Page 168 of Rags's Awakening
“For your mother? I remember you telling me she loves white candles that smell like lilies of the valley.”
“Yes.”
“Did he have them?”
“He did. He acted quite odd that day. I think Raven is strange too.”
Casey laughed. “Raven loves attention, but she’s a straight shooter. But I agree with you about Curtis. There’s something unsettling about him.”
Devin nodded. “Yeah.”
“What kind of tea do you want? I have Earl Grey, green tea matcha blend, jasmine, lemon ginger, vanilla chai, and Moroccan mint.”
Devin’s eyes lit up. “Besides history, we have something else in common—I’ve got an assortment of teas too. I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker. I’ll take the Moroccan mint.”
“Perfect.”
She set the steaming mug on a coaster, then sat down and brought the vanilla chai to her lips.
Devin took a sip. “This is good. Where’d you get it?”
“Online.”
“You’ll have to text me the link. I like trying different blends.”
“I will.” She glanced at the box. “How long are you going to keep me in suspense?”
Devin took another sip, then untied the twine around the box and lifted the lid. “Here you go.”
Casey’s eyes widened. “Devin, this is a real find. Have you read them?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you can help me decide which snippets from the letter I should use for the article.”
“I don’t want to take up your time,” he said.
“I’ve got the whole night. This is so exciting,” she replied.
“It really is.”
Casey pulled out the first letter, smiled, and began to read.
Chapter Thirty
The ringtone filledthe cab, pausing an Aerosmith ballad on Rags’s Bluetooth, as Hawk’s name echoed. Rags hit the phone icon on the steering wheel.
“Hey,” Rags said.
“You driving?” Hawks asked.
“Yeah. It’s brutal out here. What’s up?” Rags bumped up the windshield wipers a notch.
“I got the list. It’s several pages. I looked through it, but the names don’t mean anything to me. Where are you?”
“Kiggin,” Rags replied.
Hawk whistled low. “You’re pretty far out. I’ll go ahead and send the PDF to your email. See if anything stands out.”
