Read Online The Last Kiss Goodbye by Karen Robards - Free Book Online Page A

she could do for him more than he wanted to tease her, at least for the moment. Still, that smart mouth of his was going to get him killed one day, she thought savagely before she remembered that, oops, that horse had already left the barn. “So does your friend know how to keep me here?”
    “Her name’s Tamsyn Green. And maybe she knows how to keep you here.” Being careful to keep her voice low as muffled sounds from beyond the bedroom door reminded her of the activity in the hall, Charlie headed for her long, low mahogany dresser, where she kept a supply of jasmine candles in a drawer. The candles were a staple of her Miracle-Go kit, which was so named because the items in it were useful in dealing with the occasional ghost with evil intent that occasionally afflicted her. She’d already used a jasmine candle once in an attempt to banish Michael, with, as his continuing presence attested, less than stellar success. Now she would use one to do the exact opposite of what she had done to him the last time: instead of forcing him into the Hereafter, she would try to keep him in the Here on Earth.
    “That word maybe ? I’m not a fan.” He was frowning, she saw with a quick glance at him.
    “Tough. Maybe’s the best I can do.”
    A sharp knock on the bedroom door made Charlie jump.
    “Dr. Stone?” It was a man’s voice, calling to her from the hall. She didn’t recognize it.
    “Shit,” Michael said. “Take a number, buddy.”
    “I’ll be with you in a minute.” Charlie raised her voice in answer.
    Michael made an impatient sound. “Forget about Snow White and the seven dwarves out there. Let’s get this thing done.”
    Charlie nodded: he had to be her first priority. Obviously tense now, Michael watched a little warily as she grabbed one of the smaller candles, fished out the cigarette lighter she kept on hand specifically to light them, should the need arise, from a delicate porcelain dish in the center of the dresser, and headed back toward the bathroom.
    “So who’s this Tamsyn Green?” He was following her.
    “Your best hope for staying here,” Charlie whispered sharply. Not that she thought anyone in the hall outside could actually hear her from the bathroom, which was where she was by then, but still. Her professional reputation wouldn’t survive too many rumors that ran along the lines of she talks to somebody who isn’t there. She could only hope that Jenna had sufficient traumatic memories to share with investigators to have forgotten about Charlie’s seemingly one-sided chats with thin air. “She’s from New Orleans. Her mother was some kind of voodoo priestess, apparently. I met her my freshman year of college, when I was still having trouble processing the whole I-see-dead-people thing. I went to this psychic fair, thinking maybe I’d find other people kind of going through the same thing, and she was one of the featured psychics. Since nobody was able to see the two or three spirits that I could see who were actually in the room, I had already more or less given up on getting any insight into what I was experiencing by the time I walked by Tam’s table and she asked me why I didn’t embrace what she called my gift and get over it. When she was able to describe the same spirits I could see, I knew she was legit. She’s more than legit, actually: she’s a full-spectrum psychic medium and clairvoyant who lives out in California now and makes her living giving readings for movie stars. She knows way more about this stuff than I ever want to or will.” Mindful of the instructions Tam had given her, Charlie had been setting things up as she spoke.
    Then she hesitated, looking at Michael.
    “What?” he said.
    “If I do this, you have to promise to abide by any rules I come up with,” she said. “Chief of which is, do not be a pain in the ass.”
    “I promise,” he said, way too promptly for her peace of mind.
    She gave him a skeptical look.
    The smile he gave her dazzled.