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“What do you see?” I asked.
I heard her shuffling around up there some more. “You were right. It’s way bigger up here than I expected. I think it was maybe a storage area at one point. Perhaps even a loft of some kind before that, though this is a really strange place for one given the layout of the house. An indoor balcony maybe? Who knows? I see some old Christmas decorations, some dress forms, a storage chest or two. A bunch of antiquey-looking things. And lots and lots of dirt. More than I would think there would or should be. Weirdly, it almost looks like they got fed up and just closed it off completely—with everything inside. Strange, but I’ve seen stranger. And, let’s be real, people can be lazy.”
She wasn’t wrong. Still, itwasweird. Why would they have turned a loft or indoor balcony into a storage space and then left everything after trying to fill it in with dirt for some unknown reason—if that’s what they did—before sealing it off like the room never existed? Sounded like a crime drama. I guess we’d find out. Hopefully, Burke—our new historian—and Harper could dig up some more in-depth information on the history of the house and the previous owners. For now, Sky and I could get some baseline readings and then finish up here. We needed to check in with the team and see how things went at Arborwood today.
“You ready for the gear? And do you want your kit?”
“Uh . . . yeah. Hold on a sec. I just want to check this closest chest really quick and then I’ll crawl back over to grab it from you.” I heard her moving again and hoped there weren’t any critters up there she’d need to worry about. I didn’t think there was access from the outside, but you never knew. And snakes loved places like attics.
“Oh . . . oh, wow,” came Sky’s voice from above.
“What?” I called.
“There’s . . . I’m not entirely sure, but given all the cases we’ve worked, there are what appear to be hex bags in this chest. At least they look like those I’ve seen Dev and Birdie identify. Locks of hair. Old jewelry. What appears to be . . . I dunno. Chicken bones, maybe? Everything has a brown glaze. I’d be shocked if it’s not blood. We’re going to have to take this stuff and have it analyzed. And Dev and Lark are definitely going to want to take a peek. But I’m not touching this shit. At least not more than I already have. I may not believe in it, but I’m not tempting fate regardless. I’ve seen too many movies.”
I chuffed a laugh. “After this many years, it’s likely inert if thereisanything going on with it. But, yeah, don’t poke the bear. We’ll get Dev or Birdie to negate anything that might be on there before we mess with it more. Is it close enough to the opening for them to access?”
“It’s pretty close, but Lark will be able to get up here. And I know she can work her mumbo jumbo just in case. Okay, hand me the bag, the kit, and a camera. I’m going to capture what I can.”
I did as she requested and then took a seat on one of the sawhorses, waiting and listening in case she needed me. When I saw a delicate hand poke through the opening, I jumped up and rushed over, taking the bag she held out. Once I had everything out of the crawl space, I waited for her to pull herself closer.
She looked down and took off her mask and goggles. “So, um, how the hell am I supposed to get out of here?” she asked with a quirk of her lip.
“I’m gonna have to help. Hold out your arms, and I’ll pull you out partway.”
She did as I said, and I stepped up onto the stool, grabbed her under the pits, and pulled her forward until just her pelvis rested on the ledge before stepping down. “Okay, you’re going to have to kind of balance yourself and hang on while I pull you the rest of the way out,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
“Drop me,” she said, “and I will put Nair in your shampoo on our next overnight.”
“Vicious little thing, aren’t you?” I quirked a smile.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I tugged, tensing as her body came into contact with mine, inch by inch. Even through the layers, I felt her curves, and it made my breath hitch. From the moment Dev had introduced Sky to the team four years ago, she had made appearances in my dreams. With those soulful, dark eyes, glossy hair, and her petite yet strong body that she wrapped in the most ridiculous things most days, she was a constant source of intrigue. But she was my coworker. And she was at least ten years younger than me.
I didn’t know how old she was, exactly, but I knew she couldn’t be older than thirty-five. So, at my forty-five, while it wasn’t taboo, it was still a hurdle. Not to mention, I honestly wasn’t sure if she evenlikedme. With Sky, sometimes you just couldn’t tell. We were workplace friends, sure. But beyond that . . .?
I looked down at her and saw her lips parted a bit. Huh. Seemed she wasn’t entirely unaffected by our close proximity either. Being a gentleman, after I made sure she was steady, I let her go and took a step back, grabbing the headlamp from her as I did.
She lowered the hood and unzipped the jumpsuit, stepping out of it and then tucking some stray hair behind an ear.
Her eyes widened, and a look of horror crossed her face. “No. Nonononononono,” she suddenly screamed and started doing some sort of crazy dance, jumping around and swatting at herself, twisting her body in unimaginable ways. “Oh,hellno.” She shucked the mesh hoodie she wore, still flailing as if she were on fire, and then ripped her T-shirt over her head, swatting at herself with the material, leaving her in only a black sports bra and jeans, her muscles bunching interestingly.
My brain just . . . stopped. The creamy swells of her breasts peeked above the scoop of the cotton and her waistband rode low, showing defined obliques and delineated hips. A bright pink jewel sparkled from the dip of her navel. But the most breathtaking reveal was the tattoo on her side. From what I could see of it, it ran from under her arm to below the waistband of her pants and was a stunning piece of art. An apple tree, full of bright red orbs, backlit by some mystical light source. One shiny fruit lay at the base of the tree with a bite missing. It was the Tree of Knowledge—or at least it looked like it—and I couldn’t be more stunned.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts and ogling, I realized that she had started to calm. At least, a bit.
“So . . .” I said, “care to share with the class?”
“Fucking spider. Ihatespiders. Loathe them. All those creepy eyes and legs and . . . fur. Hair. Whatever the hell it is. They are disgusting little creatures.” She looked at me then, shaking out her T-shirt before pulling it back over her head. “Maybe you should ask your god why he created them. I mean, what’s up with that? ‘Cause . . . ew.”
I couldn’t help it. I busted out in a deep belly laugh. “You’re adorable.”
She cocked her head. “I know.” And then she winked.
After she’d redonned her mesh hoodie, she grabbed her stuff and looked at me. “Where to next?” she asked.
“We should probably go and check out the upstairs,” is what I said. What Ireallywanted to ask her about was that tattoo. For an atheist, it seemed an odd choice. Especially given that across most cultures, an apple was always a symbol of temptation and sin. As beautiful as the art was, I sensed there was a deeper meaning there. I wondered if she’d ever tell me.
Once we’d completed what we needed to do at the mansion and had everything recorded both on paper and digitally, we packed everything up and headed out front. The sun was just starting to set. It had been a long day, but it had flown. I helped Sky get all her stuff into her car and then took her in. She looked more tired than usual, and I could see dark circles starting to peek through the makeup on her face.
