Brownie Oxford and the Ashland Affair: Brownie Bk1

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emnants of the dream washed away with the sweat from my run. My mood had also been improved by the fact that Swift had included o

ffle bag to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine. Not only did I need the hydration,

detail. They were constantly moving, searching the lobby, taking in the details of the guests and the staff. I was certain he would be able to give a full description of anyo

n. Every time I saw him, he was driving a different vehicle. "Do you get to pick your cars or do you jus

ignoring my question. I got into the car and faste

ooked disturbed and this morning they took

hike from road to cemetery and wondering if the officials noticed the

TVs, " Swift

O

ued. "In each of the graves that were disturbed they found two bodies. One was the original occ

k to the spirits of the newer dead. Hopefully, he h

found out why he thought you

I said curi

e we use for your file.

g at him. "Why would y

else." He said, the corner of

the name never failing to tickle me. Apparently even when they were alive, I was only sup

and looked at me out of

id feeling the need to state the o

ted, " Swift said, trying to be comforting even tho

showing up on my doorstep on a regular basis. I would have to move, ch

oing to win any pageants, but it was my face and I liked it. Swift sighed

t to ask?

" I replied, backtrac

und the file he was using. It was a copy of the office file. Your name and a

raise zombies?" I shook my head and my eyes went wide as a thought occurred to me. "Oh god, the bodies a

They look lik

ing relieved. "So h

n area, but not a photo or an actual address. Y

rtment consisted of one large room with a section separated by a breakfast bar for a kitchen and the living room sofa folding out into a bed. The bathroom was tiny with barely enough room for the shower stall toilet and sink. I thought of my apartment as

and made me feel slightly ill at ease. Dr. Harding met us and walked us to the morgue. Despite the colder temperature and air vents, the smell of death and decay was strong. I wriggled my nose, no matter how many times I smell

nt locations. Some of the bodies show decomp levels at a few weeks, while others are a bit longer. I'd say the oldest

nd?" I

fact looking perturbed by the reminder that I was in the room. I had the str

and I believe the missing digits were either left in the earlier grave or perhaps carried off by scavengers." Dr. Harding continued to talk of so

sed Swift a written report. He turned and left us

ike me, does

Swift told me, walking towards one of the metal tabl

remated, " I told Swift, j

raising you and asking you quest

at I could still raise the spirit from crematory urns as well as I could from the ground. It was something Swift had never bothered to test and I had t

est I was more worried about Dr. Harding than someone who just wanted to

erever this man died, formaldehyde was not available. It called to mind, shallow graves in the middle of nowhere. I looked away from h

ds could be made out had nothing to do with the actual conversation and were just the brain's way of trying to turn the static into something recognizable. It was one of the many reasons I laughed at the ghost hunter shows and why I refused to g

to touch it any more than I needed to touch Mrs. Ellison. The difference was that Mrs. Ellison had a headstone with her name on it, so calling her was easy.

mind." Politeness, at least at first, had always seemed to me like the most prudent course. I focused on the body, only this body, ignoring the others as well as Swift.

t was still gray, or various shades of gray though, like a black and white photograph. Somehow I had never been able to make the sprits appear

routine physical activity. His features were plain until he smiled, and then his plain features seemed..

end has a few questions he would lik

ift. His charm faded a bit as he took in Swi

smiling. "Although I'd rather talk to you." He loo

th your name, " Swift

ex." Swift sighed, not amused by the flirtation. He ran Alex through the standard questions, whe

nts before death. Some would drift off, others would change the ending. Someone who died from being run over by a car would claim that the car either narrowly missed them or that the c

is own death. I kept my focus on Alex as Swift talked with him and I worked hard to maintain a calm, b

, I got flashes of a white barn with green trim and knew that when Alex was in high school he had helped his father repair the wood shingled roof and wh

in a movie theater with my own private showing of the latest film. With Alex, I could practically see the wood grain and smell the manure. I really hoped that full se

ded to get this new skill under control fast. The problem was, I didn't know how to control it or who to talk to about it. I was cert

zed him about the man, I caught flashes of Mr. Salesman speaking to someone who looked to be in charge of the band of ex-military, turned mercenaries. He was the same man from the cemet

orward a little and I saw the man had black curls, very similar to mine, with the exception that they were shorter and had started to go gray. He had deep lines bracketing his mouth and fanning f

alizing I had said the words aloud

alesman's photo lifted an eyebrow at me. Occasionally, I tried re-enforcing his questions with pushes of my own when we weren't

Alex's image to fade. The flirt was gone, only the corpse rema