“There are different kinds of spirits, same as there are different kinds of people. Some of them exist only in darkness.”
Jenny felt a chill. “Are those . . . evil spirits?”
“Yes.” Cleo turned and stomped back out the door. Jenny followed her down the hall, down the stairs to the lobby.
At the bottom of the stairs, Cleo turned back to her. “This place be closed by midnight?”
It was a weeknight. The weather was bad, business slow. “Earlier, if that’s what you want.”
“Midnight. Meet me here.” Cleo’s big body swayed back and forth as she turned and walked to the door. She opened it, ringing the bell above, and disappeared out onto the sidewalk.
Jenny’s shoulders sagged as a rush of tension left her. Had Cleo really sensed something upstairs? It certainly appeared that way.
Jenny glanced over at the lobby desk. On Monday morning, she had put the most recently used leather journal, half full, back out on the desk, where it now sat open. Things were happening. She needed to know what was going on. She needed to know the truth.
Maybe she would find out tonight.
* * *
Cain wasn’t happy. Jenny had called and told him she’d be working late, spending the night in her suite at the Copper Star. When he’d told her he’d pick her up after she closed up, she had stumbled through a string of excuses.
Cain wanted to know why.
He thought of the guy with the Italian loafers and two-hundred-dollar haircut, but he didn’t believe Jenny had any interest in the man. He trusted her, he realized, just as he’d said.
Something else was going on, and Cain intended to find out what it was.
He left the Grandview around the time he figured the saloon would be closing, drove the Jag down the hill, and parked on the street out front. It was eleven-thirty. Some of the lights were still on inside. Even after the customers were gone, it took a while to close the place down.
He walked up to the front door and knocked, heard movement inside the bar. Jenny’s voice came back to him from the other side of the door.
“Sorry, we’re closed.”
“It’s Cain. Let me in.”
“Cain . . .” He heard the hesitation in her voice, then the rattle of locks, and the door swung open. “What are you doing here? I told you I had to work late and I was going to spend the night upstairs.”
“That’s what you said.”
She clamped her hands on her hips. “You don’t believe me? You think I’m going off with some stud muffin I met in the bar?”
Cain grinned. “No, I don’t think that.” He forced her back a couple of steps as he walked into the saloon. “I told you I trusted you, and I do.” He glanced around the empty bar. “The question is what else is going on tonight? Because I’m beginning to know you well enough to realize you were only telling me part of the truth.”
Jenny sighed. “I’m not sure I like that.”
“Comes with familiarity, sweetheart. Now tell me the rest.”
“Okay, the truth is I knew you wouldn’t like what I’m doing tonight so I didn’t tell you. Plus I figured if you were here, your disbelief might affect the outcome.”
He surprised her by pulling her into his arms and kissing her. She resisted for an instant, then slid her arms up around his neck and kissed him back.
Cain reluctantly broke the kiss. “You can tell me anything, honey. If I don’t like it, I’ll say so.”
She smiled up at him. “All right. But the same goes for me. If I don’t like it, I’ll tell you.”
Cain smiled back. “I figured. Now what’s going on?”
“I met Nell’s friend, Cleopatra Swift, today. Cleo is able to communicate with spirits. She took a look at room ten. Cleo thinks there could be something evil in the room. She’s coming back tonight to see if she can reach out to whatever it is.”
