Posy nodded. “That’s fairly common, dear. There is an adjustment process that takes place. Your body is gone, but your spirit will ease you into your new form. That’s why you didn’t realize you look different or that you’ve likely been walking through solid objects. For a little while, your spirit will shield you from the changes. Otherwise, all ghosts would probably go mad!”
Gwen nodded. “Same reason why your ghost form doesn’t look like…well…the condition of you physical body at the moment of death. You won’t find ghosts wandering around with missing limbs, bullet holes, or gaping wounds. If I looked like my body, I would have a face more like one of those little pug dogs.” She mimicked squishing her face. “I jumped off the stage at an outdoor music festival. Hit the pavement head first.”
Katerina winced. I absently rubbed my nose, thinking of the impact.
“So, you’re saying that I’ll remember?”
Posy and Gwen nodded. “Eventually.”
I glanced around the room. “Posy…any idea on how long it will take? After all, Nick is looking for her as we speak.”
Posy shrugged. “There’s no way to know. But, I’ll tell you what.” She turned back to Katerina. “Dear, you can stay here with us as long as you need to get adjusted. There’s plenty of room in the manor and you’ll be surrounded by friends.”
My heart warmed at the relieved look on Katerina’s face. Posy could be strict and uptight but she had a kind soul and her moments of sweetness melted me.
“Thank you,” Katerina said, smiling for the first time. “And everyone that lives here is…?”
“Special?” Adam offered, grinning.
I laughed. “That’s a way of putting it. This home is only for supernaturals, supers for short. Right now, there’s Posy, ghost. Lacey, vampiress. Adam, shifter. And, as we’ve already established, I’m a witch.”
Adam cleared his throat. “Holly?”
“What?”
He gave me a pointed look. “Aren’t you missing someone?”
I smacked myself in the forehead with the palm of my hand. “Wow! Um, yeah, Evangeline. She’s a witch too. Sorry. She’s new.”
“Ish,” Adam added.
I shot him a dirty look. Of course he would remind me that I’d forgotten her.
Katerina cocked her head at Adam. “What’s a shifter?”
“I turn into a dog,” he replied, unblinking. To him, it was the most natural thing in the world.
Katerina’s mouth dropped open for a moment but she forced a smile. “Oh. That’s...nice.”
I couldn’t help but smile, even as I pitied the poor girl. It was quite a lot to take in over the course of an afternoon. Not only would she have to come to grips with the fact that she was no longer alive, but now she was being thrust into the entire supernatural world. I’d grown up inside the haven system, constantly surrounded by supers. In fact, I hadn’t even met a human until after my fifth birthday. My parents had both worked inside the San Francisco Haven and we never had the need to leave. When they thought I was old enough, they took me through the portal, into the human world, and we explored the city as a little family of three. My education on humans would be the exact opposite experience for Katerina as she learned about supernaturals.
“Welcome to the manor,” Posy said to Katerina.
Gwen pouted. “Now, I’m jealous! It’s going to be like a ghost sleepover here every night!”
“Oh boy…” Adam grumbled. “Lacey’s gonna love this.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A COUPLE OF HOURS passed but Katerina still had no idea who she really was or what had caused her premature death. Posy and Gwen shooed me and Adam away. Gwen said my energy was aggressive and counterproductive to Katerina recalling her memories. Adam dragged me away before I could throw a fit, and we went outside for a walk. For the first few blocks, I fussed at being called aggressive, but Adam diffused the situation and we walked a ways in silence.
As we turned onto Zinnia, the main road through town, I pocketed my hands and looked up at Adam. “It’s gotta be so weird to wake up and suddenly you’re not you anymore, and then you find out that all the creatures and beings from your childhood story books aren’t just fairy tales and make believe. What do you think that would be like?”
He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I don’t really know. Probably pretty scary. It’s a good thing you found her. She could have spent the entire night just floating through town, trying to get someone’s attention.”
