29. Hattie

Cricket bounces my way. Don't do it, Hattie. Haven't we had enough excitement for one night?

Rookie jumps and wags his tail and makes Jolly bob his furry head in the process. I like excitement, he barks. Especially the excitement happening under those buffet tables. I'd better help clean up this mess myself.

Wait for me,Cricket yelps as they dart toward the buffet tables together. Who knows when I'll be eating this good again?

"Bunny, Missy." I shrug at the brunette as the two of them stall their conversation. It's getting late, most of the crowd has already left the beach, and the air still holds the scent of spent fireworks. "I'm sorry to interrupt."

"Hattie!" Bunny pulls me close. "She's the hero of the night," Bunny tells Missy and the woman shudders.

"Congratulations, Hattie," Missy says. "I'm so glad you're okay. And I'm going to fix any billing discrepancies. I promise I'm trying to live on the up and up. I'm really enjoying the classes I teach. I'm hoping they continue to do well."

"I hope they do, too," I say. "I think these belong to you," I say, taking off the necklace and earrings and handing them back to the woman.

"But how did you—? Oh, Erol must have said something."

"Just the origins of the jewelry," I say. "I don't have the brooch on me right now, but I'll get it to you."

"Wow, I really appreciate this." She leaps forward and offers me a firm embrace. "Thank you, Hattie. Thank you for everything." She nods to Bunny. "And thank you, too."

"I meant what I said," Bunny tells her. "I'm not perfect either. We're still friends. Now let's go hit that champagne fountain before they dismantle the thing. There's no better way to end the night than with a big bang and some Dom." She shoots me a wry look. "I'm talking about fireworks, Hattie. Get your head out of the gutter." She winks my way. The gutter is my lane.

I head in that direction with them just as both Peggy and Clarabelle raise a glass in my honor.

"To Hattie Holiday," Clarabelle shouts, and a light round of hear, hear erupts.

"And so as we end this night"—Peggy calls out, lifting her drink ever higher—"let's remember, always wear waterproof mascara when solving mysteries. You never know when you're going to laugh, cry, or dive into a body of water while chasing down clues!"

A light round of laughter wafts through the night as they drain their glasses.

"Hattie?" a familiar deep voice calls from behind and I turn to see Killion making his way over.

I'm not sure if he said my name out loud or not, but that doesn't stop me from heading in his direction. We make our way to the shoreline in silence and find Cricket and Rookie down there racing up and down the sand.

"Killion." I take up his hands and thankfully he doesn't resist. Instead, he pulls me close and we take one another in as if seeing each other for the very first time. "I don't know what to say."

True as gospel.

Are you telesensual?he asks point-blank, albeit without moving his lips.

My mouth falls open as I study him.

First of all, how in the world would he know this? And secondly, as soon as I respond to his question, he'll know the truth.

Oh, what the heck.

"Did Peggy and Clarabelle say something to you?" I ask.

"They know?" His eyes widen twice their size.

"They just found out." My shoulders sag.

"No, they didn't say anything. Oddly enough, it was Duke who alerted me to it."

"Duke?" I spit his name out in a blind rage. "Wait a minute. I never told Duke a thing."

"And that's why he broke things off with you. He said you gave him the heebie-jeebies."

I suck in a quick breath. "Is that what I did to you?" I wince because I'm afraid to hear it.

He holds up his forefinger and thumb as if to demonstrate an inch.

"I'm so sorry." I shake my head. "Sometimes, I just try to have a little fun with it and get carried away with myself, and evidently I accidentally out myself in the process."

"So you've been listening in on my thoughts this entire time?" He looks pained as he asks the question.

"Not on purpose. Killion, I can't control what I hear and from whom. But if it makes you feel better, if the thoughts get naughty, all I hear is?—"

"White noise." He nods.

"What? How did you know that?"

"While my buddy in the FBI was running that print on Erol Draper, I asked him if mind reading was a thing. He's the one who told me about something called transmundane people. He said the FBI knew about a cluster of society who had special abilities—one of them was mind reading—telesensual. He said there was no rational explanation as to why these people had it." He tips his head my way. "Care to offer one up?"

I shake my head. "I don't have one either. But just so you know, no one in my family knows about my quirk, save for one of my cousins. She's the one who told me all about the transmundane and the fact we were telesensual. So I guess it sort of runs in the family." I blow out a hard breath. "What happens now?" I shrug his way. "With us."

Killion pulls me in and wraps his strong arms around my waist. "I'll admit, I was spooked. I wondered if I could do this. But then, I thought about the alternative. Hattie, there's not a day of my life I want to spend without you. I'm not going anywhere."

A smile erupts on my face as tears come to my eyes.

"I'm so glad to hear it," I say as a laugh bubbles from me. "I promise I'll never try to pry into your mind, and I won't ever judge you for anything you're thinking. It's sort of my code of ethics when it comes to everyone and anyone."

"Code of ethics?" He shakes his head with a silent laugh. "That's why I love you, Hattie Holiday."

"I love you, too," I say. "And thank you for being so open-minded—no pun intended."

He chuckles again before landing a heated kiss on my lips, a kiss that assures me that Killion and I are stronger than ever before—and I didn't even need to be a mind reader to figure that one out.

His phone buzzes and chirps.

"Hold that thought," he says as he plucks it from his pocket and frowns. "This is bad."

"What's wrong?" I ask as I angle to see his screen.

"It's a text from the sheriff. There's a body behind that new coffee shop in town. It looks like a stabbing."

"Another homicide?"

He nods. "And for once, you didn't stumble upon it. I'm grateful for that. Let me handle this, Hattie." He offers a quick kiss on my lips before taking off for the parking lot.

There's been another homicide in Brambleberry Bay, and I didn't find the body.

An icy chill runs through me at the thought.

As much as I hate to say it, something doesn't feel right about that.

Deep down, I wonder if the killer isn't done just yet.