The Mystery at Sag Bridge

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Exhausted by recent events and lack of sleep, Cora wished she could call it a day and go home to nap. She, Cisco and Frannie sat around the table in the historical society loft, finishing fast-food sandwiches while Cora told Frannie about the meeting with Meg.

"Great-Angel's not enough to stress about, now we got to find a killer too. Well, no point wasting any more time trying to figure out is Angel in your head-we got us a bon-a-fide ghost." Frannie put the last bite of sandwich in her mouth, and followed it with a slug of bottled water. "But tell me again, why all the hush-hush? Shouldn't Angel be happy knowing we're digging into her murder? Isn't that what she wants?"

"I keep thinking about Father McGrath. We don't know who or what sets her off." Frannie blinked and nodded. Cora went on, "I think I'm the only person she trusts-she could even be suspicious of Cisco."

"What'd she look like?" Frannie asked, as she put food wrappers and napkins in a bag and crumpled it.

Cora looked out into the sanctuary as she pictured Meg, watching her walk from the woods. "She was pretty. Neat. Dressed in clothes from the period. I thought she looked dazed, not quite present, you know? But with flashes of awareness."

"She's not telling you enough. These short answers and messages on your computer, it's not enough. She needs to explain better. She needs a blog," Frannie said.

Her comment broke the tension and got them laughing.

"Whole thing don't make much sense," Frannie went on. "This Angel or Meg, whoever, she's one confused ghost, you ask me. Course she don't make sense because spirits don't always make sense, that's a regular thing with spirits. Who knows ghost rules-I sure don't. Every one of those supernatural websites says different things-too much room for interpretation."

"Yeah, well, we have to try," Cora said. "Too bad I couldn't give Father McGrath's books to you, Frannie. I'm afraid Angel might go nuts if she sees me touch them."

"I looked at them," Cisco said hesitantly, avoiding Cora's eyes.

"You did?" Cora exclaimed, lifting her eyebrows and turning to him. Of all people, Cisco was the last person she'd expect to investigate spirits. But he had a sharp instinct for honing in on practical information, and considering his reluctance, she was interested in his take on the books.

"I have to admit I found some interesting stuff-along with a lot of garbage-sorry." He picked up the remains of their lunch and got up to put it in a waste basket, stopping by Frannie's chair and addressing her. "Have you been able to understand how Angel can communicate, what her so-called powers are, and where she 'is' so to speak? Don't we need to know that if we're trying to manage her?"

He had the women's attention. "Think about it." He waved an arm in the air. "She's gone from messing with little things, like paper clips, to flinging around file cabinets, she materializes as an apparition, then backs off. We think she's bound to our house, but Cora saw her at the cemetery." He sat back down, continuing to wave his hands for emphasis as he talked. "There's no consistency-shouldn't we try to explain that?" He held both hands, palms upward.