Spirits, Stilettos, and a Silver Bustier Read online

  “Do you know a Sadie?” I asked, cringing on the inside. This was so awkward, but I couldn’t ignore the message.

  “Who are you?” The owner took a step back, eyeing me with suspicion.

  “Just a customer. I swear.” I stood up straight and squared my shoulders. “I’m a medium, and sometimes spirits communicate with me. Right now Frances is telling me Sadie left the stove on. Smoke is filling your kitchen.”

  “What?” Ruby frowned and gave me a look of total confusion. Then horror filled her big brown eyes as she clasped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God!”

  A second later, she spun and ran out of the back room.

  “That was kinda blunt,” Jade said, her eyes crinkling at the edges. She always seemed to find me amusing.

  I shrugged. “She needed to hear it.”

  “No doubt.”

  I put the white dress down and backed up, ready to go. “These dresses are gorgeous, but none of them are speaking to—” My eye caught a silver-beaded dress hanging on a rack in the corner. Something about it caused a physical draw and I moved forward.

  “Pyper?” Jade asked, concern in her tone.

  “Hold on.” The top of the dress was a lace-up bustier. The bottom was a straight skirt that stopped a few inches above the knee and was overlaid with elaborate bead fringe. “It’s perfect,” I breathed.

  Jade came up behind me. “It’s gorgeous.”

  I ran a light hand down the front, letting my fingers linger on the beads.

  “Try it on,” Jade urged and nudged me.

  I knew as soon as I touched the dress it was mine. It was just a feeling, a deep-seated knowledge that it was somehow meant for me. Like when you see someone across the room and have an instant attraction. That was me when I looked at the dress. I laughed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I’m just a little enamored with it.” I pulled the dress from the rack and strode back to the dressing room. In no time, I had the dress on and it felt… perfect.

  “Get out here,” Jade said after a few minutes. “I’m dying to see what you look like.”

  I stuffed my feet back into my stilettos and then strolled out into the common area.

  “Oh my,” Jade said, her eyes wide and her tone hushed. “You’re beautiful.”

  I grinned and stood once again in front of the three-way mirror. The reflection that stared back at me positively glowed with joy. The dress was sexy, unique, and felt like it had been made for me. “This is the one.”

  I turned back to Jade, but I caught movement from the corner of my eye and glanced around, finding no one.

  “Uh, Pyper,” Jade said hesitantly.

  “Yeah?”

  She pointed to the mirror. “Do you see what I do?”

  Frowning, I followed her gaze. Then my mouth dropped open in pure shock. Standing right beside me in the mirror was Julius, the sexy ghost I’d made out with at a Halloween party three months ago.

  Chapter 2

  “Julius?” I forced the word out, my voice high-pitched and not at all like my normal low register.

  His gaze met mine, longing and regret filling his dark eyes.

  “You see him too?” Jade asked.

  I nodded, taking in the man I’d been dreaming about ever since I’d last seen him. Ever since he’d kissed me with more passion than I’d ever known was possible. He had intense onyx eyes, shoulder-length dark wavy hair, and a five-o’clock shadow to die for. “Where have you been?”

  He shook his head, scanning my body from head to toe.

  I smiled at the appreciation in his eyes. “You approve?”

  Not saying a word, he nodded, and in the next second he vanished from the mirror. I glanced around, frantically searching for him. But the only person there was Jade. All the hope and excitement of seeing him again fled, leaving me totally deflated. A sudden weight settled over my heart, and I pressed my hand to my chest as if I were trying to hold myself together. What was wrong with me? Julius was a ghost for goodness’ sake.

  “Holy cow,” Jade breathed.

  I turned to her, swallowing the frustration lodged in my throat. It’s not like she’d never seen a ghost before. Hell, she’d even seen him before. “What?”

  “He’s smokin’ hot.”

  Right. I sighed. “He is, isn’t he?”

  “Too bad he’s dead.”

