Rose stared at me for a moment before jumping from her seat. “Let me show you out, Mrs. Thomas.”

  I slumped back in my seat. I was freezing cold and shaking. I looked at Rhyannon and Crystal. “Couldn’t you have waited five minutes? I’ve frozen half to death, thanks to you.”

  Rhyannon scowled. She rushed toward me, and everything went black.

  Chapter 18

  It was dark. My palms were sweating as I gripped the steering wheel. The headlights behind me grew closer. I couldn’t outrun them. My car slid to the side, the surface beneath the tires slick with the recent rain.

  A squeak of panic shot out of my lips as the car behind me nudged my fender.

  I stomped on the gas, but I wasn’t going any faster. My foot was already on the floor. I needed to get somewhere where there were other people.

  With a dry mouth and racing heart, I focused on the road ahead. I was five miles from the nearest town. Once I was there, I’d be safe.

  I gasped in relief as the car behind me backed off. She’d come to her senses and was letting me go. I squeaked again as she pulled out and raced up alongside me.

  I glanced over, but couldn’t see the driver inside. It had to be her. It had to be Delilah. After our argument, she’d warned me she’d get even.

  This wasn’t what I’d expected. I hadn’t expected her to chase after me. I thought she would try to isolate me in the community. Mediums could be a funny bunch; they close rank if anyone steps out of line. I assumed I’d get fewer invites to events or shows. That was fine by me. All those crowds were exhausting.

  I gestured for her to back off. Instead, her car edged closer to mine. Was she crazy? She was going to run me off the road.

  My heart ricocheted in my chest. Maybe that’s what Delilah was trying to do? Sadness intermingled with my panic. We’d once been so close. I’d considered Delilah a good friend. There weren’t many people who understood the work we did. I’d confided in her and Fred.

  My eyes widened as I saw a bend up ahead. I couldn’t slow down, but with Delilah right alongside me, I was trapped. Her car nudged mine, and I screamed as the steering wheel took on a life of its own. The wet road and my speed won out, and I lost control of the car. The last thing I saw was a tree trunk.

  “Miss Shadow.”

  I felt my shoulder jerked. I sat bolt upright in my seat and looked around. I’d fallen asleep in the parlor. Or had I been asleep? Rhyannon had shot through me so quickly, it felt like my energy had been sucked out as she shoved a memory into my head.

  “Miss Shadow. Pull yourself together.” Rose poked me with a bony finger. “What’s the matter with you? I come back from seeing Mrs. Thomas out, and you’re fast asleep.”

  “I... I’m not sure. That session must have taken it out of me.” I looked around the room again. There was no sign of Rhyannon or Crystal.

  Rose sniffed. “Well, whatever you’re playing at, you can leave now. Don’t get used to sitting in Delilah’s chair. This was a one-off. She’ll be back working this afternoon.”

  “Yes, fine.” I waved my hand weakly in the air. I didn’t have the strength to argue with Rose. I was still trying to make sense of the images I’d just seen when asleep, or when I’d been in my dream state, or whatever it was that just happened.

  “Come on. Get out of here now.” Rose flapped her hands at me. “I need to cleanse the atmosphere.”

  “Sure. You do what you need to do.” I stumbled to my feet, Flipper leaning against my leg in a show of support, and left the parlor.

  “Oh, and Miss Shadow,” called Rose.

  I slowed and turned toward her.

  “You have a visitor. He’s outside.” She sniffed again. “Male callers are not approved of here. Keep your conversation with him short. He is not to stay long.”

  Male callers? Rose made it sound as if we were living in Victorian times.

  Taking in a few deep breaths, I walked slowly to the front door and opened it. Zach stood outside by his Land Rover.

  I tried hard to walk in a straight line as I approached him. “This is a nice surprise.”

  Zach wrapped his arms around me. “I missed you. When you didn’t want to speak with me yesterday, I got worried.”

  “I wanted to speak to you.” I tucked my hands into Zach’s pockets to warm them up. “I was tired; that’s all.”

