Chapter 3
After another sleepless night, Brenda dragged herself out of bed. She was too tired and wouldn't fool with the sit-ups this morning. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower and hot as she could stand it. The heat and the steam relaxed her but made her even more groggy. Why didn't she call in and say she'd be in later? She turned off the water, toying with that idea. She stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. She screamed when, instead of her own face in the steamy mirror she saw Zoya's! Clutching the towel to her face, water dripping from her body and hair, she closed and opened her eyes. The mirror was all fogged up but she was sure it was her face staring back at her now.
Brenda quickly dried herself but kept looking around. She hurried out of the bathroom and found her gun. She knew the gun wouldn't do any good on a ghost but it made her feel better. She quickly got dressed, grabbed the mail, and hurried out the door to work.
When Brenda got to work her staff was there, eating, which was what they always seemed to be doing. That is, when they weren't goofing off. Brenda usually greeted them cheerfully but this morning she didn't even acknowledge them. Instead, she went into her office and closed the door and the blinds. She was still spooked and needed a moment of quiet. Her staff wondered momentarily what was going on before they returned to their bagel sandwiches and coffee.
Sergeant Gabriel, ever sensitive to Brenda's moods, knocked on her door and stuck his head in. "You okay, Chief?"
Brenda was sitting at her desk with her head in her hands. "Come in, Sergeant Gabriel." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I should have spoken to y'all but I'm in such a bad fix."
"What's the problem?"
"I think I saw a ghost this morning."
Despite himself, Gabriel laughed. "There's no such thing as a ghost, Chief. You of all people should know that."
"Well, Sergeant Gabriel, I don't know that I do know that. I am from the south, you know. We believe in all sorts of things."
Gabriel pointed to a chair and Brenda shook her head for him to sit. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
"I think I saw Zoya in my bathroom."
"Zoya? The hooker?"
"Must we keep calling her that?"
"That's what she was, Chief."
Brenda sighed. "Well, whatever she was she was in my bathroom. I'm sure of it."
"She's dead, and has been for a few weeks now. Remember, we identified her body in the morgue? You're just spooked because you live in her house, which I will never understand."
Brenda looked at him, willing him to understand why she bought the house. "She was a young girl who was used and abused by men. She did what she had to do to survive."
Gabriel smirked. "I think you're giving her more credit than she deserves."
"She was eighteen, Sergeant Gabriel. A child. She didn't have the benefit of age to help her out."
Gabriel lifted an eyebrow and stood up. "If you say so, Chief."
Brenda sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "And I've been having bad dreams. The latest one has an old guy with a cane in it and he keeps pulling at me." She shivered, disgusted.
Gabriel smiled. "That'd be the judge. He was one of her clients. Remember?"
Now that he had said it, yes, she did remember, and she didn't want to. "I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I don't need any more trouble with our colleagues." Brenda pulled her mail from her bag. A flyer caught her eye immediately. It read: "707 Edgemere is a canker and should be removed!"
"What is it?" Gabriel asked, moving towards her.
She handed him the paper. "Could that be construed as a threat?"
"Isn't that your address?"
"Yes. It was in my mailbox when I got in last night. I didn't look at the mail until now."
"I don't know if it's exactly a threat but it should be looked into. In the meantime, maybe you should—"
She glared at him, steely resolve settling in where moments before there was weariness. "Should what? Move out? Go back to the hotel?"
"Well—"
"I won't do it. I love that house and I won't be scared away by a ghost or busybody neighbors." She snatched the paper from him. "That'll be all, Sergeant."