The Deadly Dinner #1 - The Beginning Read online

  “Are you sure that it’s not a real person? Maybe we should just call the police—”

  “Dan, I know what a real person looks like. She’s definitely not like us.”

  “Maybe you’re just stressed out. Maybe, what you saw was nana—”

  “It wasn’t nana, Dan,” she said. “I would know nana anywhere. She’s…different. She looked so weird, so frazzled, her face so pale…I don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here.”

  “Relax,” Daniel said and massaged Emmy on the shoulders. “But…it’s your first time seeing a ghost, right? Maybe, it was just a product of being tired and restless and because of everything that happened this evening—“

  “Dan,” she sighed. “I know what I saw, okay? And…it’s really not my first encounter with something like that.”

  “What?” Daniel asked, confused, as he heated the eggplant lasagna that Emmy made earlier. Emmy never told him anything about ghosts before.

  Emmy took a deep breath. She stood up, drank some water, and petted Wendy before looking out the window, stirring up old memories inside her. “You know,” he said, “I’m not this big believer of ghosts but when…when my mother died, you know how that affected me, right?” She looked at Dan. “It wasn’t the easiest of times. There were nights when I would just go and talk to her; even wanting her to answer me back just so I’d know that she was still around. Anyway, one night I decided to spend some time in her study…you know that place; we used to play around there when we were kids.” She and Dan shared a smile as Dan was now plating the lasagna.

  “Anyway…that night I just wanted to spend some time there, maybe just so I’d be filled with her memory, you know what I mean? Then, surprise! I saw this woman sitting on her chair, looking out the window. The thing is…I knew it wasn’t a real woman. I’d know a real woman, a real person, anywhere. For a couple of seconds, I just stood there not knowing what to do, and then I decided to check out who it was and voila! She disappeared just like that.

  “I didn’t really know how to feel but somehow, I felt betrayed… because, you know, I hoped that I could talk to my mom. I wished that we could catch up, just be together again…even for just a few seconds, but I don’t know…I guess, she just wanted me to know that she’s okay, if that even makes sense.” She sighed, “I don’t know, Dan, but I think the woman I saw earlier…no, she’s not even a woman, she seemed like a girl… like she was in her teens or something. And she looked sad and harassed and…it felt like she wanted to tell me something. She even called my name, you know? She knows me. There’s a reason why she’s here and that’s why I want to find her.”

  Daniel took a deep breath after eating some lasagna. He drank some water and spoke. “You know, I kind of wish I could see nana, too,” he said, “but I guess it’s also okay that she’s not showing herself because maybe, that’s a sign that she’s at peace.”

  “But the girl—“

  “I know it’s bothering you. It could really bother anyone, you know? But I guess… you just have to let it go for now.”

  “But what if I could help her?” She asked. “What if…what if the reason why she showed herself to me was because there’s something I could help her with?”

  “But you said you don’t know her, so how could she ask help from you if you guys don’t know each other?”

  “I don’t know, Dan,” she said, “I’m not a ghost expert. Maybe I should just see a medium or a ghost communicator or whatever.”

  “Hey, hey,” he said and reached for her hand. “Look, tonight’s been eventful, but maybe we should just let it go, okay?” He said, “It’s late, we have work tomorrow—“

  “Fine,” she cut him off. “Fine, I’ll just…let me wash the dishes.”

  “The dishes can wait.”

  “No, I want to.”

  He took a deep breath, stood up, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Okay, but don’t take too long, okay? It’s late.”

  She smiled meekly and nodded. “Okay,” she said and watched Daniel walk back to their room. She took Wendy from the floor and let her sit on her lap. Wendy purred as Emmy petted her, thinking about ghosts of the past and how she could move forward this way.

  It’s never easy finding who your target could be.

  Okay, okay, that sounded wrong. I chose to show myself to Emmy because I know she could help me…but I have to find a way to show myself to her again without scaring her. Her husband doesn’t believe in me, anyway, or he refuses to believe in me.

