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“Do you apologize to all the participants?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“Then why me?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. You seem different somehow. Maybe because you took your friend’s place, whereas the others…”
I arched an eyebrow. “You think the others deserve this fate because they were desperate enough to piss off your boss in some capacity? You might want to mull it over, Albert, because it doesn’t reflect well on you.”
We drove in silence until Albert reached the Castle. I vacated the car without a backward glance.
It was days like this that I was glad Pops was no longer on this plane. I was in for a penny, and now I was in for a pound of flesh.
CHAPTER13
On my way across the bridge, I caught sight of Nana Pratt lurking by her headstone. I hadn’t yet released them from my command of silence. I knew there’d be questions when I did, and I wasn’t ready to answer them. On the other hand, I’d made my bed. Maybe it was time to lie in it.
I abandoned the front porch and made my way to the cemetery. “I command you to speak,” I said.
Nana Pratt glowered at me in stony silence.
“You can talk now.”
She folded her arms. “I realize that. Maybe I don’t want to.”
“I’m sorry I silenced you. I was having a bad day. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“How did you control us like that? I didn’t realize that was a ghost whisperer ability.”
“Because it isn’t. It’s a Lorelei ability.”
“Well, don’t use it again on me. I didn’t enjoy it.”
“I can’t promise I’ll never do it again, but I’ll only do it if absolutely necessary, not because I’m grumpy.”
She considered me. “You should find Ray. He was moping around the pumpkin patch earlier looking sadder than those daisies you left at my grave.”
I glanced at the shriveled flowers. “They didn’t last very long, did they?”
“Like I told you, next time choose gladiolus.”
I left Nana Pratt in the cemetery and went in search of Ray. I found him with the scarecrow, attempting to adjust Buddy’s stuffing. Typical Ray, always trying to make himself useful.
“I command you to speak.”
Ray tossed me a glance and continued working on the stuffing.
“I’m sorry, Ray. I shouldn’t have abused my power like that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. It was a violation of my bodily autonomy. We respect the boundaries you set for the house … most of the time. We may not have a house of our own, but we expect the same level of respect in return.”
“Like I told Nana Pratt, it won’t happen again unless absolutely necessary. I won’t do it for petty reasons.”
Ray patted the scarecrow’s shirt and turned to face me. “I’m going to move Buddy to the area in front of the cemetery. Birds are starting to flock to the moat, and I doubt you want it to become the local watering hole.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say about the incident?”
He sighed. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re capable of, but I do know this—you’re a good person, Lorelei. You have nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to hide. Look at your friend Sullivan. He’s proud to be a prince of hell. He doesn’t pretend to be somebody else.”
