Page 10 of Ghost of You (Haunted Souls #24)

After the pizza party wrapped up the night before, Jude helped get the kids to bed and sat down with his laptop.

He went through the Conti’s financial records with a fine toothed comb.

There were large deposits into their joint account once every month or so.

Jude also saw a lot of ATM activity at Foxwoods, a casino in nearby Connecticut.

Jude would ask the Conti’s about those deposits, but he’d bet his own bottom dollar that the large deposits were gambling winnings.

He'd gotten Wolf onto the school bus with the other big kids and dropped Lizbet off with Nana Kaye and Ezra. The plan for the day was for the kids to play outside and then “help” Kaye bake cookies.

Jude was in the middle of his bowl of cereal when his phone chimed. It was a message from Ronan letting him know he and Fitz were ready to go. “Cope? Are you ready to leave the house?” Jude called up the stairs.

“Yeah, just a minute,” Cope called back.

Jude finished the dregs of his cereal and was toeing into his shoes when Cope came downstairs. “You good?”

“Yeah, I was chatting with Bertha. She’s been on the lookout for Frankie Adams and hasn’t had any luck finding her.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” Jude handed Cope his jacket and ushered him out the door. Fitz was parked in front of the house, ready for action. They got into the backseat and clicked their seatbelts.

“Before we came out to the car,” Jude began, “Cope said he’d been talking with Bertha Craig who hadn’t been able to locate Frankie. I have a question about that, but wanted to ask it with everyone here.”

“Go for it.” Cope reached for Jude’s hand.

“How rare is it for a spirit to disappear like this? The majority of cases we’ve worked in the past had the murder victim showing up at some point. Should we be worried that Frankie hasn’t shown herself to you?”

“Spirits are just like people. Some are gregarious and outgoing, while others are mistrustful or shy. It could be that Frankie has crossed over and is happy on the other side or she could be in a specific place that we haven’t been to yet.”

“Are you saying she could be trapped somewhere?” Ronan asked.

“It’s a possibility, but remember when we were at the morgue the other day and I was telling you I encountered a bunch of spirits who didn’t know they were dead?

” Cope asked. “They were stuck in the morgue, because they didn’t know they could go somewhere else.

Frankie could be in that boat. She could also be stuck in the place her body was found. ”

Ronan sighed. “Shit, I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“If I don’t see her today at her parents’ house, we might want to go out to the Salem Towne Forest and visit the crime scene.” Cope sighed. “There’s one more thing.”

Jude was almost afraid to ask. “What’s that?”

“Frankie’s body isn’t whole. The ME showed us how many bones were missing. It’s also possible she’s with those remains, waiting for them to be discovered. Is there any plan to get scent dogs in the field to see if those bones can be located?”

“Cisco said he was going to get a K9 team out there to conduct a search, but I have to tell you that it might not be possible to find all the remains. Predators tend to grab what they can and run so that other animals don’t try to take what’s theirs,” Fitzgibbon said.

“I can’t imagine what this is like for Frankie’s parents,” Ronan continued. “Is there anything we can do to help the search team recover everything, Cope?”

“Possibly. Everything hinges on Frankie making contact. I’ve been reaching out to her with no luck. I’m really hoping I’ll encounter her today.”

Jude gave their joined hands a squeeze. He knew how hard these cases were on Cope.

Speaking with spirits who’d died violently at the hands of another drained Cope completely.

The only advantage he had in this case was already knowing Francesca Adams was murdered.

However, that advantage wouldn’t count for much if Cope couldn’t find her spirit.

“This is it up here on the right,” Ronan said. “Yellow house with white shutters.”

The house was a simple Cape Cod design. The most striking detail of the property was that the entire front yard was filled with tulips in a rainbow of colors. “Wow,” Jude said. “Talk about a labor of love.”

“Tulips are Frankie’s favorite flower,” Cope said. “She and her mother used to plant bulbs every fall together. When Frankie went missing, Sofia turned the yard into one giant tulip bed, for her daughter to see when she came home.” He blew out a shaky breath. “Sofia is in a bad way.”

“Any sign she was the one who killed Frankie?” Fitzgibbon asked.

