Death at First Sight

by Lena Gregory

  Creep. He just didn’t want his weekend tryst interrupted. Cass clenched her fists and lowered them into her lap so Ellie wouldn’t notice. Luke didn’t miss the gesture, though. He raised an eyebrow in question, and she discreetly shook her head. Thankfully, he let it drop . . . for now at least. The look he pinned her with told her she’d have some explaining to do later.

  “I can’t believe this. I don’t know what to do.” Ellie hiccupped and blew her nose. “Please, Cass. You have to help me.”

  “Me?” Her jaw would have fallen open if she hadn’t gritted her teeth. “I’m sure the police are doing everything they can to find out who did it. I don’t know how I could possibly help.”

  Ellie stared at her with childlike wonder. “You know . . .” She gestured toward the crystal ball sitting on the edge of the table. “You can look and see who killed her.”

  Heat blazed up Cass’s cheeks. She could feel Luke’s gaze drilling through her, but she didn’t dare turn her head. “Ellie—”

  “Please. You have to. I don’t know where else to turn. You can’t say no.” Ellie broke down in a fit of hysterics.

  Ah jeez. Cass shoved her hands into her hair and squeezed. A headache had begun to throb at her temples. “Okay, okay. Stop crying, Ellie. I’ll try.”

  “Oh, thank you. I knew you’d help. I know you and Mom had your differences, but deep down I think you really liked each other.”

  The harsh laughter erupted before Cass could stop it, and she slapped a hand over her mouth and started choking in an effort to cover it up. Ellie scowled but didn’t say anything. The woman really was clueless.

  Luke handed Cass a glass of water. When she looked up to thank him, she couldn’t miss the amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Ugh . . . How do I get myself into these messes?

  “Excuse me a minute.” Cass jumped up and ran for the back room. She closed the bathroom door behind her and stared at her reflection in the mirror. How could she do this? She took a deep breath and ran the cold water. She scooped some up in her hands and splashed it onto her face. How could she do a reading for Ellie and pretend to look for her mother’s killer when she was already suspected of killing the old bat? She couldn’t. She’d have to tell her the truth.

  But how could she confess to Ellie with tall, dark, and gorgeous sitting there listening? She couldn’t. She’d have to get rid of him. With that decided, she opened the door and stifled a scream. Luke stood directly in front of her.

  “What are you doing back here?” She pressed a hand to her heart.

  He grinned and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, smoothing his hand down the wavy strands. “You were gone for a while. I wanted to see if you were all right. You seemed a little shaky before we were interrupted.”

  Cass had forgotten about the incident before Ellie barged in. Another shadow. Was it meant for Luke? Or was it for Ellie? “I’m fine. Thank you.” She started to move forward, but he took up too much space, crowding her when she tried to pass. She pressed her back to the wall instead and waited to see what he really wanted. He moved closer and put a hand on the wall beside her head.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Could he see her pulse fluttering out of control? She simply nodded.

  “Good.” When he smiled, something wicked danced in his eyes. But was it evil or just mischief?

  She swallowed hard, hoping to dislodge the lump before she choked on it. “You can’t stay while I do Ellie’s reading. It’s personal.”

  He shrugged. “Sure, I understand. We can finish what we started another time.”

  Heat surged through her. She nodded again, and he backed away.

  She pushed away from the wall and headed into the main room.

  “I’ll call you,” Luke said as she passed him.

  Be still my heart.

  He followed her into the room and grabbed his coffee from the table. He put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder and leaned over to say something before turning away. He stared at Cass for a moment, his eyes holding the promise of something—she couldn’t figure out what—in their stormy depths.

  The tinkle of the door chimes as he left pulled her out of her trance, and she tore her gaze away.

  She sighed and turned.

  Ellie was watching her.

  “Ellie.” She paused. How could she tell this woman who trusted her so much, and had no one else to go to, that she’d been questioned by the sheriff about her mother’s murder? Cass approached the table, but instead of taking her usual seat, she sat beside Ellie in the seat Luke had vacated. She took Ellie’s hand.

