Insight

by Teyla Branton

  For a moment Reese saw panic in her father’s face, but it was followed quickly with a hardening of his jaw. “Bethany’s dead. They killed her. We’ll be next.”

  Cecelia gasped. “I told you to leave it alone. You should have ripped up that picture!”

  Reese’s stomach dropped. Her picture? It had to be. She was the only one who drew around here. And the picture of the man at Jaxon’s house was the only one her father had shown interest in. What had her father done?

  “Leave the stuff.” Cecelia’s high, breathy voice sounded nothing like her usual self. “Let’s go.”

  Her father gave a curt nod. “Just gotta get something from the bedroom. We’ll need all the cash I’ve saved. Yours too.”

  “When are we coming back?” Reese hated the wobbling in her voice. She’d meant to sound determined.

  “Never.” His finger stabbed at her. “With or without you, I’m leaving. Your choice.”

  “Of course she’s coming! It won’t be safe here.” Cecelia gave her a sympathetic glance. “Get whatever you can carry, honey. Hurry!”

  This was insane. Where did they plan to go? There was no place but the Coop, not for people like them. Leaving a colony, even temporarily, was impossible without preapproval. And if they managed to sneak out using one of the breaches in the outer wall, how would they survive? They’d be picked up before long without the right kind of ID.

  Reese ran to her bedroom and shoved her three used sketchbooks into a bag, followed by her current one and a few clothes. The bag was only half full when she remembered the water skins under the bed. Those went in next, followed by her two spare pairs of underwear and a pair of sneakers that were missing parts of the soles.

  Had the world gone crazy?

  Jaxon! She wished she could talk to him, explain to him how much she wanted to take back her picture. To unsketch the man. Somehow she knew her picture had caused his mother’s death, that she was responsible for the devastation in his face.

  Before Reese realized she was making a decision, she was out the front door and running over the square of dying lawn to Jaxon’s house. But his door was locked, and all the enforcers were gone. No answers here—and of course no Jaxon.

  She heard a door slam and Cecelia calling her name. Then her dad, his voice loud and angry. She crouched by the edge of Jaxon’s house where an overgrown bush somehow thrived in a half meter of dirt. Her father was cursing now, and Cecelia pleaded with him to wait, but their voices faded, floating down the street in the direction of the sky train.

  They’d really left her. Reese didn’t care. She had to see Jaxon. To make him understand that she hadn’t meant to hurt him.

  But Jaxon didn’t return, and neither did her father. After two days of hiding out at the transfer station, spying on her house and Jaxon’s, the endless hunger in her stomach forced her to break in and raid both houses for food. Packing all she could carry, she left the colony through the breach in the outer wall that she and the other kids had found during their explorations.

  Outside, barren land stretched as far as she could see, broken only by an occasional plant and a ribbon of road that cut like a scar across the terrain. She’d have to wait until dark to start down the road or the cameras mounted on the wall would catch her. At night, there were patches of darkness between the flood lights that might be enough to hide her escape. If she ran fast, she’d only be visible to the guards for a few seconds before she was beyond the reach of the brightest beams—if they were even paying attention.

  Her plan succeeded maybe too well. Days of walking and hitching several rides from kind strangers followed, bringing Reese into first one CORE city and then another. She moved on the edges, avoiding cameras and enforcers—or anyone who looked official. Finally driven to desperation and the hunger in her stomach, she dared use her CivID to ride the sky train, which miraculously didn’t bring enforcers down on her. By dusk of the seventh day, she arrived at her great-aunt’s place in Big Horn, where she collapsed on the beautifully manicured lawn. The gardener found her the next morning, chilled despite the heat of August, and brought her inside, where her great-aunt fed her mounds of the most delicious food in a kitchen so large that Reese felt she was still outside.

  It was then she learned her father and Cecelia were dead. A fall from a sky train platform—an accident, the report said. But Reese knew better. Her picture had killed them too.

