I opened my mouth to shriek, but nothing came out.

"Uh, uh, uh." Sammy waggled a finger at me like I was a naughty child. "This is between you and me, Nicki."

Swallowing hard, I found my voice, but just barely. "Wha... what are you doing here? Who are you?"

Sammy straightened, trailing a hand along the couch as he rounded the corner. "That should be fairly obvious by now, shouldn't it?" He gave me the wicked grin that never failed to make my knees weak. In this instance, they were shaking. "Wasn't the tarot card enough, or do I need to draw you yet another picture?"

"This can't be happening," I whispered, feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap, watching the wolf get closer and closer.

Tight white T-shirt under a black leather jacket, even tighter jeans, showing off an impressive bulge. Big silver rings on both hands, a thick silver chain with a heavy cross.

"You're wearing a cross," I said stupidly. "You can't be wearing a cross if you're the Devil."

Sammy laughed, a throaty chuckle that should've made me run for the hills, but my feet were frozen to the floor. "An old wives' tale, Nicki. Probably one of my old wives, in fact." He waved a hand carelessly, rings glinting. "But it hardly matters. Out with the old, in with the new, I say."

"New wives' tales?" I was stalling for time, barely aware of what I was even saying.

"New wives."

Holy shit. Fear gave my feet the jolt they needed, and I was finally able to take a few steps back.

Sammy followed, grinning all the while. His blond hair was shorter than the last time I'd seen him, and stiffly spiked, the way mine felt at the moment.

"We'd be so good together," he murmured. "Just think of all the naughty things we could do." One bright blue eye closed in a wink. "But then, you've already been thinking about it, haven't you?"

I said nothing, taking another step back, but I couldn't stop the images that flooded my brain.

Sammy and I naked, my hands moving over his broad chest and flat belly, the salty taste of him in my mouth, on my lips ...

"Stop it," I said sharply, wishing I was safe in my bed, alone, so I could wake up and know that this was just a dream.

Sammy and I entwined on satin sheets, his hardness thrusting in and out of my softness while I threw back my head and screamed my pleasure to the world. . .

"That's not what I want." I shook my head, feeling a traitorous tingle between my thighs.

"Liar," Sammy whispered. He was only a foot away now, close enough for me to smell his scent, dark and rich, radiating heat.

"Get out of my head. Leave me alone."

"Don't worry, Nicki," Sammy murmured, leaning in. "A gentleman never kisses and tells."

Two steps back. "Now you want me to believe you're a gentleman?" Another step back, and the realization that I could go no farther-an overstuffed chair blocked my retreat. "How many mind-blowing revelations am I expected to handle in one night?"

Sammy tipped his head to the side. "Revelations. I've always loved that word." Thankfully, he came no closer, but the look he gave me sent a chill down my spine. "You should've taken me up on my previous offers, Nicki."

Another image popped into my brain, that of Psycho Barbie back at the funeral home in Atlanta, talking about her "master."

Money, power, eternal youth. Fame and fortune. Fashion designers falling at your feet while the public screams your name ... wealth beyond your wildest dreams...

Sammy finished my thoughts out loud, with a knowing smile. "Anything your heart desired, Nicki, anything at all."

I couldn't help but notice he'd used past tense.

"With your talents, I could've gained quite a few souls for my army. That pesky Light keeps drawing them away." Sammy shrugged, leather jacket creaking. "But if you won't help me, I'll have to focus my attentions elsewhere."

Swallowing hard, I rasped out, "What do you mean?"

His smile wasn't quite so charming this time. "You're not the only one who can see the spirits of the dead, Nicki."

Kelly. My blood ran cold.

"And she's so eager to be used, too," he said, knowing I understood the threat. "Give the girl a simple little mirror and she becomes completely mesmerized. I wonder what she'd do with some real power."

Without thinking, I blurted, "Stay away from my sister or I'll... "

"You'll what?" Sammy laughed, but it was an ugly sound. "Send me to Hell?"

"What the H-E-double-L is goin' on in here?"

I spun, giving a small scream. Odessa stood in the open doorway, hands on her hips. A pink and blue flowered robe was belted around her ample middle, the cheerful print not matching the scowl on her face. She eyed the beer bottles on the coffee table. "You girls only been here one night and you throwin' a party like you own the place." She came inside the house, muttering and shaking her head. "Miz Bijou must be spinnin' in her grave." Catching sight of the still flickering candle, she snapped, "You trying to burn the house down?"

She leaned forward and blew it out with one quick breath. A thin trail of smoke curled toward the ceiling, leaving the not-so-pleasant odor of burnt string.

Or sulfur. Sammy was gone, and it was obvious Odessa had. seen nothing but what she wanted to see.

"Well, where's the rest of 'em, girl? I know you ain't here by yourself."

Hurried footsteps on the stairs saved me the need to answer. I sank down in the chair, grateful I didn't need to go any farther to find a seat, as Kelly, Joe, and Spider came into the room.

"Nicki? Are you okay?" Joe looked worried, glancing at Odessa. "We heard a scream."

I nodded tiredly. "I was just startled, that's all." I'd tell Joe and Kelly about Sammy later, in private.

"And who might you be?" Odessa planted herself in front of the coffee table, eyeing Spider with disdain.

"Spider," I said sourly, "meet Odessa."

He offered his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Odessa clasped her hands over her belly, leaving him with his arm outstretched.

"We met Spider earlier today," Kelly offered. "He told us there were rumors that the Blue Dahlia was haunted, and he came by to see if we were okay."

"Huh. Ain't that special."

Silence for a moment, then Odessa said to Joe, "You look like you could use a slice of pie."

