She shook her head. “I asked, but they didn’t see anything, but they were only here for a few hours each day. A couple in the morning and then again at night to get everyone into their places.”
“And the thieves came in through the back door? Is that right?”
“Yes. They broke a panel on the French doors and unlocked the door. We’ve had a security system put in now.”
“That’s good.” I leaned forward and placed my empty mug on a rooster-shaped coaster that sat at the edge of the square coffee table. “Thank you for the tea, Karen.”
“Sure. Thank you for trying to figure out who did this. I hate to think of anyone else going through this ordeal.”
“If you think of anything, feel free to give me a call.” I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. “Thank you for agreeing to see me. It helps me get a feel for the case, seeing the place.”
“Not a problem. You’ll let me know what you find, if anything?”
“Of course.”
We stood and she walked me back to the front door where we exchanged pleasantries before I headed back out to my car. I walked slowly, still looking around the grounds, trying to puzzle it all out. There were far wealthier neighborhoods in the pockets around the harbor. Heck, twenty minutes in the opposite direction, there were million-dollar homes with ocean views and beachfront backyards. Why would someone bother to drive out here to rob a farmhouse? Was it personal? No. That didn’t fit the pattern. Unless it was someone who knew all three victims? But, even in a small town, what were the odds of that?
As I approached the driver’s side of my car, my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket. I slipped inside and answered the call. It was Patty Lancaster, returning my call. She told me she was happy to help in any way she could. I asked when she would be available for a meeting and we made plans for later that afternoon.
I killed the in-between time at the office, scouring the web for stories of additional robberies in any of the neighboring community papers. It wasn’t likely the thieves had toed the county lines. There were two other reported break-ins, but neither listed the names of the victims. I called the police departments of the respective towns but didn’t get very far.
By three o’clock, I’d had lunch and was heading out to meet Patty Lancaster at her family’s home. It was a ranch-style house on a small patch of property with lots of flowers and trees. The neighbors were a lot closer than they’d been at the Marrion home, but still a good distance away.
She invited me in and we had iced tea in the sitting room, where she recounted a similar story to the one I’d heard that morning. She and her husband had been out of town for a family reunion and came home to an unlocked front door, ransacked house, and a busted window on the rear of the house.
As we talked, a tortoise-shell tabby cat crossed the room and silently leapt up into her lap. Mrs. Lancaster smiled and stroked the cat’s fur. “I keep saying, if only Ladybug could talk! She was here and probably saw the whole thing.”
I returned her smile. “Animal testimonies would certainly liven up the court room!”
She laughed softly and continued petting the cat. “I was so worried about leaving her all alone for three days. My husband thought I was being silly, but to me, she’s a member of the family. Our baby, now that our children have all left home.”
“Cats are pretty resilient,” I replied, thinking of Holly’s cat Boots. I’d seen him in action. If someone tried to break into the Beechwood Manor he’d probably scratch their eyes out before they even knew what hit them. I wasn’t sure how much his role as Holly’s familiar played into that, but I’d heard plenty of heroic animal stories on the feel-good segment of the nightly news.
“It was probably a little much, considering we were only gone a few days, but I ended up hiring a pet sitter anyway.”
I smiled. “Well, I’m sure Ladybug appreciated the extra attention.”
“I’m sure,” Patty agreed, still petting Ladybug absently. “It was comforting, knowing someone was here twice a day to check on her.”
I shifted in my seat, getting ready to leave. “Well, if Ladybug tells you anything, give me a call,” I joked, smiling politely.
She laughed. “Will do. Thanks for stopping by.”
I stood and shook her offered hand before dropping a quick pat to the feline’s silky head. “Take care.”
Out in the car, I turned on the engine and held my hands in front of the heaters, letting my fingers warm up as thoughts tumbled through my mind like a dryer on a low cycle. There wasn’t anything sticky to grab onto. No lead to follow up. The police had questioned the neighbors. I could go knock on some doors, but by now, the break-ins were months old. I doubted I would drag up anything new.
