Sapphire Nights (Crystal Magic Book 1)(105)

Xavier drained his bottle and set the empty on the table. “I remember that night. Kurt had to drive me home because Gump was staying at the lodge and had been drinking. Gump didn’t want to take me home as he usually did.”

Walker nodded and turned back to Francois. “And then what happened?”

“Gump gave me a hundred, thanked me for letting him know. He asked if he could borrow the gun before I put it back. He said he wanted to threaten Juan into leaving so he didn’t bother Mrs. Kennedy again. I thought maybe he was sweet on her.”

Monty buried his head in his hands, and Walker sympathized. The mayor had to suck up the knowledge that his family was the reason that a monster had been unleashed on Hillvale. And the second time was his and Kurt’s fault. The two of them had sat there that night, discussing plans for a development with a murderer. That was how Monty’s father’s life had ended—with blood on his soul.

“You didn’t think anything of it when Gump returned the gun at midnight and told you to take it to the vault?” Walker asked, sounding like a cynical cop.

“It smelled of gunpowder,” Francois said in distaste. “I’d heard the shots earlier, but Bernardo said he’d heard a lion in the woods, and Gump had been shooting at it. I took his money and drove the gun to the vault and didn’t think anything more.”

“Until morning, when you learned Juan was dead?” Walker asked in disgust.

Francois chomped on his gum hard enough to crack molars and refused to speak.





Chapter 34





Sam delivered Cass’s third cup of tea and studied the small portrait of Xavier on the booth table, the one she’d rescued from the bunker. The café was filling, as if everyone waited for a verdict from the mayor’s office, although Sam couldn’t imagine what they expected. Gump was dead. Who would admit to murder once they had a suspect? But she worried about Walker. He needed his ghosts laid to rest.

“The ghosts don’t go away,” Mariah said, as if reading her mind. She stopped by Cass’s booth to deliver one of Dinah’s sugary confections. “We either let them haunt us or set them free.”

“I thought you set them free,” Sam said, not baiting her but genuinely curious.

She wanted to see if she had a future with Walker, but if he had to return to LA, she had to decide how to shape her life. Somewhere along the line, she had quit thinking of returning to teaching. This town was very much part of her plans. She needed to know more about its inhabitants.

“I can only free the lost spirits with no connection to the living. Walker’s father isn’t hanging around. He’s almost past the veil, which is why it’s hard to reach him. It’s just Walker who needs to let go.” Mariah walked away to serve another customer.

Cass ran her fingers over the portrait on the table. “Sometimes, it’s memories we need to let go. It’s hard to tell the difference. Have you let Jade and Wolf go yet?”

Sam shook her head. “I won’t forget them. I am what they’ve made me. But if their spirits exist, I don’t want them hanging over my head, worrying about me. They deserve to leave this mortal coil for whatever lies ahead.”

“Yes, it’s easier to accept the memories once they’ve passed,” Cass said. “I loved your father like the child I never had, but I’m hoping he’s in a better place. It’s the memories of people who still live, the missed chances, the paths not taken, those are harder.”

Dinah shouted an order, and Sam left Cass to her thoughts. She wondered if there had once been anything between Cass and Xavier. It seemed hard to believe, but looking at the old portrait, she could tell Xavier had once been a handsome lawyer, and Cass had been a lonely widow.

The news that the meeting in the mayor’s office had broken up spread like a ripple in a pond. Heads came up. Eyes turned toward the door. Even Lance was here, ignoring his meal, studying the mural, and listening.

The paintings, the glowing crystals, and the conflicting energies were all part of the mystery surrounding Hillvale, a mystery Sam longed to unravel, along with finding her birth mother. But right now, she just hoped Walker had found the answers he needed.

Xavier was the only one to enter the café. That seemed to be enough for the waiting Lucys. Dinah sent him to sit with Cass and took over his favorite omelet. Mariah brought him his coffee. Valdis slid into the seat with Cass. Chatter died except for the few Nulls who had no idea anything unusual was happening.

“The Evil has one less soul in its possession,” Cass told Xavier in a quiet voice that wouldn’t normally have carried. The rare stillness gave it weight. “Sam brought you this.”

She’d done what? Sam had to drift over to see what she’d been guilty of doing. Cass was simply pushing the portrait toward Xavier, who looked at in puzzlement.

“Maybe it isn’t crap,” Lance murmured on the other side of her. “The red is gone, isn’t it?”

Sam reached over his shoulder to fill his water glass. “Daisy said the eyes had once been red in the painting and now they’re not.” She didn’t know if Lance knew about Daisy’s shelter or if she should mention it. “Does the corruption eventually fade?”

“Usually not,” Lance said sadly, still gazing at the mural. “Sometimes, we can only cover it up. I’d like to think corruption can be cured.”