Roan leaned over me and rapped his knuckles on the table. “Find Brownie. See if she’s hiding something.”
I kissed his cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Axel rose. “In the meantime Roan’s got some work to do.”
He winked at me. “I get to call a real demonologist and see if I can get some help with the beast below.”
Axel stiffened.
Roan extended his hand. “No harm, man.”
Axel relaxed. “None taken.”
Pepper clapped her hands. “What’re we all sitting around here for? Let’s get to work, y’all!”
SEVENTEEN
The police had finished their sweep of the house, and Brownie, along with her family, were moving back in. Go figure. Apparently Kency and her crew had decided they’d discovered all the bodies the home had hidden.
So they’d cleared out, and now the Jarvises had returned.
Pepper and I had dropped Axel off downtown to see if there was any more investigating he could do. Meanwhile I picked up Ruth and Alice, figuring it would be best to approach Brownie with ladies in tow. She seemed like a dainty flower. I didn’t exactly want to bust in and scare her to death.
So I brought the grandmothers with me. Who could resist old women and a tin of cookies? Because Alice never disappointed on that front.
“You got the cookies?” I had one hand on the door handle and the other on my steering wheel.
Alice fumbled in her coat. “I know I put millionaire shortbread in here this morning. Let me make sure it hasn’t fallen out.”
“Millionaire shortbread?” Pepper pivoted in her seat to glance back at Alice. “What’s that?”
“It’s little squares of heaven,” Ruth said. “Goes great with coffee.”
“Hmm.” Pepper snagged her teeth over her lips in thought. “Is there a place in town that sells jelly beans? I’m running low.”
“Running low?” I quirked a brow.
She smiled shyly. “I keep a bag on me most of the time. You never know when a beverage will need a little extra sweetening.”
“There’s a candy store in town,” Alice mumbled. “But they don’t sell millionaire shortbread.”
“Which means it might not be worth your time,” I added.
Pepper whipped off her seat belt. “Thanks. I’ll stop by there.”
“Okay. Is everyone ready?”
When I received three yeses, we evacuated the vehicle and approached the house.
Brownie answered the door after a few knocks. Her hair was pulled into a bun, a fresh coat of lipstick pigmented her lips and her clothes were without one wrinkle.
How anyone could chase after a little kid and still look perfect was beyond me.
“Hi, Brownie.” I did my best to offer an encouraging smile. “We wanted to welcome you back.”
“Oh?” She peered out the door to my band of women. “Thank you.”
“Can we come in? We brought shortbread.”