  END OF SAMPLE. Click here to purchase a copy of Sketches (Colony Six book 1) on Smashwords. The bonus sample of First Touch, the prequel to my paranormal suspense Imprints series, starts on the next page. Enjoy!

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  Prologue

  I would remember the day forever. I knew because I’d lived through it once before. Tonight I’d have to say a final goodbye to Winter Rain, the only father I’d ever known. I wished now that I hadn’t called him by his first name, because only the word father could describe the loss I now felt.

  Friends were already gathering for the all-night vigil in my living room, where we would share stories and talk about his life. There would be plenty for everyone to say. Winter had loved and helped more people in his short sixty-five years of life than many men could have in ten lifetimes. My mother, Summer, had been the same way. The only good thing about the bridge bombing that had stolen Winter’s life was that it had also returned him to her.

  A home funeral was our tradition, and even though Winter had been under water for nearly a week after the bridge collapse and some of his skin had been torn away, the cold water had preserved him enough that we didn’t have to betray his wishes with embalming. Winter lay inside the simple pine box one of his friends had made, one we would use markers to decorate with messages of love. There was a peace in the stillness of his face that strangely comforted me.

  My best friend Jake popped his dark head into the kitchen. “I found the markers. And I’ve made sure we have plenty of dry ice in the coolers if we need to replace the bags around him.”

  “Good.” With a sigh of relief, I shut the kitchen drawer I was searching and followed him out to the living room, where people were gathered.

  Tawnia, my twin sister, with whom I’d been reunited only this week, after thirty-two years of separation, looked up from her conversation and gave me a little wave. Her being here was a comfort every bit as large as the loss that carved up my insides until I didn’t know if I could ever breathe again.

  Jake stopped and I nearly plowed into him. “What about the picture?” he asked, reaching out to steady me.

  He meant Winter’s favorite picture of Summer. Because though we’d gathered to celebrate Winter’s life, Summer had been the only woman he’d ever loved and a huge part of his life. He’d loved her from the first day they’d met, had adored her through twenty years of marriage, had cared for her during a year of cancer, and had been faithful to her for over twenty years since her death. The picture would bring her back, just for the night, to those who had known her and would remember those stories.

  “Oh, right. It’s still in his bedroom,” I told Jake. “I’ll go get it. Can you pass out the markers?”

  “Sure.”

  I turned and went into the bedroom Winter had used. Everything was neat and clean, except the bed where I’d been sleeping to feel close to him. Tawnia must have been at work in here. The picture was on the nightstand in the same spot it had adorned for the past two decades. As a young girl, I’d sat on his bed for hours staring at the picture.

  I swept it up and stared into my mother’s face. I expected to remember the emotions of the sad eleven-year-old I’d been at her passing, emotions that were forever frozen in time. Instead I felt . . .

  An ache so large the world couldn’t contain it. An ache that would have been impossible to bear but for the love that also rushed in and filled every crevice and pore, pushing out the ache so I could bask in the warm light of pure love. Loving Summer was the best, most perfect thing I had ever done, and though she was gone, she was still in my hear
t and would be forever.

  I reached out and traced the glass covering her face . . .

  I gasped. The hands I’d seen in this strange vision weren’t mine but Winter’s. And the love I felt wasn’t that of a girl for her lost mother, but the larger, more encompassing love of a husband who was completely devoted to his wife.

  My fingers became suddenly boneless, and I dropped the picture. It fell . . . seemingly both too fast and in slow motion. Down, down, down to the thin throw rug covering the wood floor. The frame hit the carpet and bounced, slamming into the floor with a loud crash. The glass splintered.

  I stood there staring, my chest heaving. Frightened yet exhilarated.

  “Autumn? You okay?”

  I turned to see Tawnia in the doorway, concern on her face.

  “Yes, it slipped.”

