AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Sticking with you, Stace, I also want you to dig deeper on Sandra. See who she knows whose name begins with the letter M. Find out about wider family and if there were any issues.’
Stacey nodded.
‘Penn, I want you to take that laptop apart looking for potential threats. I’ve checked and she never reported anything, but if there were any serious threats that frightened her, she would have kept a record somewhere.’
‘Got it, boss.’
‘Oh, and get your man a name.’
‘Will do.’
‘And if that wasn’t enough, wade in and help Stace with the digging.’
He nodded.
‘Okay, now we all know what we’re doing, I’ll catch you all up from yesterday. What seemed like a light-hearted social event between a group of friends was anything but. They’re not friends and I’m not even sure they like each other all that much.
‘The whole thing was Catherine’s idea because she wanted divine confirmation of her husband’s affair and potential leaving date. She wasn’t overjoyed with Sandy’s confirmation of it. Although I do wonder if she’s more worried about custody arrangements for the new kitchen.’
‘Sandy really confirmed the affair?’ Stacey asked.
‘Lucky guess. But all of them had questions they wanted answered. Lisa is facing financial ruin if it gets out about her earlier conviction. Betts is looking for direction, and her husband makes no effort in hiding his hatred of Sandy. Emily is dying and wants comfort, and Rose is apparently looking for love or her dead son, based on who you believe.’
‘Got a full house there,’ Penn said.
‘Of what?’ Kim asked.
‘Reasons why people go and see psychics: love, money, health and comfort. All the key reasons.’
‘Says who?’
‘Local author whose book I read a couple of years back. Clever guy, explains all about the psychology of the client, cold reading, lucky guesses and other techniques.’
‘What the hell is cold—Never mind, we’re getting off track. I’m struggling to believe Sandy was killed cos she gave someone a bad reading.’
‘That’s a mistake, guv,’ Bryant said quietly.
‘Go on,’ she urged.
‘You’re minimising people’s reasons for going to see a psychic. Their problems might not seem real to you, but they’re all-consuming to the person seeking the guidance. Given that level of intensity, who knows what someone might do if they don’t get the answers they want.’
‘But it’s a con,’ she argued.
‘To you it is because you don’t believe, which is why you’ve never been to see one. But very few people who go to see psychics are doing it to disprove them. They’re going because they believe. The psychic is powerful, so it’s important what they say and how they say it.’
Kim looked at him. ‘You sure you didn’t sneak that crystal in your pocket?’
He laughed, and she nodded in his direction to say that he had a good point and she’d taken it on board.
‘Okay, guys, let’s get cracking. Our murderer isn’t going to catch himself.’
TWENTY-TWO
‘So who chose last night’s film?’ Stacey asked, once the boss and Bryant had left the room.
‘Both of them,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘Not sure how I feel about how well they get on.’
Stacey knew he was joking and that he was thrilled at the bond between them.