  I can’t blame him. I mean, you really can never expect everyone to see you when you’re a ghost, just like you can’t expect everyone to see you and look at you when you’re still alive.

  All my life (excuse the pun) I’ve been invisible to a lot of people. I was the kind of girl who wasn’t pretty enough, who wasn’t popular enough…who wasn’t this and that. You know what I mean?

  And now I have to use all my might just to make someone see me so she could help me.

  I may not be alive anymore—but it doesn’t mean that I no longer have a place in this world.

  Everyone will soon know that.

  I’ll make sure of it.

  ***

  Chapter 8

  You’ve Got To Help Me

  Daniel went to work early the following morning so Emmy decided that she’d just clean up the house. Cleaning the house is one of those things that keep her sane, especially in times like this.

  She fed Wendy her favorite cat food, wiped the shelves, and went on mopping the house. She also spent some time fixing the bed and organizing the books in an alphabetized manner. Those books kept her company, especially in times when she feels alone in the house. They take her to places she’s never been to before.

  She also took a hot shower and fixed herself so she could calm down. Last night’s events were still embedded in her mind. At half past ten the doorbell rang and she was surprised, because she knew that Daniel was at work and no one sent her a message about visiting her today. She took one last look at herself in the mirror then went down the stairs and opened the main door.

  Emmy was all the more surprised when she saw Bree, Angeline’s sister and the woman who bumped into her last night, standing outside the door. Her hair was in a ponytail, wearing a sunflower printed cap-sleeved dress and looking every bit as frazzled as she could be.

  “Bree, right?” Emmy asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “Can we talk?”

  Emmy was confused. She knew she had nothing to do with Bree or Angeline or any of the events of the past evening. She took a deep breath. “Come in,” she said, the hesitation evident in her voice. “Let me just get some drinks…” She then went to the kitchen to make some fruit juice for her and Bree, contemplating whether she could call Daniel and let him know about this or not. She then decided that she shouldn’t, because she didn’t want him to get worried and in a way, she also wanted to know what Bree was doing in her place.

  She then got out of the kitchen seconds later, a tray of fruit juice and strawberry filled cookies in her hands. She handed Bree a glass and poured some juice in. “Feel free to eat,” she said.

  “Thanks.” Bree said.

  Emmy watched Bree drink some juice. Somehow she looked frail; like she was only trying to be strong for today. Emmy wondered some more about what Bree was doing there when she could just spend time at her sister’s wake—or something close to that.

  “So…” Emmy said after drinking some juice herself. “May I ask what you’re doing here?”

  Bree looked at her for a couple of seconds and didn’t say anything.

  “Bree?”

  Bree took a deep breath. “Sorry, I was just…” she sighed. “I need your help.”

  “My… help?”

  “Look,” Bree said, “I know what you’ve done for this town. Heck, everyone does. And…and I thought, maybe you could help me figure out what happened to my sister.”

  “Wasn’t it just food poisoning?”

>   “Yeah, that’s what the authorities are saying,” Bree answered, “but…but what if there’s something more?”

  “What do you mean something more?” Emmy asked.

  “I don’t know.” Bree said and sighed, “Like maybe…maybe, Tyler did this?”

  “What?!” Emmy asked, surprised. Where was all this coming from and why would Bree think that she could help her with this? “Look, I really have no idea what you’re doing here, but I think its best that you go home. Spend time with your sister for the last few days; spend time with your family—”

  “But you helped other people before, right? Or do you just help people when you know your life is at stake?” she asked. “Remember when your friend was killed and you did all that you could to figure out what happened? Or when you had that tryst with Frank Holt and you figured out that he was actually married? Or—“

  “Enough,” Emmy stated. She really didn’t want to look back to that point in her life anymore. “What is this about, anyway?” she asked. “I mean, if you need help, why don’t you ask the police?”

