“You knew I’d find the Santeria and think it suggested something supernatural was going on in Columbus, when it was just a New Age cult guy practicing what he considered a cool religion.”

“Pretty clever, huh? The cookies were just a bonus. See, to zap your spellcasting, the poison has to be administered slowly, which would have been much easier if ol’ Jesse could have just seduced you and popped in a needle now and then when you were sleeping. But it was clear from the start that wasn’t happening. So on to contingency plan A. Poison something you were munching on. Start draining your spell power while being taken into your confidence, lowering your defenses on all fronts. First part worked smashingly. Second, not so much.”

She was standing so close now that I could reach out and grab her foot. Yank her down. And I would have, if I wasn’t more likely to puke on her than punch her. Just keep her talking. God knows, Leah loved to talk.

“You weren’t interested in poor Jesse as any kind of partner. First you team up with the detective. A human? Never thought I’d see the day. You used to have nothing but contempt for humans. A girl after my own heart. So I get rid of the human—”

“You did kill Michael.”

She sighed. “You’re interrupting. Fine, let’s get this over with. My list of crimes against humanity. I didn’t kill Ginny and Brandi, but you already knew that. Gotta give you credit, kiddo—I wasn’t sure you’d figure that one out. I was actually kind of proud of you, putting together the pieces. Had some trouble with the follow-through, though, didn’t you? Couldn’t bear to take little motherless Kayla away from her grandma. Nothing says a killer can’t be a good mama. You know that from experience.”

I opened my mouth.

Leah cut me off. “Sorry, got off track there. I was listing my crimes, wasn’t I? Killed Claire—that was the setup to get you on the case, so Jesse could get close. Didn’t kill Tiffany. Figured the twit offed herself when you started sniffing around. Killed the security guard and Cody, and, yes, killed Michael. He was in the way. Added a nice twist to the case, too. And a serious bonus—Jesse swoops in to save the day, bringing you two closer. Then who shows up? Adam Vasic. After I timed it just right, killing Claire when I knew Paige, Lucas, and Adam would be away for the week, he has to cut out of his conference early. I remember Adam, you know. That last day at the compound. You were already giving him big puppy dog eyes. Too cute. Between you and me, though, what’s cute at twelve is kind of sad at twenty-one.”

“Go to hell. Oh, sorry. Go back to hell.”