Read In Hot Water for Free Online Page B

and rumors. We wait for the facts.”
    Walt laughed. “Nobody ever told
me
that when I was the police chief. I got no complaints. People wanted to know what was going on. I told them.”
    John agreed with Stella. “The chief has to be careful in her position. There are lawsuits and such now. Things weren’t that way when you were police chief. That’s why Don keeps such a tight lid on what’s going on in town.”
    “Sounds like hogwash to me.” Walt held up his cup as though he were toasting someone before he slurped some of the hot brew from it. “Here’s to you, buddy.”
    John looked around. “Are you talking to me?” He picked up his can of Coke.
    “Don’t be stupid. I’m talking to Eric. It’s rude to ignore him.”
    “Are you telling me you can
see
Eric Gamlyn?” John’s disbelief mingled with astonishment in his tone.
    “I can’t see him or talk to him,” Walt said. “But I
know
he’s here.”
    Stella took a big gulp of Coke, hoping Walt would drop the subject before it went any further. Then he dropped the bomb she’d wanted to keep from exploding.
    “It doesn’t matter, ’cause Stella can see him and hear him too.” Walt nodded at her with a big grin on his thin face.
    She suddenly had the feeling that this was payback for not calling him after the fire. He knew she didn’t want to discuss Eric with John.
    John’s head swiveled to face her. “Is that true? Can you see the ghost right now?”
    “No.” That was true. She had her back to the stairs. He’d been sitting there when she’d come back with Walt’s coffee. She didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. He might not be there now.
    Maybe it was a technicality, but she didn’t want to be known as the fire chief who saw ghosts.
    John looked relieved.
    Walt wouldn’t let her get away that easy. “We have long discussions here, the three of us. Eric talks to Stella. She tells me what he says and then I answer. He’s listening right now. I’ve learned a bit about the afterlife since Stella got here. Did you know you need your own place to haunt? I was grateful when my cabin was rebuilt after the fire since Eric said you need your space.”
    Stella fumed. Walt winked at her and slurped his coffee.
    John got up and walked around the room. “Seriously? We’ve all told stories about Eric Gamlyn’s ghost. Can you really tell if he’s here, Chief?”
    She wished someone else would arrive unexpectedly. She didn’t want to lie to John. He might find out on his own someday. And like he said, everyone in Sweet Pepper knew the cabin was haunted.
    It had taken her a while to deal with it. She wasn’t comfortable discussing her ghost with many people. John didn’t seem like someone she wanted to have the conversation with.
    “Walt is pulling your leg.” She kicked Walt’s good leg under the table. “Aren’t you, Walt?”
    The old police chief guffawed. “Gotcha!”
    John appeared to be relieved. “You did.”
    Walt asked Stella to pour him another cup of coffee. “This thing about Barney is bothersome. I heard someone with the fire department thought it wasn’t an accident.”
    “What do you have to do around here to keep gossip from spreading?” Stella asked as she got the coffee and sat back down.
    “That’s not gonna happen,” Eric said. “It’s as true now as it was when I was a kid.”
    John and Walt were discussing who would want to kill Barney, not hearing Eric’s remark.
    “You know Barney made a pile of enemies,” Walt said. “People in politics don’t make many friends.”
    John agreed. “Don said a special arson investigator is being appointed from the state. Barney was well-known. The state doesn’t like it when one of their former representatives gets blown up.”
    That made Stella angry. “I didn’t say he was blown up. There was a small explosion when we first got to his house. It could’ve been anything—aerosol cans, butane lighters, or hundreds of other things that people keep in their