How she pulled that out of the air was beyond me.

"And I know you could use one," she said to Spider. "You need some meat on your bones. A man ain't supposed to be so skinny. Them jeans about to slide off your behind."

Joe grinned at her. "I'd love some pie, Odessa."

"So would I," Spider added, not to be outdone.

"Come on into the kitchen, then, while I fix you up a slice."

She'd never offered to cut me a slice of pie.

"You girls get busy cleaning up that mess on the coffee table." Odessa turned away, waddling toward the kitchen. "Act like ain't nobody never taught you nothin' 'bout manners," she muttered as she went. "Beer bottles in Miz Bijou's parlor. I ain't never seen the like."

Joe was still smiling. "I like her," he said.

"So do I," said Kelly.

"Oh, geez."

I had the feeling that I was well and truly screwed.

And not in a good way.

"So you tellin' me you need this here fool to help you figure out this house is haunted?"

Odessa lifted her double chin toward Spider. Her hands were busy slicing up pie. "Huh. Anybody coulda told you that."

Spider didn't seem to mind her opinion one bit, taking a huge bite of pie, a blissful expression on his thin face.

We were sitting in the breakfast nook in one corner of the kitchen, staying out of Odessa's way while she fed and watered Joe and Spider. Nobody else was hungry.

"Why didn't you, then?" I dared ask. Having just sparred with Satan himself, I had no patience for Odessa. "You and Leonard could've saved us a few gray hairs. Instead, we got a lot of cryptic doubletalk and a couple of tarot cards."

The closest thing I'd seen to a smile yet flitted across Odessa's face. "Miz Bijou had her reasons for what she wanted done after she passed, and we honored 'em."

"Miz Bijou seemed to have a twisted sense of humor." I got a perverse pleasure in seeing Odessa's scowl come back. "She could've at least left us a letter or something."

"She did leave you something," Odessa said placidly.

"What? Where is it?"

"You girls want everything laid out all nice and easy, don't you?" Odessa sent me a scornful glance. "Sometimes you got to find things out the hard way."

I wished Odessa would quit referring to Kelly and me and "you girls." We might be twins, but we were hardly a matched set. And I wished she'd stop talking in riddles.

Kelly was sitting next to Spider, across the table from Joe and me. "You've lived here, a long time, Odessa. What is it that Bijou wanted to teach us when she asked us to come to Savannah? What can you tell us about her? About our mother?"

Odessa shrugged, laying down her knife and reaching for the aluminum foil to cover what was left of the pie. "I could tell you lots of things, but Miz Bijou wanted you to figure it out for yourself first. I done told you all I can."

My patience was wearing thin. "What's with all the secrecy? We already know that Peaches and Bijou did more than just sell flowers. Why didn't they just hang a sign out front that said, 'The Blue Dahlia-Savannah's Finest Psychics,' and be done with it?"

I'd never seen the Evil Eye, but I'm sure the look Odessa gave me would qualify. "You don't know as much as you think you do, missy."

"Missy? Ow!" Somebody had just kicked me under the table, and I had no doubt who.

Kelly kept her expression bland and her voice even. "What about the tarot cards, Odessa?" She reached in the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the card marked "the Tower."

"Do you know what this means?"

Odessa glanced at the card, then away. "All I know is them cards don't always mean what you think they mean."

More double talk, and I'd had enough of it for one evening. "This is crazy." I stood up. "I need some sleep."

Odessa slammed the refrigerator door shut on the pie, making me jump. "Don't call me crazy, girl. I ain't the one going 'round here talking to dead people."

My mouth fell open.

"Huh. Ain't a whole lot of sleeping gonna be going on in this house tonight, neither."

With that as her closing volley, Odessa waddled out of the kitchen. A few seconds later we heard the front door slam behind her.

I wanted to tell Joe and Kelly about my visit from Sammy, but I was hesitant to talk in front of Spider. Instead, I asked, "What was all the noise upstairs?"

Spider answered gloomily. "We didn't find anything. Everything was just the way we left it, except the battery on the camera was dead."

"Yeah, you might as well call it a night." Joe spoke up, wiping his mouth and tossing the napkin on his empty plate. "And don't worry about your stuff-your camera will still be there in the morning."

For once, Kelly seemed to agree with Joe. She stood up. "Thanks for coming over, Spider. Give me a call tomorrow, and we'll work out a time when you can come back and get your equipment." She smiled at him as he reluctantly unfolded his skinny frame from the chair. "Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky and have something on the voice recorder."

"Yeah," Joe said with a perfectly straight face. "Maybe you'll get lucky."

Spider gave him a sour look but didn't bother to answer. He followed Kelly as she led him out of the kitchen toward the front door.

"I have to tell you something," I said to Joe.

He picked up his empty plate and carried it to the sink. "Why do I not like the sound of that?"

"Because it's bad. It's really bad."

He quirked an eyebrow at me, obviously in a better mood with pie in his belly and Spider on his way out the door. "Bad like in good! Or bad like in bad?"

"I'm serious, Joe." Biting my lip, I blurted, "The Devil wants to make me do it."

Joe looked at me quizzically. "Come again?"

"That, too," I said morosely.

"You're making no sense, Nicki." He leaned back against the kitchen counter, both hands gripping the edge. "What are you talking about?"

"The Devil. Satan. The Big Evil Kahuna. He's here, in this house. He wants me to sleep with him, marry him... oh, hell, I don't know!" The skeptical expression on Joe's face was throwing me off, plus I was feeling guilty for some reason, as though thinking about sex with a horny devil was the same as having it. "I don't think he wants me to send any more souls into the Light."