A Change of Worlds

Book 5 of the Killian Kendall Mysteries

By Josh Aterovis
Copyright 2026

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Chapter 22

Between the creepy caller and my scary realization, by the time I got to the B&B, I was thoroughly spooked. So when I got to my room and turned the light on to see someone sitting on my bed, I couldn't hold back the scream.

I quickly shut the door, hoping I hadn't woken any of the guests. "Seth," I hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you."

"It's been a long day and I'm exhausted. The last thing I need is you nagging me about my gifts. I started my training today. Happy now?"

"Yes, I'm glad you finally started, but that's not why I'm here."

"It's not?"

"No. Well, not exactly. I'm here about White Deer."

"What? Why? Am I in danger from him?"

"I don't think so. At least not directly. He's...unpredictable. And powerful. But I don't think he means you harm. But if you were to get in his way..."

"What is White Deer, exactly? Is he like you?"

"No, he's...something else entirely."

"But what? If he's not a ghost, what is he?"

"It's complicated."

"Try me."

"He practised very strong magic when he was alive. Part of that magic was ancestor veneration. The holy men or women of each village would carefully prepare the bones of the dead, and the tribe would keep those bones with them, even moving them when they moved their villages. They wanted the spirits of their ancestors to stay with them. They communicated with them. And the more important or influential the person was, the more magic they imbued into their bones, and the stronger their connection to the land and their people. And if that person was a powerful wielder of magic themselves..."

"So his spirit is connected to the land?"

"Yes."

"Can anyone connect their spirit to a place or object?"

"It happens. Often without meaning to, even. It's how things become haunted, sometimes."

"Are you connected to anything?"

"Not exactly, not in the way White Deer is anyway. If I'm connected to anything, it's you. But I didn't come here to talk about myself. I should probably go, before I say too much."

"Wait! What about White Deer's warning that more death was coming?"

Seth shook his head. "I don't know any more than you do. Just be careful."

"I'm always—"

"You're not always careful, and we both know it. Just don't do anything stupid."

"I can't make any promises."

With that, he vanished.

As I finished getting ready for bed, I mulled over the new information Seth had given me. It was all interesting, but why was it so important that Seth had shown up again? How did it tie into the case? Who was going to die next? And just how powerful was White Deer?

I had plenty of questions, and too few answers.

I woke up way too early Sunday morning, but despite a valiant effort, I could not go back to sleep. I glanced at my phone and moaned. I'd been looking forward to sleeping in for a change, but clearly that was a lost cause.

I crawled out of bed, showered, dressed, and made my way downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, Steve looked up with surprise from the tray of Danish pastries he was arranging artfully for the continental breakfast. "I didn't expect to see you this early."

"I didn't expect you to see me this early either," I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Too much on your mind?"

"I don't know. Maybe. The case is getting pretty stressful now that there's been a second murder."

Steve placed a cheese Danish on a napkin and handed it to me. "And then there's Micah."

I flinched.

"Sore subject?"

"Honestly? Yeah. I've just kind of thrown myself into the case and tried not to think about him, but it still hurts."

"You miss him?"

I chewed while I thought about his question. "I do..." I replied slowly.

He raised an eyebrow.

"In a way, though, I'm almost relieved. It's nice not to have the weight of his expectations hanging over me. At the same time, I miss having someone to cuddle with, to eat dinner with, and just hang out with. You know?"

Steve sighed. "Unfortunately, I know all too well."

"Are you and Adam okay?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

"Oh, we're fine, at least as fine as we can be under the circumstances. We just never really have time to ourselves anymore. I feel like all my spare time is eaten up by this place. It's so far from the beach house that I can't spend the night there in case something goes wrong here, and Adam needs to be there for the boys."

"Have you guys talked any more about his moving in here and renting out the beach house?"

"We have, but it just wasn't practical since Kane would have to change schools. We didn't want to do that to him in his senior year."

"But he graduated this year. What's the hold up?"

"Tad."

"What about him?"

"Adam doesn't want to uproot him again. He's just starting to settle in and show some improvement."

