Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini: A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery by Sue Ann Jaffarian Page B

stayed.”
    Emma turned to find the ghost of Sandy Sechrest standing behind her.
    “I painted several scenes from the fire, but they never sold well. People want happy and serene. They don’t want to be reminded of catastrophes. But I felt the need to memorialize it. After all, it was part of island life.”
    Before answering, Emma glanced over at the store clerk. He was still busy with his customers near the front of the store. “You died while painting, didn’t you, Sandy?”
    The ghost smiled. “Yes, died with my boots on, so to speak. Was working on a wildflower scene when my heart gave out. Wouldn’t have wanted to go any other way.”
    The ghost drifted deeper into the store. “There are several more of my paintings here, but this is the one I’d like you to see.” She stopped in front of a medium-sized oil of Avalon Bay during the height of summer tourism. The bay was filled with moored boats. The sun was high. But the painting focused on the people filling the beach. They sat on towels or in beach chairs or cavorted in the surf. Children played with pails and shovels. The plaque said it was completed in 2006, but something was off.
    “The clothing,” Emma said, glancing from the painting to the ghost. “It’s wrong for the time period during which it was painted.”
    “Very observant, Emma.” The spirit moved closer to the painting. “It’s of the time when I first saw Tessa. I wanted to preserve it. Should have painted it years before.”
    Emma pointed to a prominent and familiar figure standing knee deep in the surf, one arm in the air waving playfully at something or someone. The figure in the painting wore a pink polka dot bikini and a flip hairstyle. “That’s Tessa.”
    “Yes. It’s what I recall seeing just after she started showing up. Of course, I took liberties with the color of her swimsuit, since I couldn’t tell what it was by looking at her spirit. Always thought it might be pink though.” Sandy stopped studying her painting and faced Emma. “Something happened to that girl, Emma, something terrible. I’m certain of it. I should have looked into it myself back then, but I didn’t. I painted this so she wouldn’t be lost and forgotten forever. Call it her epitaph.”
    Emma showed the painting to Phil and relayed what Sandy had said. When she turned back around to the ghost, she was gone.
    They were at a small beachside restaurant, relaxing and having a bite of lunch, when Granny popped up unexpectedly. “Movies.” The ghost said the word in a blunt manner, like it’d been chopped off from a whole sentence. Startled, Emma started coughing on the bite of sandwich in her mouth.
    “You okay, darling?” Phil handed her a glass of water.
    Emma took the offered water and took several large swallows, clearing her throat. “I’m fine,” she choked out as she dabbed her moist eyes with her napkin. “Granny just surprised me mid-bite, that’s all. You’d think I’d get used to it, wouldn’t you?”
    “Maybe we can put a bell around her neck, like on a cat. Or set up a special ring tone, like on a cell phone.”
    Emma and Phil laughed. Granny Apples scowled. “I ain’t no darn cat. And while you two have been lollygagging, I’ve been working.”
    Emma looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, but they were the only people currently on the patio. Most were dining inside, where it was warmer. “We’ve been working, too, Granny. We’ve talked with the ghost of Sandy Sechrest. We’re beginning to think Tessa’s body was never found.”
    “A person doesn’t just misplace a body.” Granny twisted her pinched face from side to side and pursed her lips. “Seems to me that means murder.”
    “Quite possible. So, Granny, what did you say about movies?”
    “Movies. Talking pictures. I think they have something to do with Tessa.”
    “Did she mention them?”
    Granny moved her head up and down in short, mechanical movements. “Spent some time with the girl. She