Raging Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 9)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “How did they die?” Rowan asked.

  “They were poisoned. Apparently when taken into custody, Torrance didn’t deny anything. He said he picked those particular girls because they were psychic and could control the minds of others. He said he had a demon in his mind and required the girls to remove it if they wanted to go free. They refused, instead poked around in his head even more, so he locked them in to change their minds. They never did, so he killed them.”

  Quinn made a face. “The girls refused to release the demon or couldn’t?”

  “I’m sure it was the latter,” Fred conceded. “The thing is — and this is something I pushed out of my head until I found out about Rowan — there were odd things about the girls. The newspapers did stories about them, and through the years, they’d all participated in one or more wondrous miracles.

  “I can’t remember the exact specifics, but one of them found a missing child,” he continued. “Another saved the family down the street from a horrendous fire that would’ve killed them all, got them out a full twenty minutes early. They were on the front lawn arguing with her when the house exploded. There was a gas leak nobody knew about.”

  Rowan’s mouth dropped open. “Wait ... they really were psychic?”

  “I didn’t really believe in psychic abilities before you so it was a story I disregarded for years. Now I’m not so sure, especially given Spencer’s ties to this guy.”

  “Michael made it sound as if Spencer only joined the fraternity to get information on Torrance,” Quinn volunteered. “He wasn’t in it for the camaraderie or rampant sex and booze.”

  “And that’s the only reason I would join a fraternity,” Fred lamented. “I mean, seriously, what other reason is there?”

  Quinn chuckled as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “There’s nothing that could entice me to join a fraternity. They’re not my thing. That being said, I think Torrance is a good lead. He’s still in prison. Maybe we can find a way to get someone over there to talk to him.”

  “To what end?” Paul queried. “What do you think he can tell us?”

  “He might have information on Spencer, including the man’s motivations. If Spencer is loony like Torrance, that’s information we need to know. If Spencer is smarter than Torrance, that’s also something that might be beneficial to know.”

  “Good point.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rowan shoved more mushrooms in her mouth and chewed, thoughtful. When she was finished, she decided it was time to volunteer the information she’d uncovered. “So, I talked to Darcy again.”

  Quinn’s eyes flashed with disbelief as he focused his full attention on her. “You did what?”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t seek her out. She found me on the deck.”

  “Why?” The worry that had been slowly pushed out of his gut all morning roared back with a vengeance. “What does she want from you?”

  “I don’t know that she wants anything from me,” Rowan countered. “I think ... well ... I think she might be trying to warn me.”

  “Warn you about what?”

  “My imminent death.”

  Quinn’s lips curved down into a rigid frown. “I don’t want you saying things like that. You’re not going to die.”

  “Eventually we’re all going to die.”

  “You’re not dying until you’re a hundred years old. Even then, we’re going together. I’ve given it a lot of thought. We’re going to go like that old couple did in The Notebook. No, don’t bother arguing. That’s the way it’s going to be.”

  Despite the serious tilt of his head, Rowan found his determination amusing. “I think that’s a fabulous idea,” she said. “I don’t want to get Alzheimer’s, though. Can we not do that part?”

  “Absolutely.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Tell me why you think Darcy is trying to warn you.”

  “Because it makes the most sense,” she replied without hesitation. “I mean, think about it, why else would she show me a picture of myself knowing I’m one of the only people on the planet who can identify the symbol?”

  “That’s a fair question,” Quinn conceded. “What if they don’t know what you can do, though?”

  Rowan was understandably confused. “How is that possible?”

  “Your father was part of an experiment at college. My understanding is that those participating displayed a variety of abilities. How could they possibly know which ability you would display?”

  “Because ... I ... um ... .” Rowan didn’t have an answer for him. “But she can do the same thing. Maybe she recognized it in me.”

  “Or maybe she was testing you,” Paul countered. “Maybe she wanted to see your reaction. You said yourself that you didn’t handle things well. Perhaps that was enough for her to realize she was on the right track.”

  Rowan couldn’t argue with the assumption and yet she remained committed to her initial opinion. “I have a feeling,” she stressed. “I know that’s not enough for some of you — okay, it’s probably not enough for all of you — but I feel something when I look at her.”

  “And what’s that?” Quinn queried. “I’m not making fun of you,” he offered hurriedly when she pinned him with a dirty look. “I really want to know. I’ve learned to trust your gut. You have good instincts. I need to understand, though. I can’t blindly trust this woman when your life is on the line.”

  “I don’t expect you to blindly trust her,” Rowan reassured him. “I’m not even sure I truly believe that she’s trying to help. It’s just ... I feel it here.” She tapped her chest for emphasis. “I don’t know how to explain it and I’m not comfortable enough to risk my life. Trust me. There’s just something about her.”

  “Fair enough.” Quinn snagged another mushroom from her plate. “Tell me.”

  “If they want to observe me in my natural environment under the radar, why show me the photo she took of us on the deck?” Rowan asked. “All that served to do was put me on edge.”

