"If you put it like that, it sounds a bit strange."
"It does." I relented. "Maybe I can get the Cliff Notes on the books."
I counted them. It wasn't as bad as Cosmo had made it sound, but there were still 23 novels in front of me. I could only count myself lucky that none of our suspects was a voracious reader. Maybe they had simply borrowed a book once in a while to show that they were civic-minded.
I didn’t care. All I knew was, deep down, I had the unshakable conviction that we were close to cracking this case.
I touched a book.
A fiery jolt shot through me.
I fell backward.
"Bex!" Cosmo nudged my cheek. Then he licked it.
"I'm fine," I mumbled. "At least, I think so. That was the worst hot flash I've ever experienced."
"Try the other books," he said.
I touched them gingerly. Nothing.
“Now, the first one again.”
A wave of nausea hit me as I touched it. "Eek," I said. "I can't even open it." I had to close my eyes to stop the sick feeling.
"You have to. Because that's the one."
"Tell me the title," I said.
He did.
I took a deep breath. Once my stomach had settled, I opened my eyes and turned to the internet. It saved me. It gave me enough information what the book was about, without having to touch the book again. This has been her way to teach people, to encourage them – or to warn them about things they were contemplating, consciously or not.
To mull it all over, I did what my aunt would have done. I turned to baking.
Chapter thirty-six
While my fresh batch of cookies cooled on the baking sheets, I set up a meeting at theBlue Moon.
Cosmo wasn't best pleased to be left behind, but I couldn't continue carrying him around as my support animal. Also, he needed to catch up on his naps.
For once, it was dry when I set out, although the air still had that fresh, exhilarating scent that came from the recent rain. Petrichor, one of the best smells in the world. I sniffed it happily. How could I have lived away from all this beautiful nature for so long? How could anyone?
I decided to walk. I could always ask one of my friends to give me a lift back home later.
The first lights were on in some of the houses. I imagined happy families inside, playing with the dog, having dinner together, board games, or a TV show. Or did they also have a familiar bossing them around and figuring out how to use their powers?
I grabbed a small branch of a conifer off the ground and rubbed a few of the needles between my fingers.
At the Blue Moon, I headed straight to Harper and Reina’s apartment. We’d have to make this meeting quick, because we had a packed schedule ahead.
Ange pulled me inside. “You have that smug look on your face that tells me we’d better hang on to our hats and socks.”
I grinned at her metaphor as we sat down in a circle. Harper had an eye on her watch.
“This will only take a few minutes,” I promised. Then I laid out my deductions, from the arguments Jake had had, to the perfume bottle and the scented candle in Brad’s private bathroom. I omitted the library book as evidence, at least for now. “What do you make of this?” I asked as I came to an end.
Harper whistled through her teeth. “The plot thickens. There’s only two people I can think of. But why?”
