“Then how do you know her name?” he asked.
Devin shook her head. “I found a book that talked about her. It’s mostly theory and conjecture, of course, but his argument that she was murdered makes sense. And since so many ghosts are murder victims condemned to walk the earth until justice is done, it makes sense that she’s the Puritan woman.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right, and that’s her and she was murdered. So are you saying someone wants to avenge her death now—over three hundred years later? And they’re trying to do so by pinning the murders on today’s Wiccans?”
Devin stared back at him, obviously frustrated. “No, I just think there’s a connection. Maybe some rite was going on when she was killed. Maybe someone is just picking up again where her murder began because they’re crazy or something. I don’t know. But...” She hesitated momentarily. “What happened when you—how did you find Melissa Wilson that night?”
He stared back at her and let out a long breath. “She called me.”
“On the phone?”
“No.”
They were both quiet in tacit understanding.
“How did you explain that to the others?” she asked him.
“It wasn’t easy, and as you saw last night, they didn’t exactly believe me.”
“I noticed.”
He shrugged. “I said pretty much the same thing you said to me—that I’d heard something coming from the woods. Everyone assumed that the killer had hung around and then when Jack, Vince and I burst into the woods, he ran away. We were only seventeen, but the three of us were pretty big. He wouldn’t have wanted to take on all of us.”
“No one ever suspected you?”
“Yes, actually, the police grilled me for hours,” he admitted. “Helped me get an edge on interrogation techniques before I even started in criminology.”
Her eyes were on his, and he knew she understood exactly how he had felt.
“I bet it was rough,” she murmured.
“Explaining that I thought I had heard a dead girl? ‘Rough’ doesn’t begin to cover it.” He smiled dryly. “That’s what’s so great about the Krewe. You don’t have to go through a song and dance, don’t have to lie. You don’t have to pretend that trees were rustling when you really heard a voice. But...back to the point. We need to figure out if the past really does have anything to do with the present.”
“Well,” Devin said, “there’s a way to do almost anything. We just have to figure out what it is.”
His tone was far harsher than he had intended when he said, “You don’t really have to do anything, you know. Except keep your doors and windows locked, don’t go wandering off alone if you’re out...and be careful as all hell.”
She smiled grimly. “Really? I don’t think so. If I’m in danger, I’m in danger wherever I am and whoever I’m with. I found the body. I introduced you to Beth, Theo, Gayle and Brent. And I went with you to Jack’s house, so...I’m in. Now, are we going to check out Perley’s theory on Gallows Hill? Because whether you’re coming or not, I’m going. Oh, and since you’re so worried about me, what about that pepper spray? I’d ask for a gun, but I don’t know how to use one.”
“Guns are easy at point-blank range,” he told her. “Point and shoot.”
“You’re giving me a gun?”
“No, but I do have pepper spray in the car for you. And I’ll be damned if you’re going off investigating anything alone.”
She smiled in satisfaction, and he realized that she’d been waiting for him to say exactly that.
Her smile was a killer. She wasn’t just unusually beautiful, with her vivid coloring. It was her energy, her life and her passion that were so arresting.
He knew he needed to take an emotional and physical step back—again.
Somehow he took a step forward instead. And she didn’t move away. It was as if she waited, both hesitant and anxious. And if he touched her...
“Ah, Agent Rockwell,” Mina said suddenly.
And there she was, peeking out through the kitchen doorway.
There went that moment, Rocky thought ruefully.
“I feel so much better when you’re here. I can watch the house, of course, and warn Devin if I see someone, but I can’t always be here, and I can’t actually do anything to an intruder. I’m not really much of a protector, all in all.”
“You do a fine job,” Rocky said reassuringly. “But actually, Devin and I were just on our way out, so we really should get going.”
“Where are you headed?” Mina asked.
“To check out Sydney Perley’s theory on the location of Gallows Hill,” he said, turning to Devin. “Shall we?”
*
Before they got in the car, he showed her how to use the pepper spray, which didn’t take long.