Chapter 14

PUT IT ON REPEAT

Chloe drove me home after brunch, a little past one o’clock. She couldn’t linger because she wanted to get back to Once in a Blue Moon and not miss out completely on all that Saturday afternoon prime shopping time.

“Will Calvin be back soon?” she asked, looking a little anxious as she seemed to notice that my husband’s big white Durango was still missing from the driveway.

“He texted me as he was leaving the garden center,” I replied. It was sweet of her to be worried about leaving me here alone, but I knew it wasn’t an issue. “He should be here in ten minutes or so. It’s fine.”

That piece of information made her expression brighten. “Oh, okay. Then I guess it’s all right.”

I assured her that it was, then pushed myself out of her VW and waddled over to the front door while she turned the car around and headed down the long gravel drive that led to our private lane. With any luck, she would be back out on the main road before Calvin got here; two cars could pass on the narrow street that led to our property, but it was something of a squeeze.

When I went inside, I paused for a moment to pet Sadie, who of course had come bounding up the second I entered the house, then glanced around. Nothing felt out of place, and yet something inside made me glad Calvin would be home soon.

It was silly to feel that way, though — I’d made sure the house was thoroughly protected, and there was no sign that anyone had been here in my absence.

Just the heebie-jeebies, I told myself. The accident and that horrible dream the other night have put you off balance.

Probably. I especially didn’t want to feel this way after spending such a lovely couple of hours with my friends and my mother. Just because I’d suffered a couple of shocks lately didn’t mean that anything was wrong.

My Jeep was still in limbo, since the mechanic hadn’t yet been able to find anything physically wrong with it and the insurance adjuster wouldn’t even make it out to Globe to look over the vehicle until Monday. Under normal circumstances, I would have gone to Gilbert or Mesa to rent a car so I wouldn’t be without wheels, but these weren’t exactly normal circumstances.

I headed into the kitchen, figuring a glass of water would help dispel some of my current hinkiness. And that was where Calvin found me a few minutes later, sipping some water as I leaned against the counter, even as I told myself I should have gone into the living room to sit down.

“How was brunch?” he asked.

“It was great,” I said. There didn’t seem to be any point in telling him about my recent bout of nerves, not when there wasn’t any physical reason for me to have reacted that way when I came into the house. No, I was just letting my imagination run away with itself again. “And guess what? Victoria’s expecting, too!”

At once, Calvin came over and hugged me. “That’s great news,” he said, then paused. “Or at least, I suppose it is. I can’t really imagine Archie changing a diaper, can you?”

I chuckled, all my worries of a moment earlier evaporating in the face of such a comic mental scene. “Not really,” I replied. “But I suppose he’ll get the hang of it eventually.”

The corners of my husband’s dark eyes crinkled in amusement. “Hopefully. Did you have any idea they were even planning to start a family?”

“None,” I said, reflecting that Victoria had been holding her cards pretty close to the vest on this one. “I always got the impression she wanted to take some time to focus on really getting the design studio up and running before they even talked about having kids…but sometimes this stuff just happens.”

“That it does,” Calvin remarked. Our baby was very much planned, even if we hadn’t known exactly how the timing was going to work out, but I got the feeling he was thinking of his own large family and how his four brothers and sisters had so many kids of their own. Those children were definitely wanted, even if some of them had been surprises at the time.

The conversation moved on to what fun it was going to be for all of us to have babies around the same age, even if Calvin’s and mine was making an earlier appearance in the world than Hazel’s or Victoria’s. Right then, I wished I wasn’t feeling so confined to the house, because if I’d been at the store, I would have been able to go over and congratulate Archie in person on the impending arrival. Yes, I’d already given Victoria my best wishes, but it wasn’t quite the same thing.

But my little world was changing, and I’d just have to roll with it.

Later that afternoon, I got a text from Chloe.

My parents want to go out 2nite to celebrate the dismissal. Can U & Cal make it to the Gold Dust @ 7?

Part of me wanted to decline. I’d already gone to brunch at my mother’s house, and that seemed like enough social gatherings for one day.

On the other hand, the gesture felt like an obvious olive branch from the Fairfields, and it seemed rude to decline. Also, since the restaurant at the Gold Dust casino was on tribal lands, it was only about a five-minute drive from our house and therefore felt a lot more approachable than going back into Globe.

I asked Calvin if he was okay with the plan, and he said, “If you are. It feels like kind of a lot for one day.”

Echoing what I’d thought just a moment before. However, I only shrugged and said, “Yes, but it’s close, and it’s not as if we’ll be out late. I think we should.”

