headed over to the light switches by the front door.

“How is your favorite paranormal investigator enjoying his new digs?”

“Well, that’s sort of why he called.” I shut off all of the overhead fluorescents but one.

“What did he say?”

I didn’t waste Doc’s time with the insanity that had passed between me and Abe Jr. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Me? Why?”

I paused in front of him for emphasis. “According to him, there are dead people talking in his walls, and he needs your help shutting them up.”

Doc searched my face.

“No joke.” I waited for him to start laughing.

Instead he nodded. “Okay.” He started toward the back door.

I caught his arm, stopping him. “What do you mean okay?”

“In the English language, that’s another word for
sure
.”

“Smartass.” I poked him in the ribs, making him grunt. “You mean you’re willing to go up to Cornelius’s suite and talk about dead people?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He put his hand on my lower back and urged me down the hall. “Let’s just say that after the last two séances with your orangutan pal from the Planet of the Apes, I’m curious what his abilities are in the paranormal realm.”

“I think this is a bad idea.” I glanced into Jerry’s dark office as we passed by, making sure everything was shut off. “Cornelius could expose you in a way that’s detrimental to your business reputation.”

I realized as I got within reach of the back door that Doc’s hand was no longer pushing me along. I looked over my shoulder and skidded to a stop at the sight of him standing opposite Jerry’s office, staring into the dark doorway, his body rigid.

“What’s wrong?” I walked back and peered into the shadows with him. “What is it?”

He sniffed like he used to when we were house hunting together. “There’s something in there.”

I gripped his arm. “Please tell me you’re smelling Jerry’s gym shoes.”

“It reminds me of …” he trailed off and took a step back.

“The stinky, mean ghost?”

Doc had had trouble since the first time he’d walked through the front door months ago with an angry ghost that haunted my office. Most of the time, he went out of his way to avoid it. So, what was with him hanging around to shoot-the-shit with it tonight?

“No, something is different.”

“Different how?”

“With the scent. Hold on.” He grabbed me and pushed me behind him, blocking me. “Here it comes.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressed my cheek against his back, and closed my eyes. His muscles tensed and his breath caught, his heart picking up speed for a ten-count. Then he relaxed again.

“Is it gone?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

I opened my eyes. “Are you okay, Doc? Do you need to sit down?”

“Let’s clear out of here.” He took me by the elbow and practically dragged me down the hall and out the back door. Without saying a word, he waited while I locked up. As soon as my key left the lock, he grabbed my arm and tugged me across the mostly empty parking lot toward the Picklemobile.

I pulled free after we reached the old truck and crossed my arms over my chest. “Dane R. Nyce, you tell me what happened in there right now.”

He glanced back at the door, as if to make sure nothing was following us. “There’s a new presence in your office.”

Splendid. As if one pissed off freaky entity wasn’t enough. “Is it as nasty as the other one?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Why not? Did it pass through you too fast to pick up any details?”

Being that I was a total dud when it came to seeing, hearing, or smelling ghosts, I had only a very sketchy idea how this sixth-sense stuff worked. Usually, the ghost moved through Doc, and he saw a glimpse of how the person had died. Then it went on its merry way and Doc spent a day or two figuring out whom he’d shared a moment with in history.

“No.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “I picked up a few hints.”

“So what’s the problem then?”

“Violet …”

“Don’t play cryptic medium with me. Just lay it out there and let it wiggle.”

He gripped my shoulder, his eyes shadowed as he stared down at me. “Jane’s back.”

“Jane?” My brain made a loud beeping sound, like it was performing an emergency broadcast system test. I shook my head to clear it. “You mean Jane Grimes, my boss?”

“Yes, that Jane.”

My knees weakened, but Doc held me upright. “What? How? Why would … ?” I licked my lips and breathed in a steadying breath. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

I shivered in the cool evening breeze. “What is Jane doing back?” I whispered, as if her ghost might hear me across the parking lot.

“I don’t know.” He tucked me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me. “But from the intensity in Jerry’s office and what I picked up,” he said over my head, “she’s pissed as hell about something.”

Chapter Six

Meanwhile, back in the land of the living …

Later that evening, I sat on the edge of my bed while the kids argued in the bathroom over teeth brushing etiquette.

Jane was back.

That was some mind-numbing, ectoplasmic shit.

I buried my face in my hands, trying to come to terms with what Jane’s return from who-knew-where meant to those of us still breathing oxygen.

Did I tell Mona? Jerry? Ray?

No, definitely not Ray. That would just be more ammunition in the war raging between us.

It was probably a bad idea to mention it to Jerry, too. If he didn’t fire me on the spot for temporary insanity, he’d find a way to use Jane’s presence to boost ratings on that blasted TV show.

That left Mona, who once had told me she believed in ghosts. But would she believe that it was Jane? Would she wonder how I had figured out Jane was paying us a visit? I couldn’t let Doc’s secret out, not even to Mona. It was his business to tell, not mine.

I could tell Harvey about it, though.

Aunt Zoe, too. I hadn’t mentioned it earlier when she’d called home after settling into her room at the conference hotel. She’d sounded tired. For Reid’s sake, I hoped it wasn’t from staying up all night horsing around under the covers with her traveling buddy. I’d been too chicken shit to dig for details about her love life and had kept it to chatter about the kids and work, asking only about the convention and how her pieces had faired on the trip down.