Audrey Claire - Libby Grace 02 - How to Blackmail a Ghost by Audrey Claire Read Free Book Online

information. Do you understand?”
    I didn’t. Sadie had deliberately twisted facts to suit whatever she wanted. She had even told the police she had seen me running from the scene of George Walsh’s murder. If that wasn’t spiteful, then what was it?
    I figured I wouldn’t get anything useful from Mrs. Cavendish and thanked her for her time. After Bernie pulled off from the curb and they turned the corner, I scanned my surroundings. No one appeared to be nearby, but I didn’t take chances. I strolled down Main Street two blocks and came across Sadie’s consignment shop. She hardly ever opened it, and today a handwritten sign hung on the door that read Closed Until Further Notice. I continued farther along the street until I came to Gatsky’s Restaurant then crossed Main Street to get to the hardware store. I would put in a few hours work until it was time to pick up Jake from school.

Chapter Six
     
    “Hm, this looks like something,” Monica said, bent before the monitor of my four year old computer. “A missing person report in Charlotte.”
    I hovered but then felt an energy surge. The monitor’s screen blinked, and Monica shooed me away. I sighed and settled on the opposite side of the room. Monica pulled a notepad closer to her and jotted down information from the recent article. I thought about how many days we had been going through this routine. Having limited funds and resources, we scoured the Internet for news reports or any other related information about missing persons. We hoped somehow we would stumble on a clue to where my body could be. I had also begun going from house to house, searching, something I despised because I hated invading people’s privacy. I felt like I was no different than Luis, who had done so with cameras.
    Of course my search took longer with less results than the Internet simply because I came across things I didn’t want to see and feared seeing again if I continued. I needed this type of limbo to cease, and no other choice presented itself.
    “Monica, what about the one week you gave me?” I hesitated to bring up the subject, but I needed to know she wasn’t planning on calling Mason, my ex-husband, to pick up Jake. “We’re well past the time limit you gave me for figuring out what happened to me.”
    Monica stabbed a key over and over and growled under her breath. “This thing stinks. I should have brought my laptop over.”
    “You didn’t want to risk me killing it like I killed the phone.”
    “Twice,” Monica reminded me.
    “Did you hear my question?”
    My friend spun around in the chair and offered me a sad smile. “We’re going to figure out what happened. Don’t worry. And Jake isn’t suffering from what I can see. You’re even dating a cop.”
    “One time doesn’t constitute ‘dating.’”
    “Semantics. Point is, we’re living a mostly normal life. The library and the restaurant are good with letting me arrange my schedule around Jake’s pickup and drop-off times, so we’re okay.”
    “It’s so inconvenient for you. I’m sorry.”
    “We’re family. We make sacrifices for each other, right? Besides, you saved my life. I owe you big time.”
    That didn’t make me feel better. “Number one, it was my meddling that caused Luis to come after us. Two, I didn’t save you. Ian did.”
    Monica grinned. “I’m convinced he came to save you—and me by default. So it was still because of you.”
    “You’re impossible.”
    “I get that a lot,” she teased. “I’m okay with it.”
    We shared a chuckle, which felt good for me. Without Monica I could do none of this, and I appreciated her. “Okay, so what did you find out?”
    She held up the notepad and waved it. “We have a phone number. Let’s check it.”
    “You check it.” While Monica dialed, I wandered over to the window and pulled the curtain aside. Just in time to see the mail lady drive up in her truck, I waved, and she smiled and waved back. A sigh escaped me. Monica was