The Final Omen: Second Sight Book Four

by Heather Topham Wood

  Breaking into Michelle’s house was the only viable plan Kate could think of. She couldn’t expect the police to search for the woman based on her visions alone. Because of Michelle’s calls to her sister, no one knew about the abduction of the woman and her son. Kate’s other option was to approach Michelle’s sister and tell her about the visions showing Michelle in danger. However, the success of that scenario would largely depend on whether the woman thought Kate was full of it or not.

  Going forward, she was going to keep Jared on a need to know basis. She could’ve benefited from his detective skills, but her fear for his safety outweighed the need for him to be involved. Not to mention she was about to commit a crime—something he could lose his job over.

  “At the very least we should’ve taken the Hummer. You don’t even have air conditioning in your car,” Declan complained.

  “Your car isn’t stealthy enough. You can hear that thing coming down the road a mile away.”

  “Who cares? It has air and more entertainment options than a cassette player and AM radio,” he said looking at her stereo with derision. “If you were worried about being spotted, why didn’t we take Jared’s car? Didn’t he drive the Crown Vic to work?”

  “Because I can’t take my boyfriend’s car to commit a crime. He’s a cop. That’s all kinds of wrong.” Jared had tried to share custody of his BMW with her, but she’d refused. Not only did she have a soft spot for her old Toyota, it felt wrong to ask her hardworking boyfriend to drive her clunker while she took over his luxury car.

  He was working on a case and wouldn’t be back at their home until late. Declan had met her and waited as she prepared for their night of breaking and entering. Under the cover of darkness, she planned to find out as much about Michelle Hamley as possible to help her get back home safely.

  “So, what’s the plan? Since this is your idea, I’m hoping you gave it some thought?” When Kate didn’t answer, he tilted his chin back and huffed out a deep breath. “You didn’t learn how to break into a house from YouTube, did you?”

  Kate was pleased the car was dark; it kept her blush hidden from him. She had in fact been researching how to pick locks online before they had left. “Don’t worry; I may have some handy tools in my purse.”

  “I’m only doing this because it’s your life at stake. We’re not going to make it a habit in future cases.”

  “When did I become the risk taker and you become the stickler for following the rules? I could point out plenty of times where you dragged me into situations that weren’t the safest.”

  “I know and it kind of makes me sick. It must be Jared’s good influence rubbing off on me. I’ve even been looking into legitimizing our operation, like getting an office space and advertising, all that boring stuff.”

  She was surprised by his admission. “What do you mean? Do you want to open a psychic shop?”

  “More like a psychic consulting service. We could have clients come to us for help instead of us chasing down reward purses on missing persons cases,” he said. “I know you’ve been unsure of what you want to do with your career, but I’d like us to stay partners. For you, being psychic means you get the chance to help people. There’s no reason you can’t still do that and profit from it.”

  “But shouldn’t I finish a degree and get a real job?”

  “This is a real job. You’re always fighting with your dad, but he’s still managed to warp your ideas of what’s a real job and what’s not. He’d be happier than a pig in shit if you got a degree in accounting and took a job in his firm. But that’s not you and it’ll never be.”

  “Being psychic isn’t exactly a cake job, you know?” She turned down the volume on the radio. “I’ve been kidnapped, stabbed and terrorized in the three years since I’ve had my abilities. What if I don’t always want to live like this?”

  “Jared and I will always protect you, Kate. Even if you decided to remain anonymous and work in the background with me, I’d be fine with it. You can protest all night, but you’re not fooling me. You’ll never walk away from helping people.” He allowed his words a second to sink in before adding, “As fucked up as some of our cases have been, most of them have turned out with us being heroes and saving someone.”

  “Okay, but if we’re doing this, I get to name our company,” she said. Conceding didn’t feel as awful as she suspected. Accepting the permanency of her psychic abilities was a big step for her. For too long, she rationalized she’d only use her powers sporadically and only in dire situations. Declan was right. There’d been a lot of good that had come out of the two of them working together.

  She pulled onto Michelle’s street and parked several houses down from her address. It had taken them less than half an hour to travel to the home. The street was quiet, and as Kate rolled down the window, the only sounds she could make out were a few kids shouting down the block. She scoped out Michelle’s house from their vantage point across the street.

  There was nothing remarkable about it. It was an average sized property with a Cape Cod-style layout. Although the street lighting limited Kate’s view, it looked to have light blue siding with white shutters. The yard appeared unkempt and it had been some time since the grass had been mown. As she’d suspected, it was dark behind the windows of the house.

  She turned to Declan. “Okay, follow my lead. We’ll head around to the rear of the house and see if there’s a backdoor we can sneak in. I don’t want to get caught trying to force ourselves in through the front entrance.”

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  They both quietly closed the car doors as they exited the Toyota. She jerked her head back and forth down the street to check for signs of anyone watching them. When she affirmed it was all clear, she used her hand to motion him to cross the street with her. They crept up to the house until they reached the side yard. She pressed her back against the siding and sidestepped towards the backyard. After opening the gate of the wooden fence, they came to the rear of the house. Kate jumped as the gate clicked shut behind them.