  “You’re freezing cold!” Zach looked down at me. “Don’t they have heating in this place?”

  “It’s my fault.” I snuggled against him, happy to absorb his body heat for a few more minutes. “One of the ghosts in the house was trying to show me something. She got too close for comfort.”

  “She didn’t hurt you?”

  “No, she just made me feel like an ice-pop.”

  Zach tightened his hold on me. “What did she show you?”

  “What happened to her when she died. Rhyannon was run off the road by someone. She thinks it was my boss.”

  Zach took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He rubbed my arms, bringing a vestige of warmth to my limbs. “You’re not so sure that’s true?”

  “It most likely is her,” I said, “but there are other suspects I haven’t completely ruled out. Now Crystal’s dead, as well. Someone in this house is not playing fair. They need to be stopped.”

  Zach tipped my chin up with a finger. “Do I need to tell you to be careful?”

  “No more than usual.” I smiled at him. “How’s everything at home?” I deliberately didn’t use the A word.

  “That’s also why I’m here,” said Zach. “Ever since Amelia showed us that knitted baby’s boot, I’ve been wondering what we can do to help her.”

  “She hasn’t done anything else since then?”

  “It’s been quiet,” said Zach. “But perhaps one way we can help her move on is to have a commemoration of their passing, for Amelia and her son, to show them they won’t be forgotten.”

  “That could work,” I said, even though I didn’t really want to remember Amelia. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Something permanent,” said Zach. “I was wondering about selling the ring and using the money to buy something living. Perhaps a tree? I’d like it to be something positive, something that has life. Not so much to remember Amelia by, but I think she’d like that for her son.”

  I kept my jealous, possessive thoughts to myself. Zach was trying to do the right thing here. “It will be a good use of the ring. I hope it will work.”

  “So do I,” said Zach. “I want you back home.”

  “I want that, too.”

  A ground floor window opened. Rose poked her head out and scowled at me. “Miss Shadow, you’re needed inside.”

  I raised a hand in acknowledgement. “Rose doesn’t approve of gentlemen callers. I get the impression she thinks you will corrupt me.”

  “Chance would be a fine thing. She tried to send me away when I arrived,” said Zach. “I insisted on seeing you.”

  “Rose is one reason I’m uncertain about Delilah’s involvement in all of this,” I said. “She has a grudge against everybody. I bet that included Rhyannon. She also didn’t think much of Crystal when she was alive.”

  “Miss Shadow.” Rose’s shrill voice made my eye twitch. “Get back inside. I’m not paying you to go on a date with your man friend.”

  “I’d better go,” I said to Zach. “Rose is desperate to fire me, despite me just having helped her.”

  “Maybe you should let her fire you,” said Zach.

  “It’s tempting.”

  He kissed my forehead. “Stay safe. Let me know how everything goes with your ghosts. If you need a ghost hunting companion, you know where I am.”

  “I do.” I watched as Zach drove away, before turning back to the house, its dark windows staring back at me. I hoped it would be easy to stay safe in this house. With Rhyannon and Crystal’s killer still on the loose, I wasn’t sure how safe this place was anymore.

  ***

  I struggled through the rest of the working day, keeping myself awake, thanks to lots of caffeine. I declined dinner with the family and decided on an early night. I was just laying out my pajamas when Rhyannon and Crystal appeared in a chilly flourish.

  “I want a word with you,” I said to Rhyannon. “What were you playing at earlier? I passed out, thanks to your behavior. You should have given me some warning you were going to rush me and fill my head with your memories.”

  Rhyannon looked at the ground.

  “Don’t go feeling sorry for yourself,” I said. “I’m the one who can barely stay awake, and my fingers have been frozen all day.”

  Rhyannon glanced at Crystal and shrugged.

  Their lack of sympathy for my frozen bones was obvious.

  “Have you got anything to say about this, Crystal?”

  Crystal shook her head. It seemed like the power of speech had left her.

  I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Flipper joined me. “This dream I had, or the memory you showed me, it was of you driving the night you died, wasn’t it?”

