“And she taught you?” Tony’s eyes hold mine.
“I’ve watched her enough to play the game. I don’t have any real gift.”
He nodded slowly and seemed to weigh his words. “I know you’ve been to see Nina.”
I picked up my sandwich and took a bite. “Who?” I mumbled over a mouthful of bread.
“Madam Rosemarie.”
“Again, for fun. Ava and I went one day. Do you know her?”
“Yeah, she’s a family friend.”
Huh. “What did she say about me?”
“Nothing. She just mentioned your name and that you went to the art school. The palm reading cinched it.”
I had no idea where he was going with this. How much he knew. I took another bite of my lunch.
“Look, I grew up with this kind of thing, too. That’s all. If you ever want to talk, I’m around.”
I glanced around the café, but no one seemed interested in us. “What kind of ‘thing’ are you talking about?”
“It’s just me and my dad, but he’s always sort of had a sixth sense kind of thing.”
“What? Your dad sees dead people?” I asked in a weird, Haley Joel Osment voice.
“No,” he laughed. “Not like that, but he seems to have a good idea when things are going to happen – where something bad is going to happen. I guess most people would call it having a good instinct.”
“And you?”
“I guess you would call them visions. Everything I paint is something that I’ve seen. I sort of trance out and come back with an idea. But the catch is that everything in the vision is an actual event.”
“Wait, so your paintings predict the future or something?”
He spread his palms flat across the table. “I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I think everything I paint comes from something that has either happened in the past or is going to happen in the future. Just little snapshots in time.” He smiled nervously and I saw the white glint of his teeth. “Basically, they are snapshots but with paint.”
“Okay, that’s really amazing,” I said. “Have you ever done anything with it? Is there a purpose behind your gift?”
“What do you mean?”
I took a deep breath. “Okay, yeah, I have my own talent or whatever. I don’t read palms. My aunt does that. And auras. But I…” I trailed off and looked around again, paranoid. The café buzzed with lunchtime activities but no one cared about us. We were like a little island in the middle of the crowd. “You can’t tell. Anyone.”
“I won’t.”
“Well, that sixth sense you mentioned? I have it for real.”
His eyes grew huge. “Dead people?”
“Yep.”
“I help them cross over. Sometimes they get stuck and they need a little help moving on.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
“Sometimes. Usually it’s a pain in the ass.”
He laughed. “Why would you say that?”
“Stick around long enough and you’ll see,” I assured him. “So, yeah, my job is to help them move on. Do your paintings have a greater purpose?”
“Not that I’ve seen. Not beyond making people happy.” He raised his eyebrow and added, “That and making money.”
“Huh, maybe one day it will become clearer?”
Ava walked back to the table and sat in her seat. She picked up her lemonade. “What did I miss?”
I opened my mouth to tell her, but held back. This was not my information to share. Not now. I would need to let Tony know about Ava’s involvement.
And Connor.
Plastering a weak smile on my face, I offered both Tony and Ava a piece of cookie, wondering when everything got so complicated.
*
The dorm was relatively quiet when Ava and I knocked on Amber’s door that afternoon.
“Come in.”
“Hey,” I said. We’d hung out here some over the last couple of months, watching movies and talking. Amber’s stuff had slowly taken over the empty side, leaving the extra bed to act as a couch. I pointed to the sketch board mounted above her desk. Images of clothing and accessories filled the space. “That’s great.”
“Thanks,” she said, sitting on the chair. “What’s up?”
“Not much,” Ava said. I shrugged noncommittally.
“Saw your ex this afternoon in the studio. He’s looking good.”
Tell me about it, I wanted to say, but kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t here to girl fight over Connor. Ava, thankfully stepped up and redirected the conversation by pointing to the empty closet. “Amber, we’ve never talked about Kelsey,” she said. “What’s going on with all that?”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think happened?” I asked. “Did they tell you anything? Why she left school or when she was murdered?”
Amber shrugged. “I’ve got no idea – maybe she just cracked? That girl on the first floor left after mid-terms. They didn’t give me any details, other than she’d been dead for a while. Ugh.”
“She had a boyfriend here, right?” I pushed. Amber clearly didn’t want to talk about this, but she was our only real connection.
“Yeah, an upperclassman, I think. They fought all the time so I don’t know if they broke up or what. I told all this to the counselors.”
“Right,” I said, trying to think of another question or angle. “It’s all just really scary.”
“It is. I keep finding her stuff here and there. How it got so spread over the room I’ll never know.” She walked over to the desk and fumbled in the drawers. She pulled out a picture of Kelsey and some guy. “That’s him. The boyfriend or whatever.”
I looked at the photo and frowned. “I know him.”
“You do? Wow, maybe they did come up for air occasionally,” she said dismissively.
“Look at this photo, doesn’t he look familiar to you?” I asked, shoving the photo at her. I was pretty sure we’d seen him together.
She looked, narrowing her eyes in thought. “Wait. With Connor right? At lunch that day.”
I stood over her shoulder and stared at the guy in the photo. His shaved head and bushy eyebrows. “Yep. His name is Tom. That’s Connor’s roommate.”
