Free Sleeping With Fear by Kay Hooper

very, very rare. Especially the sacrifice part. A lot more rare than some of the media would like people to believe. Rare as in virtually nonexistent."
    Ash nodded, frowning. "I remember. The vast majority of occult groups are completely harmless, you said."
    So we
have
talked about this. Good. I think.
    "Right. Their rites and practices are merely the…trappings of their religious faith. Most such rituals are completely benign, designed to celebrate life and nature."
    "But those that aren't benign?"
    "Are very rare."
    "I get that. And?"
    "And involve actual worship of Satan and the belief in magic, the belief that a specific ritual or rituals can cause supernatural forces to grant the wishes or desires of the practitioner. But even those rarely involve physical sacrifice or murder."
    "So I gather nobody dies. Usually."
    "I'm serious, Ash."
    "Okay. So occult rituals, offensive though they may be to the mainstream, are both rare and mostly benign."
    "Yeah. What's a lot more common-though still pretty damn rare-is for someone to borrow the trappings, the ceremonies and rituals. To do his own thing within the framework of the occult. He may or may not possess occult beliefs. He may feel that he believes but not fully understand the rituals he's trying to command. Or it may have nothing to do with faith or belief and be simply window dressing. He may stage a murder scene implicating Satanism or other forms of the occult to confuse or mislead an investigation. He may deliberately use what he knows will frighten and panic his neighbors."
    "To cover his tracks."
    "It's been done before."
    "I think I'd believe that before I'd believe in a cult of Satan worshippers conducting a blood sacrifice in the woods a mile from town."
    "It does sound unlikely, doesn't it?" Riley brooded. "That bothers me as much as anything, the proximity to people, choosing a place where dogs are allowed to run and often do. Where people walk most every day. How long would anyone expect their supposed secret to stay that way?"
    "Not all groups are secretive," Ash noted. "There's one just up the beach from you, as a matter of fact."
    Purely from his tone, Riley gathered somewhat hesitantly that this wasn't something he expected her to already know, so she risked asking questions.
    "What, a cult? A coven?"
    "They aren't calling themselves either, as far as I know. Just a group of like-minded friends renting the Pearson place for the rest of the summer. But they've applied for and been granted permission to build a beach bonfire on Friday night-the full moon-and they've been asking questions, strongly implying they believe there's occult activity in the area, and they've let it be known that they practice an…alternative religion."
    "Were they more specific about that? ‘Alternative' covers a lot these days."
    "Not that I've heard. So far, anyway. But people are talking, of course, especially given what's been happening this summer."
    Jesus, I wish I could remember how much of this we've already discussed.
    "Can't stop people talking," she ventured.
    He sent her another glance, dark brows lifting. "When the talk is bordering on panic, it's time to try. Or, at least, time to offer them a rational explanation to discuss. I thought we'd agreed about that, Riley."
    "Yeah," she said. "I remember."
    Except that I don't.
    The cold, queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach got worse, and it wasn't because she needed food.
    "Calls are already coming in," Ash said. "No media yet, but that's probably only because their attention is on all the shit happening in Charleston."
    What the hell's happening in Charleston?
    Riley scrambled for yet another elusive memory or bit of knowledge and again came up empty. She had absolutely no idea what was going on in the nearest city of any size to Castle.
    "Still, I'm bound to be asked for an official statement of some kind soon," he went on. "Especially after today. What do you suggest I say-on the record?"
    "That…a murder is being