Never Say Dye (A Sibyl Potts Cozy Mystery, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

opened the door to find the head ghost hunter on my step.
    “James, what can I do for you?”
    “Oh my goodness,” the man said in a dramatic tone, stepping forward. “I feel them. May I come in?”
    I hesitated, remaining in front of the man, so he was barred from entering my home.
    “You feel what, exactly?”
    “Spirits,” James said, but his voice was soft, and his attention seemed to be far away.
    “There are no spirits here,” I said firmly. “You came to tell me my home was haunted?”
    James shook his head. “No, I came to ask you something, but I’m telling you, I feel them here. Truly. I would love to come in.”
    I sighed and stepped out of the way.
    James walked directly to the center of the room. He stretched his hands out and spun slowly. “I wish I had brought my equipment,” he said. “This feels like ghosts.”
    “Who you gonna call?” Max said, and James opened his eyes and glared at the cockatoo.
    “I get that from enough humans; I didn’t think I’d have to hear it from a bird.”
    “You’d be surprised what you hear from that bird,” I said, closing the door and taking another mouthful of oatmeal.
    “Really, I have to come back here later, and bring my equipment. Someone is here  more than one, I think.”
    I let out a long sigh. “What did you need to ask me?”
    “Oh, yes,” James said, clapping his hands together. “I was wondering if I could have you come back up to the boarding house with me. I have my camera set up, and I wanted to interview you.”
    “Me?” I asked. “Why?”
    “Well, I know some odd things have happened here, or rather, at the boarding house. And, you know, losing poor Sue. Strange goings-on have been happening, and I’d like to ask you about some of them.”
    I pursued my lips. “Look, it’s not strange in a paranormal sense,” I said. I took my bowl into the kitchen and laid it in the sink. When I returned to the living room, James was by the front door, his hand resting on the knob.
    “Please, just agree to come up to the boarding house. I’d like to speak with you and Mr. Buttons together.”
    “Fine,” I said. “Give me some time to get ready.”
    After he left, I turned and headed to my small bedroom. I dressed quickly in jeans and a sweatshirt. I pulled on some white cotton socks and my old trainers. James was nowhere to be seen, and I guessed correctly that he was waiting for me outside.
    As I shut the door, Max called after me, “What, no goodbye, you old hag?”
    I rolled my eyes and the door clicked shut, and then James and I fell in step with one another and started on the path to the boarding house.
    “How did you get into ghost hunting?” I asked as we walked.
    “Fell into it, I guess you could say,” James said with a shrug. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I was always interested in the paranormal as a kid,” he continued. “My Grandma died when I was young. She lived with us, and every time I went into her room after that, I could feel her there, with me.”
    I looked at the man. He looked as though he believed what he was saying. “I’m sorry about your grandmother,” I said.
    James nodded and then smiled. “Thanks. But like I said, it was a long time ago, and knowing that she was still with me, in that room, it made it all easier, you know? I know we don’t stop existing when we die. I know she was there in that house. She wanted to check on me, to make sure I was okay, so she stuck around. I would do it for my grandkids. I will some day.”
    “You have kids?” I asked, realizing that despite the fact he and his crew had been here for several days already, I knew next to nothing about James.
    The ghost hunter shook his head. “No. At least, not yet. I was almost married, but we called it off before the wedding.”
    “How come?”
    “Just wasn’t working out. She wanted something different out of life than I did.”
    “That happens sometimes,” I said, as memories of my own bitter divorce