Murder Runs Deep: A Moonlight Bay Psychic Mystery, #7

Chapter 1

L adies first, Jack Travis said as he opened the front door of Ragged Rest. He stood back, and let her through ahead of him with a little bow.

Miranda Wylder, for her part, laughed warmly. "Well, aren’t you the gentleman." It just felt so nice to be treated like a woman for a change by a man who knew that manners and chivalry could get him… well, almost anywhere.

She tottered past him in the heels that had been trying to interfere with her great mood all night. Her feet were sore and the wobble in her step bounced the long strands of her fiery red hair making them fall across her eyes. She was so looking forward to taking these shoes off and getting into bed.

That thought warmed her cheeks as she trailed a hand along Jack’s shoulder. Yes. She was definitely looking forward to that.

Thank you, she told him, for a wonderful evening. Really, I had a great time.

Well, I guess it was only dinner and a movie, but the company was what I liked. Jack winked at her, his bright blue eyes twinkling. He threw his keys and wallet down on the table in the entryway, running a hand through his unruly dark hair.

Miranda continued to watch him as she reached down to take one shoe off, quickly followed by the other. They got dropped in the corner. She’d pick them up later. It wasn’t like she had anyone else in the house to be particularly tidy for. Just her and her golden retriever, and Jack more nights than not.

They were the only souls at Ragged rest ever since Kyle had crossed over to the other side.

What was that sigh for? Jack asked.

She hadn’t even realized that she’d made a sound. Her thoughts had sobered at the thought of not having Kyle’s ghost in her life anymore. Um. I was just relieved to get those heels off, she lied. That’s all.

That bad, huh? Jack winced at the strappy heels that Miranda had abandoned. I’m glad us guys don’t have to wear ‘em.

I think you’re tall enough without them, honey. Miranda sidled up to him, ducking under the reach of his arm and leaning against his strong body. He was head and shoulders taller than her, and she liked it that way.

Jack laced his arms around her, dropping a kiss on the top of her perfect red hair. I had a great night too.

He kissed her again, and Miranda sighed. She felt so comfortable where she was. She could have happily stayed that way for the rest of the night. I loved the movie, she murmured.

Did you? I wasn’t so sure. Jack leaned back a little so he could look into her face. You know, your eyes have a kind of golden thing going on. It’s like they’re brown, but then they have these little flecks of gold. He was smiling his lazy smile at her and Miranda felt herself melting.

Stay on topic, she said, and gave him a little nudge. Movie or my eyes… I can’t concentrate on both.

Jack chuckled and gave her a final squeeze before releasing her and making his way across the kitchen to start the coffee maker. He knew where everything was in Ragged Rest. He spent as much time here as he did at his own place. Okay, then how about we have some coffee and movie talk? Then maybe we’ll get back to your beautiful eyes later.

Sounds good to me. She reached up into the cupboard for two cups. Jack really was the most comfortable company, especially for her, a woman who’d spent more time living alone than not.

Miranda had always wondered if she would ever find a guy she would be happy to be with every day. Someone with whom she could see herself becoming one half of the whole. She was amazed that she spent as much time at Jack’s place as he did at hers. That was kind of unheard of in Miranda-land where she liked her own home comforts, her own schedule, her own space.

Now, she didn’t want to be just Miranda anymore. She wanted to be Jack Travis and Miranda Wylder, the two of them together forever.

With the coffee made, they sat down at the huge polished wooden table. She just loved the kitchen at Ragged Rest and couldn’t help but think how she had almost dreaded settling herself here. On the one hand, when her uncle had left it in her charge it had seemed perfect timing. She needed a change. On the other hand, it was a big step. Moving out to this huge house, in this cozy little coastal town, where she didn’t know anyone and no one knew her.

At first, she’d preferred it that way. There were things about her that she liked to keep private.