I shuddered. What a sad thought. “Are both of your parents shifters?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Mom’s a rabbit and my dad’s a wolf.”
I arched an eyebrow at him and he laughed. “I know, it’s ironic.”
“How does something like that even happen…”
Adam chuckled. “Well they didn’t meet in beast form. Thankfully. I probably wouldn’t be sitting here if they had. They met at a grocery store of all places.” He pointed ahead and we took a left, veering off the main street and going down a side street that I knew led to Adam’s favorite bakery.
I smirked at his choice but followed his direction. “So, she was shopping for carrots, him for steak, and they thought they should get together for dinner?”
Adam laughed. “Something like that.”
“And they’re still together?”
“Yeah. Thirtysomething years.”
“Wow.” I turned it over in my mind, suddenly wondering if that was what Adam imagined for his own life. A long marriage and a quiet life inside the haven system. Considering the fact that he was walking beside me, in our tiny little town, three hours away from the nearest haven, I doubted it. But then, what did he want? “When did you first learn to shift?”
“Hmmm. I guess I was four or five. It was right before academy started. When I was that age, I didn’t shift into the form you’ve seen. It takes a few years to settle on your form. Those initial shifts were to smaller creatures. Rabbits, badgers, even a bird one time. That was fun.”
I smiled as Adam took me on a tour through his memories. It wasn’t something we normally talked about, but it made me want to get lost inside of his mind and relive those days through his eyes. Adam was a handful as an adult. I could only imagine the antics he’d gotten into during his youth. His poor parents…
We were light years away from even considering the possibility, but if things continued, and we ended up getting married, I wondered if our children would be half shifters, half witches or wizards, or if they would settle on one or the other. I couldn’t imagine a mini-Adam that had access to blasting and stunning spells. We’d need to buy a fortress or castle to live in.
There were some things that home owner’s insurance just wouldn’t cover.
I smiled at the thought, but quickly tucked it away in the very back of my mind.
We stopped in front of the bakery and I laughed. “You’re getting predictable.”
Adam held the bubblegum pink door open and ushered me forward. “Come on, like you don’t want something.”
I scurried into the shop, not wanting to miss out. The bakery was run by a sweet lady and her grown daughter, Matilda and Penny. The bakery was decorated with soft pink and ivory tones and had an old fashioned feeling to it. My favorite part was the smell. The flour and sugar and chocolate all melded together and filled the space with air that felt like it should be edible.
“Afternoon, Adam!” Penny said, popping up from her seat behind the counter at the small desk where a computer was situated. Penny straightened her cinnamon colored ponytail and adjusted the eggplant purple frames of her glasses. “Holly, it’s nice to see you.”
I automatically smiled, though it was sometimes still unnerving that people knew me everywhere I went. Even thought I’d been living in Beechwood Harbor for seven, almost eight, months, I was just starting to get used to the familiarity of life in a small town.
And after cracking Peg’s murder investigation, nearly single-handedly, I was even more notorious. And, acco
rding to Gwen, my love life was a hot topic too.
Adam leaned over the case, carefully considering the array of sugary treats, even though all three of us knew he’d end up walking out with a box that contained one of each item listed on the chalkboard menu above the register. Penny watched him, a faraway, dazed look in her eyes. I smirked to myself. Adam had a fan club wherever we went. How he’d managed to be a notorious flirt and yet not make anyone angry at him was beyond me. Usually, shameless flirts had a following of jilted exes on their tail. Not Adam. Everyone loved Adam.
Well, except for Lacey.
As I watched Penny stare at Adam, I was struck by the irony that if it was Evangeline in her place, I wouldn’t be nearly so cool headed about the attention. What was it about Evangeline that got me so riled up? The answer came to me half a heartbeat later and I sighed. Was I really that shallow? Was it just because she was so perfect?
