Of Starlight Read Free

haunted—doors opening in the middle of the night, floorboards creaking when no one’s there, the sound of someone breathing but it’s not coming from anywhere, that kind of stuff—and now I realize it’s been her the whole time. Her spirit couldn’t rest until her body was found. God, she was so real, I could almost reach out and touch her. She even spoke to me.” He looked up. “You think I’m crazy.”
    “No, I don’t,” I whispered.
    He held my gaze. “You believe me?”
    “I believe that . . . something led you to her body. That you were meant to find it.”
    “It’s kind of a funny thing,” he said. “I actually feel really good about this. Like a huge weight’s been lifted off me. I got to say goodbye to her, and now I can finally let her go, finally move on. I think maybe that’s why she did it. She was telling me to move on.”
    “I think you’re right,” I said. “She would want you to be happy.”
    His brows tightened. “Either that, or she can’t rest until I avenge her murder, and I’m kind of leaning toward that one.”
    My heart gave a jolt. “But avenging can be more general, though, right? Like just doing good on her behalf?”
    He made what looked like a snarl. “Avenging her means I take a knife and stab it right into the eyes of whoever did that to her, then cut them open and turn them inside out and burn them while they scream.” He made a demonstration with his hands. 
    I turned away, feeling faint. “Did you . . .” the words barely came out, “did you tell anyone else about her bones?”
    “Yeah, I called the police. They’re looking into it now. As soon as they identify the remains—and I know it’s got to be her—they’re going to reopen the investigation.”
    The lump was back in my throat. “Good,” I croaked. “I’m glad. Whoever did that to her should pay.”
    Guilty, guilty, guilty.
    He grabbed my hands and pulled me to him, and my body instantly went rigid. I felt his hands slide possessively down my lower back. “I bailed on you last night,” he said. “Now I’m making it up to you.”
    Then he kissed me by the crashing surf until my toes curled in the sand.

Chapter 2
    “What about these guys?” said Megan, cruising behind a couple of tattooed teenagers with shaved heads and wifebeater tank tops. They halted and watched us pass with glowering eyes.
    “Keep going, keep going,” I hissed, shrinking down in my seat. “They’re going to mug us. ”
    “This is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” said Megan, pulling onto another street. “How do you find criminals before they’ve done anything wrong? Aha! Here’s our guy.”
    A figure in a long black hoodie swaggered up the street, hair done up in cornrows. 
    I crossed my arms. “You’re profiling. That’s wrong .”
    “He’s kind of cute,” said Megan, craning her neck as we passed. “Let’s go talk to him.”
    I grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy?”
    “Who’s profiling now, huh? Maybe he’s really nice.”
    “Just keep driving. Anybody walking around this neighborhood at night is potentially dangerous.”
    “Bet you wouldn’t say that about a guy wearing khakis and a button-down.”
    “The guy wearing khakis and a button-down is the one defrauding his investors and cheating on his wife and stealing from the American people,” I said. “He’s the worst one of them all.”
    “What about granny?” said Megan, pointing to an elderly woman pushing a walker across the street at a snail’s pace.
    “She entices children with homemade cookies and sells them into slavery.”
    “And little Billy?” She nodded to a boy playing with a yellow dump truck in his weed-infested front yard.
    “Killed his parents and hacked them up into little pieces.”
    “Impressive. It’s like dark matter has given you super insight,” said Megan, rolling slowly through another dark neighborhood and peering into kitchen windows. 
    “Let’s just go and park. You’re freaking