“I never noticed.” Ten laughed along with Ronan. At least one crisis had been averted. “Did you pack for the sleepover?” he asked Everly.
“Not yet. I’ll go start now. Will you bring me a Twinkie, Dad?” Everly batted her eyes at Ronan.
“Yes, Princess. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Ronan stood up and bowed to his daughter.
“We could go to the toy store and buy more Barbies!” Everly clapped her hands together.
“You already have a thousand of them. How many more can there be?” Ronan looked worried.
“Don’t ask,” Ten muttered.
“I’ll go get snacks. You start packing.” Ronan pressed a messy kiss to the top of Everly’s head and left the room.
“I’ll come with you to get your rolling suitcase out of the closet.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” Everly wrapped her arms around Ten’s legs. “You really helped me a lot. I need to do some thinking about my gift. I think it can do everything, but you’re right, it can’t.”
“I know it’s hard that we didn’t see Miss Fairbanks today, but let’s see what happens tomorrow. You never know, you could wake up in the morning and she’ll be sitting on the edge of your sleeping bag. Or down in the kitchen making waffles with Uncle Jude.”
Hell, Marie could be waiting on his bed in the morning. Ten hoped that was the case. The sooner they solved her murder, the better. Then Everly could go back to being a typical Barbie-crazed six-year-old rather than a miniature Miss Marple.
17
Ronan
Thanks to the kids being gone at the sleepover, Ronan and Ten had gone to bed early and stayed up late. He felt relaxed and refreshed, the same way he used to feel before they’d had kids. Part of him loved the hours of sex, but another part of him missed the kids’ antics before bed. Everly with her extra books and drinks of water, and Ezra snuggled in his arms, laughing at the funny voices he made when he read stories.
After he and Ten got out of the shower, Ronan had spent an hour or so going over the case file and all the notes he’d made about Principal Joseph Whittaker. He wanted to be as prepared as possible for the principals’ lunch today.
“Are you ready to hit the road?” Ronan asked when Ten walked into the kitchen. “Jude and Fitz are waiting for us in the car.”
“Yeah, I’m good to go. I hope Everly isn’t going to be upset that we’re going without her.” Ten frowned.
“She’ll be fine. As far as I’m concerned, she’s done enough work on this case as it is.” The idea of his six-year-old daughter working a murder case still sat heavily on his mind and heart. Yes, Everly knew bad things happened to people, but the absolute last thing she should have to deal with was seeing those bad things with her own eyes or through her gift. She hadn’t said anything to him, but Ronan knew she’d seen the bloodstain on the floor of the classroom. He hoped she wouldn’t be scarred for life.
“I don’t like it when the two of us work murder cases, never mind Everly.” Ten went to the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles of water.
“I know what you mean.” Ronan pecked Ten’s cheek. He’d seen more than his fair share of tragedy over his career. Some of those crime scenes haunted him still.
Walking out of the house, Ronan turned his mind to the meeting with Principal Whittaker. The man was going to be in for a shock when three cold case detectives and a psychic took a seat at his breakfast table.
The ride to Salem, New Hampshire, had gone quickly, with Jude telling funny stories from the previous night’s sleepover. Ezra had been the life of the party, laughing and singing with the other kids, demanding snacks and sharing them with Lizbet. He was still up and ready to party when Jude and Cope had gone to bed. The little boy didn’t settle down until Jude let him sleep by the baby’s crib. Ezra had slept through the night after that.
“How are we going to play this thing with Whittaker?” Ronan asked. He wanted to barge in and demand the former principal spill what he knew about his affair with Marie Fairbanks and what happened the day she died, but he knew the others would want to take a softer approach.
“Our badges are useless here,” Fitzgibbon said, eyeing Ronan in the rearview mirror. “Which means we need to tread carefully. The Fairbanks case has been closed since 1968.”
“If Whittaker killed Marie, and that’s a bigif, he would have kept his eyes out for any news of the case.” Jude rubbed the back of his neck as if he had a headache coming on. “He’ll know that it hasn’t been reopened.”
Ronan knew his partners were right. “What do you think?” he asked, turning to Tennyson.
“I agree with Fitz and Jude about using a light touch,” Ten said gently. “There’s a good chance Whittaker won’t know who I am, which will give me a chance to gauge his honest reactions to who you are and why you’re there before he knows I’m digging around in his head.”
“It’s going to be one hell of a surprise,” Ronan muttered. “Did Everly mention anything about the case last night?”
Jude shook his head. “No, she just enjoyed hanging out with her friends and eating snacks. Cope tried to feed them banana chips.” He barked a quick laugh. “I wish I had my camera recording when Cope told the kids what they were.”
“I’m betting it didn’t go well for Cope.” Ten snickered.
