He gesticulated wildly as he pleaded with her. “Mom, I’m in a wheelchair, I have nowhere to go. Please, Mom, please…”
“Goodbye Declan.”
***
“Only you could sleep through a movie about the apocalypse,” a voice whispered softly.
Kate opened her eyes and inhaled Jared’s scent. She gave him a watery smile. After a minute to get her bearings, she responded, “Rousing me from sleep twice in one day. I could get used to waking up next to you.”
The lights were back on in the movie theater and the moviegoers were filing out. She got to her feet and did a few yoga poses to stretch out. Twisting at the waist, she saw Jared watching her with a bemused expression. “What? Was I talking in my sleep?”
Her brain tried to process what she had seen. It explained a lot about Declan and the reasons behind his actions. When he said he didn’t talk to his family, she hadn’t realized he had a deceased father and a mother who despised him. At least he seemed to have kicked his drug problem if the party the other night was any indication. Kate assumed he got clean soon after leaving his mother’s house. As unfortunate as the situation appeared, getting thrown out may have forced him to stop taking drugs. Sadly, based off of what Declan had revealed to her, it didn’t sound like he had mended fences with his family.
Just when she was about to write the jerk off, he had to weasel his way into her sympathetic heart. Kate reasoned he must have an extra psychic power that forced visions on people. If the intent of the revelation was for her to understand his motivations for wanting to use his visions for profit, she certainly did. Without her family to rely on, Kate would’ve probably done the same thing.
“You look a million miles away,” Jared remarked and took her hand.
As Jared lifted his body out of the theater seat, he towered over her. Kate craned her neck to study his face. Jared was another person in her life she was lucky to have and knew she could rely on him for anything. As she stared at the handsome detective, she found herself with no desire to talk about Declan and relive the vision she just had. Instead, a hearty meal with her caring boyfriend sounded like a superior plan. “Just trying to figure out what time KFC closes,” she said.
“There’s my girl,” he chuckled.
Chapter Eleven
“Happy Birthday!” Julie squealed into the phone.
Kate had to hold the cell phone away from her ear as her best friend launched into an off-key rendition of Happy Birthday to You. Once she caught her breath, Julie asked, “So, what are you up to? Want to meet for a liquid birthday lunch?”
“Actually, I’m on my way to Declan’s,” she responded.
As Kate said it out loud, she had to question her sanity once again. A liquid lunch followed by some primping before dinner with Jared was what she should be doing. Not visiting Declan with her head in her hands.
Kate had waited for the past few days in the hopes that the psychic would call her. She didn’t feel entirely in the wrong and thought maybe he would realize that some of the points she made during their argument were valid. Since the phone remained silent, Kate decided to pop over his house and try to make amends. She rationalized that at least the psychic was bringing people back home. The families were probably more than happy to give him the money as long as their loved one was returned to them.
“What’s going on with you and him? Gage told me he kept sending these glances full of longing your way.”
“That doesn’t sound like Gage,” Kate countered in hopes of changing the subject.
“You’re right. He actually said Declan kept looking over at you like he wanted to freak your brains out right then and there.”
“No, it’s a platonic thing,” she said even though it was a half-truth. It felt true enough for the moment. Declan certainly didn’t seem to like her very much after their last fight. “He’s interested in solving cases together.”
“Well, try to have fun today. Having visions of abducted children is not the right way to spend your birthday,” Julie admonished. “Call me tomorrow and let me know where Jared takes you for dinner.” Kate promised she would catch up with her the next day and hung up just before arriving at Declan’s house.
His car was in the driveway which meant she would have to go through with this spontaneous visit after all. Gathering her courage, Kate marched with determination to the door and rang the bell. After a couple of minutes without an answer, she began to knock. Finally, the door swung open. The way he was throwing daggers at her gave Kate the hint that he may not be quite ready to make amends. A tousled redhead moved into Kate’s line of vision.
“Good morning,” she said brightly to both him and Trish, his apparent overnight guest.
Declan was shirtless and although his muscles were hard to miss, her eyes were drawn to the many scars that covered his body. They told the story of the horrors he had endured after his accident. The most prominent scar went across his chest. It must have been at least four inches long and went straight down the center of his body.
Trish had on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts—probably both belonging to Declan. Instead of shooting Kate hateful glances, she was beaming a lazy grin at Declan. Kate couldn’t help but feel a little bit envious of the girl. She wouldn’t mind having bed head and a self-satisfied smirk after spending a night with Jared. Why did Jared have to be such a gentleman? Couldn’t he go a little rogue and just haul her off to bed already.
“What do you want?” he demanded. Trish didn’t bother to suppress a giggle upon hearing his tone. Kate gathered the girl got a kick out of seeing Declan humiliate her and she shouldn’t look to Trish for any female solidarity.
“I need to talk to you.” As an afterthought, Kate added, “Please.” It was hard to respond politely to his aggression, but holding in her temper was the only way to make him listen. A definitive “no” seemed on the tip of his tongue until it seemed like her practiced forlorn expression won him over.
