Shadows (Bayou Magic 1)

“He’s intelligent,” I continue. “Most of the bodies are long gone. Sadly, you’ll never recover them. He isn’t the type to bury them in the backyard or anything like that. But the braids are interesting. It tells me that it’s likely the hair that draws him to his prey. The color, the length. What a killer chooses as his trophies is quite telling.”

“Long, dark hair. Why that?”

“It’s usually one of two things. Either he’s killing his mother over and over again, or he’s a jilted lover, and he’s killing the woman who scorned him.”

“That seems a bit dramatic.” Asher rubs his fingers over his mouth in agitation. “They all look like Brielle.”

“I know.”

“That has to be the connection between her and the victims. Do the girls know, after they’ve died, that she’s susceptible to being taken? Are they trying to warn all of the brunettes in town, but because Brielle has gifts, she’s the only one who can see them?”

“All of those are great questions. But, honestly, I don’t know. That could be the case, or it’s Brielle that he’s killing over and over again.”

“Do you think it could be one of her jilted lovers?”

I didn’t before. I hadn’t considered it because what man likes to think about the dudes that have boned his girl before him?

But it does make sense.

“It’s the only thing I can think of,” I reply. “And, yes, I’ll be asking her for a list of her former boyfriends tonight.”

“No man likes to ask his woman for a list of the guys that she used to have sex with. I don’t envy you.”

“Yeah, it fucking sucks. But so does thirty-two dead girls, with at least four more being held. My ego can take it.”

“I like you, Cash.”“Are you asking me for a list of the men I’ve slept with?” Brielle asks. We’re standing in Witches Brew with Daphne and Millie sitting nearby, all of them gawking at me.

“Hear me out.”

“I mean, most men just ask for a number,” Millie says to Daphne. “Like, ‘how many have you slept with?’ They never ask for a list of names.”

“He’s taking their hair as a trophy,” I say, my eyes still on Brielle’s. “They look like you. The spirits are coming to you as a warning. Or a plea for help.”

“So, you think the killer is an ex-boyfriend?” Daphne asks. “Talk about a bitter dude.”

“There are two,” Brielle says simply, surprising me. “Devon Price and Simon Harp.”

“Ew, you did it with Simon?” Millie asks, scrunching up her nose. Brielle rolls her eyes.

“Neither of them was jilted. Devon was a guy I dated briefly in college, but he moved on to my roommate, so that breakup was pretty self-explanatory.”

“And the other?”

“He used to own the ghost tour company,” she says. “I found out after the fact that he was married.”

“I’ll have Asher run a check on them,” I mumble as I shoot the man a text, seething inside at the idea of Brielle being with men who clearly didn’t care about or respect her.

“Anything else you want to know?” she asks tightly. “Favorite positions? Number of times, that sort of thing?”

“Now you’re pissing me off.”

“We’re even then,” she says. “I get that you’re being a cop right now, but you’re my…well, my something, and I don’t feel comfortable with this conversation.”

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” Daphne asks. “She called him her something.”

“Super sweet,” Millie says, resting her chin on her hand.

“We’re right here,” I remind them both. “This isn’t a show for your entertainment.”

“You should have asked us to leave then,” Daphne says with a shrug, not apologetic in the least.

“I need to find him,” I say and reach for Brielle, pulling her to me. “I need to find this asshole so we can move on with our lives. I don’t care who these idiots are. They were stupid enough to let you go. They’re meaningless.”

“Unless they’re killing girls,” Brielle says with a nod. “Okay. I’m hungry.”

“Let’s go eat, then.”“I’m gonna go stay with your mom, Cash,” Felicia says as we finish up some pecan pie for dessert. Brielle and I met up with Andy and his wife for a casual dinner, and it was the perfect thing to take our minds off everything going on.

“Really?” I frown. “Did she ask you to do that?”

“No, but when I spoke to her this morning, she said she was tired.”

“That’s what she told me the other day, as well,” I say, nodding.

“I know it’s almost impossible for Andy or you to go see her right now, so I’m gonna go check it all out. See how she is and find out if she needs anything. I wish we could talk her into moving here with us.”

“She’s a stubborn woman,” Andy says, patting his wife’s back. “And we appreciate you going to check on her.”