“Then it’s fine with me.”

Which was pretty much exactly what I’d thought he would say, but still, I was glad he was on board with the plan.

So I texted Chloe back and told her that was fine and that we were looking forward to it. Afterward, though, I found myself restless and once again headed into my office, even though I knew I would have been better served to spend the time between now and our dinner date with the Fairfields sitting in the living room with my feet up.

I was getting awfully tired of that, though. I wasn’t an invalid, just a pregnant woman who was ready to pop any day now.

My gaze roamed over the decks of Tarot cards on my bookshelf. Most of the time I used my trusty Everyday Witch deck, but I still hoarded way more decks than I probably should, occasionally reaching out to a different set of cards when my Everyday Witch ones didn’t seem up to the task, for whatever reason.

Maybe now was the time to try something different. Yes, Chloe wouldn’t be going to trial, but I still had no idea who had followed Jack Speros to her Airbnb and throttled him in the living room there.

I went over to the bookshelf and let my fingers trail across the various decks there, looking for that inner twinge or tingle to let me know which one would be better suited for my current purposes.

And then it settled on the Light Seers tarot.

Well, that seemed appropriate. I was definitely trying to shine a light on the situation and find my way to the truth.

I pulled out the deck and took it over to my altar. Because it had been so long since I’d used these particular cards, I lit some palo santo incense and used the purifying smoke to cleanse the deck and ready it for the reading.

Just inhaling the clean, aromatic smoke drifting up from the cone made me feel a little better. While it had been wonderful to see everyone, being around that many people at once could also be draining, and giving myself this time to be in my sacred space and alone with my books and cards and crystals was restorative in a way I wasn’t sure I could ever fully explain.

But now that I’d cleansed the deck and made myself as open to the universe’s suggestions as I possibly could, it was time to see what this particular set of cards had to tell me.

I shuffled and shuffled, waiting for the small inner sign that would let me know it was time to stop and pull a card. It took a long time, and I began to wonder whether I should have switched decks. Every once in a while, I couldn’t get the Tarot to vibe with me no matter what I did.

At last, though, my fingertips tingled, and I stopped so I could pull the first card out of the deck.

The Devil. In this particular deck, he wore the face of a handsome man with wild black hair, one hand reached forward in a beckoning gesture, but still.

Not this again, I thought. It wouldn’t be the first time when I’d had a second card pull turn out to be a mirror image of one I’d already done, but I’d really been hoping for some fresh insights this time around.

The second card was the Seven of Swords.

I wanted to let out a bitter chuckle. However, even though I’d told Calvin I was going to my office to work with my cards, I had a feeling a single unexpected sound would bring him over here to check on me.

With a feeling of inevitability, I reached for the third card, fully expecting to see the Emperor again. However, the card looking up at me was the Queen of Cups, reversed.

Generally, she was a positive card. When reversed, however, she could mean co-dependency, unhealthy relationships.

Not so surprising when juxtaposed with the Devil and the Seven of Swords. But why had she appeared now, rather than the Emperor?

I didn’t know. While I’d been hoping for some additional illumination, all I’d really gotten was a deepening of the mystery.

My gaze moved to the crystal ball on its lower shelf. Grandma Ellen knew about my pregnancy and was happy for me, but I hadn’t contacted her lately, knowing she could see what was going on in my life when she needed to and that in general, it was better not to reach out too often to interrupt her in her existence in the afterlife.

But I was feeling awfully stuck here. And Chloe, although not related to Grandma Ellen by blood, was still my little sister. Wouldn’t she care that someone so closely connected to me would continue to have this cloud hanging over her unless I could somehow find my way to the truth?

Well, that seemed to settle things.

It wasn’t much fun to bend over and fetch the heavy crystal ball and its wooden stand from the bookshelf, but somehow I managed it. However, I had a feeling I’d have to ask Calvin to put it back for me once I was done.

I placed my hands on the crystal’s surface, feeling it warm slightly with the contact. Keeping my voice to a murmur, I said, “Grandma Ellen, I need to talk to you.”

The interior of the crystal ball remained clear, which was never a good sign. When she appeared, a swirling mist usually filled the ball first, and then she followed a little later…sometimes a lot later. Now, though, I couldn’t see any sign of her.

That didn’t mean I intended to give up.

“Grandma Ellen, it’s important.”

At last, a fine mist began to appear inside the ball. I held my breath, as though fearing that the slightest puff of air against the crystal might make the mist disappear and my grandmother might never show up at all.

