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Sarah thought for a moment. Then she shook her head.No, but I saw a letter in the back of his van when I woke up. I think the name on the envelope was Joe Gregor. I remember the last name because a boy at school has the same last name. That’s all.
I smiled at her. “Okay, Sarah. I’m so glad your grandma is here. I’ll talk to your parents. And always remember—they love you very much.”
As Adele led Sarah away, the little girl began to chatter about all the things that had happened since Adele had died. A moment later, they faded out of sight, vanishing like a puff of smoke.
* * *
Daisy wasover the moon when I gave her all the information.
“This could solve the case. We’ll have to go about this carefully so we follow all the rules, since we can’t use this information in court. But we’ll figure out a way to find him!” There was hope in her eyes for the first time in a while.
“I’m grateful Sarah’s grandmother showed up. I’d like to talk to the parents, if I could.”
“If you could come down to the station, I’ll call them. I have to break the news, and maybe you can help them manage this. I hope I never have to inform another family that this fucker has killed one of their children.” Daisy headed toward her car. “The coroner and my men can finish up here.”
I agreed to follow her to the station.
* * *
While I wasat the station, I called Grams. “Can you open the shop today? The spare key is in the righthand drawer next to the sink, in the kitchen. I’ll fill you in when I get home. It’s too complicated to explain now.”
“Are you all right? Is Bree all right?”
“We’re both fine, yes. This has nothing to do with Bree’s situation.”
“All right. Do you have any specials going on that I should know about?”
I thought for a moment. “No, not that I can think of. Thanks, Grams. You’re a lifesaver.”
Talking to Sarah’s parents was harder than I imagined. The realization that their little girl had been killed by a serial killer was worse than the knowledge that Sarah was dead. The air was thick with anger and self-recriminations when I went to talk to them after Daisy had informed them of their daughter’s death.
Daisy had asked me not to tell them anything about the murder or the killer. I sat down across the table from Casey and Dell Smith. Casey looked like she’d been punched in the gut, and Dell sat there, his lips tight, the light gone out of his eyes.
“I don’t know what Daisy told you…” I said, not sure where to start.
“She said you were able to talk to our daughter,” Casey said, hesitation in her voice. “How?”
“I’m a witch. I have the ability to speak to the dead. I stopped when I saw Sheriff Parker’s car, and I was lucky enough to meet Sarah’s spirit.”
There was a way to go about telling someone you had talked to their dead relative, especially if they were fresh to the news that they had lost somebody. It was like walking through a minefield, trying to avoid giving them more grief than they already had.
“Was she in pain?” Casey asked. Dell remained silent.
I took a deep breath. “No, when someone transitions into their spirit form, they no longer feel pain—not on a physical level. Sarah was afraid you’d be mad at her for not coming straight home, but I reassured her that you love her and that you aren’t angry.”
Casey coughed as tears ran down her cheeks. “I hope she knows we love her?—”
“Oh, she does. I reassured her. She knows you love her and she loves you, too. She asked me to make sure that her kitten, Sirius, will be all right.”
That produced a response from Dell. I had the feeling he hadn’t believed me, and the fact that I knew her kitten’s name was the first crack I saw in his demeanor.
“I hate that damned cat. I didn’t want it in the first place, but Sarah told us it was the one present she wanted for her birthday and you,” he glared at Casey, “had to tell her yes.”
Casey paled. “I don’t know if we can handle having the cat around now that…” She glanced at Dell and I got an uneasy feeling.
“I’ll take him,” I said, without a second thought. “I promised Sarah I’d make sure Sirius is looked after.” In the back of my mind, I thought that Sarah had known that her father wouldn’t want to keep the cat.
Casey again glanced at her husband. “If you would.”
