Read Online Treasured Legacies (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery) by Terri Reid - Free Book Online

you,” Bradley said.
    Clarissa shook her head. “Yeah, I know,” she said, turning
to her guardian angel. “Sorry Mike.”
    Mike shrugged. “That’s okay, sweetheart,” he said. “I’d be a
little nervous too if I were you.”
    “And that’s why we have this, to make you less nervous,”
Bradley said, pulling out a small plastic device. “It’s a little GPS device
that you can carry with you everywhere you go.   It sends out a signal, that lets us know where you are all the time and
it also has a button that you can push if you’re scared that will alert us
immediately. Would that be helpful?”
    Clarissa took the small box in her hand. “This is so cool.”
    “Really?” Mary asked, looking at
the device. “She’s right, this is so cool.”  
    Bradley nodded. “Yeah, I was just reading about it last week
and thought it would be great for Clarissa,” he said to Mary and then turned to
his daughter. “What do you think?”
    “I just push it when I need you?” she asked.
    “Yes, just push it,” Bradley replied. “And it will ring an
alarm on both my phone and Mary’s phone.   Will that make you feel safer?”
    “Yes. And I promise only to push it in emergencies,”
Clarissa said.
    “And remember, pizza, hamburgers and ice cream
are not emergencies,” Mike added.
    Clarissa giggled and then stopped. “Oh, ice cream,” she
said. “I almost forgot about the ice cream.”
    “I think we should eat dinner and then pig out on ice
cream,” Bradley suggested. “Anyone else interested?”
    “Yes!” Mary and Clarissa agreed.

Chapter Thirteen
    “You’re going out tonight?” Bradley asked, later that night
once Clarissa was tucked into bed. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?”
    “I’m fine,” Mary said, slipping on her coat. “Besides, all
I’ll be doing is sitting in an ice cream parlor having a discussion with dead
people. No big deal.”
    Bradley chuckled. “Do you think it’s strange that I don’t
think that’s strange?” he asked.
    She walked over and kissed him. “Nope, because since you’ve
met me, you’re a changed man.”
    He kissed her back. “Changed for the better?   Or just another step closer
to crazy?”
    She laughed. “For the better.”
      “How long will you
be?”
    “Not more than a couple of hours,” she replied.
    “Okay, if something comes up, call me.   I can get Katie or Clifford to run over if
you need my help,” he said. “I’ve got some paperwork I can work on while you’re
gone.”
    “Great!   See you
soon,” she said.
    The moon was bright and full.   The night air was cool with just a hint of
spring.   Mary took a deep breath as she
walked to the car, inhaling the moist scents of damp earth and spring
flowers.   She paused for a second,
savoring the fragrance of a nearby hyacinth. She really loved spring.
    The drive back to Union Dairy only took a few minutes.   The downtown streets were fairly deserted by
this time of night, except for the Lindo Theater a
few blocks down Chicago. Mary parked directly in front of the ice cream parlor,
slipped out of her car and pulled the keys Jodi had given her out of her
pocket.   She paused at the plate glass
door and stared inside for a moment before entering.   The restaurant was motionless and quiet, with
the only light coming from the glow of some of the equipment behind the
counter.   Everything else lay in shadows.
    Slipping the key in, she slowly turned it and opened the
door.   Entering the building, she locked
the door behind her to ensure she didn’t have any company of the human
kind.   She walked forward to the short
counter with the bright red parlor stools that surrounded it.   The counter snaked around from the front of
the restaurant around a curve at the side and then along the back of the front
area, so a soda jerk could stand in the middle and take care of all of the
customers around him.   The second dining
area was a smaller room with a collection of tables and