Chapter 2:

It turns out Larry with a gray mustache drives a stick shift. Something I hadn't exactly learned how to drive yet. I had only gotten my license a few months ago, due to me being a jaded New Yorker and never taken drivers ed before coming to California. How can he afford a Ferrari? He's a field reporter trying to work his way up. I tell you Carmel is really weird.

So anyway, it took me a while, a lot of hand waving, and me praying to God, but I did get to the library. Surprisingly the car was unscratched. I walked over to the librarian and asked her where I could find information on Dr Navy and she told me to start with google and let her know if he was dead or alive and/or a resident of Carmel County. Seriously Google...

Fun.

On the computer I learned that he was indeed dead and was a former resident of Carmel. I went back to the librarian and she told me to go to the basement and there would most likely be a box.

The basement. How original.

"Suze?"

I twirled around only to come face to face with Paul Slater. A man who I believed tried to kill me. Twice.

"Paul." I replied.

"Aw Suze. Still mad?" He asked draping an arm around my shoulders.

Um. Yes?

He didn't give me a chance to answer. "You know, Amy told me that it was Suze Simon climbing out of a black Ferrari. But I didn't believe her."

"Yeah it was me. The Aston Martin's in the shop." I joked brushing his arm off my shoulder.

"Oh pretty and a sense of humor. So, what are you doing? Jack missed you at the club." Paul asked sticking his hands in his khakis.

I had babysitted his brother Jack last summer, which was how I ended up meeting Paul.

"I'm just doing some research. Going down to the basement..." I trailed off and looked over his shoulder. A blonde that reminded me of a Barbie was sitting in a tube top and Daisy Duke short shorts with flip flops looking over at an SAT book. Seriously, an SAT book.

Paul looked over his shoulder to where I was looking.

"Suze, you know you're the only one for me." He said taking his hand out of pocket and playing with one of my brown curls.

"Uh huh. Listen, this has been real nice and all but I'm going to go."

"I'll join you. You never know what lurks in the basement."

"What about Barbie?" I really didn't need Pail around today.

"You mean Amy?" He corrected. "She can finish taking her SAT practice test."

I sighed, wondering what the world was coming to and we went down to the basement. It was your classic horror story of a place. Only half the lights worked, and it was dusty and cobwebby.

"What's the name?" Paul asked as he scanned the names on the many rows of boxes.

"Dr. Harold Navy." I put my purse down on a table and started walking around. That's when I saw her.

"Paul? Come here." I hollered.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Do you see what I see?" I asked.

He looked down the rows of boxes and nodded. A little girl about the age of 10 sat on the floor reading a book. Now normally, I wouldn't think much of this but a) we where in a basement and b) she was glowing. Not glowing like, I have sparkly lotion on, but an actual glow.

"Hi." I said coming closer to her. The little girl looked up, startled.

"You can see me?" She asked.

The girl was a ghost. Ok you can stop laughing now. I'll admit it, I'd be skeptical too if I was you. But the truth is, I can see ghosts. And so can Paul, Father Dominic, and Jesse. Oh and Jack, Paul's little brother. There must be something in the water in Carmel.

"What's your name?" Paul asked ignoring her question.

"Delia Smithsonian." She replied.

"Well Delia, what's the problem?" He asked. I proceeded to smack him in the stomach. Mr. Sensitive was apparently not Paul's middle name.

"What he means to say is, how can we help you?" I asked, ignoring Paul's attempt to suck in air, and sat on the floor next to her. Gross. Basement floor.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well Delia…" I've found that there was no easy way to say this. "You're dead…and for some reason you haven't moved on to your next destination. So what Paul and I do, my names Suze by the way, is we try to help you figure out what's keeping you back."

"Oh. I already know that."

"Oh yeah?" Paul asked after shooting me a dirty look for hitting him. The baby.

"Yeah." She replied.

I paused ready to hear anything. I hear the weirdest things when it comes to holding people back from moving on to their final destination.