“Ghost, darling. She’s dead. Do just speak plainly. I’ve assured you I’m not offended,” Mabel said. “No, I don’t believe she’ll be around. I’ve rarely seen...evil come back,” she finished quietly. “Have you looked into Allan Pierce?”

“We have a top researcher doing so. And we’ll get into the archives ourselves tomorrow,” Dan said.

Mabel nodded. “You got me thinking on the number six.”

“And about the fact this may all have started here somehow?” Dan asked.

Mabel stared at Katie. “Your father was from here, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, but he and my mom moved to Florida before I was born. He was in the navy. He lived many places through the years,” Katie said. “He came back after Katrina, and he and Jeremy went out in Jeremy’s boat. I mean, I guess it was my dad’s home, and he wanted to help. My mom and I didn’t come with him. The city was hurting, so unless you were going to be able to do something solidly helpful, you weren’t needed. I guess my dad didn’t want to be worrying about my mother and me. I thought we could have handed out water or done something. But I was barely a teen at the time.”

“Interesting. And his family goes way back, right?” Mabel asked.

“I think... I guess they came over with the major Irish immigration after the potato famine in Ireland in 1849,” Katie said.

“So someone in your family was probably here back in my time,” Mabel said.

“I imagine,” Katie said. “But—”

Mabel waved a hand in the air and then went silent.

Their food was arriving. She waited while they thanked their waitress and their plates were arranged on the table. When their waitress left, Mabel said, “I do enjoy the food on the table! I love seeing the delicious meals... Creole, Cajun or just plain whatever American is. Well, to be quite honest, I never did like hot dogs, but thankfully, they’re not on the menu here! Ah, that fish...it smells divine. I think it does. I imagine it does. Memory, yes, sensory memory, I believe that’s what it is!”

“It’s very good,” Dan assured her, smiling.

“Yes, I can almost taste it,” Mabel said. Then she shook her head. “With what you’ve told me about people running around the city talking about the number six, it does bring me back to Allan Pierce. I think that this killer had Jennie convinced he was powerful, in a supernatural way. Either that, or she was in love with him...and violence and killing and getting away with it. I doubt she ever thought that he’d turn on her.”