Hoodoo Woman (Roxie Mathis Book 3) by Sonya Clark Read Free Book Online

was friends with admits to seeing her ghost. I suspect there’s more than one. The electricity in the Parker house has been crazy but every contractor that’s been out there swears there’s nothing wrong with the wiring. Same with the pipes. Then there was an incident at the high school.”
    “What happened?”
    “It was during a basketball game. The place got cold, like the heat quit working. The lights flickered several times then started flashing. The PA system went off, then all of a sudden it started blaring a Pink song.”
    “A Pink song?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or what.
    “ Don’t Let Me Get Me . One friend of hers willing to talk to me said it was her favorite song.”
    “So it was probably someone else that knew her pulling a prank.”
    Ray hustled to the leather jacket I’d left draped over the arm of the couch, searching an inside pocket. He returned to my side with a small clear plastic evidence bag. “This was smeared all over the PA equipment. You know better than I what this is.”
    With reluctance I took the bag. A black residue was smeared inside. A single look with my auric vision told me it was ectoplasm. A ghost strong enough to leave behind this much of the stuff was plenty powerful.
    “You said there was a woman who might be a practitioner.”
    “She’s not. Just a Wiccan who reads tarot cards. I tried talking to her about Haschall and I think I scared her so I backed off.”
    Haschall was the ghost I’d sent back to the tiny spot he’d been haunting until the chaotic energy of the flood allowed him to break the wards holding him prisoner. If there was no local practitioner to refresh those wards on a regular basis I’d either have to find someone or do it myself. The thought of having to go back and do it myself didn’t thrill me.
    “What do you want from me, Ray?” I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
    “Come home, babe. Help me solve this poor girl’s murder so her ghost will rest. I think that’s the only thing that will stop the haunting.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the doorframe. “You know what you’re asking me to do?”
    He came closer, close enough I could feel his breath on my face. “I do. I know it’s a lot. She needs help and I can’t do it on my own.”
    “Why are you so invested in this?”
    “Because she came to me first. Near as I can tell, I’m the first person who saw her ghost. Because she was a sweet kid who deserved better. Because she…she.” His jaw tightened.
    “What?”
    “Sometimes she reminded me of you. Everybody thought she messed around with witchcraft for play, another thing to piss off her family. But I think it was real and I think she was at least a little like you. A real witch, not just someone into new age stuff or religion or what have you.”
    My stomach clenched, nerves pouring acid through my body. “Why do you think that?”
    “I was able to get into her apartment before the investigation got shut down. There was some stuff there, reminded me of the stuff you used to have around. Plus once or twice she said some things, made a couple pointed comments about me having a thing for witches when she tried to flirt with me. I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
    I moved to enter the work room, too much going on in my head to put it all into words. Or any of it, really. He stopped me with a gentle hand on my arm. “Honey, I need your help. Britney Parker needs your help. Please come home.”
    I wanted to say no. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to say no and send him on his way. I didn’t want to go home, didn’t want to investigate a murder or deal with the victim’s ghost, didn’t want to deal with all the ghosts of my own I’d run away from. But I couldn’t say no to Ray Travis.
    “I don’t have enough sage to bless the whole damned town. Just have to pack what I’ve got and make do.”
    He nodded once, blue eyes shining with gratitude and something I didn’t want to