Read Online Haunting Jordan by P. J. Alderman - Free Book Online Page A

dog leapt to his feet. “This is all a ruse, isn’t it?” She folded the rope and put it in his mouth. “You thought you could be entertained at my expense.”
    “Whoa. Wait a minute.” Darcy’s amusement faded. “We didn’t think that at all.”
    “Then it’s my notoriety—that I’m suspected of murder.” Hands shaking, Jordan fumbled for money to pay the bill. “You don’t want someone like me in your town.”
    “That’s not it.” Darcy hesitated. “Okay, I admit that maybe some people might have thought that as a psychologist, you’d cope better with the ghosts … I mean, what with your ability to be empathetic—”
    “Shut up, Darcy,” Jase said pleasantly. He turned to Jordan, his expression apologetic. “Please, stay and enjoy the music.”
    Jordan shook her head mutely, throwing cash on the table.
    “Look,” he explained quietly. “Most people only catch an occasional or fleeting glimpse of ghosts. We didn’teven know for sure that you’d ever see them, and we certainly didn’t think you’d be able to converse with them.”
    “Hell,” Darcy said, “I’m flat-out envious. I’d love to be able to talk to them.”
    “They’re probably thrilled to finally have someone to talk to,” Tom added.
    Jordan backed away. “I’ll prove you all wrong. When I get to the research center tomorrow, it will be open, and Nora and Delia will be waiting for me.”
    “Then why don’t I walk you home,” Jase suggested, standing, “and check the place out? Just so you’ll feel safe tonight.”
    “I don’t think so.” Tears burned behind her eyes. Would she ever learn not to be so damn trusting?
    She turned and walked out, the dog at her heels, leaving the three of them staring after her with what appeared to be concerned looks on their faces.
    Too bad she knew better.
    * * *
    T EN minutes later, Jordan stood in her front yard, hugging herself, afraid to go inside. She half wished she’d taken Jase up on his offer. Their story was crazy, but … well, it made a weird sort of sense. Nora and Delia had been pretty strange, she had to admit.
    As she replayed the conversation from earlier that afternoon inside her head, she realized many of the things they’d said could be interpreted in a different light. Take Delia’s argument, for example, that Frank would neverhave murdered Hattie. She had sounded as if she’d actually known him. And then there was the odd hair comment, which might indicate they didn’t understand modern speech idioms.
    Jordan blew out a breath. This was crazy. Nuts. She was making something out of nothing. Pretty soon, she’d be the one she referred to a psychiatrist for meds.
    She took a deep breath, threw back her shoulders, and climbed the porch steps, reaching out to open the door for the dog. He trotted right in, unconcerned.
    “See?” she muttered. “Nothing to worry about.” She fumbled for the light switch, turning on several lights, including the chandelier high up in the stairwell before she located the one in the hall. She left them all blazing.
    Standing just inside the door, she listened.
    Nothing.
    The house was quiet … settled. No creaks or groans, no moans … no goddamn ghosts. Just in case, though, she looked around for something she could use as a weapon.
    Clutching a library lamp in front of her with both hands, she crept down the hallway to the kitchen. On the way, she didn’t walk through any cold spots, which—if she remembered correctly from movies she’d seen—were supposed to be a sign of spectral activity. She did, however, jump a foot when a floorboard creaked loudly, almost losing her grip on the lamp.
    She reached inside the kitchen door and flipped on the light switch, then walked to the center of the room. “If you’re here, I frigging dare you to come out!” she said in a loud voice.
    Silence.
    There, that proved it. No ghosts.
    “Uh-ohhh. We’ve been outed.” The whisper came from several feet behind her.
    Jordan whirled,