I was glad to hear there was improvement on that front, at least. Maybe my talk with Tad had done some good after all — and maybe it was time for another talk. I shelved that thought for the moment, though.

"Throw him off more than he already is? I don't think he has any special attachment to that school."

He reached over and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry about it, kiddo. This isn't your mess. We'll be okay. I just miss Adam, but this too shall pass. Speaking of Adam, are you going to be there for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you forgot. Adam's been so excited about it."

"Excited about... Oh!"

"Remember now? He's having a few people over for dinner at the beach house tonight. I was under the impression you'd helped plan it."

"No, Adam came up with the idea the other night after I broke up with Micah. I've just had so much going on it slipped my mind. Don't tell Adam."

"I won't, but you'd better be there. You know Adam. He'll be heartbroken if you're not, and he's going all out, as usual."

"I'll be there. But you said he was inviting several people. I thought it was just family. Who else is coming?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. This is all Adam."

"What about you? Are you going?"

"I can't."

"You deserve a night off too. The B&B will be fine for one evening."

Steve was shaking his head before I even finished my sentence. "Two couples are arriving tonight. I have to be here to check them in. Go have fun for me." He glanced at his watch and picked up the tray of pastries. "I'm going to take these out. Some of the guests might be early risers like you." He winked and whisked away through the door.

I took a bite of my pastry and thought about Adam. Dinner with him and the boys sounded great, but I didn't really have much to do today so maybe I should go spend the entire day with them. I'd been promising Tad I'd spend more time with him. This was the perfect opportunity.

I returned to my room upstairs and took a quick shower, then threw on some clothes and drove to the beach house. I let myself in and made my way to the kitchen. Adam was busy chopping an onion with his back to me. I didn't want to startle him with a chef knife in his hand, so I waited until he sat it down to make my presence known.

"Hey!"

Adam yelped and spun around. "Killian! I didn't even hear you come in. You scared me half to death."

I laughed. "Sorry about that. I promise I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." Maybe I was picking up some of Jacy and Lily's tricks after all.

"I wasn't expecting to see you before dinner, especially not this early in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"I haven't seen you guys much lately, so I figured I'd just hang out here all day."

Adam's smile faltered slightly. "Right. So...how was Steve?"

"Honestly? I think he misses you."

Adam sighed. "I know the feeling."

"You guys should really just move there already."

"But I love this place. And Tad seems to be putting down some roots finally. Maybe. He's so hard to read."

"That's what Steve said, and I know you love this place, but, come on. You'd love living with Steve again too."

Adam laughed. "I can't deny that, but Tad—"

"I'll talk to Tad. Is he still in bed?"

"Probably. Neither he nor Kane are exactly morning people."

"Maybe I'll go wake them up. See if they want to hang out."

Adam laughed. "You actually want to risk waking the sleeping bears?"

"They're sleeping twinks at best. I think I can handle them."

"You're a braver man than I."

"It'll be great payback for all the times Kane pulled shit like that on me."

"Be my guest, but if you come back down physically maimed, don't say I didn't warn you."

I gave my best evil madman cackle and swept from the room. I ran upstairs and paused at my old bedroom door. It was dead quiet inside. I stifled a snicker, took a deep breath, and threw open the door with bang as I leaped into the room yelling at the top of my lungs. "Rise and shine, sleepyheads!"

Both Kane and Tad sat upright in their beds, their eyes round with surprise. I bent double laughing as their startled expressions turned to disapproving frowns.

"You're an asshole," Kane said.

"Sweet revenge for all the times you jumped on me while I was sleeping," I said to Kane when I'd stopped laughing enough to talk.

"And what about me?" Tad asked crankily. "I never woke you up rudely."

"Sorry, Tad. You were caught in the crossfire. But I wanted to wake you both up anyway. I'm taking today off so we can hang out."

Kane rubbed his face. "What time is it?"

I checked my phone. "It's like nine."

"What?" Kane gasped, his face aghast. "In the morning? Why is it so early? What's wrong with you?"

"Come on, we never get to hang out anymore."

"And we're not hanging out at the buttcrack of dawn either."

"Nine a.m. is hardly the crack of dawn."

