little place called Sleepy Hollow. He says it’s an enchanted place. That it’s quiet and dreamy.”
“Too quiet.” When she glanced around, Chandra’s eyes were big. She wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t forget, Bea, this is where those investigators got the video of Sleepy last year.”
“They got a video,” I told her, and reminded myself. “That doesn’t mean it was a video of Sleepy. Since we both know there’s no such thing as ghosts—”
I should have known better. I did know better. But it was impossible to call the words back.
Chandra might still be wide-eyed and on-edge, but her shoulders shot back. “Are you saying that the Egyptians were wrong? That the Romans and the Greeks and the Mesopotamians didn’t know what they were talking about? They all believed in ghosts, Bea. People still do. All around the world.”
“But not right here. Not right now.” I wasn’t about to confess that I said this more for my own benefit than for hers. “We’ve got more important things to worry about.”
“Things more important than the shifting veils between the dimensions? Than the vast, unknown universe or the shadows that reside on the Other Side?” Chandra shivered and the witch on the front of her sweater did the hoochie-koochie. “I don’t think so, Bea.”
“Then I’ll tell you what”—I looped an arm through hers, the better to distract her—“we’ll worry about Sleepy another time. For now, Kate has to be our first priority.”
Chandra might be a little out there (okay, a lot out there) when it came to her beliefs in ghosts and tarot and the power of crystals, but deep down, she had her priorities plenty straight. She knew that friendship came first. Which was why she was so upset at seeing EGG’s return in the first place. I was counting on her loyalty, but I guess I underestimated how frightened she was.
“We should go.” She stepped toward the door. “I mean all of us. We should go. We shouldn’t be poking around where we don’t belong. We can come back another time and—”
“You want to explain again why we’re here and what you want us to do?” Luella asked, effectively cutting off Chandra.
I hated to admit (again) what I’d already admitted to both Luella and Chandra when I called them thirty minutes earlier. “I don’t know. Not for certain. I know we have to figure out a way to help. Hank is talking to Kate and Kate’s attorney is in on the conversation.”
“Of course he’s talking to Kate.” The hand Luella put on my arm was supposed to be reassuring, and had we been talking about anyone else but Kate, it might have been. “He knows about the fight Kate had with Noreen last night. You told us Hank walked in here in the middle of it. He’s just doing his job, that’s all. Just getting his ducks in a row. He’d be crazy not to talk to Kate.”
“He is crazy,” Chandra added, but neither Luella nor I paid much attention. After all, Chandra had once been married to Hank. Her opinion of his mental status didn’t exactly count. “He knows Kate would never kill anyone.”
“We know that, too.” I was as sure of this as I was of my own name. Funny, that didn’t make my voice, echoing back from the ceiling at me, sound any more certain. “I wouldn’t think anything of Kate talking to Hank, or of Dominic Bender hanging around, if it wasn’t so late in the day. The fact that Hank wants to talk to Kate now and that her attorney is present—”
“Hank just wants to get it out of the way. So he can move on to the real suspects.” Luella gave me another reassuring pat.
“Or he’s just being a pain in the neck,” Chandra insisted.
“Either way, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got all the bases covered. I thought we should start here . . .” I twirled around, taking in the winery. “Because this is where Kate and I found Noreen and her crew last night. We know Kate didn’t kill Noreen. But whoever did . . . I don’t know.
“Too quiet.” When she glanced around, Chandra’s eyes were big. She wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t forget, Bea, this is where those investigators got the video of Sleepy last year.”
“They got a video,” I told her, and reminded myself. “That doesn’t mean it was a video of Sleepy. Since we both know there’s no such thing as ghosts—”
I should have known better. I did know better. But it was impossible to call the words back.
Chandra might still be wide-eyed and on-edge, but her shoulders shot back. “Are you saying that the Egyptians were wrong? That the Romans and the Greeks and the Mesopotamians didn’t know what they were talking about? They all believed in ghosts, Bea. People still do. All around the world.”
“But not right here. Not right now.” I wasn’t about to confess that I said this more for my own benefit than for hers. “We’ve got more important things to worry about.”
“Things more important than the shifting veils between the dimensions? Than the vast, unknown universe or the shadows that reside on the Other Side?” Chandra shivered and the witch on the front of her sweater did the hoochie-koochie. “I don’t think so, Bea.”
“Then I’ll tell you what”—I looped an arm through hers, the better to distract her—“we’ll worry about Sleepy another time. For now, Kate has to be our first priority.”
Chandra might be a little out there (okay, a lot out there) when it came to her beliefs in ghosts and tarot and the power of crystals, but deep down, she had her priorities plenty straight. She knew that friendship came first. Which was why she was so upset at seeing EGG’s return in the first place. I was counting on her loyalty, but I guess I underestimated how frightened she was.
“We should go.” She stepped toward the door. “I mean all of us. We should go. We shouldn’t be poking around where we don’t belong. We can come back another time and—”
“You want to explain again why we’re here and what you want us to do?” Luella asked, effectively cutting off Chandra.
I hated to admit (again) what I’d already admitted to both Luella and Chandra when I called them thirty minutes earlier. “I don’t know. Not for certain. I know we have to figure out a way to help. Hank is talking to Kate and Kate’s attorney is in on the conversation.”
“Of course he’s talking to Kate.” The hand Luella put on my arm was supposed to be reassuring, and had we been talking about anyone else but Kate, it might have been. “He knows about the fight Kate had with Noreen last night. You told us Hank walked in here in the middle of it. He’s just doing his job, that’s all. Just getting his ducks in a row. He’d be crazy not to talk to Kate.”
“He is crazy,” Chandra added, but neither Luella nor I paid much attention. After all, Chandra had once been married to Hank. Her opinion of his mental status didn’t exactly count. “He knows Kate would never kill anyone.”
“We know that, too.” I was as sure of this as I was of my own name. Funny, that didn’t make my voice, echoing back from the ceiling at me, sound any more certain. “I wouldn’t think anything of Kate talking to Hank, or of Dominic Bender hanging around, if it wasn’t so late in the day. The fact that Hank wants to talk to Kate now and that her attorney is present—”
“Hank just wants to get it out of the way. So he can move on to the real suspects.” Luella gave me another reassuring pat.
“Or he’s just being a pain in the neck,” Chandra insisted.
“Either way, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got all the bases covered. I thought we should start here . . .” I twirled around, taking in the winery. “Because this is where Kate and I found Noreen and her crew last night. We know Kate didn’t kill Noreen. But whoever did . . . I don’t know.
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