Undiscovered Tomb Read online

  UNDISCOVERED TOMB

  REG RAWLINS, PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR #15

  P.D. WORKMAN

  ABOUT UNDISCOVERED TOMB

  Another delightful read by this author. Reg is trying to find a home for one of the kittyuns, Horace. Reg already has one cat, Starlight and her landlord, Susan, threatens her with eviction if she doesn't get rid of one of the cats. In the meantime she must go to Egypt to find the rightful owner of the gem stones and rings.

  Does Reg find a home for one of the cats? Does she find out who the rightful owner of the gems and rings are? The answer to these questions and more when you read this latest endeavor of Reg Rawlings. I highly recommend that you do as it's a really good story.

  WANDA SIESICKI

  …definitely best-in-series to date and I have to admit that I am hooked😏

  As always, found it entertaining and well worth reading

  ANN, GOODREADS READER

  Her new paranormal…

  * * *

  Powerful rings, a couple of cuddly kitties, and never-ending ice cream in the freezer; Reg would have thought that she would be happy with her new normal. Or paranormal. But it isn’t quite as much fun as it sounds like.

  * * *

  With at least one of the cats determined to shred her domestic bliss and the relentless restlessness of the rings, Reg tries to move things in the right direction.

  * * *

  But Egypt isn’t all lollypops and rainbows either. It’s hot. It’s dusty. And Reg had hoped to have put her mummy issues behind her.

  * * *

  Like paranormal mysteries? Psychics, witches, fairies, and more! Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman waves her wand to transport readers to the myth- and magic-filled small town of Black Sands for another paranormal cozy mystery to be solved by Reg Rawlins and her friends.

  * * *

  A self-professed con artist practicing as a contact to the dead, a drop-dead gorgeous warlock, and a psychic cat—what could go wrong?

  Copyright © 2022 by P.D. Workman

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN: 9781774681572 (KDP Paperback)

  ISBN: 9781774681619 (KDP Hardcover)

  ISBN: 978-1774681602 (IS Paperback)

  ISBN: 9781774681626 (KDP Large Print)

  ISBN: 9781774681589 (Kindle)

  ISBN: 9781774681596 (ePub)

  Sign up for my mailing list at pdworkman.com and get Gluten-Free Murder for free!

  * * *

  For those who are seeking homes

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Preview of Gluten-Free Murder

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Also by P.D. Workman

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  Reg rubbed her eyes and yawned, not particularly ready to face her day and Sarah’s disapproval. The gray-haired, older woman was usually pleasant and easy to get along with. Reg’s landlord, she rented out the guest cottage in her back yard at a very reasonable rate, fully furnished in a rustic Florida style, and could frequently be found stocking Reg’s fridge or writing new appointments into Reg’s appointment book on the kitchen island, which Reg didn’t pay her to do. She was helpful and grandmotherly and had helped Reg through some difficult situations.

  But Sarah did not like cats, and that was a problem. She had an African gray parrot as her familiar and bird feeders in the beautiful gardens on the property, and cats were high on her list of pests to be eliminated.

  Starlight, Reg’s black and white tuxedo cat with a white marking on his forehead, had been lucky to escape Sarah’s wrath. Reg had adopted him before she knew of Sarah’s anathema, so Sarah had overlooked Reg’s not consulting her first. Sarah even fed Starlight when she popped over—which was frequently. Too much, if the truth were told.

  But the recent addition of Horace was another story. Reg had not gotten permission to take in another cat and had known that Sarah was strict in her rule that Reg was not to have any more pets.

  Especially cats.

  Of course, Reg knew that the pure black cat was not actually the usual, run-of-the-mill domestic short hair that he appeared to be.

  And she hadn’t adopted him. Not intentionally, anyway.

  “I can’t help it that Harrison left him here,” Reg told Sarah for the hundredth time. She gathered her box braids into both hands to pull them all back behind her shoulders, and let the red strands fall. “I told him not to. But he did. And it’s going to take me a little time to find a new home for Horace.”

  “You can’t keep him.”

  “I know that. And I’m not planning to, I told you that from the start. He’s not going to stay here. But…… I need to find a new home for him. And I can’t just dump him on someone.”

  Sarah’s sour look indicated that she didn’t see why not. “That’s what you said last week.”

  “I’m trying. It isn’t like I can return him to his previous owner. That warlock was in Egypt, and I don’t even know if he exists anymore.”

