Page 76 of Cadaver Lab: Mind Over Murder

Natalie leaned back to see Millie standing on the other side of Gabe.

“Millie too!” she cried, while jumping up and down as it finally sunk in.

Gabe joined in, dropping Millie’s hand and jumping with her. “That’s amazing! Letisha was right. It was only temporary. Or the evil brain ghost being five hundred miles away helped. Either way, I don’t care, you can see me!”

“I can see you!”

Millie clapped her hands, grinning from ear to ear. “I am so happy for you, Natalie. And we have even more good news. Gabe, tell her.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. So late last night, after I left you and Harper here, Pompous Doug came to get me. He wanted to communicate to his widow, through me and Millie. He told her that he wants her to drop the lawsuit against Harper. He said he’ll answer any questions about that night. And he admits now the brain ghost did attack him. It had nothing to do with Harper. I guess seeing the whole town come together to fight this thing made him want to step up and do the right thing.”

“Oh my God. That is amazing news. Does Harper know?”

“Not yet. She doesn’t take well to being woken up early. Especially after sitting up with you until after midnight drinking that bottle and a half of red wine last night.”

“Hey, there were special circumstances,” Natalie said in her own defense, although she was feeling a little bit hungover herself.

Gabe nodded. “There were. And let’s hope there won’t be any more special circumstances like this one again.”

“Amen to that,” Natalie agreed.

Gabe tipped his chin toward the coffee maker. “Now push that brew button, please. It’s been a long night for all of us and I can use some fresh brewed coffee to sniff.”

“You got it.” Natalie smiled.

Things truly were going to be completely normal again—at least normal for her and this whole ghost conduit life that had been thrust upon her—and she couldn’t be happier.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

It was three weeks later. Three weeks that Natalie pretended things were fine. Perfect. Normal again. Three weeks during which she waited daily for that other shoe to drop. Waited for a report from Dean about dumping the lead vessel. Waited for a report on the news of mysterious mass casualties on a Navy ship.

Finally over morning coffee, because that seemed to be when everything happened to her lately, a text vibrated Liam’s cell.

He glanced down at the phone and his dark brows rose. “It’s Dean.”

The one loose end. What she’d been waiting for. News from Dean. “Finally. It’s been three weeks. What took him so long?”

“Babe, it takes time to sail from Virginia to the Pacific Ocean. They probably just got there.”

“How should I know that? I’m not a sailor.”

“Neither was I but I know that it takes weeks to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”

“Fine. Whatever. What did he say?”

Liam tapped the screen then smiled.

He flipped the cell to face Natalie. She read the text on the screen and let out a breath.

Dean

It’s done. And I’m not going to ask you what the hell you had in there that drained my battery every night when I stowed my cell near it in my locker. Plausible deniability. But dude you owe me!

Dean was fine. The brain was gone, all the way to the bottom of the ocean. But it had been a closer call than they or the sailors on that ship knew.

The brain ghost had been able to drain Dean’s battery. Every night. For three weeks. Even with all their precautions.

Realizing fully just how dangerous it had been to expose the crew of that Navy ship to the wrath of the brain ghost, she felt her stomach twist.