Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini: A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

be more interested if I could actually see the little hottie.”
    Emma shook her head in mock disgust and headed for the entrance of the botanical gardens. “Men. Even death doesn’t slow you down.”
    Phil trotted after her. “Hey, hey, hey—in case you haven’t noticed, I’m far from dead.”
    Emma and Phil spent the next couple of hours walking the gardens, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, enjoying their time together. There were many other visitors besides them, including whole families enjoying the long Thanksgiving holiday away from the bustle of city life. It made the two of them think of their own children.
    “How about we all get together for Christmas in Julian?” Phil suggested. “Kelly, my boys, your parents, everyone. Aunt Susan would love it as much as we would.”
    Emma flashed him a big smile. “Ah, you read my mind. It can be the official launch of my cabin.”
    Shortly after Phil and Emma had met—and after she’d proven that Granny had not murdered her husband—Phil and his family had deeded the property once belonging to Ish and Jacob Reynolds to Emma. It was a small parcel directly across from the Bowers ranch. Emma had elected to build a vacation home on what was once Granny’s homestead. Except for interior touches, the “cabin”—a three bedroom, two-story mountain retreat with two fireplaces—was nearly finished. She’d already spent some time there, and her mother had come down to help with the decorating, but Emma had never had her entire family down to Julian. Christmas would be the perfect time. Her mother and Phil’s aunt had become friends, and she had no doubt her father, a retired heart surgeon, would fit right in with Phil’s uncle Glen. And Kelly might enjoy the getaway before returning to her studies.
    “Christmas in Julian? Hotdog!”
    With a start, Emma turned to find the ghost of Granny Apples standing just behind her. She scowled. “‘Hotdog’? Where in the world did you pick up a phrase like that?”
    As Emma talked to thin air, Phil noticed a few folks stare at her as they passed by. He gallantly shifted his position so that they would think she was talking to him. Emma talked so naturally to Granny that she often forgot about the living taking notice. It amused him to be her cover when it came to the spirits, though often the topic of conversation didn’t suit how he wanted strangers to perceive him.
    “I heard it on TV—that show your father watches.”
    Emma knew what show Granny was referring to. It was an old sitcom from the late fifties. Her father loved the show and watched reruns of it almost every afternoon. Granny often watched television in the den with him. She was especially fond of NFL games.
    Although Paul Miller believed in Granny’s existence, he wasn’t keen on the idea of a ghost hanging around his wife and daughter. At first, Emma and her mother, Elizabeth, tried to keep Granny’s presence a secret, but Dr. Miller was not a stupid man, and it wasn’t long before he realized that the ghost of Granny Apples had returned and set up part-time residence in his home. He finally accepted her presence as he might an annoying mother-in-law. In the past year, he and Phil Bowers had had several conversations about it over beers, deciding it was part of loving the women in their lives.
    “You are watching entirely too much TV, Granny.” Emma kept her voice low and looked up at Phil as she spoke, grateful for his willingness to play along.
    “I have a lot of history to catch up on. Seems to be the best way to do it.”
    “ Hotdog is not history. It’s slang, and outdated slang at that.”
    “Whatever.” The ghost drifted off.
    Phil knitted his brows in curiosity. “ Hotdog ?”
    Emma waved a hand at him. “I’ll tell you later.” She followed the image of the ghost.
    “Granny,” Emma hissed at the spirit. “Have you talked anymore with Tessa?” Phil sidled up to Emma and linked an arm through hers, creating an image