But more mist swirled, and then a moment later, I could see my grandmother’s face staring back at me. As always, she appeared as she had when she passed away, younger than the forty-two she’d been, with blonde hair waving over her shoulders and the same deep blue eyes my mother and I shared as well.

She didn’t look too surprised, which told me she had at least a passing idea of what had been happening in Globe over the past week.

“Selena, you really need to be tending to your own house,” she said without preamble, and I blinked at her.

“Do you know something I don’t?” I demanded, and she gave me one of her Mona Lisa smiles, telling me that while she might possess knowledge I didn’t, she wasn’t inclined to share it with me.

“What’s there to know?” she responded. “You’re due to give birth in less than two weeks. Running around trying to solve a murder might not be the best use of your energy right now, especially since it seems as if your younger sister isn’t in any danger of going to prison.”

Wow, Grandma Ellen really had been keeping pretty close tabs. Then again, I supposed that wasn’t too strange. I had to believe she’d been watching my doings much more carefully than she might normally would have, since her first great-grandchild was due to make an appearance almost any day now.

“No,” I said, “but still, she wants to live here in Globe, and she doesn’t want to start off with a bunch of people thinking she’s a murderer. It just makes sense that I would want to track down the person responsible — and not just for her sake. No one wants a killer walking around loose, you know?”

Grandma Ellen’s lips — wearing their usual coating of Revlon’s Cherries in the Snow lipstick — curved in a faint smile. “No, they don’t,” she said. “And I have to say I’m glad you were finally able to meet your sister. I wasn’t around to offer my opinion, but I never liked the way your mother and Jordan made sure to keep you entirely out of his other children’s lives. The two of them weren’t together, of course, and yet I didn’t believe that meant you should never get to know your siblings.”

Well, at least Grandma Ellen was on my side when it came to that particular topic. I hadn’t pushed my mother on the subject, partly because the age gap meant I would probably never have a whole lot in common with my half-siblings, and partly because by the time I really started to think it was wrong that I had a family I never got to meet, I was old enough to have a whole host of other things to distract me.

“Chloe is a great girl,” I said. “She doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her.”

“But she has you providing all kinds of support,” my grandmother countered. “And while I agree it would be wonderful if you could clear her name, I don’t think it’s going to damage her life irreparably if you can’t.”

I planted my hands on my hips. “Which is your way of telling me you’re not going to help me with this.”

Once again, she gave me a half smile. “At the risk of repeating my words from previous murder cases you’ve investigated, you have all the clues you need. It’s how you put them together that’s important. Just remember that Jack Speros knew his murderer. It wasn’t someone from Globe.”

After uttering those words, she faded away, and the mists that had been swirling around her face disappeared as well. I would have tried to call her back, but I knew when she departed like that, she had no intention of returning any time soon.

It wasn’t someone from Globe.

A notion I’d been entertaining for a while, but my grandmother’s words had seemed pretty emphatic.

Could it be that Bryce Arsenault really was the killer? He certainly wasn’t from Globe, and he definitely had a reason to be angry with Jack Speros. I just couldn’t say for sure that Bryce’s anger rose to the level of cold-blooded murder, especially since there wasn’t any clear evidence that he’d left Vermont any time in the recent past. Ben Ironhorse should have located records of any flights Bryce had taken, and it wasn’t as though you could just jump in a car and drive from Burlington to our little corner of southeast Arizona in the blink of an eye. No, that sort of trip would require some planning, and as far as I could tell, there was no indication that he’d ever been anywhere except where he was supposed to be. Then again, if he’d paid cash for his gas and his motel rooms and had driven fast, he could have hidden the expedition from any online searches and still gotten here in a couple of days. I couldn’t discount his involvement, even if it seemed like a long shot to me.

Which made me feel as though I was farther from an answer to the mystery than when I’d started.

As best I could, I put my worries behind me as I changed into the pretty green dress that was the one nice piece I owned that still fit and managed to be halfway flattering. Calvin had noticed that I’d used my crystal ball — obviously, since I had to ask him to put it back for me — but he seemed to sense that I didn’t want to talk about what I’d seen, since he was quiet as he helped me into the Durango and we backed out of the garage.

Once we were on the road, though, he said, “This is supposed to be a celebration, you know.”

“I know,” I replied, and managed a wan smile. “And I promise I’ll be cheerful once we get to the restaurant. I just wish I had some good news to give Chloe.”

