She stared at the room, stared at the carnage, her jaw working soundlessly, her eyes wild in her round face. Chess saw those eyes start to roll back and made a move, but it was Trent who caught the woman when she fell.
Chapter Three
Beyond the closed door Chess could hear the voices of the Evidence Team cleaning up the mess in the living room, but in that roomapparently Gloria Warings childhood bedroomsilence reigned.
Chess hadnt volunteered to babysit the victims adult daughter. Something told her an eighteen-year-old girl was maybe not the most qualified to do the job, eitherespecially not when the eighteen-year-old girl in question was herself, who had almost as much experience with loving families as she did with mechanical engineering. Which was none. But there she was, sort of standing around, trying not to look at Gloria huddled on the bed staring swollen-eyed into space. Her sadness filled the room, made Chesss skin feel raw.
Pictures in glass frames sat on the dresser, covered the walls. Gloria and her parents in front of a lake. Gloria and her parents at Glorias second-school graduation. Gloria and some people Chess assumed were Glorias friends on a beach. A picture of a group of adults, the image tinted with the sort of orangey color given by age; closer inspection showed Chess two people she thought were Glorias parents, standing in the back.
Interesting. Well, not reallyChess didnt give much of a shit about the late Waringsbut interesting that Gloria kept the picture in her room.
But then it looked more like a guest room now, didnt it? A few souvenirs of the type of childhood normal people had were visible, a couple of yearbooks on the lone shelf and kindergarten art projects on the walls. But the furniture, the curtains and bedcoverings, were new and generic. So maybe the Warings had just stuck things in there they no longer wanted to display elsewhere. In fact yes, the lake picture had been in the living room as well, only larger. Chess picked it up to get a closer look.
Deep Creek Lake, Gloria said. I was sixteen.
Shit. What was she doing? Chess set the picture back down, hoping her face hadnt gone as red as it felt. Sorry.
Its okay. Gloria sniffled and sat up, clutching the cheap floral comforter around her as she did. What are you supposed to do, just watch me lay here?
Okay, then. Um. Im sorry. For your loss, I mean.
Maybe that wasnt the right thing to say; Glorias face crumpled again. Shit. Chess took a step toward her without any real sort of planwas this a touch-her situation, should she pat the woman on the back or something?but was saved from the necessity of doing anything by a tap on the door, the turn of the knob. Gloria?
A man. Glorias boyfriend, orno, her husband. Relief probably wasnt the right thing for Chess to feel upon realizing she no longer had to touch Gloria, but she felt it anyway. And really, when had she ever felt the right thing?
Matt!
They hugged. They blocked the door. Damn. That would have been the perfect moment to slip out of the way, too. All that naked emotion it made Chess feel like her hands and feet were too big, her arms and legs too long. Awkward and uncomfortable, like she was being forced to observe things that were none of her business. Which she supposed technically she was.
Thankfully, Jillian poked her head around the door a minute later. There you are. Come on, I want to show you something.
Chess angled herself past the weeping Waringsor whatever their last name was; maybe Gloria wasnt a Waring anymore, since she was marriedand followed Jillian down the short hall to the master bedroom. A decent-sized room, heavy on ruffles, taupe, and rose, with bowls of potpourri all over the dressers and the desk and the shelves of the TV cabinet. It smelled like a cinnamon stick had thrown up in there; how had they slept in that air? It made Chesss nose and throat itch.
Jillian opened a window, giving Chess a half smile as she did. Pretty awful, huh?
Chess nodded.
We probably wont find much up herewell, actually, were pretty sure we wont. Like Trent said, ghosts are opportunity killers, and weve got a couple on the loose here. But we generally have a look around, just to rule out the idea that the victims were Summoning on their own, or whatever. Even good investigators can miss things, so we try to be really careful. You want to start in the closet there?
Yeah, sure, but what am I looking for?
Anything unusual. Anything magicaltheyll probably have stuff like sleep-safes or luck charms or whatever, maybe some sex magic. Just bring those out here so we can have a look. And of course if anything seems really strange, let me know before you touch it.
Jillian pulled a white wad from her bag, which when she held it out proved to be a pair of latex gloves, cloudy with powder. Here, put these on. And you should pick up a box at the Church store and always keep a pair or two with you. Youd be amazed how often they come in handy.
Chess snapped on the gloves, hating the medicinal smell and texture and the way they made her hands feel trapped. It was a good idea, though, she had to admit. Or it would be, if she ended up doing some kind of work where she might come in contact with magical items.