Read beyond the grave 03 - a ghostly demise for Free Online Page A

“She always did have a good friend in Bea Allen. Especially when you four used to double-date.”
    Did Vernon Baxter know Leotta? I was on high alert to help get Cephus to the other side. Every single conversation was on my radar. No stone unturned was my Betweener motto.
    Double date? As far as I knew, Vernon Baxter had been a bachelor all his life, and to my knowledge, he hadn’t been dating. Evidently not. I took my cell out of my pocket and typed in a note to check on this double-date thing and if Vernon dated Bea Allen. Not that dating Bea Allen would contribute to finding out who killed Cephus, but it was good gossip to talk to Granny about. Any gossip about the O’Dells was good gossip. Especially here during election time.
    Cephus walked over to Vernon. He raised his hand and scratched his chin.
    “Vernon Baxter killed me!” Cephus protested, and took a good swing at Vernon.
    Not only did my mouth drop, so did my cell phone.
    “Are you okay?” Vernon jumped around and rubbed his chin as if he could feel the sting of the punch from Cephus’s fist.
    I swooped down and picked it up. Luckily, it didn’t shatter. I put it back in my pocket and took a deep breath.
    “Are you okay?” I asked Vernon, who was still rubbing his chin.
    “Suddenly my mouth hurts.” He jutted his jaw backward, forward, side to side.
    “Earache. I always get jaw pain when I’m getting an earache.” Mary Anna insisted on being the doctor in his diagnosis.
    “True,” he mumbled while rotating his bottom lip. “I should probably stop by Doc Clyde’s office.”
    “Next time I’m really gonna hurt ya!” Cephus danced on his toes with his fists loosely tucked with his thumb and his pinky finger sticking out, jabbing in the air.
    “Look at the time.” Mary Anna checked out her gold watch with the glittery rhinestones. Mary Anna was always sparkly. “I’m going to be late. I had to double-book a couple perms today since I had a stylist quit on me. Said she’d make more money at a real spa.” Mary Anna rolled her eyes and batted her fake lashes. “Real spa. Nothing more real than what I got. Plus you learn a lot.” She wiggled her perfectly waxed brows. “If you know what I mean.”
    “Oh, I know.” I walked out with her but not without glancing back at Vernon.
    Cephus was gone again. Which was better. I could ask Mary Anna a few more questions without him interrupting. Plus, I might be able to go back down and fiddle around the freezer so Vernon could talk to me.
    “Vernon and Bea Allen, huh?” I slid the question between the silence and pushed the elevator key.
    “Momma always said they were a strange pair.” She gestured with the scissors in her hand.
    “How so?”
    “Did you see her? Frizzy hair and shit.” Mary Anna did spirit fingers around the top of her head. “I was dying to get my hands in that hair of hers. I can do wonders with frizz. You’ve seen Hettie Bell. I got her crazy hair under control.”
    She was right. When Hettie Bell came to town, she was gothic-looking, with some big frizzy hair. Eventually, she cleaned her act up and now she has that great yoga studio. She claims she’s making Sleepy Hollow Zen, one resident at a time. I’ve yet to see any results.
    “In fact, when I was a kid, Teddy had all that hair just like Daddy.” She reminded me of Teddy and the questions I needed answered.
    “Oh, yeah!” I had forgotten all about his crazy hair. I’d never seen a white boy with an Afro.
    “Well, I used to pin him down and pretend it was Bea Allen’s. I swear that was when I decided to become a hairdresser.” She elbowed me right as the elevator door opened into the vestibule. “No way could I pin that boy down now. I can’t wait for you to see him.”
    “Are you having a get-together?” I wanted to make sure I did see him.
    “We will be over at the carnival tomorrow night. You going?” she asked.
    “Good morning.” Charlotte Rae darted past us and down the hall, disappearing