Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 01 - Echo Park by Elizabeth Basque Page A

to admit, even you had a good time. If you can even remember any of it, yah bazo.”
    I was about to give some smart retort, but he held up a shimmering hand and continued. “Two, it’s what ghosts do, luv. How else am I going to get your attention when you’re out on that insufferable patio of yours with that mockingbird copying every other bird tune he has ever heard? And three,” his eyes flashed a little now, “I’m not haunting you, and I’m not the cause of yuh quest for sanity. You have it all, Pauline, and you don’t even know it. You take the gifts that Gahd gave you and yah piss them away. Bazo!”
    With that, he knocked over my beer, drifted through the wall and was gone.
     
    Later, after I cleaned up the spilled beer and put away my carpet shampooer, I was on my second glass of iced coffee and pacing back and forth in an attempt to sober up. I could lay off the alcohol for a while; I had to. I had to have a clear mind. As much as Mack had pissed me off, he knew me to the core and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. We were that close. Damn.
    I picked up my cell phone, then set it back on the table. I was just trying to get the words right. “Screw it,” I finally said to myself, and grabbed the phone.
    “Hello?” came the happy-go-lucky voice on the other end.
    “ Julie? It’s me, Pauline,” I tried to sound upbeat and business-like.
    “ Hi! Pauline! Carla, it’s Pauline,” she called out to the ghost in her home. “How are you? We’re having a wonderful time…”
    I listened politely, patiently, to Julie’s prattle about how she and Carla were spending a lot of time together, having fun, learning how to communicate, how Julie’s psychic skills were at an unrivaled high.
    “That’s great,” I said when she finally stopped to take a breath. “Listen, dear, there’s something I have to tell you.”
    “ What?” Her voice was intent and curious.
    I hated to rain on her parade. I was looking at my reflection in the hallway mirror, particularly at my bloodshot eyes and reddened face, devoid of makeup that day. I took a deep breath and said, “I’ve found Carla’s killer.”
     
     
    Chapter Eleven
     
    There was silence on her end of the phone.
    “ Julie? Are you there?”
    “ …Yes, I’m here.” Julie’s voice had changed from to joyous to anxious. “You found him. Carla is listening. I can’t understand what she’s trying to tell me.”
    “ It’s all right, everything will be all right,” I soothed. Finding Carla’s killer understandably triggered strong emotions in both of them. “Look, I just thought you would want to know. You knew I was looking for him.”
    “ Yes, I knew,” Julie said. “But this means…what does it mean? He’s still around?”
    “ Actually, he’s dead, too.” I was a little fuzzy still. I forgot to explain that to her. “He’s a ghost, Julie. I met his spirit form last night.”
    “ But how?” Julie asked.
    As best I could, I explained about Mack’s poker party, and the killer’s presence there. I told her about my research and my conversation with Mack. At least part of the conversation. Not the part where Mack had told me I was pissing my life away.
    Julie listened, then said, “I think Carla wants to come over. I felt her touching my hand, and the front door just opened a little.”
    I thought fast. “I, uh, have a meeting tonight,” I said. I’d learned early on that almost anything could be construed as a meeting. That night, I had a serious and important meeting with my bed and my down pillows. “How about tomorrow morning? This could be…emotional for both you and Carla. And I want to think about a couple of things before I see you two.”
    “ Of course.” Julie sounded relieved.
    “ See you about ten, then?”
    “ Sure, ten works. Oh, and Pauline?”
    “ Yes?”
    “ Thank you. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I appreciate everything you’re doing.”
    If that were true, then why did I feel so horrible? But I