  It seemed like a strange thing to say about a person, and maybe it was, but Reg didn’t know how else to put it. Uncle Harrison had made the warlock disappear and, whether he had used his powers as an immortal to teleport him back to his house in Egypt or had annihilated him, Reg had no idea. And she didn’t really want to know. Even if she asked Harrison, he would probably give her some nonsensical answer or ask her something about the nature of human existence and she would be no closer to the truth.

  “Didn’t he have heirs? Maybe the cat could go to his children.”

  “I hope he didn’t have children.” Reg gave a little shudder, thinking about the evil, power-hungry warlock. “And if he did, I wouldn’t give Horace to them. He wasn’t happy in Egypt.”

  “Egypt is a wonderful place for cats. They are worshiped there,” Sarah pointed out.

  “They used to be worshiped there. That was a long time ago. Now… who knows how they treat them. Probably let them wander the streets and get eaten by dogs.”

  “There is a natural order of things,” Sarah said with a nod, as if this were a sad truth that n
othing could be done about.

  “Just like cats eating birds?”

  Sarah’s face got red.

  Not the right thing to say. Not when Reg wanted Sarah to calm down and relax about Horace being around for a few more days.

  “Sorry.” Reg rubbed her eyes again. “I just got up. I need my coffee. Then I’ll be in a better mood. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “You know that I said no more cats. Even having that other one over to visit…” Sarah rolled her eyes over the concept of kitty play dates. But Starlight really did like having Nicole over. Horace’s adoptive mother, Nicole was also black all over, and she and Starlight were very close.

  “I know. But I didn’t take in another pet. You wouldn’t want me to just open the door and shoo him out, would you? Have him stalking around your garden?”

  “Certainly not!” Sarah’s voice got noticeably shriller. “But we do have animal shelters. You could take him to one of those.”

  “You want him to be put down? How is that fair? He hasn’t done anything to hurt anyone. His owner turned out to be an evil warlock who should never have had a pet. Who knows what kind of abuse Horace had to put up with while he was there. You think he should just be turned out and put down for something that wasn’t his fault?”

  Reg’s own experiences with being abused and frequently moved from home to home in foster care meant that this hit much closer to home for Reg than it did for Sarah. It wasn’t Horace’s fault that he had been treated that way. Harrison had rescued him from a bad situation and dumped him on Reg, believing that she would be the best person to take care of him. And in other circumstances, maybe he would have been right but, as Reg couldn’t take on another pet under the current circumstances…

  Reg pulled the coffee pot out from the coffee maker, even though it was still dripping a little and the drips sizzled on the hot plate and filled the room with the smell of burning coffee. She sloshed a good amount of coffee into a mug and quickly put the pot back in place.

  “I’ll give Francesca a call later today,” she promised. “She was going to be looking for some other homes too. Okay?”

  “Yes, fine,” Sarah agreed grumpily. “Why doesn’t she take this cat in until she can find a new home for it? She had all of the kittens before. She can easily manage two.”

  “I’ve tried to get her to take him, but she says there is too much else going on and she needs to concentrate on the others… she’s worried about… things.”

  Reg didn’t want to get into it too deeply. She too thought that Francesca should be able to take one more cat. Even if it were just short term. But Francesca’s worries about Horace and his eight litter mates were serious and not something that could just be brushed off. And Reg would prefer that Francesca were the one taking on that responsibility. Reg didn’t want anything else to do with the Witch Doctor and the other kattakyns.

  “Just see that you deal with it soon,” Sarah reiterated, looking at the black cat who, for the moment, was curled up on the cushion of the wicker sofa, looking perfectly happy and at home.

  “I will,” Reg promised.

  But she didn’t know how she could find him a home any faster than she was already trying.

  Sarah did a quick flip through the date book on the island, showing that she was moving on to other things and would not stop being involved in Reg’s life.

  “Let me know when you do.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Reg decided to take a page out of Harrison’s book and just show up at Francesca’s with Horace. Maybe if Francesca actually had him in the house, and he showed how well he got along with Nicole (pronounced NEE-cole in Francesca’s beautiful Haitian accent) she would let him stay there, at least until the two of them could find him another home. Then Reg didn’t have to listen to Sarah’s lectures three times a day and could focus on her psychic services business.

