“Hello?” I called out. “Matilda, dear, are you here?” No answer. “It’s not like her to leave town, and she’d never leave the door unlocked, not with all the valuables Alaric has.”
The kitchen and living areas were vacant, and the bedrooms empty. Shiloh nodded towards a closed door. “We should check the office, too.”
“How did you know that was his office?”
Shiloh’s hand froze on the knob, and she looked down at her boot. “Oh, shit.”
“What?”
Lifting her boot, she plucked something from the carpet. “You should wait out here.” Not waiting for my answer or to show me her discovery, she entered Alaric’s office, letting the door swing behind her.
“I’m not going to just wait in the hall like some scaredy-cat. Seriously, Shiloh—“ My words died in my throat at the ghastly scene before me. Shiloh wrapped her arms around my shoulders and steadied me as I felt my knees grow weak. Matilda sat in Alaric’s chair, her body limp, lying on his desk. In her hand was a sheet of paper and covering her arms and pressed into her hair and eyes… were sapphires.
“It’s—It’s just like Jilly.” I brought a hand to my mouth. “Oh, my. Poor, sweet Matilda.”
“These are the sapphires I found in the kitchen last night, too.” Shiloh squeezed my arms before moving to inspect the latest slain victim. Timidly, I inched closer, hating the harsh way the stones were shoved into her eyes. Matilda had always been kind to me, fetching me tea whenever I’d visit, and Alaric was held up at work. Some nights, Alaric never came home at all, he was too dedicated to his job to be able to break away. Matilda would sit with me by the fire to chat and keep me company. Much like Jilly, such a kind soul did not deserve such a horrid end.
“What’s that she’s holding?” I asked.
Shiloh gently pulled the paper from her hand, her face paling slightly. “A drawing.”
“Alaric didn’t draw. At least, I don’t think so. Let me see it.”
Pulling the paper to her chest, Shiloh dodged me. “We should leave it for the police.”
“Show me.”
With a sigh, Shiloh reluctantly handed it over. Why she was hesitant, I couldn’t surmise. The sketch was perplexing. “A necklace?” I asked, looking closer. “Alaric didn’t draw… but this looks to be his handwriting.C.M.D.? What does that stand for?”
Snatching the paper quickly from my hold, Shiloh placed it back on the table. “We really shouldn’t tamper with evidence. Come on, let’s call the police and get out of here.”
It wasn’t that I wanted to stay in Alaric’s dreary office with his dead maid, but Shiloh’s rush and reluctance to hand over the paper were a bit unnerving. To be fair, when you’ve run across two murdered people within a couple days, everything feels more than a little unsettled. Why Jilly? Why Matilda? Surely neither of them had enemies. Not like Alaric did, at least. As my protector led me outside, and red and blue lights and sirens sounded shortly after, my thoughts drifted to Shiloh’s death. I’d heard of it around town and knew it was mentioned in the Hollows Grove daily newspaper, though not much was mentioned in print. While Alaric’s death took up the whole front page, Shiloh Solair only got a paragraph. Graveyard Keeper Dead, the title read.
“You wanted to go to the library, right?” Shiloh pulled me from my scattered thoughts.
“Feels wrong to do so now. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t think Matilda will mind.”
Suppressing a morbid smile, I elbowed her in the ribs. “You’re awful.”
“Yeah, but I made you smile.” She offered me her arm in that chivalrous way she always did, and I took it. Together, we strolled away from yet another death.
After a few blocks of silence, I spoke. “You know, we met once.”
Shiloh stopped, and I almost tripped. “Lies. There’s no way I wouldn’t remember you.”
“I’m a white witch, I can’t lie.”
“That absolutely sounds like something a liar would say.”
A chuckle pattered through me. “Stop making me laugh when I should be mourning.”
“You’ve been mourning for far too long, Lune.” She laced her fingers with mine and looked down at me with an expression that was too heartfelt for a poltergeist. “Now, tell me your little fictional tale of how we met.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You yelled at me to get out of your way.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I wouldnever.”