"It is too! I'm going back to sleep."

I turned to Tad. "What about you?"

He frowned. "I can't go back to sleep once I wake up."

"So you want to hang out?"

He gave an indifferent shrug. "Not really." He got up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his briefs. He grabbed a t-shirt on his way out of the room.

I stood there feeling the sting of rejection.

Kane heaved a monumental sigh and sat up. "Don't let the little shit get to you."

"I just wanted to hang out."

"Look, Kill, I'd love to hang out with you later, after a few more hours of sleep, but I already have plans with friends this afternoon. I'll see you for dinner anyway, right?"

I nodded, still feeling a little dejected.

"And seriously," Kane continued. "Don't let Tad ruin your day. He's a selfish little bitch."

"Hey," I protested halfheartedly, "he's been through a lot."

"That doesn't mean he can be a jerk indefinitely."

"I thought he was doing better. Both Adam and Steve said so."

"If so, I haven't seen it. I think they're so desperate for signs of improvement that the tiniest baby steps are a big deal. If actually going to school and not fucking guys in the living room are a big deal, then we've set a pretty low bar."

"But hey, I mean, it is an improvement, right?"

Kane flopped back on the bed. "I'm just sick of everybody handling him with kid gloves. If I tried half the shit he pulls I'd be grounded until my twenty-first birthday. We're all walking on eggshells around him all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm sorry he went through all the stuff he went through, but I don't think it's fair that we have to pay the price for it."

"You're right. It's not fair. Go back to sleep. I'm going to go find him. It's time for another heart-to-heart."

Kane flopped back on the bed and pulled a pillow over his head. "Good luck," was his muffled response.

I went downstairs but didn't see Tad anywhere. I popped my head back into the kitchen. "Have you seen Tad?" I asked Adam.

He glanced up. "No. Did you look on the back deck?"

"No, I'll check."

I opened the back door and stepped outside. Tad was leaning over the railing, smoking a cigarette. I caught a whiff and realized it was a joint, not a cigarette. I clenched my jaw and had to force myself to relax before I approached him. I didn't want this to just turn into a huge fight.

"I guess you're going to give me a lecture about the dangers of weed, the scary gateway drug," he said without turning around.

I shrugged. "Hey, what you put in your body is your business. Although, I do think it's a little rude to be smoking up on Adam's back porch."

He took a deliberate drag on the joint, turned and blew the smoke in my direction. "Chill out, Killian, and save your breath. I don't need a sermon. Just because you're an uptight goodie-goodie doesn't mean I have to be."

"What's going on, Tad? I thought you were going to be more respectful."

"And I am. I haven't had any guys over since we had our last chat, I've been going to school every day, I'm even doing my chores like a good little boy. Why is it such a big deal if I smoke a little weed now and then?"

"Does Adam know?"

"If he did, I'm sure I would have heard about it by now. Although, I guess you'll run off and tattle to him now."

"I won't say anything if you talk to me."

"We're talking, aren't we?"

"No, we're verbally sparring. I feel like you've been on the attack this whole time."

"You know what they say: The best defense is a good offense."

"Why do you feel you have be defensive with me? I'm on your side here."

"Are you? If it came down it, I'm pretty sure you'd be on Adam's side."

I walked over and leaned against the railing next to him. "I owe Adam my life."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard this story. And I'm supposed to be eternally grateful to him now too because he took me in."

I gave him a sharp look. "That's not what I was saying. Will you let me finish?"

He took a deep hit off the joint and held it, but arched his brow as if to say, "go ahead."

"I was saying Adam has done a lot for me so of course I love him and support him. That doesn't mean I don't support you too. I came here today specifically to hang out with you. And you've been acting like a jerk the whole time."

He blew out the smoke in a steady stream, then glanced over at me. "To be fair, you did wake me up by scaring the shit out of me. And you wonder why I'm in a bad mood?"

The corners of my mouth twitched as I fought a smile and lost. "You have to admit, that was kind of funny. Did you see Kane's face?"

For a second, I thought he was going to smile too, but then the moment passed and he took another drag on the joint.

"Can we at least have a conversation without you jumping down my throat every second?"

