Read Online Roses Are Red; He's Dead (A Mellow Summers Paranormal Mystery Book 9) by Janet McNulty - Free Book Online

Rachel, the first ghost I had ever talked to, and whose murder I helped solve because she wouldn’t leave me alone. Though, she still shows up from time to time.
    “So what happened?” asked Aimie.
    “Well,” I replied, “Greg said hello to me, and we talked for a little bit, but I kind of brushed him off. Later that evening, he knocked on my door with a cake in his hand, but I was a little out of sorts and closed the door in his face.
    “Really?’ said Greg. “So, how’d you end up going out?”
    “I have Rachel to thank for that.” The words were out of my mouth before I had even realized that I had said them.
    “Rachel?” asked Patrick.
    “A friend,” I replied. “She ensured that Greg and I met again, and we’ve been together ever since.”
    “So what do you do?” said Aimie.
    “When I’m not in class at the college, I’m at work. I work at a little place called the Candle Shoppe, and the word shop is spelled s-h-o-p-p-e on the sign.”
    “How quaint,” said Aimie. “So, no hobbies?”
    “I don’t have time for hobbies,” I replied. I wasn’t about to tell them that I speak to ghosts, or that they seek me out sometimes, asking for help. “Work and school—”
    “—and Greg,” Aimie finished for me.
    “And Greg,” I continued, “keep me busy. So, tell me more about your shipping business.”
    “Not much to tell,” said Patrick. “Mostly traveling, and dealing with employees. Not long ago we had this one incident with someone who—”
    “I don’t think she wants to hear about that,” Aimie cut him off.
    “No, go on,” I urged.
    “Well, we caught him stealing,” Patrick finished.
    “Did you have him arrested?” I asked, intrigued.
    “No,” said Patrick. “I mean, the authorities were never able to catch him. He skipped town and could be anywhere.”
    “So what did you do?” I asked.
    “Nothing,” said Aimie. “We decided to just put it all behind us. Live and learn, you know.”
    Our food arrived and we stopped talking long enough to eat. While I reached for my fork, I tipped over my glass of water, knocking it off the table and spilling water everywhere. As I hurried to clean it up with a napkin, the red gem I had picked up from Billy’s apartment fell out of my pocket. I scooped it up and shoved it back into my pocket, hoping no one had noticed, but I wasn’t so lucky.
    “What was that?” asked Patrick.
    “Nothing,” I replied.
    “Really? Because…”
    “It’s nothing.” My tone told him to drop it. The waiter showed up soon after with a towel and mopped up the water before replacing my drink. The rest of the meal was spent in minimal conversation.
    “Thanks for supper,” I said when we left the restaurant.
    “It was our pleasure,” said Patrick, as though the water incident had never happened, or my curt manner when the ruby had fallen out of my pocket. I didn’t know if it was an actual ruby, or just a fake, but hoped that I would make it to the jeweler the next day.
    “We should…” began Aimie, but I noticed Chad across the street, walking past a set of tables with dinnerware on display and a bag in his hands.
    My phone rang. “Excuse me,” I said as I answered it.
    “Mel?” It was Greg. “I lost Chad. I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to keep an eye on him, but he started getting suspicious about me following him.”
    “I know where he is,” I said.
    “Really? Where?”
    “Oh, about 50 yards away from me.” I watched as he paused by a display window. I looked at Aimie and Patrick as they watched me. “I’m afraid I have to go, but I thank you for dinner. See you around?” I told them, placing my hand over the receiver of my phone.
    “Sure. No problem,” said Aimie, pulling Patrick away.
    “Mel?” Greg said when I put the phone back to my ear.
    “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “I don’t think…” My voice trailed off as I watched a dinner plate, from the display table, rise up into the air and follow after Chad.