I took the icepack and held it to the back of my neck again. “If it means we figure out who did this before they hurt Cat again, I’ll help you any way I can.”
He nodded once and slid his notebook over by him. “What did Xavier say to you at the game this past weekend?”
I pictured us in the line and concentrated on his lips moving. I wanted to be sure I got it right. “He said there was a rumor I had a date with Cat. He warned me if I so much as looked at her, he would kill me.”
“But you did anyway?” he asked.
“I figured he was just being macho. You know how guys are. They’ll say something hoping their bravado is stronger than the other guy’s. I asked Cat about him Saturday night and she told me she used to date him. Used to, being the operative words. She can’t stand him,” I paused for a moment and let my eyes go closed. “Couldn’t stand him. She wanted nothing to do with him. Last night we were sure it was him who attacked us.”
He leaned forward on the table. “You know it still could have been him. We haven’t mapped his whereabouts for the time before he was killed.”
“Good point. I’m tired, my head hurts, and I’m trying to process as best I can.”
“I understand, Lorenzo. I’m frustrated something like this has happened to your family, again.”
I shrugged. “I guess we’re good at finding trouble.”
He shook his head and leaned back, tapping his pen. “No, I think you’re too good at helping people, and trouble finds you. You want to see the good in everyone, even when there isn’t any. The same thing happened to Tabitha. Granted, she took things too far, but in the end, she did the right thing.”
When he spoke about my sister I noticed something in his eyes which said more than his words. He hasn’t forgotten Tabitha. It made me wonder if he ever planned to act on the feelings of curiosity and wonder about her.
I shook my head and forced my mind back to the conversation. “Xavier and I have a long history of not getting along. It started in high school when he sat on the bench as a senior and I played in the ballgame as a freshman. It irked him, but I didn’t ask for special treatment. I played my heart out and the coach used me when he needed a solid hitter. Xavier couldn’t handle being overlooked. But since high school, other than an occasional Little League game, I haven’t had any contact with him.”
He leaned forward again and closed the notebook. “I would like to get your prints before you leave. I’ve sent the light bulb to forensics to check for prints. I’ll need yours to rule you out. Maybe we’ll get lucky, maybe we won’t, but we’ll give it a shot.”
“Sure, I’ll do it on the way out,” I said. That sparked my memory. “Oh, I also have a tire in the back of Cat’s van you should see.”
“A tire?” he asked, perplexed.
“The reason I took Cat home last night was because her van had a flat tire. I couldn’t change a flat in the parking lot on a full-size van, so I gave her a ride home with plans to get the van this morning. When I got there in the daylight, I discovered the tire slashed. Someone didn’t want her to leave the gallery last night.”
“You think the person would have grabbed her? Or?” he asked, leading me into an open question.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I pegged Xavier as the one to do it since he showed up at the gallery earlier in the night, Cat said. I pictured her coming out and seeing the flat, then him zooming in to rescue the damsel in distress.”
The ah-ha look crossed his face and he made notes on the notebook page, which he had opened. “Anything else you can remember about last night? Anything strange or out of the ordinary?”
“Other than being hit from behind by an unknown assailant?” He nodded. “No, but if I think of anything I’ll call you immediately,” I assured him. We both stood and he shook my hand.
“Let’s finish up with the prints and the tire and get you on your way back to Catalina.”
I followed him out of the door into the bustling station and walked with him to booking. “Did you know Tabitha is opening a new shop in the mall?” I asked nonchalantly.
He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “Last I visited with her she mentioned she was planning a new business, but was still working in marketing with SteakRound.”
“She’s working there for now while she plans the business, but will leave eventually. She still volunteers with the humane society. In fact, she’s going to be working at the carnival manning the booth for the new daycare and salon. If you’re not busy, we can always use all hands on deck.”
He worked his lips around as if he had to think about the offer. “I’ll see if I’m not on duty. When is it?”
“June twenty-ninth. We can always use extra security on the grounds. You know, in case you’d rather be there in an official unofficial position.”
He nodded for a few steps and held the door to booking for me. “I’ll let Foster know if I can make it. Thanks for the tip. When you’re done with prints we’ll get the tire and you can be on your way.”
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smiling at the guy who obviously had a crush on my older sister. I let the uniformed officer take my prints and accepted the paper towel he handed me to wipe my fingers off.
I found Noah waiting for me at the front desk when I exited. All I had left to do was hand over the tire and I would be on my way back to hold the woman I love in my arms, and I was never letting her go.
Chapter Sixteen
I wiped my brow and sat down on the empty wooden box. I took a long drink of water and closed my eyes for few seconds. I had been working nonstop trying to catch up on the work I had to miss on Tuesday. After two long days, I finally had everything done and was even a little bit ahead for next week. Once the plumbers finished their work in the salon, I would be able to complete the interior and it would be ready for business. Doing the math, I realized I had three weeks before I would find myself unemployed. There were butterflies in my stomach when I considered talking to my dad about my business plan, but I only had two choices. Show him the plan or start applying for other jobs. He still wasn’t receptive to the idea of me starting my own construction business, but the more I worked for myself, the less I wanted to work for anyone else. I guess my dad doesn’t have to like it. I’m old enough to make my own decisions, right or wrong.
