“Lakeland?” With the crow still perched on her shoulder, the vet took Priscilla’s pulse. “Isn’t that the company that wants to buy Witch Hill?”
“Not Witch Hill—Lee’s Forest,” Mavis corrected. “The town council didn’t like the family name.”
The teacher hooted a soft laugh, but Evie didn’t bother to smile, Jax noticed. These women would do a serious number on his head if he didn’t escape soon. Afterthought might consider itself rural, but even at safe speeds, it was little more than an hour’s drive back to his condo in suburban Savannah. It was time he put an end to their nonsense.
“This has been a lot of fun and games, ladies, but we haven’t talked to any ghosts or solved any problems. It’s time I returned Loretta to her school. They’re expecting her.” He’d take another look into Lakeland Development when he got back to the office. Standing, he held out his hand for Loretta.
She didn’t take it. That could be problematic. He really didn’t want to haul her out kicking and screaming. He glared at Evie. “You promised,” he warned her.
She hadn’t really, but she nodded absently and began doing that circling thing with her fingers on her temples. Jax had the urge to try his hand at massaging her neck, except he couldn’t be completely certain he wouldn’t throttle her.
“Loretta, I’m really not finding any dangerous spirits,” Evie said cautiously.
“Did it tell you where to find my parents?” Loretta demanded. “Are they in this Lakeland place?”
Jax winced and waited for Evie or one of her family to say the fraudulent words that would encourage Loretta to continue searching for her supposedly missing parents.
Evie turned the icy shards of her gaze on him as if she knew what he was thinking. Jax nearly fell into their crystalline depths. Damn, he had to get out of here before the walls closed in.
“Did Loretta’s parents own land around the lake?” she asked.
Caught off guard by a question that was much too pragmatic for the scene she’d set, Jax hesitated.
“The Posts claimed to own all of the pond and a portion of Witch Hill, down to the boat dock,” the color-streaked brunette answered for him, apparently regaining consciousness.
She was right, but that was public knowledge and not any example of telepathy or whatever she was trying to prove with her fainting spell. Jax folded his arms and nodded at Evie’s questioning look. Loretta’s parents had owned half this town. Now Loretta did.
“The Jester is in charge,” Mavis replied enigmatically, shuffling the tarot deck.
“We have more than one Jester in town, and the message I received wasn’t from any of them.” The spacey brunette stood up. She regarded Jax with absent-minded confusion and turned to Evie. “For what it’s worth, all I caught wasThieves.I sensed a great deal of panic in the words.”
“Male?” Evie asked, then tightened her arms around herself when Priscilla nodded and began gathering up her belongings.
“Dark hair, glasses?” Evie asked. Space cadet nodded.
“The Baker’s mare is in labor. I have to go.” Assured that her cousin had returned safely to her senses, the vet held out an arm for the raven. “La Chusa is showing me a man with dark hair and glasses, too, but raven spirit vision is limited.”
“Lechuza, owl?” Jax asked, desperately attempting to stay on top of this exchange.
“LaChusa, collects soul of the dying.” The vet smiled at his disbelief.
“The spirit’s aura shows him as angry, anxious, and frustrated.” Evie didn’t rise from her seat, but Jax noticed she was regaining her color.
“My father wore glasses,” Loretta announced. “Maybe he’s being held prisoner and trying to reach me?”
Idonea and Priscilla dug in their purses for keys but didn’t acknowledge the kid.
Jax clenched his fingers into fists and waited as Evie rubbed her forehead. He didn’t hit women, but he’d pick up Loretta and carry her out if any of them tried to sink their talons into her.
“Lots of people wear glasses,” Evie said reassuringly. “And our spirit vision isn’t necessarily clear. You should never,evertake anyone’s word for what they’ve seen or heard or felt. You have to question all the facts and look at every side for the truth. We can’t even know for certain that we’re all seeing or hearing the same spirit, or even the one who is following you.”
Jax swallowed his surprise at this admission and waited for the ax to fall.
“Then what good are you?” the child cried angrily, wiping tears from her eyes. She stood up and headed for the hall. “You’re supposed to be psychic and help me find my parents! I’ll get my backpack and find arealguardian.”
As Loretta stomped toward the back bedroom, Evie raised her bruised gaze to encompass her family and Jax. “The spirit showed many of the same colors in his aura as Loretta. I’m pretty sure it’s her father following her, and that he’s dead and trying to reach her.”
“Poor baby,” Mavis murmured, casting an anxious glance after the child.