in the recalcitrant lock on her rear door for a few moments, then managed to push it open. One of these days, she needed to get a new one. Just another repair on her list. Keeping up a century-old house was a constant chore. She tossed her purse onto a chair in the kitchen, waiting for the inevitable.
“Rose!” Skag bellowed from the living room. “Where have you been? What happened? What did Delwin say?”
Rose sighed again. “Honey, I’m home,” she muttered.
As she walked through the dining room, she glanced longingly out the side window. Afternoon sunlight dappled the lawn under the spreading pecan tree. A glider swing hung invitingly at the end of the wide porch that ran around the first floor. She could be sitting out there with a glass of iced tea and a novel. Instead, she was going to be interrogated by a petulant phantom.
“Rose!” Skag trumpeted again as she walked into the living room.
He was sitting in his favorite chair, more or less. She was never sure exactly how to describe the way Skag occupied space. He didn’t sit—sitting required weight, something Skag didn’t exactly have. On the other hand, he was definitely in the chair, even though the texture of the chintz upholstery was dimly visible through his chest.
Skag’s version of the nasty gossip columnist in
All About Eve
, Addison DeWitt, was impeccable. He looked and sounded exactly like him, and whenever Rose suggested he might want to consider adopting a persona from somebody a little more recent, he reminded her, with a very Addison sneer, about George Sanders and his Oscar.
Skag removed the cigarette holder from his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. “Well?”
She gritted her teeth. Since the smoke was spectral, she could neither smell it nor inhale it. And the possibility of anything harming Skag’s health was clearly a nonissue. Still, she didn’t allow living people to smoke in her house.
“I wish you wouldn’t—”
“—smoke in here,” Skag finished for her. “Yes, so you’ve said. I’m ignoring it. Now tell me about Delwin.” He regarded her with narrowed eyes, smoothing a hand across his hair.
She flopped into the chair across from his. “Delwin was intrigued enough to follow up on Alana DuBois. We found a picture of her at the Nightmare and he’s checking with the cops to see if anyone knows anything about her.”
Skag raised one perfectly curved eyebrow. “You went to the Nightmare? Alone?”
“It was the middle of the afternoon, and I was with Delwin. I don’t know what you think could happen to me down there anyway. Augie’s big enough to scare off anyone short of Godzilla.”
He tapped his cigarette holder against his glass ashtray. “Augie isn’t exactly a reliable protector.”
“I’ll pick up some pepper spray. Don’t worry about it. I can look out for myself.”
He closed his eyes in exasperation, blowing another cloud of smoke. “We’ll discuss it another time. Did Delwin have any ideas about Alana DuBois?”
“You mean aside from dismissing her repeatedly as a lying confidence trickster? He’s going to get back to me after he checks with the cops.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. The tension she’d built up following Delwin around was finally beginning to ease. “He’s a real pain in the ass. Are you sure this whole thing is necessary?”
“You’ve handled skeptics before. Don’t tell me you’re going to let this one get under your skin. I thought you were disguising yourself as a dowdy librarian.”
She sighed. “It’s not a disguise. I am a librarian. Or anyway I was. I can deal with Delwin if I have to. The question is, why do I have to? Have you found out anything useful about Alana DuBois?”
Skag exhaled thoughtfully, watching the smoke rise toward the shadowy ceiling. “In a way, perhaps. So far I’ve been unable to find anyone who had any contact with her. On the other hand, I’ve also been unable to locate DuBois herself, which may or
“Rose!” Skag bellowed from the living room. “Where have you been? What happened? What did Delwin say?”
Rose sighed again. “Honey, I’m home,” she muttered.
As she walked through the dining room, she glanced longingly out the side window. Afternoon sunlight dappled the lawn under the spreading pecan tree. A glider swing hung invitingly at the end of the wide porch that ran around the first floor. She could be sitting out there with a glass of iced tea and a novel. Instead, she was going to be interrogated by a petulant phantom.
“Rose!” Skag trumpeted again as she walked into the living room.
He was sitting in his favorite chair, more or less. She was never sure exactly how to describe the way Skag occupied space. He didn’t sit—sitting required weight, something Skag didn’t exactly have. On the other hand, he was definitely in the chair, even though the texture of the chintz upholstery was dimly visible through his chest.
Skag’s version of the nasty gossip columnist in
All About Eve
, Addison DeWitt, was impeccable. He looked and sounded exactly like him, and whenever Rose suggested he might want to consider adopting a persona from somebody a little more recent, he reminded her, with a very Addison sneer, about George Sanders and his Oscar.
Skag removed the cigarette holder from his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. “Well?”
She gritted her teeth. Since the smoke was spectral, she could neither smell it nor inhale it. And the possibility of anything harming Skag’s health was clearly a nonissue. Still, she didn’t allow living people to smoke in her house.
“I wish you wouldn’t—”
“—smoke in here,” Skag finished for her. “Yes, so you’ve said. I’m ignoring it. Now tell me about Delwin.” He regarded her with narrowed eyes, smoothing a hand across his hair.
She flopped into the chair across from his. “Delwin was intrigued enough to follow up on Alana DuBois. We found a picture of her at the Nightmare and he’s checking with the cops to see if anyone knows anything about her.”
Skag raised one perfectly curved eyebrow. “You went to the Nightmare? Alone?”
“It was the middle of the afternoon, and I was with Delwin. I don’t know what you think could happen to me down there anyway. Augie’s big enough to scare off anyone short of Godzilla.”
He tapped his cigarette holder against his glass ashtray. “Augie isn’t exactly a reliable protector.”
“I’ll pick up some pepper spray. Don’t worry about it. I can look out for myself.”
He closed his eyes in exasperation, blowing another cloud of smoke. “We’ll discuss it another time. Did Delwin have any ideas about Alana DuBois?”
“You mean aside from dismissing her repeatedly as a lying confidence trickster? He’s going to get back to me after he checks with the cops.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. The tension she’d built up following Delwin around was finally beginning to ease. “He’s a real pain in the ass. Are you sure this whole thing is necessary?”
“You’ve handled skeptics before. Don’t tell me you’re going to let this one get under your skin. I thought you were disguising yourself as a dowdy librarian.”
She sighed. “It’s not a disguise. I am a librarian. Or anyway I was. I can deal with Delwin if I have to. The question is, why do I have to? Have you found out anything useful about Alana DuBois?”
Skag exhaled thoughtfully, watching the smoke rise toward the shadowy ceiling. “In a way, perhaps. So far I’ve been unable to find anyone who had any contact with her. On the other hand, I’ve also been unable to locate DuBois herself, which may or
Similar Books
