Free THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL by Nicole O'Dell Page B

But the angel looks mad. Why is she mad?”
    “It’s a he. Angels are boys. Turn the paper over and you’ll see why he’s mad.”
    On the flip side of the paper, Joy found a stick figure standing with her hands on her hips and a book on the floor. There were two devil-looking people standing behind her.
    “This is you. This is a demon, and this is a demon. Oh, and this is the Bible on the floor.”
    Joy flipped the page back over. So that’s what was going on in Bea’s mind. “So the angel’s mad because of the demons or because of the Bible on the floor?”
    “No, the angel is mad that you looked at the demons.” Beatrice shrugged.
    Joy stared at the paper. Was she worried because of her own fears, or did Beatrice truly have some special connection to the spirit world?
    Bea was a mind reader; that had to be it. Joy felt so exposed. “How did you think of this? What do you want to say to me with this picture?”
    Beatrice shrugged again. “I don’t know. Let’s play checkers.”
    Subject closed.

    Joy steered her Bug into the driveway and hopped out, leaving it running. A quick stop at home to run a comb through her hair and brush her teeth before meeting Mom and Dad for dinner. She took the front porch steps two at a time and bounded through the unlocked front door, flipping on every light she passed on her way to the bathroom.
    A quick glance in the mirror. Oh man. She looked ghostly. A little makeup wouldn’t hurt if she didn’t want to scare animals and little children. Joy riffled through her makeup pouch searching for the bronzer. A little bit dusted across her cheeks and forehead would take the paste out of her skin. She added some blush to pink her cheeks and a few swipes of mascara to open up her eyes so she wouldn’t look like she hadn’t slept in weeks … even though she
hadn’t
slept in weeks.
    Joy stared into her eyes as she brushed her teeth. Wait. That sounded like a chime. She turned the water off and cocked her ear toward the door. Was it the doorbell? It chimed again. Yep.
    She jogged down the hall. Who could it be? Not anyone they knew well. Mom’s open-door policy meant come on in. None of that doorbell nonsense. Joy looked through the peephole. Oh great. Investigator what’s-his-name, the guy who’d asked her all the questions after … well,
after
.
    Joy opened the door, but not wide enough to be considered welcoming. “Hi. Can I help you with something, officer?”
    Was he going to blindside her with more questions? Please not tonight.
    “Hello, um …”—he glanced at the paper in his hand—“Joy.”
    Kind of rude he couldn’t have checked out her name before ringing her doorbell. Whatever. “Yeah, I’m on my way out. What can I do for you?” She should be nicer to him. It wasn’t his fault, after all. But he was a reminder. One she could easily do without.
    “That’s fine. I won’t keep you. I just wanted to let you know that we’re closing the investigation on Melanie Phillips’s death, and I wanted to return your personal effects to you.” He handed her a plastic bag full of things confiscated from the scene. Joy instantly recognized most of the things in the bag, including half of a best friend necklace and the suicide note Melanie had addressed to Joy.
    Joy shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She’d deal with those things later.
    “Thanks, officer.” What was protocol for something like this?
    He nodded, shifting uncomfortably. His body straining toward his vehicle. “I’m really sorry about your loss. Truly.” Joy nodded.
Me, too
. “Thanks.”
    “Well I’ll leave you to your plans. You can trust you won’t be seeing me show up on your doorstep anymore.”
    Thank the Lord for small favors. Or the universe? Maybe she should be thanking the universe.
    The little car tucked neatly into a parking space right outside of Hoke’s. Joy hopped out and walked under the yellow neon signs out front to enter the retro diner.
    “Hey, there. Haven’t