“She already got her good news for the day,” my husband said. “She doesn’t have to stand trial or worry about going to jail. I know you wanted to have Jack’s murderer wrapped up in a bow, but sometimes life doesn’t work that way.”

No, it didn’t. I did my best to remind myself that everyone had thought the murderer from Josie’s brewing competition was safely behind bars before the contest was even over, but I’d still believed the real killer was out there somewhere…and I hadn’t given up. I’d managed to ferret out the perpetrator — Sofia’s ex- boyfriend and ex-partner — although the competition was done by then.

There was no reason to believe I couldn’t pull off the same ninth-inning rebound here, to use a sports phrase. Then again, I’d had a lot more clues to go on last time.

Which didn’t necessarily mean anything.

We pulled into the parking lot of the Gold Dust, which was fairly crowded that Saturday night. I was kind of surprised the Fairfields had been able to get a reservation for five at such late notice, since the casino’s restaurant was the only place close by where you could have something resembling a fine dining experience and most people in town went there for their birthday and anniversary celebrations.

Well, maybe Chloe’s parents had just gotten lucky. Maybe there had been a cancellation or something.

Calvin helped me out of the Durango, and the two of us made our way over to the entrance. The Fairfields were already seated in the waiting area, although Jordan stood up as Calvin and I approached.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” he said. “We wanted to do something to show our appreciation for everything you’ve done.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that much,” I replied. Maybe it would have been better to accept my bio father’s praise without any kind of demurral, but I couldn’t help feeling I’d still been kind of a failure, considering I hadn’t been able to figure out who’d killed Jack Speros.

“But it was,” he said. His tone was firm, telling me he wasn’t going to accept any kind of self-deprecating talk when it came to my efforts to clear Chloe’s name. In his mind, I’d succeeded, since the charges had been dismissed and she no longer had to worry about legal retaliation connected to Jack’s death.

Luckily, the hostess called the Fairfields’ name right then, and we had to break off the conversation so she could lead us to our table. Calvin helped me into my seat, and everyone else sat down as well.

A few minutes passed as we all looked over the menu and decided on what we wanted — I almost always went for filet mignon and tonight was no different — but after we’d placed our orders, Heather folded her hands on the table and gave me a grateful look.

“What Jordan told you is how all of us are feeling,” she said. “I can’t tell you what a relief it is to know that Chloe has been cleared of all connection to Jack’s murder. It was a terrible thing, and we feel awful for the Speros family, but at least we can all start to move on.”

I managed a smile, even as Chloe sent the very smallest of sideways glances in my direction. That was about all we could allow ourselves, though, since it was obvious her parents were ready to put this mess behind them.

“That was always my hope for everyone,” I responded. “And I really am grateful to Chloe for staying here and helping with the shop.”

Judging by the way neither Jordan nor Heather said anything right away, I could tell they still weren’t all that thrilled about her decision to make a new life here in Globe. However, it also seemed they were trying to make their peace with the situation…and that they definitely didn’t want to get into an argument at a dinner that was supposed to be a celebration.

“It’s taken a load off both Selena’s and my minds,” Calvin put in. Trust my husband to do his best to be the peacemaker — his Libra nature asserting itself, I supposed.

But his words had done what he’d intended them to do — namely, reminding Chloe’s parents of how much their daughter was doing to help us during what was already a busy and stressful time.

Jordan nodded, and the corners of Heather’s mouth lifted slightly. Right then, the waitress came back with our drink orders, which in my case was plain water. I’d drunk sparkling water for a while to make the plain beverage feel a little more festive, but lately, the carbonation had been too much for my stomach to handle.

The Fairfields had cocktails, since obviously they hadn’t taken the same vow to abstain during my pregnancy that Calvin had. Chloe, although old enough to drink, had only asked for iced tea, although I didn’t know whether that was because she simply wasn’t in the mood or whether she was skipping it tonight out of deference to my condition.

“I like working at the shop,” she declared, clearly wanting to add her voice to the conversation. “It’s so peaceful, even when it’s full of customers. Good vibes, you know?”

I did know, just because I’d been very careful about the items I placed for sale in the store, making sure they all were able to contribute to the harmony of the place.

“Still, your housing situation isn’t exactly stable,” Heather said.

While I could understand her worry, I knew I needed to do what I could to reassure her that Chloe wouldn’t be homeless once her run at Hazel’s Airbnb was over. “My friend Josie has a friend who has lots of Airbnbs,” I replied. “I’m sure Chloe can move to one of Mavis’s homes when Hazel’s guests come to town later this month. And obviously, the whole time we’ll be looking for a permanent place for her.”

