Not that Carmen minded a free meal, but she was growing sick of pizza. A lot of to-dos and what-ifs and who-did-what-nows crept up during the conversation with Sam and Demi as they tried to make a plan to get into Link’s home before everyone purged it of its belongings. Carmen was out of the loop when it came to what happened to the Crane estate for the most part—it was originally none of her business—but she knew that Desiree Crane had made no plans to go through her sons belongings during the first week following his passing. Lionel had mentioned as much. But she had no idea who had been inside of the home, who’d touched his desk and its items since he died there, or how she’d get in herself.

“You’re positive the paper is from your notebook?” Demi asked of Link.

The spirit turned to them. “Yes, it was a gift from the Quirky Quill when I had my first book signing there a few years ago. It’s made by a local small business so the paper is… unique. It’s my favorite shade of yellow and has a semi-thick paper weight so you can use heavier pens without it bleeding through.”

“Should I call Lucy, maybe? Tell her I have a hunch and wanted to feel out the vibes? Pretend I’m a psychic or something?” Carmen proposed as she picked up her cheese stick.

“Possibly? I adore her but she is quite gullible,” Link replied, looking longingly at the pizza.

“That might be a good angle to approach it with. I could go with you and play up the act of sensing something, and since we know it’s in the desk I could really ham it up. Pull out my best television psychic persona and give it some dramatic flair,” Demi mused.

“You’re so talented, so handsome, so smart,” Sam cooed with dreamy eyes. He had his head in his hands like a tween girl looking at her celebrity crush, his pointed tail was whipping around with such intensity Carmen thought he might fly away. For being such a powerful high demon he sure was… gooey.

“Ew,” Carmen groaned. She fished for her phone and tried to find Lucy’s number. It rang a few times before it connected. “Hey, bestie! Friend of mine, how’s it going?”

Lucy immediately burst into tears on the other line.

“Still upset about the haircut, huh?” Carmen asked. She put the call on speaker and held her finger to her lips.

“I don’t know what to do about Mr. Crane!” Lucy sobbed.

“Well, that’s actually why I’m calling. So like, can you keep a secret?”

The Oddfellow Curiosities office fell silent with anticipation.

“Maybe,” Lucy whined.

“Don’t be weirded out but what if I told you I saw something? But like, in a dream? Like, a vision, so I went to see a friend of mine who may or may not be a psychic—”

Lucy gasped so loud that Carmen had to pull the phone away. “Bloody hell! And? And?!”

“They also felt a…” Carmen looked at Demi.

“Disturbance?” Demi whispered with a shrug.

“Disturbance, and thinks something in Link—uh, Mr. Crane’s office might help. But it needs to be hush-hush, do you think you could get us into his home? Obviously you can come with if it makes you feel better,” Carmen explained.

“I’m there now, actually! I’m attempting to find his contracts since my mentor misplaced them and I want to make sure his books are safe,” Lucy cried.

Link’s spirit turned grey again and he set his hand against the space his heart used to be. He perked up, though, then waved at Carmen to get her attention.

“The contracts in a hollowed out copy of Edgar Allan Poe tales on the bookshelf in my bedroom,” Link whispered.

Carmen caught on. “Oh, wait, my friend is getting another vision… they’re saying to check his bedroom… a book of Poe stories? Does that help?”

Lucy sniffled. “Maybe? Let me see…”

Everyone waited with bated breath for her to check. Sam leaned back in his chair again, wrapping his hand around Demi’s waist with a light touch. The paper witch leaned on the arm of the office chair with furrowed brows. At least they’re invested, Carmen thought.

“My will is in there, too,” Link added in a hushed tone.

“Some other important documents may be in there, too. Like… a will, perhaps?” Carmen said after the silence lingered a tad too long.

“You’re right, it’s all in here… can you get here soon? With your friend? I really want to figure out what happened to Mr. Crane… and his house is freaking me out,” Lucy said, still sniffling.

