The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (best ereader for comics .txt) 📗

Cheryl glanced over, but Tessa couldn’t read her expression through the dark glasses she’d donned. “Why?”

“I can’t stay at my place,” Tessa whined. “There’s a killer on the loose.”

Her mother’s cackle surprised Tessa. It made her jump toward the window. “We have bigger problems than a killer on the loose, Theresa Randolph.” Her mom slapped her palm against the steering wheel. “We’ve got a soul on the loose. And your apartment complex is as good a place as any to start looking for it.”

Chapter 5

LUCKILY, TESSA WASN’T the only one creeped out about the murder at the apartment complex. Shortly after her return, there was a knock at the door. The familiar “Shave and a Haircut” of her neighbor.

“I come bearing a gift,” Abi said through the door.

Tessa opened it wide to see her friend standing on the front mat with two pints of ice cream—one in each hand. She was already in her PJs—plaid pants a size too big with the drawstring cinched at the waist and an oversize Foo Fighters T-shirt from a concert they’d both attended a few years before. Abi’s red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her glasses obscured her green eyes.

“Chunky Monkey or Half Baked?” She held them both for Tessa to see.

“Am I terrible for wanting both?”

Abi shook her head. “I’m game as long as you have clean bowls.”

Tessa smiled. “I guess Half Baked will have to do.”

They folded onto either side of the couch, and Tessa turned on Netflix to the last episode of the Gilmore Girls they’d watched together. It was a lot easier than picking out something new. And the TV would just be drowned out by conversation anyway.

“I’m guessing you heard.” Tessa allowed a bite of ice cream to melt in her mouth.

“Honestly, I’m surprised it took you this long to off him. That man was a creeper. I just can’t believe you were dumb enough to get arrested.”

“You know I didn’t do it.”

“But if you did, I could help you. Do you know how many true crime docs I’ve watched?”

“We share a Netflix account, so yes. I do. Who told you I was arrested?”

“Mrs. Cross. She told anyone who went by her doorway. She just crouched there or something, waiting to spring out. Not the best thing to do to people when there’s a killer on the loose.”

“Ah, but she didn’t think the killer was still on the loose.”

“Oh, she knows you didn’t kill him,” Abi scoffed. “She just needed people to talk to today. I mean, I can’t blame her. Death is so creepy. One minute you’re here, checking out every woman with a pulse and the next . . .”

“Yeah, it is weird.” Tessa sighed. She couldn’t really talk about her new job anyway, but Abi’s stance on the matter made it even more difficult. How was she going to keep being a reaper a secret from her best friend? Her only friend aside from Pepper—and she wasn’t sure the cat counted.

“Did Mrs. Cross have any idea who really did it?” Tessa asked. After a hurried search of the building, she’d resigned herself to the fact that Chet Sanborn’s spirit was nowhere to be found. She kind of hoped he was off haunting whoever did this to him rather than using his powers as a Peeping Tom. The thought made her shudder.

“Of course not.” Abi dipped a spoon into the Chunky Monkey. “But we know they didn’t live here.”

“Yeah? How do we know that?”

“Because everyone here has reverence for the pool. It’s the one amenity we all agree on.”

Tessa nodded, conceding Abi’s point. She wondered who would kill Sanborn in such an open space and why. But she was thankful it wasn’t her job to find out.

CHERYL MADE IT CLEAR she was irritated about having to stop by Mist River Manor the next morning. Tessa got back in the Audi, greeted by the long-suffering expression on her mother’s face. “Are you ready to work now?”

With a bright smile, Tessa said, “Yep! I’m completely ready to grim reaper my way through Wednesday. I didn’t see any assignments in my email yet, though.”

Cheryl glanced in the rearview mirror and narrowed her eyes. “Your assignments are on hold until we find your last mark’s spirit. Honestly, why do people have to tailgate?” She tapped the brakes. “I’m here. And this is a forty-five mile-per-hour zone. Jerk.”

“Okay.” Tessa brushed aside her mother’s bad driving. “So, I have to find Mr. Sanborn’s spirit. That shouldn’t take long. Should it?”

“It had better not take more than a few days.” Cheryl’s tone was sharp. “Otherwise, the repercussions will be severe.”

“Rep . . . repercussions? You mean, like, I’ll get fired?”

Cheryl chuckled, but it wasn’t a cheerful sound. “Not having a job will be the least of your worries if you don’t fix this. The business of escorting souls across the veil is serious. Losing someone’s spirit so it’s free to wander loose on this plane instead of crossing over—well, it’s the worst thing a reaper can let happen. It may cause a chasm to open between our world and the nether.” Her tone was ominous, like the announcer on a wildlife show talking about the imminent extinction of a species.

“Chasm?” Tessa asked. “You mean, like demons coming through to feast on humans? Or like the undead? Zombies?”

Cheryl rolled her eyes. She pulled into the agency’s parking lot. She shut off the car and turned toward Tessa. “How would you like it if you were home from the grocery store and, suddenly, you took a step that landed you in a different place? And not just from the store to your house or the beach. Not this plane at all but the next one. Just like that—your spirit ripped through to the other side before its time. And then think about that happening to thousands of people on our side, while thousands more who have already crossed suddenly find themselves on the side of