“And pay to restore it to how it looked before we took ownership,” Lucinda added darkly. “I’ve told you how I feel about this deal, Julian.”
The look Julian shot her was icy. “I know you don’t like it, but property on the island comes at a premium, and I want to live close to the water. We don’t have a lot of options.”
“Besides,” Taylor added, throwing in another nervous giggle, “this guy has been missing twenty years. He won’t be back.” She looked to me for confirmation.
Now I was in an awkward position. “Oh, well … .”
“Why are you here?” Julian asked.
“Well … it’s a long story.” How much was I supposed to tell him?
“Is this about your grandfather going missing?” Julian’s face filled with sympathy. “I loaned Galen members of my security unit for the search yesterday. I have some solid trackers on my team.”
I bobbed my head. “I knew that.”
“They said you went missing for most of the day,” Julian added. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “It’s a long story.” I ran them through the rest of it. When I finished, I held my palms out. “So, that’s basically it.”
“The guy who owned this house was a serial killer?” Taylor’s voice was chirpy as she looked back at the structure. It didn’t look creepy. It looked like a typical beach mansion, two stories with hugewindows facing the water, white brick, rich red patio paving stones. It was much nicer than I expected.
“We believe so,” I replied, “though we don’t actually know.”
“You’re wondering if someone else was the killer and Declan was killed as a scapegoat,” Flip guessed in his deep voice.
“It’s a possibility,” I said. “It’s also a possibility that Declan is on the other plane honing his skills.”
“Why would he go there?” Julian asked. “Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Yes, but he might not have wanted to risk spending the rest of his life in prison.”
“He wouldn’t have gone to prison if he’d been convicted,” Marjory interjected. “He would have been killed. We don’t mess around with paranormal criminals on this island.”
“What was Declan?” I asked.
“I believe there was some witch or warlock in their family,” Marjory said. “He inherited the property through an aunt and uncle. There might have been some siren, too. It’s all a little fuzzy.”
This was where Marjory fell down on the job. If something didn’t directly affect her, she wasn’t interested in learning more.
“You have a key to the house?” I prodded Julian.
He nodded. “We were going to look around to decide if we wanted to agree to the lease.”
“Do you mind if we look with you?”
He smirked. “No. Now you’ve piqued my interest.”
“I’m guessing you don’t want to live in the home of a potential serial killer,” I said as we started up the path to the front door.
“Oh, that wouldn’t bother me.” He shook his head. “In fact, that wouldn’t bother me at all. I’m more worried that he’s going to come back from the other plane and try to reclaim his house.”
“I’m fairly certain that if he makes it to this side he’s going to run,” I replied. “Or get himself killed.”
Julian didn’t look convinced.
“I’M GUESSING THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE LOOKINGfor,” Julian deadpanned as we stood in what had once been Declan’s office, staring at the huge mural that dominated the wall.
I nodded, my eyes roaming the scene. It looked like a hellscape — a very familiar hellscape — with little minions kneeling at the feet of a terrible shadow.
