by Lena Gregory
Yeah. Miss you, too. With little hope of catching him, she dialed his number. As expected, his voice mail picked up. “Hi, Luke. I’m disappointed you can’t make it tomorrow, but I understand. I have to go to Southampton next weekend, and I thought maybe we could get together. Let me know if you’re free Friday or Monday. Miss you, too.” She hesitated a moment, unsure of what else to say, her insecurities brimming over, but then she hung up and set the phone aside.
A cool breeze wafted through the shop, tinkling both sets of chimes she’d hung over the doors.
Cass froze and braced herself for the inevitable vision.
A shadow drifted across the shop, bathing everything in darkness, then allowing the light to return with even more intensity.
A premonition of death? Or just a cloud passing over? She had no way to know, but she was the only one in the shop at the moment. A portent of her own death? She shivered.
The chimes tinkled again, and she practically jumped out of her skin.
“Hey. What’s the matter with you? You look like you saw a ghost.” Bee stopped dead in his tracks and paled. “You didn’t, did you?”
Stephanie almost plowed into his broad back. “Hey, watch it, buddy.”
The look of horror on his face released the grip fear had on Cass. She laughed. “Nope. No ghosts,” She waggled her eyebrows playfully. “Not today anyway.”
“Better watch yourself there, honey, or no caffeine for you.” He held up a cup holder with three large foam cups from Tony’s bakery.
“Okay, sorry. I’ll be nice.” She smiled and fluttered her lashes.
“Smart aleck.” He crossed the shop and put the cup holder on the table. Apparently, she was forgiven.
Stephanie dropped two large bags in the center of the table, slid out a chair, and sat. “Busy morning?”
Cass’s phone beeped with a text, and she quickly read Luke’s message. He had to work Friday and Monday. Pretty much what she’d expected. “Nah, not really. Cayden and Sophie came in, though. She had the baby.”
“A boy, I presume?” Stephanie grinned.
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry I missed him.” She lowered her gaze to the table and muttered under her breath, “Probably better, anyway.”
Cass let it go. She wasn’t sure what was bothering Stephanie lately, but she never wanted to talk about it, no matter how many times Cass offered, so Cass would respect her privacy. For now. “By the way, they asked me to do a reading for Sophie’s mother, but they want me to do it at a house in Southampton they rented next weekend. Either of you want to come and walk around town after?”
“You’re going to close the shop on a weekend?” Stephanie frowned.
“Nah, either Friday afternoon or Monday morning. I can close all day Monday.” If it was nice, they could go to the beach for a while, too. As much as she loved the Bay Island beaches, there was nothing like the sheer enormity and power of the ocean. Sitting on the cool sand, staring out at the endless expanse of water, knowing you were sitting on the edge of thousands of miles of ocean, made everyday problems seem somehow less significant.
“I have an appointment with a client on Friday, but I’ll go Monday if you want.” Bee grabbed a stack of napkins and a few forks and set the table.
Cass sat next to Stephanie. “Ooh, fancy today. I guess we’re not eating McDonald’s again?”
“Bite your tongue. I needed a real lunch, so we stopped at the diner.”
Stephanie handed her a coffee cup. “I can’t go either day. One of my clients completely screwed up his taxes, and now I’m trying to straighten it all out. I’ll be in meetings both days.”
“Why didn’t he just have you do his taxes?”
“Exactly.”
Ahh . . . Cass knew when to leave well enough alone. Maybe that explained the state Stephanie seemed to be in. “All right. I’ll tell them Monday.” Cass sipped her coffee. Mmm . . . No one made coffee like Tony and his wife, Gina.
Bee slid a breakfast skillet in front of her. Shredded breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Her mouth watered.
“So, any new gossip at Tony’s or the diner?” She tried to sound casual.
Bee’s stare suggested she might have failed. “You mean, like, any talk of a woman’s body turning up?” He tilted his head and lifted a brow.
“Now who’s the smart aleck?”
“Maybe, but am I right?”
Cass shrugged, uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. “It wasn’t bothering me as much before Artie Becker showed up. And I can’t imagine what he was doing coming out of the art gallery where a portrait of the woman from my visions is prominently displayed.”
“Wait a minute.” Bee held up a hand. “What portrait?”
Shoot. She’d forgotten she hadn’t shared the art gallery image with them. “I uh . . .”
“Cass.” Bee’s tone was firm, a sure indication he wouldn’t accept anything less than the truth.
“Oh, all right. Fine.” She dropped her fork down onto her napkin. “When I was leaving the shop last night, I didn’t want to walk on the beach, so I walked down the boardwalk. When I was passing the art gallery, I saw a portrait of a woman. It seemed like it might be the same woman I was seeing in my dreams, but I wasn’t sure. I wanted to look at it again this morning on the way by, but then I saw Artie coming out of the gallery, and I forgot.” She’d have to remember to get a closer look on her way home tonight.
“Well, I still say you should go to the police,” Stephanie said.
Bee started laughing.
Stephanie scowled at him. “What’s so funny?”
The two of them bickering was the last thing Cass needed. She shot Bee a shut up look.
