“I’m such an idiot!” Reese hissed. She quickly glanced behind her to make sure her dad didn’t hear her. Paul hovered at the back bumper of the Camry with Reese as she mentally shoved her dad into the front passenger seat. He was moving so slowly and looked defeated with his shoulders slumped and head lowered. She didn’t want to talk anymore in front of him. He didn’t look like he could take much more. Once she flipped her head back, she saw Paul raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing. Her heart palpitated, but she was flying higher than any amount of caffeine could lift her, so she wasn’t sure if the thump, thump … thump was nerves over the jumbled mess they were in or the proximity of Paul. She deliberately closed her eyes and inhaled through her nostrils. But just as quickly, she opened them. Meditation was a bunch of crap.

“Are you okay, Reese?” Paul asked in a soothing I-can-help-you kind of voice.

“I’m not your client, Paul.” The words flew out in bullet-fashion and she was immediately appalled at her rudeness. “I’m sorry.”

Again he raised his eyebrow but this time the action was accompanied by his damn sexy grin. “Stupid question anyway,” he said, not relinquishing his hypnotic expression.

Reese cleared her throat and looked away. Really, Reese? People’s lives are in mortal danger, and you’re acting like a school girl with a crush, pretending she doesn’t have one.

“Why are you such an idiot?” Paul’s words snapped Reese out of her own meandering thoughts.

“What?” She lashed as she whipped her head to attention.

“You said that you’re such an idiot. Why did you say that?” Paul was obviously enjoying her discomposure since his grin spread to a full-blown cocky smile.

“Oh, that.” She was relieved he wasn’t stating his perceived level of her stupidity. She slipped out of her giddy-girl Reese costume and focused. “Gregory had to have known about Addie. He’s one of Heather’s Facebook friends.”

Paul seemed to mull her observation over in his mind, tugging at his lower lip after a few seconds. “Maybe she doesn’t talk about her kids on Facebook?”

“Or maybe he’s behind all of this. I wished to God that Luke would come out of his hiding so I could talk to him. I know he’s not telling me everything he knows.”

“Luke’s probably just protecting you,” Paul said in such an endearing way, erasing the smirk from his face as well, that Reese could actually feel the compassionate nature his clients raved about on his website.

“You mean like not wanting me to know dad killed someone?”

“That certainly, if he even knows about it and maybe other things, too.”

It was Reese’s turn to consider the new insight. Why would Luke want to keep something like that from her, especially considering her propensity to take justice into her own hands? Apparently the trait ran in the family genes. She would certainly understand. She hadn’t felt shocked when her father admitted his sin. No, she had to stifle the cheer bubbling in her gut. The prick had raped her best friend and he got what he deserved. Although a nice long prison sentence would have been in order too. No matter. Rotting in jail or in the ground, he was scum and she was starting to feel a sense of pride in her old man. She let her own little smirk escape her lips.

“What are you grinning at?” Paul asked.

Reese sighed and released her happy fantasy of Mr. Albreck’s demise. “Nothing. We should get over to my place and get started with your séance. Dad’s going to be confused to find out he’s been taking antipsychotics for nothing.”

“Don’t you think I should call the police now? They can locate my car through the guidance system.” Paul said, changing his facial expression to seriousness.

“No. Whoever is holding Lucy threatened to kill her. And if Lucy is in danger, then so is Mom and Addie. Trust me, please. No cops.” Reese was tempted to tell Paul that she had plenty of experiences with similar situations. Hunting the filth of humankind was her specialty.

“Your mom and Addie may not be in trouble. Do you really believe Gregory could be involved? I mean, it doesn’t really make sense.”

“Oh please tell me you are not that bad of a psychic. Do you really think Gregory snuck your keys out of your bag just to go for a joyride?”

Paul sounded exasperated when he said, “No, but he had no idea any of them were going to be here. He thought it was just going to be the three of us. It’s not like he could have planned taking them.”

Reese thought for a minute. “Why did he think it was just going to be the three of us? Why would he assume Mom wasn’t going to be home? Did you say something to him?”

It was Paul’s turn to think. Again he tugged at his bottom lip, twisting and pulling it until his finger with the gnawed-down nail slipped between his lips. He chewed on the cuticle for a second and then announced, “No, I know I didn’t say anything.”