  She rushed in, passing me and picking up the picture. “Not a problem. You join your guests. I’ll throw away the rest of this glass and clean up the shards. We can still set the picture out in just the frame. I’ll get it replaced for you tomorrow.”

  “But . . .” The words died on my lips as she left the room with the picture.

  I’d wanted to touch it again, to feel the love Winter had for Summer. Even with the all-encompassing ache of missing her, it was the most incredible experience. Almost as though he hadn’t died, or at least a part of him hadn’t.

  Or as though, for an instant, I had become him.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to the empty room.

  My eye caught on the small book of poetry my parents had used to recite their favorite verses while exchanging their vows. Some of the people gathering would remember the ceremony, and would like to hear the poems again. I would. As a girl, I’d had them practically memorized. I lifted the book.

  And I was happy. So happy. I stared at Winter, knowing today I would pledge my life to him, knowing my future was safe, our love secure. My eyes met his as I began to recite the poem, the one that explained exactly how I felt about him.

  The scene skipped backward to one that had occurred only minutes before the first.

  I was the luckiest man in the world, standing with my hand linked to that of the most beautiful woman in the world. Words of a poem slipped through my lips as if I’d written the words myself just for her.

  I drew in a swift breath. It was them—Winter and Summer. On the day they’d exchanged their vows. It was as if I were there, seeing an event that had taken place ten years before my adoption. I knew the story by heart, of course. Winter had recited his poem and then Summer had followed. I’d seen it in reverse order, but it was as real as if I’d been standing there.

  Carefully, I set the book down and began touching more of Winter’s belongings. His favorite mug, his lamp, his shoes, the piece of pottery I’d made for him in grade school. On everything he’d loved, I felt him. Sometimes faintly, like a whisper, and sometimes it was more of a shout. I looked out from his eyes, reliving his memories. I was overwhelmed with the sense of him until I almost forgot I existed, except as he saw me—his beloved child, the daughter he loved more than life. I remembered events I’d never experienced. I understood things I could not possibly know.

  Whatever was going on here, I didn’t question it. I’d felt an invisible cord tying me to Winter and Summer every day of my life—until they died. I’d felt the same tie from the moment I met Tawnia. It was family. Connection. This was like that . . . but stronger.

  Tomorrow, I knew we’d drive to the outskirts of town to a plot of earth owned by one of my father’s friends, where we’d bury Winter next to Summer. And then it would be over, and life would return to the closest thing to normal I could find without him. Whatever crazy worlds had aligned to give me this intimate glimpse into Winter’s life, I was grateful.

  I was also dead wrong.

  Chapter 1

  Two minutes before the cop entered my antiques store, life was good. My best friend, Jake, had bought Winter’s Herb Shoppe and was making regular payments that kept the bank off my back, my own business was growing slowly but steadily, and my recently-married sister was six months along with my niece or nephew. And, perhaps best of all, I’d begun helping people with the strange gift that had manifested the day of Winter’s funeral.

  Psychometry, it was called, the ability to read emotions left on certain objects. In the ten months since Winter’s death, I’d gotten past my disbelief, and with the support of Jake and my sister, I’d begun to use it. I had helped unite lovers, resolved disputes between landlords and tenants, found runaway teens, and even helped several mothers know which of their children were telling the truth.

  Through it all, Jake and I had grown closer, which made me begin to hope that maybe we could move past this friendship thing we had going on. Maybe. At least it was a possibility.

  Life was good.

  Then the cop came.

  The electronic bell on my door rang as he entered, and I looked up from the solitary customer I was helping and for a moment, I stared. He wasn’t tall for a man—only a few inches taller than I was—but he had presence. His strides were powerful and sure, no movement wasted. From the moment he entered, his eyes locked onto mine and didn’t let go.

  His hair was that color between brown and blond that was darker in the winter and lighter under the summer sun. May meant the color was probably in the midrange. I couldn’t tell if the slightly messy hair was purposeful or if he’d been running his hand through it recently. Either could be true because he definitely hadn’t taken the time to shave for a few days. The look suited him. On a hot scale of one to ten, he was at least an eleven.

