That intrigues me for more than one reason. First off, I wonder if the owner wasn’t also a victim of the Slayer. Second … could this be the house that Tess mentioned, the one that she said Justin bought for her? Then again, she mentioned a family living in that house, not a sick, elderly person. Still, it’s another option, another place for us to check out.
“In Medina or elsewhere?” the man babbles as Justin drops his arm from my shoulders and plucks yet another glass of alcohol off a passing tray; the drone bubbles flutter above our heads as the orchestra continues to play.
“Here in town, of course. Anything less would be obscene.” He sips his drink as I debate the best way to escape this conversation so that I can find a spot to examine whatever it was that Lumen slipped into my hand. I didn’t dare glance at it with the drones overhead.
“You have great instincts,” Justin’s companion continues, continuing to pat my bio dad on the shoulder. Am I the only one who recognizes how much he hates being touched like that? His smile is still firmly in place, but there are cracks in it. Caroline notices, I think, but then she swings her gaze over to me, and I find myself choking on the pain of missing Parrish.
She looks so much like him, and she doesn’t even care that he’s gone. He mentioned his mother briefly in passing, but only once. That, and … I flush in shame as I remember how I threw her abandonment of him in his face. It’s not something I was proud of at the time, and it’s even more shameful now that I think back on it.
“Didn’t she run off when you were a kid? I can see why. Clearly, you drove her away.”
Ugh.
“Great instincts in both business and real estate,” the man continues as he prattles along, oblivious to Justin’s distaste for him.
“Well,” Justin begins, taking in a deep breath and straightening out his jacket. “Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.”
The blood drains from my face, and I feel so dizzy that I actually start to topple over. The boys steady me on either side as Justin flicks a curious glance my way and takes great effort to restore the usual brilliance in his smile.
“Don’t worry,” Caroline tells me, gliding closer in her floor-length gown. “You’ll get more used to the heels over time. With all these lovely parties your father plans on throwing, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of practice.”
“I’m certain that I will,” I agree as the big man in the navy suit continues to chatter away and Justin pretends to be interested.
Meanwhile, I’m reeling. I’m breaking apart. I’m falling to pieces.
“In the meantime, I’m going to hit the bathroom. Lady troubles.” I give a false smile as Caroline’s brows go up, turning and fleeing the conversation like a house on fire.
“What’s going on?” Maxx asks, grabbing onto my right arm as Chasm takes my left. It’s the only way to stay so close together in such a large, tightly gathered crowd.
“Out. I think I might know where we can find our next clue.”
“Explain,” Chasm demands as soon as we’re inside the garage. It’s going to be difficult to get a car out of here with so many people coming and going in the courtyard, but we’ll figure it out.
“You know everyone in Medina,” I murmur, pacing briefly across the garage floor in my heels and wringing my hands. I look up at Chasm’s confused expression. “Is there anyone who died around here recently? Someone elderly, with a health condition?” I shake my head as Chas quirks a brow at me. “Or maybe they didn’t even have a health condition. Just … someone who might’ve owned a home. A big one. And in Medina proper.”
“Uh,” Chasm starts, looking up at the ceiling as he thinks that over. “Armando Vasquez, maybe? He owns the estate two doors down from here. He’s been battling pancreatic cancer for a while; my dad bought his company out from under him on the cheap a few years back. I hadn’t heard about him passing away, but that’s the only person I can think of that might fit your description. Again, why?”
I’m so excited that I actually stagger back, putting a hand out on the wall to steady myself.
“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored,” I say, pausing to shake out my hands as excitement courses through me. “It’s a quote from Agatha Christie’s book, the one we found in the asylum. Justin just fucking quoted it!”
The boys exchange another look before turning back to me.
“They were discussing the house that Justin put an offer in on,” I add, trying not to hyperventilate. “That big dude—”
