Ghost Shadow

The way that they stood. Why not? She was a stunning young woman. And Beckett…ah, Beckett. He played the part. The sterling son of a sterling family. Tall and handsome, a vet, an educated man, a famed photographer…



He felt his fists tensing into knots at his side.



Yes, there was something there.



Regrettable. Katie was a good kid. She didn’t sleep around, she didn’t drink herself silly. But it looked as if Katie was going to be the one. Maybe not first…maybe that would be too obvious far too quickly. But Katie would be the one who mattered.



Katie wasn’t as alarmed by what had happened as she was by the fact that David Beckett had followed her, that he had seen her.



And she couldn’t even try to explain.



I finally saw a ghost who might be Tanya. No, she probably is Tanya. She was in the cemetery today. I think she’s trying to reach me. I thought there was something familiar about her, and, of course, there was. I’ve seen her picture, I saw it years ago.



“I could have sworn I saw an old friend,” she lied. “I mean, I could have sworn it, but…I guess I was wrong. I thought it was…Janis Seacloud,” she said. She’d had to search her mind swiftly for the name of anyone she had gone to school with whom she was certain had left town years ago and not returned. He wouldn’t know her friends, of course. Still, a lie had to be as close to the truth as possible.



Bartholomew was beside her, as well.



“Oh, good save, young lady,” he told her. “I mean, seriously, what was that? I thought you’d lost your mind. And you say I’m going to make you look crazy! You’re doing just fine on that all by yourself.”



“Stop!” she murmured.



“Pardon?” David asked, frowning. He still had his hands on her shoulders. She liked the feel of them.



But they were still standing in the street, and she was looking more unbalanced every second.



“Oh, God, I ran out in the middle of a song!” she said. She turned, escaping his hold, and hurried back.



She paused at the door, looking back at David. “Um, thank you. I’m sorry, didn’t mean to alarm anyone… I’m… Thanks!”



She hurried back to the microphone at her station, and called up the group of partying girls she’d helped choose a song. It was an old Madonna song, and the group had a lot of fun doing it. She felt unnerved, and prayed for the business of the place and the music to calm her sense of unease.



For God’s sake, she’d seen ghosts forever. Sometimes they approached her-most often they didn’t. Only Bartholomew had ever decided that he needed a best friend among the living!



“Steady, kid, steady,” Bartholomew whispered to her.



“Did you see her?” Katie asked.



“Yes.”



“Who is she?”



“I don’t know.”



“You’re a ghost.”



“Right! And do you know every tourist walking down the street? Tourists are living, you’re living. Does it mean that you know everyone? No! Just hold it together, Katie O’Hara. And stay away from this whole thing. I know you’re thinking that girl was Tanya. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. Doesn’t matter-you need to stay out of it and away from David.”



Katie ignored him. She needed to get through the night.



“Katie?” he persisted.



“Bartholomew, you need to make up your mind. You said that you liked David, but you keep suggesting that he might be a murderer.”



“I do like him.”



“Okay, so?”



“He still may be a murderer.”



She groaned and turned her attention to her computer.



“What the hell happened?” Liam asked David as he took his chair next to his cousin.



“Beats me. I’ve never seen anyone with a look like that… She said she saw an old friend.”



“It’s still bizarre,” Liam noted. “I guess I’ll hang around and walk her home. I’ve never seen Katie behave so oddly. And it looks like she’s talking to herself.”



Clarinda swept over to the table; she had heard Liam. “Anything else for the moment, fellows? Oh, and she isn’t talking to herself-she sings along with the music.”



“Of course,” Liam said.



“How late does she keep the music going?” David asked.



“It’s Saturday night; she’ll go to three,” Clarinda said. “Jamie O’Hara says that three is just right. By then, folks are in, and the place stays open, so people will stay. And hard-core karaoke folks can go down the street to Rick’s. Share the wealth, so he says.”



She smiled, arched a brow, saw they wanted nothing else at the moment and moved on to check on other tables.



“Don’t worry about hanging around,” David told Liam. “I’ll stay.”



“No, I’ve known Katie a long time now. And…there’s an interesting, rowdy crew in here tonight.”



