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“Talk to someone?”

“Yeah. I—I live in Virginia now, and I work with a medium. Would you be willing to have him summon your sister to ask her if…” I trailed off.

Cammie started nodding immediately. “Oh my God, yes. Yes, please. Because if she didn’t—then they have to look into it again, right?”

I grimaced. “Unfortunately no, they don’t have to. But I’m hoping theywill.”

Cammie took a deep breath, then let it out and nodded. “Then please. Call him.”

I pulled out my phone and called Ward.

“Hart, how are things?”

“Hey, Ward. I’ve got another favor to ask.” I was starting to feel bad about all the times I’d asked him for shit.

“Ask,” my ridiculously helpful boss replied.

“I’m here with a woman whose sister died last year, supposedly the same way Gregory Crane did.”

“And you want me to summon the sister to find out if she was murdered, too?”

“Yes, please.” I was being polite. Very polite.

“Name?” my boss asked.

“Tara Redsky.”

I listened to him breathing, slow and steady. “She didn’t commit suicide, Hart,” Ward told me, his voice sad and serious.

I deliberately swallowed the curse words that wanted to come out at that. Cammie didn’t need to hear that right now. I looked up at her.

“Cammie, your sister didn’t kill herself.”

Cammie burst into tears, and I noticed that there were a few tracking their way down Elliot’s cheeks, as well. Taavi slipped out of the room and came back with a box of tissues.

“Thank you, Ward,” I said into the phone, then left the room so I could ask some more pointed questions and leave Cammie and Elliot to commiserate. “Tell me the details,” I demanded. “Please,” I added as an afterthought.

“You out of earshot?” my boss asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good.” I heard him inhale, then sigh. “They came up behind her, three of them, and put a rag with something sharp and pungent over her nose. It made her dizzy, and she couldn’t really fight them, then lost consciousness after a few minutes of weak struggling.” Jesus fuck. I swallowed, pushing back the surge of horror, because Ward kept going. “She woke up while they were—” I heard him swallow. “—hanging her from a beam in the basement with a leather belt.”

“Oh, Jesus fuck,” I muttered, deliberately keeping my voice low so that Cammie at least wouldn’t hear me. Hopefully Elliot wouldn’t either, but shifters and hearing and all that. I was pretty sure Taavi probably could hear me, but I had my fingers crossed that badger hearing wasn’t as good as canid.

“She tried to shift, but it was too late—she didn’t have enough energy to manage it before she…” He trailed off, but I didn’t need him to finish the sentence.

“Thanks, Ward.”

“Hart?”

“Yeah?”

“This doesn’t look good.”

“Tell me something I don’t fucking know,” I told him.

“Please be careful.”