  The grass in the backyard was tall and full of weeds. There were several toys left around the yard: a baseball bat, soccer ball and a scooter. She grimaced at the sight and felt her resolve strengthen as she thought about Michelle and her son being kept prisoner. Kate located the backdoor and tried the handle. It didn’t budge and she knew things couldn’t have been that easy for them.

  She scanned the windows on the first floor to determine how easily she could get through them. To her left, she found a smaller window that had been left open a crack. The window had frosted glass and she assumed the room was the first floor bathroom. She wasn’t sure if Declan would be able to squeeze through, but she was confident she could make it in.

  “I think we should try and pop out the screen and I’ll climb through,” she said pointing to the window.

  “Okay, do you have a weapon? The house looks abandoned, but I don’t want to take any chances,” he whispered back.

  “I have a knife and my mace. Maybe I should’ve taken Jared’s gun out of the safe…” she trailed off and felt a chill as she looked through the glass into the dark house. She couldn’t help but remind herself that in her vision Jared had gone to an abandoned house and ended up dead.

  Declan looked ready to lay into her, but relented. He must have noticed how terrified she had suddenly become over the thought of sneaking into Michelle’s house.

  Kate always developed bonds with the people in her visions and Michelle had been no different. She cared about the woman and it hurt to be at her house and realize no one was looking for her besides Kate.

  They both walked over to the window and she examined it shrewdly. She reached into her bag and removed the screwdriver she’d brought along in case they had to remove any window screens. She instructed him in a low whisper, “Give me a boost and I’ll push in the tabs holding the screen in place and pop the entire thing out.”

  He pushed his back against the side of the house and enter
ed into a low squat. She climbed up onto his legs while he used his hands to support her body weight. He held her steady while she used her thumb to press the screen into the window frame. It gave her enough room to squeeze the screwdriver through the left side opening between the frame and the screen. Depressing the screen tab, she was then able to finagle the left side of the screen out of the frame. She repeated the process for the right side until she was able to pop it out completely. He set her back down and she leaned the screen against the house. She looked uncertainly into the dark interior of the house before turning back to Declan.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” she hissed at him. The gravity of the situation was starting to get to her. She was lying to Jared and breaking into someone’s house. If he found out, he’d feel betrayed. Their relationship had only blossomed after they agreed to be honest with one another. She trusted him wholeheartedly, but she wasn’t sure if he’d understand even if she told him her lies were for his own good.

  Another thing holding her back was the quaking fear she had over getting close to her attacker again. She wanted to be badass, but she was afraid if she ever came face to face with him again, she’d shrivel to the ground and beg for a quick death. As she peered into the eerie house, she had a sense she was taking a foolish risk by chasing down her would-be killer without police backup.

  Declan’s dark eyes filled with determination as he addressed her. “You can frickin’ do this. Just go inside and use your flashlight to find the backdoor and let me inside. We’ll search for clues together. Dig deep inside of yourself and find what you need to get it done.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t use your workout video quotes on me.” She pulled her bag to the side of her body and said, “Fine, give me another boost. Let’s get this over with.”

  Declan bent his legs again and interlocked his fingers. Wrapping her arm around his neck, she set her foot into his hands. He pushed her up until she was level with the window while supporting her body weight. Slipping her fingers beneath the window, she hoisted it up to make a larger space for her to fit through. She began to slip out of his grasp, forcing him to put his hands on her backside and shove her towards the window opening.

  He whispered, “Have you been losing weight? Your ass feels smaller since the last time I felt it.”

  “You better hope I end up dead because otherwise I’m going to beat the crap out of you when we’re done here.”

  He laughed and with another powerful shove from him, she was able to slide in completely through the opening. She lost her balance as she clamored through and fell with a thump into a bathtub. Her knees smarted and she rubbed at the tender skin. She fished the flashlight out of her bag and turned it on to illuminate the bathroom. Rising to her feet, she got out of the tub and made her way out of the bathroom.

  The house had a deserted feel and a distinct musty odor permeated through the walls. There was also a rotten smell she couldn’t exactly place and wondered if it was garbage or food that had been left out since Michelle and her son were taken. She kept the flashlight trained on the ground as she moved down the hallway. She stuck close to the wall to guide her towards the backdoor.

  A kitchen cart blocked her path and she saw it a moment too late. She knocked into it and several plates smashed into pieces as they fell onto the floor. She cringed at the racket and hurried to the backdoor to unlock it and permit Declan inside. As he shut the door behind him, he said, “You’re like a bull in a fucking china shop. What happened to being stealthy?”

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized and trembled from her nerves. “Let’s not fight. We should be quick and get out of here before any of the neighbors notice anything.”

  “Keep the lights off and use only the flashlight. We should probably search her mail first and see if we find anything that could help us figure out her connection to you and why you’re both being targeted by the same guy.”

  In the kitchen, they found a wooden bin containing the mail next to a phone handset. They searched through it quickly, but didn’t find any personal letters. The mail was made up of mostly bills that were past due. She set the mail back into the bin and said to him, “Maybe we should head upstairs or to her bedroom? She could have an office where she has more paperwork. We could look for information about where she works or even divorce papers to find out the name of her son’s father.”

