Page 5 of Mack's Horribly Hellacious Ghost Town
“I hear you, ma moitié. Same.”
“I’m curious why it’s suddenly escalated so much the FBI was finally called in, though. Surely with that geological setup, things were always really bad?”
I grunted in agreement and kept reading. There was likely an answer in these case files somewhere.
The flight from Nashville to Phoenix wasn’t very long, about four hours, which gave us enough time to catch up to speed. I kept my focus focused—a hard thing with my brain sometimes, but I was determined to be ready to go the second my feet touched earth.
That said, I did have a distraction.
In life, the ghost in front of me had likely been a powerhouse of a figure, standing tall enough to give a Havili a run for their money. He was dressed in a nice-looking suit, clearly tailored for him, and he kept bouncing between me and a young couple on the other side of the aisle from us. They had a baby, not even a year old yet, and both parents kept passing her back and forth.
Finally, he came to me again and cleared his throat. A truly odd mannerism for a ghost, but further proof human habits died hard. “Uh, sir? Youcansee me, can you not?”
Right, clearly I had to deal with this. I put the file down with an internal sigh. “Yes, sir, I can. Special Agent Mackenzie Lafayette. How may I help you?”
He beamed. “I’m so relieved. Please, help me relay a message to my daughter. Her asshole of a mother is trying to steal something I specifically set aside for her.”
Brandon eyed me, glanced around, then eyed me again. “On a scale of one to ten?”
“One. He’s harmless, needs me to pass on a message. Where’s my badge?”
Brandon fished it out of one of his cargo pockets.
I gratefully took it, as I had a feeling I’d need clout in a minute, then stood. I was in the window seat, so I’d need to maneuver a few rows back to do this and stand in the aisle, which was sure to be awkward. I thought about boosting him, but doing so would mean everyone on the plane would see a ghost suddenly pop into existence, causing panic forsure. Eh, better not. Besides, I had a bad feeling I should conserve my power as much as possible. Black Rock was going to suck me dry.
Now, despite me holding back, I did boost him a little to stabilize his energy enough to carry on a long conversation. I didn’t expect any of the passengers to see him, but surprisingly, two people did. One, the baby girl, had her eyes fixed on him, and she looked up with a wide, toothless smile. She clearly knew her grandpa. The second person was her father, who startled, blinked his eyes, then rubbed them for good measure.
“You’re not seeing things,” I assured him with an amused smile. Lifting the badge, I introduced myself again. “I’m Special Agent Mackenzie Lafayette with the Paranormal Activity Division, FBI.”
“Holy shit,” he breathed, eyes now fixed on me. “Uh…”
“The ghost you’re seeing next to me is, I believe, your father-in-law.”
The ghost quickly started relaying information, which I repeated.
“Horace Grieve, died two months ago from a heart attack, he said you’ve been battling with your mother about the inheritance and wants to set things straight.”
The young mother leaned forward, catching my arm in a strong grip, her eyes fixed on me. “Answer one question and I’ll believe you’re really talking to him. What did he want to name my daughter?”
“What he intended to name you,” I replied, conveying the words he said. “Trinity Celeste.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked both happy and so sad in the same breath. “That’s definitely him. Papa, for the record, you suck at names. That’s a stripper’s name.”
I kinda agreed, but I wasn’t touchin’ that with a ten-foot pole. I liked to think the good lord gave me some common sense, at least. “All right, if we’re all on the same page, then, sir, tell me what the message is.”
He unloaded on me, and good god, what a tangle. Turned out her biological mother was trying to get her to sign some papers giving everything he’d left for his daughter to the mother instead. But that wasn’t how the estate was supposed to work out. It was theft, and apparently he’d anticipated this situation, as he’d locked his will down tight.
Didn’t stop a narcissistic mother from trying things, though.
The daughter heard us both out, expression closing down. Then she asked a question I didn’t expect.
“Dad, you never cheated on her, did you?”
The way she said it, it was like she knew.
Horace shook his head rapidly. “No, no. I divorced her before I started dating again.”
I repeated his words.