Ragged Rest had been in the family for years. It had been passed to her mother, her aunt and her uncle when Miranda’s maternal grandmother had finally departed this life. The three siblings had shared the place together. Her mother had already been married, and living over in the neighboring town of Silver Bay, but she used Ragged Rest as a vacation home quite often. All three agreed that the place should never be sold and should always remain in the family. Ragged Rest would always be there for all the Clearys, both current and future generations.

The house itself was a huge home, sitting on enough land to make the neighbors on all sides jealous. Two stories tall and made of stone and mortar and a lot of elegant detail, it was enough to grace any cover of those Better Homes magazines. Enough space for a huge family, too, and the halls used to echo with love and laughter.

Of course, now all that remained of the Clearys was dear old Uncle Horatio, and Miranda. Miranda’s mother had been the only one of the three Cleary siblings who had married and gone on to have a child. Miranda had her father’s last name, Wylder, but she was still very much a part of her mother’s maternal line. Once Uncle Horatio had been bitten by the travel bug, he left the estate to Miranda for safe keeping.

Jack’s voice startled her out of her reverie. You’re staring into space.

Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking about Uncle Horatio.

Have you heard from him lately?

Yes, he’s in Denmark now. She laughed as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips and blew on the dark liquid inside to cool it down. Copenhagen, according to his last postcard.

Wow. Wish I could travel like that. You know, he doesn’t do so badly for an old timer. What is he now? Seventy something?

Yes, he’s seventy-two. But never let him hear you call him an old timer. She gave him a half smile, not exactly joking.

Huh. Jack sipped at his own coffee as he thought back. I only ever saw him once or twice around Moonlight Bay. I never knew him, really. I suppose he was just always off doing his own thing. I mean, you’ve got to be pretty vigorous to still be a world traveler in your seventies.

Horatio certainly is that. He was the oldest of the three, Miranda said sadly, and Jack reached out to lay a hand over her own. Seems strange that he should be that last one left.

You okay? Jack’s voice was heavy with his concern.

Sure, Miranda said, and then began to laugh. Hey, would you look at me! We had a great night and we’re home and snug, and here I am getting all nostalgic. I’m sorry, Jack.

Don’t worry about it. Sometimes your mind just takes you to another place altogether. I get that. No reason to apologize.

Thank you. She smiled at him, and took her nearly full cup to the sink before coming back to lean her arms over his shoulders and kiss his cheek. I’m so glad we’ve had the chance to spend so much of the last few weeks together.

Me too. I guess things have been kind of quiet here in Moonlight Bay for a long time now. For a while, I was beginning to think you were bringing us bad luck.

Hey! she protested with a grin.

I know it’s not true, but you remember how things were when you first came to town. Things were sort of exciting, you know? We had real crimes to investigate, real bad guys to arrest. Know what we’ve been doing the past few days? We’re playing cricket with a ball we made out of tape. We nearly broke the window when one of the guys swung for the boundary. Ha. Thankfully it was all tape so it just sort of stuck to the glass. The sarge was not happy.

Miranda tried to stifle a giggle as she pictured it. Exactly how bored have you guys been?

Very. He sighed, but smiled through it. Although, I guess that’s not a bad thing. No crime means everyone is safe. It’s a good thing.

Yeah, except for our diligent police officers. She went back around to her seat, sitting and lacing her fingers together under her chin. Still, it’s a good thing for the folks of Moonlight Bay. No murder or mayhem going on.

But just think, Jack thought out loud. If it hadn’t been for murder and mayhem in Moonlight Bay, you and I might never have met. Maybe all those things were horrible, but they brought you and me together.

That’s true, I guess. But then, we might have bumped into each other at a movie or a diner or… I don’t know, in the library or something.

Probably not the library, Miranda, if I’m being completely honest with you. Jack shrugged. I don’t read as much as you do. I mean, I’ve read some of your stories now that we’re together. I’d be a fool not to. They’re really good.

Oh, stop it, she laughed. You’re required to say that because we’re dating.

