Jillian Chantal

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt careful. I am still working on my mystery where the heroine can talk to spirits. She just got a hot tip from another spirit about a boy spirit witness.

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When she got to the house and told Malcolm what George told her, he immediately wanted to walk down there as she knew he would.

He went and fetched Aneto’s leash and they set off to find the boy.

At the curb in front of her house, she tripped on the root at the foot of the big oak that had to have been there at least three hundred years.

As she staggered to maintain her balance, she said, “Good grief, that’s about the nine thousandth time I’ve done that. You’d think I’d learn to be more careful.”

Malcolm grabbed her elbow to help steady her. “You’re always so eager to get going, your feet sometimes have a hard time keeping up with you.”

“Yeah. That’s it. It’s not that I’m a klutz at all.” She laughed.

“I’ve seen you be graceful.”

“Once in a while I get lucky there, but you’d think I’d recall that big ole root is there. I mean, it’s been here longer than I have.”

“But in fairness, you usually go out the back door.” Malcolm and Aneto walked ahead of her.

“You’re determined to help me make an excuse for being inattentive, aren’t you?”

“That’s what I’m here for. To give you plausible deniability.”

“I thought you were here to investigate a series of murders.”

He slowed his pace until he was beside her again. “I’m walking down this street for investigative purposes, but I’m with you because I want to be around you.” He lowered his head toward Aneto. “And to be the dog walker.”

Lu smiled inwardly, warm at his words. “Well, at least we got that straight.”

“Damn right.” Malcolm pointed down the street past Hub Stacey’s cafe. “The boy’s house is right down there, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll go on down ahead of you and Aneto and see if I can get him to come out under the tree and talk. I think the people who work in that building aren’t overly enamored of people they think are ghost hunting.”

“Would they think you’re doing that if you’re right outside the house?”

“Absolutely. I’ve heard the owner sometimes comes out and yells at the trolley tour people. Silly. They aren’t hurting anyone and are stopped on a public street when they tell the stories.”

“There’s no accounting for some people. They sometimes want to suck all the joy out of people’s lives.”

“Oh yeah. I know.” She knelt by Aneto. “I’ll be right back. Hopefully with the child.”