A Sight for Psychic Eyes

by Kelly Hashway

  “I didn’t do it, Uncle Joe. He tried to make me, but I knew it was wrong. I thought we were just going to prank him when Uncle Bobby came to me in the middle of the night and told me his plan.”

  “We did prank him, Eric. And he’ll never mess with you again after this.”

  “Let go of him now!” Joe yells, taking another step closer.

  Bobby pulls Eric back, yanking him over to a bag in the corner. He grabs a knife from it and holds it out in front of him. “Stay back, Joe. You’re going to let us walk out of here, or it’s going to cost you your son’s life.”

  I’m breathing heavily, and the hammer falls from my hands, clattering against the floor.

  Dad comes rushing in with Judith on his heels. “Piper, what is it?”

  “Bobby has Eric in an abandoned warehouse. He’s planning to take him to California, but Joe showed up to try to stop him. Only Bobby threatened to kill Eric if Joe doesn’t let them leave.”

  “Did you see this as it was happening?” Dad asks.

  “I think so.” My chest is heaving. “We need to go now.”

  “There’s an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Weltunkin,” Michael says. “It’s at least a twenty-five-minute drive from here.”

  Dad hits the button to open the garage door, and we race out to his car. As soon as we’re inside, he takes off.

  I look up warehouses in the general vicinity of where Michael said to search. “I found one. Putting it in the navigation now.”

  Dad gets on the phone with the station. “This is Detective Ashwell. Piper and I are on our way to the outskirts of the city to an abandoned warehouse. We have reason to believe Bobby Turland is holding Eric Danson hostage there. Turland is armed and dangerous.”

  “How do you know?” the officer’s voice comes through the Bluetooth.

  “Because I had a damn vision!” I yell. “And someone needs to go get Jimmy Schumacher. He’s tied to a bench in the dugout at the elementary school’s baseball field. Turland is the one who kidnapped him, too.”

  “How’d you…?” He stops. “Oh.”

  “If you don’t believe in my visions, that’s fine. But I’m alerting Jimmy’s parents, and I’m sure you’ll get an earful from them if you don’t beat them to that baseball field and free their son.”

  Dad accentuates my statement by disconnecting the call. “Nicely played, pumpkin.”

  More like I can’t control this rage inside me. I’m assuming some of it is energy I channeled off of Bobby in my vision. I hate this side effect to my abilities. I try to take deep breaths on the rest of the drive, but I’m too worked up over possibly not making it to Eric in time. Bobby could kill Eric and Joe before we get there.

  “That’s it!” I yell when the warehouse comes into view.

  The driveway is dirt and gravel, and it kicks up as Dad speeds right up to the building. We jump out, Dad with his gun drawn. I motion that I’m going to head to the other end of the warehouse, having noticed the door on the other side in my vision. I just hope we’re in time.

  I hear Dad go in yelling, and I pull open the back door.

  The warehouse is empty.

  Chapter Seven

  “Where are they?” Dad yells in frustration.

  I expected at least Joe to be here. I guess it’s good we didn’t find his body, but I have no idea where to look for Eric and Bobby. “They must have gotten in Bobby’s car. I need to know what he drives,” I tell Dad. “They’re heading to California. We need every available unit out there on the highway searching for his car.”

  Dad’s on the phone, getting the information.

  I turn all around. Why can’t I see the future? Why can’t I stop these things before they happen? At times like this, my visions make me feel completely useless. What’s the point in seeing something if you can’t stop it?

  I search for what I know about Eric and Bobby. Anything that might help me. The fastest route to California is our best bet.

  No.

  I’ve never argued with myself before, but my senses are telling me my thoughts can’t be right.

  The fastest route to California is the best bet for finding Eric, I repeat inside my head.

  No.

  “Damn it. How do I find him?” I scream.

  Dad comes jogging over to me. “I have guys searching the highway now. They’re putting out an Amber Alert as well.”

  No.

  “That’s not right. My senses are saying it’s wrong, but I don’t know why.”

  Dad grabs me by my shoulders. “Piper, focus. Who took Eric?”

  “Bobby Turland.”

  “Why did he take him?”

  “He’s jealous and hates Joe.”

  “Where are Bobby and Eric heading?”

  “East.”

  “Not to California?”

  “No.”

  I snap out of the meditative state and cock my head. “Eric didn’t want to go with Bobby anymore. He was trying to get to Joe. Bobby couldn’t fight them both.”

