Advocate For The Dead (Complete Novel)

Chapter 6: Brother Of A Ghost

Summer was punctual. At 10 o'clock she walked through the door to my office. I'd say it looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep, but ghosts have the same look about them all the time. When I die, I hope it's not when I'm so tired. I'd hate to think I'd come back with messed up hair.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked me.

"Yeah, a little bit." I got up from my chair and collected my gun and coat. "You ready?"

"Sure. Where are we going today, chief?"

"I figure we'd go visit your brother. See what he remembers about you."

She looked at me with a serious look. "I'm scared, Mr. Winter."

"Scared of what? Ghosts aren't supposed to be scared."

"What if he remembers something I don't want to know? What if he tells us I was a spoiled brat or a cast iron bitch? What if he says he hated me, or worse than that, that everyone hated me?"

"Summer, I don't think you have to worry. You are a very nice person from what you have shown me. I think he'll remember you fondly. At worst he might embarrass you by telling me he walked in on you when you were changing clothes or caught you making out with somebody on the sofa."

She smiled. "You sure know how to make a girl smile", she said. "Oh let me guess, it's part of the job."

"Well as a matter of fact, it is", I grinned and she made a gesture as if she was going to punch me in the arm. Instinct made me step back. I still didn't want her touching me. It would be a quick way of finding out things about her, but the after effects of such contact are hell.

Her brother lived on the other side of town, about as far away from their parents as they could get and still be in the same city. I didn't really have a preconceived notion of Jeff, and on the ride over in the cab I asked Summer questions about him. Of course, she couldn't tell me anything. She didn't remember. I'd say her memory couldn't get worse, but I knew it could. I'd seen ghosts who had started all over each day because they forgot they were dead in that small space of twenty-four hours. I hoped Summer wasn't here long enough to get that bad.

When we arrived at her brother's house I told her the same things as before. Don't touch anything. Act like you're not there. When my knock on his door went unanswered, I walked around to the back of the house. There was a man out there working on a lawn mower. If this was Jeff he wasn't anything like I imagined him. The picture at his mom's must have been an older one, because he didn't look like a lanky college kid anymore. He was tall, dark, rugged...all the things I'm not. And he made twice of me.

"Jeff Dennings?" I asked.

He looked up from his work. "Yeah? Who's asking?"

"I'm Cole Winter, an investigator."

I flashed him my badge but he was too quick.

"What's an advocate?"

"I represent people who can't find help elsewhere," I replied, putting my ID back in my pocket.

"Kind of like a court appointed attorney?"

"Yeah, close enough." I laughed. If only he knew. "I'd like to ask you a few questions if I may."

"About what?"

"About your sister."

He looked at me suspiciously. "I've already talked to the cops."

I didn't want to let on I didn't know how she died, but with that kind of response from him I assumed she went out under dubious circumstances. In those cases it's sometimes best not to ask. "Well, I really want to know about people she may have known or associated with."