SPIRIT OF CONSEQUENCE (A Spirit Walking Mystery Book 1) by Peggy Dulle Page B

him. “We’ll take the last elevator to the fourth floor.”
    Dodge nodded and followed Jordan. I glanced back at the two young women who had been joined by an older man dressed in a black suit. Was he the first customer of the afternoon? I stopped and listened to the exchange between them. They were making small talk, discussing the weather and a current reality program. I hated those programs. They were all about people living vicariously through people on television. If you wanted to live life, you had to go after it yourself. That had been my motto when I was alive and it was the same now that I was dead.
    Dodge coughed. He stood in the elevator with Jordan and the door was closing. He raised his eyebrows at me.
    “I’m coming,” I told him and slid through the elevator doors after they closed.
    When the doors opened on the fourth floor, we were greeted by another man in uniform. This place had more security than the police station.
    “This is Inspector Benson. He’s here to see Miss Mona.”
    The man nodded. “She’s waiting in the Green Room.”
    Jordan turned left down the hall and stopped in front of a green door. Guess that’s where the room got its name.
    Jordan tapped on the door and then opened it. We walked in behind him. Two large floral couches decorated the room, with a fireplace on one wall and an entertainment unit on the other. A beautiful woman sat on one couch. She had long brown hair, high cheekbones, and a body with curves in all the right places.
    She stood as we entered the room and extended her hand. “Good afternoon, Inspector.”
    Dodge walked across the room and shook her hand. “Thank you for seeing me.”
    She motioned to the couch. “Let’s sit,” then to Jordan she said, “If you’ll wait outside, Jordan, you can accompany him down when we’re finished.”
    “Yes ma’am.” He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
    The woman turned to Dodge. “Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”
    “No, thank you,” he said as he sat down on the couch opposite Miss Mona. He glanced at me and then turned his attention back to her.
    I walked over and slid into Miss Mona. I hadn’t been totally honest with Dodge. When I’m inside of another person, I can certainly tell when their body changes but it’s more than that. I can feel what they are feeling – anger, apprehension, sadness, elation, and even fear.
    Miss Mona was none of these. Her pulse and body temperature were as calm as her tone when she talked, “What can I do for you, Inspector?”
    “I’m looking into the death of Mandy Winters.”
    Miss Mona’s body tightened, but then relaxed immediately. “She was such a wonderful girl.”
    “How long had she been working for you?” Dodge asked.
    “A little over a year.”
    “And before that? Do you know where she came from?”
    “Let me see.” Miss Mona got up, opened a small cabinet door and pulled out a phone. “Georgia, can you please bring me Mandy’s employment file? I might need the cross reference file, too. Thank you.” She returned the phone, closed the cabinet, came back and sat down. “My assistant will bring the files.”
    “Thanks. Can you give me your own impression of Mandy?”
    “Of course. She was a lovely girl. Worked hard and never complained.” This was the truth, so I didn’t signal Dodge in any way.
    “Were there ever any problems with her?”
    “No, of course not.” Miss Mona’s pulse skipped a few times. This was definitely a lie. I gave Dodge a thumbs-down.
    He leaned back on the couch. “That’s not what I heard.”
    Miss Mona was silent. Her stomach did flips – a good indicator that she felt apprehensive and unsure of Dodge’s intentions.
    I slid out and said to Dodge, “She isn’t sure whether she can trust you or not.”
    Dodge didn’t even look at me. He leaned forward and put his hand on Miss Mona’s arm. “It’s okay. Tell me what happened.”
    I slid back in. Miss Mona sighed. “Okay, we did