*
I waited on the picnic table outside Connor’s dorm and pulled my hat over my ears. It was freezing out and I would’ve preferred being inside, but I wanted to get a handle on the Tom situation first.
Connor came down the stairs wearing a dark grey hoodie, hands shoved in the pockets. Jeans protected his long legs from the wind and he had on his favorite scuffed black boots. He smiled from across the grassy area and I waved.
“What’s going on?” he said, scooting close.
“I’ve got a bit of information. The ghost? Kelsey? I talked to Amber about her. She disappeared a few weeks into school and it was sort of assumed she dropped out. Which maybe she did, except she’s also dead.”
“Right. You knew most of that though.”
“What I just learned is that she had a boyfriend. One she fought with a lot.” Connor looked at me expectantly. “I saw a photo of her that Amber kept. Her boyfriend is your roommate.”
“Tom?”
“Yep.”
“I never saw him with anyone. No girls have been with him in our room.”
“Well, they were pretty cozy in the photo I saw.”
“What do you think it means?” he asked.
“She had bruises on her neck. She told me to mind my own business. Seemed personal. Domestic.”
Connor’s hands gripped the edge of the table. “You want to go talk to him? He’s up there working on something for class.”
“I think we should.”
On the way to the room, we talked about how to approach him – we’d simply ask some questions and get a feel for things. This would be easier if Kelsey would talk to me. I wasn’t even sure she could – if she even had control over her spirit right now.
Tom sat at his drawing table working on one of his cr
eepy pieces in charcoal. His work was twisted but he had talent. I followed Connor into the room and heard the low, disjointed music playing on the computer. This guy was so weird.
“Hey, man,” Connor said, getting his attention.
He glanced up and said, “Hi,” then went straight back to his work.
Okay, then.
“Have you met Jane?” Connor said, persevering. “She’s a friend from high school.”
“Hi,” I said.
He gave me a brief, uninterested grin. Damn, why was this so hard?
“Listen, we wanted to ask you something about a mutual friend. She lived next door to Jane.”
“Who’s that?” he asked and, for the first time, he said enough for me to hear his English accent.
“Kelsey Bartlett? The girl the police found? She had a picture of the two of you together. I recognized you from being with Connor.”
“Oh right, Kelsey. I can’t believe that happened. We dated a bit – a while back.”
“You know she just kind of left school abruptly. Any idea where she went?”
“Not really. Kelsey and I met at a house party last year. She was still in high school, locally but knew some people at the party. To be honest, we didn’t talk much once she got here. Things were a bit strained between us.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, biting my tongue to hold back the million questions and accusations I had. “You fought a lot?”
“Not exactly.” He balled his hand into a fist and used it to smudge the charcoal. “Why does this matter? She’s gone.”
“Jane’s a worrier,” Connor said.
I rolled my eyes in mock playfulness and said, “Guilty.”
Tom placed his charcoal on the table and really looked at me for the first time since I came in the room. “Kelsey wasn’t the easiest girl to know. I wasn’t entirely surprised she left like that. She’s a tad fickle. Moving from one guy to the next – one minute wanting art school, the next something entirely different. I figured she’d gone backpacking across Europe or out west. I guess that spontaneity made her more vulnerable.”
I sensed hurt in his voice, a hint of bitterness beneath the sadness. “Well, if you ever think anything, let me know, okay?”
“You got it,” he said, pushing a couple buttons on his computer and filling the room with edgy music. Connor seemed as perplexed as I did and, when he took my hand in his, I followed him out the door.
*
“Find out anything?” Ava asked when I got back to the room. I kicked my shoes off and they hit the wall with a thud.
“Not much. Either Tom didn’t do it or he’s a really good liar. I don’t think he knows anything, though.”
She sighed and said, “Oh, well, at least you tried. We can still talk to Lila, I guess.” Ava grabbed a small, square envelope off her desk. “Before I forget, Tony dropped this off for you.”
“Did he say what it is?”
“Nope. Just asked me to give it to you.”
I tore the edge and found an invitation inside. “It’s from Madam Rosemarie,” I said, holding the card up. “It’s to some party she’s having tonight.”
“The psychic? Since when do you guys hang?”
“I don’t know. Connor and I went over after my freak out in the bathroom with Kelsey. I panicked.”
“When is it?”
“Tonight at six. It’s addressed to me and Connor.”
“Ah, a date.”
“Shut up.” I frowned. “I wonder why she invited me. Or how she found me?”
“Seems like Tony knows her. He’s from Savannah, right? Oh my God, it’s probably some kind of supernatural party. Only psychics and ghost whisperers allowed. I’m jealous.”
“Maybe.” I got up and started digging in my closet. “What do you wear to a party held at a psychic’s house?”
“What would Jeannie wear?” Ava said. “WWJW?”
I rolled my eyes at the lame joke, but she was right. Channeling Jeannie never hurt.
Chapter 17
I filled Connor in on Tony as we walked to Madam Rosemarie’s. I figured I should come clean since he was the one to deliver the invitation.