“Can you give us like forty five minutes?” Carmen asked.

“Yeah, I’ll still be here… Well, I’m going to get a coffee but I’ll be back before you get here. Thanks, Carmen.”

“Sure thing.”

Carmen hung up the phone call and hurriedly shoved the cheese stick in her mouth. Sam huffed out a puff of thick smoke and devoured his own slice of pizza that was covered in ghost peppers and literally smoking from how hot the ingredients were.

“Guess we better get going, dear,” Demi said as they lightly tapped Sam’s bicep.

“We?” Carmen questioned. “He’s a seven-foot horned demon with literal smoke coming out of his nose and a tail, he can’t go out into a human city like that.”

Sam snickered. “Who said I’m going like this?”

“Can all demons do that? I’ve never met a demon before so sorry if that’s annoying,” Link questioned as he held onto Demi’s hand for dear life. The poor spirit was so bad at being dead that he literally had to sit in the back seat of Sam’s oversized truck with the witch to have something more powerful to cling to.

Carmen, who was in the passenger seat, looked over her shoulder at Link before she shifted her gaze back to the surprisingly well-disguised demon who was driving at a more normal speed than she would have assumed he would. Sam had shrunk down to a more normal six-foot height, his cherry-red skin was replaced with a tanned tone and his horns and tail had vanished.

“Not annoying at all. To answer your question, yes and no. It’s taken hundreds of years of practice to be able to maintain this form for more than a few minutes. Most pure blooded demons can to help with their jobs but only for a short while. It takes a lot of energy and focus to stay like this, so once I get home it’ll be nap time,” Sam replied in a sing-songy voice.

“Did you have to change this soon? It’s a long drive,” Carmen asked.

“Losing all of that fabulous height and raw muscle means my regular clothes don’t fit, so it’s easier to change ahead of time, especially once we get out into the more populated areas. I don’t need to be pulled over while butt naked a second time,” Sam replied with a grin. “Are we getting close, Mr. Crane?”

“Yes. You’ll follow this road for a few more minutes until it forks. Take a right, my house is the only one once you crest the hill. It’s not hard to spot,” Link replied as he looked out of the window. It was only sightly drizzling out now but the skies were still dark.

Sam approached the aforementioned fork and turned. The truck rumbled on the old roads and went up the small hill that cut through the dense trees. At the end of the short path stood a gate that was open, a car that Carmen recognized as Lucy’s rental was parked in the drive. The house was unassuming, with black shutters and a few oil lamp-style light fixtures on the small wraparound porch. Lucy was sitting on the front step with a coffee in her hands, she waved softly. They parked and exited the vehicle.

Carmen smiled as she approached Lucy who looked exhausted. Her blonde hair with its mushroomy cut somehow looked more round than it had the last time she’d seen her, but the cute hair clips she’d used to pull it back behind her ears helped a small bit. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and it was obvious she’d been crying.

“Hey,” Carmen said quietly.

“Hi. I’m really glad you came, I’m so overwhelmed,” Lucy mumbled.

“I bet. We’re here to help… we hope.”

Lucy nodded. She turned her eyes to Demi and Sam. Carmen waited for a second to see if she’d noticed Link, but it was immediately apparent that she hadn’t otherwise she probably would have screamed, or fainted, or dropped her coffee. All she did was nod and pull the edges of her cardigan closed.

“Mrs. Crane gave me permission to handle some of the paperwork things on Mr. Crane’s behalf for the publishing side of this mess, but I’m so new and I don’t know what I need or should be looking for,” Lucy explained.

“And the cops are okay with it? Isn’t this an active crime scene?” Sam asked as he slid his hands into his pockets.

“Uh… I’m not sure. Who… who are you?” Lucy asked.

“Lucy, this is Sam and Demi Oddfellow. Sam is a private eye and Demi is a psychic,” Carmen said before she gestured to Lucy. “This is Lucy Buckingham, she was Mr. Crane’s agent, PA, thingy.”

