Page 102 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

LA-Law: What makes her think there’s a ghost in her house?

Shit. I couldn’t spill all of Kim’s secrets. Even though she’d gone AWOL, it wasn’t my story to tell.

Me: I can’t go into the details. Client confidentiality—you know the drill. Have you ever tried using a psychic?

“What are you doing?” Wyatt asked.

“Replying to a message about a psychic.”

He grimaced. “I saw that thread, man. Brutal.”

Before I could agree, Lawson replied again.

LA-Law: Have you got a number I can call you on?

Well, that escalated quickly. But like I said, what did I have to lose? I typed out my mobile number, and thirty seconds later, it rang.

“RC-DC?”

Myusername, thought up after I’d watched one of the Star Wars movies while under the influence. “Also known as Reed Cullen.”

“So…”

“So…”

Lawson laughed. “This conversation feels like it’s gonna be awkward.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Ghosts. They’re not something that usually gets mentioned on the PI forum,” Lawson said. “Most people are pretty sceptical.”

“Are you?”

“I’m…open-minded. You?”

“Same. Open-minded. Recent events have been…interesting.”

“In what way?” he asked.

“Hmm. How do I put this? A client has told me certain things that she claims were revealed to her by ghosts, and initial fact-checking backs up those claims.”

“So if your client can talk to ghosts, why doesn’t she have a chat with the one in her living room?”

Okay, this was where it got difficult. “Because she’s been kidnapped.” A lump came into my throat. “I found her gold necklace by the sofa, which suggests a struggle happened there, and if what Kim said is true, the ghost must have watched it happen and she’s the only witness. Yeah, I know this sounds insane, so please, go ahead and laugh if you feel the need. I won’t be offended.”

“A gold necklace? What kind of gold necklace? You’re sure it was hers?”

“A flat piece with weird symbols on it, and it was definitely hers. She wore it every day.”

“Can you send me a picture?”

“Of the necklace? Why? Can you read hieroglyphics or something?”

“Because I’m curious.”

And I was worried we were wasting time. High solve-rates or not, Lawson sounded like a kook, but it was faster to send him a damn picture than argue. How could it hurt? There was no mention of jewellery in the contract I’d signed with Kim. I took the necklace out of my pocket, snapped a quick photo of it in the palm of my hand, and messaged the picture over. Almost immediately, Lawson sent it back again.

“What was that for?” I asked.

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