He ignored it. No surprise there. “Don’t you get it? That’s where the dreams came from.”
“What are you talking about, Bee?” Cass was fast losing patience.
“You probably noticed the portrait in the window, and something about it stuck in your subconscious. Then you started having these weird, woo-woo dreams, and they scared you so badly you forgot where you actually saw the woman.”
Stephanie’s expression turned skeptical, but she remained silent.
Bee offered a knowing look, as if he’d solved the problem.
A cold draft prickled Cass’s neck, ruffling the back of her hair. If only the solution could be that easy, but somehow, she didn’t think it was. She lifted her fork and started to eat.
The tinkle of the wind chimes stopped her mid-bite, but when she turned, the shop was still empty.
5
“Come on, Beast.” Cass hefted the bucket Bee had left behind the previous day, then lifted the leash from the hook by the door. She didn’t bother to hook it to Beast’s collar. He could run along the beach from her house to Mystical Musings without it, but she’d have to leash him before heading up to the boardwalk.
By the time Emmett had shown up with her car last night, she’d only had a few minutes to get to the groomer to pick Beast up, so she hadn’t gotten to check out the art gallery window. No big deal. She’d just take a walk by this morning. At least no one should be around. She could take all the time she needed to examine the portrait. With a plan in mind, she pulled open the back door.
Beast bounded out into the yard and jumped off the deck.
Cass laughed, surprising herself, as she pulled the door shut behind her and locked up. After spending another night tossing and turning, she figured today she’d be downright somber, but the promise of a beautiful spring day on Bay Island, followed by a nice dinner with friends, cheered her up considerably. Besides, insomnia had its perks. She’d already put the roast in the Crock-Pot and cut up the vegetables and still had plenty of time before she had to open the shop. She could definitely get used to the more casually paced mornings
. Most mornings had her running around like a lunatic trying to get out the door. Half the time she was late, anyway.
The sun had just begun to rise over the bay as Cass headed down the beach toward Mystical Musings with Beast trotting happily beside her. The soft breeze lifted her hair, carrying with it the scent of the sea. Waves lapped gently at the shore, leaving a soft, bubbling foam in their wake. Seagulls screamed and dove.
Returning to Bay Island had been the best decision Cass had ever made. Home brought a sense of peace she’d never quite captured while living in the city.
Beast ran ahead, leaping and jumping through the beach grass covering the dunes. If he kept it up, he’d need another bath before she even made it to the shop. She whistled for him. “Come on, boy. You’re going to get ticks.”
He crouched and jumped toward her, then returned to whatever game he was playing. She’d just have to brush him out and check him good later. She hated pulling ticks off him. Finding them in his long, thick coat was a nightmare. Hopefully the flea and tick repellent Doc had given her would do its job.
She dug up a piece of brown beach glass the tide had half-buried in the sand. Running her fingers over the smooth, rounded edges, she wondered briefly what it had once been, then dropped it into the bucket. The soft clink echoed in the quiet morning.
With plenty of time before she had to open the shop, she strolled along, taking her time, gathering anything that caught her eye. Beach grass, stones, seashells, driftwood, twigs, and small, oddly shaped branches. When she got to the shop, she’d fill a few mason jars with shells, rocks, and glass, then arrange the twigs, branches, and beach grass sticking out the top. They’d make great centerpieces for tonight’s dinner. Hmm . . . maybe she’d make up a few extras to display in the shop. Even if they didn’t sell, they’d make a great backdrop for the display of lighthouse replicas.
Beast’s furious digging in the dunes intruded on her peace. Sand flew everywhere. It had to be catching in his long, shaggy coat again. Great. He was going to need another bath.
“Beast.” She tried to inject some authority into the command. Apparently it didn’t work, because his head didn’t even pop up from behind the dune. “Beast!”
Nothing.
Giving up on trying to get his attention, she started toward him. “Beast. Come here, boy.”
He lurched back, toppled over the top of the dune, landed on his back end in the sand, then rolled over and gained his footing. He charged toward her with whatever he had gripped between his teeth hanging out the sides of his mouth.
Ugh . . . What did he get into now? As he got closer, she backpedaled. “Down, boy. No, don’t—”
His front paws landed hard against her chest, knocking her over. At least the sand cushioned her landing.
Beast dropped next to her and lowered his head.
Cass sat up and brushed sand from her arms and back. There wasn’t much she could do about what had already gone down the back of her shirt and gotten into her hair, and she was already more than halfway to the shop, so no way was she going back home to change. She scratched her head. Great. Now she’d be itchy all day. “Thanks, Beast.”
He shot her his best I’m sorry look from beneath his lashes.
“Yeah, yeah.” She petted his head, then stood and brushed the remainder of the sand from her leggings. “I know. It’s no one’s fault but my own, and get him trained, and blah, blah, blah . . .”
Beast nudged her leg, offering what looked like a stick clamped between his teeth.
“What do you have there, boy? A present?” She reached for the stick. “Is that for my centerpie—”
As her fingers closed over the stick, a vision of the woman from her dreams slammed through her, knocking the wind from her lungs and driving her to her knees.
