Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk

found him waiting for me in the wicker swing on my front porch. Good, old, reliable Jon. He wasn't making trouble for me and my sister. He doesn't make me feel like I'm on a roller coaster. I was so happy to see him I threw my arms around his neck.
    "Hey, what'd I do to deserve that?" he asked, grinning. "Tell me quick. Whatever it is I'll do it again."
    "Can't it be as simple as I'm glad to see you? Mama's adjusting so well at the nursing home. She's in her element out there. A regular belle of the ball. And I'm feeling pretty good about it."
    " I’m glad to hear this, Ashley. I was hoping you’d show up. Want to go out and get a bite? The rain is letting up."
    "Sure, just let me grab a quick shower and change into some fresh clothes ."
    "I'll wait for you out here. It's peaceful and the rain has cooled things off."
    "Well, at least let me bring you a glass of wine."
    "I won't refuse that."

    "Have you got other jobs lined up?" I asked. I studied his profile as he drove. He had on a casual Rugby shirt with tan slacks. He looked nice, and he smelled good. Now why can't I fall for him, I asked myself, instead of an impossible homicide detective who makes me crazy?
    "I've got some jobs lined up, yes, and don't you worry, you'll get something too. I'm watching out for you."
    He took the drawbridge across the Intracoastal Waterway, followed the causeway that split Harbour Island down the middle, then crossed Banks Channel on yet a second bridge, touching down on Wrightsville Beach. The Oceanic Restaurant was located at a pier that jutted out into the ocean. By now the rain had let up, but humidity clung to our hair and clothing as we walked from the car. Fog loomed over the ocean. From a distant buoy, a foghorn echoed forlornly. The sea was rough tonight. In the darkness, powerful waves pounded the beach. There would be riptide warnings in the morning but that wouldn't keep the surfers out. Someone would drown. It happened every fall.
    As we scurried up the ramp to the restaurant, Jon said, "The latest report is the hurricane will bypass us. The weather forecasters say it'll skirt Wilmington and move on to Nags Head. Remember how much damage Fran did? Some of the beach houses she destroyed will never be rebuilt."
    "I feel safer on the mainland with the barrier islands between me and the storms. But your house is right out here in the open and surrounded by water. Doesn't that worry you?"
    "Sure, it does. But I've been lucky so far and maybe my luck will hold. Look at it this way, Ashley, when it's not storming, I live in paradise."
    Looking over the menu, we decided to share the Captain's Birthday Sampler, a selection of fish and seafood pan-fried in butter. I ordered a cup of She Crab soup to start.
    "Tell me what you know about Sherman Warner," I said. "Melanie and I saw him and Muffie at Elijah's and she warned me he might be dangerous. And Teddy says Reggie had something on him."
    "Guess they're referring to that old business about some shady stocks."
    "Melanie indicated he was involved in some insider trading scheme. Did everyone know about it?" I wondered if knowledge of Sherman's troubles was widespread. "I don't remember myself. I was still in high school and I wouldn't have been interested."
    "Thanks a lot for making me feel old." But he grinned. "Not many people knew."
    "But you did."
    "I heard from a friend at his brokerage house that Sherman pushed some worthless stocks that lost Reggie money. If Reggie had filed a complaint with the S.E.C., at the very least Sherman would have had compliance problems and no one would have hired him. Worst case scenario, he'd have gone to prison."
    "But do you think he'd have killed Reggie over that?"
    "To save his own skin? Who knows? I don't know what makes Sherman tick. He's always 'on' when I see him."
    "That's the way he comes across to me too. Everything's staged and phony and I wonder if he's on uppers , he's so hyper. So if he did go after Reggie, then Shelby just happened to be in the way, so she had to die too." I flashed back to my scenario of Shelby's fatal fall down the staircase.
    "Someone killed them, Ashley," Jon said soberly, "and now Mirabelle's dead too. I've been trying to convince myself whoever killed Reggie and Shelby was long gone from this town years ago, but with Mirabelle's death, I can't fool myself any longer ."
    "That's what I've been thinking. The three murders are connected. Whoever killed Mirabelle killed Reggie and Shelby, too. Why doesn't