  And there it was. I’d broken up with my boyfriend Ian months ago and the only man I really wanted to date wasn’t even alive. Although when I’d made out with him, he’d certainly appeared to be one of the living. He’d been a witch when he was alive, and for some reason that meant he could appear in solid form even if it was only for short bursts of time. Shit crackers. I closed my eyes and rubbed at my temple.

  “Sorry,” Jade said, gently guiding me back toward the dressing room. “That wasn’t very sensitive of me.”

  I let out a bark of laughter. “No, but it’s true. He is dead. Hard to date a man without a pulse.”

  “At least you have a date with Tyler. He’s not hard on the eyes, either.”

  I shook my head sadly. “I have to cancel. I got a creep vibe from him before he left.”

  “Damn.” She patted me on the arm, her eyes full of pity.

  “Stop it.”

  “What?”

  “Reading my emotions.” I shrugged her off, hating she was privy to my moment of weakness. My life was exactly as I wanted it. Mostly. ’Cause I sure as heck wasn’t one of those girls sitting around waiting for a man to make me happy. I did my best to keep my tone light. “I know you don’t invade my emotions on purpose, and normally I don’t care, but the way you’re looking at me is pissing me off. I’ll live.” I added a forced smile for good measure.

  She bit her lip as her face flushed in mild embarrassment. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and concentrated. I knew from experience she was erecting some sort of emotional barrier. When she was done, she opened her eyes and gave me a weak smile. “Sorry. I know it’s an invasion. Sometimes it just happens when I’m not paying attention. I’ll try harder to keep it under control.”

  “Really. It’s okay.” I hadn’t wanted to make her feel bad. After becoming a medium, I knew firsthand what it was like to be saddled with a gift. It was hard enough having guides speak to me periodically. Being battered by everyone’s emotions all the time must suck donkey balls. “It’s all right. I’m just a little touchy after seeing Julius.”

  “You’re a godsend!” Ruby exclaimed as she hurried into the dressing area. “Thank the heavens you were here.” She came over and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tight.

  “Um…” I hugged her back, not sure what else to do.

  “Honestly, I have no idea what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here. My daughter was able to go in and get the stove turned off before we had a major disaster on our hands. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  I pulled away and smiled. “Just knowing I was able to help is thanks enough. I’m so glad everything’s all right.”

  Her wide blue eyes misted. Then she glanced at the dress I had on. “Are you getting this?”

  I nodded. “It’s lovely.”

  “Then I’ll thank you with a generous discount.” She gave me another hug and then bustled out of the room.

  “That was sweet,” Jade said.

  “Yeah.” Still, there was a ball of unease in my stomach. And I didn’t think it had anything to do with seeing Julius again. There was something about this shop… I gestured toward the dressing room. “Let me get out of this so we can pay and go get lunch.”

  Jade nodded, but her expression was troubled as she turned to retreat out of the dressing area.

  She was worried about me. Well hell. I was just going to have to do something about that.

  ***

  Aft
er an excellent lunch at Acme Oyster House, Jade and I parted ways. She was headed home to catch up on some computer work, but for once, I had nothing scheduled. Holly, my assistant manager, had the café covered, and I didn’t have any body-painting appointments scheduled.

  It was rare when I found myself without any commitments. And the day was glorious. Cool, but warm enough in the sunshine. I enjoyed every bit of it as I strolled by the shops on Royale. I was in such a good mood that I decided I needed that sheer dress from Ruby’s. Price be damned. I’d saved money from the discount she’d given me earlier, right?

  I deserved something scandalous. If I couldn’t have a date, at least my clothes would make me feel sexy. Chuckling at my ridiculous rationalization, I strolled back into Ruby’s, ready to burn up my credit card.

  The place was eerily quiet, devoid of customers, and Ruby was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was working on the stock she’d shown us in the back. As I ventured forward, a tingle of unease started at the base of my neck and sent a chill through my entire body.