  “Did Eric get away?”

  “I don’t know.” If he did, where would he go?

  Dad’s phone rings. “Ashwell,” he answers. He covers the receiver. “They found Jimmy,” he tells me. “We have reason to believe the car is heading east instead of west.”

  No.

  What the hell? It’s like my senses are scrambled. I need to read something. I look around. Bobby’s bag was near the corner on a crate. It was open when he grabbed it and took out the knife, which means something could have fallen out of it. I walk in that direction. Sure enough, there’s a baseball. A signed baseball, except this one isn’t in a glass case. I bend down and pick it up.

  “Don’t hurt him. Please, Bobby. You don’t want to hurt Eric.”

  “No, I don’t. I want to hurt you!” Bobby lunges for Joe.

  “Eric, run!” Joe yells, and Eric takes off out of the warehouse.

  Both men wrestle for the knife, and Joe headbutts Bobby, who stumbles backward. Then Bobby takes off after Eric, knife still in hand.

  “They’re on foot!” I yell, running out the back door, still holding the ball, which I’m hoping will lead me to either Eric or Bobby.

  I look around. There are footprints in the dirt that I didn’t notice when we got here because I was too preoccupied with getting inside the warehouse. I follow them, noticing one set is too small to belong to an adult. “Eric.” I run in the direction, seeing they lead to a building with a sign that reads East Tire Company.

  They didn’t go east. They went into the East Tire Company, which also looks abandoned. I look back over my shoulder to see Dad running after me. “They’re in there!”

  He whips out his phone just as a police car pulls into the warehouse lot.

  I go in the back door since that’s where the footsteps lead. If Eric came in here, so did Bobby and Joe. And that means I could get attacked if Bobby finds me. I look around for anything I can use as a weapon. Since I can’t exactly swing a tire around, I opt for a pointy arrow sign. It’s made of hard plastic and would definitely do some damage to soft parts on a person’s body.

  I can sense fear in the air, and I follow it, assuming it’s coming from Eric. I go into the back room, which looks like it was an employee lounge at one point. “Eric?” I call out in almost a whisper.

  There’s a figure on the floor in the dark corner. I rush over to find it’s Joe. He’s clutching his stomach, blood on his hand. “Hang on,” I say. “Help is on the way. I’m going to find Eric.”

  He nods, his eyes pleading with me to do just that.

  Dad enters the tire place when I exit the employee lounge. I raise a finger to my lips and point to the room behind me. He nods and goes inside while I continue to search for Eric.

  The only other place to look is in the garage itself. I go to the double doors and peek through the window. I spot Bobby walking around the stacks of tires. He must think Eric is hiding in one of them. Unfortunately, I think the same thing. I wait until
Bobby is on the far side of the big garage before I slowly open the door, trying not to make a sound. Getting the sign through the door with me isn’t easy, but I manage.

  “Come on, Eric. It’s me. Your uncle Bobby. I know things got a little crazy, but it’s all okay now. I promise. Just come out, and we’ll talk this through.”

  I don’t expect Eric to respond, but to my horror he does.

  “No! You stabbed him!” He’s sobbing, and Bobby follows the sound of his voice.

  I don’t have time to think this through. I drop the sign, which sounds much louder in my head than I’m sure it does to Bobby, but it gets his attention anyway. He whips around to face me. I rush over to a tire standing on end next to a stack and kick it in Bobby’s direction. It’s completely pathetic because it rolls so slowly an elderly person could have sidestepped it before it reached them.

  Bobby just laughs.

  “That amused you, did it?”

  I hear the other officers in the building now, and so does Bobby, who looks panicked. And right at that moment, Eric pops his head out of the stack of tires. He’s dangerously close to Bobby, who is still armed with the knife. I have to divert Bobby’s attention and fast. “I have something of yours,” I say, tossing the ball up in the air.

  “That’s Eric’s!” Bobby yells. “Give it back.”

  “You want it? Come and get it.”

  Bobby advances on me, and Eric shocks the hell out of me by climbing out of the tires and jumping on Bobby’s back.

  “Catch!” I yell to Bobby, and the moron actually drops his knife to catch the ball.

  Eric releases him at the same time I scoop the knife up off the floor.

  “Nobody move!” Dad yells, his gun trained on Bobby.