He frowned and looked away. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You said you've been going to school. Are things any better there?"

He shrugged. "I passed all my finals."

I blinked at him in surprise. "That must have caught your teachers off guard."

He finally broke down and smiled a little. "Yeah. I think some of them were really disappointed when they had to pass me. The finals counted for most of our grade."

"Did you make any friends?"

The smile disappeared again. "No."

"Did you try?"

He pinched out the joint and slipped the roach into his pocket. "It was too late to try. School was almost over, and everyone had already made up their mind that I was a loser."

"It's not like you gave them much to work with."

He didn't answer.

"So I take it you're not very attached to that school?"

He gave a humorless bark of laughter. "You could say that."

"How would you like a chance to start over again this fall?"

He met my gaze with a curious expression. "How?"

"Adam has wanted to move to Amalie's House with Steve for a while now, but they didn’t want to interrupt Kane's senior year of high school. Now that Kane's graduated, Adam still won't consider it because he doesn't want to disturb you. If you're not attached to that school, though, you guys could move, and you'd start in a new district this fall."

He mulled over my suggestion for a few minutes, before nodding slightly. "I don’t give a shit about that school or anybody there."

"So you'd be open to moving?"

He nodded again.

"Do you want me to talk to Adam about it, or would you like to?"

"You can do it."

"That's fine. I'll bring it up later, maybe after dinner."

"It doesn't matter that much," he said with a shrug.

"Well, it kind of does. If he's going to move in the next couple of months, he needs to start planning. If he goes through all this, though, will you really give the new school a chance?"

He looked down at his feet. "I can't promise anything."

"Will you at least try?"

He gave a slight nod.

"Hey, that's all I ask for." I leaned against the wall next to him. "Now, what's going on with you and Kane?"

He looked over at me sharply. "What do you mean?"

"He seems pretty mad at you still."

"You mean he was talking shit behind my back? Shocking."

I raised an eyebrow. "And I guess you're blameless?"

He made a disgusted face. "Why is everything my fault?"

"I didn't say it was entirely your fault, just that you may share in the blame. I got the impression Kane is defending his dad, which is understandable, even if he's going about it the wrong way."

"What do you mean 'defending his dad'?"

"You've been giving Adam a hard time. Kane is just reacting to that."

"He's always on my case these days."

"Adam or Kane?"

"Kane. Since I started doing more chores around the house, Adam's eased up on me a little, but Kane has gotten even worse."

"How about I talk to Kane and see what's going on?"

He shrugged again. "Whatever."

"And maybe you can give Adam a break. He's trying hard, you know. He was willing to give up something he really wanted for you."

He had the grace to look genuinely remorseful. "I'm trying. It's not like I'm still having an 'inappropriate relationship' in his bed."

I froze. Something about Tad's wording rang a bell. I racked my brain trying to figure out why the phrase "inappropriate relationship" seemed so important. Then I remembered: Ricky had told me he suspected Susan Urban and Professor Healy were having an affair. He'd overheard Healy telling Susan that their relationship was inappropriate and would have to end.

I gave myself a mental kick. I'd let a lot of leads slide on this case. I hadn't spoken to the council yet, and I'd forgotten to follow up on the possibility that Susan and Healy were involved. I needed to talk to Elyse. If anybody was in a position to know whether Healy and Susan were having an affair, she would be the one.

"Hey, I said I wasn't doing that anymore," Tad said nervously, bringing my attention back to the present.

"Oh, right. That's great. I know you're trying, and you should keep trying, but something you just said reminded me of something important that I'd forgotten."

He nodded as if I had confirmed something he'd suspected all along. "So you need to go follow up on that, right?"

"I, uh, probably should. But I still want to hang out. This shouldn't take long. Why don't you go shower and eat breakfast? I'll be back by the time you're ready. I promise."

Tad pushed away from the railing and started toward the house. "Don't make promises you can't keep," he said flatly.

"No, really! I'll be back, and the rest of the day is all yours."

"Don't rush back on my account," he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.

I sighed. It felt like everything with him was one step forward, two steps back. I followed him inside to let Adam know where I was going and that I'd be back in a bit.

