“I can’t believe one of my officers would betray us.” Shawn shook his head, but his expression looked less certain.
“I don’t like it any more than you do, Chief,” Ezra said. “But we can’t ignore any possible suspect.”
“Fine.” Shawn sighed. “You have my complete support to follow the leads wherever they take you.” He slumped in his chair. “Just keep it quiet and tread lightly. Don’t make unnecessary waves if you can help it.”
“Do you think the letter writer and the person who put the bullets in the popcorn kettle are the same?” I’d gotten the impression from the letter that it had been an older woman. There was something about the language that was oddly formal and old-fashioned, but the shadowy figure in my vision had seemed almost giddy, which had given me younger vibes. I frowned. “What if the letter showing up today wasn’t a coincidence? What if the letter is just another part of the plan?”
“What makes you think that?” Shawn inquired.
Ezra began to pace. He ran his fingers through his hair and frowned. “Nora’s right. We need to assume it’s possible the popcorn sabotage was planned long before the letter was made public.”
I pressed my thumb against my stomach, seeking relief from the pain and pressure churning my gut.
Ezra gave me a concerned look.
“Just a little stomach upset,” I murmured, dropping my hand to my side. “I’ll be fine.”
Shawn’s mouth thinned as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Nora needs to lay low until we can sort out this PR nightmare.”
I gave him a bland stare. “PR nightmare, Shawn? Really? Since when do you worry about public relations?”
His cheeks reddened. “Sorry. The mayor’s been on my case since the letter this morning. When she finds out the street fair incident is tied to you as well, she’s going to lose it.”
Three years ago, our old mayor, Aaron Trident, had been arrested for murder and kidnapping. My smell-o-vision, as Gilly called it, had been crucial in bringing him down. Shawn, as the chief of police, had been put in the tough position of taking down his boss. I’d respected him for not shying away from the truth, especially since it involved the person who could fire him. Allison Green, the new mayor, had respected Shawn’s determination as well. However, she’d cautioned him to avoid anything that might look like a scandal after Trident’s lawyer leaked a story to the Stupor about the Garden Cove PD having a psychic on their payroll. The Stupor was a rag magazine with sensational headlines that rarely lined up with the story content, and the article hadn’t named names. Lucky for me, it meant the speculation around the story had been short-lived.
But maybe that’s where this had begun. What if this was the ex-mayor’s revenge? “Do you think this could be Trident’s doing?” I asked, mulling the possibility. “He leaked that the police used a psychic in his case to that trashy magazine shortly after his arrest.”
Trident had taken a plea deal for a thirty-year sentence with a chance of parole in twenty. I’d been upset about the leniency, but I’d suspected the Stupor article had prompted the prosecutor to offer it. There had been enough evidence to convict the ex-mayor without my psychic smeller, but I would’ve been called as a witness. The district attorney had wanted to avoid a “media circus,” as he’d put it, so he’d given Trident a choice: thirty with the possibility of parole or two consecutive life sentences with no hope of ever leaving prison in anything other than a casket.
“I don’t see how he could be involved,” Shawn responded dismissively. “I get a report every time he gets a visitor, a phone call, or a letter. Other than his attorney six months ago, Aaron Trident hasn’t had any contact with the outside world. He’s persona non grata, even to his own family.”
“Fine.” I chewed my lower lip for a moment. The incident with the bullets hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment prank. The perpetrator had been careful and calculating. No, this plan had been set into motion long before the anonymous letter in the Gazette. “I think we’re going to have to look at everyone who knows what kind of consulting I do for the department and the criminals we’ve taken down because of my nose.” Before Shawn could protest, I added, “They didn’t just wake up this morning and decide to come up with this elaborate plan to get my attention. My vision of the memory was too careful and calculated to be spur-of-the-moment.”
In other words, whoever targeted me today wasn’t a new enemy.
Hickory, dickory, pop,the black hoodie figure that sounded like Christopher Walken had said.If you can’t catch me, I won’t stop.
They’d been biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to put on a show for my benefit.
Good luck, Nora Black. I’m just warming up.
Remembering Dolly’s sinister, albeit upbeat, promise made me shiver. Now that the first act was finished, I braced myself for the curtain to rise on an even darker second act.
ChapterFive
My front door was unlocked, and after the day I’d had, my heart lodged in my throat. I’d texted Gilly to meet me at my house, sologically, I knew she was the culprit. After all, she lived next door and had keys to my house the same as I had to hers. Ezra had to debrief his team and finish up paperwork, and I hadn’t relished the idea of coming home to an empty house.
Out of an abundance of caution, I texted Gilly to see if she was indeed in the house. Better safe than sorry. She texted right back.
Waiting inside. Picked up dinner.
I choked out a laugh as relief washed over me. The sound was rather tinny and off, but I was kind of off at the moment. Raising my chin and throwing my shoulders back, I went inside. The sweet and bitter aroma of strong black coffee assuaged my unease. The sound of familiar voices—and not of the celebrity variety—drew me to the kitchen. There, at the center island, sat Gilly and Ari, both in sweats and oversized shirts. Ari’s hair was still damp from a shower or bath. An open pink box of donuts lay between them, its vibrant assortment almost untouched, while two grease-stained bags from the Taco Shake Shack added to the much-needed culinary delights.
When Ari’s brown eyes met mine, they brimmed with tears. She shot up from her seat and rushed toward me, her footsteps quick and desperate. Her arms clamped around me in an instant, holding on as if she might never let go. Her trembling breaths came in short, uneven gasps.
I wrapped my arms around my goddaughter, rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles. “It’s okay, honey,” I murmured, my voice as steady as possible despite the whirlwind of emotions racing through me. “We’re okay.” I glanced over at Gilly.
Her expression was a mix of worry and relief. “Thank God you’re okay,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
