A few hours later, James was heading home. The case Graham and Bradley had gone to canvas was, in fact, a demonic possession. Bradley had called Father McEnerney, who had added it to his long to-do list, promising he’d get out there tonight on his way home from Ashburnham. When he found out, James wondered briefly if the priest ever actually slept. He wanted to ask if everything was fine with his workload, but he also didn’t have another person to turn to about demonic possession. So he felt like asking would be a bit like adding salt to the wound. And would make him a hypocrite, considering he had just wrapped up a twenty-four-hour shift.

Now here he was, dragging his ass into his apartment, climbing each step to their third-floor unit with strength that was giving out. Finally, he got to the top, opened the door, and went straight over to fall on the couch.

He’d get dinner in a few minutes. He just needed a moment to catch his breath first.

“James.”

Chris’s voice came from somewhere above him, and James’s first instinct was to bat it away. But he opened his eyes and reluctantly answered. “Yeah?”

“Do you know when Graham will be home? I need to talk to both of you.”

Dammit, he’d forgotten. Graham was on his way as far as James knew. They’d gotten out at the same time, not that Chris knew they worked together. “Um, soon,” he said.

He was saved from having to make awkward small talk by the sound of the front door opening. Graham walked in and from the way he stopped in the doorway, James could see he’d forgotten about this meeting too. If Chris noticed either of their reluctance, he didn’t say anything. “Perfect,” he said. “I need to talk to both of you.”

He motioned for Graham to come in, which he did, eyeing James as he perched on the armrest at the other end of the couch. Chris didn’t seem nervous, not that he ever did. But anything that involved him talking to both of them was enough to make James uneasy.

“So listen,” Chris said. “I’ve loved living here. Seriously. But unfortunately, I’ve realized it’s time for me to move on. It’s nothing either of you did, I just need to get back out on the road. I’m not the type to stay in one place too long.”

Clearly not, since their lease wasn’t up for another three months. “When are you leaving?” James asked, keeping his tone one of polite, casual interest and not financial worry.

“Next month,” Chris said. “I’m waiting for my van to get back from the shop. And don’t worry, I’ll help you find a new guy to replace me.”

That was a relief? Wasn’t it?

“Um, great,” James said.

“Yeah, good luck,” Graham added, his voice with that same neutral politeness that James heard in his own.

“Thanks, man, thanks,” Chris said, looking from one of them to the other. “It’s been great. And like I said, I’ll ask around. I know there’s plenty of guys looking for a room.”

That wasn’t what James was concerned about. But he just nodded, that vague smile frozen on his face.

Chris wandered out of the room a few minutes later with murmured plans of making dinner. But like usual, he went back to his bedroom. James and Graham stayed in the living room.

“I guess that’s basically what I expected,” Graham said from where he was now slumped in the crappy maroon armchair left behind by the previous occupant.

“Yeah, same.”

“Do we want to go with Chris’s choices, or should we try to find someone ourselves?” Graham asked. “I mean, if it’s just the two of us, I think I can handle the rent hike until the lease ends. But not permanently.”

“Agreed,” James said.

“What, you’re not raking in the cash as captain?”

James laughed bitterly. “I technically got a raise,” he said. “But I’d be pushing my luck too. Let’s see what Chris offers up, but we can look around. We’ll just have to find the time to, like…”

He trailed off, even the thought of searching for a new housemate too exhausting to contemplate right now. Neither option seemed particularly promising, but he’d have to figure it out. Later. For now, he was going to bed.

---

Now that the state forest sighting and the Carr possession had both been shuffled off to their appropriate departments, the entire team was temporarily focused on the Delinsky case until something else arrived. James got to work the next morning at nine to see Amelia and Gabriella sitting in the living room with a pad of paper on the coffee table in front of them. They were deep in conversation and barely looked up to say hello as James walked in.

“What are you doing?” he asked, sitting down at the other end of the couch and peering at the pad, which was covered in notes.

“I’ve been catching her up on the Cottage visit,” Gabriella said. “And explaining what a nightmare those people were.”

“They’re rich,” Amelia said, waving a hand dismissively. “Of course, they won’t comprehend the severity of what’s happening. They’ve been protected. Even now, the ones you met yesterday are more concerned about saving their company than…”

She trailed off for a second, her gaze turning toward the window where a light flurry of snow was falling. “Amelia?” James prompted. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, turning back to them. “Um, have we talked to anybody who works for them?”

