Dead of Winter (Cold Case Psychic #15) - Pandora Pine Page 0,54

down on the second step, Ten took a deep breath. He could hear Ronan and Everly chatting in the kitchen. He was probably giving her more hot chocolate and another brownie.

“If your baby having too much sugar is your biggest complaint in life, I don’t suppose you’re doing too bad,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

Ten turned to see Skye Washington sitting a few steps above him. “Hi, Skye. How’s it going?” He wasn’t quite sure why she was here. This day had been crazy enough without a visit from the unfriendly ghost.

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Tennyson! You know exactly why I’m here.” Skye looked angry.

“If my daughter was here, that word would have earned you a spot in time out.” Ten smiled to himself. He was worn out from a long day and just wanted to relax.

“What kind of long day did poor little Tenny have?” Skye asked sarcastically.

“I spent the morning at your former BFF’s house. Examining her dead body for clues.” Every time Ten shut his eyes, all he could see was Jennifer’s body crumpled on the dining room floor with a hole in the center of her forehead.

“What are you talking about? What the hell is a BFF?” Skye’s angry look was replaced with one of confusion.

“Best friend forever. It’s a new-fangled term the hip kids are using nowadays.” Not only the kids, Tennyson admitted to himself, everyone was doing it now.

“I don’t have any forever friends. I have myself and that’s enough.” Skye’s usual resting bitch face was back.

“I hope not, Skye. Eternity is an awfully long time to spend alone.” Ten wanted to prod the spirit more about how she spent her time on the other side, but he knew Ronan would want him to ask about Jennifer. “Anyway, the dead body was your friend, Jennifer Baldwin.”

Skye stiffened. “I heard Jennifer was murdered.” There were no tears. No signs of sadness or regret. In fact, it didn’t appear the news was affecting Skye at all.

“You know, it’s an interesting story.” Ten looked away from Skye and started to study his fingernails. They could use a bit of a trim. “I think I’ve served my sentence here in time out.” Ten stood as if he were about to walk away.

“Stop! Don’t you move.” Skye sounded panicked. “What is an interesting story? I came all the way here to see you. Just tell me.”

Sighing heavily for dramatic purposes, Tennyson sat back down. “The last time we spoke, I told you Ronan and I were asked to look into your murder. Apparently, your parents call the Salem police chief every year on the anniversary of your death to ask if there are any new leads on the case.”

Skye rolled her eyes but stayed silent.

“Anyway, this year Cisco Jackson, he’s the chief, called us to see if we could take a look at your case. Ronan and Fitzgibbon worked in the Cold Case unit of the Boston PD for years. He and I solved a lot of cases together and gave a lot of families the answers they’d been waiting for.”

“What the hell does this have to do with Jennifer?” Skye sounded as if Tennyson were riding her last nerve.

“It’s all connected, Skye. Your parents still mourn your loss. We’re on the case to find them the answers they deserve after all these years. Part of our investigation was to speak with the people who were closest to you in life. We interviewed your parents and had been reaching out to your siblings and high school friends.”

“I saw you pawing through my room. Perv!” Skye challenged.

“Oh, honey,” Ten began. “The only thing in your room that interested me were your posters of New Kids on the Block.” Ten raised an eyebrow. “Donnie was always my favorite.”

“Okay, fine. You’re not a perv. What the hell were you looking for?”

“Clues. Teenage girls are experts at hiding things. From what I understand, the theory at the time was that the cops thought your case was a stranger danger killing. Their work was sloppy and incomplete. Your room was never searched or examined. After what happened to Jennifer, we have a definite reason to believe it wasn’t a stranger who killed you. We think whoever did this is still here, watching and waiting.”

“Ooooh! Scary!” Skye laughed. “Do those ghost stories really work on people?”

Tennyson had reached his limit of what he was going to take from Skye. “Jennifer came by the Magick shop the other day to talk about you