Read Online Nothing to Ghost About by Morgana Best - Free Book Online

let Basil ruin one outing. I thought I’d had chemistry
with him, but that was apparently nothing compared to whatever he
had with the journalist. I was mortified that I’d kissed him back,
only to be dismissed in such a way.
    Despite my best efforts, the only
thing I managed to think about on my walk was Basil. I wasn’t in a
good mood. For one, it was a particularly glary day. I took off my
sunglasses and wiped them on a tissue. I held them up to the sun,
and could see that they still needed a good clean. I walked a few
more steps without them, but was forced to squint at the glare
reflected off every available surface: windows, chrome, and passing
cars. I put them back on, smudges and all.
    My nerves were on edge, and the
grating sound of a truck using its compression brakes went right
through my head, as did the loud abuse hurled at the truck driver
by the pedestrian who was half way across the road at the
time.
    I cheered up when I caught the scent
of good coffee carried down the street on a good breeze, the same
breeze that moments later caught my skirt along with a dozen or so
discarded chocolate wrappers.
    I was so intent upon holding down my
skirt that at first I did not identify the man walking toward me.
When recognition dawned, I broke out in a cold sweat. What to do?
Should I cross the street? Slap myself on the forehead as if I’d
forgotten something, and then hurry back the way I’d
come?
    I shook my head. Basil was the one in
the wrong. He should be the one to duck into a shop. Still, if I
hesitated any longer, we might actually have to talk to one
another. Just the thought of it made me sick to my
stomach.
    “ Laurel!” Basil waved to
me, and then hurried down the sidewalk. “I’m glad I ran into
you.”
    The nerve of the
man , I thought. He’s acting as if nothing happened the other
night!
    I greeted him with a curt nod and
tried to act normal. If he was going to act as if nothing happened,
then so was I. I was not going to give him the satisfaction of
seeing how much it bothered me.
    “ Did you see Anna’s article
this morning?”
    Of course it would be
about Anna , I thought with irritation. I
gave him a tight smile. “Yes. It was favorable, thank
goodness.”
    Basil appeared to be surprised at my
indifference. “I think it turned out wonderfully. She highlighted
the celebrity funerals in a positive manner. In fact, she didn’t
mention the murders at all.”
    I resisted the urge to say something
catty. “I’ll call her and thank her.”
    Basil was still talking. “She’s a
sharp journalist, but even she can be reasoned with. Although, I
must say, it wasn’t easy talking her out of using the murders in
her article.”
    I narrowed my eyes and
glared at him. Did he want me to thank him? He seemed a little too
proud of that statement. And exactly how had he talked her out of
using the murders in her article? An awful image popped into my
head of Basil and Anna sharing a hug, of
Basil holding her the way he had held me that night.
    “ Laurel?” His voice jolted
me back into the moment.
    I realized I had zoned out. “Thanks. I
appreciate you talking to her,” I said after an
interval.
    “ You’re welcome.” He smiled
the way he used to smile at me.
    He was a confusing, contradictory man.
Was he an evil twin, or did he have multiple personality disorder?
It was all too much. The silence hung between us. The moment
couldn’t have been more awkward.
    Basil was the one to break the
silence. “Laurel, I wanted to talk about the other
night.”
    I shook my head. “I’m about to meet
someone for coffee. I can’t be late.”
    “ Meet someone?” he asked
with a measure of surprise. An odd look crossed his
face.
    If I were feeling hopeful, I would
have sworn that it looked like jealousy. Whatever he was feeling
quickly vanished. “Of course. I apologize for holding you up.
Perhaps we could talk later?”
    I brushed by him and hurried away. It
wasn’t the most mature way to break off a