“You think Jennifer’s death is related to her visiting you all at the Magick shop yesterday?”
“Don’t you?” Ronan asked. “If the husband has an iron-clad alibi like he claims, then I absolutely think this is connected to Skye Washington. Unless, of course, there’s the one percent chance this crime was completely random.” There was no way in hell this crime was random. “I know your team is in there collecting a lot of evidence, but when it’s all said and done, I’m betting that the evidence is all going to come back to Jennifer, her husband, and the staff.”
“There was no one else here when Jennifer was murdered.” Cisco flipped back through his notebook. “The husband didn’t mention anything about a household staff when I questioned him.”
“Go back in there and take a look at Jennifer’s hands. They’re immaculate. Those aren’t the kind of hands that wash dishes, run the vacuum, or scrub the toilet. Talk to the husband, there’s definitely staff. They might have gone home for the night or were off for the holidays. Find out if he’s having an affair with any of them, or if someone has an unrequited crush on him.”
“I know how to do my job, Ronan.” Cisco raised an eyebrow as if to emphasize his point.
“I know you do. I’m just giving you my two cents.” Ronan grinned at his friend. “It’s amazing how fast it all came back.”
“What? How to run a case?” Cisco wore a curious look on his face.
“That, plus the love for this work. All I want to do is find out who killed Jennifer and Skye. Nothing else matters right now.”
“I think Tennyson would disagree with you.” Cisco turned back to the SUV where Ten was sitting.
“That’s the funny thing, he doesn’t.” Ronan was all smiles. His husband was one in a million.
“Come on, Ronan. What kind of husband wants their spouse chasing after killers when they’ve already retired?”
“You know that little love fest you walked in on? Well, Ten was telling me that he knew how much this job means to me. He gave me his blessing to work on this case with you and whatever else comes my way.”
“Hmm,” Cisco frowned. “I’m sorry I was such a dick earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll be a dick myself any moment now.”
“Good point!” Cisco burst out laughing. “Since you’re mine for the rest of the day, come back to the station with me to interview Charles Blake. I could use a man like you by my side.”
“I bet you say that to all the former cold case detectives.” Ronan batted his eyes at Cisco. “Let me catch Fitzgibbon and Jude up on what’s going on, and then we can head out.
Ronan felt like he was walking on air. He had a meaty case to work on, and Tennyson was on board with him helping out Cisco. The only way life could get better was if he caught the bastard who killed Skye Washington and Jennifer Blake.
20
Tennyson
Tennyson sat alone in his reading room, waiting for Carson to join him. He hadn’t said much on the drive back to the Magick shop. Without using his gift, Ten knew Carson was grabbing them both a coffee and something sweet. Ten hadn’t really eaten much for breakfast and could use the pick me up.
“Here I am.” Carson shut the door behind him and set the food down on the table. He took his coffee and sat across from Tennyson, where his customers usually sat during a reading. “I’m ready to hear the full story.”
“I’m not quite sure where to begin.” Ten shrugged. “Do you remember that case Ronan and I worked a few years back about the father murdered on Christmas night?”
Carson nodded. “Harold Owens, right? You hated that guy and his entire family.”
“Exactly. Every member of that family was reprehensible with the exception of the granddaughter. As we got closer to solving the case, I got to the point that I didn’t give a fuck who killed Harold, I just wanted to be finished with all of them.” Even now, all these years later, Ten’s stomach turned at the mere thought of that family. The Brady Bunch they weren’t.
“What does that have to do with the Skye Washington case?” Carson’s eyes widened. “Oh, you hate these people too.”
“Only the dead ones,” Ten said with a half-smile playing around his lips.
Carson’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. He stared at Ten with a mix of shock and worry in his eyes.
“I know.” Ten held out his hands in a what-can-you-do position. Maybe after he explained the situation to Carson, his friend would be able to translate the spirits’ behavior in a way that would make more sense.
“I’ve heard of people changing on the other side, but this is one for the books.” So much for Carson being able to put a different spin on the situation.
“Make it two.” Ten was as shocked by his words as Carson was.
“I’m picking up a lot of scattered thoughts from you. Why don’t you explain this whole thing to me, so I’ve got all the information in the right order?” He took a sip from his coffee and pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of the bakery bag.
Ten nodded. “When I spoke to Skye’s spirit, she told me her grandmother was waiting for her the second she died. I assumed she was rushed off to heaven so that Skye, who was fifteen years old at the time, wouldn’t have to witness the violent death scene.”
“But that’s not what happened?” Carson licked a spot of chocolate off his top lip.
“No,” Ten agreed. “Skye got to the other side and never looked back. She didn’t check in on her parents, siblings, or best friends to see how they were doing. She didn’t care that her parents were unable to move forward in their lives. She was done with her life, plain and simple.”
“You know, I wouldn’t be so shocked if Skye told you this right after she died. Some of that teenage spirit of rebellion and thinking your family sucks would have been fresh, but to feel this way after thirty-five years is astounding. Are you sure she got a halo and not a pitchfork?” Carson looked as if he thought Skye ended up at the wrong final destination.
“It’s not unheard of to embrace heaven and forget your earthly life, but I’ve never seen that be the case with a murder victim.” Unfortunately, Ten had met far too many spirits whose lives had been cut short by violence.
“What if she wasn’t murdered?” Carson asked.
“She was stabbed forty-nine times, Carson, and had defense wounds on her hands and arms. She fought for her life.”
“That’s what I was talking about.” He paused for a moment, looking like he was considering his words carefully. “What if it was a mercy killing? Maybe Skye recruited her killer or maybe it was some kind of a cult ritual. She didn’t relish the pain involved in the act of dying, but it was what she wanted, regardless. Sort of like suicide by cop. You don’t have the gumption to kill yourself, so you make someone else do it for you.”
Under any other circumstances but this one, Ten would have thought Carson was out of his tree. “Hold that thought for a minute. You haven’t heard the rest of the story.”
Carson nodded, but stayed silent.