“How do you know he thought it was only going to be the three of us?” Reese’s suspicion was kicking into high gear. Suspicion of Gregory, that was. Oddly enough she felt confidant Paul was telling her the truth despite his less than honest introduction on Sunday.

“Because he wanted to know why we were going to Mrs. Caldwell’s house when she wasn’t home.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little odd?”

“At the time I didn’t. I just assumed he knew something I didn’t.”

Reese scanned her memory bank, which was as splotchy as any other middle-aged female, but she relied on her instincts and gut in these situations. And they screamed an adamant no. She had not had any conversations with Gregory regarding her missing mother. She hadn’t even had time to consider her missing mother much herself, let alone bring it up with Gregory.

“Whether he knew Mom was here or not, he didn’t know Addie and Dad would show up.” Reese tried to convince herself, but did it even matter at that point? Gregory had taken the two, but why? She wondered why he didn’t wait for an opportunity to take Dad and a strange thought went through her mind. Was it possible Gregory had taken her mom and Addie to protect them?

Reese didn’t wait for Paul to respond. She had too many possible scenarios playing in her head. It was time to get more answers and if she couldn’t get ahold of the living, well then it was time to knock on the door of the dead. “Come on let’s get going to my place.” She rolled around the bumper curve and opened the back passenger door. She threw the plastic baggie of muffins on to the seat and left the door open for Paul.

As he came around the vehicle, Paul lowered his voice. “Do you really believe Gregory is involved?” He didn’t look too convinced.

Reese mimicked Paul’s whispering. “Yeah, I do. Somehow he’s involved. I think it’s a brotherly thing.”

Paul cocked his head in question. “Brotherly thing?”

“Gregory and Wayne.”

“Wayne from last night?”

“Yeah.”

Paul studied Reese’s face as she did his. She watched as slow recognition crept across his.  “Holy shit,” he murmured. If Mr. Caldwell killed Aaron Albreck, Gregory’s father, that meant he also killed Wayne’s father. And although Paul couldn’t attest to Wayne’s personality, he certainly had come across as a bit odd at Reese’s house the night before. If he had any inkling that Mr. Caldwell was his father's killer, he certainly could have a grudge against him.

Reese nodded. “Yep.”

“Do you think he came to your house to hurt you?”

Reese shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. He was asking about my parents. He must have known Addie was with them. More likely he was hoping I would tell him where they were.”

“And you think your friendly ghost is Mr. Albreck?”

She smiled slightly. “We’ll find out, right?”

Paul reciprocated the smile and nodded. “Let’s do this.” He slid into the back seat and Reese hurried to the driver’s side.

As she drove, she peered into the rear view mirror every chance she could pry her eyes off the road. Paul was staring out his window with a studious expression. He was trying to put the pieces together and that simple fact pleased her.

The parking spot in front of her unit was available. It was still early enough in the day that neighbors weren’t home hogging all the available spots. She walked ahead of the men, anxious to get in and start the séance. She hoped to not only make contact with the menacing spirit, but also to locate Luke. She was getting more and more concerned by his absence.

She had a foot in the air just about to take the first step to her front door when she stopped. She lowered her leg back to the sidewalk and glanced down. She leaned close to the steps.

“What’s the matter?” Paul asked from behind her.

She stood up and pointed to the steps. “There.”

Paul leaned over her and said, “What is it?”

“The peanuts. They’re crushed like someone stepped on them.”

“Peanuts?”

“Yes, I left them out for a chipmunk friend of mine.” She turned back to Paul. Her father was standing behind Paul, looking disoriented. He was hugging the muffin bag and didn’t even seem to be aware of what was going on.

“So, maybe the mailman stepped on them,” Paul said encouragingly.

“No. Our mailboxes are at the end of the road near the dumpster.”

“Okay, maybe maintenance came by to fix your door.”

“No. They would have called before entering my place.”

Paul started around Reese. “I’ll go in first.”

Reese stepped in his path. “No. I’m sure it’s fine.” She knew she should just let Paul be a chivalrous male, but she had spent a long time taking care of herself. Some habits died hard.

“Reese …” Paul started but she was already hopping to the top step.

