She’d known Nick was too distracted by his investigation. She’d noticed the rest of the team was starting to worry. And it hadn’t escaped her that the one thing he hadn’t done was ask his psychically gifted girlfriend to help him. So she hadn’t volunteered.
Now they were all paying the price, and it was up to her to fix it.
All she had to do was find Beth, keep Mrs. Penny from alienating the population of Harrisburg, and snap Nick out of his obsession. All before the business went bankrupt and they lost the house.
By the time she pulled up in front of the brick two-story at 69 Dogwood Street in Camp Hill, Mrs. Penny was explaining a strip club’s champagne room to poor Gabe and Riley’s headache was full-blown.
The limo eased past and then continued on down the block.
Riley unbuckled her seat belt. She spared a glance next door at Chelsea Strump’s property. The damage caused by a stampeding cow, a flattened fence, and a madman seeking vengeance had been completely erased from the emerald-green lawn. The destroyed shrubbery had been replaced, the glitter had been power-washed away, and the Strump side of the new fence was a glossy white.
Her parents’ side of the fence looked more like an ode to the 1960s with its kaleidoscope of color.
“Heh. Remember that time you got abducted over there?” Mrs. Penny asked, jabbing Riley in the ribs.
“It rings a bell,” she said dryly.
“What’s wrong?” Blossom Basil-Thorn demanded from the open front door. She clutched a cup of tea in aPeace, Love & Goddessmug.
The neon Psychic Readings sign was not lit in the window this morning.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, Riley’s mother performed tarot readings out of the house. Blossom was an above-average tarot reader, but her motherly instincts were even more impressive.
“Hi, Mom,” Riley called as she and her entourage climbed out of the Jeep. “We need your help with someparty planning.”
Blossom’s eyes narrowed as she sniffed out the lie.
Riley nodded subtly in Mrs. Penny’s direction.
Blossom’s eyebrows winged up toward her frizzy hair. “Ohhhh, okay, sweetie,” she said in exaggerated casualness. “Come inside. Hello, Burty Boy.”
Burt trotted up to his grandmother and enjoyed a vigorous rubdown.
Daisy, her father’s spite cow, mooed from the backyard.
“I can’t believe Chelsea next door didn’t make you get rid of Daisy,” Riley said as they entered her childhood home. It smelled like homemade soap and fennel tea.
“Since that whole abduction and explosion, she’s been too scared to say a word to us. Every time we go out in the backyard, she runs inside and locks the door. It’s been wonderful!”
“Where’s Dad?” Riley asked.
“Your father’s at the farm store looking for cow shampoo.”
Of course he was.
“Let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got dog doody to track,” Mrs. Penny said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her boob-height pants.
“Mrs. Penny, I need your expertise on a Halloween costume.” Riley pushed her toward the stairs. “Something appropriate for Nick’s party.”
The elderly woman perked up. “Right! I’m on it.”
“You can start in the closets and then work your way up to the attic,” Blossom suggested.
“Consider it done.”
“Stay out of my dad’s underwear drawer,” Riley called after her. She waited until Mrs. Penny had disappeared from sight before turning back to Gabe and her mother. “I need your help.”
Blossom rolled her eyes. “I know, sweetie. My cards and crystals are ready, and this tea is for your headache.”
