Page 27 of The Shop on Hidden Lane

“Good luck convincing your boss you’ve got a case,” Luke said.

Mack grimaced. “Thanks. Sophy, give me a call if you think of anything else that might be helpful.”

“Okay,” she said.

Luke waited until Mack had driven away before he spoke.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes.” She took a beat to process that simple fact. “Yes, I’m fine. Thanks. Your ability to resonate with my aura is handy.” She took a breath. “But it felt different this time. Not so overwhelming.”

“Last night you took me by surprise.” He took his arm off her shoulders. “And that’s an understatement. You weren’t the only one who got swept up in that wild thunderstorm. But this morning I had a better idea of what to expect. You can ditch the sunglasses now.”

She hesitated and then slowly reached up with both hands to slip off the dark glasses. Luke’s eyes heated in a way that sent a seductive thrill across her nerves. She didn’t need the physical contact now—the chills had receded—but she missed the warm weight of his arm. She could get used to his touch. That was probably not good news.

“Sadly, this isn’t the time or place,” he said. “We need to focus.”

She decided it would be a very dumb idea to explore that cryptic statement. She dropped the mirrored shades into the pocket of her coat and picked up the cat-eye glasses dangling on the chain around her neck.

“I told Mack the truth,” she said, positioning the frames firmly on her nose. “But not all of it.”

“I know. What else have you got?”

“I’m pretty sure the victim was the man who was murdered in Deke’s cabin. The killer was the smoking ghost.” She winced. “I mean, the killer was the man who smoked in the cabin.”

Luke surveyed the landscape with a thoughtful expression. “Was the smoking ghost the one who dumped the body?”

“He wasn’t a real ghost,” she said coldly.

“I know,” he said, unconcerned.

She sighed and adjusted her glasses. “Yes, Smoking Ghost left the body here. I think he threw away a cigarette after he dragged the victim across the pavement.”

“Let’s see if Bruce can find it.”

Luke took the small baggie of cigarette butts out of the pocket of his jacket, unzipped it, and held it out to Bruce.

“Search, pal,” Luke said.

Bruce tensed with excitement and immediately began sniffing the brush at the side of the road.

“Is he a search and rescue dog?” Sophy asked, intrigued.

“I don’t know,” Luke said. “I think he’s had some kind of high-end military or security training, but it’s not like any I’ve ever come across. It’s almost as if he can read my mind at times.”

“All animals have a psychic vibe. Everyone knows that.”

Luke smiled. “They do?”

She frowned. “You don’t know anything about his past?”

“No. I found him on a mountain road about three months ago.”

“Abandoned?”

“I don’t know. He wasn’t chipped. Hard to believe anyone would dump a smart dog like Bruce. But people are strange.” Luke paused. “He’d been shot.”

“No.”She was horrified.