Chapter 102. Hazy

They stood around the painting depicting a small cottage with a family outside in the front yard. Two children were painted playing on the grass and a woman holding a rake while a man shook hands with another.

“Do you think she has a connection to Freja? If so, what does it mean?” Melissa asked quietly.

The smell of whiskey on her warm breath hit Lola and provoked her gag reflexes. She stepped to the side and created enough distance between her and Melissa to where her breath was neutralized by the air between them.

Melissa, embarrassed and tipsy, pinched her lips shut and covered her mouth subtly with her hand.

“I don’t know but what if she does? What if she knew more than she let on when we were there? She did seem intrigued by you,” Lola said.

They thought back to the pendant that occasionally hung around Melissa’s neck. The gaudy stone in the middle of swirling metal wires tied around the silver which protected the core.

They heard loud breaths and the smell of whiskey filled