Once in the car, Melinda followed directions from Ethan as he sat in the front passenger seat and pointed whenever a turn came up he wanted her to take.

Ethan was still blocking her cell from turning on, not wanting any distractions. He'd worked this hard to finally get her help and wasn't going to let anything stop him.

They were now on a back road leading away from Grandview. Melinda reached up to wipe her fever-damp forehead, clicking the air conditioner another notch to the cool side. As much as she wanted to help Ethan, she also wanted to go home and curl up in bed.

Slowing when Ethan indicated, Melinda looked out her window to see a car pulled off the road and a man, whom she presumed to be Ray Willis--Ethan's former partner.

She turned to Ethan, but he was no longer in the car. He was standing outside watching as Willis unloaded a heavy, tarp covered object from the trunk. Melinda's stomach lurched. He was disposing of Ethan's body.

Melinda quietly stepped out of her car, not wanting to startle a known murderer.

She came to an abrupt stop when Ethan breathed a sigh of relief next to her.

"Finally. Now I won't be forgotten." He looked up, feeling Melinda's confused gaze on him.

"Work was my life. I had no family, no real friends except for Ray." He let out a derisive laugh when he realized what he'd said. "If not for you, no one would have known I was gone." His hands clenched into fists at his side. "It's time to make this right."

Ethan set off towards Willis, resentment evident in his movements. His incense vibrating off of him, causing Melinda's car door to slam closed behind her.

Willis looked up at the sound right before the trunk slammed shut in front of his face.

Shocked and frightened at having Willis' full attention, Melinda stood silently for a moment, deciding what to do next.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Willis broke the silence first.

"Ray Willis?"

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"My name is Melinda Gordon. Ethan brought me here."

Willis' eyes widened. He looked down at the tarp and took a step back. "I think I knew he was here. He's been with me…ever since….I've felt him." His gaze never left the tarp as he spoke.

Melinda realized that Ethan's spirit must have been with Willis when he wasn't trying to communicate with her. He was feeding off of Willis' anxiety, gaining strength from his mounting guilt and fear.

Ethan came up beside Melinda. "Ask him for me why he did it. Why did he kill me?"

Melinda dreaded asking the next question, not knowing if it would set Willis off or not, but if she was going to cross over Ethan….

"Why did you kill him, Ray?"

Willis scrubbed a hand across his face, not making eye contact.

"When I found out our business couldn't be saved, I flipped out, alright? It was my fault all that money went missing. Ethan trusted me and I let him down. Let both of us down," he moaned.

Seemingly relieved that he could admit all of this to someone, Willis rambled on.

"I knew Ethan didn't want to sell, but I convinced him it was for the best so he'd go along with it and I could get the money back before he noticed." Willis glanced back down at the tarp. "I think he already knew what I'd done," he whispered before speaking to Melinda again.

"He confronted me about it. Told me he could help, but I thought he was the reason Pitzer wouldn't buy. I thought he'd gone behind my back…but he was only trying to help, wasn't he? I can't believe I did this!" Willis was becoming hysterical now. "I didn't mean to kill Ethan, it just happened. I was so angry!"

Melinda interjected before he could get worked up any further.

"Ray, Ethan is here with us now. I can help you if you'll let me."

Willis' disturbed eyes burned into Melinda. She involuntarily took a step back, sensing his fear and anger. The two powerful emotions mixing together until she could feel the resulting panic rising off of him in waves, advancing toward her; advancing the way Willis was physically moving towards her now.

"You should leave now," Ethan said to her. "The police are on their way, I left a map of our destination for your husband to find, but you need to go. He's out of control, I had no idea…"

Melinda turned to run for her car before Willis could come any closer. Yanking on the door handle, it wouldn't budge. The keys had been locked inside when Ethan's energy had slammed the door shut.

Turning to see Willis advancing, Melinda darted to the side, desperate to stay out of his reach.

"I can't let you tell anyone!" Willis gritted out irately through clenched teeth. "I didn't mean to, I can't go down for this!"

Melinda screamed when his fingertips grazed across her back in an attempt to take hold of her.

"Run! Help will be here soon." Melinda barely heard Ethan, fear gripping her, obscuring her thoughts until she could only focus on escape.

She heard Willis cry out and turned to see him on the ground, tripped up by Ethan who was attempting to buy Melinda some time. She ran further into the trees bordering the road, slowing only when the burning in her lungs and the pounding in her head became too much.

Melinda propped herself up against a tree. She felt groggy, as if there was cotton in her head. Taking deep, calming breaths through her mouth since her sinuses were still blocked, Melinda took in her surroundings.

She could hear police sirens approaching quickly, but she wasn't sure how soon they'd arrive, and she wasn't sure how close Willis was. He could still be sprawled on the ground thanks to Ethan, he could be running from the sirens, or he could be lurking just out of sight behind a tree.

A shiver ran through Melinda. She thought she knew the way to the road, but she wasn't sure how far it was. If she had gotten turned around, she would just be wandering further into the woods.

She decided to make her way to where she could see the most light filtering down through the treetops, deciding she'd wait there until she heard signs that the police were closer. Besides, she couldn't be too far from her car and the road…she hadn't run that far….

Finally feeling as if she'd caught her breath, Melinda began pacing within the clearing, relieved when she heard the police sirens come to a stop, indicating the direction of the road and the direction in which Melinda began to walk.

Rounding a large, mossy tree trunk, Melinda let out a small scream when she collided with somebody.

She resisted the grip they had on her arms until she realized who it was, their voice causing instant relief to flood through her.

"Jim! You have no idea how glad I am to see you," she said breathlessly, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Me too, sweetheart." He pulled back and looked her over for injuries. "Are you alright? What happened? Who was that guy the police arrested?"

"He was arrested?"

"Mel, he was found standing over a dead body. They cuffed him."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "At least his capture went smoothly. I mean, besides the part where I was practically shoved out of my house by a pushy ghost and found myself face-to-face with his murderer who attempted to attack me--but I promise I'll explain everything and I'm sorry I worried you." She said all of this in one breath, adding the last part when Jim gave her a stern look after hearing what had happened.

Jim considered her for a minute before speaking. "As long as you're alright, that's all that matters." He placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth, the tip of her nose, and her forehead. "You've still got a fever," he frowned. "Come on, time to go."

Melinda let him wrap a protective arm around her shoulders and turn her around for the walk back to their cars.

"Gah!"

"What?!" Jim looked around for the source of her scare as Melinda clutched at her heart.

"Don't do that," she admonished, furrowing her brow while Ethan chuckled to himself.

"Sorry," he said sincerely. "Shouldn't you be used to that by now, though?"

"You'd think."

Melinda placed her hand on Jim's arm, letting him know everything was fine.

Turning her attention back to Ethan she said, "you know it wasn't your fault, right? What happened with your business. You weren't to blame for Ray losing all that money."

"I know that. I just needed to see him get help. I realize now that this wasn't for revenge, it was for peace of mind. I needed to know that he'd get help before he hurt someone else. I'm sorry that someone was almost you."

Melinda gave him a kind smile. "Do you see the light?"

"Yeah, I saw it back at the car when the police arrived. I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for what you did. For what you do."

"You're welcome."

"'Bye now." Turning, Ethan Foster walked forward until the light, unseen by Melinda, welcomed him.

She squeezed Jim's arm in satisfaction. "Come on, time to go," she said, smiling.