CHAPTER SIX
As Jenna drove toward the station as quickly as she safely could, she barely registered the locals going about their morning routines, their ordinary concerns. Colonel Spelling had called just minutes ago—he was already waiting in her office.
Spelling’s tone during their brief call had been measured, professional—exactly what she would expect from the Missouri Highway Patrol Superintendent.
But she’d detected something else beneath it, a hint of genuine concern.
He knew about her gift and had learned to trust what she told him that her dreams revealed.
But as a lawman, he had rules to follow.
How soon would he be able to help search for her sister?
The Sheriff’s Department building came into view, its brick facade solid and unyielding in the morning sun.
Jenna pulled into her designated spot, cut the engine, and sat for a moment, allowing herself five seconds of stillness before stepping back into the role of Sheriff Graves.
Five seconds to be just Jenna, a woman whose sister was missing again.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
She grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car just as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Jake’s name flashed across the screen.
“Jake, what’s up?” she answered, leaning against her car.
“Jenna.” His voice was tight, controlled. “Delgado found something in the laundry room at Calloway House.”
The tension in his voice caused her to straighten. “What did she find?”
“Blood. Or what looks like it. And not where it was supposed to be.”
Jenna closed her eyes briefly, processing this information.
"How certain are we that it's human blood? And how certain are you that it's Donna's?"
“Not one hundred percent yet,” Jake admitted. “Delgado ordered in some luminol to test it on the scene.”
Jenna glanced toward the station entrance. Colonel Spelling was waiting, but this demanded her attention. "Tell me exactly where Delgado found the blood stain," she said, stepping away from her car to pace in a small circle in the parking lot.
"A few feet from where Donna Marsh's body was found. Not where you would expect it to be, according to the story I was told. Someone had cleaned the area, but some stayed stuck between the tiles. If Delgado hadn't been so thorough..."
“She has good instincts,” Jenna said, feeling a flash of pride for her officer despite the grim circumstances.
“Besides that, the blood where Donna supposedly hit her head when she fell—it doesn’t look quite right.
It’s possible that someone ambushed her and struck her with some kind of blunt object, then put her body near a stepladder under an empty light socket to make it look like she fell while changing a lightbulb.
And they smeared some blood on the edge of a table to make it look like she struck her head there.
But the shape of that smear looks more carefully placed than accidental.
I think we could be looking at a murder that someone tried to disguise as an accident. ”
“Did you find anything else?”
Jake sighed. “Not yet. But I’ve been thinking about the building superintendent, Nolan Greer. He has access to every unit in the building. There’s no sign of forced entry to Donna’s unit. The door was locked when the body was discovered. So, either she let her killer in...”
“Or they had a key,” Jenna finished. “Who else besides Nolan would have access?”
“That’s what I’m working on. Boyd Calloway would have master keys as the owner, but he lives in Kansas City and doesn’t seem to be in Trentville right now. Other residents might have gotten copies from Donna at some point. We’re still compiling a full list.”
Jenna rubbed her forehead. “We know that it was definitely murder because the dead woman told me so, but we can’t present that as evidence. And a murder at Calloway House isn’t just any case. This is going to get complicated fast.”
“The mayor is going to have kittens,” Jake agreed. “Boyd Calloway has invested a lot in this town. And the Shannon-Calloway history makes everything more sensitive.”
“Not to mention the press will jump all over this. ‘Murder in Haunted Mansion’ makes for a hell of a headline, especially this close to Halloween.” Jenna’s voice had an edge of bitterness. The timing couldn’t be worse.
“I’ve had to alert the other residents of the situation, so there’s a lot of agitation here,” Jake said. “How do you want me to proceed?”
Jenna took a deep breath, glancing again toward the station. “Just keep doing what you’re doing—but carefully. Very carefully. We’re on shaky ground here, even treating the laundry room as a crime scene. This other stain doesn’t prove foul play, even if it turns out to be blood. Tread lightly.”
“Will do.”
“Good. And Jake—” she hesitated. “Colonel Spelling is here about Piper. I’m going to have to split focus between finding my sister and this case.”
There was a brief silence on the line. “We’ll find them both, Jenna. The Calloway House killer and your sister.”
His quiet confidence steadied her, as it always did. “Keep me updated on anything you find. I’ll head there as soon as I’m done with Spelling.”
“Will do.”
Jenna ended the call and stared at her phone for a moment. The morning had begun with one crisis—Piper’s disappearance—and now had sprouted another. She tucked her phone away and walked toward the station entrance.
Colonel Chadwick Spelling stood at the window in her office, his back a straight line that spoke of military precision and unwavering discipline.
He turned when Jenna entered, and she caught the brief flicker of concern in his eyes before his expression settled back into professional neutrality.
His presence filled the modest sheriff’s office in a way that had little to do with his physical size and everything to do with the authority he carried like a second skin.
“Sheriff Graves,” he greeted her.
“Colonel Spelling.” Jenna closed the door behind her. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
He waited for her to take her seat behind her desk. “Your call was concerning,” he said, settling into the chair across from her. “You said your sister is missing again?”
Jenna sat down, fighting the urge to fidget under his piercing blue gaze. “Yes. Piper left my mother’s house sometime last night. Mom woke up early this morning and found her gone. No note, nothing.”
“And you believe this isn’t simply her choosing to leave? She is an adult.”
The question stung, but Jenna knew it was fair.
