Burned by Sarah Hualde

Author:Sarah Hualde [Hualde, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: paranormal cozy, psychic mystery, psychic cozy mystery, black cat cozy mystery, Cozy Mystery Series, new adult cozy mystery, tiny house cozy mystery
Publisher: Indie Christian Writers
Published: 2022-06-14T06:00:00+00:00

18

I BLINKED AS SUNLIGHT squinted through the balcony door. Talking with Titus was illuminating and confusing. With no emotion threaded through her days, Dinah’s notes were bare-boned and clinical. It seemed so like her and yet sadder than I’d imagined.

Even for someone as ruthless as Miss Fischer, I’d figured she had friends somewhere. Or at least close acquaintances. If her planner was any reflection, she didn’t. Hopefully, for her sake, she had a personal life planner someplace else. Otherwise, it seemed her life held nothing more than a search for power and money. No joy. No hope. No love.

At least I had a few good friends. For that, I was grateful beyond belief. However, gratitude made me nervous. The Raven didn’t like me dwelling in good fortune of any sort. Instead, he enjoyed blasting through my happy places with a wrecking ball made of dynamite. Still, I’d managed. Even the truckers and the mobile minister were concerned with my well-being. Dinah’s all business planner seemed a better fit for the Raven than I was. However, I wasn’t sure I’d wish the Raven on anyone, even the nefarious Dinah Fischer.

Her planner offered only one lead. After launching the leather portfolio across the room, I discovered a QR code. Printed on a business card, laminated, and shoved in a credit card sleeve, the lines piqued my curiosity. I used my tablet’s camera to scan the code.

A private wiki flashed across my screen with one word decorating the page. A glowing rectangle beneath it begged for a password. Even after searching the pages of the paper planner, I struggled to gain entrance to the confidential information.

“I’m all out of ideas,” I moaned.

Titus frowned and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry Scrubb isn’t here. I’m sure he’d figure out a way for you to get in.”

I doubted it. Scrubb was good, but Dinah was shrewd, heartless. What did she have in life that would make a memorable password? It didn’t seem like anyone cared about her or she about them. The only person in town who even pretended affection for Dinah was her half-sister. “Little Sister,” I whispered.

“The clue?”

I entered the name of Billington’s junior high school counselor, Holly Wiess, into the password box. Dinah’s inner world scrolled across my phone screen in acronyms and appointments. Dated and detailed entries waited in the table of contents. Across the screen from the TOC was a long list of acronyms and their decoded counterparts. Selfishly, I scanned for my name first. I dropped my phone when I saw it: Penny Nicols = Reaper Girl.

“What happened?” Titus asked from the floor.

I grappled for the cell and answered, “She knew about me.” My throat closed around the words. I flipped across the RG tabs that went back three years, six months before I met Dinah Fischer. “She’s always known. She labeled me Reaper Girl.”

“Not Raven Girl.” Titus’s eyebrows raised. Even he seemed to have a hard time coming up with a silver lining.

“Close enough. She knew death followed me.

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