Chapter 12
12
10:32 a.m. Friday, November 1
“ C hupacabra Jones has got to be the coolest name ever,” Brian said as he reviewed his copy of the list of suspects.
“I know, right?” Nick agreed, frowning down at his phone. Riley sensed testosterone-fueled enthusiasm and wondered what he was up to.
“We’re not naming the baby Chupacabra,” Josie said.
“Let’s at least put it on the maybe list,” Brian insisted.
“Speaking of lists, we need to narrow down these suspects,” Riley announced. She was sitting on the couch in Nick’s office with Burt’s heavy head in her lap. He was snoring against her belly.
“The focus is on the breath and the flow. We are present in the moment.” Gabe’s mellow voice came from the foyer, where he was teaching Fred, Lily, and Mr. Willicott tai chi.
Nick put his phone down and picked up his copy of the suspect list.
It was four single-spaced, two-columned pages that included everyone Griffin had mentioned who might have a problem with him, all the staffers affiliated with Channel 50’s morning show, and anyone with regular access to Griffin or his house. After signing the affidavit Mrs. Penny had prepared for her, swearing she had nothing to do with the threat on Griffin’s life, Riley had taken her own name off the list to save space.
“I started background checks on the first dozen or so names yesterday,” Brian said, scrolling through a document on his laptop. “The neighbor Belinda came up clean. She’s mostly retired from Hollywood but still does some consulting. Enough in cash and investments to be considered rich by anyone’s standards. No priors. No bad press. However, the neighbor on the other side of Gentry is a different story.”
Riley shivered, remembering the rage-fueled confrontation.
“Lyle Larstein is a bad dude,” Brian continued. “He was a top executive for Blue Banner Health, pulling down seven figures in bonuses alone every year. Second home in Cabo. Garage full of exotic sports cars. The wife and kids left him and took pretty much everything not nailed down after it went public that Larstein had a long history of sexual harassment and firing those who didn’t submit to his advances.”
“If that isn’t bad enough,” Josie added, “the shitbag decided seven figures a year wasn’t enough and got caught embezzling from Blue Banner’s nonprofit arm. He literally stole money from sick babies.”
Riley wasn’t surprised.
“He goes to the top. Theodoric stays up there too,” Nick said. “Gentry slept with his girlfriend/daughter. I wouldn’t put it past him to take a shot at someone who embarrassed him like that.”
Burt’s tail tapped happily in his sleep.
“Claudia Mendoza claims she’s over Griffin getting her fired, but she’s still carrying a grudge,” Riley said. “She was also in town when he was shot at yesterday.”
“What did you get from Goodshine this morning? Besides a blinding headache?” Nick asked her. “Her nails are too long to hold a gun, let alone shoot one, but she’s the one who lives with the annoying asshat. That could drive anyone to attempted murder.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s planning to marry Griffin, catch him cheating, and collect a big fat payout from the infidelity clause in the prenup before moving to Florida where the weather is easier to report.” She tapped her highlighter against the page. “As much as I would love the karma of it, I don’t think she’s our bad guy.”
“It’s so fucking cool to have a psychic on the team,” Brian said.
“I hate to bring this up,” Josie said, flipping through her copy of the suspects. “But what if it’s someone who didn’t make the list?”
“Then we pin it on one of the bad guys we did find, collect our check, and go out for a steak dinner,” Nick quipped.
Riley was only half-sure he was kidding.
“I’ll keep digging into the list and see if anyone else has any priors or if they’re spouting off threats on social media,” Brian said.
“What do you want me to do, boss?” Josie asked.
“Something you’re not going to like, but you’re the only person I trust to get the job done.”
“I’m listening.”
“We need to deploy the elderly.”
Burt rolled over onto his back with a hefty yawn, and his paws shot up in the air, bopping Riley in the chin. “Deploy the elderly for what?” she asked.
“Too many suspects and not enough time. I need the fogies to start surveillance of our most likely baddies.”
