Page 50 of Speak of the Devil

Any chance at a real conversation had been effectively thwarted, so they ate the rest of their meals as quickly as they could without looking like they were trying to bolt their food. Not much respect was paid to the wine, either, but sometimes that was just how things shook out.

As they approached his Range Rover, Delia said, “It’s a shame some people never learned to use their inside voices.”

“That’s for sure,” Caleb replied, then opened the passenger door for her. “I promise I’m not that obnoxious after a couple of beers with the guys.”

Her cool, green-hued eyes surveyed him for a moment. “Do you have guys to hang out with? It seems to me like you kind of keep to yourself.”

Well, that was true. In Greencastle, he’d had plenty of people to socialize with, some of them part demon like him, a whole lot more just regular humans he’d gone to high school and college with. Here in Vegas, it seemed his closest relationships were with the DoorDash guys…and possibly Delia herself, even though Caleb guessed she might not appreciate that view of her very much.

“I’m working on the social network,” he said, then headed around to his side of the vehicle so he could get in the driver’s seat. “It’s always hard to establish yourself in a new town.”

“Especially when you have so many secrets to keep.”

Although he’d been about to back out of their parking space, he allowed himself a quick sideways glance at Delia before he did so. Her expression was more thoughtful than anything else, so he guessed she hadn’t made the comment as a dig at him.

No, it was more an expression of fact than anything else.

“It doesn’t help,” he allowed as he guided the Range Rover onto Desert Inn Road. “But I suppose you haven’t had to deal with that sort of thing much, right?”

She had been staring ahead, her gaze apparently fixed on the cars in front of them. Now she looked over at him, waiting a beat or two before she responded.

“Not really,” she said. “I mean, I grew up here. We moved a couple of times because my mother liked to find bigger and better houses for us, but my parents always made sure to stay in the same general area so I wouldn’t have to start over in a new school and have to make a whole new set of friends.”

Well, that answered that question. “Do you keep in touch with any of your high school friends?”

Again, she paused for a few seconds. Then she said, “A couple. But people are busy with their own lives, so it’s not like I get together with them every Friday to work on my fantasy football league or anything.”

He supposed real estate agents could have crazy work hours, too, since they had to maneuver around people’s schedules and would probably have to see their clients after work during the week and whatever time was convenient on the weekend.

That was one thing that made him easy to work with, he supposed — he didn’t have anything like a real job, so he could come and go according to times that worked for both of them.

But since it seemed as if Delia was willing to share at least a little personal information, he thought he might try to ask another question.

“Do you come from a big family?”

He halfway hoped she would say yes. His family had been just his mother and father and him, and the Lockwoods weren’t exactly the most loving, nurturing family in the world. He’d often thought that if he’d had a brother or sister, someone whocould be a friend or at least an ally, then maybe his childhood would have been a little more bearable.

However, Delia shook her head. “No, it was just me and my parents. They tried to have more kids after me, but it never worked out.” She smiled then, a little crookedly. “At least I never had to fight with someone over the bathroom or who was hogging the remote when I wanted to watch TV after school.”

Caleb supposed that was one way of looking at the situation.

But she must be close with her mother, or he doubted Delia would have ever agreed to share an office and a business with Linda Dunne. He hadn’t seen the other woman very much, only a couple of times in passing as he was coming and going from Dunne & Dunne, but she’d always seemed friendly, smiling at him in acknowledgment as she headed out to meet a client or host an open house.

She definitely seemed like a much more pleasant person than Brooke Lockwood.

“Being an only child does have its benefits,” he agreed.

By that point, they’d almost reached the parking lot for the building where her office was located, so he turned on his signal and moved into the right lane.

“So…what now?” he asked, glad to spy a parking place almost immediately in front of the main entrance.

“Now,” Delia said as she hefted her purse on her shoulder, “I’ll make a few phone calls to my favorite G.C.s and see who’s available. After that, I’ll pass their names on to you so you can meet them at the property and have them give you a firmer quote on the scope of work. But in the meantime, the house is yours, so I think you should go back and really walk the property and get an idea of what you want to do. I always get much more of a feel for a house once I’m able to be alone there for a while and get into all the nooks and crannies.”

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by a vengeful ghost while poking around in the linen closet. Then again, Caleb wasn’t sure whether that had ever been a real risk. The spirit of the serial killer seemed to have known he wasn’t exactly human and therefore not viable prey.

But Delia’s suggestion sounded like a good one. While he’d certainly liked having her company as they walked the property and talked over possibilities for the design, there was something to be said for evaluating a place on your own without any outside input.

“All right,” he said. “In fact, I think I’ll head over there after this.”

---