The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (good short books .TXT) 📕

The touch sent a jolt through her, and Tessa’s heartrate picked up.

Silas stuffed the hand back into his pocket, as though trying to keep it from doing something he didn’t want it to. “Romance,” he said. “I’m sticking with romance. Would you be interested in going out to dinner with me again? Clean slate. No reaper talk.”

“Seriously?”

A line appeared between his brows. “I understand if you don’t want to. I was an idiot, and it would serve me right if you told me to get lost and stop bothering you. If you do, I’ll disappear, and you won’t have to worry about me again.”

She couldn’t stop a huge smile from spreading across her face.

But Silas didn’t see it because he was staring at the ground again. “Actually, never mind. Forget I asked. You don’t need to answer . . .”

Tessa put a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Silas!”

He raised his eyes to meet hers. “Yeah?”

“I’d love to.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Text me later, and we’ll figure out a time. I have to get going right now.”

Tessa’s mind had already jumped ahead to her apartment, thinking about the black dress in the back of the closet that she’d change into. Not only was it funeral-appropriate, but it was also good for keeping to the shadows.

“Great. I’ll do that,” Silas said as she gave him one last wave on the way into the building.

Tessa dug through her purse for the apartment keys as she hurried across the lobby, trying to figure out which shoes to wear with the dress.

When she got to the door, there was a Post-It note stuck over the peep hole.

Weird.

She yanked it down, barely registering the words that told her a package too big for her mailbox was being held at the front desk. The handwriting wasn’t Silas’s, like it normally would be. It was a different person’s scrawl, and something about it jolted a thought loose in her brain.

She paused with the key in the door, staring at the Post-It.

“Well, I’ll be . . .” she whispered.

She stuffed the Post-It into her purse and then made sure Detective Taggert’s card was safe and in an accessible spot. If her new thought panned out, she’d be needing to use his number soon.

Then, she exploded into her apartment, even more eager than before to change and get to Artemis Green’s funeral.

Chapter 20

THERE WERE A LOT OF people at the funeral. Like, a lot. Tessa had barely made it in time, as the tuxedoed, bowler-hatted butler let her know in no uncertain terms as he led her to a large room on the second floor of the mansion and dropped her off with a final judgmental sniff.

Regardless of the attitude the butler had thrown her, there was still a crowd of people filtering slowly through the door, so she wasn’t unforgivably late. Still, her mother wouldn’t have approved.

Tessa got on her tiptoes to peek into the room. The funeral was being held in a ballroom with burgundy and silver carpet, high ceilings, and an elaborate chandelier that definitely looked like it had come from Europe and probably was centuries old. Tessa had to drag her attention away from the surroundings to focus on the people around her. They all spoke in the hushed tones that befit such an event, but she caught snippets of conversation that made it clear Mr. Green had been very well-liked in the community.

Tessa hadn’t moved very far in line when louder voices erupted ahead. She rose on her toes again and caught a glimpse of Hannah in the doorway, arms crossed, barring Sky from entering. “You aren’t welcome here.” Her voice sounded like stones hitting each other. “Please leave.”

She couldn’t hear Sky’s answer, but Tessa decided it was the perfect opportunity. She scooched around people, threading her way through the crowd and through the doorway while everyone else’s attention was on the argument.

Tessa found a chair near the back of the room, hoping she could just blend in with the crowd. She scanned the pamphlet the butler had reluctantly handed her and made a note that the plan was for everyone to accompany the casket to the gravesite after a short service and before returning to the mansion for a catered luncheon. Tessa knew that would be her chance to enact the crazy plan she’d drummed up.

The room quieted as Hannah helped her mother to the front row. Sky had disappeared.

A minister began to speak into a microphone, talking about Mr. Green’s childhood. Tessa caught sight of Mrs. Cross in the second row, just behind Hannah and Mrs. Green. She kept blowing her nose into a bright yellow handkerchief.

Tessa didn’t have a great view of Mrs. Green or her daughter, but when Hannah cast a glare back at Mrs. Cross, it was evident that her eyes were red-rimmed.

Even though she tried to keep her attention on the service, Tessa didn’t hear much of it. Her thoughts kept swirling back to cover bits of information related to the deaths of Artemis and Nathaniel, now that she had a new lens through which to examine them.

Once the service was over and people began to file out of the room, Tessa inserted herself into the center of the crowd and left with them. But when everyone else headed downstairs, she darted upstairs as fast as possible and slipped into the first small, empty room she came across.

It was a small bedroom, but it didn't take long for Tessa to determine it was just for guests. She stuck her head into the hallway, didn't see anyone, and sprinted to the next room. After checking out six or seven rooms that way, Tessa finally arrived at a set of heavy oak double doors carved with birds, flowers, and butterflies, at the end of a hallway.

This has got to be it!

She cracked the door open.

The room was huge, with a four-poster bed covered in elegant fabrics the various colors of a