  He looked neither right nor left, and the way he disregarded all my antiques told me he wasn’t here to buy. Even with his nice slacks and blazer, he didn’t look like a salesman or a politician. No, he was either a writer who wanted to rehash the Hawthorne Bridge bombing or a law officer of some kind, one who skirted the clean-shaven face policy.

  Every now and again, as a matter of courtesy, a police officer would stop by with news of the bridge rebuilding. The gesture was overkill for me because my brother-in-law was in charge of the reconstruction, but I appreciated that they offered the information to all the victim’s families.

  I forced my gaze away and returned my elderly customer’s credit card. “Thank you. I hope you enjoy the music box.”

  The woman laughed, clutching her purchase that I’d wrapped in brown paper. “Oh, I will. It’ll make a perfect addition to my collection. Please do call me if you find any more that you think I’d like to see.”

  “Sure thing.”

  The man had reached the counter and I felt his stare. I deliberately watched my customer half way to the door before turning to find him staring at me with green-blue eyes unlike any I’d ever seen before. One of my own eyes was blue, but his were a wash of brilliant color that seemed to pin me in place. Or maybe it was only the intent way he stared at me, as though he saw all of me and understood me on some core level no one ever had before.

  A stare like that definitely meant he expected something. Most cops didn’t, so maybe he was a writer after all. If so, I’d send him packing.

  “May I help you?” I asked.

  Something flickered in his gaze as it wandered over my face, briefly lingering on my hazel right eye. Most people didn’t notice my heterochromia the first time I met them, so I’d give him credit for that.

  “I hope so,” he said. “I’m Detective Shannon Martin, with PPB Homicide.” He held up a badge.

  “Shannon, huh?” That was different for a man, at least in my circle, especially for a man who looked like he did. I pretended to study his badge for a moment. PPB meant Portland Police Bureau, and the badge looked legitimate. So, cop it was.

  “Homicide?” I asked. Clearly that was the important thing to take from all his words.

  “We also investigate assaults, kidnappings, and missing persons. Right now we have a little girl missing, and I’m here at the request of her father. Ap
parently, he thinks you’re a psychic.”

  There was no missing the derision in his voice.

  “Well, I’m not psychic,” I said with a bland smile that I hoped didn’t reveal the pounding of my heart. So far I hadn’t used my ability to solve a serious crime, but all at once I wanted to help that little girl. “I only read imprints.”

  “Imprints?” He arched a brow in a way that might have been called seductive in another environment. Not that I was noticing.

  I gave a little shake of my head. “I call them imprints, because it feels like they’re emotions imprinted on certain objects. Like a virtual reality program, or something. They’re not on everything, though, like you might think. Only on certain objects.”

  “Oh, of course.” Now the derision translated to a noticeable pursing of his lips, as if he held back words he was too polite to say.

  I wanted to tell him to get lost, but there was that little girl and her father to think about. “What happened to her?”

  The detective snorted. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to tell me?”

  “It doesn’t work that way.” I might be glaring at him, but I didn’t care.

  “If I tell you what happened, you’ll be just that more likely to make something up.”

  That made me laugh. I lifted my hands and took a step back from the counter. “Fine. Don’t tell me anything. But if you want my help, you’ll need to let me touch the evidence. I can’t read what I can’t touch. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

  He nodded sharply. “Then you refuse to help.”

  “Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better. But you’re the one who obviously doesn’t want me involved.” I turned and started toward my back room that ran the width of my antiques shop, banging my thigh painfully on the tall stool I kept behind the counter for busy days.

  I’d made it only a few steps when the bell at my door rang again. Too soon for the detective to be exiting, unless he could fly. I turned to see the detective still lingering near the counter and a burly man coming into the shop.