  After a deep breath, Cass tried again. “Look, Ellie. We need to talk. You know I would never hurt you. And I would never lie to you.” She made sure to maintain eye contact, willing Ellie to believe her. “I’m the one who found your mother.”

  Ellie sucked in a breath.

  “I unlocked the theater Saturday morning and found her in the pit.” Tears spilled down Cass’s cheeks. Not for Marge, but for the pain in Ellie’s eyes. “I didn’t hurt her, Ellie. I promise you I didn’t.”

  Ellie pulled her hand away. “What are you talking about?”

  Cass shook her head. The ridiculousness of the whole situation weighed heavily on her. She couldn’t raise her voice past a whisper, didn’t even want to say the words, never mind out loud. “Chief Langdon thinks I murdered your mother.”

  * * *

  “What?” Ellie shook her head. “That’s crazy. You’d never hurt my mother.”

  Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I didn’t kill her. She kept that thought to herself.

  Ellie twisted her fingers, weaving them together then taking them apart. Cass stayed quiet, allowing Ellie whatever time she needed to digest the information.

  After a few minutes of silence, during which Cass prayed fervently Ellie would believe her, Ellie lifted her gaze to Cass. “Will you try to do the reading? Try to see who hurt Mom?”

  The plea in Ellie’s eyes was impossible to ignore. Besides, she was so grateful Ellie believed her, she’d have done pretty much anything Ellie asked at that moment. “Sure. Come on.”

  Cass moved to her seat and set the paper and pencils aside. She stared at the violet scribbles for a minute as memories of Luke played through her mind. His intense stare, the knowledge darkening his blue eyes. The certainty he was hiding something slammed through her, and her breath caught in her throat.

  With her hands shaking, Cass pulled the crystal ball in front of her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and worked to clear her mind. She couldn’t think about Luke right now. Okay, concentrate. She envisioned a clear blue lake, the waves gently lapping against the white sand of the shore. She pictured herself sitting with her feet dug into the warmth of the sand, the sun’s rays cocooning her in their heat, Luke lying beside her, stretched out—

  Ellie blew her nose, ripping Cass forcefully from the vision.

  “Are you ready?” She knew her voice shook, but there was nothing she could do about it for now.

  Ellie nodded, and Cass forced her concentration to the reading. She stared into the clear crystal of the ball, trying to focus her energy on reading the other woman. She sensed pain and sadness, the same emotions anyone would pick up just by looking at her. The red eyes, puffy, dark circles beneath them, the strained lines bracketing her mouth. The way she wrung her hands repeatedly played through Cass’s thoughts. Ellie’s hands turned over and over in Cass’s mind, palms turned up, then down, up—

  “What happened to your hand?” The words blurted out on their own before she had time to think. She looked up just in time to see Ellie shove her hands into her lap beneath the table, effectively blocking them from Cass’s view. Guilt was etched in every line of her face.

  Ellie shook her head. “Nothing.”

  Cass lifted a brow and waited.

>   “You know what? Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  “Ellie—”

  “No, really . . .” She pushed the chair back and jumped to her feet in one motion. “I don’t know why I thought you could see the killer in your crystal ball. That’s probably stupid, right?” She stuck her hands in her pants pockets, pants that hung a little too loose. Had Ellie lost weight? She was already so thin it was hard to tell.

  Cass shrugged. “It’s not likely I would see who killed your mother while doing your reading . . .” An idea struck her. “Unless you know who killed her.”

  Ellie’s face paled. “How would I know who killed her?” She pulled one hand—the uninjured one—from her pocket and grabbed her bag from the back of the chair.

  Cass jumped up. She couldn’t let Ellie leave in this condition. She was shaking uncontrollably and wore a look of sheer terror. “All right. Calm down, Ellie. I’m not saying you know. I’m just saying it’s not likely I’d be able to tell who killed your mother because you obviously don’t know.” Though I have a sneaking suspicion you suspect someone.

