In the three days since I’d been there, the house had gone from abandoned to desolate. Leaves had piled on the porch, the police tape flapped in the wind. I parked along the curb and walked up the front steps. The key was still over the door, where we’d left it last time. I was just about to slide it into the lock when I heard a distinct thump from inside the house. I hesitated. Who could be in there?
I turned and looked up and down the street. A navy Suburban and a rusted-out silver Subaru sat by the curb a few houses down, but the street was otherwise deserted. No cop cars to be seen. It was someone else. Obviously, it wasn’t Dylan or Diana. Diana had told me she was spending the whole day at the store catching up on paperwork. The only other person I could think of was Skye. Turning back toward the door, I leaned forward, listening for more sounds. All was quiet. Maybe it had just been the wind making the house creak. But I hadn’t heard a creak, I’d heard a thump. The last time I’d stood hesitating on a porch, someone had died.
I shoved the key in the lock and opened the door.
“Skye?” I said as I pushed open the door.
I heard a footstep in the office. Then Morgan stood in the doorway. At least I thought it was Morgan. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail. She wore minimal makeup, and was garbed in medical scrubs.
“Morgan?”
“Clyde, what are you doing here?”
“Um, picking up something for Diana,” I said. “She left a book here and wanted me to come get it for her.”
Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “That’s what I’m doing, too. Rafe must have borrowed a lot of books.” She put her hands on her hips.
“How did you get in?” I was still processing her new look and trying to make sense of someone else being in Rafe’s house.
“Rafe and I had been very close.” Her lips curled into a smile I recognized. Even without the makeup, black clothing, and high-heeled boots she exuded menace. “I never returned my key.”
“Are you a nurse?” I asked, gesturing to her clothes.
“Physical therapist. I’m on my lunch break.”
“I had no idea. I thought you sold daggers and spell kits.”
She snorted. “There’s not enough demand for those items to keep me clothed and fed. I just do that as a hobby.”
“Well, did you find the book you needed?”
“Um, yes.” She darted back into the office and reappeared with a small volume clutched in her hands. Short nails, no polish, to go with her new look. And I saw the charm bracelet with only six charms, not seven. “Here it is. Do you want some help finding Diana’s book?” She held my gaze and smiled, letting me know she saw through my bluff.
“Thanks, but I don’t want to keep you.” Now that I knew I was right, and she had lied about being at the ceremony, I was less comfortable being alone with her.
“I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She took a step closer and held my gaze.
“I’m just looking for a book.” I took a step back and scanned the room for anything I could use as a weapon.
“Okay.” She crossed her arms. “You should talk to Lucan about this book you need. He knows more about Rafe than he likes to admit.”
She brushed past me and went out the front door.
I took a deep breath. Even in nurse’s scrubs she made all the hairs on my neck stand on end.
I walked into the office and stood there, trying to get a sense of anything different from last time. Of course, since then both the police and Morgan had been through. I pulled open the secret drawer where I had found the family tree—gone. The will was also missing. I hoped the police had taken it for safekeeping, but worried that someone else had grabbed it. And Morgan was at the top of that list.
*
I spent another hour going through the documents in Rafe’s messy office and found nothing of interest. He had an enormous collection of Wiccan books and volumes of witchcraft history, but very little in the way of personal documents. I wished I had taken the family tree when I’d had the chance.
I drove back to my mother’s place and found Seth, Dad, Mom, and Vi working with the pendulum again. Well, Mom, Vi, and Seth were working with the pendulum. Dad was sitting at the far end of the dining room table with the newspaper held up as a shield. Baxter gave me his usual sloppy greeting and snorted when I didn’t offer any treats. Tuffy hopped on his hind legs, ran in a circle, and then went to lie down in the corner.
Seth grinned. “I taught him to do that. It’s better than barking.”
“Where have you been all morning?” Vi asked.
“I had a couple of errands,” I said.
“You missed lunch,” Mom said. “Let me get you something.” She put the pendulum back in its bag, for which I was grateful, and headed into the kitchen.
“Did your errands involve finding out anything about the case?” Vi asked.
“I went to talk to Bea Paxton,” I said.
“Faith’s mom? Why?” Seth asked.
“She was there with the protesters last night.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, Faith says her mom is always protesting something with that church gang.”
“When do you have all these conversations with Faith?” I said.
“We text. Sometimes.” Seth didn’t meet my eyes.
“Here you go,” Mom said. She carried a sandwich and a mug of tea, which she placed in front of me.
“Thanks, Mom.”