River City Expression was my jackpot. Not only could I email Joseph—the man Dustin had pointed out—to set up the meeting, but I creeped his company's social media, which showed they had filmed ice racing videos. When my boss had mentioned the event, it seemed gimmicky, but after watching the footage, I had a perfect adrenaline winter package planned out between ice racing, snowmobile excursions, hockey games, and incredible food and pub nights.

I sauntered to Stella's office, where she sat with the blinds drawn, staring at the monitor with the hood. I waited a moment for her concentration to break before knocking on her open door.

"Mia, how's it going?" Stella placed her headphones on her desk.

"Good, I had a work question about a videography company you may know."

She crossed her legs at her ankles, showing off her high-heeled suede boots. "Okay, shoot."

"River City Expressions. They've got ice racing footage."

She smiled, which encouraged me. "Falling back on Jeff's plan? He'll be thrilled he's gotten through to someone." She chuckled. "At least you can blame him if it flops."

I grinned. "There's a perk." Not that it would help my employment situation. "I plan to check with him then shoot Joseph a message about collaborating. Have you worked with him before?"

"Joseph?" Her bright face was all the encouragement I needed. "That man's a gem. After me, he's the best collaborator you'll find."

If she trusted him, he wouldn't be the accomplice and might help my case. But I also wanted to avoid stepping on her professional toes.

"I don't have to contact him if you have shots we can use instead." I was almost certain she didn't and crossed my fingers that I was right.

"I have no Stella magic to share this time. Joseph is a perfect reinforcement."

"Would you want to meet him with me if you're free?"

"Of course! Team Stella and Mia, reclaiming this winter campaign. Hit me up with the details when you figure it out." She winked at me then returned to editing.

My good luck continued as Jeff green-lit the connection to licence some footage. Somehow they had the funds for that but not to keep me employed full-time next year. I sent my email, trying not to be bitter and ensuring to name-drop Stella to speed up the process.

Unfortunately, Joseph's personal social media pages were private, so I couldn't deduce the redhead's name or if she had an online presence without following him, which seemed too much too soon. I considered digging through the thousands of followers this company had amassed and using the screenshot method again until I got a reply from Joseph.

'Sounds like a charming project. I'd love to help. Does Wednesday at 3 pm work for you?'

I'd hoped he'd be between projects like me and free today, but it was a reassuring sign they were in demand. That meant their footage was worth the money my boss would shell out for it.

The following morning, I opted for another long ride with Dustin, not because I had much sleuthing intel to share but because I wanted to celebrate and spend time together.

"You're meeting with that guy?" Dustin's blue-gray eyes widened when I shared my appointment with Joseph.

"Tomorrow afternoon. We're going to catch this woman and get justice."

His gaze lingered on my face. "Justice is overrated. I'm enjoying these mornings."

My cheeks burned, and Dustin one hundred percent noticed given his grin. "Me too," I said.

He tapped his fingers on his jeans. "Do you think we'll find her?"

"We can only try. My coworker knows and raves about him, so it should be a safe meeting."

"Oh good, I couldn't live with myself if I put you in danger." As he smiled cheekily, I shook my head.

"You're such a cheese ball."

"What fun is being dead if you can't entertain yourself?"

"Seems like you've been having a blast."

"I have since you showed up, Mia."

I adored the way he said my name, almost like a song. The thought that I brightened up a person's life after death warmed my heart.

"Can we... nevermind." He stared at his hands as they bounced on his legs.

"Can we what?"

"When we..." His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "Yesterday, before you left..." His cheeks reddened as much as a ghost's could.

"You want to hold my hand?" I whispered.

"It sounds silly, but I miss—"

As I threaded my fingers through his, he stiffened and relaxed. A cool breeze travelled up my left arm, down my spine, and across my ribs. He stared at our hands like a new father would regard his precious newborn.

A field, lush with green overgrown grass, warmed by the summer sun, filled my mind. My back pressed against the soft vegetation, pillowing my head and tickling my bare neck, a sensation I wasn't used to. My hand, larger and hairier than usual, held one much smaller than mine. Tiny enough to belong to a child. Their knuckles displayed a few bruises that made me tense until the vision faded back to the bus.

As Dustin squeezed my hand gently, the action reverberated from my fingers to my shoulders then to my ribs and lungs. They grew too tight to take in air. My muscles tensed like a boa constrictor had me in its clutches, forcing out all my oxygen.

"Mia!" Dustin gasped and released his grip. "Talk to me."

Visualize your breathing. Relax your muscles.

I closed my eyes and tried to force in a breath. A smidgen of oxygen sneaked through my rigid torso and narrow windpipe. The boa constrictor slowly slithered away with each forced inhalation.

Once my breaths had stabilized and I nodded to my fellow concerned passengers with a weak smile to signal I was alright, Dustin said, "Mia, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just panicked for a minute."

"Do you think it was my fault?" His hands trembled at his sides.

"It's a coincidence."

"But I squeezed your hand and your face went pale, lips blue in seconds. It was terrifying!"

Considering he'd suffered death, that was quite the statement.

"New rule, no squeezing, just to play it safe."

Dustin didn't laugh. "Will you be alright to go to work?"

With a nod, I said, "I have time to recover before my stop. I'll be fine."

"I had no idea that would happen."