  If she could track down the office complex where Michelle worked, it could help open up an official investigation into her disappearance. It was possible someone saw something suspicious the night she was abducted from the parking garage.

  “Yes, but let’s hurry. We’ll try the rooms upstairs first before searching the rest of the house.”

  Kate was growing restless as well. The house felt haunted and she hated rummaging through Michelle’s personal items. It had also crossed Kate’s mind that she and Declan were covering a potential crime scene with their fingerprints. If it finally came to light Michelle was missing, they could be held liable for her disappearance.

  They crossed the threshold into the living room and stumbled to the staircase at the front of the house. Kate held the flashlight to guide their way, but stopped shortly at the base of the stairs. On the living room walls, Michelle had hung several family photographs. A little boy around the age of seven smiled out at her. His dark hair was sticking up in tufts and his two front teeth were missing. Crystal blue eyes held mischief and delight. It was a face Kate would never forget.

  Declan began to ascend the stairs, but she held him in place with a vise-like grip. He swiveled back around and questioned softly, “What is it?”

  “Michelle’s son,” she choked out, “I know him.” She directed the flashlight to more pictures on the wall. Her heart plummeted as she saw one of Michelle and her son, snuggling and grinning at the camera. Kate had thought the woman looked familiar, but the connection had never clicked together.

  “Who is he?”

  “He’s Matt Spencer…the first person I ever found.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Matt stormed out of the backdoor, allowing the screen to slam shut behind him. He stomped angrily over to the sandbox and kicked the sand with the tip of his sneaker. He had fled from the house in a huff, angry with his mother for not allowing him to watch his favorite cartoon. Instead, she’d told him he had enough TV and to go outside and get some fresh air.

  He picked up one of his toy trucks and drove it over the sand piles. Each time it ran over the sand he made crunching sounds. After a few minutes of playing, his anger cooled and he found himself focused on using the trucks to create a large pile of sand. A noise to his left distracted him and he turned towards the disruption.

  His father stood behind the metal gate and was waving to him frantically. The top of the wire fence was waist high and his father could easily be seen from Matt’s vantage point. His dad was in the side yard of the house and once he had Matt’s attention, it was easy to gesture him forward. Matt stood up and stared at his father with uncertainty. Matt’s mom had said his dad was bad and he couldn’t be around Matt anymore.

  He looked at the rear of his house and then back at his father, mentally debating what to do. Matt was still upset with his mom, but he didn’t want to go to his dad if he was a bad guy. Matt’s father noticed the hesitation and held up a shiny red remote control car he’d been hiding behind his back. Matt let out a squeal of delight and rushed over to the gate.

  “Hi Mattie,” his dad whispered with a tremble in his voice. He looked worse for wear on closer inspection—his clothing was rumpled and his blond hair had grown long and fell in front of his face. His blue eyes scanned the yard and he shot a nervous look towards the door.

  “Daddy, what are you doing here? Mommy said we have to stay away from you,” Matt said as his father passed the red car over the gate. Matt lovingly stroked the car and looked eager to try it out. He held out his hand for the remote.

  “Let’s go to the park and play with it, Mattie,�
� his father said. He had a faint Southern accent. Matt’s mom had told him his dad had moved to New Jersey from South Carolina over ten years ago.

  “I have to let Mommy know first…” Matt started.

  His father shook his head vehemently. “We don’t have to go to the park. Why don’t you just take a quick walk to my car? I have your birthday present in the back and we can come right back and show your Mom what you got.”

  “But Mommy says we can’t talk to you,” Matt protested.

  “Your mom is mad at me right now, but I’m still your same Dad. I’ve never hurt you before and I just want to give you your present because your mom wouldn’t let me see you on your birthday.”

  Matt took some time to consider what his father said. It was true that he looked mostly like the same old father. His clothing looked like it needed a good washing and he couldn’t seem to stop shaking as they spoke, but when he smiled, it reminded Matt of how much fun they used to have playing baseball and football together.

  “Okay,” Matt said with his chin tilted defiantly, “but we have to come right back because Mom said lunch will be ready soon.”

  His father lifted up the metal latch for the gate and Matt strode out. His father didn’t bother closing the gate. He took Matt by the hand and walked at a swift pace towards a black pickup truck. The truck was a four-door model with a snug backseat, but still roomy enough for Matt. It was parked half of a block away from the house and his dad looked up and down the street before opening the door.

  Matt spotted the large box on the seat and hurled his body inside. He smiled as he saw the wrapping paper featuring Thomas the Train, it was the same show his mother had denied him earlier. He barely noticed the door slam behind him. However, he did peek away from the present when he heard his dad enter the front seat and start the car.

  “Daddy, what are you doing? Where are we going?”

  Matt’s father ignored the questions and instead peeled away from the curb. He cast a nervous look behind him as he sped out of the neighborhood. Once the house was out of view, his shoulders slumped and he exhaled.