Dead of Winter (Cold Case Psychic #15) - Pandora Pine Page 0,5

out for every bad word he said, he’d be in the corner until Easter 2045.” Ronan was lucky he had such a kind and forgiving husband.

“Can we get back to my question?” Fitzgibbon didn’t seem phased by the interruption.

“Getting my P.I. license is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.” Ronan turned to his husband. “I can’t make a decision about starting a business without talking to Ten.”

“Same goes for me and Cope,” Jude agreed.

“Take our husbands, please!” Cope laughed.

“I talked to Carson about this, and we’d be able to work on cases with you all at the Magick shop and then on our own cases once we got some.” Fitzgibbon looked more relaxed now that he’d made his offer.

“You may have one now,” a familiar voice said from the kitchen door. It was Salem’s chief of police, Cisco Jackson, who carried a brown accordion folder under his left arm.

“Talk about making an entrance.” Ronan shook his head.

“Truman let us in,” Cisco said sheepishly before setting a bakery box from Holy Cannoli on the kitchen island.

“Us?” Ronan asked.

Cisco laughed. “Luca is with the kids. Now that we’re married, he’s got baby fever. Just between us, I do too. I’ve spent the last few years watching you all get married and start families, knowing that kind of life wasn’t possible for Luca and me at the time, but now the sky’s the limit.”

Until a few months ago, Cisco’s new husband, Luca Pennington, had been under the curse of a powerful witch. Jude and Cope had found a way to break it and free Luca.

“You mentioned a case? What case?” Fitzgibbon asked.

“Okay, that’s our cue to leave.” Ten stood up and motioned for Carson and the others to follow him.

“Hold on, Ten.” Ronan reached for Tennyson’s hand. “Stay. I want you to hear all of this.”

“Same goes for Cope,” Jude agreed.

“Okay.” Tennyson moved to grab Cisco a drink and a plate. He was curious to hear about this case he wanted Ronan and the others to look into.

As much as Ten hated the idea of Ronan on the hunt for criminals and dangerous men again, he knew Ronan missed being part of investigations. If Ronan wanted to do this, Ten wouldn’t stand in his way.

3

Ronan

Ronan’s head was spinning. Fitzgibbon wanted him and Jude to form their own P.I. boy band and Cisco had a case he wanted them all to look into. When it rained, it poured.

“Tell us about this case.” Ronan wondered why tonight, of all nights, and in the middle of a Christmas party, Cisco was bringing this case to him and the others.

Cisco took a seat at the dining room table, setting the brown folder down in front of him. He reached into the front pocket and pulled out a picture. He turned it to show Ronan and the others like a librarian reading a picture book during story time. “This is Skye Washington. Today is the thirty-fifth anniversary of her murder.”

Ronan sat forward in his seat, as if to get a better view of the glossy eight-by-ten photo of a smiling teenager. Skye had dark hair and eyes with a dimple in her left cheek. She wore blue eyeshadow and pink gloss, making her look like she should be dancing on Club MTV instead of sitting for a school picture. “Thirty-five years?” He’d worked on some cold cases during his time with the BPD, but this case wasn’t just cold, it was frozen solid.

Cisco nodded somberly. “Every year since I was made chief, Butch and Muriel Washington call me to ask about Skye’s case. If there are any new leads or suspects. Every year I’ve had to tell them no.” His dark eyes locked with Ronan’s. “After I hung up the phone today, I knew I had to bring this case to you.”

“Tell us about it,” Fitzgibbon urged.

Ronan could feel Kevin’s knee bouncing against his under the table. He obviously wasn’t the only one who’d been missing detective work.

“Skye was fifteen years old. She’d spent the day going to her sophomore-level classes at Salem High School. She’d come home to do a few hours of homework before going out for hamburgers and movie night with her three best friends, Jennifer, Lisa, and Heidi. According to her parents, Skye got home around ten that night and after telling them about the movie, went to bed. When Muriel went to wake her up Saturday morning for their pre-planned trip to the mall to go Christmas shopping, Skye was