“Let’s assume that it does mean something,” Angela said. “The ghost came to your house and found you. She somehow knew that she could reach you, and she led you to our Jane Doe. And whatever formed the impetus for your dreams, I think we have to accept those as true, as well, given what we—you—found today. So now we know that your ghost, Margaret, was killed, then buried—with a pentagram, just like our recent victims—on what seems to be Gallows Hill, where our newest victim was also found. So, yes, that does suggest that the current murders are related in some way to what happened to her during the witch trials.”
Devin looked over at Angela and Jane. “Their friend—Rocky and Jack’s friend—who was murdered thirteen years ago, she was from here, right? Did her family go back to the days of the witch trials?”
The other two women looked at each other, then shook their heads. “We’ve read the reports, of course,” Angela said. “But there was nothing in them about her family history.”
“I guess we can wait and ask Rocky,” Devin said.
“Or we can look it up online,” Jane said.
“Do you have a deep, dark, secret federal way to find information?” Devin teased.
“Sometimes,” Jane said, laughing, “and sometimes I just go to the same ancestry sites everyone else uses.”
She took Melissa’s file from the stack in front of her on the table, consulted it, then started typing information into her computer. Several minutes went by. Both Angela and Devin watched her without speaking.
“Melissa Wilson’s mother was a Harte,” Jane said at last. “The first Harte arrived in Boston in 1630. His son moved to Salem Village in 1660. The male line came to a halt with Melissa Wilson’s mother’s father,” Jane said.
“I don’t remember anyone named Harte being associated with the trials,” Devin said.
“I don’t know the history like you do,” Jane said, “but neither do I. Of course, there were plenty of families who weren’t accused and didn’t take part in the persecutions.”
“Let’s look up Carly Henderson,” Angela suggested.
“All right, good idea,” Jane murmured.
She leafed through the files on the table for the right one and started typing again.
Again, they were silent as they waited. Then Jane let out a long breath and looked over at the two of them.
“This one is more complicated. Carly’s grandmother was from Los Angeles. Her father was from Providence. But his mother was from Andover, Massachusetts, and...” She looked up and nodded grimly. “Yes, her family dates back to the time of the trials, as well. Their family name was Manchester.”
“Manchester,” Devin murmured.
“Mean anything to you?” Jane asked.
Devin shook her head.
“Well, these two are related if only because of their family histories,” Jane said.
“We need an ID on our Jane Doe,” Angela said. “Then we can see if she has family ties to the area, too. If she herself was from the area, someone should have noticed by now that she’s missing.”
“What about the new victim?” Devin asked.
“We don’t have much of a file on her yet. I could be spinning my wheels and not come up with anything useful,” Jane said. “Then again, I spend half my life spinning my wheels, because searching for the truth is almost always like hunting for a needle in a haystack.” She pulled over another file and started typing again.
Devin turned to Angela. “They’ll give Margaret a real burial, won’t they? I mean, they won’t stick her in a museum somewhere, will they?”
“Adam would never let them,” Angela told her. “Adam Harrison. He’s our director.”
“What’s he like?” Devin asked, curious to know more about Rocky’s ultimate boss.
“He came from family money, then multiplied it and became a philanthropist. His son, Josh, died young, but Josh had been―”
“Special,” Jane said. “The same way we’re special.”
“After Josh’s death, one of his best friends—the girl he was with when he was killed—somehow acquired his abilities,” Angela said. “She could see Josh.”
“And she could use her ability to help people,” Jane said.
“Adam didn’t have the ability to see ghosts himself, but he recognized the talent in others, so he began to collect people like us to work for him as private investigators,” Jane said.
“The government started calling him in to help with cases no one else could solve,” Angela said.
“And then he was offered the position with the FBI and officially allowed to recruit the Krewes,” Jane explained.
“Special units, officially,” Angela said with a smile.
“And so here we all are,” Jane murmured, but she was frowning, her attention back on her work.
“My husband, Jackson, is our field director,” Angela said. “He was Adam’s first hire. Jane is from the Texas Krewe, and like a lot of us, she has a law enforcement background.”