Hot Springs Homicide by Nikki Haverstock

Author:Nikki Haverstock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Ranch Dog Entertainment
Published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

We stayed up so late that little rays of the approaching sun were starting to sneak in from around the curtains. I slipped out of bed, and Chuy eagerly claimed my spot before I firmly closed all the blinds so Twyla could sleep in.

I tiptoed around, getting ready for another day at work, and left a note for Twyla on the bathroom mirror, inviting her to join me at the recreation center.

I yawned on the drive over and was thankful that I could survive on much less sleep than humans even if I didn’t prefer it.

I parked my car, and before I could enter the front door of the Purgatory Springs recreation center, my eyes drifted to the forest behind the black wrought-iron fence. Now that I knew that the fence was keeping us away from the real springs, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

My curiosity over how they looked, how they smelled, how they felt was driving me a little crazy. Perhaps once this was all over and the furor over the treasure hunt was done, I could get special permission to see them. To smell the air around them, probably a heady scent full of minerals. I had been to springs in Iceland, Hawaii, and New Zealand. A good set of springs was like a great liquor, enchanting and alluring. Based on my reaction to the filtered version of the water in the recreation pools, I knew I would adore the unfiltered version straight from the earth.

Plus, the wild magic. I wasn’t even sure what Tavros meant by that, but I was sure that was part of what I felt when I had been at the break in the fence. Whatever it was, it had practically begged me to follow it back to its source. It was intoxicating.

When I realized I had taken a dozen steps toward the fence, I shook my head. Clearly the lack of sleep was having me thinking sidewise.

I jogged to the entrance and smiled at Christy. “Good morning!”

“You are looking a lot perkier than last night. I’ve never known someone who was personally kicked out of the Lumbermill. That is quite an accomplishment.”

The blood drained from my face, and I faltered in my step. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“No, I didn’t mean that badly! It was actually pretty cool.”

“Oh, thanks,” I said sheepishly. “Did you have a nice time?”

“It was essentially a funeral for Todd, so it wasn’t nice, exactly. He didn’t have any local family, and we were his only friends, as far as I knew, so we felt we had to do something for him here. His family is going to plan their own funeral back in Maine. That’s where he was from.”

“That’s so sad. How did he end up in Purgatory Falls?”

She shrugged. “He thought it would be a cool place to be. To be out in the open in a semibig town rather than just in his small community.”

“Purgatory Falls is pretty small.”

“Only when you compare it to human cities around here like Phoenix or Albuquerque.

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