Adam straightened and flashed a grin over the top of the display case. “Lucky Penny, I think I’m going to have to do my usual, and order one of everything. I can’t decide.”
Penny giggled and went to retrieve a large, bubblegum pink box. “I had a feeling.”
I laughed and rested a hand on Adam’s arm. “What did I say? Predictable.”
He planted a peck on my cheek while we waited for Penny to load up the box of goodies. When she was done, she passed the box over the counter, and Adam fished out his wallet to pay.
Once we left the bakery, Adam started on the road that would lead back to the manor. “I still have some work to do, but you can come hover over my shoulder if you want,” he offered. Adam did freelance tech support for a couple software companies. Sometimes he had to go into Seattle for work, but most of his daily routine could be done remotely. He occupied the master suite at the manor and half of the large space was dedicated to his desk, multiple computers, and other techy gadgets that I didn’t know the names of. Technology and I had never really gotten along.
I preferred magic. Magic was simple.
“I would, but I’ll have to take a raincheck. I promised Cassie that I’d stop in at the shop. She was having issues with the espresso machine. Besides, if I go back now, I’ll just get another lecture from the ghost whisperers.”
Adam smirked. “All right.”
We came to a stop at the intersection and I reached over with a wide grin to grab for the bakery box. “Before I go…”
Minutes later, with a bear claw in hand, I pushed into Siren’s Song. When I stepped inside the air conditioned coffee shop, the sweet smell of freshly pulled espresso shots hit me in the face and I knew Cassie had the defunct machine back up and running. Which was good news since I desperately needed a caffeine hit.
I got in line behind three other patrons and scanned the shop while I nibbled on the pastry in my hand. As usual, every table was occupied. Most people were there in small groups, talking and laughing over steaming cups of coffee, fresh muffins, and the other goodies we stocked, most of which came directly from the bakery that Adam and I’d just left. However, Siren’s Song didn’t sell their bear claws and they were a particular weakness of mine. Almost as good as a fresh Lemon Cloud from the Seattle Haven.
Behind the counter, Kirra and Cassie were alternating working the espresso machine, while Paisley manned the cash register. A pang shot through me as I stared at Paisley. She was smiling at the woman on the other side of the register, waiting for her to produce the exact change for her order, but I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. Was she worrying about her cousin? My stomach twisted at my next thought: Katerina wasn’t coming back. Paisley would never see her again. Hadn’t she also said that their last conversation had been a heated argument? My heart broke for her. I knew what that kind of loss felt like.
I knew that the only way I could help Paisley and the rest of her family was to get them some closure over what had happened to Katerina. But that was a lot easier said than done. How could they find closure when they didn’t even know that she had passed away?
With Nick investigating her disappearance, it would probably be best to have him find out what happened and then break the news to the family. But he didn’t know he was looking for a body. It’s not like I could walk up to him and say something like, “Hey, you know that girl you’re looking for? I can’t tell you how I know this, but she’s dead now.”
Nick had no idea that I was a witch, and while he was open to the paranormal, and considered paranormal investigations a secondary career, I wasn’t sure how I could explain that I’d met Katerina’s ghost without opening a Pandora’s box of chaos.
So, the next best option would be to lead Nick to Katerina’s body. But how could I do that when even Katerina didn’t know where it was?
At the moment, Katerina couldn’t remember anything that would help lead me to her body, so it was up to me to figure out the places she would most likely be, and work from there. Once I found her remains, I would hand the investigation over to Nick.
“Holly!” Paisley called out, snapping me back to attention. I’d gotten so wrapped up in thinking about Katerina and the investigation that I hadn’t realized the three people ahead of me in line had been served.
I stumbled forward. “Sorry about that.”
“You okay? You looked pretty lost there for a minute?”
“I’m good. I came by to make sure you guys were okay. But it looks like Cassie already got the machine back up.”
Paisley smiled. “Yeah. She’s a whiz. What can I get you?”