  “You know how incompetent they could be,” she said. “You see how they decide that the first conclusion they come to is the reason why things happen. They fail to actually study the case, or have you forgotten how Lena McMahon played you and made you feel so stupid and betrayed you?”

  “I said, enough about that,” Emmy repeated. “Look, Bree, I’m really sorry about what happened to your sister. She looked really nice—“

  “Everyone says that. She’s like, everyone’s favorite,” she rolled her eyes.

  “And you don’t really like that?”

  “I wouldn’t ask you for help if I didn’t like that or if I hated my sister.”

  “Right,” Emmy muttered, not sure if she should actually believe Bree.

  “Please,” Bree said and reached for Emmy’s hand. Bree’s hands were cold and shaking. “Please, you’ve got to help me. You have to help me prove that Tyler has something to do with this.”

  “And why would I do that?” Emmy asked. “I don’t even know him. It would be unfair for me to do this when I don’t even know him.”

  “You have to help me,” Bree said, “because I’m telling the truth.”

  For a while, Emmy didn’t know what to say. She thought about Annabeth and Matthew. She thought about how Ruby’s hatred made her do the things she did; how Ruby was prompted to kill her own husband…how everything went downhill because of Lena McMahon and Tripp Meyer.

  She wanted nothing to do with this, but here was Bree—someone she didn’t know. She was just someone she just had a brush with last night, asking her for help.

  Emmy wasn’t a saint, but she always believed that if you could help people, then you should do so. She didn’t know what was going on, she didn’t know how things would go on, but she couldn’t just let this go.

  She looked Bree in the eyes and spoke, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  People could always surprise you; sometimes though, you’re no longer sure if you could still be surprised or what.

  Bree had always been tough as a kid.

  I heard that when she was still in California, and some people taunted her for her Latina roots (her mother’s Part-Mexican), she talked to those bullies in fluent Spanish and told them off.

  I heard that when her mother was hesitant about moving to Sky Valley, back when she was 12, she told her mother that she could fly alone. She wasn’t scared—she’ll be okay.

  When she first showed up in our house after years of being in California, you could see that she never really felt awkward or shy—it was as if she knew that she could command anyone with her presence, and that there’s no reason for her to feel small or different from anyone else.

  That’s Bree, you know? What she wants, she gets. What she doesn’t want, she kicks away. That’s always been her pattern—and that will always be her pattern.

  How can I be so sure?

  I just know, okay?

  I just know.

  ***

  Chapter 9

  I Think I Know Who Did This

  “So, how are you? You okay?” Daniel asked Emmy from the other end of the line. He called to check up on her.

  “I’m good,” Emmy said. “Wendy misses you.” She teased as Wendy purled on her legs.

  “Aww, tell the sweet kitty I’ll be home early tonight.”

  “That’s awesome,” Emmy smiled. “And hey, uh…I have something to tell you…”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll just tell you later, okay?” She said and heard the doorbell ringing. “Someone’s outside. I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Alright,” Daniel said. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Emmy then made her way to the front door to see who was outside and got another shock when she saw Tyler, Angeline’s fiancé, outside the door.

  “Oh good lord,” Emmy muttered, “you.”

  “Hi,” Tyler said meekly. “Can I come in?”

  “Please,” Emmy said, though she didn’t really mean it. Why is this house becoming an investigation office? She thought. It’s just so weird. “Can I get you anything?” She asked.

  “Oh no, please, I just…I just wanted to talk to you.” He said.

  “Shouldn’t you be at your fiancée’s wake?”

  “Yeah, but I need to ask you for help,” he said. “Sorry I came up just like this…I just didn’t know what else to do. I thought I’d just see you, and look for your house because of you know…what you’ve already done for this town in the past. I thought you’d be the perfect person to help me—”

  “Why do you think that I could help you? I don’t even know you. Except for last night, we haven’t spent time together before. And…this really isn’t my job.”

