Final Call Read Online Free PDF Page A

willing
suspension of disbelief a little too far. You pushed me right out of the
moment.”
    The ghost pondered her comment. “Really? It pushed you out of the moment?”
    Mary nodded. “Yes. I was right there
with you. Feeling it,” she emphasized by patting her heart. “But
that whole ingénue thing.”
    The ghost sighed, deeply, and dropped
her chin. “You’re probably correct,” she agreed. “I’ll rewrite it.”
    Smiling, Mary cautiously walked up to
the stage. “So, during the act before this one,” she said. “Do you recall who
the villain is?”
    The ghost’s face lit up. “Of course,”
she said. “I know exactly who did it.”
    Mary’s heart leapt. Well, this murder case will be a piece of
cake. “ Do you mind if I bring the Chief of Police over to hear what you’re
going to say?” she asked.
    The ghost nodded graciously, “Of
course, the more the merrier.”
    Bradley had been standing across the
theater, watching Mary as she conversed with empty space. A few months ago he
would have immediately characterized her as a nut case or a con woman. But, in
the short few months he had known her, Mary had opened up a whole new,
unbelievable world beyond this life to him.
    “Oh, Bradley,” she called. “Could you
come over here for a moment please?”
    Bradley hurried over to her side and
Mary placed her hand on his. Through some miraculous synergy, when Mary touched
him, he was able to see the same spirits she could see. He looked up on the
stage and saw the spirit of Faye McMullen reclining on the curtains.
    “Faye is going to tell us what happens
in the act prior to this one,” Mary explained meaningfully. “She is going to
let us know who the villain is.”
    “Well, I’d like that very much,”
Bradley said. “Please, continue.”
    Faye stood up and walked over to the
side of the stage, carrying the rope with the noose. She slid her head inside
the loop and slowly started to rise into the air, the rope straightening above
her.
    She looked down at the audience, her
arms spread gracefully to the sides, her legs mimicking a ballet dancer on
pointe. “This is my final call,” she said in a stage whisper. “This is my end.
And as I take my final breath, I call out the name of my executioner.”
    The rope tightened around her neck and
she moved her arms, pointing to the audience. “Envy,” she choked out. “Insecurity. Jealousy. Ingratitude. Stupidity.”
    Her last words were gasped out, “These
are what killed me.”
    She took a deep shuddering breath, her
body spasmed for a moment and finally hung limp.
    Mary and Bradley stared at her and then
turned to each other. “But…” Mary began.
    “What did you think?” Faye’s voice rang
out across the theater.
    They turned to the stage. Faye still
hung in the noose, her eyes wide, her face filled with pride. “Made you cry,
didn’t I?” she crowed.
    “But you didn’t tell us who murdered
you,” Mary said.
    Faye shrugged, sending the rope swaying
gently. “It doesn’t matter who, it only matters why. They were all jealous of
me.”
    “It really does matter who,” Bradley
insisted. “We need to catch your murderer.”
    “Besides,” Mary added. “It makes the
plot line so much more interesting.”

Chapter Five

 
    Bradley walked Mary back to her car,
their feet crunching in the crisp, frozen snow. “I’m sorry I dragged you out in
this cold,” he said, taking her arm and helping over a high snow drift next to
the curb. “This has been a total waste of your time.”
    Mary could hear the polite distance in
his voice and knew that her actions had put it there. But, really, how could
she have an honest, open relationship with him when she couldn’t be honest and
open?
    Mary pulled her keys out of her car and
unlocked the Roadster, and then she turned back to him, leaning against the
car. “Hey, no problem,” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “Besides, I don’t
think it was a waste of time. When Faye realizes that being