  Rhyannon nodded.

  “I saw Delilah’s car. Did you see her in the driver’s seat?”

  Rhyannon shook her head.

  “So, somebody else could have used her car to run you off the road?”

  Rhyannon pouted and folded her arms across her chest.

  “It is possible,” I said. “The garage is easy to get into. Anyone could have used that car. Is that all the evidence you have that Delilah killed you?”

  Rhyannon slowly nodded.

  “What about you, Crystal? Are you still convinced someone shoved you down the stairs?”

  Crystal nodded.

  “Which means we could have two killers in this house.” I stroked my fingers through Flipper’s fur. “Rhyannon, you’re convinced Delilah killed you, but there’d be no reason she’d want to get rid of Crystal. She really liked you. I could see that when she first introduced us. And, she needs a protégé to help with the expanding business. Delilah is doing herself a disservice by killing Crystal.”

  The ghosts looked at each other, confusion on their faces.

  “Delilah killed Rhyannon after a falling out. Crystal was killed by...” I looked around the room, hoping to get inspiration. “Maybe Rose? Or did Fred not like you? I don’t suppose you had a jealous boyfriend who came after you?”

  Crystal gave me a small smile and shook her head.

  I looked at the door. This still didn’t feel like a safe place to be. I hopped up and made sure the door was secure and the chair was jamming the door handle.

  “All I’ve got to go on are your memories, Rhyannon. I could sense you were panicked; maybe you made a mistake.”

  Rhyannon shook her head.

  I flopped back on the bed. I needed to find out how many killers were living in this house before I became their next victim.

  Chapter 19

  The house was quiet as I hurried down the stairs with Flipper the next morning. Both the office and parlor doors were shut. I stopped by the parlor door. There were quiet voices on the other side. Delilah must have a private session with a client.

  Archibald eyed me from his perch in the hallway.

  “Not today, my feathered friend. I don’t have time for your games.”

  He snapped his beak at me as I passed.

  As I entered the kitchen, I discovered Crystal and Rhyannon in there. They both acknowledged me but didn’t seem keen on making contact. They looked miserable as they floated around the kitchen. There were three ghost cats in there, as well. They were also quiet. It felt as if no one knew what to do next, and I included myself in that.

  I ate some muesli and drank a mug of tea. What soul destroying piece of work was Rose going to thrust at me today? Maybe she would make it so horrible here, I would have no choice but to leave. One thing I knew for sure, I wasn’t leaving until Rhyannon and Crystal had been helped.

  Crystal vanished as I rinsed my bowl and mug before drying them and placing them back in the cupboards. I was putting off having to see Rose. She sucked the joy out of every situation.

  Crystal flashed back into view, her eyes wide and her hands flapping in front of her.

  Rhyannon floated swiftly to her side and grabbed hold of her. Crystal kept flailing her arms and pointing out of the kitchen.

  She gestured for me to follow her and then shot through the door.

  Rhyannon gave me a puzzled look before chasing after Crystal.

  “Let see what’s upsetting Crystal.” I left the kitchen with Flipper.

  Crystal hovered outside Rose’s office door. I grimaced as I approached. She hated me going in there. In fact, she hated me, period.

  I tapped gently on the door. Maybe she wouldn’t hear me.

  Crystal rattled the door handle.

  “You can quit doing that,” I hissed at her. “Rose is looking for an excuse to be angry with me.”

  The door was yanked open. Rose stood on the other side. “What’s the matter?”

  I glanced at Crystal. She pointed to the silver pendant hanging around Rose’s neck. “Nothing’s wrong. I was wondering what you wanted me to do today.”

  Crystal continued to jab her finger at the pendant.

  “I want you to continue working in the cellar.” Rose sighed and turned away. “But that’s not going to happen. Delilah has other plans for you.”

  This sounded interesting. I followed Rose into her office and watched as she sat down. She didn’t offer me a seat.

  “What does Delilah want me to do?”

