We both jumped as another slam came from the floor above. “That is unpleasant.”

My aunt shot me a tired look. “We’ve been waiting for you to get home. We’re both at our wits’ end. I know you’re not currently using your powers, but we thought maybe you could help?”

I sighed and sat myself down at the table by the stone hearth that also served as an oven. “Izzy, I love you, but I really don’t want to go over this again.”

“Neither do I,” she said, putting her hands up in surrender. “I’m not asking you to practice any magic. But you know ghosts better than either of us. We thought you might have a suggestion of how to—”

The door slammed again. It was quickly followed by what sounded an awful lot like a battle cry from Nora.

“Well, Constance is obviously trying to get our attention,” I said. “You two did look in the closet, right? Was she trying to lead you to a clue? Something maybe the killer left behind?”

Izzy gave me a withering look, which really spoke to how tired she was. “Of course we did. There’s nothing in there but extra linens.”

“You’re sure?”

“We took everything out. There’s nothing there.”

I planted my chin on my hand. “I don’t know, then. Moving things around usually takes a lot out of a ghost. Most aren’t able to do it at all. She should be close to tiring herself out.”

The door slammed again.

Not tired enough.

Izzy closed her eyes and took a breath.

I chuckled. “That really is annoying. Did you try talking to her?”

“Brynn,” Izzy said, wiping her hands on her apron, “you know we can’t talk to ghosts.”

“Of course you can.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just because you can’t see or hear spirits doesn’t mean you can’t talk to them. Constance?” I called out. “Slam the door twice if you want us to know there’s something about the closet we need to pay attention to.”

The door slammed twice.

“Right. Message received. The closet is important. We’ll need to think about it, okay?”

Izzy and I waited. Only silence followed.

“Oh, darling, that might have worked. You deserve a reward.” Izzy hurried over to the stove. “I was thinking earlier maybe you’d like some hot chocolate when you got home. It’s blustery out there.”

I smiled with happy anticipation. “I knew I smelled something sweet.”

“Besides, we should talk about last night.”

The smile dropped from my face. “Izzy, I really can’t go another round.”

“No. No. I don’t want to talk about your situation. I want to talk about Nora.”

I took a long slow sip of the hot chocolate. Wow, it was good. Thick, but not too thick. Rich. Silky.

Suddenly I was feeling so much love. Love for my home. My aunts. The kitchen. Chocolate.

Wait a minute.

I looked up at my aunt. “Did you just spell me?”

Izzy wrinkled her nose and shrugged.