The Proof is in the Pudding (Compass Cove Cozy Mystery Book 9) by Mara Webb

Author:Mara Webb [Webb, Mara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

We climbed into Blake’s police cruiser and used the database to find Kitty’s address. Her home was a ten-minute drive from the office, located at the northern tip of Starling Gardens’ boundaries. For the most part the houses in this neighborhood were larger than average, and on Kitty’s street they were larger even still. It looked like these were the largest and most expensive properties within the suburb.

The street was long and ran from south to north, ending in a cul-de-sac bordered by six large houses. Kitty’s home was at the north of the cul-de-sac, looking over the road and the rest of the neighborhood like a silent watchman, not unlike her own role as the HOA head.

We pulled up outside the house and Blake switched the engine off. “Didn’t you say this woman lived on her own?” he asked, looking out at the huge property.

“Uh yeah, why?”

“Well, it’s just…” He broke off. “This house is massive. Seven or eight people could live here comfortably. Did Kitty really live here all by herself?”

I shrugged. “Maybe she liked the space?”

We got out of the car and walked up the path to the house’s front door. There was an unusual stillness and quiet in the air, and it was only then that I noticed just how silent it was around here. There were no lawnmowers buzzing in the distance, no laughter from children running around yards, no car engines idling a street over, not even bird song. It was like we were walking through an empty movie set, a hollow replica that looked real, but didn’t quite feel real.

“There’s a bad feeling around here,” Davyan said. He spoke at a normal volume, but his words didn’t seem to stretch far in the silence. It was like the air was thicker than usual, suffocating sound and making the world feel heavier. “I don’t like it. Apata doesn’t like it either.”

I looked around and saw the Inuit spirit guide standing back near the police cruiser. He was no longer smiling, instead I saw a concerned expression fixed on his dimpled face. His eyes were set on the imposing house ahead of us.

“He won’t come in?” I asked Davyan.

Davyan was silent for a moment, and I got the impression he was conversing with Apata. He shook his head. “No, he doesn’t want to. That’s usually not a good sign. Though it suggests to me that we are in the right place.”

“He’s followed us everywhere, right?” Blake asked. Of the three of us he was the only one that couldn’t see the spirit guide. “There must be something bad in here if he doesn’t want to come in. Is it safe?”

“For us I suspect it will be okay. He can’t always follow me into a place. Some spirits are more territorial than others. It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve seen him act cautiously before this.”

“What happened last time?” I asked.

Davyan grinned darkly. “A level 7 poltergeist. One of the meanest spirits I’ve ever encountered. Nearly lost my right arm in that one.

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