Alice pursed her lips in frustration. Roan patted the air. “Ladies, let’s take a breather and listen to what Blissful has to say.”
We had moved to the solarium with its large potted plants. Back in the séance room, Lemon and Tex had both been snoozing. Traylor and Luis had been awake, but I knew they wouldn’t mind if we slipped out for a few minutes. Not if they wanted me to keep their secret, that was.
“Okay, so everything that Roan thought about my father is right.”
Roan whistled low, and Alice said, “What did he think?”
“Let me explain. No. Let me make this quick. My dad is dead, and he’s trying to collect souls to make himself stronger. He’s after Sable, Tex’s wife. He thinks that if he can get three souls, probably more, then he’ll be as good as alive again.”
Alice shook her head. “Oh Blissful, I don’t think that’s how it works. Once you’re dead, you’re dead.”
“Of course that’s how it works,” Ruth snapped. “But he’s thinking differently. That’s what Bliss is trying to tell us.”
Alice studied me. “Did you tell him that? That he can’t come back from the dead? Maybe if you explain it slowly, like he’s deaf, he’ll understand.”
Roan squeezed Alice’s shoulder. “I think he does understand. He just doesn’t care about the mechanics.”
“Hmm,” she said. “Seems to me that he should.”
Kill. Me. Now.
Ruth tapped her toe impatiently. “Alice, would you just listen? We’re not going to change Vince’s mind. We have to stop him. Am I right, Blissful? Is that what you want to discuss?”
I cringed and gestured for her to keep her voice down. “Yes. We need a plan.”
“Great,” Alice griped. “Not only is there a killer in the house, but there’s also a spirit bent on killing another spirit.”
“Er, sort of,” I said. “Roan, do you sense any other presences in the room?”
Roan paused and glanced up at the ceiling. He moved away from us and did a sweep, keeping his arm extended like a dousing rod.
When he returned, he shook his head. “No. It’s clear.”
“This may be my only chance to stop my father,” I said. “We know he’s hanging around because of Sable.”
“We need to find Sable and tell her to skedaddle,” Ruth said. “But we also need to get Lucky’s soul back from your father.”
“And we have to figure out who killed Zelda,” Alice added. “Gosh, this is a lot to do. How many hours do we have left until the door unlocks?”
Roan glanced at his watch. “Three and a half.”
“That’s not a lot of time,” I told them. “We need to take each piece of this puzzle bit by bit, deciding which part to tackle first. Zelda is gone. She crossed over into the afterlife, so we don’t have to worry about my father taking her soul.”
“We warn Sable first,” Ruth said. “It makes the most sense.”
“The issue we’ll face,” Roan added, “is that if Sable appears, probably Vince will, too.”
All of us exchanged glances as we tipped and turned the idea over in our heads.
“If only we had some sort of reverse magnet,” Alice said. “You know, not something that would attract your father, but would repel him.”
She had a good point. For once Alice made the most sense.
An idea hit me.
“Alice,” I exclaimed, “I could kiss you.”
She pointed to her cheek. “I’m always ready for a kiss.”
