Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,45

was taking off the bracelet and putting it in my glovebox. I suppose I had a new rule for my spooktacular life: never accept jewelry from a dead man.

My phone chimed with a text, and I found a message from Dakota. Sending you a list of the stones you need. You can probably find them at your mother’s store.

Thanks, I texted back.

My phone dinged again. This time he sent me a mad face. Don’t brush me off.

Presumptuous little widget. I’m not, I insisted.

Go get them.

I huffed. I would get to the stones when I got a few seconds of downtime. Right now, I had to chase down a lead. I had to find out more about this Dillon kid. And what about the disgruntled parent, Kenneth Clark? Had he been angry enough to kill the social worker he blamed for taking his kids away?

“You met Alex.” An excited voice came from my right, and I glanced over to see a smiling Joey in the passenger seat. “Isn’t he wonderful?”

“Yeah, he’s a real barrel of laughs.” I put my phone in the cupholder. “Did he kill you?”

“Of course not.” His smile faltered a bit before fading completely. “If I’d wanted you to look into my death, I would’ve asked.”

“What about your mother? You were angry because she didn’t tell you that you were adopted.” I paused. “Maybe your argument went a little further than you anticipated.”

“My mother loved me very much, Detective,” he said softly. “I don’t agree with her decision to keep secrets from me, but it was far too late to change that. I decided not to dwell in the past. I just missed my chance to tell her that.”

“I’d still like to speak to the PI you hired.”

“Rex?” He frowned. “He has nothing to do with any of this. I won’t have you bothering him.”

“What about Dillon? Alex said that Dillon took your special interest in him the wrong way.” I stared at him hard. “Did he? Or is that something we should discuss?”

His eyebrows rose. “Dillon was just a kid. You can’t possibly think….” He shook his head. “You know what? This just confirms my original thought that the past should remain in the past.”

“Well, that’s pretty much the opposite of my life’s motto,” I said a tad flippantly. “I unearth the past with dynamite, if necessary. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to BBPD, so I can put a blasting cap under your entire life.”

I reached out to start the car, but he grabbed my arm, freezing me in place. His wispy hand went in and out of my arm and surprise crossed his face. “Oh wow, I did not expect that.”

I pulled back slowly, trying not to look as freaked out as I was. “You and me both.”

“You’re just, so open,” he said, sounding a little amazed. “I’ve never met a medium who’s quite so unguarded.”

I had a feeling I was about to find out why that was an awful thing.

“You want to know what happened with Dillon?” The tone of his voice made me want to say no.

I nodded jerkily. “Tell me.”

“I think I can do better than that,” he whispered. “Let me show you.”

His entire hand disappeared into my arm again. I tried to pull back, but his hold was just too strong. I watched with rising panic as his entire arm disappeared into mine and then his shoulder. It was like he was feeding himself into my body, and no matter how I tried to brush him off, more of him disappeared inside me. Then he wasn’t just touching me, he was all around me, seeping into me in the worst kind of ways.

I started to sweat. It was like someone getting under the covers with you and you scooching over to make room… only the covers were my skin, and there was nowhere for me to go. I tried to say no, but it was like my mouth was suddenly glued shut. Sharing my existence with another being was indescribable. Horrible. Suddenly, I had bigger problems.

A voice exploded in my head. “I thought you loved me!”

When I opened my eyes, I was looking at another man—no, a teenager. He was so close to my face that I stumbled back a little. He was dark-haired, pale-skinned, and a little taller than me. He was at that stage where he hadn’t quite grown into his body yet, all skinny and lanky with big hands and bony, angular shoulders. His