GHOST GAL: The Wild Hunt by Bobby Nash Read Free Book Online Page A

dog-eared LIFE magazine and began flipping through the pages again. She knew that she would burst out laughing if she looked at him.
    Joshua started to say something, but Samuel Esau reappeared. Startled, Joshua made a mental note of how quiet the man was. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air. Alexandra, quite used to Samuel’s peculiarities, got to her feet before Joshua could express his thoughts and they both waited quietly for his report.
    It had been nearly fifteen minutes after he had disappeared into the back office, when Samuel rejoined the couple at the cubicle that housed his desk. He looked tired and Alexandra said as much. Waving away her concern, he opened the old refrigerator in the far corner and poured himself a glass of orange juice. After offering Alexandra and Joshua some, which they both declined, he sipped at it carefully onlyafter closing his eyes and saying Grace.
    “It went well?” Alexandra asked once he started moving again.
    “Yes. The water spirit has safely crossed over. It wasn’t an easy crossing. Having been trapped inside the containment vessel for so long, trust was not something that came easily. It was… taxing.”
    “That’s good,” Alexandra said, concern etched on her features. She pulled out a chair for her friend. “Are you okay?” she asked.
    Samuel dropped into the offered chair. He looked exhausted, spent, more tired than she had ever seen him. He casually waved away her concern. “I will be fine. Just need to rest a bit.”
    “Maybe we should go…” she started.
    “That is not necessary,” Samuel said, his words slightly slurred.
    “I think it is,” Alexandra started.
    “What about the rest of them?” Joshua said before she could usher them out of the office. Unlike his fiancé, he was not a fan of mysteries left unsolved. He couldn’t leave without some answers.
    “It will take some time to disposition all of them,” Samuel said. “The process is very… draining as you may have noticed. I will require rest between each one.”
    “How do they work?” Alexandra asked, her curiosity intense.
    “Trade secret, sweetheart,” Samuel said in his best Humphrey Bogart voice.
    “Oh, come on, Samuel. Be serious. Tell us.”
    “I am.” There was no trace of joviality on his face.
    “Are you kidding me?” Joshua asked. “If there’s a way to trap ghosts like our mischievous little friends back there, why wouldn’t you want us to know how to use it? I mean, wouldn’t that make everybody’s job easier? I know it would make me feel better.”
    “There is a lot more at stake here than your peace of mind, Mr. Demerest,” the OAGI agent said.
    “Now see here, Samuel…” he started, but Alexandra waved him off.
    “Why can’t you tell us?” she asked.
    Samuel looked down, as though suddenly more interested in the cracked linoleum beneath his feet than anything else in the room. “I just can’t. You’ll have to accept that.”
    “But why?”
    “I have my orders,” he answered with a sigh. “Alexandra, you know as well as anyone that we all answer to someone and mysuperiors are pretty specific on what I can and cannot share with anyone. Even you, Alex. I’m sorry. That’s just the way it has to be. I hope you understand.”
    “I get it,” she said softly.
    “And just who is it you work for exactly?” Joshua asked.
    A thin smile creased Samuel’s face.
    Alexandra coughed, then once she had Joshua’s attention, looked up toward the ceiling and the heavens beyond. Ever the non-believer, Joshua blew out a breath as if to say oh, give me a break, although he wisely did not say so out loud.
    She had tried to explain the purpose of Samuel and the Office of Angel Guides to her fiancé, but he had a hard time reconciling her words with what he saw in Samuel. On more than one occasion he had referred to the OAGI agent as a “bum” because of the way he dressed and his wild hair. He only saw the outer shell, but she had known Samuel far longer.