  “Maybe that was part of their plan,” Nick suggested. “It’s possible that they wanted to prod a specific reaction out of you. That could be fear ... or anger ... or something else entirely. They might simply have wanted to see for scientific reasons. We might never know their true motivations.”

  “We do know that Darcy is like me,” Rowan argued. “She can do the same thing I can. She showed me because she knew I could recognize the symbol. She also made sure I was alone when she did it. Spencer and Julia were nowhere to be found when she dropped her little bomb.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean what you think,” Quinn argued. “I mean ... maybe she’s sadistic. Maybe she was warned away from engaging with you in private and decided to break the rules because she thought it would be fun.”

  “There’s also the other possibility,” Nick interjected. “Perhaps Spencer wants Rowan to believe Darcy is on her side so she’ll start confiding in her. This all could’ve been a setup from the beginning. If so, it was the smart way to go because Rowan is clearly leaning toward believing Darcy.”

  Rowan made a protesting sound with her mouth. “I didn’t say I believed her. I just said it was possible.”

  “You have a good heart,” Quinn countered. “That’s one of the first things I noticed about you. I’m worried that you’re projecting your feelings on Darcy, though. Because you wouldn’t willingly join the Phoenix Society, you assume she’s the same way even though there’s no proof of that.”

  Rowan stubbornly folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t care what you say. I still think it’s possible.”

  “As long as you treat her like the enemy and don’t share anything important with her, I can live with that,” Quinn said, making a face when his phone dinged. “That’s probably the paperwork I’m waiting for from the medical wing. They’re supposed to get me the final autopsy report on Deborah.” He focused on his phone as Rowan risked a glance at her father.

  “I know you’re upset.” She rested
her hand on top of his and smiled when he turned it over to link fingers with her. It was something they did when she was a child and she’d never outgrown it. “It’s going to be okay, though. I’ve given it a lot of thought and decided I’m not going to die.”

  Instead of reacting with relief, Paul arched a challenging eyebrow. “Well, if you’ve decided, that’s all it takes to ensure it, right? That’s why people live forever, because they simply decided it and made it happen through magic.”

  Rowan’s smile never wavered. “Actually, I do think magic has something to do with it. Quinn is magical. What I feel for him is magical. Getting you back was magical. There’s magic in everything we’ve done here, including the fact that I was tipped off about what could happen. The magic won’t fail me now. I have faith.”

  Quinn dragged his eyes from his phone and smiled at her. “I like your attitude.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re still going to have a bodyguard until this is over with whether you like it or not.”

  “I’m fine with that.” She squeezed his knee under the table. “We’re going to get through this. You told me that this morning and I believe it with my whole heart. We’re going to make it because ... there’s no acceptable alternative.”

  “That’s very true.” He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “I want you to keep your distance from Darcy. I don’t trust her and I’m not gambling with your life. Even if that makes you angry, I’m standing firm.”

  “I have no intention of chasing after her.” That was true. Rowan was convinced Darcy would chase after her, and that was an entirely different thing. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Fair enough.” He moved his lips to her mouth and kissed her before pulling back and focusing on the rest of the group. “The autopsy results are in. Deborah was definitely strangled.”

  “That’s what you were expecting, right?” Nick queried.

  “It is. There’s only one thing of note in the report.”

  “What’s that?” Fred asked, his face lighting with interest. “Is it something we can move on?”

  “Not exactly. The doctor found hesitation marks on her neck.”

  “What does that mean?” Paul asked, unsure.

  “It means that whoever killed Deborah might’ve changed his or her mind during the deed,” Fred replied. “Whoever it was started the job, stopped at some point, and then started again. My guess is they stopped when they realized it wasn’t Rowan and then continued because they had no choice. They couldn’t leave a witness.”

  Rowan dropped the fried pickle in her hand. “Oh, don’t say that. I feel sick to my stomach. That means Deborah’s death dragged on.”

  “Which isn’t your fault,” Quinn reminded her. “You didn’t cause this.”

  “No, but she’s dead because of me. At least it’s likely she’s dead because of me. No matter what you say, that’s not going to change. I can’t ignore the facts.”

  “No, but we’ll make whoever did this pay.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I promise you that.”

  “What does the hesitation mean from an investigative standpoint?” Nick asked, genuinely curious. “Can it help us narrow down a culprit?”

  “Not yet, but it might down the road when we have more information. I don’t know that it means anything yet. It might turn out to be nothing. It could turn out to be something, though, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”

  “So ... now what?” Rowan asked.

  “Now we go back to our normal routine and pretend nothing is going on. That’s all we can do.”

  12

  Twelve

  Even though Quinn knew Rowan was safe — those watching her texted regular updates, including photos — he was antsy and decided to work from the tiki bar. He wanted a prime view of his girlfriend. It wasn’t as much that he thought something would happen to her if the others were in charge as much as he was terrified not to be there when the moment of truth arrived.

