I nodded, understanding. I hadn’t seen Edith in months. When I last saw her, she’d been a ghost. Technically, I never knew her as anything other than a ghost. She was a former classmate of Aunt Tillie’s who died young. Her ghost haunted The Whistler for years, but I finally sent her on her way after the truth regarding her death came to light.
I thought when I said my goodbyes that I wouldn’t miss her, and that was true. I was angry toward the end. Some of the things Edith did in life – the things that led up to her murder – were downright despicable. I was ready to wash my hands of her at the time, yet … I couldn’t deny it was good to see her.
“Do you live here?” I sat at the homey kitchen table and accepted the ornate teacup from Edith.
“It’s my home,” Edith replied. “I own the building and rent rooms to a variety of young men and women who are just starting out in life.” She winked at Landon. “Like Jericho here. Did you know he’s an undercover police officer working to take down a mob kingpin?”
Landon opened his mouth, I’m sure to say something derogatory about Jericho’s undercover skills, but I shook my head to silence him.
“I heard something like that.” I sipped the tea. It was good, warm and soothing going down. Whatever could be said about Aunt Tillie’s worlds, I could never deny there was a certain authenticity behind them that deserved admiration. “How long have you owned this building?”
“Forever. At least I think that’s how long.” Edith’s smile was bemused. “What are you doing here, Jericho? I thought you had a full shift at the mobster’s mansion today.”
“See, there’s no way an undercover officer would tell his landlady that,” Landon complained.
I patted his hand. “I guess it’s good that you’re not an undercover officer on a soap opera then, huh?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Landon rolled his neck until it cracked. “I came down with a bout of amnesia so I got the day off.”
“Oh, that’s terrible.” Edith wrinkled her nose. “I think I have a bottle of Amnesia Bismol around here. That should cure you. Do you want me to look for it?”
“Um … .” Landon was caught off guard by the question. “Sure. Why not?”
Edith’s faux smile never faded as she shuffled from the room. I waited until I was certain she was out of earshot to speak. “It’s weird to see her.”
Landon’s hand moved to the back of my neck, his fingers working tirelessly to ease the tension there. “Does it upset you to see her?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel. The last time I saw her … .”
“You haven’t talked a lot about that,” Landon noted. “I didn’t want to push because I figured it was hard on you. If you want to talk about it, though, I’m here.”
“You’re always here.” I sent him a warm smile. “I don’t know how I feel about it. It seems somehow pointed that Aunt Tillie used her for this world, though, doesn’t it? Do you think it’s a dig at me?”
“Actually, I think it’s the opposite.”
“You do?”
Landon nodded. “I think Aunt Tillie probably wanted you to see Edith in a quiet environment.”
“What if Edith turns out to be evil?”
“Then I’ll have to readjust my thinking.”
“Fair enough.”
We lapsed into silence when we heard feet shuffling, and when Edith returned she was empty-handed.
“I could’ve sworn I had a bottle around, but I can’t seem to find it,” Edith supplied. “You might want to check your room, Jericho. I think you were the last one to use it three weeks ago when you had that bout of amnesia after falling off a bridge.”
Landon’s mouth dropped open. “I fell off a bridge?”
“Well, you were saving the woman you love from certain death thanks to a car bomb.” Edith sent me a fond smile. “You were a hero. You didn’t even seem to mind the amnesia.”
“Oh, well, that sounds … plausible.” Landon made a face. “I don’t suppose you could point me in the direction of my room, could you?”
Even though he was supposed to have amnesia, that seemed an odd request. “I’m sure we can find it ourselves.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” Edith waved off my worry. “That’s what I’m here for. As a woman of a certain age, my only reason for living is to act as a sounding board to those who are younger than me. It’s normal in Camelot Falls. Your room is the second on the left, Jericho. The stairs are right over there.”
“Thanks.” Landon drew me to my feet. “I’ll bring the bottle back down if we find it.”
“That sounds lovely.”
I paused at the door, casting a glance over my shoulder and watching as Edith happily drank her tea, seemingly unbothered by … well … everything. “I know you won’t really hear this, but I guess I’ve wanted to say it for a bit.”
Edith looked intrigued. “And what’s that, dear?”
“I’m not sorry I sent you away. I am sorry things were so bad for you at the end, though. I hope … I hope you found peace on the other side.”
“I’m sure I did, dear. You shouldn’t trouble yourself over such things. It makes you a kvetch, and nobody likes a kvetch.”
The corners of my mouth tipped down. “Right. Well, have a good afterlife.”
“Yes, yes. Enjoy your trip upstairs, dear.”
This time when I turned my back on Edith I did it with a clearer conscience. Sure, it wasn’t her, but I didn’t feel the weight of my actions dragging me down. It was better.
“I guess this trip wasn’t a total loss, huh?” Landon smiled as he led me to the second floor. “You got a little closure. That’s good.”
“I guess it is.”
I followed Landon to the room Edith indicated, and when he opened the door I couldn’t stop my laughter from bubbling up. Landon’s expression revealed a mixture of fury and amazement as he scanned the room.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
I don’t know what I expected. In the back of my mind I thought it would be a simple room with a bed. Instead I found a round bed with a furry pink comforter, a power ballad emanating from … somewhere, and a centered disco ball swirling hundreds of hearts across the purple walls. The room looked like something straight out of a porn shoot.
“What a passion pit,” I complained.
Landon took a step forward, his eyes bouncing from one side of the room to the other. “Can you believe this? Who would put a disco ball over their bed?”
“Someone who obviously gets a lot of action.” I shuffled to the bed and touched the furry comforter. “This is kind of … neat. I bet it’s like sleeping on top of the world’s fluffiest pillow.”
“It’s pink.”
“Well, you are a lothario in this world.”
“Which I still don’t like,” Landon grumbled, glaring at the radio on the bookshelf when the song changed. “Criminy. Is that Nickelback again? As if things aren’t bad enough.”
“It’s another power ballad.”
“So?”
“So … this is a soap.”
“So?”
He wasn’t getting it and I wasn’t sure how in depth I wanted to go. “Soaps are many things, Landon.” I chose my words carefully. “First and foremost, they’re about love in the afternoon.”
Landon furrowed his brow, his face going dark before realization dawned and he widened his eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s a seduction. We could hardly get through the world without … you know.”
Landon remained unconvinced. “Aunt Tillie is watching.”
“She is, but she’s not a pervert. She won’t watch this. She simply wants to lead us to this.”
“I’m not doing it in front of her.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him the odds of us “doing it” were small. I simply knew I needed to get him in the mood to at least pretend we were going to hit the sheets. “I don’t think we have much say in the matter.”
“Oh, I have a choice.” Landon crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not happening, Bay. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to entice me to climb on that bed. Absolutely nothing.”
“I bought bacon-scented bubble bath.”
Landon pursed his lips. “Fine. If she sees, though, I’m going to blame you.” He strode toward the bed and cupped the back of my head, the music ratcheting up a notch.
“That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be to convince you.” I was a bit breathless and my heart pounded. “I have no idea why I’m so lightheaded.”
“It’s the room.” Landon was resigned. “It’s making us do this. There can be no other explanation.”
“Is that your excuse?”
“Yup.”