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But he wasn’t smiling. In fact, his eyes were dark and deadly serious, almost pitying, and she couldn’t get a read on what that meant. Gulping against a surge of anxiety, she did her best to keep breathing so she wouldn’t pass out while they filed into the room.
“Ms. Kent,” Detective Kushner barked. “Do you know this woman?”
She looked from him, to the well-dressed, auburn-haired woman, to Loyal. His “Don’t say another fucking word,” echoed in her head. Except when her eyes met his, he gave her a brief nod as if to say it was okay to answer.
Looking back at the lady, she studied her features carefully, noting a sad tinge of grief clouding her aura. “I don’t recall ever meeting you. I’m sorry if we’ve met and I’ve forgotten.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, dear.” The lady turned back to the detective. “I told you it’s not her. They look alike, but the woman who performed my séance was much older.”
The words sank in, and the resulting flash of heat left Roxanna sick to her stomach.
Her mother. Oh my God, how had she not put it together before?
Because I never expected to hear from Mom again.
Well, wasn’t this just the shittiest way to reconnect? Loyal’s sympathetic expression told her he’d come to the same conclusion. Her heart warmed with a tiny spark of hope, but she squashed it down.
“I don’t do séances,” she said quietly.
“I told you,” Loyal said.
“Zip it, or you’re out of here.” The detective shot him a glare, then turned back to Roxanna. “Did you cash her check for twelve-hundred dollars?”
Another wave of nausea hit, and she felt herself blanch as her gaze bounced from Loyal to the woman. Shame bubbled up as she met her light blue eyes. All she could do was be honest. “What’s your name?”
“Martha Rowen.”
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She nodded with recognition. Meeting the detective’s gaze, she said, “Yes, the check was deposited in my account. It shouldn’t have been, because I wasn’t sure what it was for when it arrived in the mail. I’d intended to follow up on it, but I was dealing with an apartment fire and it slipped through the cracks.” She met Mrs. Rowen’s gaze once more. “The money is set aside until I knew what it was for. I will return it to you, and I apologize you’ve had to deal with this.”
The woman nodded, no malice in her eyes. “These things happen. I understand.”
Detective Kushner gaped at her, then blew out a rough sigh. Loyal lifted the papers he’d been holding at his side, his eyebrows raised in question. Before the man could respond, an officer and a blond man in a sharp, navy blue suit and red tie filled the doorway.
“Ms. Kent’s lawyer is here.”
The guy in the suit shook hands with Loyal, and then said, “I’d like a moment alone with my client, please.”
Mrs. Rowen turned to leave, but quickly spun back and leaned over the table to grasp Roxanna’s hand. “She’s your mother, isn’t she?” she asked softly. Sympathetically.
The sting of tears was almost instantaneous. She nodded as she bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.
“I’m so sorry, dear. I know I don’t know you, but I can’t believe you would deserve that.”
A bright, glowing light suddenly appeared out of nowhere to surround the woman. Roxanna stiffened slightly, her hand instinctively grasping for Martha’s. She’d never seen anything like it before in her life.
No one else gave any indication of seeing anything unusual, not even when a second light joined the first. The wedding ring on the woman’s left hand warmed against Roxanna’s skin. When Martha shifted to leave, Roxanna held firm to her hand. The older woman’s blue eyes narrowed in question.
Achingly aware of the others in the room, she leaned forward to speak softly. “You’ve lost two people very close to you. Who else has passed besides your husband?”
The woman’s eyes widened, then flooded with tears. “My son,” she choked out. “Jack.”
The lights around her pulsed, and Roxanna received a soft, electric jolt through her body. Martha’s sharp gasp said she’d felt it, too.
Giving the older woman’s hand a reassuring squeeze, she said, “They’re together. They’re here to let you know they’re okay, and they love you.”
She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did.