“Like their house staff? Yeah, me and Gabriella met a couple yesterday.”

“No, like in their stores. The staff at Delinsky’s. Managers, floor staff, the non-corporate ones. The ones most likely to be screwed by business decisions.”

James had been contemplating getting a bagel for breakfast before everyone arrived for the day and the work began, but Amelia had something here. Breakfast forgotten, he pulled out his phone and looked up Delinsky’s locations. As he did so, an article from last year appeared at the same time as the addresses of the four nearest locations. He opened the link and scanned it quickly.

“Their profits took a hit last year,” he said as he read. “I wonder if maybe they made some decisions that ended up screwing some of their employees.”

“It seems more likely than a jealous family member, which was my other thought,” Amelia said. “We’ve been looking into any public information about their finances and it doesn’t seem like anybody’s being edged out of the profits. And the few members of the Delinsky family who are not involved in the clothing shop are doing just fine with their own businesses.”

“You did all of that over the night shift?” James asked.

Gabriella shrugged. “It was slow,” she said.

“Still.”

“So I feel like we should still keep the family in mind, but maybe turn some of our resources toward the stores,” Amelia continued. “Especially if they’ve had to do any layoffs or cut benefits.”

“Do you think someone would be so upset by cut benefits that they’d murder their CEO?” James asked.

“I started fighting ghosts for health insurance,” Gabriella reminded him.

James thought back to all the times he wanted to quit his job, but couldn’t because of the benefits. “Alright, fair,” he said. “I want to meet with the entire team before you two leave, if you don’t mind sticking around just a little longer.”

“I’m on the day shift,” Amelia said.

“Same.”

James was about to argue that they needed to go home anyway when the door opened and Madelyn slowly stepped inside. Judging from the way she very slowly took off her shoes and inched her way upstairs, James could tell she was having a rough day.

“Madelyn, you don’t need to be here if you’re hurting,” James said as she cautiously hobbled over to the couch.

“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly, waving him off. “Don’t worry about it.”

Looking at her bright red face, he thought maybe he should worry about it. But from the slightly sharp tone of her voice, he could tell that pushing it was going to be a bad idea.

“We’re going to have a quick meeting when Bradley and Graham get here,” he said instead. “We’ve got some leads on the Delinsky case and I want us all on it while there’s nothing else to worry about.”

The door opened again as Amelia was beginning to explain their possibilities, and Bradley and Graham both walked in. They were talking about something that James couldn’t catch and he might have imagined it, but Bradley looked almost interested in what Graham was saying. But the conversation ended before they got up the stairs.

“Quick meeting before we all get started,” James said as the last two sat down. “I want to do it quickly before Gabs and Amelia take a break. But here’s where we stand with the Delinsky case.”

He went through everything they’d discussed with the family yesterday, plus what Gabriella and Amelia had considered last night. Finally, after pulling up a list of the four Delinsky’s locations within a hundred miles of them, he stopped and took a sip of his ice coffee.

“So, are we leaning more toward the employees or family?” Graham asked.

“Employees,” James said. “I’m not ruling out the family entirely, but they all seem comfortable enough and I’m not finding any outcasts in the family in case we are thinking estrangement.”

“But we’re still focusing on both,” Amelia said. “I’m going to take an hour’s nap when we’re done here, but I say we split the team while we’ve got all of us available. Save some time.”

“Good call,” James said. “I’ll wrap this up quickly so you two can go get some sleep. I bet we can hit a couple locations today and get some information from the managers there. Amelia, you want to go with me?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Gabs and Bradley, you’re going to go back to the Cottage at Delinsky Cove.” James made sure to give the name the emphasis it deserved. “There’s another set of family members to talk to. Brad, it’s a trip. You’re going to love it. Mads and Graham, you’ll stay here on comms.”

Graham looked over at Madelyn, who nodded, then winced. “You okay?” James heard him murmur.

“Yeah,” she said back, just as softly.

Graham handed her a throw pillow, which she gripped tightly on her lap. God, James wanted to send her home so badly, but he knew how insulting that would be. “Just do what you can today,” he said instead. “And if you want to go rest or anything, please do.”

