Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

"So, was it as good as you remembered?"

Yolanda didn't waste any time getting into the thick of Audra's personal life once they were seated at the bar in Bishop's. Audra remembered to turn off her specter shield on the way in. Yolanda had changed into a charming sundress and boots that instantly made her look as if she belonged in the late-night hotspot of Specter.

"No comment," Audra said as Ashley, the specter waitress, placed a glass of red wine in front of her.

"Long day, Agent Wheeler?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Long summer."

"I'm so sorry about this ugly business here," Ashley said. "I hope you're able to find out who's responsible."

"Thanks, Ashley. Me too," Audra said and the specter phased out.

Audra shed her usual suit jacket and draped it across her lap before lifting the drink to her lips and taking a sip. "How is the city?"

"Doing just fine without you," Yolanda said with a huff. "We don't need you to call and check-in. So what if my marriage has finally ended in crashing flames and my mother thinks that I'm the worst daughter, like, ever."

"Finally gave Billy the heave-ho?"

"I gave him the heave. He already had his own hoe." Yolanda snorted.

"Sorry," Audra said and perked up as a great song came on. "I have not heard this song in a million years."

Audra spun around on her barstool as she tried to remember the last time she'd heard it. Her eyes fell to the far corner of the room onto the ancient jukebox that Ethan hovered over. Her breath caught as she remembered lying on the floor of Ethan's New York apartment, tangled with him in his Egyptian cotton sheets.

"Be careful, your heart's on your sleeve, Agent Wheeler," Yolanda commented.

Ethan strode across the floor towards her, the look in his eyes unmistakable, just as a mature specter phased into his path. Audra found the sight somewhat amusing as Ethan couldn't find a way to politely side step her. He finally gave in when dodging her was not an option and Audra watched as he spun his lighter than air partner around the floor. She watched the way his body moved, enjoying its smooth and nearly fluid gestures.

Before the music stopped an older gentleman specter tapped Ethan on the shoulder and took over. Audra watched the romantic sparks fly between the ghosts as they lit up the dance floor. Audra eyed Ethan as he walked to the end of the dance floor and motioned for Audra to join him. She took a deep breath and looked at Yolanda.

"Go on. My magic works better when I'm alone anyway," she said.

Audra downed the contents of her wineglass, left her jacket on the stool, and walked over to the current sheriff of Specter. He pulled her into his arms and she felt as if she were floating. Placing her right hand on his left shoulder and her left hand in his right, she rested her head against his chest and allowed herself to get swept up in the moment.

"I found Abigail's sister," Ethan said.

Audra looked up. "Where is she?"

"She lives in the trailer park just outside the east boarder of town," Ethan said.

"What?" Audra felt ill.

"Yes, I looked through the DMV database and found her last known address."

"Did you already talk to her?" Audra felt herself get tense.

"No," he reassured her.

"I should go talk to her in the morning." Audra placed her head back on his chest. "You know, we never went on a real date."

She felt Ethan laugh. "I will take you on a date. After you've solved this case and before you head back to New York, I'll take you on a mini vacation anywhere you want to go."

"I always wanted to meet your parents," Audra said and was surprised by his hearty laugh.

"It's a date," he said and twirled her around before lifting her up then dipping her backwards. Audra noticed Yolanda bent over a pool table with a group of admirers standing behind her.

"What do you think?" She tilted her head in Yolanda's direction.

"She'll be okay. Everything stays pretty low-key in here until about midnight. Which reminds me, it's almost your bedtime isn't it?"

Audra smiled as she took note of Joshua watching over Yolanda like a hawk from the opposite end of the bar. His blond hair no longer plastered to his head as it had cooled down and the bar was air-conditioned.

"You wanna take me home?" she asked Ethan.

The words were out before she could think. As the song came to an end, he gripped her elbow firmly. She made her way to the bar for her jacket, stopping by Joshua's seat along the way.

"Make sure she gets home safely," she said and he nodded his understanding.

It was nearly sunset as Audra sat in the passenger seat of Ethan's truck and they drove away from town in the opposite direction of the B&B. She thought that it was charming how the sparse evidence of civilization in the center of town disappeared completely and trees lined the two-lane highway as far as the eye could see. She took in the pinkish orange hue of the clouds closest to the setting sun and wondered if she'd appreciated the beauty of a setting sun ever before.

She turned to look at Ethan and he smiled, even though his eyes never left the road. He reached for her hand and she took his without any inhibitions. She loved the thickness of his knuckles and the strength of his long fingers as they wrapped around hers. She wondered how on Earth she had ever allowed this man to get away from her.

They rode in a comfortable silence nearly twenty miles from the center of town. Audra could just make out the two-story country house with the porch light on. She could also see the reflection of a large lake just behind the house. As they pulled up Audra smiled and mentally compared the two-story home to his old studio apartment in New York.

