“That sounds delicious.”
“It is. And the house smells amazing all the time. Of course, my mother immediately started criticizing my lack of seasonal decorating, which is just… so on brand.”
“Seasonal decorating?”
“Seasonal. Decorating.” Megan’s eyes turned steely as she watched the road. “Let’s begin in January, keeping in mind there’s probably gonna be some holdover from Christmas still hanging around. Nothing too churchy, but anything generally wintery—snowflakes, snowmen, stuff like that—you’re still good.”
“Okay…” Why did Katherine feel like a storm was approaching?
“For February, you’re gonna want to liven that up with some hearts and flowers. Maybe a red wreath of some kind for Valentine’s Day of course. It’s not a church holiday, but everyone likes red hearts, and how else you gonna remind your man that he’s gotta get those flowers ordered? March is Saint Patrick’s Day, but depending on timing, you might just be skipping ahead to Easter. Now, you can’t skimp on Easter.”
Katherine’s head was already spinning, and they weren’t even halfway through the year. “What if you don’t celebrate Easter?”
“Secular holiday now, Katherine, you’re out of luck. That’s right, lots of church stuff for the Baptists. Crosses and angels and whatnot, but don’t forget the eggs and bunnies too. You will be expected to host a combination brunch and egg hunt, and you will be judged on how well your children have kept those Easter whites clean.”
“Oh my God.”
As she spoke, Megan’s voice became ever so slightly more manic. “We’re not even halfway there, but take a breath. Put your feet up for a hot minute because you have a brief respite in May before you go all out for Independence Day. Now, if you do a good enough job integrating your Fourth of July stuff into general summer seasonality, that should last you until the end of August. But once September hits, you’re looking at harvest festival madness, my friend.”
“I am so afraid of where this is going.”
“We’re talking decorative corn and enough pumpkins to sink a battleship, Professor Bassi. And pumpkin-spice candles through your entire damn house—don’t argue, it’s the law.”
“Should I mention that it’s seventy degrees here on the coast? And sunny?”
“Doesn’t matter because this is Seasonal… Decorating.” She emphasized each word like a single sentence. “You’re gonna throw a few cutesy bats and ghosts over that harvest glory to get ready for Halloween, but as soon as that ship leaves the harbor, the real marathon begins. You’re gonna have to transition the harvest glory into a suitable bridge through Thanksgiving—go ahead and add some turkeys to all those pumpkins—but get ready because as soon as bowl-game kickoffs happens, it’s the Super Bowl of seasonal decorating. The Olympics and the World Cup all rolled into one.”
“Christmas?”
“Bet your booty, Bassi. We’re talking yard displays, house displays, roof displays, lights, trees, poinsettias, and enough gold-painted crap to make it look like Midas went on a bender in your living room.”
Katherine was speechless. Slightly horrified. But mostly speechless.
“Now, I haven’t done any of that nonsense since we moved out here because my kids are teenagers and they don’t really care. Plus all the friends I would decorate with—the only part that made it a little bit fun—are back in Atlanta. But if my mother is staying through Easter like she’s threatening—”
“Easter? Do you want her to stay through Easter?”
Megan’s eyes were wide. “She has her own room in that mansion. It doesn’t much matter whether I want her there or not. She’s there.”
Katherine faced forward. “Well… obviously she loves you and she wants to take care of you. That’s really wonderful when you think about it.”
Megan had pulled up to a light and was staring at her. “I’m making you help me,” she said softly. “Just for saying that.”
“Making me help you with what?”
“The decorating. All of it.”
Katherine considered that, along with her complete lack of life experience with seasonal decorating. She had to admit she was slightly curious. “Do I get chicken pot pie?”
Megan pursed her lips. “That could probably be arranged.”
She shrugged. “Then I can help with some decorating.”
Megan patted her hand before they pulled away from the light. “Oh, you sweet, innocent child.”
“Just think, now that you have telekinesis, decorating a roof display is going to be so much easier.”
“Okay… that is a good point.”
Chapter 27
Justin McCabe’s lawyer was a man with weary eyes and a guarded expression. “Ms. Carpenter—”
“Alston Carpenter.” Megan had freshened up in the car and held her hand out confidently. “And this is Professor Katherine Bassi from Central Coast State.”
“You were also there at the fitness center on that day.”
“Yes.”
Megan continued, “We’re not here to do anything but help Justin.”
“You understand my skepticism obviously.” He looked around the empty room. They were the only three there. “I hope you understand. Mr. and Mrs. McCabe decided at the last minute that they didn’t want to be here, but they did tell me that I could meet with you on their behalf.”
“Think of us as allies,” Katherine said.
“You’re the woman who tackled Justin at the gym.”
“Yes. But please know that I believe if he had been aware of his actions, Justin would never have committed a crime.” Katherine would never forget the confusion and sorrow in that boy’s face. “I am confident there’s another explanation.”
“Okay.” The weary eyes turned suspicious. “I understand you want Justin’s phone?”
“Yes.” Katherine pulled out her laptop. “I want to clone it. We think there might be a connection between Justin and three other students who have all committed random acts of violence in the past six months due to an app that they downloaded as part of a research study.”
“Megan gave me a quick rundown on the phone. I’m not sure how much you’ll discover on it. According to the Moonstone Cove Police