The woman called to her through a hazy veil. She reached out, her icy fingertips brushing the back of Cass’s hand.
Beast nudged her side and whimpered, and Cass dropped the stick.
Although the vision released its hypnotic hold, the woman remained, hovering in front of her.
Cass held onto Beast’s back and struggled to her feet, leaving the bucket’s contents spilled on the sand.
The woman turned and started to float back toward the dunes where Beast had been digging.
Every instinct Cass possessed begged her to flee.
The woman stopped and glanced over her shoulder, making direct eye contact with Cass.
Cass expected to find fear through the murky haze. Instead, she found only sadness in the woman’s eyes.
With a deep sigh, Cass ignored the urge to run away and started after the woman.
Apparently content that she was following, the woman continued her trek toward the dunes.
Beast barked and backed away.
Why on earth would Cass follow a specter that had been tormenting her for over a week? What was wrong with her? She must be out of her mind. Well, I guess this is one way to find out. If there’s nothing there, I’m crazy. If there is . . . She might be better off just admitting she was crazy and moving on.
She climbed the gently sloping dune, the beach grass swaying in the breeze, tickling her ankles, sending a chill through her. At least she tried to convince herself that’s what was causing the chill, because the temperature was noticeably cooler the farther she moved into the small mounds of sand. Funny, she’d never noticed that before. When she’d played on these same dunes as a child, hung out in them as a teenager, and walked them in search of shells, grass, and sticks as an adult, the temperature had always seemed consistent with what it had been on the beach.
She hugged herself tighter.
The wind whipped her hair across her face.
She pushed it behind her ears.
Beast crept warily beside her, tail tucked between his legs. A soft whimper escaped, and he glanced up at her, his eyes pleading.
She laid a shaky hand on his head. “I don’t like it any more than you do, boy.”
The woman stopped, hovered for a moment, then disappeared behind a dune.
Cass paused and petted Beast’s head. “I guess this is it, Beast. We either check out whatever my imagination is trying to show us, or we walk away and pretend none of this ever happened.”
Bee’s voice screamed in her head, “Walk away, walk away. Never mind that. Run!”
I wish I could, Bee. But her need to help and comfort people, the same need that drove her to do what she did every day, wouldn’t allow it.
She stopped in front of the dune the woman had disappeared behind and heaved in a deep, shaky breath. “Wait here, Beast.” No sense making him any more uncomfortable than he already was.
He plopped down on the sand. Of course, he’d choose that moment to obey a command. Figures.
Leaving him standing guard, Cass scrambled over the dune and down into a small depression. Wet sand had been churned up and mixed with the dry top layer. Several sticks poked through the sand, probably exposed by Beast’s furious digging.
She dropped to her knees and moved closer. Tendrils of ice wrapped around her. She braced herself for another vision as she closed her fingers around one of the sticks. Nothing happened. She applied a bit of pressure, gently tugging on the stick. Still nothing.
The stick didn’t budge.
Giving up on trying to pull it out, she released the stick and brushed some of the sand aside. She uncovered some sort of netting that had entangled the sticks. She shoved more sand aside, clearing a small area as best she could, then lifted aside some of the netting.
An empty eye socket stared out at her.
She screamed and jumped back, then half-scrambled, half-crab-walked backward up the dune. No way was she going back down there. She fumbled her phone from her pocket and dialed 911.
“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”
A sense of
déjà vu assaulted her. She started to hyperventilate.
“Hello?”
Beast’s frantic barking intruded on her panic attack.
“I’m at the beach.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No. I found . . . um . . . something.” What exactly did she find? She wasn’t even sure. Maybe she should just hang up and forget it. Of course, the police would probably have to check the call out anyway, and she’d made it from her cell phone. Surely they had caller ID. “I think it might be a skeleton.”
“Can you tell me where you are?”
“Um . . .” Cass looked around. The beach was so familiar. She’d played on it since she was a child. She walked back and forth to Mystical Musings on a regular basis. She knew every dip, curve, and indent in the shoreline. But she had no clue how to tell this woman where she was. “Uh . . .”
“Is there anyone else around?” It could be Cass’s imagination, or her heightened sense of fear, but it seemed to her a bit of impatience had begun to creep into the woman’s neutral tone.
Okay. She was going to have to get a grip on herself. She was definitely closer to the shop than the house, so it made more sense for them to start there. “If you start at Mystical Musings and head north along the beach, I’m just past the cove.”
“Where is the skeleton?”
“It’s tangled up in some kind of net in the dunes.”
“Do you see anyone else?”
Realization dawned. She hadn’t asked if anyone was around because she wanted to talk to someone else, she’d asked out of fear for Cass’s safety. “No. I don’t see anyone.”
“Okay. Just wait there. I’ve already dispatched a car.” Her tone softened. “They should be there soon. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”
Cass thought about it for a minute. While it would be nice to have the company of another human being, she had no clue what she’d talk to this woman about for however long it took the officers to reach Mystical Musings and then walk down to the beach and meet her. “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”