“Liam, I don’t work in the morning. You do.”



“All right. You stay. But don’t decide she’s all right, okay? Make sure you see her all the way home.”



“I will,” David promised.



Soon after Liam left, Sam walked over to his table. “How’s it going?”



“Slowly.”



Sam nodded and lifted his beer, indicating Danny Zigler, who was busing a table nearby. “There’s a suspicious character for you,” he said.



“Danny?”



“Scrawny little fellow just making his way.”



“Right. Which makes you wonder if such a scrawny little fellow just making his way would have the capability of planning out such a murder,” David said.



“I wouldn’t count him out,” Sam said morosely.



Katie announced the last singer of the evening and Marty went up to do a Jimmy Buffett song. When he was done, Katie started closing down the equipment. She announced that if anyone wanted to keep on singing, they could head down Duval to Rick’s.



A few moments later, Katie joined them at the table. She seemed pleased to meet Sam, told him that it was good to see him. “You were in the other night, weren’t you?” she asked him. “But you’ve shaved since then.”



“Observant girl!” Sam noted.



“Well, it was quite a beard!”



Sam seemed to like Katie, which seemed equally natural. She spoke softly with a sweet voice, her eyes were like crystal and her scent was definitely compelling. She was a beautiful young woman.



If a little strange! She had almost appeared to be in some kind of a trance when she had walked out so suddenly.



Katie frowned, listening, and turned toward the doors. David realized there was some kind of disturbance going on in the street.



David didn’t say anything-he gave her a glance that told her he would check it out. He walked to the door. There was a bar fight going on. Pete Dryer was there, a big man, holding the battling drunks apart from one another. He saw David. “Get the little one, running down the street, David!”



David went after the man. He looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two, and it wasn’t any problem getting him-he ducked and shrank, putting his hands up. “Hey, you got me, you got me, don’t hurt me!”



“I’m not going to hurt you. The cop down the street wants to talk to you, that’s all,” David said. “Turn around, and head on back.”



The kid did so. He looked younger, and terrified.



Two bigger fellows had been cowed. They stood on either side of Pete. “All right, what the hell is going on here?” Pete demanded.



“That little shit robbed me!” one fellow said.



“That’s my brother. He didn’t rob you,” the other big guy said.



Pete looked at the kid. “Did you rob him?”



“Hell, no! That stripper came out and started busing him all up-I didn’t take anything from him. Check my pockets!” the younger kid said.



Pete arched a brow. The kid pulled out his pockets. He had only his own wallet, which contained his ID. He was Lewis Agaro, age twenty-one, and he had ten bucks, an ATM card and one credit card, in his name.



“What are you three doing together?” Pete asked.



“We’re not together. That thug just suddenly started going after my little brother!” one man said explosively.



“Hey, sorry, man! So, now, come on, let’s go after the stripper!” the other man said.



“What stripper?” Pete asked.



“Well, what the hell, she’s gone now, what do you think?” the apparent robbery victim asked.



“All right, we’ll take a report from the robbery victim-the two of you need to get to your rooms for tonight, cause no more trouble, or I’ll see that you’re locked up for your vacation, and you’re not going to find any margaritas or hurricanes or any other such concoction when you’re in my custody!”



Pete looked at David. “Hell, I’m not even on duty!” he moaned. “I was going to join you guys for a drink. I got a car coming. I think I know which lovely little stripper is at her pocket-picking again. I’ll have to find her.”



David grinned. “Tomorrow, Pete,” he said. He had come halfway down the street. When he turned around and went back into the bar, Katie was gone.



He caught Clarinda by the arm, his touch far more forceful than he had intended. “Where’s Katie?”



“Gone, she went on home.”



There must have been a look of alarm on his face.



“I tell her all the time not to go alone!” Clarinda said.



“It’s all right, it’s all right,” David said. “Which way does she go?”



“Down Simonton,” Clarinda said. “Make her call me!”



David turned and headed out, running around the corner to the back. Almost two blocks ahead, he could see Katie.



Between them, he could see Sam Barnard. His heart leapt to his throat. Sam had to be watching out for her.



Why was Sam following her late at night, though?