Pennies for the Ferryman - 01 Read Online Free Page B

spirit angrier. I suspected that fighting with a ghost in the middle of a fast food restaurant would go over real well on the evening news. Despite my best efforts as a teenager, my police record was still clean and I intended to keep it that way.
    Frowning, Jenny looked down at the stain all over her skirt. “I need to go change. Fortunately, I live within walking distance.”
    “Want company?”
    “Are you hitting on me?” she asked, slightly curious.
    “For now, just call me friendly.” I couldn’t exactly tell her that we should go someplace private so I could interrogate the ghost haunting her, now could I?
    She seemed to not mind the idea of an older guy hitting on her, and she agreed, although she did make an excuse to call her aunt to let her know she was with Mike Ross, that guy from her English class.
    Great! If the ghost decides to hurt her, I wonder who will end up taking the blame.
    Her aunt’s townhouse was a nice upscale one – probably worth a pretty penny these days. I weighed the options while I waited for her to change. Beating around the bush with her seemed like a good option, except I’d be leaving her with “Mommy Dearest.” I finally had a name for her though, after spotting a framed wedding invitation on the wall for Allen Goodman and Rose Carter.
    While examining a nice collection of Hummel angels, I concluded that no matter when I told her, she was going to think I was a whack job. Why waste all the time and effort getting to know her if she was going to freak out on me anyway?
    She came back into the living room with Rose close behind. I decided to get this over with. Jenny was grabbing a couple of Sprites out of the fridge when I circled near her mother.
    “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Look Mike, I think you’re a great guy, but let’s not rush anything.”
    “Do you believe in ghosts?”
    “What? Sorry, I thought you were going to ask me out. Uh, ghosts – maybe. I don’t know, why?”
    “Because I can see the one that’s following you around. I think it’s your mom. She’s been pushing you into doors, spilling your drinks and just generally making your life a pain and she’s standing right next to me.” I grabbed the ghost’s arm hard and jerked it behind her back and heard her hiss in pain.
    “Let me go!”
    “Mike, what are you doing?”
    “What do you want from Jenny?” I used my best “tough guy” voice.
    “She needs to suffer. She’s an ungrateful little bitch!”
    “Seriously, Mike, you’re freaking me out! Quit it!”
    The ghost stepped on my foot, hard, but I didn’t let her go. Instead, I slammed the woman’s face down onto the kitchen island, which shook with the impact. I had expected the ghost to pass right through, but contact with me must have made her somewhat tangible.
    I grunted, “Jenny, look at me! Did you hear that? Did I ever touch the island?”
    Jenny just stood there open-mouthed.
    “C’mon! Snap out of it. While I’m holding her, you should be able to feel something here. Just reach out where my hand is.”
    That was the very first time I experienced this harsh lesson – a spirit in contact with the person they’re latched onto can draw energy from that person. As soon as Jenny’s hand touched her mom’s head, I experienced the next best thing to being hit by a bolt of lightning. Whatever it was, it tossed me violently into the pantry door, momentarily stunning me.
    Shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I saw that Jenny had fallen backwards into the living room and was having some kind of seizure. Though I couldn’t hear the ghost anymore, I could probably guess the murderous intention in her eyes as she grabbed a butcher’s knife from the block on the island.
    Maybe I hadn’t felt threatened initially because Rose was a woman. The knife in her hands went a long way toward getting me over my gender bias.
    I’d been a wrestler in high school and the time I’d spent in the Army had only improved my hand-to-hand skills.