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“That’s horrible. And he was still alive?”
“No, my first love was Meghan Parker. She’s very much alive and well, and still hates my guts to this day because I accidentally outed her to her family.”
“Ouch.”
“No kidding.” She slotted her fingers together across her lap. “Can any of your ghost buddies confirm whether Ashley is alive or dead?”
“Ghosts aren’t omniscient. That isn’t how it works.”
Her eyes sharpened. “Then howdoesit work?”
I saw it then, the flicker of distrust. It didn’t take a psychic to figure out that she thought I might be connected to Ashley’s disappearance.
“Where’d you come from, Miss Clay? I heard London, but you don’t have an accent.”
The small-town grapevine was no joke. “You heard correctly. I grew up here though.”
The chief’s eyes widened. “In Fairhaven?”
“No, Bucks County.”
“What did you do for work in London?”
“I ran my own agency tracking down lost heirs.”
“Any money in that?”
“Depended on the case. I earned a percentage of the assets in return.”
She leaned back against the chair and assessed me. “So, you were sort of an investigator. Any police training?”
“None at all.”
“If I look you up online, I’ll find your agency information?”
“It was by word-of-mouth only.” Usually, the word of a ghost telling me to find their long-lost son, or third cousin twice removed, or whatever the situation.
“You weren’t licensed?”
“I’m not a big fan of bureaucracy, and Imighthave been living and working on a tourist visa.”
The chief smiled at that. “Is that why you left? You got caught?”
“Yes,” I lied. “Anyway, Steven seems desperate for help, and I’m desperate to have a working computer, which he agreed to fix. I think it’s a fair deal.”
The chief tipped her head back ponderously. “What if you’re the reason Ashley is missing and you’re trying to find out how much people know?”
“For what purpose?”
“So, you can cover your tracks? Skip town? Plenty of options to choose from. You have to admit, the house you purchased is awfully big for one person. You could easily hide a dozen girls in there without anybody being the wiser.”
“And do what with them?” I held up a hand. “Wait. Don’t answer that.” I was glad I was getting this conversation out of the way now. Sooner or later, they would’ve shown up on my doorstep. Best to control the timing and their impression of me. “You’re welcome to search the house. Just be mindful of the mess. It’s basically one big construction zone.”
Chief Garcia regarded me in silence for a moment. Finally, she seemed to reach a decision. “I’ll be honest, I’m glad Steven has help. We’re short staffed at the moment. We lost one of our officers about a month ago.”
“She relocated?”
“She died.” Her voice was flat.
