Free Silence Is Golden (A Pet Psychic Mystery No. 3) by Shannon Esposito

y'all worried the spirits, or whatever they are, aren't going to be friendly?"
    She shrugged. "We're protected."
    Just then, the recorder playing the Indian chants in the background quit. Goldie raised her head. We both looked down at her. Her ears were pushed high on her head in an alert position, and she was staring intently at the guy taking the pictures. A low growl began in her throat.
    "Dogs can be very sensitive to spirit energy," Veronica whispered, excitement crackling in her voice.
    "Whoa!" Bob turned back to us. "Heavy EMF spike."
    "Why'd the recorder stop? Think it's the ghost?" Frankie tried to whisper, but she wasn't very good at it. Her voice still cut through the air.
    The guy taking pictures froze as a hot breeze swept over the area.
     Whatever insects and frogs had been chirping went still. The silence was deafening. The air grew thick. Everyone's breathing sounded loud. Goldie whimpered and looked up at me. I wrapped my arms around her body and held her close.
    "Oh my god!" Bob yelped, whipping around and stumbling down the slope.
    A few heartbeats later, the air seemed to cool and return to normal. Goldie rested her head on my lap.
    "It's gone." Bob rushed back up to us and went to the recorder. "Batteries are drained."
    Veronica stood and dusted off her jeans. "Dang, those were brand new."
    "Well, that was odd. Spirit energy is usually cold." Cassidy approached the team.
    "Did you see anything?" Frankie asked.
    "Yes." Bob cast his glance about the Mound nervously. "You guys are going to think I'm nuts, but I think it was a dog. We'll have to see if we caught anything on video."
    "A dog?" Cassidy asked. "What kind of dog?"
    "A big one. But it was more like I was seeing a dog's shadow except..." He put his hands on his hips. "Except I swear I caught a glimpse of red eyes."
    They all looked at each other. I glanced around to make sure some red-eyed shadow dog wasn't about to pounce on us.
    "Wow." Veronica squeezed his arm. "Well, like you said, we'll have to check the video. Maybe we caught something."
     
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    We all turned as we heard soft footfalls coming toward us. Three figures climbed the hill and emerged from the shadows. They weren't carrying any flashlights or lanterns but Bob swung a lantern toward them. Two women and a man approached.
    "Evening," the shorter woman said, raising a hand in greeting. A cloth bag hung off one shoulder and her long, inky hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. The man with her was much older with gray hair and a quiet demeanor.
    "Hey." Veronica moved forward and held out her hand. "You must be the Spirit Tribe folks."
    "Yes. Jade Harjo." She shook her hand. "This is my daughter, Kimi." She motioned to the woman standing behind her with her arms crossed. She was taller and thinner but had the same inky dark hair pulled away from her face.
    "Oh." I sat up straighter. "Jade Harjo?"
    She turned to me and peered through the darkness. "Yes?" Coming closer, she made a little gasp of surprise. "Is that Goldie?"
    Goldie's tail thumped twice in response, and she lifted her head off my lap as the woman bent down to stroke her ears.
    "Yes it is. I'm adopting her. I'm Darwin." I shook her hand. "You were Victoria's friend, weren't you? I'm so sorry for your loss."
    She looked up into my face, her dark eyes shining above a sad smile. "Thank you. You knew Victoria?"
    "No, not really. My boyfriend, Detective Blake, is the one who pulled Goldie out of the Bay the night Victoria was killed. He got the call about the accident. He's a homicide detective." I could feel everyone's attention on me and knew I should stop talking, but the story kept pouring out. "The clinic called me the next morning and said Victoria's husband didn't want to take Goldie back and would I be willing to adopt her."
    "Eugene didn't want her?" Her voice was heavy with sadness. She whispered something to Goldie in a language I didn't know. "But why?"
    "Apparently he's too traumatized. Can't