Chapter Five
Melody smoothed back a flyaway strand of hair as she stuffed her feet into her heels. She didn't dare look at herself in the mirror. Cindy had been insistent in dictating what she could wear.
No business suits. No casual dress. No bright red lipstick.
Melody would have ignored her 'suggestions' altogether, except the pampered princess had made a deal with her: if Melody followed her orders when dressing for this meeting with Oskar, then Cindy would finally spill the beans on what she really wanted.
Getting rid of Cindy's constant nagging would be worth it. Or so she had thought until the ghost insisted she wear a tight, mid-thigh length skirt with black leggings and a low-cut top that Melody hadn't worn since she was eighteen. It was a little tight around her breasts now, and she knew she looked utterly ridiculous. The gold bangles on her wrists and haphazard attempt at a twisty bun certainly weren't helping matters.
"This is ridiculous," she groused, as she hobbled out to her car. "Are you trying to humiliate me?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Cindy replied, already sitting on the roof of the car. "The way you dress yourself is painful to look at. With that outfit, people can finally see that you have a bod to show off."
"I don't want to show off my 'bod'," Melody replied crankily. "I prefer to be comfortable or professional."
"You promised."
Melody glared at the ghost. "And if you don't come through with your end of the deal, I swear I'll…" There really wasn't anything she could threaten a ghost with. "I'll tell Oskar that you were madly in love with him and just using his cousin to get closer to him."
Cindy rolled her eyes. "You'll have to do a lot more than that to scare me."
Melody let out an annoyed huff as she started the car. She headed for Old Gossip, resisting the urge to stomp on the gas and speed her way there. There wasn't a lot of crime in Blackcliff, so the police cracked down on traffic violations with a vengeance. Although given that she had helped half the force find their current houses, she might get a little leniency.
Nah, not worth it.
People stared at her when she got out of the car, and she bit back a groan of dismay. This was one of the most humiliating things a ghost had ever made her do. Why couldn't they be more like they were on TV shows, all mysterious and jumping in and out of reality, giving vague hints and being totally misunderstood?
Oskar was already waiting for her in the café. Melody joined him as quickly as she could, struggling with her five-inch heels. These things were made for standing or sitting, not walking. Certainly not for walking fast. Every step she took, she felt like she might topple over. She smiled apologetically at him when she slid into the booth opposite him.
The billionaire-Alpha-FBI agent's mouth gaped when he took her in. His gaze ran down her body, slowly, like a caress. Melody felt her face heating–she couldn’t remember the last time somebody had looked at her like that.
"Sorry I'm late," she blurted. "I just got caught up with… things."
"That's okay." His gaze lingered on her cleavage for a moment before it snapped back up to her eyes. His face flushed and he shifted, clearing his throat. "Sorry."
Melody blushed, though she didn't mind his ogling. They had had some flirty moments in the past, but this was the first time he had shown outright interest. Maybe Cindy wasn't so insane for making her wear this.
"I thought this was a business meeting?"
For a moment she wanted to find an excuse for what she was wearing, but nothing came to mind, so she cleared her throat. "Yeah. I lost track of time and thought it would be better to just come in what I was wearing. I hope you haven't been waiting long."
Oskar smirked. "Just half an hour. Actually, I was worried you weren't going to come. I thought you might think that I'm a murderer."
"He's not," Cindy insisted, sitting in the booth next to Oskar.
"I know you're not."
Oskar's eyes narrowed at how confident she sounded. Jane bustled over, eyes wide when she saw Melody's attire and took their orders. Even when placing his order, Oskar's gaze never left Melody. By the time Jane was off again, a deep flush had risen up Melody's neck and she fidgeted, uncomfortable with the intense scrutiny.
"What?" she demanded. "Are you mad that I don't think you're a murderer?"
"I just want to know why. You seem like an intelligent woman. It makes logical sense to think that I am the murderer. But you seem very confident that I'm not. It doesn't make sense."
"It's because I was with him," Cindy said. She tried to grab Oskar's arm but her hand slid right through. Making an impatient noise, she turned to Melody. "Tell him. Tell him you know because I was with him and I know he didn't kill Fezioni."
Melody avoided the ghost's gaze. "Oh, you know… you don't seem like that kind of person."
She winced as Oskar's eyes narrowed further. "Has there been a break in the case? Barton found something that indicates who really killed Fezioni? But he wouldn't tell you. Have you found something yourself?"
"Look, it's not important. I just know, okay?"
Uncle Todd was the only person who knew about Melody's secret, other than her parents. It wasn't something she was anxious to share with the world. She watched TV. She knew what happened to people who weren't society's definition of 'normal', and she did not want to end up in some padded white cell.
But Oskar was still staring intently at her, and by this time, Cindy was too.
"Tell him," she said.
Melody's gaze darted to the ghost.
"Tell him that you can see me. You asked me why I'm still around, well, this is it. I have something I need to tell him. So you tell him that I'm here. Right now!"
"What are you looking at?" Oskar twisted, his gaze going right through Cindy.
"Tell him!" the ghost shrieked, causing Melody to wince.
No. She couldn't. And yet somehow she found herself wanting to. It was a lonely life, not being able to trust anybody with her secret. Not having anybody to share her day-to-day life with. She often daydreamed about having a supportive man in her life to take care of her when she just didn't feel like doing it herself. As the Alpha of a community of Shifters, not to mention a billionaire, Oskar could do that.
Great, now I'm a gold-digger. She shook her head.
The fact was that she hardly knew him. They'd had a few business meetings, they'd seen each other occasionally on the street. It was hardly enough to trust him with a secret of this magnitude.
He reached across the table, putting his hand on hers. The warmth felt really nice, and Melody found her shoulders relaxing. Chances were he wouldn't believe her. But what if he did?
"Tell me."
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"No, I won't."
Cindy groaned in frustration, and Melody really wished the ghost would just go away. Even though this wasn't a date, three was a crowd in her opinion. "Tell him July 2, 2011."
Melody glanced around. Jane was serving another customer, and there was nobody else around. She wet her lips. "July 2, 2011."
Oskar's eyes narrowed then widened. He drew back sharply. "How do you—"
"Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I can see ghosts." The words popped out before she could stop them. "Right now Cindy is sitting right beside you. She has been bugging me for days now. She's the one that lead me to Fezioni's body, and she was with you when the murder happened. She knows you didn't kill him, and so I know you didn't kill him."
Oskar's throat worked as he stared at her. "That day under the bridge when you were talking to yourself—"
"I was talking to her." Melody held her breath. Would he believe her? For a long moment, they were both silent. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "What happened on July 2, 2011?"
Cindy stared at Oskar's profile, sorrow etched onto her face. "It was the day our son was born."