“Nick’s been working on a missing person case. I think it’s linked to the homicides Detective Weber is investigating. Which means his missing person isn’t missing. He’s dead.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” her grandmother announced stiffly.
Riley blinked. “Are you saying—”
“I will consult my spirit guides,” Elanora announced. “Gather the candles. The rest of you will shut up. Now.”
Nick watched as the Thorn women gathered candles and crystals from around the room, organizing them around the matriarch. When Elanora was satisfied, she ordered the lights dimmed.
The room went silent, and all eyes focused on her as she arranged her skirts. She closed her eyes, and her lips began to move silently. Like a witch casting an ancient spell.
Riley slid her hand through Nick’s as they both watched in fascination. This wasn’t the show she’d put on at the mansion. This was something different. More raw. And for one aching second, he thought about asking her about Beth.
The tension in the room built as the sky seemed to darken outside.
The first streak of lightning that flickered across the window made him jump.
“Did she do that?” Nick whispered.
Riley shook her head.
Blossom leaned in. “Coincidence. Mom can’t control the weather.”
“How about Gabe?” he asked.
The man in question was seated just behind Elanora to the right. His eyes were also closed, and he, too, was muttering something under his breath. “I mean, are we sure he’s human?”
“We’re mostly sure. I mean. I think,” Riley whispered back.
Blossom leaned in again. “I think he’s an extraterrestrial being.”
“Who? Gabe?” Mrs. Penny asked. “No way. He’s some secret billionaire who roams the earth trying to give away his fortune.”
“Do any of you actually know anything about the man?” Nick asked.
Everyone shrugged.
“So you just let him move in with no references or anything?”
Again, they all shrugged.
“To be fair, if heisan extraterrestrial, we wouldn’t be able to contact his references anyway,” Blossom explained.
“Good point,” Fred whispered from his cross-legged position on the floor.
There was another jolt of lightning, this one accompanied by an ominous roll of thunder.
“Poor Daisy. She ain’t a fan of thunderstorms,” Roger complained.
“She’ll be fine, dear,” Blossom assured him, patting his arm. “She has my nice gardening shed that you ripped apart to turn into a barn.”
Elanora’s eyes snapped open like cartoon window shades. “Larry Rupley is deceased,” she announced.
Heads snapped back to look at her.
“How long? Where is he? How was he killed?” Nick asked.
She held up a wrinkled hand. “The newly dead do not communicate as well as the more experienced dead. He showed me the river. He was running.”