Then what …?
Something pricked at a memory and I twisted around to grab the folder I’d tossed in the backseat. I flipped it open and thumbed through the papers until I found the photos of Candy’s home. She’d kept them in the folder with a copy of the insurance claim. The photo of the kitchen was meant to show the broken window pane where the thieves had entered the home. But, there, on the floor was a set of dog food dishes.
A new plan formed in my mind and I put the car in reverse.
Chapter 5
The Beechwood Manor stood as a glowing beacon on the highest part of the largest bluff overlooking the harbor. There was something about the house that called to me. I’d felt it from the first time I laid eyes on it in the pages of a paranormal hunter magazine as the next undiscovered treasure trove of hauntings. Little did I know all of the secrets the house contained … and how they would one day impact me.
Evangeline Loren answered the door with her signature megawatt smile. It wasn’t hard to believe she’d once been a TV star. For years, she’d played the main character on the paranormal soap opera The Wednesday Witch. After her show was cancelled, she’d come to Beechwood Harbor in search of a simpler life. And while she’d found it, now running a day spa in the heart of the small community, she retained every drop of her Hollywood glamour.
From her long, silky black hair, to her designer clothes, and flashy jewelry, I couldn’t think of an occasion when she hadn’t looked ready to go jet-setting to a photo shoot. Tonight was no exception. She wore a vibrant green dress that had a bright floral pattern splashed along the hem, as though someone had taken a brush to the fabric and painted it with watercolor. A series of silver bangles ran up one of her arms, flashing against her caramel skin as she moved to pull the door open wider.
“Nick! This is a pleasant surprise. How are you?”
“Evening, Evangeline. I’m doing all right. How about yourself?”
Smiling, she bobbed her head vigorously. “I’m good! Busy, but good. Please, come inside.” She stepped back to allow me entrance. “Are you here to see Holly?”
“If she’s home. She’s not expecting me.”
“Gotcha. I think she’s in the kitchen with Adam.”
I laughed. “Why does that not surprise me?”
Adam St. James, Holly’s boyfriend and the town shifter, had a reputation—and rightly so—of being a bottomless pit.
“I was just thinking of ordering some take-out,” Evangeline said, looping her arm through mine and steering me toward the kitchen.
I stifled another laugh. “Another shocker.”
She pursed her lips as she looked up at me, but couldn’t hold back a smile. “Yeah, yeah.”
Some time ago, Evangeline had been dubbed the Take-Out Queen, a playful jab at the fact that even with a magic wand and a horde of cookbooks, she couldn’t do much more than boil an egg. Any attempt at something more complicated usually led to a squealing fire alarm and a house full of cranky roommates.
“There’s no shame in being a little bit of a pyromaniac,” I teased. “But I’d say stick with campfires, not Posy’s gourmet stove.”
She huffed, still smiling, and led me through the living room, where a long couch sat opposite a large river-
rock fireplace. Everything in the Beechwood Manor was old, but so well maintained that it felt more like a cozy Bed & Breakfast filled with antiques instead of a dated ghost-town motel.
Trust me, I’ve been in both.
A swinging door separated the living room from the kitchen and informal dining area, and Evangeline chose to open it with a flick of her wrist.
“You’re getting better at that,” I complimented.
Shortly after being turned into a werewolf, Evangeline and Holly had put me through something of a supernatural boot camp. In one of the lessons, they’d explained that there were different kinds of witches and wizards. Holly, an elemental witch, leaned into all things nature based. It explained why she was so good at growing the herbs and botanicals she needed to make her potions. It also explained why she preferred casting spells with her hands and was strongest with spells like calling up light and fire.
Evangeline was a craft witch and preferred intricate spells and using a wand. However, she’d recently decided it would be convenient to know how to do a few basic spells by hand and was working on harnessing her control. Even little things, like opening a door, were big steps that proved her efforts of concentration were paying off.
