The Ghost Detective: The Haunted Hospital: The Ghost Detective, #1

By PJ Tremblay

Mira Hawkings wakes to see her own body lying in a hospital bed. She is now a ghost. Follow Mira and her friends as they try to solve her attempted murder. Will they find justice for the victims of a shadowy drug dealer who is causing the death of many of the city of Middleton? Can a ghost have a love interest?

• Language: English
• Publisher: PJ Tremblay
• Release date: Feb 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224003044

PJ Tremblay

Writer and author of Fantasies and Mysteries. A retired Pastor and Veteran with a MA, a BS, and an AAS in various subjects, I have always loved learning and dreaming. My wife Pam and I have been married since 1979 and we have 5 grandchildren. We live out in the country in what we like to think of as a tiny home where we enjoy nature and critters.

Book preview

1 Not Quite Dead

Stabbing pain pulsed through my mind as if a demon sat atop my head, plunging and twisting a knife through flesh and bone. A hazy gray swirling fog writhed around me.

What a hangover. I have to shake this off.

Groggy, dull, my mind stuffed with cotton. At first I couldn’t remember anything. As the cotton leaked away, it came back to me. M... Mira... Haw... Hawkings. That’s my name.

Hearing returned first as electronic noises repeated in an echoing rhythm.

Zchunk, click, beep, Zchunk, whoosh, beep, click

Next, my vision pulsed in and out of focus, flashing like lightning, shaking, and at last settled down until the details of a room emerged. I was looking down on someone wrapped in wires and tubes.

What? How can I be looking down? Am I floating? Who’s under the blankets.

In the dim light, I couldn’t see the face. I turned away, afraid I knew. Straining to hold on to sanity, my mind went numb. I wanted to slow my breathing, but I wasn’t... wasn’t breathing and I couldn’t feel my heart beat. I felt nothing, not warm or cold... no feeling at all. Nothing. No pain, no sense of touch, no pin pricks like when a limb falls asleep. Nothing. I forced myself to look at the person in the bed below me. My God. It was me. How could that be? Was I dead? No, I was attached to machines and I could see my heartbeat on the monitor. I wasn’t dead. I must be some sort of ghost.

Hold yourself together, I thought. Close your eyes and open them again and maybe things will make sense. Maybe you’re still asleep, Mira. Maybe this is all a dream.

After closing and opening my eyes, I stood beside the bed, but I couldn’t feel the floor or the weight of my body, if I had a body. Okay, time to take stock of myself. Looking down and over my form, I saw my chest, arms, hands, and feet in a green see-through, glowing vapor. It may seem strange, but I felt relieved I wasn’t a naked ghost. Memories came rushing back. I wore a green vaporous form of my favorite ruffled blouse and knee-length skirt. Those were the clothes I wore to Mayor Blaston’s banquet.

Feeling alone, I wondered why Jeff wasn’t there. But really, what reason did I have to expect him? Sure, we liked to play our flirting games when we met on Mondays for lunch at Marty’s, but it was always about business; me trying to get a scoop for the newspaper and Jeff trying to tell me as little as possible. Sometimes he made me so mad, but I always look forward to our lunch dates. Well... not really dates. Would we ever enjoy another lunch?

Beep, beep, beep, beep...

The beeping of my IV pump alerted a nurse who rushed in and tramped right through my green ghost body as if I wasn’t there. My gassy form separated like smoke and reformed.

Hey. Watch where you’re going, I said as I swung my phantom arm to slap her, but it passed right through her head.

She flinched and whipped her arm up as if to ward off a fly. Looking down at my body, she chuckled, Did you say something, dear?

The nurse in blue scrubs, middle-aged... my age... with brunette hair speckled with gray, had kind eyes, and a motherly build. Donning gloves, the nurse checked over the places IVs entered my flesh, the respirator, and replaced an empty IV bag.

She heard me and felt me try to hit her. Why not try again? I thought.

Mustering all my mental energy, I shouted a command.

Sit down and listen.

The shocked nurse shook as if hit by lightning. Her body quivered, eyes bulged, as she scanned the room before sinking into the bedside chair.

Who... who said that?

She heard me and maybe she could see me if I thought hard to make it happen. It turned out to be easier than I expected. The mere desire caused my luminous form to sparkle and appear before the bewildered nurse, who now clenched the arms of the chair so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her mouth hung wide open, as did her eyes. With another simple desire, I found I could break my silence.