Eve caught Rowenna’s arm, dragging her toward the gate. Brad followed.
Rowenna wanted to tell Eve that after what she’d just experienced, she had to say something to Jeremy about Eve’s suspicions of Adam, so Jeremy could get to the bottom of things, one way or another, but she didn’t want to say anything in front of Brad, just in case he took the information and went off half-cocked. Anyway, she still couldn’t believe Adam was guilty. But if there was even the slightest chance…
Then Eve wasn’t safe with her husband.
She was going to have to find a way to say something soon, but her thoughts as to how and when were interrupted when Brad closed his phone and turned to face her curiously.
“Where are we supposed to meet him?” she asked quickly, to stop him from asking why she hadn’t wanted Jeremy to know where they were.
“Down by the water in half an hour,” Brad said. And then, clearly not willing to be deterred, he asked, “Why can’t we tell him we were in the cemetery?”
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” Rowenna said, then hesitated. “You know Jeremy. He was your partner. He wouldn’t think much of me trying to…relive Mary’s experience.”
Brad nodded, and she knew he wouldn’t tell Jeremy, even if he was his close friend. He wasn’t willing to put a damper on any efforts to locate Mary, no matter how crazy they might look to other people. No matter how crazy they might look to her, Rowenna forced herself to admit.
“Good—there’s a café right there, across the street. We can make sure that we’re not complete liars and get some coffee,” Eve said.
“Don’t forget to bring some back to Adam,” Rowenna reminded her.
“We’ll walk you back on our way to meet Jeremy.”
Eve nodded, tight-lipped, and looked imploringly at Rowenna.
Don’t say anything to Jeremy, she pleaded silently.
Rowenna tried to convey her own answer silently, too. I have to. But she promised herself that she would make him be subtle when he went to talk to Adam.
They strode to the café, ordered their drinks, sat for a few minutes, then walked Eve back to the shop. “She’s nice,” Brad said, after Eve had hugged Rowenna goodbye and gone inside.
“Yes, she is.”
“For a demon worshipper.”
“She’s not a demon worshipper,” Rowenna said impatiently. “Anything but. She’s a wiccan.”
But her husband might be a Satanist.
“Let’s get down to the waterfront,” she suggested, hugging herself to keep from shivering.
The restaurant Jeremy had chosen was busy, and lots of the diners were clearly tourists. Apparently a body in a cornfield couldn’t stop people from enjoying the fall colors. Most of the tourists appeared to be either young and childless, or retired and enjoying their golden years, which made sense, Rowenna thought, since schools were in session.
She and Brad were shown to a table and ordered more coffee while they waited for Jeremy and Joe. Brad suggested an appetizer, too, and they decided on an order of calamari.
“You really do have a unique talent,” Brad told her as soon as the waiter had gone.
“No, I don’t. Not really,” Rowenna said, pretending to study the menu.
“You can find her for me. You can see things.”
“Brad, I’m not—” She broke off. There was too much hope in his eyes. “Brad, I would do anything in my power to help you, but I don’t have any magical power.” I don’t, she insisted to herself. “I just think and feel things out. That’s all I do. All I can do.”
“But you should have seen yourself in the cemetery. For a minute…you looked like Mary.”
“I’ve seen her picture, I’ve heard you all talk about her. I can envision her. You can envision her, too. That’s why I looked like her.”
He wasn’t convinced. “I think there’s more we can do. Like get a hypnotist or a medium, someone who could really guide you through…whatever it is you do.”
Rowenna looked up. Jeremy and Joe were threading their way through tables toward them.
“Brad,” she said. “Please don’t—”
He shushed her with a wave. “Not a word,” he promised.
Jeremy paused by her chair, and for a split second, he seemed awkward. Then he brushed a kiss on the top of her head and took the seat next to her. Joe slid into the chair opposite him.
Jeremy had a folder, and he set it on the table, his fingers drumming. He was obviously anxious to get to it.
“Have you two ordered yet?” Joe asked.
“Just some calamari,” she said. “We were waiting for you.”
“Thanks,” Joe said, and picked up the menu, then looked at Rowenna over the top of it. “Have you taken care of your costume yet?” he asked her.