  “She took a phone call from Mrs. Thomas last night. She couldn’t stop raving about how happy she was with what you did for her. She said she went home, dug under the apple tree, and found the savings. Mrs. Thomas kept saying you were a miracle worker.” Rose scowled and stabbed a pencil on a piece of paper.

  “I was happy to help,” I said. “Delilah seemed a little fragile yesterday.”

  “She was hung over after drinking too much brandy with Fred,” said Rose. Her sharp gaze made me want to squirm. “How did you do it?”

  My eyebrows lifted. “Do what?”

  “Tell Mrs. Thomas what she wanted? How could you have known about that tree?”

  “Maybe I simply passed on a message from her late husband.”

  Rose grimaced, her small teeth showing. “I’m not convinced. You’re clever at what you do. I just haven’t figured it out yet, but I will. No one cons me.”

  “I’m not trying to con you.” I forced my clenched fingers to relax. “What does Delilah want me to do?” I kept my focus on Rose, ignoring Crystal’s frantic arm flapping.

  “She wants you to be her protégé.” Rose’s wrinkled nose suggested she thought the idea was terrible.

  I shook my head. “I’ve already said that’s not the sort of work I’m interested in.”

  “I agree,” said Rose, “but my sister won’t listen. She’s determined you’re to work here.”

  “I’m too set in my ways to start down a new career path,” I said. “I will thank her for the offer, though.”

  “I wouldn’t bother. It will only get her hopes up.” Rose scribbled on the paper in front of her. It looked like our conversation was over.

  Crystal swiped at the pot of pencils on the desk, and they clattered to the ground.

  “For goodness’ sake.” Rose jumped up and gathered the pencils. “Did you do that?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t moved from this spot. Maybe it was a ghost?”

  “If you are a medium, you’d know if that was true.” Rose slammed the pencils back into the pot. “So, are there ghosts in here?”

  I glanced at Rhyannon and Crystal. “You might not be alone.”

  Rose’s gaze shifted around the room. She rubbed her arms before returning to her seat.

  Crystal shoved my shoulder and jabbed a finger at Rose.

  “I was just admiring your pendant,” I said.

  Rose looked down at it before stuffing it inside her cream blouse. “What’s it to you?”

  “It’s lovely. I wouldn’t mind buying one for myself.”

  “You can’t.”

  “Where did you get it from?”

  “I don’t know. Someone gave it to me.”

  Crystal shook her head and scowled at Rose.

  “You must ask them where they bought it.”

  “I don’t have time to run personal errands for you.” Rose leaned back in her seat. “Go make some tea. Try not to stew it this time.”

  Rose was definitely not keen on talking about her pendant.

  I left the office. Rhyannon and Crystal were in hot pursuit behind me.

  I waited until we were in the kitchen before speaking, so no one would overhear us. “What’s so special about that pendant?” I asked Crystal.

  Crystal pointed to herself. “Mine.” The word was faint, but I just caught it.

  “Rose is wearing your pendant? Where did she get it?”

  “Lost,” said Crystal.

  “Maybe Rose made a mistake,” I said. “If you lost it here, she could have mistaken it for hers.”

  Crystal shook her head rapidly. She pointed at her chest again. “Mine.”

  “Why would she steal it from you?” I asked. “It’s not as if she’s short of money.”

  Rhyannon screwed her face into a scowl and skulked around the room, swinging her arms and stamping her feet.

  I suppressed a smile. “Yes, she can be a dragon when she wants to be.”

  Crystal pointed above her head.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Search room,” said Crystal.

  I backed away from them. “We can’t go snooping around in Rose’s room. She will go mad if she catches me. You two will be fine; she doesn’t see you.”

  “Stealing,” said Crystal.

  I nodded. If Rose was light fingered, it could put her in the frame for murder, especially if she’d been discovered stealing and needed to stop her theft being revealed.

  “Okay, we’ll take a quick look in her room. She’s busy in her office, so we’ve got a few minutes before she wonders where the tea is.” I ran up the stairs, stationing Flipper outside the door as my guard dog, before hurrying into Rose’s bedroom.

 

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