  And they would find Horace another home. Eventually. Unless Francesca decided he could stay there permanently.

  Francesca raised her brows when she saw Reg on her doorstep with Horace in the cat carrier. She swept long blond curls back over her ear, frowning.

  “Why did you bring him here?” Francesca asked. She looked at her watch. “We did not have anything set up today.”

  “No, I know. But he wanted to see Nicole and has been moping around my place. So, I just took the chance that the timing would be okay. You don’t need to do anything; he won’t get in your way. He can just have a visit with Nicole…”

  “You know I have other things to do.”

  “I know. You’re a busy person,” Reg agreed crisply. “Lots of responsibilities. I don’t need to stop and visit. You can keep working on whatever…”

  “I am not working on ‘whatever.’ I am working on preventing a disaster!”

  Reg stepped toward the door and angled to get through it before Francesca decided to slam it in her face. As she expected, Francesca elected to be polite and stepped back, allowing Reg in. Reg put down the cat carrier and, as soon as Francesca closed the front door, Reg opened the carrier and let Horace out. He slunk out immediately and began smelling the floor around the carrier. He had lived there before and Reg was sure he would recognize the place and be happy to be there with his adopted mother again.

  “Can you take a break from your work to have some tea?” Reg suggested.

  Francesca sighed. She rubbed her forehead and nodded. “Come into the kitchen,” she conceded.

  Reg followed her in and sat at the kitchen table while Francesca turned the kettle on and got out cups. Bright sunlight was streaming in the kitchen windows, making the glass fronts of the cupboards sparkle.

  “So, I take it things are not going as well as you would hope?” Reg hoped that sympathy would go a long way to greasing the wheels and convincing Francesca to take Horace for a few days.

  “No. It is… difficult” Francesca puttered around waiting for the kettle to boil and thinking about what she wanted to say. When she sat down at the table, she was ready to talk. “This is the problem. First, we fought the Witch Doctor, who was raising draugar from the dead to do his will. Not just one or two of them, but an increasing army.”

  Reg nodded. “Nine zombie guys.”

  Francesca rolled her eyes and shook her head. But Reg’s summary was correct, of course.

  “We battle this immortal and together we are able to do what is not possible. With the help of Corvin and Damon, we are able to defeat him. Take most of his power away, until he flees, sending his essence into the nine draugar.”

  “Which have shifted form from huge zombie guys to cute little black cats.”

  “I use my charm to call them to me and bind them with a spell so that the being of the immortal cannot separate from the kattakyns and re-form as Samyr Destine.”

  “Which you figure should hold him bound for a thousand years.”

  “More or less,” Francesca agreed. “But I did not count on any interference in the process. I thought that once we found homes for the kattakyns all around the world, we would be safe from them rediscovering each other and re-forming even when the binding spell wore off. So scattered, they would have a difficult time finding each other.”

  “But we sent Horace to Kareem.”

  Francesca sighed and nodded. She pulled a file out of a pile of papers beside her and opened it up. Reg saw the research profile she had done on Kareem before they sent Horace to him. Everything they needed to know about his background. Except for the fact that he had merely been waiting for opportunity to present itself so that he could make his grab for power. He was an older, well-respected warlock, the leader of his coven. He had recently lost his cat familiar and was looking for his replacement. They thought that he would do well with the sedate, often sleepy Horace.

  But Francesca’s profile had not suggested that the warlock might recognize the kattakyn for what he was and, even worse, recognize the portion of the Witch Doctor’s power that had been bound to the kattakyn. And that he wou
ld have the knowledge and skill to unwind Francesca’s charm and separate that piece of Samyr Destine from the creature for his own use.

  “I cannot believe…” Francesca started. She stopped and shook her head sadly. “He seemed so perfect on paper. And I talked to him on the phone, corresponded with him in email. Everything seemed to be ideal.”

  “He’s sneaky,” Reg comforted. “He was being deliberately deceptive. How were you supposed to know that?”

  “I should have sensed it. Things that he said, I should have known.”

  “You couldn’t,” Reg asserted. “Don’t spend time beating yourself up. You have enough to do without that.”

  Francesca rubbed the bones around her eyes, looking tired. She nodded. “I know. You are right. So now… Kareem unbinds the kattakyn and takes that part of Samyr to himself. That is one thing. A powerful warlock with a portion of immortal powers—that is not good.”