“None,” Cope said, shaking his head. “The ramifications of Frankie’s death are hitting Sofia like a literal ton of bricks. I’ve never sensed this much guilt in all my years of having this gift.”

“We need to treat this as a fact-finding mission, unless or until either of the parents say something that points to their involvement in Frankie’s murder. Got it?” Fitzgibbon asked.

“Got it,” Jude and Ronan chorused back.

Jude’s mind spun as he and the other detectives approached the house.

His brain bounced back and forth between Cope and how he was going to handle the Contis’ grief.

Before he’d met Ten and Ronan, Jude wasn’t an emotional person.

He didn’t cry or get attached to anything or anyone.

Ronan changed that. Everly, even more so.

The thought of losing either of his kids turned Jude’s knees to jelly.

He didn’t know how Frankie’s parents had kept going in light of her disappearance.

“Good morning, Mr. Conti,” Fitzgibbon said, breaking Jude out of his train of thought. “I’m Captain Kevin Fitzgibbon and these are my detectives, and consultant. We’re here to speak with you about your daughter.”

“Call me, Dante. My wife and I have been expecting you. Seeing Cope Forbes with the best detectives Salem has to offer is the only thing that’s gone right in the four years since Frankie disappeared.” Dante opened the door and ushered Fitzgibbon and the others inside.

Jude knew Dante was in his mid-fifties, but the man looked as if he were over seventy.

He was thin as a toothpick, with his clothes hanging from his frame.

Dark eyes were ringed with even darker circles.

If Jude didn’t know better, he would have thought the man had been on the losing end of a fight.

“This is my wife, Frankie’s mother, Sofia,” Dante said as he entered the living room.

Fitzgibbon introduced himself, Ronan, and Jude.

Before he could speak about Cope, Sofia got to her feet.

She crossed the room and took one of Cope’s hands in both of her own.

“I’m so glad to see you, Cope. My friend, Tabitha, comes to see you once a month.

She’s been urging me to make an appointment, but to be honest, I didn’t want to know if Frankie was…

” Sofia’s dark eyes began to water. “Please, come in.” She led Cope to the sofa and sat beside him.

“Tabitha Stowe is one of my favorite customers,” Cope said with a smile. “Her love story with Grumpy George always leaves me believing in the power of true love. My husband can be a bit of a grouch too, at times.”

Sofia offered a sad smile. “Tabby used to complain about George’s demeanor all the time.

When he passed, I remember her feeling so much guilt for not appreciating those grumpy moods and now that we know Frankie is gone, I feel the same way.

I remember shouting at her when she was five and scribbled on the kitchen wall with crayons.

Other parents put frames around the scribbles and call it art.

I just shouted and sent her to timeout.” Sofia dabbed at her eyes.

Dante patted her back, in what looked to Jude like a practiced motion. He couldn’t imagine how many times Dante had tried to comfort his wife over the last four years.

“Is she here, Cope? Is my baby here with us now?” Sofia wore a hopeful look.

Cope took a deep breath. “She isn’t here at the moment, but let’s see what happens.”

Dante opened his mouth looking like he was coming for Cope with both barrels loaded, Cope continued, seemingly oblivious to Dante’s mood.

“It took Tabby two appointments with me before George would speak. Some spirits are shy or mistrustful, especially when they’ve died violently.

Why don’t we let Captain Fitzgibbon get on with his questions and we’ll circle back later. ”

Sofia nodded, turning her attention to Fitzgibbon. “What do you know about my daughter’s death?”

“Right now, very little,” Fitzgibbon said. “We know Frankie died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. We haven’t found the projectile, so we don’t know what kind of gun was used. The autopsy didn’t show any other signs of violence.”

“How could it when all that’s left of our beautiful daughter is a bag of bones?” Dante said, bitterly.

“This is why we need to speak with you both,” Ronan continued. “Was Oliver violent toward your daughter in any way at any time?”

“No. Never.” Sofia didn’t take her eyes off Ronan. “I know you’re going to tell me that my daughter might not have told me things that happened behind closed doors with her husband, but I know for a fact that Oliver would never lay a hand on Frankie.”

Jude wondered how the hell to ask how Sofia knew that? Did she have Frankie’s house bugged with cameras? Had she lived with them for a period of time. “Please continue, you have our full attention.”