Page 46 of Real Fake Hauntings

Ian said nothing.

Neither man offered to shake hands.

In this case, I had a feeling it was more of a macho thing than paranormal tradition.

Key watched them nervously. “My uncle offered to help with the Halloween tour.” Her panicked eyes found me, and I took pity on her.

“I think it’s a great idea,” I said brightly. “We can always use all the help we can get. Right, Ian?”

Ian’s head rotated slowly, right out of an Exorcist movie, until I had his whole attention. If he’d been a magnifying glass, I’d have been ashes.

“Is it? A great idea?”

I patted his arm. “Yes!”

“Are you going to pay for him?”

I sniffed. “Phrasing, please.”

His mouth twitched. “The question stands.”

“I’m sure he’s willing to work on a volunteer basis, right?” I turned my bright smile toward Brimstone.

“Yes,” he said in a deep voice that somehow managed to echo around us even though we were out in the open.

“Great!” I clapped my hands. “You should show him around, then.”

Key’s relief was obvious. “Thank you.”

“Stick to the marked paths,” Ian warned her. “Shane and Alex are busy right now, so you can get started.”

“Sure, boss,” she said happily, then turned toward the side of the house. “This way.”

As they walked away, Key started to talk to Brimstone animatedly. From the few errant words I caught before they went too far to hear, she was rehearsing her guide speech.

Adorable.

“Thank you for agreeing to not tell her about Crane,” I told Ian.

“‘Agreement’ might be stretching it.”

“She will learn in time. No point in accelerating the process for no good reason.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

Why, yes. Yes, I would. “What’s next?”

“You’re the witch investigator,” he said dryly. “I’ll follow your lead.”

I scowled. “Hey, I hired you. You’re supposed to help.”

His fast smile showed a lot of teeth and wasn’t exactly nice. “I’m helping with the body, aren’t I?”

“That’s true. I take my words back. Okay, let me think.” Even if the shops next door were closed, someone else in the block or the houses on the other side of the street might’ve seen something suspicious. But asking around would take time, and if this witch had plans for Halloween, we needed to be smart about how we used it.

Why my shop, and why Crane?

I snapped my fingers. “Let’s go to Crane’s house. Maybe there are clues there.” I waved toward the tools on the wall. “We’re going to need gloves.”

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