Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(103)
Author: Kristen Ashley

Everyone, including her father but not Jack, looked uncomfortable.

Jack looked annoyed.

His eyes caught hers and he explained, “Apparently, poppet, you and I are Joshua and Brenna reincarnated.”

At his announcement and what it might mean that he knew, Belle felt her own eyes grow wide, her heart skipped a beat and her gaze flew to her grandmother.

Lila gave her a quick, negative shake of the head.

Belle swallowed and looked back to Jack, asking, “We are?”

“Not reincarnated reincarnated,” Angus put in. “You see –”

“Give it up, Angus,” Cassandra interrupted at the same time Jack clipped, “Not now.”

“What not now?” Belle enquired.

“Nothing, love. The important thing is,” Jack took her hand, “something or,” his eyes cut to Angus when he said, “someone,” he looked back at Belle, “was there the night of the accident.”

Belle nodded. “The third ghost.”

“Perhaps,” Jack muttered.

“Perhaps?” Angus asked.

Jack’s green eyes were intense when he studied Belle a moment before he asked, “Are you all right to talk about this?”

Knowing what he meant, Belle nodded.

Jack looked at Angus. “Belle and I talked about things last night. She says someone pushed her.”

“Oh my God,” Joy breathed.

“What the f**k?” Dad, clearly having been briefed at some point, exploded.

“Pushed her?” Lila whispered angrily.

Belle nodded at her grandmother then chanced a glance at her mother’s pale face.

“She didn’t hear anything, feel anything or sense anything,” Jack stated, his eyes on Angus, obviously filling him in. “She just felt the hand in her back.”

“Impossible,” Angus muttered.

“I felt it,” Belle whispered.

Jack didn’t whisper when at the same time he said nearly the same words, “She felt it.”

“This is not good,” Cassandra declared.

“You think?” Dad snapped.

“Did anyone here that night see anything? Anyone?” Jack asked and Lila, Joy, Yasmin, Rachel, Cassandra and Angus all shook their heads but Jack pressed, “Hear a car? See headlights? Hear doors opening? Anyone moving around the house?”

“Nothing, Jack,” Rachel said softly.

“We were working but we would have noticed something like that,” Cassandra put in.

“We need to talk to those children,” Angus added.

“Can you reach them?” Jack asked.

Angus and Cassandra exchanged a look then Cassandra nodded at Jack. “There are ways.”

“I don’t want them hurt,” Belle said softly.

“Belle –” Jack started but she shook her head.

“Or afraid,” Belle went on. “I don’t want them hurt or afraid.”

“Poppet, you said Lewis was there and he saw something. We need to know what he saw,” Jack replied gently.

“I know, Jack, but I don’t care. They’re children,” Belle said.

“They’ve been around for two hundred years,” Yasmin put in.

Belle looked at Cassandra and Angus. “That’s true. Do they age mentally?”

Angus looked like he was biting the inside of his lip. Cassandra took in a deep breath.

“Well?” Belle pushed.

“They’re arrested,” Cassandra answered. “They experience life on our plane and they learn, say, about cars and fashions and news. But, they don’t mature. At least not in my experience. Angus?” she turned to the Scotsman.

“No, lass, they’re still wee ones,” Angus replied. “Like Cass said, arrested, psychologically and emotionally.”

Belle looked back to Jack and repeated, “I don’t want them hurt or afraid.”

Jack studied her a moment then looked at Angus. “Does that tie our hands?”

“A bit, lad,” Angus replied. “We’ll have to get creative.”

“Then get creative,” Jack demanded.

“What happens now?” Joy asked.

Everyone looked at Angus and Cassandra.

It was Cassandra who spoke.

“First, we have to know what we’re dealing with. Is there another entity, or not?” She glanced around the table and then went on, “Second, if there’s another entity, we need to know who he is and what his purpose is here. And, once we know that, we need to decide what to do with him.” She looked around the table again and then continued, “Third, we need to understand what the children know about this other entity and their own situation. Our goal is to release them but we’ve no idea how to do that. There are ways to dispose of ghosts but that means disposal. We want these children to go to the next plane. To do that, we have to find out how to help them get there. It’s different for every ghost, what will send them to the next plane, whichever one they’re destined for. From local lore, the children seem to have some idea which is good, most ghosts don’t. We’ll need to piece it all together and see what we can do.”

She stopped talking but everyone kept looking at her.

“That’s it?” Yasmin asked.

“It isn’t an exact science,” Cassandra answered.

“It isn’t science at all,” Dad muttered.

Angus ignored Dad and added, “I think we may need to bring in reinforcements.”

“How much is that going to cost?” Gram asked, her voice rising.

Angus opened his mouth to speak but Jack got there first.

“Do it.”

Angus closed his mouth and his eyes swung to Jack.

“Do it, I don’t give a f**k who it is, how sane they are or how much they cost,” Jack clipped. “Just do it. I want this done.”

Angus nodded but he said stoutly, “Lad, The McPhersons charge by the job, not the hour. It’s the same flat fee for everyone.”

“And I’m knocking my rate down fifty percent, because, well,” Cassandra stopped talking, her eyes hit Belle, Belle’s cheeks became hot and Cassandra looked back at Jack, “just because.”

“Dude and dudette, I don’t know if you read the papers,” Dad informed them, “but Jack’s loaded. He drives a Jag. I know, I rode in it yesterday. It’s sah… weet.”

Before Belle could take exception to her father encouraging the Ghost Helpers to overcharge Jack, her mother perked up.

“Speaking of cars, Jack, I’ve been meaning –”