Although I didn’t say it out loud, I had to hope Heather would understand that I meant I would be there to support Chloe every step of the way, up to and including taking care of whatever security deposits she might need once we did find a forever place for her to stay.

The message must have gotten through, because Heather relaxed against the back of her seat and reached for her martini. “Well, that’s good to hear.”

To my relief, the conversation moved on to other topics after that, up to and including the all-important subject of the new baby’s name. Calvin and I had our favorites, of course, but because we didn’t know the sex of our child, we had to be content with a top three for either gender and hope that inspiration would strike once the baby had made its entrance into the world and we gazed down into his or her face.

Jordan might have gotten the slightest wistful look when I mentioned how my mother had named me Selena because she’d thought I would be born under the sign of Cancer, and I wondered if he ever regretted not being there when I came into the world.

Maybe. But every indication showed he was happy with the way his life had turned out…and so was I.

As dinner was winding down, I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room. At once, Chloe plucked the napkin out of her lap and said, “Oh, I need to go, too.”

We headed off there together…even as I had the sneaking suspicion that this wasn’t merely about having to use the restroom.

To my relief — in more ways than one — she waited until we’d both taken care of business and were washing our hands.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of my parents,” she began. “And I know it’s a huge imposition, but I was wondering if I could come back and stay with you and Calvin for a couple of days. Just until I can find another place to crash,” she went on hastily, as I had a feeling I hadn’t been quite able to hide the surprise on my face.

“Is something wrong at Hazel’s Airbnb?” I asked. “Have you felt something?”

Immediately, Chloe shook her head. “No, nothing like that,” she replied. “It’s not like Jack’s ghost suddenly decided to appear or something. But it still feels weird to be there. I just think I’d sleep better at your house. I’ll totally get it if you need to say no, though.”

Worry was clear in every inch of her pretty, pixieish features, so I knew I needed to soothe those fears as best I could. “It’s fine,” I said. “The baby isn’t due for another week and a half, so we can put you up until then. Or even after,” I added with a grin. “I’m sure both Calvin and I would be fine with having an extra pair of hands around for diaper duty.”

Her nose wrinkled, although she corrected herself almost at once. “I can do that,” she said stoutly, and my smile only broadened.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t expect you to handle dirty diapers…just like I really don’t expect you to hang around to put up with 3 a.m. feedings and the rest of it. We’ll get something figured out.”

“You’re sure?” she asked, dark gray eyes shining with relief.

“Absolutely. Just go back to the Airbnb and get your stuff, and then head out to the house. Your parents won’t even have to know.”

“Thanks, Selena.”

I assured her it was fine, and the two of us headed back out to the table where the rest of our party was waiting. Calvin and I thanked the Fairfields for dinner — it was their treat — and then everyone walked over to their respective vehicles, with Chloe and her parents pointing their cars toward town while my husband and I got in his Durango and went in the opposite direction.

“Chloe’s coming to stay with us for a few more days,” I said once we were out of the parking lot, and he lifted a surprised eyebrow.

“Really? Is everything okay?”

“As far as I can tell,” I replied. “I just think she’s feeling hinky, and I get it. I’m sure we’ll be able to get her into one of Mavis’s Airbnbs in the next day or so.”

Preferably not the one where Dillon James had been killed by his murderous agent. Although I knew the place wasn’t haunted, I still thought it was probably better to keep Chloe away from any crime scenes.

“If you’re sure,” my husband said, with a pointed glance at my swollen belly.

The baby had been mostly quiescent during dinner, but it chose that time to kick. I blinked, thinking, Soon, little one.

“Oh, I’m sure,” I said. I didn’t know why, but something inside me was telling me this was the right thing to do.

We needed to keep our family together.

About a half hour after Calvin and I got back from our dinner with the Fairfields, Chloe showed up carrying two overnight bags and wearing an expression that was half relief and half worry.

“You’re really, really sure this is okay?” she said as I led her to the guest bedroom so she could drop off her bags.

“It’s fine,” I said. “And Calvin’s fine with it, too. Tomorrow I’ll call Mavis and see which one of her places is available. Sometimes they’re all booked up, but since we haven’t hit spring break yet, I’m hoping at least one will be empty.”

Chloe set both the bags down on the guest room bed. Since the room was fairly large, we had a queen in there, along with a set of nightstands and a dresser and a mirror. I hadn’t gotten around to adding many personal touches, mostly because Calvin and I had gone back and forth on whether to keep the space as a guest room or turn it into a play area for the baby, but at least it was functional and had a bathroom just down the hall.