He helped her from the car and she had to lean against him in order to navigate the gravel driveway in her high heels. She steadied herself when they made it to his porch and took note of the way Ethan opened the door without needing to unlock it.

"You really leave your door unlocked?" Audra asked, stunned.

"I live in a country house miles from anywhere. I make less than twelve dollars an hour and don't even own a television. The most anyone could steal from me is a bottle of vodka and old quilts."

"Vodka?" Audra quizzed as she followed Ethan into the house. The foyer encompassed the full height of the house's two stories with a full staircase that ran from just past the front entrance and wrapped up to the second floor.

Audra followed Ethan past the staircase and into the living room and, as she took a look around, was a bit impressed with the low-key, modern country charm that the house had.

"Who decorated?" she couldn't help but ask.

"My parents came down when I bought the house five months ago," he answered. "My mom went around to local shops and flea markets for about three months and managed to find a good deal of well-maintained furniture second hand. The only new furnishings are the corner sofa and dining table."

"Very nice," Audra said and took a seat.

Ethan sat next to her placing an arm around her.

"If I had ever thought I would see you on this sofa…" Ethan trailed off as he leaned over and placed a kiss on Audra's neck. She leaned into him, closing her eyes to enjoy the guilty pleasure of having him all to herself. When Audra looked up again, she noticed a specter materializing next to the sofa out of the corner of her eye.

She pushed Ethan off of her screaming and Ethan stood up, bewildered, as Audra pointed his attention in the direction of the specter, who materialized into a tall man with white hair and a salt and pepper five o'clock shadow. He carried a modest beer belly and wore a red t-shirt with jeans held up by suspenders.

"I think it might be best if you just let sleeping dogs lie, young lady." His voice was calm and steady as if they had been in the middle of a conversation and he hadn't just interrupted what was meant to be, for Audra at least, an intimate evening.

"Hello, Sheriff," Ethan said, annoyed.

"Sheriff?" Audra calmed down as she realized she was looking at the entity who had been Gwyneth Miller's adopted father and, presumably, the lead investigator in her mother, Abigail Stevens' murder.

"Yeah, this is his old house," Ethan said as if that should explain everything.

"I was already an old man by the time Abigail graduated from high school," David Miller continued as he took a seat in a Lay-Z-Boy and propped his feet up. "She had started running around town with any and every man that spent more than five dollars on her before she was fourteen. She couldn't help it though. Her mamma was a dirt-poor junkie and once Abigail knew her looks could get her a hot meal and a warm bed…" specter David Miller trailed off.

"Were there any real suspects in her murder?" Audra wanted to know.

"Every married man in town was a suspect. Anyone caught hanging around Bishop's after midnight was a suspect. I personally ran DNA on every man that could possibly have been Gwyneth's biological father," David said.

"She was professionally killed," Audra said, remembering the wounds on Abigail's writs and around her mouth. "She was bound and gagged. If you had run a toxicology report I'm sure you would have found traces of some kind of drug."

"I did run a toxicology report," he said. "It was clean."

Audra looked at Ethan.

"You said you checked every man's DNA. How?" Ethan asked.

"I had Gwyn with me for over twenty years. One-by-one I just eliminated them, a cigarette butt, a beer bottle…"

"You did this illegally?" Audra asked.

David shrugged. "She was murdered illegally."

Audra didn't have a response. "Did you find a match?"

"Nope," David said. "Never, did."

"Was Abigail pregnant as a teenager?"

David was silent for a moment.

"Yeah. It was pretty hush-hush. She was kept home when she started to show and then her mama took her and the baby out of town for the delivery and adoption. The family got a few new things and… well…"

"Did Abigail ever leave this town?" Audra asked.

David sat quietly for another moment. "She did for a while. Went up north with some sailor or something. But, she came back a few years later."

"How long after that was Gwyn born?" Ethan asked.

"More than a year," David responded. "But she seemed to have a sugar daddy. Put her up in a nice apartment building. She had enough cash to open an account and got a fancy doctor from the city. She looked very respectable, even without a husband in her condition."

"You don't know where she got the money?" Audra asked.

"No."

"She must have banked in town," Audra said.

"Would they keep records for that long?" Ethan wondered.

"They wouldn't tell me anything at the time. I couldn't get a court order with the slim evidence. Annie might remember something, off the record though," David suggested.

"Annie?" Audra asked.

"Annie Freemont was a teller in those days. Made it all the way to branch manager before she retired," David filled in.

"Well, thank you, but we'll have to continue our investigation," Audra said. "You might want to know that Gwyn is at the Daylight Candle Shop."

David smiled. "We've reunited, Agent Wheeler." He began to phase. "I didn't interrupt anything here, did I?" He laughed and faded out completely.

Audra looked at Ethan and turned on her specter shield. "Where's that vodka?"