  Who could Ellie be so afraid of? That thought almost knocked her back into the chair. Duh.

  Cass searched her mind frantically for something to keep the other woman there until she calmed down. “Please, Ellie, sit down a minute.” The memory of the shadow she’d felt right before Ellie walked in haunted her. Was Ellie in danger?

  “I really have to go,” Ellie said. “Thank you for the reading.”

  Panic gripped Cass. “Uh . . . I have to talk to you about something. It’s important.”

  Ellie paused halfway to the door. She turned a skeptical gaze on Cass.

  Okay. Got her. Cass heaved in a cleansing breath. “Please, sit down, Ellie. I have a confession to make.”

  Ellie’s eyes widened, and she returned to the chair.

  Cass moved the crystal ball aside and fell into her own chair. “I couldn’t find you after I . . . well . . . after. So, I went to your mother’s house, hoping you’d be there. When I got there, I heard someone crying. At least I thought it was someone crying.” She was rambling and tried to order her thoughts. “I broke the back window and went in thinking it might be you and you might be hurt.”

  Ellie stared back at her.

  Cass waited, but when she got no response, she pressed on. “Anyway, I found a dog. A puppy, I think, but it’s huge, and I . . .”

  If possible, Ellie’s face paled even more. Her eyes grew wide, and she shook her head.

  “What?”

  “Where’s the puppy now?”

  Cass’s cheeks grew hot, and she knew she was blushing. “It’s at my house.” The admission didn’t come easy.

  Ellie visibly relaxed. “Could you take it to the pound for me?”

  “The pound? Why?”

  “I don’t like dogs, and that thing is huge.” Ellie trembled and dropped her face into her hands. She shook her head but didn’t lift it, and Cass had to strain to make out her muffled words. “I don’t know why she had to get such a big dog. I begged her not to, and I haven’t been to her house since she brought him home.”

  Cass frowned, confusion pounding at her already throbbing temples. “Then why did she get it?” Marge never struck her as the maternal type, even with her own daughter. Why would she suddenly have the urge to nurture a puppy? It made no sense.

  Ellie finally lifted her head and shrugged. “She said she wanted it for protection.”

  “Protection from what?”

  “I have no idea. I asked her why she suddenly needed a big dog for protection when the alarm had been good enough all these years.”

  Alarm? What alarm? No alarm had gone off when she’d broken into . . . uh . . . went into Marge’s house to save the dog.

  Ellie shook her head. “She wouldn’t answer me, just told me to stop being ridiculous and get over it.” She met Cass’s gaze.

  Perhaps Ellie was over her earlier . . . suspicion. Or perhaps she was just desperate to be rid of the dog.

  “Will you get rid of it for me? Drop it at the pound or whatever?”

  “Umm . . .”

  “I know,” Ellie said. “Why don’t you keep it?”

  Cass tried to be gentle, but Ellie had to accept the truth. “How am I going to explain that I went into Marge’s house and took her puppy? Chief Langdon already suspects me of killing her.”

  Ellie waved her hand, dismissing Cass’s concerns. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell him I gave it to you. Besides, no one could really think you hurt Mom.”

  Relief coursed through Cass at the idea that Ellie trusted her, but then an image of her shredded living room popped up. “I don’t know, Ellie.”

  “Please, Cass. I have all I can deal with right now. I can’t have to worry about that, too.” A look of outright fear crossed Ellie’s face. It only lasted a split second, but Cass caught it.

  She sighed. “Sure, Ellie. I’ll keep him for now. At least until we figure out what’s going on.”

  Ellie’s face brightened. “You mean you’re going to help me?”

  “Uh . . .” Oops. That wasn’t exactly what I meant.

  Ellie’s expression shone with anticipation Cass didn’t have the heart to shatter.

  She blew her hair up off her forehead, resignation frustrating her. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  10

  Cass locked the door and flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED. She never closed up Mystical Musings during the day, but she didn’t want to risk someone walking in. She grabbed her phone and dialed. While she listened to it ring, she began to clean up. She lifted Ellie’s full mug, emptied it into the sink, and washed it out. The coffee from her own almost-full cup followed.