“You know Tony, right? Lives in your dorm? He was at the Christmas party?”
He nodded and held the door open to the shop. “We’ve met.”
Candles flickered throughout the shop. Thick pillars on the counters and small tea lights in glass votives. A huge chandelier I hadn’t noticed before hung from the ceiling, filled with lit, green candles.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about his talent.”
“I understand. Not your secret to tell.”
Connor’s good looks were even more extreme in the shadowy light. We’d agreed on semi-nice clothing and I wore a causal dress, long enough to graze the top of my feet, while Connor had on a button-down and jeans. For once he hadn’t worn a hat and it was weird to see his hair. Not that anything about this wasn’t weird. We were out of our depth socially. Especially for two former social misfits.
“Good, you got my invite. I know it was last minute.” Nina said. She leaned over and kissed Connor on the cheek. “Glad to see you both looking less freaked out than the last time you were here.”
“Thanks for inviting us,” I said. “The shop looks great.”
“Thanks, it works well as a meeting place.”
“Is that what this is? A meeting?”
“I prefer to call it a gathering of like-minded people. Which is still basically a meeting, so yeah.”
Connor looked around the dimly lit room. “Can they see ghosts, too?”
Nina smiled. “That’s not for me to share, but yes, everyone here has a special talent. I thought you may feel less alone if you had the opportunity to meet some people with common interests.”
“Wow,” I said, studying the room a little more closely. Connor and I were by far the youngest, but there were 10 or 15 men and women of various ages scattered throughout the room. I spotted Tony leaning against a chair speaking with a couple of people. “They all look so normal.”
Nina laughed. “They do, don’t they? So do you!”
“True.”
“Well, go around. Meet some people. There are drinks on the counter and a bit of food if you’d like.”
She left us to fend for ourselves. “Here, let me have your coat,” Connor said, helping me ease my arms out of the sleeves.
“Thanks.”
He tossed our coats on a pile near the door. “Well, this is interesting.”
“Definitely.”
We walked over to the counter and grabbed two glasses of water. I wanted a clear head for whatever was happening tonight.
“Want to make some guesses on who does what?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Like that lady.” He gestured to a woman wearing a heavy, rainbow colored shawl. “Obviously, she fights demons.”
“Obviously. Her sandals gave that away. Total kick-ass footwear.” I nodded at a guy in a leather vest. He had an awesome, scraggly beard and a stud earring glinted against his pale ear. “What about him?”
“Werewolf hunter.”
“Okay,” I laughed. “What about those women?”
He made a big show of studying two women in their 30s. Both stunning with long, straight hair, one blonde, one brunette. The blonde had plump lips and wide, blue eyes. The other had smaller features. “That’s easy. The brunette is a fairy.”
“And the other?”
He gave me a wolfish grin. “A succubus.”
“You wish.”
He placed a hand on my lower back and leaned close. “I don’t. I can barely handle the one woman in my life.”
Heat flowed from his touch, spreading warmth across my skin. The energy from the other night flickered beneath the surface. In fact, the whole room felt warm and close. The scent of incense wafted through the air and it tasted sweet on my tongue. I shook my head to clear the haze, but I couldn’t pull away from the fog. Conn
or looked down and opened his mouth to say something. I just wanted to kiss him.
“We haven’t met, I’m Lena.” My attention snapped from Connor to the woman in front of me. The demon hunter in her rainbow shawl.
“H… hi,” I stammered. “I’m Jane. This is Connor. Nice to meet you.”
“Is this your first time at one of our gatherings?”
“Yes,” Connor said. “Nina invited us.”
“How did you meet her?” The woman fished. I crossed psychic and mind reader off the list.
“We came in to get a reading,” I said in case she had some ability to read lies. Good grief, it was exhausting managing a room full of talented people. “How long have you all been getting together like this?
“There have always been meetings with small groups of similar people. We’re not the first members. Savannah’s an old city with many historic groups. We’re one of them. It’s good to know your community and we like to support one another.”
“That sound nice,” I said. Connor’s hand hadn’t left my back and I leaned into him. “Do you meet often?”
“At least once a month. Maybe more if there’s an emergency.”
Lena was older than my mother, but not much. Maybe in her 50s. She had an air of confidence about her that was slightly intimidating. She wanted me to ask some unspoken question. Who? How? What? But I could tell that was against the rules. Instead I played her game, vague and not to the point. “Which is this? An emergency or your regular meeting?”
“A little of both,” she said. Tony finally made his way over and kissed Lena on the cheek. “Sweetheart, do you know Connor and Jane?”
“Sure do.” He smiled at me and offered his hand to Connor. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m tired of being the youngest one.”
I wanted to ask more about the meeting, but Lena walked off and Nina called for our attention. We turned and saw her standing on a small stool near the jewelry case. She asked us to find a seat and Connor and I shared a small armchair. The same one Nina sat in while reading my palm.
“Thanks for coming out tonight on such short notice. I know we skipped out last meet-up due to the holidays, but I wanted to gather everyone because there’s been some developments that I thought the group should be aware of.”
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