“A large black coffee. I think my cup’s under the cupboard over there,” I said, pointing at a tall, narrow set of cupboards between the front of the shop and the back. The staff used it for holding personal belongings while on the clock.
“Got it.” Paisley went over to the cupboard, grabbed my travel mug, and filled it from the carafe. She popped the lid in place and handed it over. “Put it on your tab?”
I laughed. “Sure.” With the employee discount, it came out to less than a buck.
Paisley marked it down.
“Hey, Holly.” Cassie came over and I noticed her bathing suit strap peeking out from the large scoop neck t-shirt she’d slipped on. The shirt looked like it was two sizes too big. She glanced down and tucked the strap away. “It was the best I could find. I think they were old tees left over from before we changed the logo a couple of years ago.”
I frowned at her. “Cass, you should go home and shower and change. I can stay here if you need extra hands.”
Paisley laughed. “Good luck, Holly. I’ve been trying to tell her that since she got here.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. I’ll go home as soon as it dies down a little.”
I made a pointed glance behind me, silently highlighting the fact that there was no longer a line. The dining area and patio were still full, but all needs had been met, and there was no way Kirra, Paisley, and I couldn’t hold down the fort for the rest of the shift.
Paisley laughed under her breath and turned away to go clean down the machine and wipe the counters.
“All right, all right,” Cassie said, throwing up her hands in surrender. “Holly, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t mind. There’s only a few hours left till closing anyways.”
Kirra came up to the front, carrying two bottles of flavored syrup, one in each hand. I noticed one was peppermint and winced. I still wasn’t over that smell. But, most of the residents in Beechwood Harbor didn’t know that a bottle of peppermint syrup had been the murder weapon in Peg Holloway’s death. They were just as hooked on the stuff as ever. “You trying to kick her out?” she asked, glancing at me with a quirked smile.
“Yes! Help please!”
Kirra laughed and placed the two bottles on the counter. “Sis, I love ya, but get out of here!”
Cassie groaned and tugged her apron strings loose. “I’m going, I’m going.”
“It’s a miracle!” Kirra said, raising her hands to th
e sky.
I stifled another laugh by stuffing the last bite of bear claw into my mouth. When it was down, I brushed my fingertips off on my jean shorts and went for my own apron. I pulled it on, tied it loosely, and then went to work on tying my hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of the way.
Cassie left the shop a few minutes later and Kirra, Paisley, and I all cheered as she went. She shot us a scowl from the other side of the large windows along the front of the shop, but she was smiling by the time she reached the end.
“She’s something else,” I said, shaking my head.
“You have no idea!” Kirra said. “She’s even worse at home. On more than a few occasions, I’ve come home from school and caught her home, doing laundry, on her lunch break.”
“What?” I rounded to face Kirra, my jaw slack. “Are you serious?”
Kirra nodded. “Mmhmm.”
“That’s gotta be a particular breed of sickness,” Paisley chimed in.
If anyone needed magic powers, it was Cassie. She was bound and determined to be Superwoman.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AFTER SIREN’S SONG closed up for the night, I said goodbye to Kirra and Paisley and headed back through town to the manor. But as I passed Nick’s office building, an old log cabin that had been converted into a series of small commercial spaces, I noticed his car parked out front. On a whim, I went inside and made my way down the hall to Nick’s office, which was located in the back corner of the building. Sure enough, the door was propped open, and Nick was bent over his desk, an intense look of concentration on his face.
“Knock, knock,” I said, rapping my knuckles lightly on the door frame.
Nick bolted upright. “Oh, hey, Holly.”
I smiled and stepped into the room. “If I’d known you were working late, I would have thought to bring you a mocha.”
“I could use one.” He chuckled and leaned back in his sleek office chair. As he arched back, he brought his arms up over his head and stretched. I glanced away, focusing on the pictures and notes spread out across his desk. I recognized the photos as the ones that Paisley had handed him at the shop earlier that morning.
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