Chapter Eighteen #3
“Sure. Counselor, can you do that?”
He nodded.
“Absolutely, because that was NOT me. I didn’t order those pentacles, and after, you can explain because I don’t like being called a liar. I’m many things, Detective, but I’m honest.”
The dead woman got cranky.
“My son isn’t a liar. I raised a good man! I’m going to kick that woman’s ass!”
The husband sighed.
“Calm down, Della. You’re not kicking anyone’s ass,” he stated.
As Trent led Honor away, Tori went there.
“Okay, dead parents. Two questions. Is your son killing people?”
The woman gasped.
“I’m punching her first.”
Tori held up her hands.
“Listen, someone is causing people to die and taking their spirits. You’re possibly next, since those pentacles showed up here. Help us clear your son before you guys end up going missing too. Okay?”
The husband nodded.
“I’ll help,” he said.
His wife held his hand, and that last part seemed to calm her down a bit.
“Fine. James and I will help.”
Well, at least they found some dead left around here that might be helpful.
“Is your son killing people? Again, I ask because we’re trying to save people’s lives.”
James shook his head.
“No. He’s not.”
Well, there was that.
“Is he psychic?” Julian asked.
Della shook her head.
“No, because we’ve been trying to get him to talk to us for a while. He can’t see us. Do you know how frustrating that is?” she asked.
Julian and Tori both knew that excluded him then. This killer would be psychic. He’d have to get in and out of the static to make a move on Lucian and Oracle.
Before they could ask anything else, they heard footsteps.
“Can you tell him we love him? Can you tell him we’re here?”
Absolutely not.
This wasn’t the time or the place.
Tori went there.
“Stay in this house, and if something comes here that feels dark, run. Get out of here. It’s taking souls, and it’s destroying them. You’ll never see Trent again.”
The woman gasped.
And that was all Tori could say.
“Are you satisfied?” Trent asked. “You saw the camera, you saw there was NO WAY I could sneak out of my house to get to it, and you can see my car is clearly not on the camera. I left in the morning and was gone all day.”
Honor broke the bad news—well, bad news for them, not for Trent.
“He’s clear. You good?”
Tori nodded.
“We agree that he’s clear.”
That told Honor all she needed to know.
They’d spoken to the dead, and they had confirmation that this guy wasn’t doing it.
Damn.
“Now, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on? First, Lonnie is a killer, and then he’s killed. Now, this bullshit. What is happening?”
Tori went there.
“Okay, you’re going to need to bear with us on this one. It’s going to sound…”
“WEIRD,” Honor stated. “Trust and believe.”
She sighed.
“Really? You’re married to a witch. When are you going to stop that?”
She shrugged.
“When they bury me, Littlemoon.”
Apparently.
From behind the counter, Trent was waiting. It was only a matter of time before it stopped being ‘patiently’.
“Anyway, Lonnie wasn’t killing people. We found out that there is someone behind this, and they struck again.
Twice,” Tori said. “Wynter Hunterhurst, our employee, was one of them, and so was Destiny Darthmouth. She was found dead this morning, and we’re sure you heard about Wynter. It’s all over the news.”
He had.
Immediately, he went there.
“I’m sorry for your loss. So, this person framed Lonnie?” he asked.
Tori nodded.
“Yeah, Lonnie was the aberration in this one. All the women have been witches, or witch adjacent, like in Wynter’s case,” Tori said. “This person is psychic, and using that to manipulate their minds and cause them to commit suicide.”
He stared at them.
Then, he laughed.
“Oh, okay,” he said. “Funny. How about you just tell me the truth and stop bullshitting me? Let me guess. You’re psychic now too.”
Tori sighed.
Nope.
Never.
“They never just believe us,” she said, jumping through hoops like the show pony she felt like most of the time when she told people what they did. “Your mother and father are right beside you,” she said, knowing his dead parents were about to get their wish.
At her words, he blinked.
Then, he got angry.
“That’s not funny!”
Oh, well, she wasn’t being funny.
“Names?” Tori asked.
She listened as the two dead people went there.
“I’m James Montgomery Stevens, and this is my wife, Della Rose Stevens. She was a historian and librarian, and I was on the city council for years.”
She reiterated what they said.
The whole time, he didn’t look happy. He also didn’t look convinced, and they got that.
It was easy to Google in today’s day and age.
“You should leave,” he stated angrily.
Honor stopped him.
“You wanted to know,” she reminded him. “You wanted in on this clusterfuck, and while I know what they are saying sounds strange, they aren’t lying. They see dead people, and your place is filthy with them.”
He looked around.
The air got chillier, and they all felt it.
Tori explained.