She started for her front pocket to get her house key when she had a thought. She stretched over to the bush in front of the kitchen window and lifted the jar of peanuts from behind it. Her emergency key wasn’t resting on the cement window sill. She didn’t consider it a hide-a-key because it was probably the first place an intruder would look, but in her long list of anxieties, she envisioned not being able to get into her house. So she kept one handy just to soothe her fear. She replaced the jar and a low light in her living room caught her eye through the window.

“We have a visitor,” she said too low to be heard. She righted her stance in front of her door and took a deep inhale before turning the knob. It opened.

The keyless entrance didn’t go unnoticed. Paul said, “Reese, wait.”

She ignored him and stepped into the entry. Over her shoulder she said, “Stay with Dad.” She left the door open as she slowly moved toward the living room. She considered running upstairs to scare up her gun but stayed in a forward motion. She sensed Paul stepping into the entry.

She took in the sight on her sofa. Wayne sat comfortably with one leg crossed over his knee. In his left hand, resting on the cushion, was a short glass with melting ice and few drops left of a clear liquid.

He lifted the glass in a cheers-type gesture as she stepped further into the room. “Reese. I hope you don’t mind. I helped myself to your vodka.”

Reese didn’t respond. She studied his figure to see if there were any tell-tale signs of a hidden weapon. There were no unusual bulges at his waist band or at his ankles. He could easily have one hidden behind his back or under his leg.

Wayne leaned forward and turned his upper body around the room. “Interesting choice of décor. I really like the warzone theme you have going.” He leaned back and Reese noticed his gaze shift to behind her. “I see you have your entourage with you.” Reese was tempted to see if her dad was behind her as well as Paul, but held her stance.

She sized Wayne up. Although it was still lowly lit in her place, she could see him better than the previous night when he stood outside in the dark. He was creepy handsome, like an aging Mickey Rourke prior to his plastic surgery. Good looking but something in the eyes which screamed, “I’m crazy, you know.”

“Oh, and I replaced the busted bulb in your lamp,” Wayne said. He brought the glass to his lips and slurped on the last of his drink.

Reese’s muscles tensed as she realized he had gone through her home. It was bad enough he was sitting on her sofa uninvited, but the intrusion was nothing compared to him poking through her personal possessions.

“What are you doing here, Wayne?” She demanded.

“Still a no-nonsense kind of gal, huh, Reese?”

“Wayne, what are you doing here?” She repeated.

He grimaced as he sat forward on the edge of the cushion. “Care to have a drink with me?”

Reese didn’t hesitate as she turned to go to the kitchen. She passed Paul and her father who both watched her with keen, or perhaps frighten eyes. She called over her shoulder, “Wayne, I’m calling the police unless you tell me what you’re doing here.”

He laughed. Reese placed a hand on the phone. She had no intentions of calling the police but she didn’t want him to know that.

“No you won’t,” his voice boomed in a jovial sing-song tune.

Reese leaned over to the cut-through window. “And why won’t I?”

“Because you know I have answers you’re looking for.”

Reese flinched. She hadn’t expected that response. “I doubt it,” she said confidently and went back to the phone. She lifted the handset in a mock attempt to convince Wayne she was serious.

“Paul Malloy. I met you last night, and here you are again. What may I ask is a world-renowned medium doing hanging out with the twin sister of a murder victim?”

Reese replaced the phone. She needed to get her growing anger under control before she blew it. She marched past her father but before she could get by Paul, he reached a hand out to her and stopped her progress. She glared at his hand and then at his face. It was plastered with a pleading look.

“Oh, that’s sweet. I think he rather has a thing for you, Reese,” Wayne said bogusly.

Reese smiled politely at Paul and then gently pushed his hand down to his side. She gave him another second of an encouraging guise before continuing her one-woman parade to the living room. She sat in the chair across from Wayne and clasped her hands together like a school teacher. “Wayne, Paul is here to perform a séance. We’re going to have a little chat with your daddy. Get the low-down on where you’re hiding Addie.”

Reese didn’t miss the flash of confusion which shot across his face. Her fake smile spread. “A little nervous are you?”

He made a humph sound like he was dismissing his show of weakness. “A séance? A chance to say hi to dear-old dad? Well then, bring it on.”