Daelin rushed to the library, keeping out of the beams of the street lights, making sure she wasn’t seen. By expecting the closet to be where she had last seen it, it materialized. Right. This was Settler after all. She greeted Cordelia and opened the door.
Handing the bullet to Earl, she told him everything in one hurried breath. “I scared away the ghost. Everyone knows you didn’t kill Susan and Greg. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
“I’m cleared of the crime, but I still have what Haw Shot and its master wants.”
“Master? Ghosts don’t have masters. What you have to do is make a deal with me like Culver did. He promised to tell me everything he knows about Charming after tonight. You’ll tell me everything too. You owe me.”
“I’ve told you all I can.” Eyes twitching, Earl studied her. “What’s tonight?”
“Don’t try to change the subject. You’re always evading me—”
The front door opened, whisking in a gust of cold. It was still pitch as ink outside. On the chill wind’s tail came Sabina Staley. Daelin slammed the closet shut. It didn’t fade fast enough.
Sabina tossed two books on Daelin’s desk then strode straight over, peering at the vanishing door, adjusting the bubble lenses perched on her long steep nose. “Mr. Blacke, this space is for emergencies only and not for just anyone.” She patted Daelin’s shoulder. “This is your domain. Take great care with how you use it. Despite the irregularity of your hiding here, I’m glad to run into you, Earl. I can take care of my business twice as fast.”
Surprise over disappearing doors or a murderer in the closet didn’t mar Sabina’s brow. Like Culver had mentioned last night, such events were normal in Settler, and as county commissioner Sabina set the standard. What did she want with Earl?
By holding up her hand, Sabina stopped Daelin from asking. “You had a great accomplishment against Haw Shot. The town needs the both of you to rid us of Hawley’s menace. Daelin, you’ll finish what you started. Earl will be your bait.” Her mouth quirked to one side, perhaps her version of a smile.
The now completely invisible door rattled. There was no point in denying it or playing dumb. Daelin opened the closet. Earl stepped into the library. Bracing one hand on a hip, he stood as a gentleman from another time. Perhaps a clue as to where he came from, or when.
“You’re wanting to set a trap for Haw Shot?” Earl asked Sabina.
Her gaze never left his face while she thought it over. She took her time. “Near the gate makes the most sense. Don’t you think?”
Earl combed his fingers through his normally finessed curls. They had gone wild since his encounter with the phantom. “Not if that spook is trawling for another head. It told me they increase its powers. Actually, I think it increases the hold the thing inside it has over its actions.”
Sabina’s lips pursed. “Are you suggesting something controls the phantom? What have you seen?”
“It materialized in my jail cell with Susan’s head on one shoulder, George’s on the other, and a beaked thing where Haw Shot’s head should have been. So I assume there’s a being inside the ghost. Most likely from the rift. That makes the most sense.”
Sense? Daelin didn’t see any sign of it. She couldn’t shut her mouth. The two of them talked about all the strangeness so casually, as if it were mundane and every day. “Rabbit hole.”
Sabina’s features quivered like a bird’s. Her narrow nose and eyes added to the resemblance. “Tonight determines your future in ways you have yet to fathom.” Her fingers summoned Earl forward. “Let’s discuss this outside. She must remain innocent.”
They strode out of the library, standing in front of the window, whispering intently. Daelin tried to read their lips. Periodically she could decipher her name. The rest remained fuzzy except for the gesture mimicking the tearing off of a head. It left no doubt as to meaning. What was so innocent about that?
hapter 