Resurrection in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon Page B

small kitchen in the back room of the hotel and had just lifted the pot from the coffeemaker when Jadyn walked in. 
    “I’ll give you a year’s salary for a cup of that,” Jadyn said.
    “As I know what you make, I have to say, you’re not offering much.” Mildred smiled and grabbed two mugs from the shelf above the coffeepot. 
    Jadyn gratefully took the mug of steaming coffee from Mildred and sat at the small table in the corner. She held the container of sugar over her cup, and then the sound of Helena’s screeching blared through the air registry above her. She dumped twice as much sugar into her coffee as usual, but figured at this point, it didn’t matter. The morning was already ruined.
    Mildred looked up at the ceiling and scowled. “What in the world is she doing up there?”
    “I think she’s singing in the shower. Is that even possible?”
    Mildred shook her head and took a seat across from Jadyn. “Heck if I know. Helena didn’t exactly come with an instruction manual.”
    “I never really thought much about ghosts and the like before. I mean, I guess I always figured it was possible, but I never thought about what actually happened after the transition. It would have never occurred to me that a ghost wouldn’t know how to do ghost things. Does that make sense?”
    “Sure, and that’s the entire rub. Even though Helena and her shenanigans make me want to up and move to Canada, or worse, a part of me still feels a little sorry for her.”
    “Why is that? Not to be rude, but based on what I’ve seen, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would inspire much empathy.”
    “Oh, don’t get me wrong. When she was alive, Helena Henry was the biggest bitch that ever walked the sidewalks of Mudbug. I suppose she had her reasons, although I’d like to think I wouldn’t have chosen the same path had it been me in her shoes.”
    Mildred sighed. “Regardless, she didn’t deserve to be murdered, and she had no choice in getting stuck in some kind of limbo with no idea how to navigate it. Helena was born into money and had people serving her everything she needed her entire life. Then she died and no one could help her, even though we wanted to.”
    The full force of Helena’s predicament slammed into Jadyn, and she tried to imagine the confusion, hurt, and bewilderment the woman must have felt when she awakened into some sort of nonliving nightmare. 
    “That must have been awful,” Jadyn said. “What about her immediate family? I mean, why appear to Maryse, when she’s only related by marriage? Is that why you think she appears to those in danger?”
    “That’s part of it,” Mildred said. “Helena didn’t have any family to speak of except her husband, who tried to kill both her and Maryse but was too stupid to get it right. And back then, Hank was hardly the stuff good sons were made of. Helena’s parents both died when she was a child, but they never loved her. They never loved anything but money.”
    Jadyn’s heart clenched at Mildred’s words. She understood that situation far too well for comfort. “I can’t imagine carrying all that around. It’s like something out of a bad horror movie.”
    “It is, although she managed to hide it all behind insults and bad choices, which we tolerated then, given the situation. But this time is a little different.”
    “How’s that?”
    “This time she brought it on herself—claims she pissed off God and got thrown out of heaven. Now, I ask you, what kind of person finds something so wrong with the ever-after that they get banished?”
    Jadyn shook her head. “It sorta boggles the mind.”
    “Most things with Helena do.” Mildred took a sip of her coffee, then studied Jadyn for several seconds. “I have to say, though, you’re taking this a lot better than Maryse and I expected.”
    Jadyn shrugged. “What are my options? Don’t get me wrong, my first inclination was to throw my duffel bag in my truck and leave.”
    “Then