No, I’m serious. He pointed to the manuscript for Miranda’s latest mystery novel, stacked over neatly on the countertop, waiting for her attention before her editor had a stroke. I can’t wait to read the new one. You’ve really got a way with words.

And here I thought you were only with me for my body.

Well, he had to admit. That too.

As they sat laughing, comfortable in their own little world, Miranda realized that this was the best part of her day, right here. Sure, the new book needed a serious rewrite around chapter seventeen, and somewhere in the house was a dog who needed feeding, and if Jack didn’t offer to give her a foot massage soon she was going to have to tickle him mercilessly until he took the hint. But this, just sitting and having a nonsense conversation with her best friend in the world, was the absolute best.

As Jack reached out to touch her hand, Miranda was suddenly aware of another figure in the room. It wasn’t anything new for people to pop in and out of Ragged Rest. Or rather, it wasn’t unusual for the ghosts of the dearly departed to pop in and out. They might float through a wall and out again on their way to see someone else, or they might sit and talk a spell with her about everything from fishing to the mysteries of the universe. It was just a fact of life in her world.

This was her secret, and one she’d only shared with a very few people, like Jack. She could see ghosts. She could talk to ghosts. Quite often, they came looking to her for help when they needed to find answers that had been denied them in life. She always found time for them when they did, because they were desperate for help when they came looking for psychics like her. Plus, they hardly ever went away until she did acknowledge them.

With a sigh, she accepted the fact that her evening was going to be disrupted whether she liked it or not. She looked past Jack’s shoulder at the hazy blue apparition standing in her kitchen.

Only, this wasn’t just any ghost.

He cleared his throat as if he knew he was interrupting. So what’s a guy got to do to get a decent hello around here?

Jumping out of her seat, Miranda squealed with delight and rushed across the room to throw herself at the spirit of her good friend. She was going to give Kyle Hunter the biggest hug that anyone had ever given him… until she remembered that it wouldn’t work. He was a ghost. The best she could do was put her hand up to his face and feel the fuzzy distortion in the air that made her skin tingle.

Pale blue light surrounded his tall and wiry frame, and washed out the color of his sandy brown beard and tousled hair. In his jean shorts and sandals and lazy-day t-shirt he looked just like she remembered him in life. Just like he’d looked on the day that he had passed over to the other side and left her here in the world of the living. She’d thought he was gone forever, and when he disappeared she grieved for him a second time.

Miranda? Jack asked carefully, seeing her reaction but not the reason for it. He couldn’t see the ghost standing right next to her. He had to know she was seeing a spirit. Just not who. What is it? Who do you see?

Well, well, well, Kyle remarked, waving a hand in front of Jack’s face. He’s as sharp as ever, I see.

It’s Kyle, Miranda said, tears of joy rolling down her face even as she gave her friend a sharp look to remind him to mind his manners. Kyle’s back.

Kyle? You mean, the same Kyle who followed us around incessantly for months? He didn’t exactly sound thrilled. The relationship between the two men in Miranda’s life had been complicated at best.

Miranda had expected some snarky comment from Kyle, like usual, but instead he just crossed his arms and stared Jack down with a withering glare that was wasted since only Miranda could see it. Yes, it’s me. The one and only.

Jack looked all around, like he was trying to catch a glimpse of a ghost. Should I… give you two some privacy?

Is he serious? Kyle asked her.

She rolled her eyes at both of them acting like children. However, in truth, she wasn’t completely sure that Jack was okay with the whole psychic thing. She’d explained the basics of what she could do—and what she couldn’t do—and done her best to answer any of his questions, but it was one of those things she preferred not to talk about. Especially since their lives had been so nice and quiet recently. She wanted to pretend they were just a normal couple learning to love and live together.

Now that Kyle was back, she had a feeling that the days of quiet they’d enjoyed were soon going to be over.

He’s right there, Jack, Miranda said, waving her hand at Kyle, who waved back comically, but didn’t say anything. It occurred to her