“That sounds good,” my sister said. “And I’ll stay out of your hair tonight. I’m kind of sleepy and just want to crash early.”

A plan I could definitely get on board with. Maybe Chloe’s definition of “early” was scrolling through her phone for a couple of hours before she finally decided to go to sleep, but every inch of my body was telling me it had been a long day and that I needed to be in bed sooner rather than later.

“You have a good night,” I told her, then headed out to the living room, where Calvin had sat down in one of the armchairs and was petting Sadie. He hadn’t turned on the TV, though, telling me he also thought it was a good idea to go to sleep almost immediately.

“Ready to get to bed?” he said, and I nodded. Once upon a time, that question would have probably led to the sort of activities that had resulted in the child I was carrying, but right now, I was only thinking of sweet, sweet slumber.

“Thought you’d never ask,” I replied.

No one seemed too inclined to get up early the next morning, even though we’d all been pretty much asleep before ten o’clock. Instead, Calvin and I wandered into the kitchen around eight or so, where Calvin brewed a pot of coffee for himself and Chloe…whenever she decided to emerge…while I settled for some cinnamon tea. Not for the first time, I reminded myself that I’d never been addicted to caffeine and that it was totally fine to be drinking something unleaded.

Right.

But at least I’d slept well and felt about as rested as I could, considering I couldn’t change positions during the night the way I used to before I was carrying a ten-pound bowling ball around everywhere. And all right, Dr. Carlisle had said the baby would probably end up around seven or eight pounds, not the ten-plus I’d been fearing, considering how big Calvin and his brothers had been when they were born, but still, the extra weight got to you after a while no matter how hard you worked to compensate for it.

Chloe came in just as Calvin was pouring a cup of coffee for himself. For all I knew, she’d been asleep the whole time and had only roused herself now because the scent of the French roast had drifted down the hallway to the guest bedroom.

“That smells amazing,” she said as he got a mug from the cupboard and filled it for her. She thanked him, then headed over to the fridge so she could add some milk to it.

“Sleep well?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Like a rock. It felt so much better to be out here and not alone at that Airbnb.”

Maybe that was part of the problem. We hadn’t talked much about her college experience, but it sounded to me as if she’d always lived at home and had never been alone at night. I had to admit that the first time I’d slept by myself in my new apartment after I moved out, I kept waking up all night, starting at every single sound. Soon enough I got used to knowing there wasn’t anyone else around — well, except the people who lived in the neighboring apartments — but still, if it wasn’t the sort of thing Chloe was used to, then her heebie-jeebies would have been understandable even if her boyfriend hadn’t been murdered a few yards away from where she slept.

“That’s good,” I said, even as Calvin shot me a look from under his eyelashes. It seemed pretty clear to me that, while he was willing to indulge my whims and allow my sister to stay here for a day or two, he wanted me to know that this couldn’t be a permanent situation.

And I had no intention of letting it turn into that. No, we’d give Chloe a day or two to clear her head, and then we’d be on the hunt for something more permanent. In fact, I’d already started to think it would be smarter to have Josie look for a house I could buy for my little sister, a place that could truly be her own. That way, she’d be more inclined to look at Globe as a real home, and not just someplace where she was hanging out for a while until she figured out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

She turned out to be fairly handy in the kitchen, too, whipping up some pancakes as fluffy as anything I could have made while I sat down at the table by the window and Calvin handled bacon duty. Soon enough, we were sitting in the dining room having breakfast, while the bright morning sun poured in and told me it was going to be another beautiful day.

So beautiful, in fact, that after breakfast Calvin excused himself to go work in the yard. He’d bought several bags of grass seed at the garden center the other day, and since the lovely weather looked as though it was going to continue, with no threat of frost overnight, he decided now was the time to get the new lawn going.

That left Chloe and me to our own devices. We both excused ourselves to go shower, then headed back into the living room some forty minutes or so later. I’d been thinking of the best way to broach the subject of buying a house rather than moving from Airbnb to Airbnb, and had even brought my laptop out to the living room so my sister and I could look over the listings together.

However, as soon as she sat down on the couch and flipped her still-damp hair over her shoulders, my breath seemed to catch in my throat.

Hanging around her neck was a silver medallion with a design I hadn’t seen for several years. It featured a moon on one side and a stylized tree on the other, stamped onto a round piece of sterling about an inch and a half wide.

The symbol for the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers’ Guild.