Page 37 of Midlife Shifter Unexpected

“And you are?” Jane asked, a little smile in her voice.

“No. Well, you know, he’s a satyr, so…

“I thought I had it good with my cougar shifter,” Mae grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“You will decide when it is the right time for you,” Jane smiled, patting me on the arm. I only hoped it was that easy.

It didn’t take us long to get up to The Estate. Trina and Hilda were waiting for us. They had the symbols drawn out on a piece of paper ready for when we arrived.

“We need to go back and find out exactly where these symbols are in the cemetery. We just need to find them.”

“You’re still convinced that it’s a supernatural killer?” I asked.

“Absolutely. They wouldn’t be killing supernaturals and leaving symbols if it wasn’t the case,” Mae explained.

“I think we should form a search party and just fan out across the entire cemetery and take a look.” Trina fiddled with the hem of her sleeve.

“That sounds good to me,” Hilda said.

“Let’s split up so we can cover more ground. We’ll go in pairs because we don’t know what’s out there. Anita and Drake, you go together and Hilda and Trina, you go. I’ll go with Bianca and Jane. We know the area the least, but we’ll start at the back and then fan out and make a simple walk straight through the grounds.”

“I’m sure the symbol is at the cemetery,” Jane said.

“How did you get your psychic powers?” Trina asked curiously.

“I inherited them from my mother and my grandmother before her. They were witches, but not like you. I mean, they made potions and they did spells but there was something different about them.

“I imagine there was,” Trina said.

“How old did you say you are?”

“Just turned forty,” Jane said it like it was a badge of honor.

Hilda and Trina exchanged a knowing look and a nod.

It didn’t take long to get down to the cemetery where we split up. Mae, Jane and I stood at the front entrance as the others moved to the sides.

“I think we’ve got the center covered,” Mae said. “So why don’t we spread out? Go like six feet apart and then we’ll just walk straight through the cemetery and all the way back.”

Hilda shrugged. “We’re going to have to make a few passes to cover all the ground with just the three of us.”

“True, but what we only have to cover the center section,” Mae pointed out.

I stood between Mae and Jane. “Not exactly what you thought you were getting into when you flew out here to meet me?”

“The premonition let me know it was going to be pretty dire, though I couldn’t say I expected to be crawling through a cemetery looking for symbols that highlight witchcraft and dead bodies. No, I must admit that was not on my list at all.”

We walked quietly forward as we took in the area around us.

When we got to the glen where we had first seen the symbols, I slowed down. “It’s just up here,” I led the way to the upturned graves. “I think I saw them in here.”

We walked over the dirt, but the rain that had come before had wiped the symbols clear. “They’re not on the dirt anymore,” I said, frustrated.

“We’re going to have to keep looking,” Mae said.

The trees began to thin out as we left the copse where the disturbed graves were.

“What are those?” Jane pointed at the concrete doors pressed into the side of the cliff at the far end of the cemetery.

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