Free A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder by Victoria Laurie

trip to the exhibit. He had more presence of mind than I did, it appeared, and certainly more patience. I tried not to fidget or look guilty—a tough thing when two cops are staring at you like they’ve got you dead to rights.
    At last Heath was finished and Olivera asked him a few follow-up questions, mostly focused on the timeline he’d offered. She even tried to trip him up once or twice, just to see if she could, but he had the timing down solid. We’d been at the museum from about five thirty to about a quarter past six, when we’d been tossed out by Phil Sullivan. We’d then headed straight home, arriving at close to seven p.m., where the three of us had discussed the dilemma of getting the dagger back; then we’d eaten dinner; and, right around nine p.m., Heath and I had gone out for ice cream, arriving back home shortly before ten, when Olivera had shown up. Heath told her that there were plenty of people at the ice-cream parlor who could vouch for us—the place had been fairly crowded. She took down the name and location of the place and then said, “Okay, so talk to me about this dagger. Why is it so special?”
    Heath glanced at me and I nodded, then leaned my elbows on the table and folded my hands together. I’d do the talking now. “Several years ago, me, my husband, and my business partner were asked to participate in a cable TV show featuring haunted possessions. The dagger was one of the items that Heath and I had to focus our intuition on, and within seconds itbecame quite clear to us that the dagger had a particularly violent history.”
    Gilley cleared his throat, and when I turned to look at him I saw that he was swiveling his iPad around to show Olivera and Wilgus something. “I have the video,” he said and pressed the play button.
    I turned my face from the monitor and shuddered. I’d lived through that first encounter with the dagger—no way did I want to see it again. But I did watch the detective’s and lieutenant’s reactions. They both leaned forward to peer at Gil’s tablet, and I noticed that Olivera jumped when the talon marks started etching themselves directly into the table where Heath and I were sitting.
    But Wilgus wasn’t at all convinced. “Special effects,” he said before the video had even stopped rolling.
    â€œNo,” I said firmly, and stared right into his eyes to let him know I wasn’t fibbing.
    â€œIt’s real,” Heath said.
    Olivera must’ve been bolstered by her boss’s skepticism. “We’re supposed to believe a couple of professional filmmakers?”
    â€œWe’re not professional filmmakers,” I said testily. “We’re the talent. That film was shot on Gil’s phone. It’s real.” For emphasis I stood up, turned around, and lifted up my jacket and shirt to expose my back and the long white scars that still marred my body from where the demon had dug its talons into me. Looking at Gil, I said, “Play the part of the video again where I got raked,” I told him, and then waited for Gilley to rewind and play that part again slowly. Over myshoulder I said, “You’ll notice those marks appear exactly where my scars still are.”
    I watched over my shoulder as Olivera’s gaze darted between my back and the screen. I could see she was at least a little rattled. I let go of my clothing and sat back down. “The dagger houses an evil spook named Oruç, who was a sadistic, murderous Turkish warlord several centuries ago. He was killed by a woman he’d been trying to murder with the dagger, and he became a ghost who has attached himself to the dagger. He’s a powerful spook who likes to possess anyone either near or holding the dagger, and if that weren’t bad enough, he’s somehow also attached himself to an evil demon that’s capable of doing what you saw on that tape . . . and a lot