Page 53 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne

“I will, I promise.” I smile and as he turns and heads out of the room, I can’t help but appreciate his arse in those jeans.

With a little hum of pleasure, I reach for my phone. Time to call Harrison and see if he wants to help me track down my missing spirit guide in training.

“It still feelsweird walking in here and knowing Viv isn’t here… or, well… You know what I mean,” I say to Harrison. We both step inside the shop and I close the door behind us.

“I suppose it must be for you,” Harrison mutters. “But I really wouldn’t know. I never visited this store except for during the eclipse and that was because you dragged me in here.”

I stop and stare at him thoughtfully.

“What?”

“The very first time I saw you was outside this shop. Do you remember?” I tilt my head and study him. “I ran into you by accident. That’s how I ended up with the card you accidentally dropped, and how I found you when Dusty and I were…” I smoosh my hands together to finish the sentence.

“I remember,” Harrison says dryly.

“Why were you here, then? I kind of assumed you’d just left the shop when I crashed into you.”

Harrison shakes his head. “I was only passing by.”

“Oh.” I shrug off the random feeling that I’m missing something about that day. “Anyway, I guess we’d better find Bruce so we can ask?—”

“Tristan!” a familiar voice calls out, and I turn to see Bruce materialise next to me.

“Well that was easy.” I blink. “If only your other half was as accommodating.”

“Have you seen Dusty?” he asks anxiously.

“No. That’s why we’re here, to see if you knew where she is.”

Bruce paces back and forth, and despite the gravity of the situation, his thickly muscled thighs in those tiny rugby shorts are rather mesmerising. After he’d solved his unfinished business and chose to stay earthbound and guard the gateway to the spirit world which, it turned out, he’d opened in the first place, he was given the ability to change his appearance as it suited him. At first he’d tried more modern clothes, given that he’d died in the mid-eighties, but Dusty was extremely fond of those shorts… and his thighs.

Who can blame her? They’re like golden tree trunks that could probably crush bowling balls.

“Tristan?”

“Hmm?” I look up and flush. “Oops, sorry. Uh… What were you saying? I got distracted by tree hunks… I mean tree trunks… you know what, never mind. I clearly haven’t had enough caffeine this morning.”

“I said I can’t find Dusty anywhere,” Bruce says worriedly. “Usually I’m kind ofawareof her, I guess you could say. I can feel when she’s up there.” He points at the ceiling and I’m assuming he means when she’s visiting what she calls the Upstairs Management, who I guess are technically her bosses.

“When she’s up there,” Bruce continues, “it’s like listening to a TV behind a closed door, kind of muted. When she’d earthbound, the door’s been opened and she’s loud and present.”

“That pretty much sums Dusty up in two words,” Harrison mutters.

“I can always feel her to varying degrees, except yesterday.” Bruce scowls. “All of a sudden, there was nothing. It was like the TV was switched off. Silence.”

“Yesterday?” I repeat, and he nods. “In the afternoon, about four-ish?”

He nods again. “How did you know?” he asks.

“Because that was the time she left the mortuary to go after Byrnes.”

“Who?”

“Some detective from Scotland Yard whom Danny and I are having trouble with.” I chew my lip anxiously. “That was the last time I saw her too. What if something has happened to her? How can we find out? Is Evangeline around?”

“Evangeline isn’t an oracle, Tristan.” Bruce shakes his head. “She doesn’t have all the answers. Besides, she’s also been conspicuously absent since what happened to Viv.”

“Well, how do we find Dusty?” I ask. “It’s not like we can just call heaven and ask if she’s there.”