“Thanks,” she said, disentangling her arm to slip through the door when I gestured for her to go first.
“Look who’s here for dinner,” she announced as I followed her into the brightly-lit kitchen. The walls were a sunflower yellow and lent the space a warm, cheery feel. A large farm style table was to the left, offset from an L-shaped bank of countertops. The sink was centered under a three-panel window that overlooked the woods behind the manor. There was a drop-off on the other side of the woods with spectacular ocean views.
As Evangeline guessed, Adam and Holly were inside. Adam sat at the table, munching straight from a ginormous box of cereal while Holly stood at the stove, monitoring a kettle of blue liquid that was a mix between Dawn dish soap and Blue-Razberry Kool-Aid.
“Hey, guys,” I said, holding up a hand.
“What’s up?” Adam asked around a mouthful of Sweetie Puffs.
“That’s attractive,” Holly said to him, drawing her brows down. Adam shrugged and she rolled her eyes before shifting them to me. “Hello, Nick.”
Evangeline sashayed to the basket of to-go menus and casually flipped through the stack.
“What brings you by?” Holly asked.
I slipped my hands into the pockets of my jeans and rocked back on my heels. “I need to use your cat for bait.”
Holly’s eyes went round as dollar coins. “Excuse me?”
“Sorry.” I winced. “That kind of sounded like I wanted to drop him into a python cage.”
“That would have to be one massive snake,” Adam coughed, concealing a laugh.
He had a point. Boots was a huge orange tabby that was easily pushing twenty pounds. He was lovable and fiercely protective of Holly, but no one could argue that he could stand a little less kibble … and maybe a few daily laps up and down the manor’s stairs.
Holly cut a glare at Adam. “He’s on diet food now.”
Adam held up the box of cereal but couldn’t hide the smirk on his face.
Turning back toward me, Holly asked, “What in the Otherworld do you need with Boots?”
I dropped into the chair beside Adam. “I have a theory for this new case I’ve got and it involves a crime spree headed up by a pet sitter.”
Three blank stares reflected back at me.
I held up a hand and launched into the full explanation. “There’s been a string of robberies in the area. The police can’t find the connection and I got called in to help out.”
It was in the ballpark of the sequence of events.
“I interviewed two of the victims this morning and reviewed all the notes. In doing so, I realized that all of the victims have pets. Now, the first family interviewed a pet sitting company by the name of Lydia’s Petz, but didn’t follow through. The second and third family did have a pet sitter.”
“The same one?” Evangeline asked.
“Yep! On top of that, there have been a couple other home invasions in neighboring counties. After I made the connection, I called the local police departments and asked about it. It took a little finagling, but I got confirmation that at least one of those involved a family who hired a pet sitter before going out of town.”
Adam let out a low whistle.
Holly blinked. “Nice work.”
“You look surprised.” I snorted. “I do have some experience with this whole investigation thing, you know.”
“I know that,” she replied with a laugh. She turned off the stove and then stirred the pot of whatever it was she was cooking up. “But I’m still missing the part where Boots comes into play.”
“My working theory is that someone working for this pet sitting service is casing the homes of their clients and then goes back later to swipe whatever they see fit, or maybe they’re working with a burglar in exchange for a cut.”
“Makes sense,” Adam said.
“Obviously, I can’t just call them up and accuse them of being criminals. So, instead, I thought I could borrow Boots. I’ll call the pet sitter and play it off like I’m going out of town. What they won’t expect is for me to have the whole condo wired with spy cameras. I’ll catch them in the act and get my clients their jewelry back.”
“I see.” Holly nodded slowly. “Well, I’m fine with it, but I can already tell you that Boots isn’t going to be thrilled about it. He’s accustomed to his home and he really hates car rides.”
I frowned. “I live less than ten minutes from here.”
“You and I know that, but he won’t,” Holly protested. “I also know how you feel about your fancy-pants furniture and I can pretty much guarantee it won’t look as pretty if he Hulks out, trying to escape.”
