by Curry, Edna
Harvey’s sister, Mary, and her husband arrived. Mary was a large, breezy gal, much like Harvey, Loni thought. Mary immediately took charge of Cindy and Teri. Harvey and his brother-in-law said they’d stay to watch until the fire was out, so Cindy, Teri and Mary left for Mary’s house.
Matt turned to Loni. “Let’s go home and try to get some more sleep.”
“All right,” Loni said, getting back into the car. “What did Ben want?”
“He just wondered how I knew about the fire,” Matt said. “And he wants me to stop by his office to talk about it in the morning.”
“I’d like to know how you knew about the fire, too.”
He frowned at her. “And I told you before, I’m psychic.”
She stared at him, then in a flat voice, said, “You weren’t joking.”
“No, I wasn’t joking.” He sent her a challenging look, then turned back to watch the road. Their headlights beamed yellow through the darkness.
“So how did you know? Do you have visions?”
“Sometimes I do. But this time I dreamed about the fire, saw smoke coming from Cindy’s house, and woke up. I had a feeling of urgency, so I knew it was probably happening right then. So I called her to be sure.” He shrugged. “I figured she couldn’t do more than yell at me for waking her up in the middle of the night if I was wrong.”
“That’s unbelievable,” she said in awe. “I’ve never known anyone with a special power like that.”
“So, you think I’m a weirdo, too.”
“No, I think it’s amazing, Matt. And it’s wonderful that you could save their lives that way!”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Crazy? It was fantastic! Has this ever happened before?”
His voice was low and guarded. “Well, yes, it has, a few times.”
She stared at him, open mouthed. “You sound as though you’re ashamed of it.”
He pulled into his garage and killed the engine, turning to her with a furious look on his face. “No, I’m not ashamed, I’m angry. It’s scary and I don’t always know what to do about what I see. I don’t know whether it’s something that’s happening now or if it’s from the past or the future. It’s maddening and upsetting.”
“I’m sorry.” She reached out and touched his cheek, then leaned over and kissed him. “But if only once in a while it helps someone, like it did tonight, it’s worth it, isn’t it, Matt?”
“Yes, of course,” he said in a calmer voice. “Uh, look, Loni, this isn’t something I want to get around town, you know? They’ll all think I’m some kind of weirdo. You know, and not want to shop with a freak. Okay?”
Loni stared at him. “I think you’re wrong about that, Matt. But yes, whatever you want is okay with me. I won’t say anything.”
He nodded. “People I’ve told about this in the past have always said I must be crazy. I’ve worked hard to build my business here, to start a new life. I’d hate to spoil it all with a lot of gossip.”
“I’ll not spread any gossip, Matt. I wouldn’t do that. I care about you and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
He smiled at her. “Thanks. Well, come on; let’s get some sleep before we meet ourselves getting up.”
“Tomorrow is Sunday,” Loni reminded him as they walked inside. “I need to go to church in the morning.”
Matt looked surprised.
“I think someone should give thanks to Him for sending that dream to save two lives tonight.”
Her hands on her hips, she eyed him as he undressed. “You don’t believe a Higher Power sent you that dream?”
He shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I never thought about it that way, I guess. It’s just something weird that happens to me sometimes. Usually it’s something scary, not something I’d connect with God.”
“Well, my mother believed we only die when our time is up. That our days are numbered and all things work together to make things turn out the way they’re supposed to.” Loni got undressed and climbed into bed.
“So, you think it wasn’t Cindy and Teri’s time to die, so He made sure they were rescued in time?”
Her brows dipped in annoyance. “Is that impossible?”
“Maybe not,” he said climbing into bed and cuddling her in his arms. “But I’m not sure I like the idea of being a messenger.”
She smoothed back his hair and kissed him. “You make a cute angel,” she teased.
“Go to sleep,” he growled.
* * * *
After attending church together the next morning, they went to the Flame for breakfast. They chose a corner table to have a little privacy.
Loni noticed that Matt liked to sit with his back against the wall. She wondered if he did that on purpose or if it was her imagination that he seemed to be guarding her.
“This is where you usually meet Maria and Jolene for Sunday breakfast, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I called Maria to cancel while you were in the shower and told her about the fire. She and Jolene were going over to Mary’s to check on Cindy and Teri this morning. I hope they’re doing okay.”
“I’m sure Mary and her husband will help them get resettled.”
They’d barely gotten their breakfast order when the sheriff stopped by their table. He pulled up a chair and sat down.
“Have a seat, Ben,” Matt said sarcastically, though he smiled as he said it.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Ben grinned in reply. “Bring me some scrambled eggs and toast,” he told the waitress who’d hurried over. “And more coffee. I didn’t get much sleep,” he explained.
Loni nodded. She’d guessed that. His face looked haggard and he hadn’t shaved.
“Now, about last night,” he said as soon as the waitress left.
“Do we have to talk about this now, Ben? I thought you said I should stop by your office later. I’ve barely had my first cup of coffee,” Matt objected.
“Yes, we need to talk now,” Ben said. “I think we’ve wasted enough time. This guy has got to be stopped.”
Loni and Matt looked at each other. “Then you do think Hank had something to do with the fire?” Matt asked cautiously, digging into his pancakes.
“Definitely,” Ben said. “The fire chief says he smelled gasoline and is pretty sure it was arson, though it’s up to the State Fire Marshall to make a definite ruling on it.”
“Arson! That’s awful,” Loni said, feeling sick even though they’d suspected all along that the fire had been set. Somehow, it seemed worse to have the sheriff confirm it, and she had a sick feeling Hank was to blame.
How could she have been so wrong about him? She’d thought he was a nice guy when she’d first started dating him. All the girls in the jewelry store where she’d worked then had thought he looked like a movie star, ‘a blond god’, they’d said enviously. Little they knew.
She dragged her attention back to what Ben was saying.
“I talked to some gas stations around here and found one at Landers who sold gas in a can last night. The description of the customer fits Hank. I’ve put out an APB on him. I have enough evidence to put out a warrant for him with that, and we know he had opportunity since you saw Hank in the area earlier last night.”
The waitress brought Ben’s food and refilled their coffee cups. He again waited until she’d left, then eyed Matt. “You still haven’t told me how you knew about the fire,” he said, his voice full of suspicion.
Matt flushed. “You don’t think I had anything to do with starting it, do you?”
Ben turned red as well. “Now, I didn’t say that, Matt. I told you the gas station attendant’s description fits Hank. But you have to admit telling me you dreamed about the fire is pretty far-fetched.”
“Well, it’s the truth,” Matt said. He drank some coffee and glared at Ben.
“I can verify that,” Loni put in. Ben turned to stare at her, and she felt her face grow hot as well. Great. Now they all looked like beets. She glanced around at the other customers
in the restaurant, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to them.
She raised her chin and met Ben’s eyes. She didn’t care if he did know she’d been sleeping with Matt.
“I was with Matt all night. He woke me up by turning on the light to call Cindy,” she said, leaving Ben to assume the worst. “When Cindy said she smelled smoke, Matt called the fire department and we both rushed over there. And you know the rest.”
Ben nodded. “I figured it was something like that when I saw you with him last night,” he told Loni in a matter of fact tone. He turned back to Matt. “But you’ve got to admit, that was an awfully convenient dream.”
“I’m psychic,” Matt said through his teeth. “I don’t advertise it, but I’ve had things like this happen before.” Like I saw Don’s car fly over the cliff. And saw Loni being carried into a building by this blond man. That’s why I’m so worried about her. But this didn’t seem like a good time to explain those things to the sheriff.
“You’re really psychic? You’re not kidding me?” Ben’s voice was incredulous.
Matt ran a hand through his hair. “I wish to God I was kidding,” he growled. “It’s not a pleasant sensation to know things, especially when I don’t know whether I’m seeing something from the past or the future. Or, like last night, when I saw something that was happening right then.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Ben said in an awed voice. “So can you tell what’s going to happen in the future? Like which numbers will win in the lottery or who’ll win the World Series this year?”
Matt frowned at him. “No,” he snapped. “It doesn’t work like that. I have no control over what I see or when. I can’t call it up on demand or anything like that.”
“Too bad,” Ben said. “If you could, you could clean up at the race track. So how long have you been able to do this?”
“Most of my life,” Matt said. “My mother has the gift as well. But until lately, I hadn’t had any experiences for quite a long time. It seems to only happen when violence or danger is involved and it’s connected to someone I care about.”
“I see,” Ben said.
Matt frowned at him. “I’d rather you didn’t spread this around town. It wouldn’t be good for my business.”
Ben grinned. “Whatever you say, Matt. I can keep stuff under my hat. But I think it’s great. It sure saved our bacon last night.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Ben rubbed a bony hand along his unshaven chin. “But it’s probably too late to keep that a secret. Cindy and Harvey have been telling everybody they know how you saved Cindy and Teri’s lives last night.”
“Damn. There probably goes my business.”
Ben laughed. “Oh, I doubt that, Matt. Everyone thinks you’re a hero.”
“Really?”
“Really. Well, I’ve got to get back to work. No rest for the wicked, you know, even if it is Sunday.” He waved for the waitress to bring his bill and left.
Chapter 12
Sipping her coffee, Loni watched Ben stride out of the restaurant. She gazed at Matt, who was toying with the last of his pancakes.
“So you really weren’t kidding last night. That’s how you knew I was upset when I got that scary phone call, too.” It was the only thing that made sense. “You didn’t just happen to be driving by and see my lights on. You knew something was wrong and came out on purpose, to help me.”
He glanced at her, then nodded sheepishly. “Yes.”
She scowled. “But you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
Matt chewed his lip. “Loni, I had just met you. And everyone always thinks I’m a nut if I tell them,” he said. “So I stopped talking about it years ago. I only tell my family about this now, and only if they’re with me at the time something happens. It’s not something to brag about.”
She reached across the table and laid her hand over his. She met his eyes. “I don’t think you’re a nut, Matt. I think you were wonderful to care enough to come help me. As you say, you barely knew me then, after all.”
But it hurt to know that he hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her the truth, even though she hadn’t told him the truth then, either. They’d both grown since then.
Matt smiled and nodded. He wished he dared tell her about the vision of her being carried by the blond man. He was pretty sure it was a vision of that night she’d broken up with Hank—and thus from her past. But what if it was a prediction of something that was yet to happen? He’d seen Don’s accident before it happened.
How would she react if he told her what he’d envisioned and it came true later? Wouldn’t he be adding to her fear and panic?
Matt sighed. Loni seemed near enough to breaking now. He didn’t want her to live in fear of being carried off. She’d been really upset when she’d told him about waking up naked in her bed and knowing Hank had put her there and she didn’t remember it. What if his vision meant Hank would kidnap her again? He couldn’t give her more things to worry about.
* * * *
Hank sat in his Minneapolis apartment and eagerly watched the news for word of what he’d accomplished in the Canton fire. There was nothing on TV or in the city papers, which could only mean no one died. The media never bothered to report or print anything about accidents or fires in small towns unless a fatality was involved.
He’d have to wait for the local weekly paper, which would cover such events, regardless of outcome. He drove out on Wednesday night for a Canton paper, but took the precaution of wearing his disguise and of buying the paper at a gas station in the next town.
The weekly had a small article about the fire. It said that a friend’s fortunately timed phone call had awakened the occupants of the house, so everyone had gotten out without injury though there was considerable damage to the house. The family was living with relatives until it could be repaired.
Damn. He’d thought he’d done a better job of it. And the article didn’t even name the people who’d escaped.
What a lousy break! How had someone happened to phone right then? Everything he planned seemed to go wrong somehow. Of all the crazy bad luck!
But obviously, somehow, the bitch had escaped. Would she take this as a lesson to listen to him and go out with him the next time he called her?
Probably not, he decided. He’d probably only made her angrier with him. She should have died in the fire. If he couldn’t have her, no one should have her. She’d made her choice, hadn’t she? She deserved the fate she’d chosen.
He’d have to do a better job next time. Obviously, sabotaging her car hadn’t done the job either. Maybe she wasn’t even using it anymore if she was living in town with someone else. Last night she’d been riding with the other women.
An ad on the page caught his eye. Canton was having a Fourth of July celebration, including a parade with clowns and floats galore. The ad said there would be a special sidewalk sale with lots of tables of merchandise outdoors if the weather permitted, and a street band and dancing.
Yes! That would be a perfect time to blend in with the crowd and see for himself what was going on in that little burg. He could wear a clown mask. If lots of other people were wearing costumes, his disguise would blend right in. No worry about looking out of place. Perfect.
* * * *
Matt was sitting in his office, working on his computer when the phone rang.
“Hi, son.” His mother’s soft voice answered his hello.
“Hi, Mom. What’s up?” Melody Mennes seldom called. She was much more likely to e-mail him.
“You tell me. I’m getting some bad vibes from you lately. What’s going on?”
Matt sighed and asked cautiously, “What have you been seeing?”
“Nothing very clearly, but the signs all seem to spell danger for you and someone close to you.” She paused and then said accusingly, “I didn’t know there was anyone close to you.”
Matt laughed a bit nervously. “So, you’re still keeping on my wave length, eh?”
“Don’t sidestep my questions. I know something’s wrong up there and I want to know what’s up. And with who? Or shall I come up and see for myself?”
That’s all he needed, another person to keep track of and keep out of harm’s way. “You know I’d love to see you, Mom, but this isn’t a good time for me. I’m kind of busy right now.”
“So tell me why you’re so busy.”
“For one thing, I’ve got a big order coming in for a sale next week.”
She laughed. “You’re always busy with some promotion thing or other. This isn’t something like that. Come clean, Son.”
“All right, Mom.” He explained the situation in as few words as possible, leaving out the fact that Loni was staying at his house under his protection. His mother liked to think of herself as modern, but she had some pretty conservative views on living arrangements.
“I see. So this nut is pretty dangerous, I take it. That’s what was giving me the danger signals, I’m sure. I don’t like this, Matt. Why don’t you and Loni come down here and pay me a visit? He’s not likely to follow you here. Besides, I’d like to meet this girl who has you tied into knots.”
“I’d like you to meet her, too, Mom.” Matt was tempted. Taking Loni far away seemed like a good idea to him, too.
“So, will you come, then?”
“No, Mom. I can’t put you in danger, too. Besides, if we’re ever going to catch this guy and get him behind bars, we need to do it legally. Sheriff Ben is hot on his trail already and I want to stay here to help see that this guy is put away for a long time.”
“Well, all right. But I don’t like it. Be careful, Matt. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom. Bye.”
He hung up and sat staring at his computer screen. He didn’t want to take Loni to see his mother, but the idea of going out of town still seemed a good one. Could he convince her to take a few days off? Loni could have Hannah substitute for her at the shop. He’d try to convince her tonight. A few days away would do a lot to ease her stress.