Murder Out By Caster Bridge

Chapter twenty-three

After spending time with Norman, I headed to work. As usual, Melinda wasn't pleased by my lateness. However, like always, she joked about docking my pay. Ray, who was still new, kept going out on errands for Melinda which surprised me.

While I was on my break, I pulled the file that Norman loaned me out of my messenger bag and placed it on the counter, and leaned over. Studying it didn't help anything. The men were all different. Their ages were different, too. Their race was also different. It didn't matter. Aside from them having the pattern of initials, nothing else stood out. So, then, what was this woman doing with these men?

"What are you looking at so intently?" asked Melinda.

"Just some research."

"Does it have to do with the mysterious deaths?"

I nodded. "I shouldn't be involved in this, but there is something off about this whole mess. I know I am missing something. My gut tells me that. And whoever the woman is behind all of this seems to be going after men only."

Melinda jumped up and sat on the counter beside me. "Hmm, if you ask me, it sounds like a succubus."

"A what?"

"A female demon who preys on men and drains them, well, sexually," she said. "It's in mythology."

I looked at her. "Tell me more about them?"

Melinda crossed her legs. "Well, not much to tell. A Succubus goes after men who are lonely and feeds on their live energy."

"Oh! Of course!"

"What?"

"Barry Bloomsdale. He just got divorced."

"Well, yes, but..."

"And Jerry Johnson, he was single, right?"

"And again, yes, but..."

"And Harvey Hunter, he was a widower because he lost his wife."

"Okay, but..."

"But there has to be more. Barry wasn't sad. And according to Norman, neither was Jerry. And I doubt Harvey was either."

"Weston!" The anger in Melinda's tone and surprisingly in her voice startled me and I looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"You realize that a succubus is a myth, right?"

"And I have magic."

"Good point. But even if you are right, you don't have any proof. Maybe you need to look even deeper. Maybe there is some kind of connection between each victim."

"You may be right. But what could it be?"

"You will have to figure that out, but..."

"I know. You want me to be careful."

Suddenly, a female voice whispered in my ear, "Go to Jessica."

I looked around but saw no one. Was this a ghost?

Shaking my head, I gathered the folder up. "I have to go."

"Wait. Your break is almost over."

"I know. But this is important," I said. "I'll make it up later. Promise. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Melinda folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. But don't expect to be paid your full amount."

"That's fair." I left the building and got in my jeep and drove to Caster Apartments.

As soon as I arrived and parked, I was shocked to see flashing police cars and an ambulance. I got out and walked over to a lone woman.

"It's awful. Truly awful. That poor girl. She was only twenty-five." The sad emotions from her were breaking my heart to pieces.

"W-what happened?" I asked softly.

The woman frowned. "The girl had an allergic reaction. They said she did it deliberately. At least, that was what I heard from the police."

"Why would she do it? Do they have any proof?"

"It's the police. They are trustworthy. If they say she did it herself, then that is what happened." She walked away.

I sighed. What was wrong with the people in this town? Do they not question anything?

I then looked around and saw Jessica. She was in her receptionist uniform. But I knew she was the person who died. She had that same blue hue around her. She was waving her hand in front of people. Before too long, her eyes met mine. Confusion and surprise filled the air around me.

"Weston, you can see me?" she asked as she ran over.

I nodded. "So, you know you are..."

"Among the dead? I didn't want to admit it. But no one else can see me, but you. How?"

"It's a long story. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was on break. A gift was left on the desk just for me. I thought it was a secret admirer. I should have checked the ingredients. I would never eat blueberries intentionally."

"I know.” I sighed. "Well, this blows my theory completely out the window."

"What theory?"

I shook my head. "It's not important. I was wrong anyway. Is there anything you remember?"

"Not really. It was pretty much a normal, same as-always, day. Oh. Wait."

"What is it?"

"I did notice a woman staring at that picture on the wall."

"The one you told me about?"

"The very same. People tend to glance at it. But this person was staring deeply at it. I watched them for about ten minutes before she finally left. It was strange."

"Could you tell me more about the photo? It might be nothing, but you never know, it could be important."

"Well, I guess I could. I mean, I'm dead. Not much I can do. I haven't seen any kind of white light." She sighed. "I still had so much of my life I wanted to do."

I wanted to reach out and hug her, to give her some kind of comfort. But I didn't. I was too afraid of hearing a memory from her. "Jess..."

"Right. Sorry. You wanted to know about the photo." She took a deep breath. "The man in the photo as I said was a businessman. Now, bear in mind, I don't know everything. I wasn't born, but this is what I heard from my grandmother."

I nodded. "That's fine."

"Well, the businessman was very powerful. He was one of the very investors in this apartment building. He was quite handsome, I heard my grandmother say many times. He was kind and charming, but was very impatient when things didn't go his way which made him lash out."

"What about his little girl?"

"I don't know much about her. I do know that the businessman adopted the little girl. According to my grandmother, she never interacted with the little girl. No one knew much about her."

"And what about the woman? You said she was a movie star, right?"

Jessica nodded. "That's correct. She was here at this very apartment to film a scene. My grandmother was invited to see it, but then the accident happened."

"What can you tell me about the accident?"

"Well, several rumors have been around for decades," she said. "No one could find anything specific so officials just chalked it up to faulty wiring. However, some sources claimed it was sabotaged. But bear in mind. I wasn't there. I have no definite proof."

I sighed. "Was there anything, I don't know, say strange about it? Or maybe something your grandmother or someone might have said about that incident?"

"Come to think of it, yeah. Some believe that it was intentional."

"Can I ask you one last question?"

"Sure."

"This photo was taken before or after the incident?"

"Before. Why?"

"Just curious."

Jessica smiled. "Curiosity killed the cat you know."

"So the saying goes." I then looked at her. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have no idea. I wish though that I could give the police a piece of my mind for saying that I would do this on purpose."

"I know it's not much. But I will try and help. I'm still trying to understand myself and this ability. But I will find a way to help you and other ghosts."

Jessica smiled. "Aren't you sweet?" she teased. "But then again, I always knew you were. I'm going to stay here I suppose."

"Thank you for talking to me." I watched as she vanished inside the building. I went in and snapped a photo of the picture on the wall with my smartphone before leaving as quickly as I could.