“It’s a pleasure, dear. We’ll do our best to help, but my husband’s inquiry is warranted. We won’t be interrupting an active investigation, will we?” Demi inquired.

“I don’t know, honestly. From what I heard they don’t feel the need to look into it. According to the autopsies, it wasn’t suspicious so I think they did their checks and called it good. From what Mrs. Crane said, they allowed her entry into the house again this morning, which is why I’m here since I’ve already stayed in town longer than I planned to. Can’t afford more hotel fees and I have other… well, one other, author I need to switch gears and focus on, so I wanted to get everything done that I needed to before I left. I want to make sure Mr. Crane’s books are handled with care,” Lucy replied.

Carmen saw Link’s spirit go dark again. It was obvious that he was overwhelmed by how much his rookie agent cared, by how much this was upsetting her. He looked at Carmen with a sense of pleading in his gaze and motions.

“I’m sure he appreciates it, wherever he is,” Carmen assured her. “Let’s head inside.”

Lucy nodded. She took Carmen’s hand and stood. Everyone walked into Link’s humble little home through the black painted door. The wooden floors were stained a dark color and the walls were a blue-green that felt both gothic and maritime. The decor in the foyer and adjoining living room was a mixture of boating and harbor themed pieces and classic gothic accents. Black frames around pictures of ships crashing over dark waves hung on the walls, the evergreen sofa before the fireplace was covered in a quilt that had a large octopus on it.

Everything in the kitchen was made of dark wood, and the fridge was one of those retro ones that had wood paneling to make it vanish into the dark cabinets that were adorned with golden knobs and handles. A small black cat walked out of the kitchen and meowed for attention, Carmen knelt down and gave it a few pets.

“I didn’t know he had a cat, I hope it wasn’t left alone too long,” Carmen said quietly.

“Thankfully, Mr. Crane had an automatic feeder but she does seem lonely. I did come across her vet records and it looks like her name is Siren,” Lucy replied.

Link gasped. He pressed his hands against his eyes again and knelt down with a soft groan that pulled the attention of the supernaturals away from the cat. As the writer stumbled, his spirit bumped into a decorative coffee mug rack on the wall. A black mug shifted, knocking into another cup, and the sudden disruption caused Lucy to tense.

“See, it’s weird in here!” Lucy whisper-yelled. “Things like that keep happening.”

Sam whipped around to look at her, his thick brows furrowed. “Like… what? Do you have examples?”

“Uh… there’s a locked door in the office and the handle keeps jiggling, the drawers in Mr. Crane’s desk keep rattling, and a record on the vinyl player started going off for like… five seconds earlier,” Lucy explained.

Demi and Sam shared glances. Carmen scooped up the kitten and held her close before she walked over to where the mug rack was, pretending to look at the still swinging mug as she did. She turned her eyes to Link and felt her heart skip a beat. The writer’s black-disc eyes were rimmed red and his spirit was shaking, as if the very fabric of his soul was coming undone at the seams. Something was wrong.

“Has anyone else been in the house that you know of?” Carmen asked as she looked back at Lucy. The black cat in her arms started pawing at her shoulder.

“From what I understand, the only person who has been in the house since Mr. Crane’s passing, other than myself and the police, was your boss. Mr. Kingfisher came to get a suit to bury Mr. Crane in since Mrs. Crane couldn’t find the energy to,” Lucy replied.

Carmen pursed her lips in thought. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, nor would she say it aloud, but she could smell Lionel’s cologne in the air, as if he’d been there recently. She put on a kind smile, the one she reserved for funerals, a little somber, gentle, and understanding.

“I guess we better start our little investigation, sounds like there may be more hiding in these quiet walls than we initially thought,” she suggested.

Demi nodded, perfectly sculpted brows furrowing like their husband’s as they turned to the hallway behind them. “Indeed… and I’m beginning to think we should start with that desk… Something tells me that we may find everything we need in those drawers.”