Before he could answer, Trish spoke. “I was going to head home anyway. Why don’t I just call you later?”
Declan nodded and followed her into what she guessed was his bedroom. He closed the door as they entered. Since he hadn’t invited her in, Kate waited awkwardly at the front door. Shifting from side to side, she hoped they weren’t going to have a quickie while she stood there waiting.
Five minutes later Trish emerged in a midnight blue mini-dress and ready to do her walk of shame back home. She made certain to give Declan a long and exaggerated kiss at the doorway. Trish didn’t bother with a goodbye as she stalked past Kate and into a parked Jetta.
As she watched her drive away, she heard Declan clear his throat behind her. “You wanted something?”
“Listen about the other day…I just wanted to say I’m sorry for overreacting a bit,” she hedged.
“A bit? You said I was morally bankrupt,” he seethed.
“Alright, I did come off as preachy and I wanted to apologize for that. I didn’t mean any offense. I mean people make money off of much worse things, right?” she asked rhetorically. His mouth was set in a thin line and he didn’t respond to her rambling. She decided to continue. “The end result is still the same. Someone is returned safely to their home,” she said with false cheer in her voice.
Declan shook his head. “That’s not always the case. Sometimes they give me a reward for finding the location of a body. Those are definitely not the fun ones. Means I have to get inside the head of the killer and see them murder someone.”
Kate swallowed down her distaste. Maybe she didn’t have the stomach for this whole psychic thing after all. She croaked, “Sounds awful.”
Her disgust didn’t go unnoticed. “Kate, I know you didn’t come here for my forgiveness.”
“Partly, I did. As much as I resisted, you have become a friend to me—and I do miss talking to you about all this paranormal craziness,” she confessed. “But I also would like to work together if you would still consider it.”
His uncertainty made her plow on. “I didn’t want to do this, but you’re making me pull the birthday card. It’s today and I think it would be really mean of you to not forgive me.”
Shaking his head, a ghost of a smile appeared. “I must be crazy…” his voice trailed off, “but okay we’ll give this a shot. Just try not to annoy the hell out of me.”
“No worries,” she replied. “I frequently annoy people. However, I’m like mold, I grow on you.”
“Well, since you’re here, I might as well show you something,” he said resignedly.
Declan gestured for her to follow him into the house. Walking behind him, she trailed him into his living room. He picked up a piece of paper lying on the coffee table and handed it to her. She felt the couch depress as he sat next to her, but her eyes didn’t move from the paper. It was a missing persons poster that Declan must have printed off the internet.
The girl in the photograph looked to be about her age. She had an infectious smile on her face and a vibrancy that jumped off the page. Her blond hair was cut to her shoulders and her tanned skin was highlighted by perfectly white teeth. Scanning the statistics, she saw that Melanie Pirola was twenty-four years old and had been last seen at her own home three days earlier. The reward was listed as $25,000 for information leading to her return.
Declan’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I got in touch with Melanie’s sister Delaney last night after I found the case online.” Kate didn’t dare ask if he spent his spare time scourging the internet for abduction cases. In this case, ignorance was preferable.
He continued, “She’s willing to accept my help. Delaney explained that she lives with her sister and when she arrived home from her bartending shift, Melanie was nowhere to be found. Her car was still parked in the driveway and there was no sign of a struggle or break-in.”
Kate fired question after question at him. “Any suspects? Or any indication she may have just taken off?”
“It doesn’t sound like it. She’s a very popular fitness instructor at a gym near their house and has a very close-knit group of friends and family. She sounds reliable and this is the first time she’s ever even missed a day of work. Her sister insisted that no one would ever want to hurt her sister. She was too well-liked,” Declan explained.
Kate didn’t find that hard to believe judging by the picture. “Where in Pennsylvania does she live?”
“Chambersburg. It’s about three and a half hours from here. Your dad lives in Pennsylvania, right?”
“Yeah, but he’s not that far away. His house is only about an hour from here,” she replied.
“It took me a couple of hours, but I did have a vision about her last night…” Declan began.
Her face lit up. “Which means she’s probably alive.”
“Unfortunately, the vision didn’t tell me anything about her situation. It was just a random memory of a night out with friends at a karaoke bar.”
Kate chewed on her thumbnail as she pondered Melanie’s disappearance. “Well, maybe she did just take off then. Any guys in the picture?”
“She broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago, but he has an alibi for the day she went missing. And Delaney said he hasn’t shied away from the investigation. He’s cooperated with police and has helped pass out flyers and do ground searches. Melanie wasn’t known for keeping secrets from her family, so her sister doubts there was someone else. Also, Delaney was able to get access to Melanie’s online passwords. She checked yesterday and found no activity in the past few days on her bank account.”
Kate rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “Okay, let’s get to work then.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, why not? I just need…” she paused and carefully considered her words. “I need to have a win. I’m thrilled Max was brought home, but I keep having visions about him. He’s back home, but I’m unable to stop reliving what happened to him—seeing the things done to him while Ally had him. The extent of the abuse was way more than I ever imagined.” Kate shuddered.