Speaking of Dad, he’s been working overtime to take mom on a driving tour of Alaska. Since we’ve left the nest and finished college, the travel bug has bit them hard. They’re in wanderlust with the planet and want to see as much of it as possible before they’re too old to travel. Personally, I think it’s fantastic when they go out and experience new cultures, but it’s not for me. At least not right now. I’m happy where I am in the small-town atmosphere of Little Ivywood. I’ve never been adventurous like Cinn or as confident as Tabitha.
Maḿa said each of us have a ‘gift’ and we got it from her side of the family. Cinn’s gift is music and how she uses it to touch the lives of kids who are just like her. The ones who feel like no one understands them. Tabitha’s gift is a little bit more, what’s the word, controversial? Tabitha is a bit of a predictive psychic, but not in the crystal ball reading kind of way. She can sense things before they happen and often sees images of oncoming events flash through her mind. She tells me it’s like there’s a movie reel running behind her eyes all the time. It shows her events, people, and places she should avoid.
I asked her after her brush with the law last year where her visions were and why she didn’t heed them. I asked why she didn’t see all the things about to happen. What she told me made me angry and sad at the same time. She saw the danger but couldn’t see the people who were behind it. In the end, she felt powerless to do anything to change it. Her fear overrode her usual levelheaded attack on whatever danger she had been warned about. I honestly believe it’s why she’s always been such a drama queen. When she sees terrible things and they end up happening despite her warnings, it robs her of any peace she might otherwi
se find. Since she was arrested she’s matured and become, well, normal. There hasn’t been any drama or outbursts. It’s almost as if overnight she went from being a teenager to an adult, and that’s saying something coming from a twenty-four-year-old guy about an almost thirty-two-year-old woman.
I wish I had paid better attention and called her back last week when she left a message telling me she needed to talk. She had mentioned at our last family dinner she would need my help with some construction needs at her new store, and I figured she wanted to talk about that. Since I had my hands full with Cinn and Cat, I didn’t call her back. It turns out she wanted to warn me about the danger she saw surrounding my aura at dinner. When I did call her back, she told me someone had malevolent plans for me and I should be careful.
To be honest, none of it made a lot of sense to me. I told her Cat was the one in trouble. She didn’t disagree with me, but said she didn’t know who the ‘hood’ was, so it could be after either, or both of us. I know it’s serious when Tabitha talks about the ‘hooded figures’. Those are the images she sees when she doesn’t know the person well enough to recognize a face. In this case, it could have been Xavier, but she doesn’t know Cat well enough to see his face. I straight up asked her if the ‘hoods’ always represented the grim reaper. She laughed and assured me it wasn’t what they meant, but she did tell me to be careful because she saw confusion more than anything. I guess what they say is true, sometimes a gift feels more like a curse.
When I was a little kid and didn’t understand why I had such strong feelings for people and animals, I hated this gift. It took a long time for me to understand what being an empath means and how it would change the course of my life. Some empaths go as far as being able to feel when a loved one is in pain or is going through surgery. If I’m deeply connected with someone, like Cinn, I can feel their pain. I guess it’s why I bought the pain relievers for Cat the other night. I could feel her back pain as we sat in the car together. While I can sense their pain in an aural sense, I can’t feel the same kind of pain they feel. For instance, if they broke their arm, I don’t feel the pain the way they do. I only feel an ache or twinge in the same arm.
What I’m feeling from Cinn right now isn’t as physical as it is emotional. My whole body is filled with anguish every time I see her. It’s an anguish unique to a woman, and I can’t understand how deeply it must be affecting her. Knowing you could get pregnant and carry a child, but being prohibited from doing it because of a disease outside of your control must be torture. When I got home from the police station, even when she tried to be upbeat and helpful, all she exuded was failure. I took her aside and told her if she wasn’t careful the failure would take over her soul. She didn’t disagree with me, which made the whole thing even sadder.
I’ve never been happier than when Foster told me he was taking her to a therapist this week. He believes with the right kind of therapy she’ll get past this quickly and go back to being the happy Cinn we all know. He also believes if he doesn’t get her help, and someone to talk to, we’ll lose her, for good. None of us are willing to risk losing her. She’s normally bigger than life, always upbeat, and happy. I wanted my happy Cinn back in my life. I wanted the woman who always has an encouraging smile and hug to share on the bad days.
The gift makes my life easier by telling me when what I’m feeling is real. For instance, right now I’m so in love with Cat I bite my tongue to keep from saying it. I have to struggle to keep from letting out the joy I feel having found the woman meant for me. Love is a fabulous feeling to live with, even if I’m forced to keep it to myself for a bit longer.
I opened my eyes and shook my head a few times to clear the cobwebs from the head injury, and the constant worry. My sleep has been interrupted the last few nights, which makes it feel like I haven’t slept at all. Having the plumbers here meant I wouldn’t be using any dangerous machinery today, which was probably good considering how tired I was. Compared to Cat though, I’m in good shape. She’s still in her boot cast and will wear it a few more days. Tomorrow they’ll x-ray her leg again and then if they still don’t see any cracks in the bones, she’ll be able to see the orthopedic surgeon about the tendons. When she’s resting in bed, she takes the boot off and ices it to keep the swelling down. All in all, we were lucky things weren’t worse.
