that Detective Savoy had told them not to leave town, but Christmas was only a few days away. What if Rose couldn’t go home for the holiday?
She was looking forward to her first Christmas with Mason in the farmhouse. That might not happen now. Tears filled her eyes, and she saw a blurry Taylor walking through the hotel entrance. “Violet, I have to go. We’ll talk about it later.”
She hung up the phone and patted her friend’s arm. “Neely Kate, Taylor’s here.”
Rose blinked to dry her tears while Neely Kate stretched. “I had the best dream about fried chicken.”
Taylor stood next to the table, shifting her weight.
“Did you find out anything?” Neely Kate asked before taking a drink of her water.
“Nothing I want to share at the moment.”
Rose wasn’t very good at accepting those kinds of answers.
Neely Kate looked up at an empty spot behind Taylor. “I like your new outfit. If you added some glittery fingernail polish and some sparkly eye shadow it would really pull the look together.”
It took Rose a second before she realized Neely Kate was talking to the ghost.
Taylor’s brow shot up in surprise as she looked over her shoulder. “Are you crazy? You think sparkles are going to fix that ?” She waved her hand up and down while pointing to the empty space behind her.
An indignant look washed over Neely Kate’s face. “Excuse me, but sparkles can fix just about anything.”
Taylor shot Rose a look of disbelief, but Rose just shook her head.
“It’s better not to ask.”
Taylor must have agreed, because she gave a small shudder as if to compose herself and said, “Why don’t we go check out your room.”
“Good idea,” Rose said.
Neely Kate trailed behind the two of them, looking like a crazy woman who was having a conversation with herself. But Taylor’s mouth dropped open when she looked behind her. “Helena! You can’t hold those bags in public.”
Sure enough, two paper shopping bags hung in midair.
“I don’t care if she’s pregnant. You still can’t hold those bags!” Taylor snatched the bags away, but not before a couple with two kids walked by, their mouths gaping in shock.
“We’re practicing a magic trick,” Taylor said with a forced smile. “It’s looking pretty good, don’t you think?”
The family continued to the hotel entrance, and the elevator doors opened. Taylor shot inside, glaring at the empty corner as Rose and Neely Kate entered.
The doors closed and Neely Kate stuck out her foot and crossed her arms, not an easy task with the bags she was still holding. “Helena was just being nice. You don’t have to be so mean about it.”
Taylor stared at her in stunned silence, while Neely Kate turned to the empty corner. “I know just how you feel, Helena. My own family takes me for granted and doesn’t appreciate my efforts either.”
“What are you talking about?” Rose asked, still unnerved that her friend was talking to an empty corner. “Your grandmother appreciates you every Tuesday night when you take her to bingo.”
Taylor seemed to come out of her stupor. “Neely Kate, if you knew the trouble Helena brings with her, you might not feel the same way.”
Neely Kate turned up her nose and looped her arm with…nothing. “Don’t you worry, Helena. You’ve got me now.”
Taylor was back to the state of disbelief. “Now I’ve seen everything.”
“And I don’t see a cotton-pickin’ thing,” Rose mumbled.
The elevator doors opened and a maid pushed a food cart past the opening.
Taylor jabbed her finger toward the corner. “Don’t even think about it.”
Rose led the way to their room, with Taylor close behind. Neely Kate trailed several feet behind, talking in whispers.
“Does…Helena hang out with you all the time?”
“No, but she’s with me quite a bit. Her son lives here and he and his wife just had their first child, so she visits her grandbaby a lot. And she tends to get her