  “I know,” he answered. “I’m just…I’m just taking my chances.” He took a deep breath, “I just thought maybe, you could help shed light on this…on Angeline’s death. I know the police already ruled it as food poisoning but I don’t think it’s as simple as that. There’s always something deeper than reasons on the surface, right?”

  She bit her lip. “I get what you’re saying,” she said, “but, Tyler, this is way beyond my control.”

  “I know,” he said, “but I just thought you’d understand.” He went on. “I…I think I know who did this.”

  Emmy was confused. “You think you know who did this?” She asked. “Who do you think, then?”

  “Bree,” he answered. “She’s the only one who could do this, who would do this.”

  “What?” She asked, “Why would you say that? Angeline’s her sister.”

  “You know that blood isn’t always thicker than water,” he told Emmy. “You know how crazy some people get when… when they have ulterior motives.”

  “Ulterior motives? What do you mean?”

  “Look,” he said. “I’ve known Bree all these years, okay? She and I have been friends, together with Angeline and some other girls and…and things haven’t always been a bed of roses for any of us. And… there were some traumatic stuff that happened in the past and maybe, maybe, Bree’s still not over those things. I’ve always suspected that—” He stopped suddenly, “Never mind.”

  “That what?”

  “No, just, ignore I said that,” he said. “The point is that Bree has a lot of motive to do this. I don’t want to think ill of her because you know…she’s Angeline’s sister, and she has also been a good friend to me, to all of us…but, I don’t know. We could all be pushed towards the edge sometimes.”

  “But that’s a grave accusation.”

  “I know,” he said, “but I guess she’d say the same thing about me, if she ever talks to you.”

  Emmy took a deep breath.

  Tyler went on. “I just…I just hope you know that I did love Angeline. Maybe, I wasn’t the best boyfriend. Maybe, things are still tainted by what happened before, but I loved her with all that I could. I don’t have all th
e riches in the world and…sometimes I still think about things that people shouldn’t think of anymore but…but I loved her. I want to seek justice for her. Please,” he was about to cry but pulled back and took a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Emmy, “Please call me.” He then stood up and made his way out of the house.

  Emmy stood up too and didn’t know how to feel. It was definitely one of the craziest days of her life and was made all the more crazy by the loud growls coming from Wendy in the kitchen.

  “What is it, Wendy?”

  Emmy didn’t know that, once more, she was in for the shock of her life.

  Love and hate are on two ends of the spectrum but are similar in such a way that they could make you do things you never thought you’d be able to do in your life.

  Tyler?

  Well, you could say he was the one great love of my young life but now, I feel like he doesn’t actually deserve it.

  He hurt me, humiliated me and betrayed me like that.

  Somehow, he’s at fault, too.

  And…sometimes I feel like he knows more than he lets on.

  Whatever.

  You know, I also feel like, at some point, I’m also glad that Angeline’s gone now because at least I wouldn’t feel like you just used her; or maybe you just used me.

  Ah, don’t mind me. You’ll know everything soon.

  I’ll know everything soon.

  And go on, sweet little Wendy, growl and hiss until your beloved Emmy sees me.

  Read the rest of the 9 chapters and complete the book Deadly Dinner #1

  The Ghosts of Sky Valley Trilogy

  Book 1 - The Deadly Dinner

  Book 2 - Dangerous Teas and Treats

  Book 3 - Into The Unknown

  ***

  About The Author

  William Jarvis loves writing mystery stories. Writing is his passion since he was a child. Now, he shares this gift with everyone through his books. He has been writing several book series and aims to do more as he grows more with his writing.

  Currently, he is traveling the world while he continues to write where his feet take him.

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  The Deadly Dinner – The Beginning

  Part 1 – The Deadly Dinner

  Part 2 – Dangerous Teas & Treats

  Part 3 – Into The Unknown

  The Ghosts Of Sky Valley Cozy Mystery Box Set