After Darrell’s performance, Bunce returned to the bookstore, escorted by Chief Jimbo to ensure he locked up the business.
Becca excused herself. “I’ve got one waitress, Susan Malone. That’s Vince’s widow. I naturally sent her home to grieve. But that means I’ve got to hustle.”
That left Alice and Kris in the booth.
Kris checked her watch.
“Mr. and Mrs. Oriel will be here any minute. We’re taking a look at a house they may want to buy.” She glanced at Alice. “Are you okay?”
Alice shook her head. “I can’t believe it. I’ve just gotten here, and found the bookstore, and now it’s closed.”
“Don’t worry. Darrell hasn’t won. Chief Jimbo can close the bookstore for 48 hours, but then he’ll need evidence that there’s a problem with the store, or he’ll need to get a court order to keep it closed for longer. Look, Darrell’s actions are desperate. He’s doing everything he can to stop the sale. But how is he going to do that? The Oriels are buying the bookstore, and once they do, they’ll fix it up, and it’ll reopen, and—”
Someone cleared their throat. Looking up, Alice saw a gray-haired couple in matching windbreakers and thick-rimmed glasses. Even though their faces looked nothing alike, the identical clothes and glasses made them look like twins.
“Mr. and Mrs. Oriel,” Kris said, smiling. “Are you ready to go see another potential home?”
Mr. Oriel rubbed the back of his neck.
Mrs. Oriel nudged him. “Go ahead. Tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Kris looked from Mr. Oriel to Mrs. Oriel and back again.
“It’s about the bookstore…” Mr. Oriel said.
“The ghost.” Mrs. Oriel shook her head. “It changes everything.”
“A ghost?” Kris said. “What ghost?”
“My wife believes—” Mr. Oriel began.
“We believe,” Mrs. Oriel cut in, correcting her husband. “You’re the one that first spotted the one in our old attic. And if it hadn’t been for you playing around with that old Ouija board—”
Mr. Oriel raised both hands in a show of surrender. “Guilty as charged.”
Mrs. Oriel turned back to Kris. “And don’t get us wrong, Miss Cox. We’re open-minded. We can tolerate a ghost.”
“We can,” Mr. Oriel said, nodding, “and we have.”
Mrs. Oriel said, “But not any ghost. Not this ghost.”
Kris’s mouth was an O of confusion. Finally, she managed to say, “What’s wrong with this ghost?”
Mrs. Oriel crossed her arms, frowning, while her husband eyed her nervously.
She said, “I won’t have that man, Vince Malone, hanging around our bookstore forever.”
“Have you—?” Alice joined the conversation, and feeling that, since they were talking about dead people, she had to drop her voice to a whisper. “Have you seen him?”
Mrs. Oriel shook her head. “I haven’t yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”
“She’s very perceptive,” Mr. Oriel said. “Always has been.”
“You’re no slouch, either,” Mrs. Oriel said, and gave her husband a playful nudge.
“I don’t understand,” Kris said. “What does this all mean? Can we do something about the ghost? Uh, get an exorcist?”
Mrs. Oriel snorted. “Exorcists. You’ve watched too many movies, Miss Cox. No, ghosts simply don’t wander off if a priest tells them to. Ghosts stick around until their unfinished business is—is—”
Her husband offered the missing word: “Finished, my dear?”
She smiled at him. “Yes.”
“But then…” Kris said in a small voice. “This means…”
Mr. Oriel nodded. “I’m afraid so. We’ll have to pull out of the deal. We can’t buy Blithedale Books, after all.”