"You don't have to be back here until six," Adam said with a funny expression on his face that I couldn't quite read. "That's when dinner will be ready."

"I want to spend some time with Tad."

"Maybe he can meet you somewhere."

I tipped my head to one side. "Why do I feel like you're trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm not," Adam said quickly. "I just have a lot to do to get ready for dinner and I don't need you boys underfoot."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're acting very strangely."

"No I'm not. Now go. Don't you have some detecting to do?"

I allowed myself to be shooed from the kitchen, but my suspicion was definitely aroused. What was Adam's problem?

I shook off his weird mood and focused on my case. I walked out to my car, where I flipped through my notebook looking for Elyse's phone number. When I found the page with her name on it, I saw that I'd jotted down her address as well. I decided to drop by unannounced. Maybe I'd get more from her if she wasn't expecting my visit.

Luckily, she lived in a tiny town called Whaleyville, about halfway between Ocean City and Salisbury, so it wasn't too much of a drive. She lived in a small bungalow that looked like it had been built in the 1930s or '40s. The neighborhood was a small farming community that had maybe once been a town but now barely merited a dot on the map. Her neighbor's houses were starting to look a little rundown, but Elyse's was well cared for and seemed to have received a fresh coat of paint in the not-too-distant past.

Elyse answered my knock wearing a ponytail, sweatpants, and a faded t-shirt. Her face was flushed, and the few strands of hair that had escaped from her hair-tie looked damp. She seemed surprised to see me standing on her front steps.

"Hi, Elyse," I said brightly. "I had a few questions for you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Uh, no. I was just working out, but that's okay. I could use a break. Come on in."

I stepped into a cozy living room. The furniture was upholstered in black fabric, and abstract art hung on dark red walls. Classic rock music was playing somewhere in the house.

"I need to get a bottle of water. Do you want anything?" she asked.

"No thanks. I'm fine."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

She left the room, and I took the opportunity to snoop a bit. A stack of magazines sat on an end table. I leafed through them quickly, finding the expected assortment of scientific and news journals along with a couple of popular entertainment magazines. I moved to the small desk in the corner of the room and scanned the top. There was a small stack of mail, mostly bills, and a note scribbled in almost illegible handwriting. I thought it said "Don't forget to get milk, Love, S," but I wouldn't swear to that in a court of law.

"You said you had some questions?" Elyse asked from the hall.

I jumped away from the desk and tried not to look guilty as she rejoined me.

"Um, yeah. When I was interviewing the archaeology crew, one of them mentioned something that slipped my mind until today. Professor Healy was overheard telling Susan Urban that their relationship was inappropriate and had to end. The person who heard this took it to mean that they were having an affair. I figured you'd be the person most likely to know if that was true."

"Absolutely not," she answered without hesitation.

I tipped my head to one side and measured the woman standing before me. "You sound pretty certain."

"I am."

"Then do you know what they were talking about?"

She took a sip of water before answering. "I have no idea what they were talking about, but I know they weren't having an affair."

"How can you be so sure? You've told me yourself that you weren't close to Professor Healy on a personal level."

"No, but I am friends with Susan. She would have told me if she and Quinn were involved."

"Not necessarily. Aren't there rules about professors being involved with students?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, there are."

"Then maybe she didn't want you to know."

"They weren't having an affair."

An alarm went off in the back of my mind and an idea started forming. I decided to change tack. "Why did you ask Susan to go with you to check the site?"

"I was scared to go by myself. I didn't know what had happened to Bridget—" She broke off and took a few deep breaths.

"No, I meant why didn't you take one of the other crew members, one of the men maybe?"

She leaned forward, visibly bristling. "Are you trying to say that women can't handle themselves? That we need a man to take care of us?"

"No, no," I quickly denied. "That's not what I meant. I just wondered why Susan and not someone else from the crew?"

She settled back into her chair. "Like I said, we're friends. We're closer in age, and we've been working together for a while. I don't really know any of the other kids well enough to just call them up and ask them to go with me down to the site."

"Exactly how close are you and Susan?"

