Sapphire Nights (Crystal Magic Book 1)(15)
“So the body is bad news to keep from the tourists?”
“You catch on quick. But it’s old news and shouldn’t cause too much of a stir, unless the Lucys go loco. I don’t suppose you can offer any influence there?” His tone didn’t sound negative, just discouraged.
“Lucys?” The fog was rolling in again, and she couldn’t see his expression in the dashboard light.
He slumped in his seat and steered with one hand. “The local psychics, witches, whatever. I understand the early spiritualists called themselves the Lucent Ladies. It kind of devolved from there.”
“Understandable,” she acknowledged dryly. “So the normals got called Nulls in retaliation. No, I don’t have a bit of influence there. The best I can do is sneak you a pie at Dinah’s when I start working there.”
“That will put you in command central. Try to keep them calm. Feed them lots of Dinah’s pie.” Amusement tinged his voice, until they arrived at the town square. The parking lot was full and all the café’s lights were on, and he turned grim again. “I don’t suppose that means she’s serving hot beignets.”
“Probably not?” she guessed. It appeared to be standing room only inside the small café.
“Mind if we stop? I can understand you’d rather go home, but I either need to go in there and calm the Lucys or run back up and stand guard over that grave.”
“I need to keep walking shoes in my superwoman booth,” she said. “Let’s stop. I’d rather not be dragged out of bed again.”
“I kinda like the gladiator shoes you have on,” he said, parking the truck. “At least they’re not the kind with the spiky heel.”
Feeling daring, Sam swung her gladiator wedge at him as he came around to help her down.
“Don’t tempt a hungry man,” he countered, causing her a visceral thrill as his green gaze took in her leg. “It’s been a damned long day, pardon my language.”
Damn if that hungry look wasn’t a little bit dangerous, but he caught her hand instead of her ankle. “Your mother brought you up right,” she said, hopping down. “Did you grow up around here?”
“Hardly.” Returning to taciturn, Walker put his wide hand at the small of her back and steered her toward the café. Golden light streamed through the gray fog and the aroma of coffee spilled out when he opened the door.
The crowd noise died down at their entrance.
Mariah waved from her perch on the counter. “Kitchen’s closed but you’re welcome to volunteer for the séance. Cass isn’t here to lead it, but Tullah said she’d try.”
“You need to learn not to bring the fuzz,” a male voice called from the corner of the room. Wearing all black, with his hair tied back in a leather thong, seated on a stool and bending over a guitar, the musician looked up long enough to wink.
“I bring a pretty lady and all I get is insults?” her escort asked without rancor. “Shall we leave?”
“Harvey, pipe down,” Mariah scolded. “We’re trying to help the deputy. Tullah, you make the choices. How many of us do you need?”
“May I ask who you’re trying to contact?” Sam asked, surprising herself.
“The spirit polluting the vortex, of course,” Val said from the shadows of the room. “We must send him across the veil so he does no more harm.”
“She means she wants to know who the body belongs to,” Mariah translated. “None of us has been here long enough to know of anyone gone missing in recent times. He’s not a settler, is he?” she asked directly of Walker.
“That’s for the coroner to say,” he replied in a low rumble that reached the entire audience. “If you don’t need us, I think I’ll take the lady home. You’ll scare her back down the mountain with all this hocus pocus.”
“But she’s the reason we’re here,” Daisy protested. “If we don’t consult the spirit and find a murderer, Samantha will die.”
Chapter 6
Mariah unlocked the front door of Cass’s Victorian mansion and the chosen ones spilled inside. Electric candle sconces flickered on in the foyer as they entered. Lights that lit themselves were just one more horror to add to this thriller film Sam had fallen into.
Shaken by Daisy’s ridiculous proclamation that there was a murderer on the loose and she might die, Sam threw a longing look toward her guest cottage, but she would never sleep now.
Walker had abandoned her to the Lucys, saying he had to guard the gravesite or one of the lunatics would be digging around, looking for more bones. She feared he was right. The people who hadn’t come with the chosen thirteen had quickly departed for their cars and bicycles, and at least half of them had headed up the hill. She didn’t envy him his job.
Not that she envied her position either. Mariah patted her on the shoulder, then led the others past two enormous dark parlors into a dining room decorated in gold 70’s flocked wallpaper and hung with a crystal chandelier. Sam appreciated that the chandelier didn’t light automagically as they entered, but several sconces on the wall did. She’d watched this time but hadn’t seen anyone flip a switch. Motion detectors, perhaps? The room was too dim to watch everyone at once.