Good Fortunes (A Claire Rollins Mystery Book 1)

by J A Whiting

“Hold on. Let’s do an experiment.” Nicole turned her attention to the young man. “Claire has strong intuition. I think she could hone this skill into something useful.”

  Robby flicked his eyes to Claire and then back to Nicole. “Yeah?” he said slowly, not understanding.

  “Let Claire hold your hand. Shake with her.” Nicole flapped both of her hands at the two people indicating that they should clasp their right hands together.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Claire kept her hand in her lap.

  “You said that already.” Nicole slid her fingers under Claire’s wrist and pushed up. “Go ahead. It can’t hurt anything. Robby, shake with her. Make it a long handshake. Claire needs to practice.”

  Robby extended his hand over the table. “What’s she supposed to do? Is she going to tell my fortune, or something?”

  “Don’t talk. Let’s see what happens.”

  With a scowl on her face, Claire slowly lifted her arm and grasped Robby’s outstretched hand.

  “Close your eyes.” Nicole encouraged her friend. “So you aren’t distracted by anything.”

  Claire lowered her eyelids as Robby made eye contact with his boss. Putting her index finger to her lips, Nicole urged Robby to remain silent and the three sat quietly for nearly two full minutes with Nicole glancing to the shop door every few seconds hoping that no customers would come in and disturb the experiment.

  Claire opened her eyes and released Robby.

  “What happened?” Nicole was eager to hear what had transpired.

  “We shook.” Claire’s face was neutral.

  “Did you sense anything? Did you feel anything?”

  “Yes. I felt Robby’s hand in mine.” Claire smiled and stood up. “I have to get home to Bear and Lady.”

  Nicole stood. “That’s it? You felt nothing? Maybe you didn’t hold on long enough. Maybe you should try again.”

  Robby checked the wall clock. “I need to go, too. I need to get to class.” Robby attended a performing arts college studying vocal performance, guitar and piano, as well as the business-side of being an artist. Winking at Claire, he told her, “Maybe tomorrow we can hold hands again.”

  Claire removed her apron and chuckled. “Don’t hold your breath.”

  With her hands on her hips and a disappointed frown on her face, Nicole stood listening to her employees banter until the two left the chocolate shop for the day and went in different directions down the sidewalk.

  Heading in the direction of Beacon Hill, Claire called over her shoulder to Robby, “Good luck with your audition tonight.”

  Robby spun around and gaped at Claire as he watched her walk away.

  He hadn’t told a single soul that he had a tryout scheduled for later that night.

  Claire brought the dogs to the Boston Common and as they wiggled and squirmed to be released, she struggled to flick the metal clasps to free them from their leashes. At last, the clasps clicked and the Corgis flew around the grassy hill chasing and being chased by four other dogs that had come with their owners for playtime. Sinking onto the grass, a huge smile spread over Claire’s face as she watched the animals dodge and leap and take off like rockets. Claire stretched out her long legs and the warmth of the sun on her skin made her eyelids heavy tempting her to consider resting back for a quick a snooze.

  Bear darted over to his owner and positioned himself a few feet away from her leaning down so that his front legs were flat on the ground and his butt was up in the air. Making eye contact with Claire, he let out a woof and then zoomed back to where the other dogs were playing leaving his owner chuckling at the speed the dog was capable of achieving despite his small legs.

  Claire’s mind wandered to the strange events of the past two days and she shuddered when she thought about the gunshots that had been fired from the speeding car so close to her and Nicole. Images flashed in her head of the car, of the tarot card woman who had come to the chocolate shop, of Merritt Handley, and of Robby sitting across the table from her with a look of slight distrust as she took his hand. Her thoughts jumped around in her head so fast they were like a monkey leaping from one tree branch to another.

  Despite telling her colleagues that she hadn’t felt something when holding Robby’s hand, she had picked up on little things that bounced into her mind in a way that almost made her think that Robby had verbally shared the information with her. Claire sensed Robby struggling with a difficult piano piece and felt his triumph when he finally mastered it and she picked up on his nervousness and apprehension over an important audition he was facing later in the day.

  Slipping on her sunglasses, Claire puzzled over why she was suddenly experiencing these unusual sensations and premonitions. She’d always had intuition about things, she easily picked up on how people were feeling, and could sense if a situation seemed off. Claire knew right away when she’d met Teddy that they would be important to one another, but she’d never had perceptions that foretold of coming danger or sensations that were as powerful as the ones she’d had recently.

  Claire stood up and stretched and started to jog around the periphery of the Common to try and clear her head. The two Corgis saw their owner head off and dashed to her side to run along with her for a minute before taking off again to play with the other dogs. The routine was always the same whenever Claire, Bear, and Lady went to the common … the dogs raced with their canine friends, checked on their owner as she sat or jogged around, and bounced back to the hill to jump and play. Claire loved the dogs’ exuberance and high-spirits and they always lifted her from fatigue or sadness and brightened her day.

  Watching her two sweet animals charge around the grass, Claire had her head turned and only noticed at the last moment that she was about to plow into a pedestrian. She lurched to the side to avoid hitting the person.

  “Claire?” The man who had been about to be mowed down had side-stepped to miss the head-on crash.

  Claire stopped and turned to see Detective Ian Fuller standing in front of her. “Oh. Sorry.”

  “Is it your habit to run down pedestrians on city sidewalks?” Detective Fuller spoke with a serious tone, but then his face broke into a wide grin.

  Claire began to blubber an apology until she saw that the man was kidding. “I’m training for a mini-triathlon. I have a lot of work to do.”

  Bear and Lady darted from behind a group of trees and bounced joyfully around the detective who bent down with a chuckle and scratched the dogs behind their ears. “Are they yours?”

  Claire nodded. “They won’t jump on you. They just like to dance around.”

  “That’s lucky. I thought they might be like their owner and would attempt to knock me down and trample me.”

  As Claire let out a heart-felt laugh, she couldn’t help but notice the detective’s arm muscles rippling under his starched white shirt as he petted the dogs and she looked away embarrassed when she realized how blatantly she was gaping at the man. Wanting to steer her attention to something other than the detective’s physique, she brought up the case. “Any news about that car and the gunshots from last night?”

  Detective Fuller straightened. “It’s still being investigated.”

  Claire knew that he wouldn’t be able to share any details about the case, but she’d hoped that he might tell her that someone had been brought in and was in custody and that the whole thing could now be put to rest. She pulled her ponytail holder from her hair and her blond curls cascaded around her shoulders. “I have to admit that it was pretty unnerving when you asked me if there was anyone who wanted me dead.”

  The detective nodded and tried to be reassuring. “It’s just a standard question when something like this happens.”

  “Nicole felt the same way when you talked to her. The event and the questioning, well it shook our sense of stability and security. I’ve never felt like a victim before.” Claire sighed as she and the detective walked along the sidewalk together. “Do you think the people in that car will be caught?�
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  Detective Fuller turned his head and made eye contact with Claire. “I hope so.” The phone in his pocket buzzed and when he removed it and read the message on the screen, his face hardened. He pushed at the phone and held it to his ear as he backed away from Claire raising a hand to gesture “goodbye.” Speaking into the phone, Detective Fuller spun away and ran down the sidewalk.

  Claire could hear sirens blaring from the direction that the detective was running towards, but she dismissed the emergency sirens as the reason for his abrupt departure. She was living in a city with sirens going off on a regular basis, but still, a funny feeling gripped her stomach.

  Looking across the lawn, Claire spotted her Corgis still zooming about with the other dogs and she smiled to herself wondering where all that energy came from. Reaching to unsnap the two leashes she’d put around her waist like belts, Claire headed towards Bear and Lady to take them home when she halted in her tracks and put her hand to her chest. Her heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach and cold sweat ran down her back as she spun around to look in the direction that Detective Fuller had hurried off to. Gazing at the buildings that surrounded the Common, a horrible feeling of alarm seemed to punch her in the gut.

  Two people standing a few yards from her were hunched together looking at a phone. “Look at this.” The young woman tilted the phone so her companion could see the screen. “That’s just a few blocks from here. Want to go down there and see what’s going on?”

  The two people started to walk away when Claire called to them, her heart pounding wildly. “Has something happened?”

  The young woman held up her phone. “There’s been a shooting. It’s all over social media. Someone’s been shot down on Castle Street.”

  Claire’s throat constricted and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “Does it say where on Castle Street?”

  The young woman spoke as she and her friend hurried off in the direction of the shooting. “In front of the Jasper Building.”

  Claire sank down onto the grass. The Jasper Building. That’s where Merritt Handley said she worked.

  7

  With the humidity growing heavier, Claire and her Corgis hurried through the streets of Boston and returned to the chocolate shop just as Nicole was exiting the building. Bending to greet the two friendly dogs, Nicole noticed Claire’s face and stood straight. “What’s wrong now?”

  “There was a shooting in front of the Jasper Building. Just a few minutes ago. That’s where Merritt said she works.”

  The blood drained out of Nicole’s face and her voice shook. “Oh, no. Let’s go down there.”

  “Do you think it’s a coincidence? Maybe it has nothing to do with what happened last night.” Claire handed Lady’s leash to her friend.

  “I don’t know what would be worse, having this shooting tied to last night or to have this be independent of what happened last night. If it doesn’t have anything to do with the shooting in front of the Old South Meeting House, then what’s going on in the city?”

  “Gangs?” Claire asked.

  Nicole shook her head. “There isn’t much of that in Boston. God, did the shooter from last night target Merritt as she was going back to work? Was Merritt the one he was after?”

  They turned the corner onto Castle Street to see the crowd that had formed on the sidewalk across from the Jasper Building and the emergency vehicles clustered in front. Police had blocked the street from both ends and two officers stood in the road at the corner waving traffic away from turning down Castle. Two ambulances had parked askew at the sidewalk and Claire and Nicole heard the squawk and crackle of police walkie-talkies and radios as some personnel stood around the sidewalk taking photographs and measurements and others stood together in serious conversations or hurried back and forth from police cars to the building.

  The young women led the dogs to the opposite sidewalk where they joined the other people watching the scene unfold.

