Roses Are Red; He's Dead (A Mellow Summers Paranormal Mystery Book 9) by Janet McNulty

he killed you,” I interrupted him. “We need proof. Where were you when you died?”
    “I was on the hiking trail that goes into town,” said Billy.
    “What were you doing there?”
    “Does it matter?”
    “Please, just answer the question.”
    “I was picking up garbage,” said Billy. “People are such slobs sometimes!”
    I glanced around the biohazard area I stood in, known as Billy’s apartment. “Did you see anything?”
    “It was dark. All I remember before I blacked out was seeing a pair of men’s boots and Chad keeps a pair of boots in his locker.”
    “Only circumstantial evidence,” I said. “I’m just saying,” I added before Billy had a chance to lose his temper, “that it isn’t enough to convict him.”
    I remembered the thumb-sized item I had picked up moments before and looked at it. The red object stared back at me; its brilliant exterior reflected the light above my head. Was this a jewel? It looked like a ruby, but was it real?
    “Billy,” I said, “what is this?”
    “Just a paperweight,” replied Billy as he scratched his partially exposed belly button.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    I studied the red object more closely. It could have been made of glass, or a material that gave it its sheen, and be a paperweight, like Billy insisted, but there was the possibility that it was more than that. “It looks like an actual gem,” I said. “A ruby.”
    “Nah, can’t be,” said Billy. “I found that while… um… while…”
    “Yes?” I urged him.
    “Well…”
    “Where did you find it?”
    “Chad’s locker.”
    “What?” I almost dropped the item in my hand.
    “That’s how I know he’s the one that murdered me!”
    “Hold on,” I said, trying to put the pieces together. “What were you doing going through Chad’s locker?”
    “Uh… I have this problem?”
    “Are you a kleptomaniac?” I asked as I looked around at the radios, cell phones, gloves, scarves, shoes, purses, expensive looking pens, and e-readers.
    “People just leave things lying around and I pick them up.”
    “You stole this.”
    “So?” said Billy.
    “Look,” I said, “is there a jeweler in town?”
    “Yeah. Only one.”
    “I am going to get this looked at to make sure that it’s not a fake. Until then, I need you to promise me that you won’t go after Chad?”
    “No!” Billy disappeared.
    I sighed in frustration and prayed that Greg would be able to protect Chad from Billy’s antics. The last thing I needed was another murder happening at the hands of a vengeful ghost.

Chapter 6
    I slipped out of the apartment, making certain to shut the light off and lock the door so that no one would know that someone had been in there. The empty hallway gave me an eerie feeling as I hurried down it amidst the dreary carpet and poor lighting. Emily must have poured most of her money into making the cabins and rooms luxurious, though I didn’t understand why she couldn’t have made the place where Billy lived a bit nicer, not that it would have mattered with his sloppiness.
    Once outside, I hurried over to the trail that led into town, not wanting to waste any time in getting the red gem appraised. The bare trees and the gray snow made me think that I had entered a haunted forest. The frozen ground crunched beneath my boots. The trail had been cleared of snow, but pockets of ice still lined it, giving a loud—Crack!—with each step I took.
    “What did you leave it in the room for?” demanded an irate voice, blocked by a few trees.
    I stopped. Glancing around for the source, I soon realized that it wasn’t talking to me, but came from the other side of a tree barrier. Ignoring it, I continued walking.
    “Because you told me to, you ignoramus!” responded another voice.
    I stopped again. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I crept to the trees, and peeked through the split between them. On the other side were Morgan and Burt, arguing again.
    “And you listened to