Twice this week she had been inside of Max’s head as Ally wailed on him over some minor discretion. The boy seemed to be unable to escape the horrors of his time with the deranged woman. Each vision reinforced Kate’s belief that she should’ve found the boy sooner. She said determinately, “I want to get this girl home as soon as I possibly can.”
“Kate, you’re having way too much guilt over this Max thing…”
She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes. “I know I am. But it’s not just about Max. It’s about refusing to help Jared find Cori and for all of the other cases I avoided since I found out I was psychic. I’m starting to have regrets about things and I want to make amends.”
Declan looked like he wanted to disagree, but something in her expression must have dissuaded him. With a nod, he said, “Alright, let’s find Melanie then.”
***
Melanie’s blonde hair poked out of her bun as she ran past the trees. Her breath came out in short bursts, but she did not stop until she reached the top of the hill. She collapsed on her bottom as she tried to catch her breath. Another blonde figure ran up to her. “God, you suck! One of these days I’ll beat you to the top.”
She laughed at her sister’s mock anger. “Not even in your dreams. We’ve been running this trail for two years now and the only time you beat me was when I was getting over the flu.”
Her sister plopped down next to her. She used her shirt to wipe the sweat off of her brow before speaking. “There’s something wrong with you. Not only do you exercise at work, but you do it in your spare time too. It’s just not normal.”
“Well, maybe you should try it. Exercise releases endorphins, it could make you a happier person,” Melanie said and elbowed her sister in the ribs.
“Well, I’m not giving up yet. I’m going to start training and by summer’s end I’ll beat you.”
“Alright, if you win by the end of summer, I’ll do your half of the chores for a month,” Melanie challenged with a teasing smile.
Her sister gave her a wide grin. “You’re on!” Getting into a standing position, she reached down her hand to help lift Melanie off of the ground. “You better be ready to kiss your days of winning goodbye, Mel. By next Sunday, I’ll be lounging in a lawn chair while you’re slaving away cleaning the house. I plan to be extra messy this week. So, expect plenty of dishes in the sink and grime in the shower,” she promised.
“Ugh, gross! Now forget about me giving you a pity win after all.” They both laughed. “Enjoy the view of my ass, sis, as we’re going down the mountain,” Melanie teased and took off in a sprint. Her hair tie fell to the ground as her blonde hair streamed behind her.
***
An outside voice made its way into her consciousness. “Kate, did you see her?”
She opened her eyes to see Declan’s inquisitive expression. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I just saw her. I thought at first it was a recent memory. She was running through the woods which made me think she was being chased. But turns out she was going for a run with her sister.”
“Damn,” Declan swore and swung out his hand in frustration. “Usually if something bad has happened it’s in the forefront of the person’s mind. If someone has been abducted, it’s normally one of the first visions I have.”
“Maybe we should consider the possibility that she’s fine then,” Kate suggested.
“Maybe,” he said uncertainly.
They sat cross-legged in front of a few candles. He had closed the shades and put on some soft music in the background. In any other incidence, it would come across as a romantic atmosphere. Instead it was turning into a psychic marathon. They were both trying to get inside Melanie’s head to determine where she could be. This meant practicing Declan’s meditative techniques as a way to welcome in the missing girl’s thoughts.
Kate hadn’t been able to immediately see Melanie�
��s memories. After a couple of visions about her father, Kate was ready to throw in the towel. After Declan had a vision about Melanie dancing at a beach party in the bikini—a vision he seemed to enjoy way too much—she decided to keep trying. Finally, she had seen the vision of Melanie and Delaney on their weekly run.
After this vision, Kate noted how exhausted she felt. She never expected meditating could wear you out. As she looked at the drawn curtains, she did not see any light peeking through. “I feel like we’ve been at this forever. What time is it?”
Declan jumped up and walked over to the coffee table. Looking at his cell phone, he replied, “Just after eight-thirty.”
“What! Are you sure?” she demanded and scrambled to her feet. Her flats were on the floor and she slid them on her feet without waiting for a response.
Declan appeared unmoved by her rant. He knitted his brows and commanded, “Jesus, calm down. Sometimes you lose track of time when you’re trying to bring on the visions.”
“Calm down?” Kate asked incredulously. “I was supposed to meet Jared for my birthday dinner two and a half hours ago,” she cried. “Where the hell is my cell? Why hasn’t he called me?” She grabbed her pocketbook from the floor and rifled through it. “My cell isn’t here. Shit, shit shit!”
“Get a grip, Kate. If you drive like a maniac home, you’ll end up killing someone,” he warned.
Hurrying to the door, she called out, “I’ll be careful.” Kate added as she charged through the front door, “Call me if you see anything else about Melanie.”
“Will do and…” He paused and continued to speak after she spun to face him, “Happy Birthday Kate.”
***
Her phone was in the center console of her car. Her anxiety was sky high as she saw five missed calls from Jared and three from her mother. Without even checking the messages, she dialed Jared’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Kate, thank god. Are you alright?”
New Revelations: Second Sight Book Two Page 11
