The Accountant: Dead & Busy, #4

By Kfir Luzzatto

HOW TO ELOPE WITH A GHOST

 

In Which the Accountant Disappears With the Bank Codes

 

What can be more maddening for a businessman, than to have his trusted accountant disappear with all the bank access codes? Well, discovering that he has eloped with the ghost of a prostitute surely makes it worse.

 

The need to walk into a ghostly brothel doesn't put Dave off. He even befriends one of the girls there and fun is had by all.

 

Episode 4 of the DEAD & BUSY series - the one with the little ghostly whorehouse.

 

"Dave Callaghan is not here to bring you profound, life-changing thoughts; only quick, unadulterated fun."

• Language: English
• Publisher: PINE TEN
• Release date: Sep 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781938212628

Kfir Luzzatto

Kfir Luzzatto is the author of twelve novels, several short stories and seven non-fiction books. Kfir was born and raised in Italy, and moved to Israel as a teenager. He acquired the love for the English language from his father, a former U.S. soldier, a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and works as a patent attorney. In pursuit of his interest in the mind-body connection, Kfir was certified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist by the Anglo European College of Therapeutic Hypnosis. Kfir is an HWA (Horror Writers Association) and ITW (International Thriller Writers) member. You can visit Kfir’s web site and read his blog at https://www.kfirluzzatto.com. Follow him on Twitter (@KfirLuzzatto) and friend him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KfirLuzzattoAuthor/).

Book preview

KFIR LUZZATTO

DEAD & BUSY

EPISODE FOUR

THE ACCOUNTANT

EPUB Edition

PINE TEN

CONTENTS

CH1 | CH2 | CH3 | CH4 | CH5

CH6 | CH7 | CH8 | CH9 | CH10 | CH11

Meet the Author

Other Stories in the DEAD & BUSY Series

Books by Kfir Luzzatto

Copyright Notice

CHAPTER 1

I had barely pushed the squeaky door halfway through when she appeared, as if she had been waiting by the entrance, and maybe that’s what she was doing. She wouldn’t have been unattractive—for an aging madam that is—if it weren’t that someone had done an unclean job of slitting her throat and her head had a weird tilt to it. I gazed at her, waiting for a sign, trying to ignore Bertram’s petulant complaints.

Why are you stopping? Why don’t you go in? he whined into my back from the first step, where he had stopped so as not to ram into me.

Hello, big man! she said, smiling with lips that had too much smeared lipstick on them. Welcome! Come in, come in.

In a moment, ma’am, I said. I needed a pause to think.

What is it? Who are you talking to? Bertram kept nagging. He stuck out his neck as far as it would go to look around the door, but I knew that he would see nothing.

Some say that my ability to see dead people is a gift, others think of it as a curse. The jury is still out on that, but at least it helps me make a living. Working as a detective is a highly competitive job, and I need the edge that my deadies vision gives me. I know from experience that ghosts can’t harm you, at least not directly, and when you realize that, it opens up a whole range of possibilities as a detective. You exploit your vision to get information instead of running for your life.

I told you to stay home, Bertram. Now you should really go. For your safety.

My safety? Why? he asked, but he got off the steps leading to the decrepit house—a good start, as I was anxious to get rid of him and on with the job of searching the premises. I had plans for that evening—or at least, for the second part of it— and wanted to get back home in time for them, so I gave him a little final push.

The thing you can’t see would suck your soul into the house and then… I left it hanging there, lifting an eyebrow to add mystery to the unspoken threat.

Bertram walked backwards to his car and fumbled for the door without shifting his gaze from me.

I’d better be going, then, you think? His voice trembled so much that I had a hard time hiding a sneer.

Better. Much better, I agreed.

I’ll see you back at the office, then. When you have news, he said. He fiddled with the car keys as he spoke, trying to sound calm but missing the keyhole several times in a row. He finally found it, managed to open the door, jumped into the car and sped away, at last allowing me to get down to business. I turned my attention to the madam, who was waiting patiently on the mat.

Miss, I said with my politest smile, I’m looking for a customer of yours. May I come in?

Business has been slow, lately, she lamented, and you are the first customer today. Let me take you to see the girls. I’m sure that you’ll find one to your liking … or two, perhaps, she added hopefully.

She moved aside. I nodded, stepped in and closed the door behind me.

I don’t know why I agreed to take that job. Well, actually, I do know why. Bertram is a pain in the neck, but he is also one of the few regular customers I have, and he gives me straight work, by which I mean regular jobs involving living persons. He is a constructor and owns a large, profitable business. From time to time, he needs me to uncover petty thefts by his employees or to find a debtor who has disappeared. He knows, of course, of my special ability in pursuing paranormal cases, but until now he had never had a real one, if you don’t count the time he