That morning, Kelsey beat Liam downstairs. When he dressed and came down for work, she was reading the newspaper. The sacrificial murder of the goat was the lead story.
“Poor goat,” Kelsey said softly. She turned, leaning against the counter, and told him, “Yesterday, Katie took me by the dolphin center, and we spoke with Betty, the director there. I think the dolphin in back did save Avery. I’m pretty sure it’s a dolphin we called Captain Morgan, and my mom was instrumental in saving him years ago. Isn’t that amazing?”
He reached for a coffee cup. “Amazing, and amazingly good—for a change,” he said.
She looked down at the paper again, a small smile on her face. “Well, the coffee is good, too. Bartholomew brewed it.”
He nearly dropped his cup. He forgot all about the coffee. He set the cup down and turned to Kelsey. “What?”
“She sees me, old fellow. I told you she would,” Bartholomew said. Liam frowned, not seeing him. He walked to the entrance to the dining room. The ghost was comfortably seated at the table, his feet up on the next chair as he read from Cutter Merlin’s book.
He carefully looked back at Kelsey. “You—see a ghost?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Describe him,” Liam said skeptically.
“He’s very handsome, actually. And quite charming,” Kelsey said.
“Thank you!” Bartholomew called.
Kelsey walked to stand in the doorway with Liam. “Great hat, white hose, buckled shoes…brocade coat, waistcoat, fantastic poet’s shirt. Really, Liam, you should have introduced us at the very beginning.”
“I was supposed to tell you that we have a friendly neighborhood ghost?” he asked.
Kelsey smiled and walked back into the kitchen. “He’s an amazing ghost.”
Liam caught her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. “You really see him? And hear him…and talk with him?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“And you weren’t…afraid?”
Her smile deepened. “Well, I did have a bit of a start, but I began to see him slowly…but no, I’m not afraid. I’m thrilled to know him. It means that there really is more,” she said softly.
He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Well, good, then.”
“I really wish I could see my mom, that’s all.”
“None of us, including Bartholomew, really understand how it works, who stays, and why,” he said to her.
She nodded. “I understand. I’m still—glad.”
He leaned to kiss her lightly. She moved against him.
He eased back, knowing he had to go to work. “You’ve heard from Avery?”
“Yes, he’s doing well. David is going to drive up with Sean and pick him up—and Vanessa, of course. They’ll be back by early this evening.”
“Good,” Liam told her. “All right, I’m out of here. I’m going to go over and tear Gary White’s place apart, give the guys in Forensics some time to work the computer picture and to track down that number that was calling you. Keep in touch.”
He started out, then came back. “Kelsey?”
“Yes?
“Do me a huge favor. Stay locked in. Don’t go visit the dolphin, don’t get your mail—stay locked in, please?”
“Liam, it’s broad daylight—”
“Just today, please, Kelsey. Bartholomew is with you. Handsome and charming, right?”
She laughed. “Are you jealous of a ghost?”
“He should be!” Bartholomew called.
“Handsome and charming is in love, did he tell you? Her name is Lucinda, and they like to haunt the streets together,” Liam told her.
“Lovely. Go to work. I’ll stay in. I’ll be fine. I have a lot of reading and a whole lot of looking to do.”
“A needle in a haystack,” Liam said.
Kelsey smiled. “I have a few ideas,” she assured him. “The religious angle. All paths to God. Hey, I haven’t found it yet. I’m thinking about a few things. I think that it all fits in together. I’ll call you as soon as I have found it.”
“Bartholomew,” he called.
“I’ll be here, I’ll be here!” Bartholomew assured him.
He left the house at last. His first stop: Gary White’s apartment.
Kelsey sat at the dining-room table with Bartholomew, going over everything with him and wondering if truth and lies and perception weren’t the same thing. Was she really talking to a ghost? Was it a mass hallucination? Had they all hypnotized one another?
She preferred the concept that she was carrying on a conversation with a charming ghost named Bartholomew.
“Well, was it worth it? He almost dropped his cup when I mentioned that you had brewed the coffee,” Kelsey said.
Bartholomew laughed. “Ah, yes, the look on his face. Well, he deserved it. He was the worst skeptic in that group. Poor boy, though. He never had a cup of coffee.”
“And it really is excellent,” Kelsey said.
“Thank you.”