Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“I’m so sorry,” I rushed out.
Lorne had left Boston for two reasons: first, to take his brother and niece away from where tragedy had struck their family with the loss of a beloved wife and mother, and second, because he wanted to live somewhere without crime. And yes, there had been the murder of Megan Gallagher last year, but that was tied to supernatural forces beyond his control, so that was different. In his book, it didn’t detract from the allure of the town. The paranormal was not his responsibility to curtail. But murder was something he’d dealt with in the past and was now faced with again. He’d been guaranteed a small-town utopia, and now he was having to deal with exactly what he’d run from.
“It’s not your fault,” I assured him.
“No, I know, but still,” he husked. “This is my town. I’m the chief of police.”
“You can’t be everywhere at once,” I reminded him. “And I know you’ll get justice for her. That’s who you are.”
There was silence on the line before he cleared his throat. “Yeah, so anyway, there’s stuff in here, and I need you to take a look at everything.”
“I will. I’m on my way,” I promised before he hung up.
When I turned to glance at the others, I was surprised Malachi was right there, having joined me.
“Everything all right?” He sounded concerned, those deep-brown eyes of his filled with worry. Usually he was smiling, and it was a good one that emphasized his laugh lines and his dimples.
“Yeah, but I need to get home,” I lied because Lorne wouldn’t want me saying where I was going. “I’ll take a rain check on the food if that’s okay.”
“Absolutely.” He grimaced. “Though you’ll owe me.”
“Why’s that?”
“You know why,” he grumbled. “You’re abandoning me to Diana and Allard’s company. Imagine, if you will, all the horrors they’ll regale me with. They probably want to close down the youth center or kill Lorne’s dog-park initiative or something equally horrible.”
I grinned. “I’ll owe you one.”
“A big one.” He widened his eyes like he was in pain.
“Just ask Pace what he’s going to buy next,” I directed, walking backward. “He loves to talk about himself.”
“I’m aware,” he said snidely.
“I’ll see you later.”
I called a goodbye to Pace, ignored Diana, then bolted down the street to the bike rack in front of the library. Oddly, once I unlocked it and was ready to go, Argos was there, now a Russian Blue, and leaped nimbly into the basket on my bike.
“What is happening with you?” I asked him. And I wasn’t insane, so I didn’t expect an answer. He didn’t speak, as my life was not a Disney movie, but normally his actions made more sense. “I’m not going home,” I informed him, letting him make the decision to jump out or not.
Interestingly, he stayed where he was, turning once, then again, and finally curling up into a ball and chuffing at me.
“You’re so weird,” I muttered as I took off, waving at Malachi as I passed him. The sky rumbled then, letting me know that in a matter of hours there would be a wild summer squall, and my gaze dropped to Argos for a moment. “You’re gonna get wet if you stick with me.”
But he didn’t move or make any noise, which was terribly unlike him. I didn’t have time to devote to him, though. I was far more concerned with Lorne.
FOUR
I wasn’t surprised there was a crowd on the street across from the home of Kathy Hayes—a.k.a. Cordelia Wormwood when she was in her shop, at a festival, or hosting her YouTube channel. What did surprise me was that half the building must have been engulfed in flames at some point because one side was now soaked, blackened, and gutted. Firefighters were weeding through debris with their Halligan bars, looking for anything still smoldering. The ambulance was just leaving, and Pete Rooney, my friend and one of Lorne’s deputies, was standing behind the yellow tape cordoning off the crime scene. Normally I would have raised a hand in greeting, but I didn’t want to be noticed. Lorne wanted me there, but that didn’t mean I was supposed to be.
Before anyone saw me, I turned right into the alley between the white picket fence of a small A-line house and the two-story redbrick building that had been a soap factory fifty years ago and had been vacant since they went out of business. Recently Pace had purchased the old but still beautiful structure and had plans to convert it into either apartments or commercial office spaces. I hadn’t been paying attention at the last town hall meeting. I tended to doze during those, even though Lorne gently elbowed me in the ribs whenever my head bumped his shoulder.
Riding up the slight incline, I stopped halfway up, looking down the long row of houses that every backyard abutted, noting that the lights were on in every home, on both sides, and that now there were people clustered into the backyards of those closest to Cordelia’s place. The only good part was that with all the focus on the burned-down Craftsman, no one was paying any attention to me. Usually I wouldn’t have cared, but Lorne had asked me to go around the back, which meant he didn’t want anyone to see me.