Free The Dead Tell (Magical Temptations Collection) by Jaycee Clark Page B

she’d tried. She’d learned the first two names and as far as she knew they had no connection to her. Sammy couldn’t remember them coming into the shop, though if they had, she didn’t know.
    She ’d asked the first ghost and the second to see if they knew anything she could pass on. All they could tell her was that he took them, dressed them up, posed them, took photos. She’d been right when talking to Sammy as well. The more emotion they showed, or felt, the more solid they became. She’d told Mike what she’d learned, but knew it wasn’t anymore than the police already knew.
    So w hat was the man doing? Why dress and pose them?
    Sort of like dolls, she supposed, which was creepy. She took a deep breath. She’d always wanted dolls as a kid, and as a foster kid she didn’t get them.
    So why was he killing these women? Why were the women coming to her? Did they mean something to someone else and that was why he killed them? Maybe he just enjoyed the killing? Who knew?
     
    * * *
    Mike felt Paige shift against him. “Why are you awake? It’s still too early for you to be up. Another dream?”
    She shook her head. “Just thinking.”
    “ About what?” God, he was tired but he didn’t like her up and awake and worrying alone.
    “ Why?”
    “ Why what?”
    “ Why does he do it? Why kill these women? Why the costumes he puts them in? I mean, for what purpose?”
    “ Babe, he’s a crazy ass. Crazy asses don’t always need rational reasons, at least not our rational.” Which wasn’t exactly true, but he didn’t want her worrying on this. That was his job, not hers.
    “ They might not be rational, but there are still reasons. There has to be.”
    He grunted and stared at the ceiling of her room. Paige hadn’t shut the blackout curtains, the lights from the neighbors and street slanted through the window.
    “ I mean, one of the women said they were his creations. What is he creating? Have you searched for famous poses that match the women or something? Artwork? Old photographs or stories or dolls or something?”
    “You told me about the photos and creations. We’ve looked. ” But as far as artwork or dolls, no, they hadn’t, actually. He frowned. “Not all those, but they’re good ideas. Hadn’t thought to look up old stories. Maybe local ones?”
    The mayor and his lieutenant were on his case. Well, not the mayor personally, but still he knew the mayor rode LT’s ass, thus his as well.
    How to explain this one? He could just say it came to him. Costumes, perfect makeup, the posing, which they’d already covered. Almost like dolls. Made sense. Photographs, stories, just another angle to cover.
    “ I’ll check tomorrow.” He rubbed his chin in her hair. “Today. Whatever.”
    She nodded. “Why do they contact, connect to me? I mean there’s a lot of ghosts in the city and I’m seeing more, but these are...”
    “ Contacting you, so why?” he asked her.
    “ Yeah, that’s why I’m up. I don’t know if they are connected to me or not, or if they seek me out simply because I was dumb enough to talk to the first one.”
    “ But was she the first one?”
    It was a thought he’d had several times. There was no way to know for sure. There was just his gut. Somewhere out there had to be other cases that would tie to this one. This guy had to have practice runs because these here were too smooth, too perfect for the bastard to have just started. He didn’t kill the women in the cemeteries, but dumped them, even if they were posed. He transported them after he killed them and left the women for others to find. His creations.
    But where, that was the question. They were already doing database searches, but he’d have to broaden the angle and see if anything popped.
    Paige huffed out a tired sigh. He didn’t want her worrying about this to the point she couldn’t sleep.
    “I think… I think there might be another one,” she whispered.
    “What? Another one? Already?” he said, rolling