“If she came with us, there would be three of us to protect her,” Fitz said. “I’m pretty sure we could handle an eighty-year-old man. At least Ronan and I could.”
“Asshole!” Jude muttered good-naturedly. “I couldn’t help noticing there’s something different about Everly with this case.”
“Explain what you mean,” Ronan said.
“There have been times in the past where Everly’s had a vision or knew a key piece of information, and when she told us about it, she was always very casual. This time is different. Reminds me of being back in Deadwood when she was trying to help Grace find her missing daughter.”
“It was like she was invested. A participant instead of a spectator,” Ten said. He’d noticed the same kind of maturity in his daughter that Jude was talking about. “I agree, Jude. I’ve seen her growing as a young lady and a psychic, but at the end of the day, she’s still just six years old.” Ten remembered back to the day Everly was born. She’d been so tiny and helpless. He’d known it would be up to him and Ronan to protect her, help her grow and learn, but he’d never imagined a situation like this. “Cope, what do you think?”
Cope grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink. “After Everly told us what she’d seen in the lunchroom, I couldn’t help looking around at all the kids. They were laughing, sharing food, making new friends. You know, doing all the things normal elementary-aged kids are supposed to do.” He made air quotes over the word “normal.”
“But?” Jude asked.
“But Everly isn’t a normal child. She’s gifted in ways neither one of us were at her age.” Cope pointed back and forth between himself and Ten. “Not only does she have these psychic abilities, but she’s empathetic and caring, with a strong sense of doing what’s right. She saw ghosts of kids her own age and wanted to help them. She put her own fear and uncertainties to the side and wanted to be of service. Everly does what you and I do all the time. She became personally invested in helping these three spirits. I think she should be allowed to go tomorrow.”
“Maybe have a pep talk with her tonight on the kinds of things she should and shouldn’t say.” Jude looked to Ronan, who was nodding. “Give her a code word to say if she learns Fairbanks killed his wife. He already knows Everly is gifted, but I see that as an advantage in this situation because he’ll underestimate her.”
Ten sighed. He already knew he was going to let Everly go with Ronan tomorrow. “Do you think I should come along too, just in case you run into trouble?”
“You mean in case Everly runs into trouble?” Ronan asked with a grin. “No. I think she’ll do just fine. It’s going to be a quick and friendly interview. We’ll be in and out of there in half an hour tops.”
“I’ll be by her side the whole time,” Jude said. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Jude had already taken two bullets for Ronan. Ten had no doubt he’d do the same for Everly. “Okay, she can go.” His hands shook as he spoke. “I’ll have a chat with her tonight before bed.”
“And I’ll go over what we know about Marie’s murder in the simplest terms. Bare-bones facts. No pictures.” Ronan crossed his heart.
“That doesn’t mean she won’t see the crime scene in her head,” Ten said, already starting to regret his decision.
“You and I will take Ezra and Lizbet to story hour at the library tomorrow, and Ronan can take Everly to work.” Cope wore a bright smile.
Ten grudgingly nodded. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on a very animated reading ofThe Very Hungry Caterpillarwhen Everly was meeting with a potential wife killer?
Yet another questionnotanswered in Ten’s plethora of parenting books.
13
Ronan
Ronan hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. He’d let the kids have Easter candy after dinner, and it had supercharged them both. Ezra ran around singing the alphabet song like a man possessed, demanding that Ronan and Ten sing along with him. Everly put on one of her long ballerina skirts and twirled around the house like she was auditioning for the role of Clara inThe Nutcracker.
Ezra had run himself ragged and finally fell asleep on the kitchen floor, his chubby arms wrapped around a stuffed rabbit the Easter Bunny had left for him. Everly was able to settle down for story time and for the little chat Ten and Ronan wanted to have with her about going to meet with Greg Fairbanks.
The chat had gone as well as it possibly could have gone. Ten still had a few reservations about Everly going along on what, in essence, was a police interrogation of a possible killer. He’d brought up a lot of good points, which had spun around Ronan’s mind all night long. Just as he’d been about to drop off, another what-if scenario played itself out in his mind. He’d finally given up on sleep around half past five and had gone downstairs to make coffee and think about how to approach Greg Fairbanks.
“I’m ready to go to work,” Everly said a few hours later. She walked into the kitchen wearing a bright flower-print dress Ten had gotten her for their trip to Florida in February. Her hair hung long down her back, the ends curling.
“You look great.” Ronan couldn’t help smiling at his daughter. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined taking Everly on an interview like this. Well, not until she was much older, anyway.
“Daddy’s still worried. I don’t know what else to tell him so he won’t feel upset about me working the case with you.”
“Well, for starters, you might want to stop saying ‘working the case.’” Ronan snorted. “He’s just worried about your safety.”
“You, Fitz, and Uncle Jude will protect me, Dad,” Everly said.
“You’re right. We will, but I think Daddy is more worried about your mental health. You might see or hear things that aren’t really appropriate for someone your age.” Ronan was worried about the same thing, but he knew Everly was going to get information from her gift that neither he nor Ten could control.
“But that happens all the time anyway.” Everly sighed. “At school. At McDonald’s. The library. You name it. Spirits are everywhere.”