  Something was very wrong.

  “Ruby?” I called.

  Nothing.

  “Hello?”

  She’s gone. Tru’s sad voice echoed in my mind.

  “Like gone home?” I asked, praying that’s what she meant.

  No. Her light has been taken. Her soul is gone.

  I ran. Bursting through the door to the storage room, I let out a loud gasp and then came to an abrupt stop. “Ruby! No.”

  The woman who’d looked to be in her late thirties was lying crumpled on the floor, her glassy eyes staring at nothing. There were fresh scratches on her face and a ring of bruises around her neck.

  She’d been strangled.

  I stumbled backward into the shop, tears filling my eyes. “Do you know what happened?” I asked Tru.

  She’s gone. No one else is here.

  That didn’t make a lot of sense. People who’d recently died rarely moved on that fast. They didn’t know they should. And for no other spirits to be around seemed almost impossible. This was the French Quarter. There were spirits everywhere.

  I fumbled with my phone, and after almost dropping it twice, I finally got my fingers to work. The phone rang three times before the emergency responder answered.

  “Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”

  “I’m at Ruby’s Vintage Fashions on Royale. You need to send an ambulance. It looks like Ruby’s been strangled.”

  “Can I get your name, please?”

  “Pyper Rayne.” I pulled the phone away and grimaced at it. Honestly, this was an emergency. Couldn’t we do the interview later? “Please hurry. It doesn’t look like she survived.”

  “How do you know the victim?”

  “I’m just a customer. I came in to buy a dress and found her in the back room. An hour and a half ago she was just fine and now…” A sob got caught in the back of my throat. Ruby was dead.

  “You were with the victim an hour and a half ago?”

  “Yes, dammit. I was in her shop. Then I went to lunch. I stopped back in to buy a dress I looked at earlier. Can you please send someone?”

  “The first responders are on their way, ma’am. Please stay on the line with me until they arrive.”

  I slumped back against the checkout counter and swiped my hand across my eyes.

  “Ma’am?”

  “Yes?”

  “Is the victim breathing?”

  I sucked in a shaky breath. “No. I don’t think so.”

  “Okay, do you know CPR?”

  “I took a class in high school. That was twelve years ago.” I remembered something about tilting the head back to clear the windpipe, but not much else.

  “Okay, please check the victim’s pulse.”

  “All right.” I ran to the back and dropped to my knees. Ruby hadn’t moved, but I hadn’t expected her to. Tru had said her spirit was gone. I already knew there was nothing that was going to help her. I pressed two fingers to her wrist and waited. “No. I’m not finding a pulse.”

  “All right, hold tight.”

  Should I try CPR anyway? Could I really just sit here and do nothing while I waited? What if Tru was wrong?

  The sirens interrupted my thoughts and I jumped up, running for the front of the store. “She’s back here!” I waved both hands at the fireman who’d burst through the front door. “In the back.”

  He hurried by me as another guy scanned the store and then followed him.

  “The firemen are here,” I told the operator.

  “Okay, thank you. Have a good day, Ms. Rayne.” The line went dead.

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and scowled at it. Have a good day? Was she out of her ever-loving mind? Someone had died!

  There was nothing you could’ve done, Tru said.

  I nodded absently. “I know.”

  An ambulance had pulled to a stop outside the store and the EMTs were rolling in the gurney when a policeman arrived. He stood near the front door, scanning the store. “Ms. Rayne?”

  “Yes?” My voice cracked a little and I cleared my throat.

  “You were the one who called in the homicide?”

  “Yes,” I said again. “I just found her.”

  He nodded and made a note. “Please step outside for a moment.”

  Clutching my bag from earlier with both hands, I passed him on my way out onto the busy sidewalk.

  He gripped my upper arm as if guiding me… or apprehending me. I narrowed my eyes and stared at his hand on my arm.

  “Is that necessary?” I asked.

