Lost Bird by Tymber Dalton Read Free Book Online Page A

nodded, unable to take her eyes off the two men.
    Mandaline frowned, glanced at the men, then back at Sachi before a beaming smile broke across her face.
    Before Sachi could protest or run for the hills, Mandaline hooked an arm through Sachi’s and practically dragged her up the walk to where the three now stood waiting.
    Sachi knew damn well Mandaline had figured out why she’d reacted the way she had.
    Goddamned witch!
    “What’s going on?” Brad muttered to Mandaline.
    “I’ll fill you in later,” she whispered back. “Hi, Tammy?” she asked, still keeping her left arm hooked through Sachi’s as she reached out with her right. “I’m Mandaline Royce.”
    The women shook. “It’s so good to meet you, dear. This is my nephew, John, and his friend, Oscar.”
    Holy crap on a crap cracker, Donut Hunk is the roomie.
    Mandaline introduced the rest of their group, Sachi nodding.
    John smiled. “How’s your hot water heater doing?”
    She nodded, forcing a smile she hoped looked real, or at least not totally dumbassish. “Great, thanks.”
    “This is my friend, Oscar Weinstein,” John said.
    Fanfreakingtastic, Donut Hunk has a name.
    “We sort of bumped into each other at the grocery store Friday night,” Oscar said, his smile turning Sachi’s insides into something that might have oozed from Vesuvius when it wiped Pompeii off the farking map.
    She nodded again, trying to step behind Brad and use him as a human shield, but Mandaline wouldn’t let her.
    In fact, the dang witch tightened her grip on Sachi’s arm, keeping her right there by her side. “Very nice to meet you both,” Mandaline said, taking over. “Let’s start by going inside and talking before we do a walk-around.”
    Hunk One and Hunk Two parted and let Tammy go first, followed by the four of them, the two men bringing up the rear.
    Sachi wasn’t sure if she liked it better when she could see them, or knew they could see her ass.
    Once inside, Sachi tried to pull her mind into working mode. Despite her loss of focus, she noted the house appeared neat and tidy. Tammy showed them to the living room and invited them to take seats.
    “Can I get anyone anything to drink?” Tammy asked.
    “Not right now, thanks,” Mandaline said. “Let’s take care of the preliminary investigation first.”
    Sachi didn’t miss how Mandaline pulled her down onto the couch with her, Brad flanking Sachi on her other side.
    Once seated, Mandaline finally released Sachi’s arm and dug a notebook and pen out of her bag. With Tammy seated in a recliner across from them, and everyone else seated on another easy chair, as well as dining room chairs that the men brought in to fill out the seating, Mandaline started her usual round of questions.
    Thirty minutes later, Sachi was convinced the older woman wasn’t suffering from dementia. Sachi wasn’t sure the woman was really experiencing anything supernatural in origin, but Tammy definitely believed what she said.
    She even had a few pictures on her iPhone, which she showed to Mandaline. “Now, I know,” Tammy said, glancing at her nephew, “that as people get older their memories go. I’m not a fool. But I kept seeing the hose in different positions. So every morning for the past week, I took pictures. I didn’t move it. As you can clearly see, it’s in different locations. Close, but still moved.”
    Sachi, Brad, and Anna all gathered around. Yes, the hose was close to where it had been, as if someone had tried to make it look the same, but it had definitely been moved.
    “It’s not just that. I’ve found stuff moved in the garden shed, too, and I’m the only one who goes out there. And,” she said when her nephew tried to speak, “yes, before you ask, it’s locked. That’s not all,” Tammy said. “At night I’ve heard voices and seen lights out in the woods.”
    “Are you sure it’s not someone on your property, Aunt Tammy?” Oscar asked.
    “They were little green lights. Like giant