Page 30 of Ghostmaker

“Everly, you’re saying Alice and her girlfriends went to see Victor Hughes the night before she was murdered?” Ronan asked.

“Yup, but it was just Alice and Peggy. They met the other ladies at the bar later.”

“Who met with Hughes?” Jude asked, looking as if he’d just been handed a big piece of the puzzle.

“Alice and Peggy. Alice went first. Peggy didn’t really believe in psychics, but wanted to speak to him about Chet. She had lots of money in her purse. She counted it all out for him.”

“Can you tell how much money?” Ronan asked.

“Ten bills with the kite guy’s picture on them.”

“The kite guy?” Ronan looked puzzled. “You mean Benjamin Franklin.”

Everly nodded. “Yup, that’s him.”

“Peggy paid Hughes one thousand dollars for a private reading.” Jude looked surprised. “If she wasn’t a fan of psychics why the hell would she pay that kind of money for a reading?”

“Because it wasn’t just a reading,” Everly said. “It was something else. A squid pro coat or something.”

“Quid pro quo?” Jude’s radar was on high alert now. “Where you do something for me if I do something for you?”

“Exactly.” Everly took another bite of her pizza.

“Do you know what those things were?” Cope asked. He hadn’t been able to see any of this when he’d met with Peggy earlier.

“In exchange for a new driver’s license and passport, Hughes would hurt Alice.”

Ronan’s mouth hung open. “Hughes wanted a new identity in exchange for killing Alice?”

Everly nodded. “His new name was Jonathan Harper. After he hurt Alice he got on a plane to Wyoming and started a new life.”

West stared at Everly with a curious look on his face. “You’re saying that this man, this psychic, killed my mother?”

“I am, but Peggy lied to you, Daddy. She said Alice had been seeing Hughes for a long time to ask him questions about Chet, but that was Peggy. Alice had another psychic she saw and her name was Jellybean or something.”

“Geraldine?” West asked.

“Yeah, that’s it. The night before Hughes hurt her was the first time she met him. Peggy wanted him to know what Alice looked like.”

“Do you know how Peggy got the identification with a new name on it?” Jude asked.

“Chet knew a lot of dirtbags. One of his friends helped him.”

“I understand what you’re all saying about Peggy, Chet, and this guy Hughes, but where does this Crawford guy come into the story?”

“The picture I showed you is Jonas Crawford. He’s obviously back in Massachusetts with another alias. We think he’s connected to two murders and one attempted murder, so far.” Cope couldn’t believe the turn this story had taken. “If you hadn’t been the one assigned to audit the cold case unit, we never would have been able to tie these killings to Hughes or Crawford.”

“I’ve wanted my mother’s murder solved for a long time now, and you’re telling me you know who killed her based on the words of a child?” West looked between Jude and Ronan.

“Everly’s gift is never wrong.” Ronan beamed with pride. “She might not understand things she sees or words she hears, like Jellybean and Geraldine, but what she’s saying is always dead on.”

“How do we prove that so we can get this guy off the streets and into jail where he belongs?” West asked, seeming to take Ronan at his word.

“We’ll go see him in the morning,” Jude said. “We’d like you to come with us, Fitz, if you can get away from the audit for a bit.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely coming with you,” Fitz agreed.

“There’s something the two of you need to know about Crawford,” Cope began. “He has the power to compel people to do his will for short bursts of time.”