Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(51)

“Just some questions … about my aunt’s case.”

He paused for a minute. “I don’t really know a lot.”

“I’d like to know all you know,” she said.

“Okay. I’m with Jenny, can she come?”

“Sure,” Della said, realizing she’d been neglectful about initiating any more friendship with Jenny, the new chameleon at camp. But Della had been kind of busy, right? A thread of guilt whispered through her.

Della sat on the porch waiting after they hung up. The fall air felt good, the sky was a perfect blue, and the sun was warm on her face. It seemed too pretty of a day to be thinking about murder. A murder that happened years ago, but the ghost had given her the image, and she could only assume it was important. Or maybe she just needed to prove to herself that it hadn’t been her dad committing the murder.

When she heard two sets of footsteps walking down the path, she glanced up and watched as Derek and Jenny came around the corner. They held hands and chatted quietly, smiles on both their faces.

Della’s heart did a dip, feeling the emotional tug of seeing two people who were so right for each other. She’d always gotten that feeling when she saw Kylie and Lucas together. And maybe even a little with Miranda and Perry—the little twerp.

Jenny saw her, let go of Derek’s hand, and ran up and hugged her. Della allowed it. “I know you’ve been working a case for the FRU, but I’ve missed you. And I’ve been worried about you … with Steve leaving.”

“I’m … okay and I’m sorry,” Della said, her mind still stuck on people being right for each other, and she wondered if others saw her and Steve as “right.”

“Sorry about what?” Jenny asked.

“Being too busy. Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”

“Am I invited?” Derek asked.

“No,” Jenny said. “We wouldn’t be able to talk about you if you were there.” The girl laughed, sounding almost giddy. Was it because of love?

Derek frowned. “What are you going to say about me?”

“You’ll never know,” Jenny said. “But I’m sure it’ll be good.”

Della rolled her eyes. Her heart might have tugged earlier, but this was getting too mushy.

“You want to come inside?” Della offered before the two of them started kissing or something.

“It’s so pretty, why don’t we just sit outside?” Jenny answered.

They all sat down, leaning against the front of the cabin. Derek pulled one knee up, and when he looked at Della, she knew he was thinking about the reason she’d asked to see him. “I think I told you just about everything I found out.”

“You never said how she died,” Della corrected. “Did you actually get a copy of the report?”

“No, my PI friend just told me what the detective told him.” He paused as if thinking, then he frowned. “I’m pretty sure he said she was bludgeoned to death. He said the report noted there was a lot of blood.”

“So, she wasn’t stabbed?” she asked. “If she’d been stabbed, it would’ve said that, right?”

Derek considered it a minute. “I think so. Why?”

“Nothing important,” she lied, now even more unsure if the ghost haunting her was really her aunt. Just because she was Asian didn’t mean she was related. So okay, it might be wishful thinking, but Della deserved to wish a little.

Then, all of a sudden, she realized that she hadn’t seen the ghost actually get stabbed. She’d only assumed that the victim had been killed by the knife. Oh, hell, now she was more confused than ever.

“Can you find anything else out? Maybe you forgot something. Or didn’t think it was important. Can you ask him to tell you everything again?”

Derek looked as if he was going to say no, but then sighed. “I’ll ask him, but…”

“But what?” she asked.

“It’s just … you didn’t like what I found out the first time—about your father being the only suspect—and I don’t think it’s going to be any different.”

“I need to know,” Della said. “Me liking it is beside the point.”

*   *   *

A couple of hours later, Della spotted the Panty Perv as soon as she took the first curve in the path leading to the office. He’d texted her and said he needed to see her early.

He walked with a sense of purpose … no, more like confidence. He wore jeans, a bright yellow shirt, and a brown hoody mostly zipped. His boots matched his hoody, a worn yet warm color. The yellow of his shirt made his light green eyes appear lighter. Almost a gold green.

She felt her pulse pick up speed as if she’d been anticipating seeing him. She hadn’t, she told herself, but it felt like a lie.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as he got within five feet of her.

“What do you mean?” She answered his question with a question to avoid having to lie.

His expression said he was on to her. She didn’t care. It simply wasn’t fair that Chase could control his heartbeat and therefore lie. Sure, she could almost tell from his facial expressions, but it wasn’t 100 percent accurate.

“What do you need to talk about?” This afternoon she’d started worrying that Chase had seen the same vision she’d had last night.