Her eyes flashed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You said you were friends, and you seem pretty confident she wasn't having an affair with Healy. It seems the only way you could be that sure is if you were having an affair with her."

"That's preposterous!"

"Is it?"

"I can't believe you'd even imply something like that!"

"What? That you're a lesbian? It's not like that's some great insult. I'm gay."

She blinked at me in surprise. "What?"

"I'm gay. I don't really care if you are or not. It wouldn't affect me or the case one way or the other. If you are involved with Susan, however, that does affect the case."

"How... I mean... Why would you think we're...involved?"

"Your strong defense of her for one thing, although I guess that could just be the result of a close friendship. But also just a hunch. Call it gaydar."

"Hunches? Gaydar? That's hardly proof of anything."

"Look, are you gay or not?"

She glared at me for several seconds, hands on hips, before finally answering through gritted teeth, "Yes. Not that it's any of your damn business."

"Elyse, I'm not trying to get you. If you're not out, I'm not going to tell anyone. As long as your sexuality has nothing to do with this case, it will just stay between us." She relaxed slightly — until my next words. "But I still need to know if you were involved with Susan."

Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and for a moment I was afraid she would physically attack me.

"That's a pretty big leap from me being a lesbian to having an affair with Susan."

"Maybe, but there's that note on your desk where she's reminding you to pick up milk." I was going way out on a limb, but it seemed worth the risk.

"I...what? Were you going through my things?"

"It was on top of your desk. I didn't go through anything. It just caught my attention. So are you involved with her?"

"I don't see how my private life is any of your business."

She had pretty much confirmed my suspicions, but I still needed to hear her say it. "It's only my business as it relates to this case, and right now I'm afraid it does. I really don't want to pry, but I need to know."

"Why?"

"Because the more I understand about the relationships of the people around Healy, the better I'll be able to understand what happened."

She sighed. "Fine. Yes, Susan and I are dating."

"For how long?"

"I guess it's been almost a year now." She slowly sat back down. "It started off innocently enough, occasionally going out for drinks or dancing, just as friends. We had a lot in common. There aren't too many women in this field, let alone gay women. Gradually, we started to develop deeper feelings. I knew it technically wasn't appropriate, since I was a professor and she was a student, but you can't tell your heart not to fall in love with someone. We reasoned that since she wasn't my student and she'll have her Master's soon anyway, it really wasn't all that bad."

"And Healy found out about your relationship?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We're not sure. We must have been careless — said something in his hearing, kissed where he could see us. He never said how he knew; he just confronted us about it. He spoke to me first and then to Susan separately."

"What did he say when he confronted you?"

"He told me my relationship with Susan was inappropriate and we should end it immediately."

That jibed with what Ricky had overheard between Healy and Susan. "Did he give you an ultimatum?"

"What do you mean?"

"When he told you to end your relationship with Susan, was there an 'or else'? Like, was he going to report you to the university?"

"No, nothing like that. He just said he trusted me to do the right thing."

"And what had you decided?"

"Susan and I were still discussing it when he was killed."

"What will you do now?"

She considered me carefully. "I guess that depends on what you do. Susan has almost completed her Master's program. She only has one semester left."

"Won't you be her professor now that Healy is gone?"

She paused. "Assuming they offer me his position and don't hire someone from another school."

"I'd think that would change things."

She sighed. "We haven't had much of a chance to talk about this since Quinn was murdered. I've been so busy trying to keep the project alive that we've barely had any time alone. Things are still up in the air."

"Well, I suggest you figure things out quickly — for your sake."

"Are we finished here?"

I nodded. "I guess we are."

She walked to the door and held it open for me to leave. As I passed her, she said, "I suppose this all makes me a suspect somehow."

I paused and looked her in the eyes. "There was never a time when you weren't a suspect. Everyone involved is a suspect. Now you just have a clearer motive than some of the others."

Before climbing into my car, I glanced back up at the house to find Elyse still standing in her doorway, watching me with a troubled expression.

As I drove away, I wondered how this new bit of information fit into the puzzle. I was finding more pieces every day, but I had no idea how — or even if — they went together. I wished I had the box-top picture to go by.

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