She nodded, looking slightly miserable. James cringed. Had he insulted her anyway? Before he could lodge his foot any further into his mouth, Amelia stood up. “If we’re done, I’m gonna head out back.”

“Go for it,” James said. “I’ve got plenty to do, so take your time. We’ll head out later in the morning.”

She and Gabriella headed down the hall toward the bedrooms, leaving James, Bradley, Madelyn, and Graham in the living room. “I’ll make coffee,” Bradley said, standing up and disappearing into the kitchen.

Bradley’s coffee was always oddly thick, but very potent. If James poured in half a gallon of milk, it’d fuel him through the rest of the day. Graham stayed next to Madelyn, but turned to James.

“Did you hear Chris talking in his room last night?” he asked.

James shook his head. “No, like on the phone? That seems pretty normal.”

“Yeah, except for the parts where he was getting the cabin set up. With a Wi-Fi dampener.”

“He’s a weirdo,” James said. “Maybe it’s part of his whole ‘finding himself on the open road’ thing.”

“True,” Graham said. “I don’t blame him. I need a vacation too.”

“Same,” Madelyn said with a shaky laugh as she pulled her legs up onto the couch.

Her heating pad was on the coffee table, so James handed it to her and she plugged it in, setting it into place against her back. “The Foundation can give us all the vacation days in the world,” James said. “But they don’t staff us enough to use them.”

“Do they roll over?” Graham asked.

“Sure do,” James said with a grim smile. “I’ve got almost a hundred days banked. I’m going to tell them to fuck off and use all one hundred at once.”

Madelyn laughed again, setting her head back against the throw pillow she’d been holding. “I’ve got forty. They didn’t dare try to make me use sick time or vacation time for my surgeries.”

“You can cash them in,” James said. “That’s what a lot of people do. I’m still holding out hope, though.”

“Hope for what?”

Bradley was back, holding two cups of coffee. He handed one to Madelyn, who took it gratefully. Then Bradley jerked his head toward the kitchen. “There’s more in there.”

James went to the kitchen and tried not to notice how slowly the coffee poured from the carafe. He had a gallon of milk in the fridge that hadn’t turned yet, so he poured a healthy amount in as Graham set up his own coffee.

When they got back to the living room, he sat down in his original spot and sipped his drink. “We were talking about vacation time,” he said.

“I cash mine in,” Bradley said. “It’s not worth trying.”

Graham looked slightly like he was regretting taking the job right now. “When was the last time any of you took a vacation?” he asked, though judging by his face, he clearly knew the answer.

“Are we counting work trips?” James asked.

“Absolutely not.”

James thought back. “God,” he said. “I’m honestly not sure. I went away for a few days, um, five years ago?”

Graham looked at the other two. They didn’t need to say anything. He turned back and James suddenly felt very pathetic.

“Listen,” he said, aware that he sounded defensive. “It’s not like I have the money to fly off anywhere for a couple weeks anyway.”

“No, but you could take a few days off,” Graham said. “Lay on the couch all day. Or, I don’t know, pick up a hobby. Do you have any hobbies?”

“Baking,” Madelyn replied.

“Dance nights in Boston,” Bradley said.

“Netflix,” James said.

Then he turned to Bradley. “Wait, what?”

“How many times do I need to tell you I have a life outside of here?” Bradley snapped.

James shook his head. “You astonish me.”

“Netflix?” Bradley retorted.

“You just proved my point,” Graham said. “James, you need to take a vacation. You all do, but that’s just sad.”

“I will,” James said. “Let’s just get through this case, get a new roommate, and then I’ll try to figure out when I can have a day off.”

“A day isn’t a vacation,” Graham said. “Back me up here, guys.”

“You could use a break,” Madelyn admitted.

James considered mentioning that she’d refused to go home and rest, but that felt like lobbing a grenade into an otherwise lighthearted argument. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll take a few. Happy?”

“Always.”

“Not until after we get a replacement roommate, though,” James said. “I’m not dealing with that during my first actual vacation in five years.”

“I’ll accept it,” Graham said, holding out a hand to shake.

James took his hand, feeling like maybe he’d just fallen into a trap.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 8