Ghostly promise
Ghostly promise
There was fierceness in Michael’s tone that surprised me. He had struck me as a very bland easy-going person. Perhaps there was a backbone in there that I hadn’t noticed. A glance at Jesse revealed he wasn’t surprised, so I had to guess he had a fairly strong aura. She swirled her wine and refused to look at him. Michael poured another drink while we waited.
A whiney sigh that rivaled anything that had ever come out of Savannah emerged from Libby. “Fine, Greg was my fiancé. Things went bad and our relationship ended. Just like this one.” Libby glared at her apparent ex-fiancé with glazed eyes for a moment then stormed off to the master. We all jumped a little when the door slammed.
I looked at Mrs. Wellington. “Alright Mrs. W. It’s up to you to fill in the blanks.”
“I wish my Gregory had found a girl like you. His father would have been entranced by your spirit. He would have called malarky on you seeing ghosts, but he would have overlooked it. “ Gardenia wafted off the opaque white hand that fluttered by my face. “Gregory didn’t take my death well. He went a bit wayward. Began hanging out in low rent districts. They had dollar Jello shots!” The disdain was clear in her voice. “That attracted the most common kind of girls.”
On one of his trips to the wrong side of town, he had met Libby Walker. At the time she was a big, boobed platinum blonde in low cut halter tops that bared her mid drift paired with hot pants that trolled the bars looking for men with money to sink her hooks into. Gregory was angry that his mother had died. Harper had taken to haunting her son, hoping he would feel her presence and return to the right side of the tracks. Instead, he fell for the old oops I spilled my drink on you routine. In no time, she was moved into his penthouse apartment enjoying everything his money could buy.
Finally, he gave into family pressure to introduce her to them. He took his now fiancé to the family home. One glance at the social climber and his father knew exactly what kind of girl she was. He suggested Gregory have his fun with the harlot but, he was forbidden to marry her. His father held the purse strings in the family. If Gregory defied him, he would be cut off.
Unfortunately, Gregory was a stubborn boy in his mid-twenties. There was no reasoning with him. He gave Libby Harper’s engagement ring. His father was so incensed he cut off Gregory and demanded the ring be returned. Gregory refused. His father threw them out of the penthouse while seizing all their belongings. Within a month Gregory was in rehab for a drinking problem after totaling his late model sports car. Libby had skipped town, with the ring plus a few thousand in cash she had managed to sneak out of the safe. She sold the ring to a jeweler. She had been staying at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas for a brief time when she met Michael on the golf course.
Being an experienced hustler, Libby was engaged and living with Michael in short order. Harper had been unsuccessfully haunting her the whole time. She had not yet learned how to move objects or make noises. Libby bought a few things to upgrade Michael’s house using the money stolen from Gregory. Thanks to an overheard conversation with a friend, Harper learned Libby planned to upgrade the house and then make Michael sell it when his money ran out. She would demand her fair share of the equity since she had contributed to the house. Libby figured it wouldn’t be much longer. The Rover and her credit cards were draining his retirement fund quickly. Harper was enraged enough to finally move something. The creepy faced figurine. That action is what attracted Ruby.
Harper and Ruby teamed up to try and protect Michael from Libby. Since Ruby had been a ghost for decades, she knew how to haunt properly. Rage that another good man was going to be destroyed made Harper a fast learner. The shoe to the TV was her first thrown object.
Savannah finishing the translation of the story for the ghost impaired paired perfectly with Libby stomping out of the bedroom with her bags. She gave us a disgusted look then started for the door. I stepped in front of her. “Who did you sell the ring to?”
“Why should I tell you?” She managed to sneer and slur at the same time.
“Because if you don’t, I’m going to send a ghost army to haunt your every move. I do know how to summon demons too. It’s not easy to get rid of one those if they are directed to you.” I contorted my face into a fake sympathy look. There was no chance of the demons, but she didn’t know that. “Or worse I will send my mother-in-law to your place.”
She spit out the name of jeweler. She darted around me to the hook hanging by the door.
“Where are my keys?”
Jesse held them up from the couch he was leaning against. “You are drunk off your ass. I called you a ride. It’ll be out front in a minute. You should wait outside.” He picked up her bags like a gentleman. Then he tossed them out into the yard like a baggage handler. Libby shrieked and chased after them. Jesse closed and locked the door. We went back to the kitchen arm in arm.
Michael was sitting at the table drinking whiskey from a bottle he had unearthed from somewhere. His gaze was fixed on the chair Ruby had been sitting. Ruby was making the lazy Susan on the table spin very slowly while chatting away. Savannah was happily being go between helping the two reconnect. Michael looked at the table. “Have you seen Norma?”
Ruby walked around the table to cover his hand with hers. “Norma popped in from time to time. She was thrilled when you moved on. She didn’t want you to be alone.”
Ruby promised to get Norma to pop in again. We promised to get word to Harper’s family about where the ring was. Before we made our goodbyes, Jesse slid Michael the engagement ring he had slipped off Libby’s finger. “She didn’t need this anymore.”