This wasn’t the first time Nick had employed their roommates. He’d once hired Mrs. Penny to follow Riley around in disguise. She still had dreams about being chased by an elderly mime.
“Noooooooooo,” Josie moaned, then scraped her hands over her face. “You know how I feel about old people.”
“Look, I need someone who can keep them in line and out of trouble. Brian can bust out some of our toys, and you two can monitor them from the van,” Nick said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Riley pressed, dodging Burt’s tongue. There were a million ways this could go horribly wrong.
“No one looks twice at an old guy feeding the birds on a bench. Besides, it’ll keep them from destroying our house,” he insisted.
As if on cue, there was a resounding crash from the foyer. “Whoopsie!” Lily called.
“I hate everything about this,” Josie said.
Brian patted his wife’s leg. “Look at it this way, Jos. It’ll be good practice for parenting. We just gotta keep a couple of tall toddlers alive for a few days.”
“That’s the spirit,” Nick said. “Tell them we’ll pay them in shingles vaccines or whatever they’re into.”
The meeting broke up, and everyone dispersed. Burt rolled off Riley’s lap onto the floor for a big stretch before trotting out of the room.
“What time do you want to leave?” she asked Nick, checking her watch.
“I’ve got a few things I want to take care of here first. How about we head out in an hour? We’ll grab lunch and fuel up before interrogating half of Harrisburg.”
“Sounds good. In the meantime, I think I’ll confiscate Gabe and see if we can psychically narrow down the list.”
“I’ll be eternally and sexually grateful,” Nick said with a wicked, dimpled grin.
“I’ll pass that along to Gabe.”
“So how do we do this?” Riley asked her spiritual adviser.
She and Gabe were sitting cross-legged facing each other on the dusty wood floor of the attic. It wasn’t the most comfortable space, but none of their other roommates had the endurance to make it up the extra flight of stairs, so it was a distraction-free zone.
Gabe peered down at the list. “I fear you may be opening yourself up to too much information if we seek answers to questions that are too general.”
“Meaning?”
“Griffin Gentry is not a nice human.”
“No, really?” she said dryly.
Her lovable hunk of a spiritual guide cocked his head. “Do you not agree?”
“Of course I do. I was just being sarcastic.”
Gabe looked at her blankly.
“It means you use words that say the opposite of what you mean. But it kind of only works when it’s obvious. Griffin is obviously a terrible person,” she explained.
“Ah. I believe I understand now.”
Happy to be the instructor for once, Riley grinned. “Here, let’s practice. Gee, Gabe, November sure is chilly.”
“I find the month to be quite invigorating.”
“Okaaaay. Not quite. How about this one? Do you like ice cream?”
He blinked, then a slow smile spread across his handsome face. “I do not care for ice cream.”
“That’s better. But to make the sarcasm more obvious, you can exaggerate it. Like ‘Nooo. I hate ice cream,’” she said. “Sometimes an eye roll helps convey the message.”
“But is it unkind to use words that mask your truth?” he pressed.
“I like to think of sarcasm as a humor tool. Words can tell the truth, but you can also have fun with them and tell the truth at the same time.”
“Then I will not practice this sarcasm,” he deadpanned.
Riley laughed. “I think you’re getting the hang of it. Now back to our list of suspects. How do we narrow it down?”
“If you ask your spirit guides who wishes him harm, the answer may be overwhelming,” he warned.
“So I should be more specific, like, ‘Who shot at Griffin?’”
“I believe that will be the most effective approach.” Gabe produced an elegant crystal pendant on a long silver chain from under his tank top. “We shall work together.”
“What’s that for?” she asked.
“This is a pendulum for divination. While you discuss the situation with your spirit guides, I will see if this crystal stops above any names on the list.” He laid out the pages side-by-side between them.
“Okay. Here goes nothing,” she said, closing her eyes. Together they breathed in the dusty air. “Hey, spirit guides. It’s me. I’ve got a job for you.”
