“When you went for dinner, he never pulled out a wallet?” I did a little digging of my own. We were losing her focus and sometimes ghosts needed a push to remember things.
Hannah didn’t even look up to shake her head again.
Kipp glanced at me and frustration weighed heavy in his expression. I understood perfectly. The conversation with Hannah had gotten us nowhere. Before I voiced more questions, Hannah gasped, startling me enough to jump.
“He lied to me.” Finally a little reaction from Miss Blinded-By-Love. “He made it all up.”
>
Kipp ignored her outburst. His gaze stayed on mine. “We need to go back and tell Zach everything we learned here.” He stood, looking down at Hannah. “Give us a couple days to see if we discover any leads, but if you need to find us, come to 2500 Cedar Bark Cove…”
Before he finished, Hannah lunged off the bench, fists tight and face taut with anger. “Fuck him.” Who knew she’d been even capable of such language. “Fuck him and the white horse he rode in on.” She proceeded to march across the yard toward the sidewalk.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
Hannah glanced over her shoulder with an icy glare. “I’m going to hunt him down and haunt him.”
Chapter Four
Back at the house, I might have been a wee bit grateful and curious what promises Zach had made to Caley to make her leave. She might love me, even believe in my ability, but hearing about Hannah would throw her over the edge and I didn’t want to have to explain.
I plopped down onto the loveseat. “Hannah said she had an affair with a married man, stated she planned to go public and Percy Mills killed her because of it. Do you know him?”
“I’ve never heard of him,” Zach replied. “He isn’t part of our precinct.” He pondered, and finally said, “Nope, I’m sure he’s not a cop in Memphis, I would have heard the name before.”
I didn’t hold the same confidence. There had to be thousands of cops who worked the Memphis streets. “Do you have a photographic memory or something?”
“I never forget a name.” Zach smiled. “Call it good police work.”
Hence why I’d make a terrible cop. I couldn’t remember a name even after introductions. It’d always been my downfall. My neighbor had told me his name three times and I still couldn’t figure out if his name was George or Gary—maybe even Gavin.
“Which is why I suspect Percy Mills is not his real name,” Kipp said.
“Maybe he’s not a cop, though, just someone who broke into the safe house,” I retorted.
“Impossible.” Zach apparently understood the conversation between Kipp and me despite the fact he only heard my side. “You need a code to deactivate the alarm. If anyone entered without the code, the department would’ve been notified.”
My theory burned out, but I continued to search for something more plausible, not wanting to believe what they suggested was true. No matter how hard I tried, the truth stared us all dead in the face. Instead of pointing out what neither of them wanted to accept, I helped them along. “So that means…”
Both their expressions were masks of disappointment, and at the exact moment, they both lifted their gazes to mine and said in unison, “It’s a cop.”
I laughed, unable to hold back. “You both said that at the same time.”
“Ha,” Zach exclaimed. “Glad to know being a ghost hasn’t changed you—still stealing my lines.”
Kipp chuckled.
“You do that often?” I asked, more interested than I cared to admit.
Zach nodded. “All the bloody time.”
Cute little man bond!
“Back on subject,” Kipp said, clearly more focused than we were. “It’s the only assumption that a cop is responsible. There’s just no way anyone else could gain access to the safe house.”
When Zach still laughed, I raised my hand. “Oh, you need to stop now. Kipp is back to detective mode.”
Zach clamped his mouth shut, shook his head and stared up at the ceiling as if Kipp were up there. “I’m taking it she didn’t know how to identify him—”