Chapter 32

The problem with being a psychic is that we don’t always have a clear picture. We’re human, with likes and dislikes. Those likes, the stronger they are, interfere with our ability to read others and make predictions, which I feared had happened to me.

My ability to stay aloof, which is ultimately important for an intuitive, had been swayed by my concern for Zoey and Alicia. Two very different mysteries, but each uniquely tied to the other. I sensed Lacey’s killer was close. It troubled me I couldn’t see a face or get a clear sense about who it might be. And while I felt strongly the evidence I had uncovered from inside of Crystal’s notebook would help Detective Romero secure a warrant for her arrest, I was equally as troubled by the news Nora had shared with me that morning about Lacey’s potential threat to Kelsey’s career.

Wilson helped me lay out the evidence from Crystal’s notebook on the dining room table. Her unexpected return to the Pink Mansion had prevented me from thoroughly going through everything, and I wanted a little time to myself to see if I might get a psychic read on the papers she had hidden away.

On the surface, the evidence presented a compelling case. The letter from the DOC. Crystal’s calendar with the date of AJ’s release circled in red and annotated with the initials AJ in small block letters. Two postcard-size notes addressed to Zoey and signed by AJ. And several loose sheets of lined paper where it looked like Crystal had tried to copy the same architectural style lettering AJ had used in his original notes to Zoey.

Everything on the table seemed to point to the fact Crystal knew about AJ’s release and had covered it up. She had copied AJ’s stilted style of writing and sent a note to Zoey along with flowers after Lacey’s death. But why? Had she hired AJ to kill Lacey, or was Crystal simply trying to frame him because she had killed Lacey and feared Romero was getting too close to the truth?

Then there was Lacey’s notepad full of poems, and Chad’s scribbled writing promising to record them. Did Kelsey know? Had the idea Chad might throw Kelsey and Zac over for Lacey caused her murder?

I still had no answers when Romero knocked on the door.

I told Wilson to make himself scarce. I didn’t want any disturbances.

“So, what is it you found, Misty?”

“These,” I showed the evidence on the table. “One is a notepad full of poems Lacey wrote. The other is Crystal’s notebook.”

Romero zeroed in on Crystal’s notebook and the letter from the DOC. “And where did you find these?”

“The notebook was under the bed in the guest bedroom. The letter from the DOC was inside.”

“Did Crystal give this to you?” Romero wrinkled his brow.

“No. I found it.”

“You mean you stole it.”

“I’d hardly call it stealing. Zoey asked me to get Chad’s jacket out of the closet in the guest room. When I was there, I saw the notebook under the bed. It all seems relevant, don’t you think? The letter from the DOC? The notes from AJ, and what looks like Crystal’s attempt to copy AJ’s handwriting?”

“Except, we can’t use it. Not any of it. Not unless Crystal handed it over voluntarily. Plus, if Crystal discovers you’ve taken this, I don’t even want to tell you what troubles you might have created for yourself.”

I paced back into the living room and sat down in the wingback chair. “What about Lacey’s poems, and the note from Chad? Is there enough of an implication there to make you suspect Kelsey?”

“Of being jealous?”

“Murder, Detective. Kelsey was afraid Lacey wasn’t just sleeping with Chad, but that Chad would replace her as his lyricist.”

“It’d be hard to prove,” Romero said.

“So we’re no farther along than we were right after Lacey was murdered?”

“Other than Zoey’s been arrested and the evidence supporting those charges is falling apart? No.”

“Are you satisfied AJ’s no longer a suspect?”

“You said yourself you thought as a suspect AJ looked a little too convenient. With what you just showed me on the dining room table, if anything, I’d say that makes Crystal a lot more interesting. But no judge is going to allow me to use the evidence you found to prove it. As for Lacey’s poems and Chad’s scribbles about making her a songwriter, it’s a bit of a stretch to think Kelsey or even Kelsey and Zac murdered her because of it. Unless you can convince me a ghost did it, I don’t see any other likely suspects.”

Wilson sat down next to me on the arm of the chair. “All’s not lost, Old Gal. The power rests with you. You still have the notebook and tomorrow’s séance.”

“The séance?” I asked.

At first, I wasn’t certain what Wilson meant. Then I realized he was right. Under the proper circumstances, with Wilson’s help, I might be able to solicit anything I wanted from those around the table. Whether I did an actual séance or not, nobody attending tomorrow night’s meeting would know. Only Wilson and myself.

“Are you talking to yourself again, Misty?” Romero looked at me oddly.

“Actually, I was thinking out loud. What if I could secure a confession from the killer? If whoever murdered Lacey told me, and you heard it, would it be enough for you to make an arrest?”

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“A séance,” I said. “It’s what got us into this in the first place. And I think it’s what’s going to get us out.”

“You’re serious?”

“Very. In fact, I’ve already arranged for it. Chad will be here tomorrow night. He believes Lacey’s ghost has been haunting him and he wants me to do a séance to get rid of her.”

Romero sat down on the couch and put his hand to his head. “I don’t believe what I’m about to ask, and the department may never understand, but explain to me, exactly how it is you think this séance idea of yours will secure a confession?”

“I’ll save the details for the séance until later. But for now, I’ve asked Zac, Kelsey, and Crystal to be here tomorrow night. One of them could have killed Lacey. When they’re sitting around the table tomorrow night, I believe we can get whoever killed her to confess.”

“We?” Romero raised his brows.

“In your line of work, I believe you call it a sting.” I explained to Romero I was sure, from all the cop and robber shows I’d watched, that he would want me to wear a wire so he can have everything on tape. I’d want him at the Pink Mansion early enough so we can set up the dining room for the séance, and nobody would know he was there.

“There’s an antique dressing screen next to the piano. Zoey’s grandmother used to use it. It’s big enough for you to hide behind, and from there you should be able to hear everything I say. More importantly, everything anyone says to me.”

“And Zoey?” Romero asked. “If you’re going to do this, I’d like to have her there as well.”

“Zoey can’t be at the séance. I doubt she and Chad could be in the same room. Not after everything that’s happened. But don’t worry, I’ll clue Zoey in to my change of plans and have her here well ahead of time. She can hide upstairs in the gym. She’s as anxious as you are to know who murdered Lacey, and we should wire the gym so she could hear as well.”

“And if you don’t get a confession?” Romero asked.

“If I don’t get a confession from one of those around the table, I promise you, if Zoey killed Lacey, I’ll find out. I’ll get her to confess to me. You have my word.”

“This is highly irregular, Misty.”

“Like I told you before, Detective, I’m highly irregular. But very effective.”