Cotton candy–colored clouds were just beginning to drift into the edges of her vision when someone began blasting a big band playlist on the second floor.
It was immediately followed by distant shouting.
“Maybe we should have done this anywhere but here,” Riley said through clenched teeth.
“Distractions are everywhere. It is best to learn to work through them rather than only away from them.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands. “I need to know who tried to shoot Griffin Gentry yesterday morning.”
Everything behind her eyelids wavered for a moment. The clouds peeked through again, only more muted this time. She doubled down on her focus, grasping for the vision. Finally, the murky clouds began to part.
“What is it that you see?” Gabe asked.
“I’m seeing someone’s legs. Ew. I’m seeing Griffin’s legs. His calves. The trainer said yesterday was leg day. Does that mean it’s Chupacabra Jones?”
The floor under her butt trembled when a door slammed beneath her. The vision legs disappeared.
“Crap,” she muttered.
“Find your focus,” Gabe directed.
“Any tips on how?” she grumbled irritably. “Wait. I’m seeing something else now. Glitter. Or sparkles?” A wave of elation rushed through her. “It’s bright and…happy. The sparkle makes me feel happy.”
“The pendulum is moving,” Gabe reported.
Riley could hear the thud of a fist on a door followed by bits of a muffled conversation beneath her.
The sparkles wavered, and a bead of sweat slid down her back as she fought to keep them.
The music shut off abruptly, and the sparkles vanished.
“Damn it,” she said.
“The pendulum appears to like a name.”
“Who?” Riley asked, still trying to focus. But the feelings were starting to spin out of control. “Uh-oh.”
“What is wrong?” Gabe asked.
Happy, scared, surprised. The visions followed in blurred chaos. Griffin’s legs. Sparkle. Someone was shouting. Was that Ingram Theodoric or one of their roommates? She couldn’t focus. Suddenly she found herself zoomed in on Gabe. And Riley’s sister Wander. Oh shit, they were naked. She’d accidentally fallen into Gabe’s head.
Pull up! Pull up!
The naked couple disappeared behind a frantic blur of clouds. She caught a glimpse of a room. There were too many people in the room, all of them scowling at Griffin. Then Nick. Bang !
Riley’s eyes flew open. “Whoa,” she said. And then she keeled over.
Gabe helped her down the stairs with a chivalrous and muscly arm around her waist.
“What the hell, Gigantor?” Nick demanded, jogging to meet them. “What did you do to my girl?”
“I’m fine,” Riley assured him as Gabe transferred her to Nick. “My spirit guides were frisky today. That’s all.” They weren’t the only ones feeling frisky. Either she’d stumbled on Gabe’s fantasy world, or he and her sister had finally gotten it on.
Did Gabe know she’d slipped into his head? Should she confess and apologize? Should she pretend it hadn’t happened and just never make eye contact with him again? She wasn’t sure what the proper psychic etiquette was in this situation.
“Uh, Gabe?” she began tentatively as they resumed their journey down the stairs.
“Yes. Wander and I did take our relationship to another level,” he said.
“Oh boy.” Riley looked at her feet. Her face felt like it was a million degrees.
“Please say you’re talking about organizing her holiday decor in a basement or an attic,” Nick complained, tightening his hold on her.
“It was…ethereal,” Gabe said. It sounded like he was smiling, but Riley was still staring at her feet, willing away the images that floated into her mind like a parade of naked Gabes and Wanders.
“Let’s talk about something else. Anything at all. Who has an opinion on sports, politics, or religion?” Riley begged.
“I am sensing discomfort. Is this accurate, or are you providing another example of sarcasm?” Gabe asked.
“Don’t teach him sarcasm, Thorn. It’s more fun when he doesn’t know I’m busting on him,” Nick said as he helped her down the last few steps.
“Soon I will bust you with my sarcastic prowess,” Gabe promised.
The bickering was better than picturing Gabe and her sister naked, so she allowed it.
