Harvey had been able to see Prudence, too, that day, which meant her visibility wasn’t some unique one-on-one connection with me.
“To be certain, we would need to ask her.” His focus returned to his ghost thingamajig.
The answer would have to remain a mystery for now, because there was no way I was going up there again anytime soon if I could help it. Two visits in the same amount of days was two too many.
Calamity Jane’s back door creaked open. That had to be Doc. I’d told him in my voice mail that I’d leave the back door unlocked.
“We’re in Jerry’s office,” I called out.
“Flower delivery for Violet Parker,” Natalie hollered back.
I looked over at Cooper, whose steely gaze was locked onto the empty doorway.
“You haven’t seen Coop today, have you?” she asked. I heard muffled thumping from out in the hallway. She must have slush on her boots.
“Uh, yeah.” I was staring right at him. I opened my mouth to warn her that he was within hearing distance, but she beat me to the punch.
“Harvey called me earlier.” Her voice sounded closer. A floorboard creaked. “He wanted me to …” She walked into the room and promptly turned to stone, her sights targeted on the man in question. “Oh!”
“Uncle Willis wanted you to what?” Cooper asked, his arms crossed.
She turned to me. “Thanks for warning me, meatball.”
“You wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise, motor mouth.” I looked down at the small paper bag she held in her hand. “What are you doing here?”
“Your aunt told me you were working late, so I decided to stop by and keep you company.” She held up the bag. “Me and a little tequila worm I call José, that is.”
I’d called Aunt Zoe to check on the kids between leaving Doc a voice mail and texting Cornelius. Kelly Wymonds had been there with Addy, which meant her dad had received my earlier message asking him to drop off Kelly to spend the night, since I’d completely spaced on swinging by his house after leaving Prudence’s.
“You’re not answering my question,” Cooper said to Natalie, using his gruff cop voice.
“I’ve always said you were a smart ‘dick,’ Detective Cooper.” Her eyes alight with mirth, she tugged off her stocking cap and stuffed it into her coat pocket. “What are you going to do if I refuse to speak without my attorney present?”
I chuckled. “She has you there, gumshoe.”
“Come here, Beals.” He sounded bossy, but his tone didn’t have the usual sharp edge to it.
She shuffled toward him, holding up her fists like a boxer. “You want some of this, tough guy?” She did a bob-and-weave move in front of him.
He dodged a fake jab and caught her by the wrist, spinning her around and pulling her back against him. His arm locked around her, imprisoning her—although she looked rather pleased about being jailed with nary a struggle to break free.
“Now,” he said next to her ear. I thought I saw him nuzzle her hair, but the shadows could be playing with my eyes. “What did my uncle want you to do?”
“Uhhh …” She shot a wrinkled brow in my direction, and then did a double take on the closet door. “Hey! The door is open.” Then she noticed the tall skinny guy playing with his meter over next to it. “Corny’s here, too.” She returned to me. “Oh, now I get it. You’re working late, but not on real estate.”
I touched my nose. “Winner winner chicken dinner.”
“Where’s Doc?”
“The Oracle is on his way,” Cornelius answered for me.
He was? “How do you know?”
“He sent me a message via telepathy.”
“Don’t make me come over there and pinch you.”
He took a step away from me, shooting me a wary glance. “Your Tall Medium called me about a half hour ago to make sure I was awake.”
I scoffed. “Is Doc your hired alarm now?”
“He wanted to make sure I was ready for tonight.”
Oh, right. I’d forgotten about the séance we were supposed to have. “Are you ready?” Because I sure wasn’t.
“That is inconsequential now. Wilda Hessler can wait.” He held the ghost gadget toward the closet. “We have more important work here.”
“We do?” I groaned a little at that. I wasn’t thrilled to deal with either problem.
Cornelius looked at Natalie. “It’s good you’re here. We’ll need a fifth tonight.”
“If you mean a fifth of whiskey, I only brought tequila,” she jested.
“Natalie doesn’t need to be here for this,” Cooper said.
She pulled slightly away from him. “When you say it that way, Coop, I believe I do.” She gave him a look that dared him to disagree.
He kept his big, law-dog mouth closed.
Natalie was right—he was a smart dick.
“So what’s the plan, Corny?” she asked, looking back at the closet door. “Are we going to sit in a circle and join hands this time while Vi conjures a pissed-off demon, or strip Coop down to his unmentionables and offer him as a sacrifice to whatever ghoulish nightmare might be waiting down in that Hellhole?” She patted Cooper on the chest. “I vote for the latter. The sight of a nearly naked detective makes my engine rev.”
Before Cornelius could answer, I heard Calamity Jane’s back door open again.
I held my breath, watching the empty doorway. Please don’t let this be Jerry swinging by because he forgot something.
Doc filled the doorway, pausing on the threshold. His black coat was sprinkled with white specks. It must be spitting snow again.
Whew!
He glanced around the room as he pulled off his gloves and stuffed them in his coat pockets. His dark gaze stopped on me, his lips curling. “Word on the street is there’s a Hellhole that’s opened up and people are dying to get in.”
“That’s not funny, Doc.” But I smiled while I said it.
“You’re a real comedian, Nyce,” Cooper said, leaning against the filing cabinet again. “I vote we send the funny