  Come on, Steph. Pick up.

  She grabbed the glass cleaner and paper towels and started to clean the glass display cases that dotted the store, sporadically spaced between seating arrangements.

  Stephanie’s voice finally came over the line. “Hello . . .”

  “Hey, Steph. You’ll never believe who—”

  “Hah. Gotcha. I’m not here. Leave a message.”

  A tone sounded, and she hit the off button. Definitely not as satisfying as slamming the receiver down would have been. She blew out a breath. Okay. Bee’s been working on the show at night, which means he’s probably sleeping now. Which also means he’ll kill me if I call and wake him up.

  She counted four rings before Bee’s sleep-filled voice blared in her ear. “This better be good.”

  “Oh, it’s good. Well worth getting up for.”

  “Who said anything about getting up?” Bee yawned. “Nothing’s worth getting up for.”

  Cass grinned. “Guess who I just found?” The rustling of sheets made Cass laugh.

  “How’d you find her?” He didn’t sound half as sleepy now.

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll get coffee and pick you up in forty-five minutes. Then you can take a ride with me, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Cass grabbed her bag and keys.

  Bee groaned, but she knew she had him. Bee loved nothing more than good gossip. “Fine, but I want a donut, too.”

  “Don’t sulk. I’ll bring donuts.” She placed the phone on the base without waiting for him to complain anymore and ran out the door. She had just enough time to run home and get her car if she walked down the road instead of on the beach.

  While she drove, she tried to order her thoughts. Ellie was definitely scared. Could she know who killed Marge? If she did, why wouldn’t she tell Chief Langdon? It didn’t make sense. And how had Jay gotten away with not telling Ellie her mother had been killed? Surely Chief Langdon would have insisted on speaking to her. And no one in town would believe for one minute that Jay didn’t know where his wife was. He kept tight reins on Ellie.

  She pulled into Tony’s parking lot. If Bee was ge
tting out of bed for her, deli donuts would definitely not do. She ordered half a dozen donuts and went to pour two coffees while she waited.

  “Hello there.” The smooth southern drawl sent shivers down her spine, and she jerked her hand, sloshing coffee across the counter. Deep, rich laughter followed. “Here, let me help you.” Luke grabbed a stack of napkins and mopped up the spill.

  “What are you doing here?” Cass pinned him with an angry stare. Was he following her? Suspicion narrowed her eyes.

  That laughter raked her nerve endings again. “Nothing sinister, I assure you. I’m just waiting for someone to finish with the coffeepot.”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks burned as she finished pouring the coffees and wiped off the cups. “Sorry.”

  “No problem.” He leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m in no hurry. How did your reading go this morning?”

  “Fine.” No way would she discuss Ellie with Luke.

  “What’s the deal with her husband?”

  All right, him she’d discuss. “He’s a creep.” She stopped, not sure where to go from there without invading Ellie’s privacy. Oh well. That about summed it up anyway.

  He lifted a brow and waited, but when she didn’t continue, he shrugged. “So . . . did you find the killer yet?”

  Cass stiffened, but then remembered he’d been sitting there when Ellie asked her to do the reading. She bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze. “Very funny.”

  His warm laughter teased her.

  She lifted her gaze and looked into a grin that stopped her heart.

  Luke glanced at his watch, then back at her. “Do you always close up this early?”

  “I . . . uh . . . no.” Okay, that was smooth. “Mondays are kinda slow, and I had errands to run. So . . .” She lifted the cups and shrugged.

  “Would you like to reschedule my reading now?” He pushed away from the counter and leaned closer to her.

  She inhaled deeply, the fresh, spicy scent of his aftershave invading her senses.

  “Or should I call you?”

  There. He did it again. The southern accent was suddenly heavier. Sexy. Was he flirting? Fire rushed through her. “Sure.” Whoa. Too breathless. She cleared her throat. “I mean . . . you can call to reschedule.”