Page 5 of Ghost Town Boogie

“My pearl earrings and my favorite casserole dish are not minor,” she argued haughtily.

The boys walked out right at closing time. Colt locked the door and added up the receipts for the day, and left twenty minutes later. As he locked the door behind him he saw a group of ghosts gathered around the front desk. Some of them waved. Even Gerald. Colt looked to the left and to the right to make sure no one else was around, and then he gave them a small wave.

It was always best to keep peace with his deceased companions. When they were unhappy they weren’t shy about letting him know. If Maude could remain earthbound over crockery and a pair of earrings, it would definitely not be a good idea to snub her.

He started walking south, past the bakery that had closed hours earlier, then past a bright pink house that housed a popular art gallery. He walked by a small cafe where he sometimes grabbed dinner. He’d swing by later, but first he had to collect the overdue rent from one of his renters. He really should hire a company to manage the properties, but he didn’t mind doing it himself. Goodness knows he needed to get out of the depot now and again. His dad had been a contractor, and though Colt had no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps he’d picked up enough skills to be a decent handyman.

Two more blocks and he’d be there. He hoped there was no trouble. The old guy that had been renting the little white house on Pine Street was almost three months overdue. It was a pain to evict a tenant, but it could be done with time and dedication.

Almost instinctively, he turned a block early. He wasn’t eager for the confrontation with his tenant, and his brief discussion with Anna had stirred up a lot of old memories. She said her Mom had records she wanted to get rid of. Might as well look them over and see if there was anything valuable in the collection. It was unlikely, but not impossible. There were treasures out there. There were treasures everywhere.

He was a pirate of sorts in his own time, he supposed.

As he approached the two-story yellow house, Colt came to a stop. Jack sat on the porch. Jack, who Anna said hadn’t spoken to his family for five years. Jack, his oldest friend.

No wonder no one had heard from him. Jack wasn’t carrying a grudge; he was dead.

Anna glanced out the window when movement caught her eye. Colt stood on the sidewalk, staring at the house. She couldn’t hear him, but she read his lips. Fuck. He said the word many, many times, before he turned and walked away.

She watched him go, wondering why he’d come and why he’d left so soon. What made him look at her house and curse that way?

Not that she had time to worry about Cold Heart.

“Are you sure you don’t want my collectible plates?”

Anna turned away from the window. Her mother was distressed, as she’d been for the past several days. More so, as she waved an Elvis plate in the air.

“I’m sure.”

“These have to be worth something. You can sell them online.”

Anna smiled. “You can sell them online.”

Nina Miller, sixty-six years old, five feet even tall, gray haired since the age of forty-five, pouted. “That’s so much trouble.”

“Put them in the donate box.”

“The donate box is full.”

“I’ll get another one.”

Anna put Colt out of her mind and went to the dining room, which was filled with boxes marked donate, keep, or Anna. There was a new box in the mix. Jack. There wasn’t much in it. Anna bit her tongue. She wanted so badly to tell her mom to put the plates in Jack’s box.

“Jack might want this one,” Nina said as she walked into the dining room.

Not again… “Mom, he’s not coming home. If he was going to he’d be here by now.”

“He might not know his dad is gone.”

He doesn’t care! Again Anna bit her tongue. “I’m sorry, but he made it very clear in that last text…”

“He was angry when he wrote that. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

Since it had been more than five years since they’d seen or heard from her brother, he’d meant it. I can’t be a part of this family anymore. Not coming back, ever. Have a nice life. I know I will. He’d even added a line of various happy emojis and one yellow middle finger as an exclamation point.

Jack had always been kind of a jerk, though there had been moments when he wasn’t at his worst. She had a handful of pleasant memories of her brother, but he’d always been prone to attacking the people who loved him the most. She didn’t know for sure, but he had the personality of one of those little boys who’d pull a girl’s pigtails if he liked her. If he was disappointed or angry, it couldn’t be because of something he’d done. No, he blamed everyone around him. Twice he’d almost gotten married, but both women had wisely seen the light before they said “I do.”

Or maybe Jack had scared them off because he couldn’t stand the idea of being committed to anyone.