Nick helped her into a tall wingback chair with wooden arms in the foyer. “You’re not supposed to push yourself so hard. Or do you not remember losing your powers this week?”
“I wasn’t pushing. I just wasn’t controlling the volume of information shooting into my brain.”
He crouched down in front of her and rubbed his hands up her thighs. “Do you need a snack?”
“Always.”
“I will make you this snack and bring you some water,” Gabe offered gallantly.
“Thanks, Gabe.”
They watched him all but float to the kitchen door, a dreamy smile on his face.
“I accidentally slipped into Gabe’s head while we were working with my spirit guides and saw things I shouldn’t have seen. Naked things. They looked like something Michelangelo would have painted if he was into super sexy erotic paintings,” she told Nick.
“Listen. The only naked bodies I care about are yours and mine. Especially considering we’re way better at sex than those two.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re the tiniest bit way too competitive?” Riley asked.
“You should see game night in the Santiago house. It’s not over until someone cries and someone else is bleeding. Back to this accidentally slipping into people’s heads. Aren’t you always reading minds?”
She grimaced. “People are always broadcasting their thoughts. I just make an effort to block them out. It’s like when the neighbor’s dog has been barking for six years. You kind of learn to not hear it anymore. This time, I was already open to the visions from my spirit guides, and Gabe was feeling…let’s say pleased with his recent experiences. So I got an accidental front row seat to his memory reel.”
“So how the hell am I ever supposed to surprise you with something?”
Riley shrugged. “Good luck with that. I’ve known what every Christmas present was before it even made it under the tree.”
“Challenge accepted,” he said.
She slapped her palm to her forehead. “I was so distracted by Sexy Time Gabe I almost forgot. Wilfred Peabody.”
“Gesundheit,” he said.
“Har har. Wilfred Peabody. He’s the jeweler on the list. Griffin said Wilfred’s been harassing him over some piece of jewelry or something. I kept seeing sparkles in my vision.”
“So it’s not another glitter bomb?”
“I think we’re safe. Gabe confirmed it by doing some other psychic stuff.”
“Thank God. I’m still finding glitter in my underwear,” Nick said.
“I also kept seeing Griffin’s legs.”
“That’s a straight up nightmare.”
“I know, right? Do you think we should take a closer look at the personal trainer?” she asked.
“I’ll bump her up on Brian’s list and see what he can dig up,” he promised.
The doorbell rang, and he jumped to his feet.
“Are you expecting someone?” Riley called after him as he practically sprinted for the door.
He yanked it open and disappeared onto the front porch.
“Your snack,” Gabe said, returning from the kitchen with Burt on his heels. He held out a plate with a picture-perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut diagonally with precision.
“Hey, Schwarzenegger 2.0, get your biceps out here,” Nick called from the porch.
“I think he means you,” Riley said, taking a bite of her sandwich. Burt sat in front of her, staring hard at the food and drooling. “Don’t even think about it, buddy. Mr. Willicott said your poop looked like Orange Julius.”
Nick and Gabe returned, carrying a large flat box between them.
“Just set it down against the table,” Nick said through gritted teeth. They maneuvered the box into position.
“What is that?” Riley asked, the words muffled by peanut butter.
“That is an eighty-five-inch TV.” Nick patted the box with affection.
The sandwich lodged in her throat. “Nick! I thought you said no medium-size purchases?”
“That was before I saw the TV in Gentry’s gym. And before I got Mom and Dad’s birthday check in the mail. Besides, now you and I can watch those movies you got me upstairs in our locked bedroom.”
Mr. Willicott shuffled past in his bathrobe, chugging a bottle of Diet Pepsi. He paused in the middle of the foyer and released a dragon-worthy belch.
“I know I’m supposed to be the voice of reason, but I’m not hating this idea,” she admitted.
“This television appears to be quite small,” Gabe said.
“He’s being sarcastic,” Riley explained.