Blurb
Secrets abound. Bullets fly. Yep, it’s
Winnie granting a dead person’s last request.
Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson are in a fatal
highway accident. Both Phil and Winnie work their last requests. Strange that
the dead couple want their requests kept secret from one another. Why? What are
they hiding?
Winnie works the request and ends up in
more danger than she can handle.
Yep, Winnie is in deep poo again.
*
While reading the local obituaries, I
slurped my morning tea. Being a member of the Call on the Dead Club, I hoped I
didn’t have to do any spook-speaking for the next few days for my assigned
district. With my head cold, I felt miserable.
“Good Lord,”I gasped. The cup dropped
from my fingers, shattered, and sloshed tea over the floor. My breath caught in
my throat. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bickerson had a fatal car accident. They lived
four blocks over from me with their twin sons.
What a terrible tragedy. I grabbed the
broom and dishcloth and, after cleaning up the mess, went back to the paper. I
hardly knew them, but the Mister owned the Bickerson Computer Center at the
mall. His wife was a teacher at the elementary school. The visitation started
tomorrow and both laid-out in the same room. Yep, in my district. Oh, crap!
Ever since I had hugged that darn
cherry tree in a storm, got zapped by lightning, and had a near-death
experience, I’ve been stuck with this unwanted ghostie talent.
The oath Phil Phillips coerced me into
taking, granting the last request of the deceased for the worldwide COD club
was not always an easy job. I should know, even ended up in the slammer once.
My bones ached, and a slight headache
throbbed behind my eyes. I shivered and pulled my flannel robe tighter. This
drastic change of weather from warm to chilly had me coming down with
something. What a ducky way to start tomorrow. Two stiffs and the sniffles.
I grabbed the phone. No way was this
gal doing double duty when I felt like death myself.
Fat Phil answered on the first ring.
“Yeah, yeah, Winnie. I’m reading it now, and you’re gonna beg for help.”
“Your Caller ID’s annoying. You should
get rid of it.”
“Sure I will. Well? You gonna beg?”
“Hey! You’re the president of our
chapter. It’s your job to find me a partner. You know I can’t work two last
requests at a time.”
“But no one else is available.”
“You are. I see your assigned district
is clear. Come on, Phil. This’s heavy-duty stuff and you know it.”
He sighed long and hard. “I guess I got
no choice.” Paper rustled. “I see they’re going to have viewing for two days.”
“Yeah.” I sneezed and snuffled. “I
guess since it’s a double header.”
Fat Phil’s voice grated in my ear. “You
sound horrible.”
“I’m not feeling well.”
“Take a few Coldquils. We gotta stick
to our mission. Maybe it’ll be an easy one.
*
(But…does
Winnie ever get an easy request? Find out in her new rollicking adventure.)
Thank you for reading. If you have time, please leave a comment. I
love comments.
~Lorrie
would love to hear from her fans at struiff@msn.com. Please put “reader” in the subject
line. On behalf of Lorrie Struiff and Toi Thomas, thank you for taking the time
learn about Struiff’s writing. Be sure to get your copy of Going to a Double Header right
here. Come back tomorrow to see what else Lorrie Struiff has to share. For more from Struiff,
check the links below:
