by Susan Shay
Instead of slowing, the traffic grew heavier. With the front being taken care of by the volunteers, Cassie went to the coffee shop to help. The area teemed with all the tables filled and several people standing around, chatting as they sipped their drinks. The line waiting to be served kept growing.
While mixing an extra rich chocolotta, a cold chill swept over Cassie. Feeling as if someone had just dumped a bucket of water over her, she slowly turned and swept the crowd with her gaze. Nothing unusual, but there was something... Uneasy, even in the midst of the holiday crowd, she turned back to her task. She topped the drink with extra whipped cream, then handed it to the man who’d ordered it. “Who’s next?”
As a young girl stepped up, a murmur started at the entrance to the coffee shop. Although Cassie couldn’t see what caused it, she could tell by the sinking sensation in her gut that it wasn’t going to be good.
Then the crowd parted, and standing in front of her was Janneth. From her artificially streaked hair, perfect makeup, and unwrinkled clothes, she looked as if she’d just walked out of a spa. Only the look on her face as she stood the Louis Vuitton case on end and slid the handle into its proper place told that she felt put out. Otherwise, she was perfectly put together, as usual.
“Hello, Janneth.”
Janneth rolled her eyes at Cassie’s words. “Is that all I get from you after traveling this far, and on Christmas Eve?”
Cassie bit the inside of her lip as she struggled for patience. She drew Janneth to the side of the room, where she found her a chair. “You look nice.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Janneth snapped, her I’m-the-mother-you-must-obey voice growing strong as she ignored the people milling close by. “Are you packed and ready to leave?”
Cassie didn’t try to stifle the sigh building inside her. “I told you I couldn’t go today. Miriam isn’t here, and she’s depending on me to run things.”
Janneth’s brows snapped together. “She’s not here, but you are? What about me? I’m depending on you to go home with me. I need you. Don’t I deserve some consideration?”
“I don’t know what to say, Janneth. I told you I wouldn’t be going to Kansas City today. I told you not to come to Texas, but you came anyway.” As Cassie struggled to find tolerance for her mother, something weighed her spirit, causing her to catch a breath, then back up a step. The sinking sensation she’d experienced earlier hadn’t been because of her mother’s presence. It had been something darker. Something more menacing.
“...not leaving until you make up your mind to come home with me,” Janneth was saying when Cassie could hear past the silent warning her mind had focused on.
Fear of whatever was about to happen set off a tremor that shook her all the way through. Fear for herself, Miriam, Keegan, even her mother, caused her to snap, “Then, for God’s sake, wait in the office.”
Janneth’s unladylike snort surprised Cassie. Her mother never allowed herself to do anything that wasn’t proper. She’d never heard her mother laugh hysterically or belch. In fact, she’d never even seen Janneth sweat.
Did she sweat? Did she lose control when she was making love? Cry out in passion? Scream Howard’s name?
“Surely you don’t think I’m giving up that easily.” Intending to drag Cassie out of the store, Janneth grasped her arm just above the elbow.
In an instant, Cassie saw every emotion boiling inside the woman. She thought Howard was having an affair with a woman several years younger than her, but she wasn’t sure. What she intended was for Cassie to help her find the truth—even if it meant using her psychic gift—and then help her get rid of the slut.
Disappointed, but not surprised, that her mother’s motives had been purely selfish, Cassie pulled from her mother’s grasp. “I’m sorry, Janneth, but I can’t go with you. I have responsibilities here.”
“What about me? Your father is having an affair.” Janneth’s face contorted as she burst into tears. “You have to come home with me. You must help me get rid of her.”
Sighing, Cassie shook her head. “Janneth, you only think he’s in love with his assistant because he’s working long hours, but you have no proof. You’re afraid they’re planning to elope, and with Alexandra getting married, you’ll be all alone. But not penniless.” Cassie lifted her brows as the size of Janneth’s secret bank account came to her. Her mother had been preparing for this for many years.
“But I don’t want to lose him,” she sobbed as someone—Suzanne was it?—handed her a wad of napkins. “I don’t want to be alone. And old. And ugly.”
In the silence that followed, Cassie turned to Suzanne to ask her to take her mother to the office, but before she could a commotion started in the group gathered near the entrance of the coffee shop.
As if moving in slow motion, Cassie took a step toward the boiling crowd. Another step. Why couldn’t she move faster? She must get there to find out what was causing the disturbance. But she wasn’t the only one moving as if mired in mud.
The entire room took on a flashing, stop-motion quality, much like an old-time silent movie. In a flash of vision she saw a woman, who’d been reading a magazine while she waited, suddenly thrust forward, her periodical suspended in the air. Another flash. A young boy waiting quietly, suddenly sprawled the floor. Another flash. Everyone in line caught mid step as they tried to get away from the entrance. Flash.
Then she saw Steve shove through the people who remained in his way. Fear and anger warred to control him as he frantically looked around the room. “Where’s Miriam?” he yelled.
His fear contagious, her heart froze. Sight and sound were normal again, but she didn’t want to hear what was coming. It couldn’t be good. What was he doing here?
From the corner of her eye, she saw Keegan stride across the room. “Get out, Steve. You don’t have any business here.”
The fear apparent on Steve’s face morphed to desperation. “Don’t tell me to get out! I’ve got to find her.”
Keegan raised his fists, ready to fight. “You’d bet—”
“I need your help.” Shouting louder, Steve leaned into Keegan. “I don’t care what you think of me, you’ve got to—”
As he struggled to draw a ragged breath, Cassie reached the pair. “Wait, Keegan. Before you throw him out, find out what’s wrong.”
Keegan glared, and Cassie knew what he was thinking. This was the man who’d broken Miriam’s heart. The man who’d brought another woman into a restaurant and flaunted her right in front of Miriam. “Not here in front of the world. Let’s take it to the office.” Keegan’s words were little more than a growl.
Steve sagged as if the fight had gone out of him. As the three of them turned toward the front, Steve touched the small of her back. Fear, as only a man could perceive it, jolted through her—enormous, strong, vivacious. Then flashes of Miriam’s face filled with happiness, love, and laughter. Not old memories. Fresher, more joyful ones.
Confusion caused her to stumble. At least it was Keegan, instead of Steve, who caught her arm, infusing her with a bolt of light. Warmth. Strength. She could do this. With him by her side, whatever came in the next few hours, she could get through it.
But when everything was over, Keegan expected a change in his life.
As they neared the front, Marcie started toward them. “Well, I certainly didn’t see him come in that door. If I had, I’d have thrown him right back out. Want me to call the department?”
Cassie shook her head. “No, not yet, Miss Marcie. I’ll let you know if we need them. If you’d see to things out here while we talk in the office, I’d appreciate it.”
Marcie’s nod was sharp as she folded her arms beneath her breasts.
They rounded the check out desk. Keegan and Steve went on into the office, but Cassie stopped at Tami’s curious look. “We need a few uninterrupted minutes, if we can get them.”
Tami glanced toward the office. “That’s Miriam’s ex—the son of a bitch—isn’t it?”<
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Cassie nodded. “I don’t know what’s going on, but hopefully this won’t take too long.”
“Don’t worry about anything out here.” Tami sent a cool glance toward Marcie. “Between the older ladies and my friends, we can take care of everything.”
Swallowing hard, Cassie forced a smile. “When she hears how you’ve pitched in, I know Miriam will appreciate it very much.”
If she ever hears.
The words came from nowhere, but they filled Cassie’s mind, echoing again and again, growing in strength and filling her with terror. Unable to say more, she hurried into the office.
Steve prowled the room, moving from in front of the desk to the file cabinet to the storage shelves. Keegan had turned the chair that usually angled near the desk so he sat with his back to the wall, unable to trust Steve in even the slightest way.
The room was deathly still as Cassie deposited the remains of their lunch in the trash, then sat in one of the arm chairs, near Keegan.
“What the hell is going on, Steve?” Keegan asked. “Why did you bust in here on the busiest day of the year, trying to destroy Miriam’s business?”
As if posed to run, Steve turned on the balls of his feet, then gaped at Keegan as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “Why are you talking about business? Didn’t you hear what I said in the coffee shop? I can’t find Miriam. Something has happened to her. Something bad.”
Keegan didn’t pretend to be nice. “What do you mean, something happened to her? Something like, maybe she’s smart enough not to want you to find her? Maybe, since I’ve been here, she’s seen the light about what a bastard you are.”
Not fazed by his ex-brother-in-law’s opinion of him, Steve shook his head. “You don’t understand. Miriam and I have been seeing each other. We-we were going to announce it tonight at the apartment—we’re getting remarried. Tomorrow.”
At Keegan’s doubtful look, Steve took a step toward him. “Look, you can call the preacher, Reverend Marshall, if you want. Miriam asked him to perform the ceremony for us at the apartment, next to the Christmas tree.”
As Keegan’s face drained of color, his voice drained of emotion. “When did you last talk to her?”
“Yesterday morning. When she...got up. She said that she had a lot to do to get ready for the wedding and our honeymoon—cleaning, laundry—and she needed to spend at least part of the day in the store.” His frown deepened. “You’ve seen her since then. Right?”
“For just a little while yesterday, here at the store.” Unable to stay seated, Keegan bounded out of the chair. “She wasn’t at home last night, though. I haven’t seen her much at all lately. I knew she had someone in her life, but I’d hoped it was a good sign. That she’d found someone else. Someone who wouldn’t make her miserable.”
Steve’s face was filled with suffering. “Keeg—”
But Keegan wouldn’t let him talk. “Maybe she’s come to her senses, Steve. Ever think of that? Maybe she woke up and remembered that whore you brought into Ron’s with you, and was afraid that you still wouldn’t stop dating, even after you were married again.”
“She’s dead.”
The room was so quiet, they could hear murmur of voices and the bing of the register out front. “Who’s dead?” Keegan demanded.
“Twyla. Th-the woman I was with that night at Ron’s. She’s one of the murder victims.” He shook his head. “I’d been trying to break it off with her, and thought she got the message when she stopped calling. Then I read in the paper she’d been k-killed.”
Keegan leaned stiff-armed against the desk. “And now you can’t find Miriam.”
“Dear God.” Cassie didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until both men turned toward her.
“What do you know?” Keegan grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the chair.
“Nothing.” She shook her head, unable to verbalize the turmoil going on inside, filling her with panic.
“Is she in trouble? Can you feel anything?” Had Keegan’s voice grown smaller, or was it his shrinking disbelief that quieted him? “Will you try?”
She dragged in a long breath. Did he realize what he was asking her to do? Opening herself up to her psychic abilities could prove too much for her. It could shut her down completely, leaving her a prisoner in her own mind for the rest of her life.
But if she didn’t try, what chance would Miriam have?
No chance, whatsoever.
Again the unbidden words echoed through her. Holding her breath, she closed her eyes and tried to shut them out. To stop the pain. Finally able to function again, she lifted her chin and met his gaze with her own. “I-I don’t know if it’ll help, but I’ll do what I can.”
She moved past Keegan to sit in the desk chair. Miriam’s chair. If there were any of Miriam’s residual emotions left in the room, most likely they would be there or on the desk or the phone. Carefully, she placed her hands on the armrests. Turning inward, she waited a moment, but nothing came. Sliding her palms forward, she gripped hard. Nothing.
From a great distance, she heard Steve. “What’s happening?”
As she opened her eyes, she saw Keegan silently shake his head, then continue to watch her. Expectant. Waiting. Filled with foreboding, she reached deep within. With searching fingers, she traced the wood grain. The desk pad. The pencil cup. Nothing. As if blind, she felt along the lap drawer, the edge of the phone. The receiver. When she again found nothing, desperation filled her, making her want to sob. She wanted to throw herself on the desk, to use her entire body to search out any hint that might be lingering in the room.
She tried again. Flattening her palm against the desk top, she closed her eyes. How could she do this? All her life she’d fought the gift. Hidden it. Tried to keep the world from knowing it even existed. And now, in this most desperate moment when she needed to turn it on, she didn’t know how.
Fighting a scream of frustration, she dug deeper. More than feelers, she sent out tentacles into the air around her, trying to find something. Any hint of something.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake!”
At the sharp nasal whine, Cassie jerked her hands away from the desk as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.
But before she could open her mouth, Keegan was crossing the room to intercept Janneth. “Mrs. Reynolds—”
“My name is Mrs. Nicholas.”
“All right. Mrs. Nicholas, back off.” Catching her elbow, he tried to steer her back toward the door.
But Janneth wouldn’t be steered. “Right. Having a séance with my daughter is important, when I—”
Cassie’s belly quivered. “Mother, we’re not—”
“And you! You should be ashamed of yourself. I need you at home with me. Why are you doing this?”
Crazed with worry, Steve stepped between Cassie and her mother. “Miriam told me about your gift. Please, try again to use it. Try to find her. I’ll do anything you ask, if you’ll just find my Miriam for me.”
“She’s been trying, Steve.” Sympathy drew Keegan’s brows to a high frown. “You saw her. She was doing her best.”
“But she can’t quit. She can’t stop trying because of this woman. I can’t do this on my own.” The sound of the man’s crying as he broke down was almost more than Cassie could handle. His grief radiated through the air, weighing her with his misery.
He had to stop. Had to contain his feelings or move away from her so she could get past his emotions to find Miriam’s. She took a shuddering breath, echoing the one Steve had just taken. Then she motioned Keegan close. “Steve is clouding everything with the strength of his love and fear. Please, please get him out of here. And for God’s sake, send Janneth with him.”
She paused for a moment, then caught his hand as he started to turn away. “But don’t let them go to the apartment house. We’ll need to go there next. Make him take her someplace else. To Austin for dinner. Back to Kansas. Anywhere. As long as they’re away from me.”
Far, far away.
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Chapter Seventeen
Keegan’s gut burned as if it were filled with acid. And fear. Never before had he even thought the word in relation to himself, much less considered verbalizing it. But now, with Steve on the scene and Miriam gone missing, he tasted the emotion. No, it was more than just the flavor. Terror pumped through his veins like venom from a snake—poison, paralyzing and deadly.
Now, when his need to search for his sister was paramount, he was forced to take care of mundane matters.
Janneth Nicholas—Cassie’s mother. Without more than hearing her voice or seeing the way she dressed, he knew she was so self-centered that she didn’t understand the necessity for oxygen if she wasn’t going to breathe it.
Was that the universal psychic ability everyone was born with that Cassie spoke about? Was he “reading” Mrs. Nicholas? Scoffing inwardly, he shook his head, trying to dislodge the nonsense.
If everyone had some psychic ability, then misunderstandings wouldn’t be so prevalent in the world. People wouldn’t have fired up so many wars, weddings, and witches through the ages. Many of the tragedies in the world could have been averted. No, psychic ability must be a rare gift, given only to special people who would know what to do with it.
Silently, he escorted Steve and Janneth out of the office and shut the door. Pulling out his wallet, he removed a bill and pressed it into Steve’s hand. “Mrs. Nicholas needs to eat. Take her to Austin and feed her, would you?”
Janneth and Steve both tried to answer at once.
“I beg your pardon, young man—”
“What the hell? We need to find Mir—”
With an angry glance at each other, they paused mid-word, and Keegan seized the opportunity to explain. “I’ll find my sister, with Cassie’s help. You two will only be in the way. Mrs. Nicholas, you must go with Steve. He needs someone to be with him while we locate Miriam.”
As Steve sucked in an audible breath, Keegan spoke first. “Steve, get out of here. Your feelings for Miriam—your l-love and fear—are so strong, Cassie can’t read anything else. Go. For Miriam’s sake, you’ve got to.”
