Free Prague Murder by Amanda A. Allen Page B

She didn’t know of such things and wouldn’t have cared.
    Given his loss for words and his frantic attempt to avoid Cathy’s mom eyes, Ingrid didn’t even have to try that hard to sidle behind him and then out a side door.
    And because she was a crazy dove, she headed towards the courtyard. Where…it was said that the dead dove had been drowned. And where someone else had just been murdered. It made too much sense that poor Agnes was having a hard time of it.
    “Hello, dead dove?” Ingrid called softly.
    There was no reply. She tried to focus on her magic, but she really didn’t know what to do.
    “Hey dead dove,” Ingrid said again. “I’m sorry someone else died here. Will you talk to me?”
    Nothing.
    Even though Ingrid’s tone was soft and inviting.
    Ingrid couldn’t help but look around and see how the moon shown down into the courtyard which was rife with the darkness of the evening and even more shadows. Her eyes couldn’t quite adjust to the dark as if something was keeping her from being able to check her surroundings.
    This was creepy.
    Now that she thought about it, Ingrid wasn’t even sure that they’d moved the body. That blonde dude could be laying over there in all his…blood and guts.
    Probably he wasn’t.
    Probably something else had happened with him. The Presidium doves had moved him because they were…well…they weren’t cops. They were…something.
    What was she doing out here? Why was she investigating? Why did she care?
    Well…she cared because that poor dove had died. But couldn’t she just care intellectually? Was this really about a need for more fruit dumpling things?
    Oh man.
    This hadn’t become a habit, had it? This poking her nose in and deciding to find out more?
    There was a crackling behind her and a flash, and Ingrid gasped like a Disney princess and wanted to run inside.
    What had she been thinking?
    She hurried across the courtyard away from that flash of movement, but there was another sound. And it rose into a howl. She skittered back from the center of the courtyard and towards the white convent wall. As far as Ingrid could tell, this place was a prison. She did not understand why anyone would choose to come and live here.
    She slammed into the wall, closed her eyes, and turned her head to the right. Nothing.
    She slowly, slowly turned her head to the left, rubbing her face over the stone of the wall and cracked her eyes.
    And found herself staring into black holes with blood streaming from the eye sockets.
    “Holy Mary Mother of Pearl,” Ingrid breathed, her voice choking on the words. What had she been thinking!
    What was she going to do? What was she going to do? Oh goodness! What was she going to do! She didn’t come up with a plan so much as carry on with the one she’d had since she didn’t know what else to do. Screaming and running to the wall for protection hadn’t helped. Why was she out here alone? What had she been thinking?
    “Hello,” Ingrid said, realized she couldn’t hear her voice and tried again. “Hello, Agnes.”
    The black sockets blinked at Ingrid, and another tear of blood rolled down that translucent face.
    “Oh gods,” Ingrid whispered. “Oh sweet gods of all that is alive.”
    The ghost’s head cocked, and Ingrid stuttered, “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean the gods are gods of the dead too. Or you have special gods? I don’t know. I’m not a very good pagan. Oh my goodness, shut up Ingrid. I’m sorry. Oh my goodness. You’re just such a dead dove. You seem deader now.”
    Agnes shuddered and rose a little higher to peer down at Ingrid. It was not a comfortable maneuver for Ingrid. In fact, it made her want to cower down and plea for it all to stop.
    “I didn’t. I just. Look, I’m sorry.”
    She coughed.
    “It’s just that someone died. And I thought maybe you killed him. Because you went from being all a not terrifying dove to making me pee a little. And I’d really like to get back to my…”
    Even