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Emma whipped their heads around to stare at the ghost. Tracy vibrated with frustration. “What did she say?”
    “Granny just used the word
chillax
,” Emma told her friend. “What’s more amazing, she used it correctly.”
    The spunky old ghost crossed her arms in front of her. “Seems to me, you three need to chillax.”
    Milo shook his head with amusement. “Granny, you never cease to amaze me. Where in the world did you pick that term up?”
    “She’s been hanging around Kelly and her friends a lot lately,” Emma explained.
    “Some of those classes are pretty interesting,” Granny noted. “I even understand some of them.”
    “You’re attending classes at Harvard?” Milo asked with surprise.
    “I’m simply expanding my education,” Granny sniffed. “You’d be surprised how many spirits are floating about the hallways of that place.”
    “Actually, I wouldn’t,” answered Milo as he rubbed an earlobe. “I did some research on it several years ago, but never heard of any spirits auditing classes. You taking the exams, too?” He laughed and translated the conversation to Tracy so she could join in on the fun.
    “If you’re going to make fun of me,” Granny said, getting peeved, “I’m leaving.”
    “I’m not making fun of you, Granny,” Milo assured her. “I just find it really fascinating.”
    Granny began to fade. “Later, dudes.”
    Emma turned from looking at the empty air where Granny had just been to Milo. “Some days it’s like I have two children, and one of them is overly sensitive.”
    “I heard that!” came a disembodied voice.
    Milo fought back laughter long enough to translate Granny’s latest comment to Tracy.
    “Then hear this,” Emma called up into the sky. “Meet me at Dolly’s.”
    There was a moment of dead air, followed by a faint, “Gotcha, Chief.”

• CHAPTER FIVE •

    K EY or no key, entering someone’s home without their knowledge made Emma feel like an interloper snooping in someone’s private world, which she was. There was no sign of Granny, just the silence of a place waiting patiently for someone to return and make it a home again.
    Emma immediately went into the kitchen and stared up at Nicholas’s favorite light, looking for the telltale sign of a faint but flickering sparkle that often accompanied spirits. She saw nothing. With deliberation, she moved through the spacious townhouse, keeping an eye out for any signs, small or large, that she was not alone.
    Dolly’s home was all on one level with the living room joining with the kitchen and dining area to form an open great room. A large picture window faced the small front yard and beyond that the street. The drapes were open. Off the dining area, sliding glass doors opened onto a sizable covered patio with a patio table, chairs, and a chaise lounge. Beyond the concrete apron a small patch of desert landscaping covered the few yards between the patio and the block fence shared with the next building. The few decorative plants in the back were of the low-water type typically found in desert communities.
    Going back through the living room area, Emma entered a hallway. Off the hallway was a large master bedroom and bath and a nice-size second bedroom with a guest bath across the hall. Like the rest of the house, these rooms had been decorated in a kaleidoscope of colors and fabrics. Emma stopped to inspect a display of photos hung on the hallway wall. The hallway was long and dark, so she snapped on the hall light to get a better look.
    The photos were mostly older ones. There was a grouping dedicated to Milo’s school pictures. Emma studied each one. As a child, Milo didn’t look that different from how he looked now, just younger and with more hair. His face was studious and solemn, the type of bookish loner other kids would pick on for generations, whether or not he had the distinction of hanging out with half-naked dancers.
    Other photos on the wall included several with Dolly and Milo