Page 22 of The Bride Wore White

“She wasn’t repulsed?”

“No.”

“Any signs of pity? Jack would hate that.”

“No. I’m sure she was curious, but that was about it.” Lutherreached for a sandwich. “It will be interesting to see if he tells her how he came by the scars.”

“How did Jack handle her reaction—or lack thereof?”

Luther smiled one of his rare smiles. “I got the impression he didn’t know what the hell to do with Prudence Ryland.”

“That will be good for him.”

“Think so?” Luther said around a bite of sandwich.

“Yes, I do.”

“Maybe this case will encourage him to climb out of the hole he’s been in since the Cordell Bonner mess.”

“You said he seemed genuinely interested in the investigation?”

“No question about it,” Luther said. “It’s the first time he’s taken more than a passing interest in a case since the Bonner affair.”

“Any idea why this one caught his attention?”

“At the start I’m pretty sure it was because the case itself is unusual, but also because the client was working in the Adelina Beach College Department of Parapsychology when she was kidnapped.”

“Aha. We know Jack has developed something of an obsession with collecting the literature of the paranormal recently.”

“It gets better,” Luther said. “Turns out Miss Ryland not only has some expertise in that field but she used to make her living as a dream reading psychic—the one who made headlines several months ago when one of her clients collapsed in her reading room in San Francisco. The papers called her the Nightmare Psychic.”

“And now she’s the Killer Bride. No wonder Jack could not resist her case.”

“I’m pretty sure he took it because he wants to know if Prudence Ryland is the real deal.”

“A real psychic?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, dear, that might not go well. Even if Miss Ryland doeshave some psychic talent for reading dreams, how on earth would she go about proving it? Anyone can claim to be able to interpret dreams. Who is to say the interpretation is right or wrong? And why would she even bother to try to prove anything to Jack? It sounds like he’s already managed to annoy her.”

Luther picked up his coffee. “Jack Wingate is a desperate man, Raina.”

“I know. Something tells me things are going to get awkward out there at House of Shadows.”

“I’ll be satisfied if they manage not to strangle each other before the killer shows up.”

Chapter 10

The medium went by the name of Lorelei. She had been in the business of summoning spirits from the Other Side since she was a young girl. Over the years she had developed what could only be called a sixth sense when it came to reading clients. It took a lot to make her nervous, but the new client was having that effect on her.

In hindsight, she should have declined to book the appointment. There had been rumors on the psychic circuit about Clara Dover. She was known to be a difficult client even during the best of times. Her state of mind now that her eldest son had been murdered in a bizarre manner was said to be unstable.

But on the surface Clara Dover was the perfect client—wealthy, socially prominent, and a true believer in the paranormal.

She was also a forceful presence. A small woman, she nevertheless managed to dominate the claustrophobic séance chamber. Her gray hair was pinned up under a fashionable high-crowned black hat trimmed with a black lace veil that was currently crumpledon the brim. She wore an expensive black suit suitable for mourning. But Clara Dover did not appear to be grieving. A fierce, barely controlled rage was the dominant emotion spiking in the atmosphere around her.

Should never have taken the booking,Lorelei thought.

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