  “I just have a few questions for you.” He tugged me through the door and pulled me to the side.

  A crowd had already gathered and was rubbernecking to see what was going on.

  “I heard there was a murder,” a round woman with a mountain of Mardi Gras beads around her neck said loudly. “Is she the one who did it?” Her eyes went wide as she stared at me.

  I glared.

  “I bet it was a crime of passion. Cheating most likely.” The woman raised her voice and called, “Was she sleeping with your husband? Is that why you offed her?” There was a low murmur that filtered through the crowd and a few nods of agreement. Another woman pointed her phone at me, taking multiple pictures. Freakin’ tourists with nothing better to do.

  “Will you let go of me?” I yanked my arm from the officer’s grip.

  He raised one eyebrow, irritated. “Are you going to be difficult?”

  “What? No. I’m the one who called you guys.” Holy cripes. No wonder everyone talked shit about our boys in blue.

  “Fine.” He flipped his notebook open. “At what time did you arrive?”

  I glanced at my phone. “About fifteen minutes ago.”

  He nodded and then spent the next ten minutes asking me the same ten questions over and over again, no doubt trying to see if I would change my story. By the time the EMTs rolled Ruby’s body out of the store, my feet were aching and I was one more question from punching the cop in the nose. Because that would be helpful.

  I had to get out of there. “Can I go now?”

  He shoved his card at me. “Call us if you think of anything else you want to tell us.”

  Like what? That he needed to lose thirty pounds and he might want to pick up a nose-hair trimmer next time he was out? I gritted my teeth and nodded.

  The crowd parted like the Red Sea as I stumbled down the street, my feet screaming. I needed a hot bath and a bottle or three of wine.

  Chapter 3

  By the time I made it to my apartment on Bourbon Street, I was carrying my shoes. There’s no denying how disgusting it was to walk the streets of the French Quarter barefoot, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. My arches were screaming and there was a blister the size of Texas on my heel.


  My place was above the Grind, the café I owned and managed, and as I walked through the front door of my apartment, I breathed deeply, taking in the faint coffee aroma. The scent never failed to soothe me, constantly reminding me that the café downstairs was everything I’d worked so hard for the past seven years. And it was all mine.

  After stashing my dresses in my bedroom, I hurried to the bathroom and filled the tub just enough to soak my feet. As I sat there, I pulled out my phone and called Kane.

  Voice mail.

  I hit another number and when Jade answered, some of my tension eased.

  “Hey, you,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “Ruby’s dead.” The words came out choked.

  “What?” Her voice was high-pitched and full of disbelief. “We were just with her. What happened?”

  I told her what I’d walked in on, doing my best to stay calm and not get choked up again. I’d hardly known Ruby, but finding her like that had been… traumatizing.

  “I’m coming over.” I heard rustling on the other end.

  “No. You don’t have to do that. I’m fine really. I’ve got my feet soaking in the tub and then I think I’m going to go bake. I just want to relax and put everything out of my head.”

  “Well, if you’re sure.” She didn’t sound convinced.

  “Really. I’m okay. See you in the morning?”

  “Of course. But make sure you call if you need Kane or me. He’s at the club tonight.”

  “Will do.” I paused and clutched the phone tighter. “And thanks for offering. It means a lot.”

  “You know I’d do anything for you. Just like you would and have for me.” It was her turn to pause. “I hate that I can’t do anything from here.”

  I chuckled. Jade always was a Mrs. Fix It. “I’ll be okay. And if not, I’ll let you make the therapist appointment.”

  “You better believe I’ll be holding you to that.”

  “There was never any doubt in my mind.”

  ***

  Even though I had to get up at the ass-crack of dawn every day, the café was still the one place I felt truly happy. It was my peace, and after the day I’d had, the urge to do something, anything, in the small kitchen in the back of my shop was overwhelming. After I doctored my blister, I stuffed my feet into my most comfortable shoes and then took off downstairs to play in the bakery kitchen.