I cringed.
“Exactly,” Holly continued, noting my grimace. “Listen, why don’t you just call the sitters to come here?”
I raised a brow. “And where should I say we’re all going?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a casual shrug. “You’re the brains of the operation. I’m just the crazy cat lady in this scenario.”
I rubbed a hand over my jawline.
“You won’t even need a video camera,” she added excitedly. “We have Posy and Earl on duty. They’ll tell us what happens.”
“No offense,” I started, glancing around. So far, there hadn’t been any sign of Posy, the landlady ghost, or her husband Earl, but I still hadn’t figured out the whole ghost thing yet and decided one couldn’t be too careful. “But I need proof. You know, something the police can use. Ghost testimony—though it would be insanely helpful—isn’t exactly going to suffice in this case.”
“Right.” Holly mumbled something that sounded like stupid human rules under her breath as she resumed stirring.
“I know where we can all go,” Adam interjected. He tapped at his phone and then flipped it around so we could all see the screen. “Seattle’s having a comic book convention this weekend. A buddy of mine is working security and can get us tickets on the cheap.”
Holly raised an eyebrow. “A comic convention?”
I shrugged. “Works for me.”
Holly looked across the kitchen to Evangeline, clearly hoping for moral support, but Evangeline was grinning. “That would be fun! I used to go to those things all the time back when I was on The Wednesday Witch.”
Woefully outnumbered, Holly sighed. “All right, fine. But we’re stopping in the haven and stocking up on Lemon Clouds first.”
The plans came together quickly and the Thursday before we were set to depart on our comic-book palooza, we all gathered at the manor. Lydia Hudson, the woman behind Lydia’s Petz, would arrive in time for a quick briefing on Boots’s needs before we left the house. I spent the day of the appointment wiring up the main rooms with security cameras the size of dimes and planted a series of tiny microphones in the maj
ority of the potted plants on the main level of the house.
“Everything good to go?” Adam asked, following me as I ran through the final check.
Craning around to check the screen of my laptop, I smiled when our faces appeared. “Looks that way,” I replied, pointing up at the frame of a large picture. “Smile. You’re on Candid Camera.”
Adam followed my gaze and grinned. “That’s pretty cool.”
“What happens if they have one of those bug detectors?” Evangeline asked, coming up behind us.
I turned, looking at her face to face rather than at her image on my laptop. “These guys don’t even have the good sense to wear gloves. I doubt they’re going to have the foresight to think someone’s home might have a nanny cam.”
She nodded slowly, as though not completely convinced. “Right.”
“It’ll be fine, Evie,” Adam added. “Even if they do find the cameras, it’s not like there’s anything they can do. It just means they won’t rob the place.”
“Speaking of,” Posy interjected, floating up through the floor to hover in the midst of us. “If this does work, what’s going to prevent these hooligans from wrecking the manor and stealing your things?”
Holly flashed a wicked grin. “I’d love to see them try.”
Adam’s eyes sparked with appreciation as he glanced sidelong at his girlfriend. “Holly’s got so many wards lined up, it would take a lot more than a couple of thugs to do any damage.”
Posy glanced around the circle. “Isn’t that more dangerous? Won’t they tell someone what happens?”
“I don’t think anyone is going to buy what they’re selling,” Adam replied. “Besides, who’s going to go to the police and tell them they were attacked by some invisible force? They’d also have to explain what they were doing here in the first place.”
Holly nodded. “Not to mention, I think we can all agree that the manor knows how to take care of itself,” she added, glancing nervously up at the ceiling.
I hadn’t personally experienced the house coming to life, but it was well-known among the tenants that there was a connection between Posy and the old house. If enough of the ghost’s emotional wires got tripped, the house tended to act out on her behalf. Holly had a colorful story about the steps of the porch literally pitching her into the line of shrubs around the perimeter of the front yard.
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