Ghost Hunter

Chapter 25

COOPER SAW THE FLASHING AMBER AND RED LIGHTS OF the ambulance when he turned the corner onto Ruin Lane. They created an eerie, strobelike effect in the fog.

An uneasy sensation gripped his insides. The emergency vehicle was almost directly in front of Bertha Newell's shop. There was a police cruiser in front of it.

He had been driving slowly because of the fog, but now he lowered the Spectrum's speed to a crawl. When he got closer he could make out the small group of figures gathered on the sidewalk. His tension eased slightly when he realized that they were watching the open door of the floral shop.

He spotted Elly immediately. She stood with Garrick Lattimer and Phillip Manchester.

He brought the Spectrum to a halt at the curb, got out, and walked back down the sidewalk to join Elly and her friends.

Rose was perched inside Elly's tote, watching the action. Her head swiveled around abruptly. She rumbled a greeting when she noticed Cooper approaching.

Elly and the two men turned to look at him, too.

"There you are," Elly said. She had a strained, shadowed expression on her face. "I was getting worried."

He nodded at the two men. "What's going on?"

Garrick angled his chin toward the front door of the floral shop. "Stuart Griggs, the owner of that business, died sometime this afternoon. Elly found him a short while ago."

Cooper looked at Elly's withdrawn, unreadable face. "How did you come to find the body?"

"I was taking a note to Bertha's shop to hang in her window." She gave him a meaningful look. "People have been wondering where she is."

"Got it," he said quietly.

"When I went past Griggs's back door, Rose started making odd little noises. I think she sensed that something was wrong. So I tried the door. It was unlocked. When I opened it, I saw the body on the floor."

Two medics emerged from the front of the shop. They carried a stretcher with a draped figure on top.

"I heard someone say they think it was a heart attack," Phillip volunteered.

"The cop came over here to talk to us for a few minutes," Garrick added. "Actually, it was Elly he wanted to speak with, because she was the one who found Griggs. He said there were no obvious signs of violence except for a bad cut on the florist's arm that was mostly healed."

Cooper frowned. "A cut?"

"The cop figured Griggs had probably injured himself sometime in the past couple of weeks with one of the tools he used to trim flowers," Phillip explained.

Elly turned back to watch the stretcher being loaded into the back of the ambulance. She did not speak.

He touched her arm. "Let's go home."

"Yes. Good idea." She spun toward him, clearly relieved to have an excuse to leave.

He bundled her into the car. As soon as she was settled Rose elevated out of the tote and drifted up onto her favored perch on the back of the seat.

Cooper got in on the driver's side, rezzed the engine, and pulled away from the curb.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes. What about you? Did you find the drugs? I've been worried sick all afternoon."

"I found the stash. I also had a conversation with Ormond Ripley."

"The owner of the casino?"

"He's a former member of the local Guild Council. I can't rule out the possibility that he's the dealer, but I'm inclined to agree with Wyatt that it's very unlikely. I'll tell you all about it later. What exactly happened back there? I'm getting the feeling I haven't heard the whole story yet."

"Very perceptive of you." She cleared her throat. "It's a little more complicated than it appears."

"How much more complicated?"

"Do you remember me telling you that there had been an attempted burglary in the neighborhood about ten days ago?"

He found a parking place in front of St. Clair's Herbal Emporium. "I remember."

"Yes, well, I left out one tiny little detail."

He de-rezzed the engine and turned in the seat. "What tiny little detail?"

"The shop that was broken into was mine."

His insides clenched. "You never said anything about a break-in to your folks. Your dad would have mentioned it to me."

"I'm sure he would have," she said dryly. "And he and Mom would have gone bonkers. I could just see my father picking up the phone and calling Mercer Wyatt, himself, to demand a full-time bodyguard for me. Mom would have started in again, pressuring me to return to Aurora Springs. I'd be getting lectures from my brothers on the dangers of the big city."

He closed his eyes and scrubbed his face with one hand. "Okay, I get the picture. You didn't tell your family because you didn't want to deal with the fallout."

"Do you blame me?"

"Hell, yes. But that's another issue. Much as I hate to say it, I think we'd better stay focused here."

"Cooper—"

"Tell me why you're bringing up the subject now."

She drew a deep breath. "You're not going to like this."

"I already don't like it."

"Brace yourself. Rose and I were home when the burglar broke into my shop."

He felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut.

"Neither of us was hurt," she added hastily. "Rose scared the guy off."

"How?"

"She sensed him the instant he was inside the shop, of course. I woke up when she did, realized something was wrong, and jumped out of bed to lock my bedroom door. But before I could stop her, Rose went flying out of the bedroom, teeth and eyes blazing. She shot down the hall to the top of the stairs. The next thing I know, the burglar's screaming green murder. He sounded panic-stricken. He ran back down the stairs and out into the alley."

"What about the cops?"

"I called them, of course. But by the time they got there, he was long gone."

"Naturally," Cooper muttered.

"I filled out a report, but they made it clear that in cases of that sort there wasn't much hope of turning up a suspect."

"So you went out and bought new locks."

"I also alerted my neighbors, and we set up the block watch program."

"Nothing like a good block watch program, I always say." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Damn. All right, let's keep on track. You're bringing this up now because…?"

She cleared her throat. "When the burglar ran out, I caught a glimpse of him from the top of the stairs. I couldn't see his face. He was all wrapped up in a heavy, dark coat and some sort of stocking cap pulled down very low. But when he ran through a shaft of moonlight, I could see one thing very plainly."

"What?"

She reached up to touch Rose. "He was clutching his left arm. Later, when I turned on the lights, I found blood on the stairs. I'm sure Rose bit him quite badly."

Comprehension settled on him like an icy mist.

"On the left arm?"

She looked at him with big, serious eyes. "Right about where Stuart Griggs had a wide bandage covering a recently healed wound."