Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters Page B

help.” He swayed and I jumped forward.  
    “Are you going to pass out?”
    “I’m trying not to. But I will lean on you going back to the car.”
    “No problem.” I stepped closer, ready to help him. “But…uh…”
    I looked over at where the man was lying in the pile of leaves.  
    “What are we going to do about him?”
    “Who?” He turned and looked and that was when he realized we had a body lying there. “What the hell?”
    He went over and tried to go down on one knee, letting out a muffled curse of pain. I jumped in.  
    “Stop,” I said. “I’ll do that. You just tell me how to do it.”
    I felt for a pulse, but I knew it was useless. From what I could see in the dim light from Roy’s flashlight, it looked like the same man who’d taken a shot at me earlier—wild dark hair, and a bloody hole in his forehead.
    “I think he’s dead,” I said, looking up at Roy, feeling helpless. I mean—I hated the man for shooting at me, but I didn’t want him dead. For just a moment, I felt like being sick.  
    Roy was looking down at me strangely. “That’s number three,” he said softly, his eyes full of question.  
    I sighed and looked away. Something cold and hopeless was beginning to take root in my chest. “Yes, I guess it is.”
    “Unless you have other dead bodies littering your past life that we don’t know about,” he added.  
    “No,” I said, loud and clear. “I never saw a dead person until I came to this town. I swear I didn’t bring this unique talent with me. It seems to have been assigned to me once I got here.”
    Roy shook his head. “We’ll have to leave him here for now.” He took a deep, long breath. “I guess we’ll have to call in. The Captain isn’t going to like this.”
    I glared at him. “He’s not the only one,” I muttered, but I went up and offered to help him to the car. I was tired. It had turned out to be an event packed day after all.

Chapter Twelve

    Bebe was asleep when I got home and I decided telling her all about my adventures could wait until morning. Dante was sitting in the living room, looking sulky. I wondered if he was jealous of Roy, but that was just wacky thinking. I knew Roy was being taken care of with his gunshot wound and all. The police had their own medical resources. One of the other detectives had given me a ride home. We left the scene of the crime before Captain Stone got there, but I knew I would be in for it in the morning. Still, I could hardly wait to get into bed. My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.  
    I stumbled out of bed at about eight and found Bebe sitting in the kitchen, drinking her first cup of coffee, looking tragic. When I started in on my tales from the night before, she glared at me.  
    “I already know all about it,” she said. “I’ve had three emails, four texts and two phone calls. News travels fast.” She shook her head, looking at me in something between horror and amazement. “You crazy kid,” she said, distressed. “You could have been killed.”
    I nodded. “Yes, I wasn’t really expecting to get quite so completely involved in another murder,” I told her. “And I’m sorry. Really. I know this is embarrassing for you.”
    She jumped out of her seat and came around to hug me tight. “That is not the point,” she said, her voice choked. “I can’t lose you. You’re all I’ve got these days. Don’t do anything like that again!”
    “Okay,” I said meekly. “Now do you want to hear my side of what actually happened?”
    She did. We talked for about half an hour and then I remembered I had something else to tell her.  
    “I saw your friend Gary at the Excelsior Hotel when I went to get the ballots,” I told her. “It looked to me like he was staying there. I thought he was supposedly camping in the wild.”
    She gave me a look and shook her head. “Nope. He’s a big phony. I swear, every man I start to like turns out to be a phony. I think that must say something