Hot Trick (A Detective Shelley Caldwell Novel) by Patricia Rosemoor Read Free Book Online Page A

a weird feeling about this murder, more so than one of Shelley’s normal cases.
    Maybe it was the mention of the supposed banshee—that’s what Shelley had called this Casey Brogan, who’d predicted someone was going to die.
    What if he really was a banshee?
    Her party mood deflating as quickly as a balloon, Silke started through the crowd, back toward the dance floor to look for Oriel.
    As smart as her sister was, Shelley was too focused on what she could see, hear, smell, touch, taste. She didn’t look for the things other than her everyday five senses. She’d never trusted or tried to develop her sixth sense the way Silke had.
    Shelley didn’t exactly approve of her delving into things beyond what the average person could understand—like magic—even though Silke’s bare-bones knowledge had helped get them out of supernatural hot water with that vampire case. Shelley had lectured Silke to stay away from dangerous pursuits, then her pragmatic sister had done her best to forget about anything that didn’t have a simple explanation.
    The thing that ticked off Silke most was that her sister wasn’t any more “normal” than she was. Shelley was a sensitive and could find her own power if only she put her mind to it, but she simply pretended not to know. Blending in had never concerned Silke, and she’d always gone her own way.
    Like tonight.
    Music pounded in her ears as she got to the edge of the dance floor and spotted Oriel before the blonde was swallowed by the rhythmically thrusting dancers. It had been difficult to keep track of one another since they’d arrived. In addition to the large crowd, the dark atmosphere and the occasional special effects interrupted the club-goers’ vision.
    To the uninitiated, Illusions was just another dance club, one with magic symbols woven into the decor. But to those in the know, it was a place to hook up with others with special interests, special abilities.
    If Shelley knew what she was really doing here, Silke thought as she dived into the sea of wriggling bodies, she would probably freak.
    Silke elbowed her way toward Oriel, while concentrating on sending her a silent SOS. As if she could hear, the other woman whipped her head around, and Silke gave an urgent wave. Oriel left her dance partner who simply turned and made a threesome with another couple.
    “What’s up?” she gasped, a little out of breath. Her voluptuous curves were barely covered by a spandex mini and a couple of strips of gauzy material over her breasts. Her tanned flesh shone with sweat. Silke felt nunlike in her own bohemian skirt and flounced cami.
    “Let’s go somewhere we can hear.”
    Silke led the way to a far bar where the music wasn’t piped in. The cozy area decorated in dark blue with touches of silver was mostly filled with couples or singles hooking up. A wave of envy washed through her. For years she’d given her sister a hard time about being dateless, but her personal life wasn’t much better. Not that she didn’t have occasional dates, but it wasn’t like having a man of her own.
    Would she ever find someone she wanted to be with long term?
    Even as she thought it, the way Sebastian had looked earlier, after the escape, flitted through her mind. Her pulse thrummed, but she quickly shook off the uncomfortable reaction.
    Taking a stool at the end of the bar, she told Oriel, “Something happened tonight.”
    “What? You met someone? Cool.”
    “Not me. It’s bad, Oriel. A murder. A woman was tied up and locked in the trunk of a car and drowned in the Chicago River.”
    “Oh, that is bad.” Oriel seemed puzzled. “But what does that have to do with us?”
    “My sister the cop thinks it’s too much of a coincidence that the murder was so similar to Sebastian’s escape. She wants to talk to him.”
    “Shelley thinks Sebastian did it?” Oriel’s eyebrows shot up but she seemed more intrigued than shocked or horrified. “Oh-h, re-e-al-ly…”
    “Well, it’s some