Jeremy went straight back to Lani as soon as he was done. He had no idea how long it might take for Meg to get the message to Hailey, and he needed anything to occupy his mind until then. Lani was the perfect foil to bounce theories off of, and one of only two people in the world he could trust with the whole story at the moment.
Luckily for him, both of those people were in the room.
Less fortunately, Maddie had a new bombshell to drop on him.
"I've just seen a damn ghost," she said as soon as she arrived, only a minute after he did. She was still dressed in her campaigning outfit, looking the perfect mix of professional and attractive carefully calculated to get out the votes.
"The fuck does that mean?"
"Hi," Lani cut in, before the two of them could really get into it. "How did it go, Jeremy?"
Jeremy shrugged. "Alden Bensen's long gone. No idea where. But it got interesting from there."
"Interesting how?" Lani prompted, since Maddie still looked distracted, watching the clouds drifting by overhead out the window.
Jeremy briefly explained his adventure at the Bensen house, though he made sure that Lani knew not to spread word about Alden to anyone else. His agreement with Meg was ironclad for the three of them. As he spoke though, Maddie was still clearly out of tune with the conversation.
He poked her in the shoulder. "Who's the damn ghost?"
"What?" she asked, looking around. "Sorry. It's been a long day."
"Too many speeches?"
"And too much gladhanding. Tuesday can't come fast enough."
"No shit." He grinned. "Already reserved our table at Luke's for Wednesday lunch."
"Oh God..." Maddie sighed. "I already promised Courtney I'd meet her for lunch Wednesday."
"You didn't."
"Gotta pay the devil her due. She probably won me the election, after all that last minute shit-flinging." Maddie looked thoroughly displeased with the idea. "I can't believe I took her money."
"She offered it, Maddie. Take it and tell her to fuck off."
"Not if I want to get anything done this year." She shook her head. "That's not what I needed to tell you though."
"No kiddin'. What's got you spooked?"
"There was someone at Courtney's fundraiser tonight. Someone who couldn't be there."
"Why, 'cause he's a poor fuck like the rest of us?"
"No, 'cause she's supposed to be dead."
"...Come again?"
"She changed her hair, and she was talking without an accent, but I know who I saw." Maddie frowned. "It was Kendra Laushire. I'd stake the election on it."
Lani sat up in his bed so sharply that he pulled at his shoulder. Wincing through the pain, he pulled up her file. "One of the missing ones from Rallsburg. We had her father all over us for a month."
"Yeah, I remember. Rich old bastard who wouldn't shut up."
"I remember you almost decked him," Lani added, grinning.
"You were going to punch Thomas Laushire?" asked Maddie.
"Threatened to derail our investigation," Jeremy deadpanned.
She laughed. "If you'd touched a hair on his head, he'd sue you twenty ways to Sunday. Your grandchildren would owe him millions."
"You sure you saw his daughter?"
"I mean, like I said, she looked way different. She always stood out, but now... she changed her name to Lily, got rid of the red hair, got rid of the accent. If I hadn't worked as an aide for one of her father's personal Senate picks..."
"Ain't he British?"
"Oh please. Like other countries ain't pickin' up people in our government when they need 'em."
"What did you say to her?" Lani interjected.
"Nothin'. I wasn't sure it was her at first, then I wasn't sure I should say somethin'. She was just workin' the crowd like normal, makin' deals and hookin' up people while pocketing the difference, or just buyin' up stock in new investments. Smooth as silk, like usual."
"Except she's supposed to be dead," Jeremy repeated.
"Well, yeah."
"So we can chalk one more up to the list of people who probably got magic."
"Is that what's going on then? Magic?" Maddie asked.
"If you knew the day I had..."
"What, did you get beat up by a wizard?"
"Fuck no. But I watched an amateur magician nearly piss himself when I asked him a question."
"Gross."
"You want me to try and find her? Kendra Laushire, I mean?"
Maddie shook her head. "You stick with your magicians. I'll find her. As soon as I have anything, I'll get it to you. Or Lani."
"Better you get it to Lani. He'll be better at handling the high rollers."
"Because I still have legitimacy?" Lani pointed out.
"No, because I'd probably punch one of them after talking for just a minute. Besides, you can play the injury card and get some sympathy."
"Shot in the line of duty always plays well with the fundraising crowd," Maddie agreed. "You'll slide in like butter."
"Great," Lani groaned. "Glad to be of help."
Maddie grinned. "Look on the bright side."
"What's that?"
"You didn't get outplayed by a teenager today."
Jeremy punched her in the arm. "That girl's smarter than the both of you."
"Uh-huh. Come on. You promised me home-cooked dinner tonight. Let's go."
Maddie turned in an hour after dinner, to get as much sleep as she could before another early morning out campaigning. Jeremy was dozing off in his chair with the TV tuned to some movie he didn't recognize. A slight breeze drifted through the room.
He shook himself awake. There shouldn't be any sort of breeze. All the doors and windows were closed.
He groped around for his gun, but it wasn't where he'd left it.
"...Hi," said a quiet voice from across the room. The TV switched itself off, plunging the place into darkness. Jeremy squinted, and in the vague light he could barely make out the outline of someone sitting on the windowsill, framed by the light behind the blinds.
Early twenties, female, probably white, light build. Too hard to tell. Doesn't seem to be armed. "Well, you got my attention," he murmured. "How'd you get in here?"
"You're the one who came to up to Canada."
It wasn't a question, but Jeremy answered it anyway. "Yeah. I was lookin' for a friend of mine."
"And you found one of mine."
He vaguely recognized her voice. He took a shot in the dark. "You were there too, weren't you? I heard you."
"...Yeah."
"Who are you?"
She ignored him. Her voice was soft and melancholic. "You're not looking for Boris though. Or Hailey, not really. What do you want?"
"Like I said. I want to find a friend of mine."
"Who?"
"Jackie."
"The sheriff?"
"That's the one. She was my partner."
She didn't respond for a full minute, staring at him the darkness. He wanted to get up and turn on a light, or just get closer to her. Anything to figure out who she was. But he could feel it. There was a thrumming aura of power emanating through the room, something like he'd never felt before. Hair on his arms and legs practically stood on end from the sensation of the air.
Jeremy didn't dare move from his chair. This girl is not to be fucked with.
"...Vancouver."
"What?"
"Go to Vancouver. But you won't find her. You need to find someone else."
"Who?"
"The tall one. Rachel. Find Rachel DuValle."