“Not like this. I know the past twenty years left deep scars, but she was making progress, reconnecting with Mom, with me. Even if she decided to live elsewhere, we’d have a discussion about it.
She wouldn’t just vanish without a word.
Not now. Something must have just happened … ”
Spelling’s expression remained neutral, but his eyes were attentive. “Tell me everything, from the beginning.”
Jenna took a deep breath and recounted the timeline: her mother's call, the search of the house, the discovery that Piper's few belongings remained, but she was gone.
“There’s something else,” she added, her voice dropping slightly. “Something I wouldn’t have shared before you... became aware of my situation.”
“Your gift, you mean.”
“Yes.” The word felt strange on her tongue, discussing this openly with the Highway Patrol Superintendent. “My father came to me in a dream yesterday morning. He told me that Piper was gone. He couldn’t even see her anymore, and he warned me that she was in danger.”
If Spelling found this information unusual, he didn’t show it. “And your father has visited you this way before?”
“Yes, several times since his death.”
Spelling was quiet for a moment, his fingers forming a steeple beneath his chin.
“I believe you, Sheriff. About your father’s warning.
After what I’ve seen, I’d be a fool not to.
” He paused, choosing his next words carefully.
“But official procedure ties my hands somewhat. Your sister hasn’t been missing long enough to justify a full-scale Highway Patrol search. ”
“I understand,” Jenna said, her disappointment obvious.
“That said,” Spelling continued, “I can put together a small team to work on this discreetly. Officers who won’t ask too many questions about why we’re prioritizing this case.”
Relief washed over her. “Thank you, Colonel.”
“I’ll need details. Anything that might help us locate her.”
Jenna pulled out her phone and swiped to a photo.
Piper—or Emma, as might be calling herself—sitting in her mother’s garden, looking up with startled eyes, as if caught unaware by the camera.
Her face was thinner than Jenna’s, more angular from years of hardship, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
“This is from three days ago,” she said, handing him the phone. “And she took an old bicycle from the garage—blue Schwinn, probably from the early 2000s. It has a small basket on the front and a dent in the left handlebar.”
Spelling studied the photo, his eyes narrowing slightly. “The resemblance between you two is remarkable.”
“We’re identical twins,” Jenna said softly. “Though life has marked us differently. For many years, she lived under the name Emma Kirby and had no memory of her earlier life.”
He handed the phone back. “Send me this photo with a text. Include everything you know about her life while she was missing for two decades. I’ll get this information to my team immediately.”
“I’ll do that right away, Colonel.” Jenna said.
“And there’s something else you should know about.
” She filled him in on Donna Marsh’s death, the blood evidence discovered in the laundry room.
“Jake Hawkins is handling the initial investigation, but it is looking like murder disguised as an accident. And I had another dream…”
“Did it support the evidence you just mentioned?”
“Yes, it did.”
“That’s a significant case,” Spelling observed. “Especially given the property’s prominence in the community.”
“Boyd Calloway won’t be happy,” Jenna agreed. “Neither will Mayor Simmons. I’m afraid my attention is going to be a bit—divided.”
Spelling’s gaze sharpened. “Sheriff, I need to be direct with you. I understand your sister’s disappearance is your priority. I would feel the same in your position. But you’re too close to that situation.”
“With all due respect— “Jenna began, but he held up a hand.
“Please, hear me out. I promise you my team will work tirelessly to find Piper. But this murder investigation needs your attention and objectivity. The town needs its sheriff focused on protecting its citizens.”
The words hit their mark, and Jenna felt herself deflate slightly. “You’re right,” she admitted reluctantly. “I know you’re right.”
“It’s not abandoning your sister to do your job,” Spelling said, his tone gentler than she’d ever heard it. “It’s honoring her by being the person she knows you to be.”
A lump formed in Jenna’s throat. Before she could respond, her phone rang. Mayor Claire Simmons’s name flashed across the screen.
“I need to take this,” she said apologetically.
Spelling stood, turning away to give her some privacy.
“Mayor,” Jenna answered, steeling herself.
“Sheriff Graves.” Claire’s voice was sharp, clipped.
“I’ve just received a deeply concerning call about a murder investigation at Calloway House.
A murder investigation that I, as mayor, knew nothing about until Boyd Calloway himself called me in a panic.
He said he got the news from the building super. I need you in my office. Immediately.”
Jenna closed her eyes briefly. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Make it ten,” Claire snapped before ending the call.
Spelling turned back toward her. “The mayor?”
“Yes. She’s demanding my presence to discuss the Calloway House situation.”
“Politics,” he said with a slight grimace. “And even though the politicians have no direct authority over either of us, it’s an unavoidable part of our jobs.”
“Some parts more unavoidable than others,” Jenna muttered.
Spelling moved toward the door. “I’ll be in touch about your sister. You have my word.”
She was grateful for his understanding. “Thank you, Colonel.”
After he left, Jenna took a moment to gather herself before calling Jake.
“I need you to meet me at the mayor’s office,” she said when he answered. “Claire knows about the murder investigation, and she’s not happy.”
“Fantastic,” Jake replied, his dry tone matching her mood. “On my way.”
Jenna hung up. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to think of Piper—out there somewhere, possibly in danger. Then she pushed the thought away. Spelling was right. She had a job to do, a town to protect. The best way to honor her sister was to be the sheriff Piper would expect her to be.
She locked her office and headed out, bracing herself for the storm waiting in the mayor’s office.