Family Secrets (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery #8) Read Online Free PDF

room's small book shelf.  Mixed in with paperbacks with cracked spines and a telephone book and a few hardcover favorites, Darcy had carefully placed the book her Great Aunt had written.  "Embracing Your Talent," by Millicent Carlisle. 
    It had been an amazing find for Darcy.  She hadn't even known that Millie had written a book on the subject of paranormal gifts.  Finding it in a Ryansburg bookstore by accident a few days ago, and reading it through, had been sort of like being able to talk to her aunt again.
    Even now, as she gently slid the book off the shelf, she could almost feel Millie's presence, looking over her shoulder, encouraging her with the written words on every page.  She missed her aunt fiercely.  In town, in the bookstore Darcy had inherited from Millie, the old woman's spirit still hung around, making mischief and guiding Darcy in subtle ways.  It wasn't the same as having her right here to talk to, though.  This book, she decided with a sigh, would have to be enough for now.
    Bringing the book back over to the couch and opening it on the coffee table Darcy turned to one of the back sections where Millie had written out techniques for the more advanced practitioner.  The trick to find ghostly signs of murder on someone's hands was back here.  She found it, and read through it again.  And then again.
    Closing the book, she tapped a finger against its blue cover.  She had missed something.  Something very, very important.

Chapter Six
     
    Darcy waited up until almost midnight for Jon.  She ha d been pacing the floor, solving the crossword puzzle in the paper, and doing little chores around the house to keep herself awake for when he got back.  Now she sat down on the couch, tired and worn out from the adrenaline not just of today but of a lot of things piling on top of each other over weeks.  Smudge climbed up onto her lap and began purring, a warm and comfortable weight.  She stroked his fur over and over, rhythmically, calmly…
    "Darcy?"
    Her head bounced up from the back of the couch and her eyes popped open and she stifled a yawn that almost came out as a scream when something with claws and fur leapt its way off her lap.  Smudge, she realized.  She'd fallen asleep with the cat on her lap.
    Jon stood over her, baggy circles making his eyes dark.  He had been gently shaking her arm to wake her up.  "Hey, sorry.  Didn't mean to scare you."
    She stretched, feeling the crick that had formed in her neck from sitting at an odd angle in one place for so long.  "No scared me."  She cleared her throat.  "You didn't scare me, I mean.  Guess I fell asleep.  What time is it?"
    "It's after two in the morning," he told her, sitting next to her to take off his shoes and toss them at the nearest wall.  "I thought you'd be up in bed already."
    She stretched again, ending up close to him with her arm around his neck and her head on his shoulder.  "I wanted to wait up for you.  Is everything all right down at the station?"
    After a moment's hesitation, she felt his body relax against her.  "No.  Everything is not all right.  Unless you count booking your own sister on murder charges all right.  Which I don't."  He lowered his voice and scratched at his chin.  "Then, I had to call our mom and let her know that Aimee is alive, and that she's okay, and oh by the way I just arrested her for killing someone else."
    She heard the edge to his words.  "It's alright to be mad at her, Jon.  Do you want to talk about it?"
    He turned to her, the lines on his face easing just a bit as he exhaled a breath.  "Yes.  More than anything, Darcy, I want to tell you about all this.  If you're still willing to listen?"
    When she nodded, he hugged her tightly, and kissed her lips.  His mouth was soft against hers, and she wished they had the whole night to do just what they were doing now.  Unfortunately, events kept conspiring against them.
    She sat with one leg hooked over his, leaning close in,