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Dad shook his head and smiled reassuringly.“We’ve waited this long to meet them. Heck, we didn’t even know they existed until a few weeks ago. It can wait—they can wait—until you’re rested and ready.”

“That’s good. Because I really need to get home and be with Nan,” I said, desperate to be reunited with my favorite person. Nan had raised me. She’d become my very best friend, and I just didn’t feel normal without knowing she was nearby.

“I know you do,” Dad said, and we hugged again. “I know you do.”

Chapter Eighteen

Just over half an hour later, the police arrived and swept through the train. They kicked us out of Rhonda’s room to secure the scene. While two officers investigated the body, another officer took Mom, Dad, me, Sariah, Dan, and Melvin to the viewing car to keep an eye on us while a detective questioned us one by one outside.

“I hadn’t met Rhonda before the train, no,” I assured the detective, but I could sense the suspicion lingering in her eyes.

She looked down and referenced her notebook. I had to wonder how well she could actually see in the dim light of the tunnel.

“Then why did you spend nearly two hours with her in the dining car?” she asked.

And I answered with a shrug.“Just being friendly.”

“Angela! Angela!” Octo-Cat bellowed in the distance.

“Did you hear that?” the detective asked me, tilting her head to listen.

“Angela! Angela!” he cried again. To the detective, his words probably sounded like a horrible caterwauling.

“Yes, I think it’s my cat,” I said, equally excited and afraid of what news he would bring.

“Strange noise for a cat to make,” the detective observed.

“Angela! Angela!” my cat cried again, growing closer and closer to where we stood. A few moments later his fuzzy body hurtled into mine, and he screamed again. “Angela! Angela!”

“Stand back, that animal could be dangerous!”

“He’s just my cat. See.” I scooped Octo-Cat up and cuddled him to my chest to show her he meant no harm.

He panted heavily, which he never did. The poor guy must have been running for a very long time—or be very, very stressed. I was hoping for the former.

“Can we get him some water?” I asked her as his panting continued unchecked.

“No… time,” he wheezed, then hacked, then tried to speak again. “Griz… abella. We… have to… go to her!”

The detective studied me carefully.“Ma’am, is everything okay?”

Ma’am? I was younger than she was. Okay, not important right now. I needed to figure out my next step, and I needed to do it in a way that didn’t raise suspicion.

Earlier that night I’d told Dan, Sariah, and Melvin that I was a celebrity pet trainer as an excuse for setting Octo-Cat on the trail. And now it was time to take on another false persona with the detective. I just hoped she would buy it.

I swallowed hard and then raised my eyes to meet her questioning gaze head on.“I know this may seem a bit unorthodox, but I’m a psychic, you see, and I believe the victim’s ghost is telling me where to find her killer.”

She placed a hand on her hip.“Her ghost?”

“Yes.” Sorry, Rhonda, but this is the best way to catch him. “Rhonda says he’s moved quite a way from the train. We’ll need a vehicle to get to him.”

“Yes, good!” Octo-Cat cheered. His words seemed to be coming more easily now. “I can take you… to her. To them.”

The detective tipped her chin and quirked an eyebrow.“So you need a police escort?” she asked slowly, either to mock me or to make sure she understood.

“I know it’s crazy, but—”

“Let’s go,” the detective said, surprising me with her sudden agreeableness. “Our department has been known to work with psychics from time to time, and right now you’re the best lead we’ve got. The cruiser’s about half a mile that way.” She pointed down the tunnel, then turned backto me. “Try anything funny, though, and I won’t hesitate to make an arrest.”

When I nodded my consent, she took off in the direction she’d pointed earlier. It was the opposite way from the path Octo-Cat had taken to return to us.

I followed, keeping Octo-Cat in my arms because I could tell he needed the rest. While I grew more tired, he regained some of his strength.

“We found him,” he explained as my feet scrambled for purchase on the uneven terrain. “And Grizabella was marvelous. She scratched him up real good. He threw her, and I think she may have gotten hurt. But she wouldn’t leave his side. She sent me back to get help while she continued to trackthe bad guy.”

Well how about that? Grizabella had proven to be the hero, after all.

I just hoped she was okay from the injury she sustained during her fight with Jamison. I hated not being able to comfort Octo-Cat while we were in the presence of the detective, but I had to believe he understood that I would do everything I could for both Grizabella and Rhonda.

At last we reached the end of the tunnel and broke out into the open sky. The sun had just begun to rise, infusing the clouds with celestial fire—beautiful and eerie at the same time. The cruiser sat facing the tunnel, and the detective and I both bolted for it.