Page 22 of The Devil Went Down to Laughlin
But why? What was so important that Alba had lingered after her death to make sure no one outside the Sanchez family ever lived in the house?
Delia had absolutely no idea, and with Aaron off at a job interview, she wasn’t going to get the answers she needed any time soon. As much as she wanted to dash right back to Las Vegas, she knew that wasn’t feasible, not until she got a chance to talk to him again.
However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t share what had just happened with Caleb and see if any of this made sense to him.
Not from here, though, not with the way the cell reception around the property was all kinds of screwed up.
She hitched her purse on her shoulder and resolutely made her way down the stairs, then went outside and locked the door behind her with the key Aaron had provided.
He’d said she could get a call out from Heritage Park…and that’s exactly where she was headed.
Chapter Six
Halfway through his beer, Caleb gave up and tried calling Delia again.
And texting.
And calling again.
Nothing seemed to get through.
What the hell was going on down there?
In desperation, he picked up the phone again and called Aaron. Delia had given him the guy’s number just in case, but Caleb had never imagined he’d be calling the other man to check up on her like some kind of jealous boyfriend.
He wished he could play that role in her life…well, without the “jealous” part.
At least Aaron answered, and said in response to Caleb’s question, “She was at the house, but I had to leave for an interview, so she stayed behind.”
An interview? Was he serious?
“You left her alone there?” Caleb demanded.
Too bad his demonic powers weren’t strong enough for him to reach through the phone and slap the jerk upside the head.
A pause. When Aaron replied, his tone sounded distinctly defensive. “Yeah, I did,” he said. “She said it wasn’t a problem, that she’d done this plenty of times.”
As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Caleb knew that part was true enough. Delia had never given him an exact number, but he knew she’d been ghost whispering for around ten years. Even if she only had to cleanse six or seven houses in any given year — and he’d gotten the impression it was often much more — that still added up to a lot of ghosts.
But that had been before a bunch of demons had decided to start appearing in Las Vegas and causing all sorts of havoc. The supernatural world Delia inhabited now was very different from the one she’d lived in before he’d entered her life.
“Maybe so,” Caleb said. “But I can’t get hold of her, and she told me she’d check in regularly.”
“It’s probably not a big deal,” Aaron replied at once. His tone was almost too smooth. Possibly, he was just trying to sound reassuring, but he came across as more condescending than anything else.
Of course, that could have simply been because Caleb still didn’t like the guy and didn’t trust him, no matter what sort of trauma he might or might not have suffered recently.
“The cell reception at the house isn’t so great,” Aaron continued. “I’m sure that’s why you can’t get through.”
“I got a text from her earlier this afternoon,” Caleb pointed out.
Although he couldn’t see his face, he got the impression that Aaron had only shrugged. “Sometimes stuff gets through, and sometimes it doesn’t. Tell you what — I just finished up here, and I was about to swing by the house and check on Delia anyway. As soon as I know something, I’ll call you back.”
“I thought you just said you don’t have cell service at the property,” Caleb returned, knowing a definite rasp had entered his voice.
However, Aaron still didn’t sound too concerned. “I said it was iffy. But if it’s acting up, I’ll drive to a place I know that has good service, and I’ll call you from there. Just give me about ten minutes.”
Most of the time, that would have sounded like an adequate solution. Now even ten minutes felt far too long.
