Dead of Winter (Cold Case Psychic #15) - Pandora Pine Page 0,25

lead, that shark with blood in the water instinct is going to roar back. You’ll go from zero to Mufasa in the blink of an eye.”

“Mix your metaphors much?” Ronan laughed. He knew Jude was right. “You think my skills are lying dormant?”

“Yeah. Once this case really gets going and we drop the soft touch, I think you’ll be back to normal. I think we all will.” Jude was back to being his usual cocky self.

Ronan thought over what Jude was saying. “It was a softball interview with the parents, wasn’t it? Just because the 1980s tie-dye version of Cisco Jackson said the parents didn’t kill Skye doesn’t mean it’s fact.”

“I’m not saying we go at them like ex-cons, but we can’t take anything here at face value. All we’ve got are the people closest to Skye and maybe some thirty-five-year-old DNA. If we raise the money to test it, there’s no guarantee it’s the killer’s.”

“I hear you.” Ronan tapped his finger against the table. “First thing tomorrow, I want to go over everything we know about the girlfriends. It’s been decades, but maybe there’s something those friends will be willing to tell us that they wouldn’t or couldn’t tell the police back in the day.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jude drained his second cup of coffee and stood.

“Are you going to be able to sleep tonight? That’s some strong coffee. I only drink it when I can’t take an afternoon nap with Everly and Dixie.”

“No more naps for you.” Jude raised an eyebrow. “They’ve made you soft.”

Maybe so, but from this moment forward, Ronan was all in. His gut instinct told him the Washingtons didn’t have anything to do with their daughter’s death, but stranger things had happened.

12

Tennyson

For some reason it took Everly longer to settle down and go to sleep. Tennyson hadn’t minded. He wanted every spare moment with his daughter that he could get. He’d just been sitting down to read the diary when the doorbell rang.

Ten knew it was Jude. He’d used his gift to confirm his guess. He’d seen something in Jude’s eyes on the way home that told him the P.I. was going to need some time to chat with Ronan. Not that Cope wouldn’t understand, but Ronan had been on the case, while Cope had not.

Instead of opening the diary, Ten set it on his bed and arranged the photographs of Skye and her best friends around it like a halo. He studied the faces one by one, looking for smiles that weren’t genuine, flared nostrils, and angry eyes. When he finished examining them, Ten realized all the pictures were the real deal. These girls were true-blue friends.

Why then were there no real witness statements from any of them in the case file? Ten thought back to his high school years. Shit, while he’d been trying to get himself an education, he was also trying to keep his rainbow flag hidden, not to mention the psychic thing. Although, enough of his classmates had seen him talking to people who weren’t there to know something was definitely odd about him.

Maybe Skye’s friends were busy trying to hide secrets of their own. Ten didn’t know if that was the case, and touching their faces in the pictures wasn’t helping. He wasn’t getting any psychic vibes, and Skye’s spirit hadn’t shown up to speak to him yet.

“Skye? This is Tennyson Grimm again. I’m going to read your diary tonight. I hope you know I’m looking for clues about your killer and not gossip.” Silence. With that, Ten opened the book.

The paper was creamy-white and thick. The journal was expensive, probably a Christmas or birthday gift. Skye’s handwriting was full of big bubble letters. Girls he knew in school had written like this too. He’d tried copying the style, but could never get the hang of it.

Taking a deep breath, Tennyson started to read:

Dear Diary… Do people even say that anymore? I feel so weird trying to write down my feelings. I spent the day with my three best friends. We ordered pizza, drank Coke, and watched MTV. We screamed so loud when Bon Jovi came on that I think I ripped my tonsils. I’ve got a scratchy voice now, but it was totally worth it. Jon’s hair is so awesome. I want to run my fingers through it and kiss him breathless.

Well, that entry certainly hadn’t offered any clues to Skye’s murderer. Ten flipped the page where he found more teenage silliness. Jennifer threw up when they