The Nefarious Necklace by Cate Lawley

Author:Cate Lawley [Lawley, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cats & Dogs, Cozy, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal
Google: j_fGDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Cate Lawley
Published: 2017-04-25T23:00:00+00:00

13

And Then the Lies Begin

Gabe’s face was tense, and he zeroed in immediately on Alex. “Maybe you’d like to explain what you’re doing with my victim’s body?” He gestured to the dummy Tabitha.

Oh, no. The two Tabithas. How were we going to explain that? Gabe knew about the Society, but he’d only dipped a toe. This was five levels beyond toe-dipping. I shot a panicked look in the direction of the real body—the one Gabe hadn’t yet noticed—and saw a covered corpse. I exhaled.

Gabe glanced in my direction but didn’t get a chance to speak, because Star approached him, stepping neatly between him and the real Tabitha’s corpse.

She extended her hand. “Stephanie Kowalski, the owner of Kowalski Funeral Home. And you are?”

I blinked. Stephanie? Although…the blond hair, the petite frame, the pixie face. I supposed that fit. The name Star conjured tats, black lipstick, and heavy eyeliner in my mind’s eye. Or it had before I’d met the real Star. But Stephanie did suit her soccer mom persona.

“Detective Gabe Ruiz.” And that was all he said. My guess was that he suddenly realized not everyone in the room was in on the paranormals-in-Austin secret.

Star addressed her assistant. “I’ll be glad to help Detective Ruiz clear up this error, Mrs. Parish. Thank you.”

The poor, flustered woman fled. A detective showing up and demanding entry could hardly be expected as normal fare for a funeral home, but I’d think someone working with the bereaved would have a little more equilibrium in times of crisis. I could see why Star wasn’t thrilled to let Mrs. Parish deal with the clients regularly.

“Now,” Star said, “as for this error, we stopped processing the body as soon as we discovered the problem.” She waved at the corpse dummy. “We left her exactly as she was, didn’t even place her back in a body bag. We await your instruction.”

A muscle twitched in Gabe’s jaw. It had to be killing him not knowing whether Star was one of us. Clearly he suspected, but had his special sort of ability given him a clue? He’d said it didn’t work all the time. Finally, he said, “The coroner has an assistant on the way. He’ll supervise the removal of her body.”

Star nodded. “Then we’ll plan to make further arrangements for Ms. Waters when she’s returned to us.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry, but the family hasn’t been notified yet. I’m not certain who will be handing the arrangements for them, but that will be their decision once the body is released.”

Star didn’t pause. Without skipping a beat, she said, “But all of the local enhanced corpses are handled by Kowalski Funeral Home.”

Gabe blew out a breath. “I knew it.”

“But not entirely,” Star murmured. She managed to be polite and not antagonize him, while still completely controlling the conversation. It was mildly unnerving.

Gabe turned to me and said, “Couldn’t have given me a hint, could you?”

Alex saved me from responding. “No, actually. Whether to expose her identity to a human—one who’s also a cop—is Stephanie’s sole prerogative.

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