Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2) by Jana DeLeon
Chapter One
Sabine LeVeche placed her hands over her crystal ball and looked across the table at Thelma Jenkins. It didn’t take psychic ability to know that Thelma’s problem was her husband, Earl, same as always, which was a good thing, since Sabine didn’t have an ounce of paranormal gift in her body. But today, she would have given anything for the ability to know where Earl had squirreled away his secret stash, if the money even existed.
“Can you see the money?” Thelma asked.
Sabine held in a sigh. On any other day, she would have pretended to see the money in a suitcase or a box or under a bush, something that would send Thelma off happily on a witch hunt to buy Sabine two weeks of peace and quiet. After all, Thelma didn’t need the money. She just couldn’t stand the idea of Earl keeping something from her and was convinced he’d been skimming off their gas station profits all fifty years of their marriage.
At least that’s how Thelma presented it.
The reality was, Alzheimer’s was fast taking Earl away from this earth, and Thelma was desperately looking for something to distract her and fill her time. Looking for the mythical treasure of Earl fit the bill nicely.
Sabine focused on the crystal ball and tried to remember all the tales she’d told Thelma before and come up with something different. “I see the money…no, wait, he’s taking the money into a jewelry store. He’s exchanging it for diamonds…a bag of uncut diamonds.”
Thelma sucked in a breath, the prospect of hunting for diamonds obviously even more exciting than a box of dirty money. “When did he do that?”
Sabine shook her head. “I can’t tell for sure, but he placed the diamonds in a red shoe box and put it in the attic.” She squinted at the ball. “The image is fading.” She held her hands over the ball another couple of seconds, then looked up at Thelma. “It’s gone.”
Thelma stared at her, her brow wrinkled in concentration. “The attic, huh? Was it the attic in our house?”
“I couldn’t tell for sure, and remember, Thelma, there’s no way of knowing if the diamonds are still there. Earl could have moved the diamonds or even sold them sometime after the vision I saw. But my guess is he hid them where he had easy access, so that would limit it to your house.” God forbid Thelma got arrested for breaking into every house in Mudbug, Louisiana, and digging through their attics.
“What a load of bullshit!” The voice came from out of nowhere, and Sabine felt her spine stiffen. She stared at Thelma, but the blue-haired woman just stared back at her.
“Did you hear that?” Sabine asked as she glanced around her shop, Read ’em and Reap, hoping that someone was hiding behind one of the many shelves of candles, tarot cards, and other paranormal paraphernalia. But as she peered in between the shelves, she didn’t see a thing.
“Hear what?” Thelma asked, glancing around the shop. “There wasn’t anyone here when I came in, and no one’s come in since.”
Sabine nodded. That’s what she’d thought, but then where had that voice come from? Her imagination was great, but it usually didn’t talk out loud.
“You didn’t leave the back door open, did you?” Thelma asked.
“No. In fact, it’s broken. I keep calling the landlord about getting it fixed, but he says everything has to go through the owner’s estate attorney, and he never hurries. Right now, I couldn’t open it without a crowbar.”
Thelma reached across the table and patted her hand. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, dear, what with people trying to kill Maryse and all. You probably need a vacation.”
“You’re probably right,” Sabine agreed.
“Give it a rest.” The voice sounded again and Sabine jumped up from her chair. “That * Earl has been teasing Thelma for years over that money.”
“Who’s there?” Sabine looked frantically around her shop.
Thelma stared, her eyes wide with shock. “I didn’t hear anything,” she whispered. “Do you think it’s the spirits?”
No, Sabine didn’t think it was spirits. Obviously someone was having a bit of fun with her. The voice sounded familiar but made Sabine’s nose crinkle like she’d encountered something unpleasant.
“So tell me where the money is,” Sabine said loudly, figuring if she played along with the charade, she’d eventually expose the trickster. “You seem to know more about it than I do.”
“She doesn’t need the damn money,” the voice answered. “She already has more money than Bill Gates and still won’t pay for a decent hairdo. Why give her more?”
Sabine sucked in a breath. She looked over at Thelma, whose eyes were wide with either fear or excitement. “Is the spirit still talking?” Thelma whispered.
“Oh, yeah,” Sabine said, wondering momentarily if Thelma was going deaf. How could she not hear that? Sabine walked across the room to look between the shelves. Finding them empty, she strode to the front of the store and peered behind the counter. Empty. “They’re still talking. They said you don’t need the money and you have a bad hairdo.”
Thelma gasped and put one hand on her puffy blue hair. “Why, that’s just downright rude. I didn’t think spirits were rude once they crossed over.”