“What you’re feeling is them. Your mother keeps saying she raised a good son. Your father is beyond proud. What do you want to know that only they could answer? I’ll play the games if we can put this to bed.”
He went there.
“I do one thing every night before bed. What is it? No one knows but me, and if they are here, they’d know.”
Tori listened.
“He’s a nerd. He likes books,” James stated. “He also reads in my old study. He says goodnight to us and touches one of my fishing flies that is mounted on a plaque by the door. As he’s walking out, he flicks it.”
Tori told him.
“You’re a fly flicker. You give your father’s fishing flies a little flick on your way out of his study. Oh, and they said you’re a book nerd.”
He stood there.
In.
Shock.
“How did you….?”
Tori watched the window frost up, and she pointed at it, so that the man could see for himself.
“Look.”
He turned his head, and watched as ice frosted up the window, and then, on it, a heart was drawn.
He backed up.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.
Julian explained.
“Your mom says she loves you.”
Trent stared at Honor as if looking for someone to be logical.
Well, that went out the window three years ago when she fell in love with a witch.
“Oh, I know,” she stated. “Trust me. It’s weird, but it’s legit. They are psychic, and always up in my goddamn business, saving people. You get used to it at some point.”
Ehhhh, not really.
He blinked.
“They’re here?”
Julian nodded.
“Your mother is in a butter yellow dress, and a sparkly necklace that’s the shape of a teardrop. Your father is in a sports coat with patches on the elbows. Not from damage, but the kind older gentlemen wore when having a nightcap.”
He looked ready to bolt.
“That’s what he was wearing when we found him in his den. He died of a massive heart attack.”
Tori was aware.
As was Julian.
“Mom died afterward of a broken heart,” he said. “My mother couldn’t do it without him.”
Della shook her head.
“No, I couldn’t, but it wasn’t a broken heart. I missed my James, and being here in an empty house was too much for me. I took too much medication.”
Only, she didn’t say that.
Why?
The man was barely handling this.
Why drop that bomb on him?
There was no doubt he’d freak the fuck out.
“So, we’re working this case, and we’re also psychic. Someone is preying on people who are generally depressed, impressionable, and, like we said, witch adjacent. Lonnie hung out with them, and Wynter worked with them.”
He stood there.
“I can’t believe this.”
Oh, well, it was real.
“Are you depressed or on meds?” Julian asked.
He blinked.
“That’s personal.”
Well, yeah, he was aware, but it was something they needed to keep in mind. After all, this man had eight pentacles delivered to his door, and seven of them were out there still.
“Just answer,” Honor stated. “There’s a point.”
He shrugged.
“I was when I got divorced years ago. It caught me off guard, and I was blindsided. Now, though, no. I’ve found other things that interest me.”
Julian was betting Lianna was one of them.
“Well, here’s my suggestion. If you have a gun in the house, lose it—as in make it as inconvenient as you can to get to it. Wynter Hunterhurst shot herself while having one of those pentacles in her pocket, and meds onboard.”
He left it at that.
For Ridge’s sake.
“Jesus.”
Honor reminded him.
“We shared out of common courtesy for you, Counselor. Only so many people know the facts of this case. If anything gets out, you’re the leak. You’re literally the ONLY non-Littlemoon family or employee who knows.”
Oh, well, that made him think one thing.
“Who would believe me?” he asked. “Are they still here?” he whispered.
Tori laughed.
“They aren’t deaf,” she stated.
No, but they were the dead, and at that moment, James was getting his fun on with his wife.
“Suddenly, I miss Trey,” Julian stated, seeing the countertop humping going on.
Tori started laughing.
How could she not?
Honor just shook her head.
“I don’t want to know.”
Yeah, she really didn’t. The dead had very little impulse control, and they’d like to say this was the first dead couple they’d seen getting freaky, but it wasn’t.
Not.
Even.
Close.
“Oh, they’re still here,” Tori stated.
Trent closed his eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “Is Lianna psychic?” he finally asked.
Julian shook his head.
“Nope. Just me. Not Connor, not so much Claire, not Justin, and not Lianna. I’m the lucky one,” he said, thinking about how Beckett had burned out, and any little bit of psychic ability Claire had was likely gone too.
From where she sat, Tori snorted but said nothing else.
“Anyway, that’s why we came here, Counselor,” Honor stated. “Someone went out of their way to point us at you. My suggestion is stay safe, and don’t eat your gun—again, if you own one.”
He was befuddled.
“I won’t?” he asked, not knowing what to say.
They hoped not.
Standing, they needed to get moving. Honor needed to get back to her partner, because they had work to do. She was sure the Littlemoons did too.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Stevens,” she stated.
Only, Julian stopped.