  “A woman was shot.” A short, muscular young man dressed in a tank top and jeans that fell below his hips told Claire and Nicole. “They took her away.”

  Nicole asked. “Was she alive?”

  The guy shrugged. “Don’t know. There was a lot of blood.”

  “Were you here when it happened?” Claire took a step closer. “Did you see it happen?”

  “Nah. I got here just after. The cops herded witnesses into the building.”

  Nicole pointed across the street. “There’s Detective Fuller.”

  The detective stood next to a short, bald man in a suit listening intently to what the man was telling him. When Fuller looked up, he noticed Claire and Nicole at the edge of the crowd and nodded as he lifted his hand with his index finger extended to ask them to wait. After more discussion with the bald man and several officers, Fuller hurried across the street and gestured for Claire and Nicole to move with him to the corner away from listening spectators.

  “Was it Merritt Handley who was shot?” Claire hated to ask the question and braced for the answer.

  Hearing that Claire knew Merritt, a look of surprise passed over Fuller’s face. “No, Ms. Handley’s inside. You’re acquainted with each other?”

  “Merritt came to see us a few hours ago.” Nicole’s gaze was trained on the activity across the street. “She told the two of us that she was standing nearby on the sidewalk last night when the drive-by shooting took place.”

  “Merritt found out who we were. She wanted to talk to us about the shooting.” Claire knelt beside the dogs to reassure them when another police car pulled up to the building with its lights flashing and its siren blaring. Looking up at Fuller, she asked, “Do you think this is unrelated to last night?”

  The detective said, “Ms. Handley was on the sidewalk about to enter the building when the shooter walked up and fired.”

  Claire’s heart dropped. Merritt must have been the target. “He must have been close to her? Did she see him and run inside just in time?”

  “She did see him. She saw the gun and she ran into the building. A woman had just stepped out of the lobby onto the sidewalk and she ended up catching the bullet that may have been intended for Ms. Handley.”

  “How is that woman? Will she survive?” Claire looked over to the building.

  Fuller’s face was drawn. “I don’t know the extent of her injuries.”

  Claire thought of something and turned to the detective. “Did Merritt get a good look at the shooter?” Claire’s tone was excited thinking that this could be a break in the case. “Did she recognize him?”

  Fuller shook his head. “Ms. Handley noticed the gun and that’s what she focused on. She said she didn’t know the man. She told us that she wouldn’t be able to describe him except in vague terms. Her eyes were focused on the gun.”

  “I would probably be so frightened by the gun that I wouldn’t take any time to notice what the guy looked like. I’d just take off, try to escape as fast as I could.” Nicole absentmindedly patted Lady’s head. “Was it a guy?”

  Detective Fuller nodded. “It was a male about five feet eight inches tall, according to Ms. Handley. She thought he was a young man, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, but she said she couldn’t be sure.”

  “Are there witnesses?” Claire hoped that someone walking or driving by might be able to provide a description of the shooter.

  “Some. We’ll see if any of them prove helpful.” Detective Fuller waved to a man standing across the street and started to cross over to meet him. Claire could see the tension in the detective’s facial muscles. “I’ll be in touch with both of you soon.” Fuller jogged to the other side.

  Nicole gave Claire the eye. “Do you want to stay longer and hang around?”

  “Maybe a little while longer.”

  The dogs sat quietly at the young women’s feet watching the commotion taking place on the sidewalks.

  Nicole tipped her head back and looked up to the higher floors of the Jasper Building. “So Merritt must be the
target. That makes me feel better about my own personal safety, but saying such a thing makes me feel very guilty for being so selfish.”

  “I know.” Claire looked around at the people in the crowd. “It’s a relief to know the shooter wasn’t aiming at either of us, but I feel awful for Merritt. Why would someone target her? Do you think it’s because of some legal work she’s done?”

  “Who knows?” Nicole gave a little shrug of her shoulder. “There are nuts all around us. Someone could target us for the way we dress or because we made some guy’s coffee wrong. Slights don’t even have to be real. Someone might misperceive another person’s actions or words or facial expression and think there’s some intended slight involved. People manufacture reasons to hate others.”

  “That’s so depressing.”

  Nicole reached over and grabbed hold of Claire’s hand causing her friend to gape at her.

  “What are you doing?” Claire extracted her hand from Nicole’s grasp.

  Nicole nearly whispered. “Am I safe?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, Claire. Last night, you had the impression that something might happen to me. Today when you shook hands with Merritt you felt something bad. Hold my hand and tell me what you feel.” Nicole gently took Claire’s hand. “Am I safe?”

  Claire flicked her eyes around at the other people standing on the sidewalk and adjusted her stance to block their view.

  “Concentrate,” Nicole urged.

  Claire breathed in a long breath of the warm, humid air. She became aware of her clammy skin and damp T-shirt and wished she was at home taking a nice cool shower. Holding Nicole’s hand made Claire’s palm start to sweat. After several minutes, the act of breathing slowly in and out created a sense of calm that flowed over her and the noise of the cars and people and the news crews became muffled and distant.

  “Claire?”

  Nicole’s voice shook Claire from her tranquil state and she blinked at her friend.

  “Did you feel anything?” Nicole studied Claire’s face.