"It's impossible to predict. Let's chalk it up to a learning experience, okay? No guilt required."

His smile masked sad eyes. "It kills me that we didn't meet months ago. Everything would have been so different." This time, no hint of humour lurked in his tone. He stared at his boots and squeezed his fist with his open hand like he was trying to replicate what had happened earlier. It must not have worked because he grimaced and stretched out his fingers on his legs.

I believed he meant me no harm. His reactions were so caring and remorseful. If our touch had gone well yesterday, it likely wouldn't hurt me again if we kept it simple. My fingers reached out to brush his. They tickled like chilly lake water on my toes.

He jerked his hand away. "Mia, don't. It's too dangerous."

"It didn't happen the first time. We just have to try it differently."

"Maybe another day. I can't risk your health if that happens again when you're not recovered. You're too special."

My eyes and nose prickled with the onset of tears. "I wish we'd met earlier too."

"Promise me you'll take it easy today."

"I will."

***

A haze followed me from the bus to work, like during a zombie walk after minimal sleep. Throughout the day, I researched but found nothing original for the campaign. When Stella stopped by to chat, her words mostly blurred together. 

The bus ride home was foggy, and after a supper of salsa and chips and a few handfuls of dried mangoes, my phone rang.

"Josh?"

"Am I interrupting you?" His tone was genuine.

I left my living room and flopped onto my bed. "Nah, it's one of those days where my head doesn't feel screwed on right."

"Did something happen?"

"Sort of."

"Want to talk about it?"

He had always been sweet like that. After I had been riled up with teen angst and couldn't take another minute with my parents, he sensed it, and we'd go to the lake and skip stones until I had no more pissed-off bones in my body. He never forced me to talk, and often knowing another person saw and supported me through it was enough.

"I want to skip stones."

"I'd recommend your bathtub this time of year, but I don't think you'd get your damage deposit back."

With a smile, I sank deeper into my pillows, like they were a giant cocoon. Without the stones, I'd need to face today's events to get some shuteye.

"I've been talking to Dustin."

"Dustin?"

"My ghost."

"Oh right, any leads on his murder?"

"We found someone who saw him and his murderer on their first date. I'm meeting with them tomorrow afternoon."

"You're not serious Mia!" Josh's voice was as tense as when we'd drunk a bit too much together, and I was stubbornly trying to approach a wild animal because I was convinced my drunken talent was bear whispering. But I was dead sober today and knew this was the right choice.

"He said there was a connection to Bear Claw Lake. This might fix everything and keep more people from getting hurt."

"It's one thing to search for names, but tracking down a murderer is dangerous." Josh's concern came through the phone's speaker, but I wasn't ready to have my hopes dashed that quickly.

"Ok, Mom."

He let out a huff. "I'm serious. We're a similar age to the victims, which could make you a target."

"I'm not meeting with a murderer, just an acquaintance who recognized that person and who can also be helpful to my ad campaign. Isn't that being careful, approaching him in a professional capacity to ease suspicion?"

"What if they work as a team?"

That was possible, but Dustin had only seen Joseph once and was convinced a woman had hurt him. If there was an accomplice, it wasn't Joseph.

"He went on a date with his murderer twice. This person recognized them, but Dustin doesn't think it was an intentional run-in."

"Did he give you a minute-by-minute summary?"

"No, but I trust him."

"At least take someone with you. Would Stella go?"

I pulled a cozy blanket over my shoulders. "She's coming so you can sleep easy, and she knows the guy we're meeting already. Called him a gem. Dustin also mentioned the killer had been to Bear Claw Lake before November 4th."

"In what capacity?" Josh's tone grew tenser.

"With friends, to party. Did anyone see an out-of-towner redhead in her twenties who visited? This person might have killed your town's victim too."

"They haven't even confirmed it's a murder yet." He mumbled something else, but I didn't catch it. "How do you know this spirit isn't messing with you for fun?"

That description was so far from Dustin's personality. "Because he's been hurt and wronged. And it sounds silly, but he cares about me. Something happened on the bus today, and he ensured I was okay the entire time. He's my afterlife Josh." I hoped the teasing compliment would appease him.

"Something happened on the bus?"

I tensed. I shouldn't have opened my mouth. "Our hands touched, and I had a weird reaction."

"Define weird reaction."

"It got hard to breathe, but it only lasted for a second." It felt like a minute, but events in a crisis always seemed longer.

"Does he ride the bus every morning?"

"Most, but he was super concerned about what happened. It was a freak accident."

"Can you carpool with Stella tomorrow?"

"She's on the opposite side of the city. It's not a big deal." I wasn't giving up the opportunity to see Dustin. He brightened up my days as I did for him. "Plus, I'm surrounded by people, so on the off chance anything else occurs, someone will notice and help me."

"Between this and searching for a murderer, you're terrifying me."

"I've always been reckless."

I waited for Josh to challenge my thinking, but he said, "This seems different. Please bring Stella to the meeting and fact-check this guy as much as possible. I have a bad feeling about this."

Photo credits: Richardn (Ice racing), Angela Bailey (water), Anisur Rathman (hands) all from Unsplash.

We'll be meeting Joseph next chapter. Think he's as harmless as Stella claims he is? Thanks so much for reading!

Word count: 13400