  “Eric, you can move,” I tell him. “That way.” I point away from Bobby, and I start in that direction, too, until I’m shielding Eric with my body.

  “Eric,” Bobby says, looking defeated. “I just wanted us to be a family.”

  I turn to the officers flanking Dad, noticing Brennan is one of them. “Lock him up,” I say.

  I walk Eric out of the building, Bobby’s cries following us.

  “So, Eric’s doing okay?” I ask Dad before taking a sip of my toasted almond coffee.

  “He might need to talk to a therapist to work through everything he’s endured and all he’s learned in the past twenty-four hours, but I think he’ll be okay,” Dad says. “He has a lot of people who love him.”

  That’s for sure. “And what about Joe?”

  “The surgeon was a good patient. He’s at the hospital now and is expected to make a full recovery. Luckily, the wound wasn’t deep enough to do too much damage. And it didn’t hurt that he knew how to tend to the wound immediately. Still, he won’t be back on his feet for a while.”

  “And Jimmy?” I ask.

  “Home with his parents. I don’t think he’ll be giving Eric any trouble after all of this. His parents are actually talking about moving.”

  “Then it’s case closed.”

  “Case closed,” Dad says, but I can tell there’s more on his mind.

  “Lay it on me, Dad. I know there’s something you want to talk to me about.”

  He lowers his head, fiddling with his tie. “I’m considering taking on a partner.”

  “Besides me?” I joke.

  “Yes,” he says.

  “Oh.” I wasn’t expecting the gravity of his tone.

  “It’s just that yesterday was tough on me. Running after you and the others… I don’t exactly have youth on my side anymore, and I could take the opportunity to help another officer.”

  “Another officer? Or another detective?” My senses tell me this is going in a direction I’m not going to like.

  “I’m considering Detective Brennan.”

  Of course, he is.

  “Well, Dad, it’s been great working with you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be focusing on background checks and cheating spouse cases from now on.”

  “You’d never leave your old man hanging like that, and we both know it.” He stands up. “Tell Marcia I said hi when you go next door for lunch today.”

  “Will do.”

  He walks out of my office, leaving me to wonder how long I have to enjoy the peace and quiet before Dad takes on a partner. Maybe this is one instance when I’m glad I can’t see the future. I’ll just pretend I have all the time in the world before I’m forced to work with Detective Brennan. Ignorance really can be bliss.

  Continue the Piper Ashwell Psychic P.I. series with book one, A Vision A Day Keeps the Killer Away.

  https://www.kellyhashway.com/piper-ashwell-psychic-p-i

  Newsletter

  https://bit.ly/2ISdgCU

  Also by USA Today Bestselling Author Kelly Hashway

  A Vision A Day Keeps the Killer Away (Piper Ashwell Psychic PI #1)

  Lies We Tell (Lies We Tell #1)

  Secrets We Keep (Lies We Tell #2)

  Games We Play (Lies We Tell #3)

  The Day I Died

  Unseen Evil

  Evil Unleashed

  Replica

  Fading Into the Shadows

  Into the Fire (Into the Fire #1)

  Out of the Ashes (Into the Fire #2)

  Up In Flames (Into the Fire #3)

  * * *

  Writing as USA Today Bestselling Author Ashelyn Drake

  Second Chance Summer

  It Was Always You (Love Chronicles #1)

  I Belong With You (Love Chronicles #2)

  Since I Found You (Love Chronicles #3)

  Reignited

  After Loving You (New Adult romance)

  Campus Crush (New Adult romance)

  Falling For You (Free prequel to Perfect For You)

  Perfect For You (Young Adult contemporary romance)

  Our Little Secret (Young Adult contemporary romance)

  Acknowledgments

  As always, thank you to my editor, Patricia Bradley. Your love for mysteries and your keen eye are more helpful than you’ll ever know. Thanks for being such a great cheerleader for this series. To my family, thank you for listening to me talk about these books so much. And, Ayla, thank you for helping me brainstorm titles! It’s great to have another author in the house to bounce ideas off of.

  To my VIP reader group, Kelly’s Cozy Corner, thank you so much for taking this journey with Piper and me. I’m glad you guys love the series as much as I do. And to my readers (yes, you!), thank you for taking time to read my books.

  About the Author

  Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up watching Murder She Wrote that instilled a love of mystery in her, but she spends her days writing cozy mysteries and is a USA Today bestselling author. Kelly is also USA Today bestselling romance author Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.