  It was different from the other side, he internally mused as Rowan snapped photos of the kids playing at the adventure park. She was smiling and encouraging them to go down the slide, which they readily agreed to, as she took a series of action shots. She’d been seeing omens in photos for years, trying to thwart them. He’d been helping for months. In all that time he didn’t think about what it would be like from the other side.

  Knowing you were slated to die was paralyzing. Sure, he wasn’t the one who was seemingly doomed, but it would’ve been easier for him if it was. The fear he felt for her was something he couldn’t describe. At least if he were the one at the center of it, he would feel more in control.

  Rowan, on the other hand, clearly felt out of control. That’s what her binge-drinking extravaganza from the previous evening told him. She felt as if things were completely out of her hands. Even though she knew better, she was operating under the assumption that fate was inevitable. He saw it when she looked at him. She studied every angle of his face, in case it was the last time they would ever be together.

  As for Quinn, he refused to believe that. He would protect her with his dying breath. He would sacrifice himself to save her, although that wasn’t the ideal option for either of them. They wanted a life together, to move forward together. They wanted marriage ... and a house ... and eventually children. In their future he saw long walks on the beach, regular date nights including seafood, and excursions to the beach to build sandcastles.

  He would settle for nothing less.

  Part of her may have been defeated — although he could see the hope lingering in her eyes — but he would never give up. He knew they were destined for a certain type of life and he would make sure they got it. That’s why he couldn’t work anywhere but the deck. He simply couldn’t be away from her.

  Rowan found him there as he finished up, smirking when she realized what he was doing. “Watching me, huh?” she teased as she slid into the seat across from him. “Some people might find that a little weird.”

  Quinn merely shrugged. “I don’t care what other people think. I care what I think ... and I don’t want to be away from you.”

  Rowan bobbed her head in understanding. “I get it. If the roles were reversed, if it were you, I would be with you every second of the day. You can’t blame yourself, though, if it happens. If you try everything and still can’t save me, I need you to know it’s not your fault.”

  She was trying to soothe him, but all Quinn felt was annoyance. “You’re going to be fine.”

  “I know.” She forced a smile for his benefit. “I have faith.”

  “You’re just saying that.” Anger and frustration bubbled up as he closed his laptop and stared into her eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I don’t want you being reckless or anything. I want you to have faith in me, though. I’ll save you.”

  She held his gaze for what felt like a really long time. Finally, a genuine smile curved her lips and she reached across the table to capture his hand. “I believe you. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to have years together.”

  He linked his fingers with hers, never breaking eye contact. “We’re going to have forever,” he corrected. “We’re going to have decades together in this life — I’m talking seven decades here — and then we’re going to have eternity together in the next.”

  Rowan’s grin felt sloppy. “Do you believe there’s something else out there after death?”

  He seemed surprised by the question. “Don’t you?”

  “I don’t know. I’m kind of practical in a lot of ways. Still, there’s real magic out there. It’s hard not to believe we go on.”

  “There’s real magic right here.” He lifted their joined fingers. “You’re the most magical person I know.”

  Rowan’s cheeks burned. “That’s a really sweet thing to say.”

  “It’s the truth. I feel blessed ... and happy ... and excited every day that we’re together. I feel something extra here.” He tapp
ed the spot above his heart with his free hand. “You’re it for me. You always have been. What I feel for you can’t be duplicated. That’s the magic of us.”

  Rowan’s eyes burned with unshed tears. “That could be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to anyone.”

  From the next table, a misty-eyed blonde interjected herself into the conversation. “Oh, honey, I guarantee that was the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to anyone over the course of history. If you don’t snap that man up, I’m kidnapping him.”

  Rowan laughed, genuinely amused. “I think I’m going to keep him.”

  “Forever,” Quinn agreed. There was no fear in the declaration. He meant it. Not only that, he was looking forward to it. “We should pack up our stuff and stow it in the room. It’s time for dinner and I’ll bet you’re starving.”

  As if on cue, Rowan’s stomach let loose a wild growl, causing him to bark out a laugh.

  “I figured.” He leaned over the table and graced her with a soft kiss. “I’m betting you’re looking forward to eating your weight in crab legs tonight.”

  “I could eat some crab legs,” she hedged. “I kind of want cheesecake, too.”

  “Then crab legs and cheesecake it is.”

  ROWAN WORE SIMPLE KHAKIS and a black shirt for dinner. She wasn’t in the mood to dress up. Since Quinn was determined to make an early night of it — the faster he had her locked in their room and away from potential danger, the better — he was keen to hit the main restaurant without delay.

  “Oh, look.” Rowan’s smile was so wide it threatened to engulf her entire face as she lifted her chin and inclined it toward the dessert table. “They have a cheesecake bar with one of those chocolate fountains I love.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek as he followed her finger. “It’s like a dessert table designed specifically with you in mind.”

  She slowly tracked her eyes to him, suspicious. “Did you arrange for this?”

  “Why would I arrange for a cheesecake buffet?”