Right now, she had the run of my parents’ apartment while they were at work. She camped out on their sofa the last few days with Annabelle, watching talk shows and snoozing. After a gallery showing, she always closes the studio for a week to clean up and redistribute artwork throughout the gallery to replace the art sold at the event. It might be convenient right now, but this weekend we’d be at the gallery rearranging artwork for the reopening. I hadn’t quite decided what I would do if the police hadn’t found the killer by then. She was convinced she would be open her regular hours, but as far as I was concerned she shouldn’t be open until they located and arrested his murderer. I didn’t feel like arguing with her about it, though, so I don’t mention it anymore.
I hoisted myself up from the box when the head plumber approached me. “We’re all finished, Lorenzo. The place is yours again.”
I shook his outstretched hand. “Thanks, Chris. We appreciate your professionalism and skill in helping us offer this service to the community. You donating your time and materials to offset the cost of the project reminds me why Little Ivywood is the best place to live in California.”
He laughed and slapped me on the back. “It’s the least we can do, and the place is hardly bigger than a garage. It didn’t take long and the materials are nothing to worry about for such a small place. I know this building will create years of great revenue for the shelter which is what’s important.”
I waved goodbye as he loaded his buckets into his van. Starting anything now would require me to work at least two more hours. I checked my watch and it said four p.m., definitely quitting time. Besides, I haven’t felt right since lunchtime and I knew it had something to do with Cat. I planned to pick up dinner for us and then cozy up in bed and watch TV with her until we fell asleep. The first few nights I tried insisting on sleeping in the spare bedroom, but she would have nothing of it. She wanted me in her bed with her every night. Being there with her feels oddly intimate, even though we haven’t made love. Just holding her in the bed makes it feel like we’re connected by our souls and not just our hearts. Who knows, I might even say ‘I love you’ tonight. We’re both feeling it, and one of us will have to stop being afraid to say it.
I unhooked my tool belt and looped it over my shoulder, checking to make sure all the lamps and tools were unplugged before I locked the door. I strolled past the kennels where dogs snoozed in the sun or chased balls around the large enclosures. Foster spared no expense when he chose the kennels, knowing the dogs could entertain themselves if they had a big enough space to stay active.
I opened the door to the back of the main building, surprised by how quiet the animals were at this time of day. Normally they would be clamoring for the evening meal, but all was quiet, other than occasional meowing and an infrequent whine. I peeked over the edge of the stalls and noticed most of the dogs were asleep as though they had run for hours.
I ran into Foster halfway down the hall. “Hey, brother. What’s up with the animals?” I asked, motioning backward to the kennels.
He chuckled softly. “Catalina has kept them busy today.”
“What? She’s supposed to be upstairs resting,” I said.
He nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. “This I know, but she said she was tired of resting.” I tried not to snicker at her joke and let him finish. “She sat in the main room and took photos of each dog. She’s going to create a second grouping of artwork for the carnival. She said the first set had so much interest she knows the second one will sell quickly, too.”
“How is she going to get another set of paintings done?” I asked perplexed. “She only has three weeks.”
He shrugged.
“I don’t have any idea. I think she’s probably going stir crazy more than anything.”
I paused and held my finger up. “How did she get down the stairs? I carry her up in the morning, which is on purpose, so she can’t get down without help.”
He hid a smirk by speaking. “True, and she has you pegged, too. Don’t think she’s fooled by your ways. Mostly she put up a fuss until I carried her down and Cinn carried her chair. She’s in the main room waiting for you. I was on my way to find you. She doesn’t feel well. It started about an hour ago. You probably better take her home to rest, even though she’s tired of resting.”
My chin dropped to my chest. “She doesn’t understand she could have died the other night. She thinks she’s invincible or something.”
Foster shook his head. “No, she knows she’s not invincible, which is the part of the picture you’re missing. The enemy who stole her legs and a normal, simple life we all take for granted, taught her she’s not invincible. You haven’t met her enemy yet, but it’s time you do.”
I huffed and hitched my tool belt over my shoulder again. “I want to meet the enemy she beat, but she doesn’t want to tell me about it.”
He opened the door to the main room and held it for me to go through. She was on the couch, half slumped over in pain. I paused and Foster slapped a hand on my shoulder. “You see her?” he asked and I nodded. “Have you ever seen a woman in her condition before?”
“Yeah, Cinn, actually. It usually meant she was sick or in pain and didn’t want to bother anyone.”
“And what did you do about it?” he asked as her gaze met mine.
I didn’t answer him because in two steps I dropped the tool belt on the table and bent down, taking her hand. She was feverish and her eyes were glassy. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” I asked, trying to keep the fear from my voice.
“I’m okay,” she squeaked. “But we should probably go home.”
Inherited Light_A Small-Town, California Romance Filled with Dogs, Deception, and Finding True Love Despite Our Imperfections Page 19