Sizzle and Burn

psychic.
    “Sure,” he said, keeping his tone just as even as her own. “Tell me about the killer.”
    She seemed to draw even deeper into herself. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly but he could see that she was determined to say whatever it was she had to say.
    “He locked the woman in the basement because his mother used to punish him that way,” she said quietly. “She left him in the dark for hours and then she beat him with a belt because he had befouled himself while he was confined. She told him that there was a demon inside him and that she had to drive it out.”
    “No offense, Miss Tallentyre, but that’s the kind of useless crap every so-called profiler I’ve ever met says about the perp. Next you’ll be telling me that he’s an organized killer, right? That he’s a white male somewhere between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four. That he’s an intelligent loner with no close ties to family, church or community.”
    “I don’t know about those things,” she said very steadily, “but I can tell you that you’re looking for a man who is convinced that he has been possessed by a demon. He thinks of himself as a witch hunter.”
    He exhaled heavily. “I appreciate your insights.”
    “The first witch he ever killed was his mother. He covered up the crime by setting fire to her body. That should give you a starting point. He obviously got away with that murder, which implies that it is either a cold case or a death that was made to look like an accident.”
    He was not impressed. “They call this guy the Bonfire Killer because he kills his victims, dumps them in a field and sets fire to the bodies, destroying all the evidence. No big secret there.” He paused, intrigued in spite of himself. “What makes you think he killed his mother?”
    “Intuition,” she said coolly.
    She was really giving him the creeps now. Raine Tallentyre was either a consummate actress or a total nutcase like her aunt.
    “Right, thanks, Miss Tallentyre. I’ll be in touch.”
    Abruptly she turned on her heel, went back to the desk and picked up a pen. “I’m going to give you the name and number of someone you can call. Bradley Mitchell. He’s a detective with the Oriana Police Department. He’ll vouch for the fact that I’m not a likely suspect or a fraudulent psychic looking for publicity.”
    He frowned. “You’ve been involved in situations like this before?”
    “Yes.” She tore off the sheet of paper and handed it to him. “Call Detective Mitchell. He’ll explain. Good-bye, Chief Langdon. Good luck with the press conference.”
    “How did you know about that?”
    “There’s always a press conference,” she said, surprising him with a small, genuine smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal your thunder. In fact, I would be extremely grateful if you would avoid releasing my name and identity to the media.”
    “No problem,” he said, meaning it. The last thing he wanted to do was give the press the idea that he was working with a psychic. That kind of thing would make him look ridiculous.
    “Thank you.” She walked out the door, the long black raincoat swirling around her high-heeled boots.
    He gave her a moment to leave and then he went into the outer office. Marge was at her desk. She was gazing over the rims of her reading glasses at the door through which Raine Tallentyre had just disappeared.
    Marge was sixty-two years old. She had lived in Shelbyville all her life. She was his go-to source whenever he needed background on one of the local residents. He propped himself on the corner of her desk.
    “What do you know about her?” he asked.
    “Not much, really,” Marge admitted. “Vella Tallentyre bought the house here over twenty years ago. When Raine was a little girl, a couple of men used to drive her up here to visit Vella. Later, she came by herself. She sometimes bought groceries at the local store and filled up her gas tank but other than that, we never saw much of her. She didn’t seem to want to get to know any of us locals. I never even met her until today.”
    “What about the caretaker, Ed Childers? He have anything to say about her?”
    “Ed wasn’t much of a talker. But I ran into him at the post office one day not long before he died. He told me something about Raine that day that I never forgot.”
    “What?”
    “He said he saw a photograph of Vella Tallentyre once. It was taken when Vella was younger, in her early thirties. Ed claimed that Raine