Twisted Whispers

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  Renee tilted her head as she looked at Lorna. “Who’s going to be watching you clear out here? We’re not exactly on the beaten path.”

  Under normal circumstances Lorna would agree with her. “Couldn’t tell that by all the curiosity seekers that just happen to come by lately.” Since word had first circulated about Catherine and Tiana, people drove by every day and many nights. Maybe it was one of them and she was letting the irritation of being on the psychic radar get on her nerves. Except she was pretty sure that wasn’t it.

  “True story, baby. I grew up here and have never seen so many people out this way. This too shall pass and things will get back to normal. Once the newness of your powers fades, folks will forget all about you.”

  Normal? She wasn’t sure she even knew what that was anymore. If she needed proof of her altered reality, today gave it to her. The curious hadn’t caused her uneasiness. It was something else. “God, I hope people get tired of us soon. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I stand here looking out at the ocean, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I swear someone’s out there in the darkness watching me, and it creeps the hell out of me.”

  Renee got up from the sofa and joined her at the windows, sliding an arm around her waist. “Baby, it’s probably your new powers playing games with your reality. I mean, think about it. You have this phenomenal ability to see things in another dimension. It doesn’t seem like it would be a stretch for your spidey senses to be in overdrive. You know, someone or something could be watching you…from another dimension.”

  Perfect, that’s just what she needed, another spirit stalking her. Once was enough, thank you very much. Except Renee’s take on it made sense in a lot of ways. This whole psychic thing was pretty fucking weird, and now that it was turned on, it didn’t seem to intend to turn off anytime soon. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it either. She really wanted it to turn off. One encounter with spirits from another realm was way plenty for her. It wouldn’t break her heart if it never happened again.

  With a sigh she turned and kissed the top of Renee’s head, loving the sweet scent of vanilla that was so her. “You’re probably right…at least I hope so. It bothers me to think somebody’s out there skulking around the property hiding behind trees and peeking in our windows. Ghosts at least make a weird kind of sense. Stalkers don’t. Who in their right mind would want to stalk me anyway? I’m pretty boring.”

  Renee laughed softly “I beg to differ, sweetheart. Don’t sell yourself short. I think you’re pretty fascinating.”

  “You’re blinded by lust.”

  Renee laughed, gave her a squeeze, and let go to turn toward the windows. “True enough, my lovely.” She leaned close to the glass, put her hands on either side of her face, and peered out into the darkness. “I don’t see a thing. No ghosts. No stalkers. I’m thinking you’re safe tonight. Now come on. Mom made one of her famous pies, and I, for one, want to get to it before Jeremy dives in.”

  Lorna laughed and grabbed Renee’s hand. Once again this wonderful woman took her dark mood and turned it into lightness and joy. Pie it was. “Damn straight. That boy can still out eat any teenager in the county. I don’t know where he puts it or why he doesn’t weigh five hundred pounds.”

  “What boy?” Jeremy’s voice came from the doorway.

  Lorna and Renee looked at each other, laughed, and ran for the kitchen, Jeremy following right behind.

  Chapter Three

  Thea was surprised by the call from the cute deputy sheriff who’d been so understanding though a little aloof. Despite that, Katie seemed to be genuinely interested in finding Alida, and that was something Thea needed desperately right now. Katie could be as distant as she wanted as long as she found her sister.

  Not knowing what had happened hurt her heart. Not knowing what to do to find her was tearing her apart. She would accept any and all help.

  Now after Katie called and asked her to ride along to the spot where Alida’s truck was discovered abandoned, Thea felt real hope for the first time in days. Her request might be unusual, but objectionable? Not at all. In fact, her stomach fluttered a little at the idea of riding all the way out to the transfer station on the outskirts of town. The thought of standing on the ground where Alida stood caused part of it, though the other part had nothing at all to do with her sister.

  Okay, face it, she thought. The deputy was hot. No. More like smoking. Two years ago Thea and her girlfriend Sue had mutually ended their three-year relationship. After that, nobody garnered more than passing interest. It wasn’t that Sue broke her heart and she couldn’t move past it. Not even close. It was more that the two of them simply grew apart until one day they seemed more like good friends than lovers or soul mates. They’d moved on from each other, and since then Thea had focused on her career and building her company. Romance and passion took a backseat. Who could find lifelong love when work was a seven-day-a-week endeavor? Besides, did she even have a soul mate, or was she just dreaming of something that would never be?

  But yesterday when she opened the door and found Katie standing on her porch, suddenly she felt alive and tingly in all the right places. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt that way or if she ever even had. The timing was insanely inappropriate, but her heart didn’t care. Something about Katie Carlisle spoke to her soul.

  Of course, whether Katie felt that way about her, or any woman for that matter, was currently a mystery. For all she knew, Katie could have a boyfriend or a husband, but she sure hoped not.

  Outside, the sound of a car pulling into her driveway took her away from her thoughts. She grabbed her bag and headed out. Katie was halfway up the walk by the time Thea pulled the front door shut. Like yesterday, Katie was all cop in her cargo pants, dark shirt, and leather boots.

  “Thanks for coming along,” Katie said. Her voice and her eyes were serious, all business. That could be professional courtesy or the sign Thea hoped not to see.

  At the same time, Thea appreciated her cool, professional manner. Yes, she was most definitely attracted to this tall, graceful deputy, but this wasn’t about her; it was about Alida. Once her sister was found and brought home, safely, she prayed, she would have plenty of time to see if her thing for Katie might stand a chance of becoming something special.

  They both turned and walked back toward the dark-blue SUV. “I appreciate your asking me to ride along,” Thea told her. Even though she didn’t think she could contribute much, just riding along made her feel like she was doing something, and that helped push the feeling of helplessness aside. “Is this an official vehicle?” She slid into the passenger’s seat. Truthfully, it looked more like a soccer-mom car than a sheriff’s cruiser. No fancy gear, no guns, no computers. Didn’t all the modern police vehicles have computers these days? Was Katie a married soccer mom? Her heart sank just a little at the thought.

  Katie shook her head, buckled her seatbelt, and then checked her mirrors. As she backed out of the driveway she said, “No, this is my personal vehicle. I want to go to the transfer station without drawing more attention than necessary. There’s nothing on my car to alert people that I’m police. Sometimes it’s better that way.”

  Well, maybe her car didn’t scream law enforcement, but didn’t she realize that one glimpse of her and people would know? She rocked the “look,” for lack of a better explanation. Combine that with the handgun in a holster at her waist, and she just didn’t appear to be the average gawker driving around a potential crime scene for a quick look and to snap a photo for posting to social network. No, Katie Carlisle looked all cop, and it was a look Thea liked a lot.

  On the flip side, it comforted her to not be under scrutiny, so to speak. It was bad enough that Alida was gone, but she hated all the questions people threw her way. Sure, they meant to be helpful, but instead they sent daggers into her heart. “Do you think she ran away?” “Were Alida and Grant having problems?” “Do you think she’s dead?”

  Just the thought of
answering the last one made her shudder. No way was she going there. Alida was alive. She had to be, and with Katie’s help they would find her.

  Keeping a positive attitude was great, except she couldn’t ignore that painful nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach. She refused to give it a name, and if anyone asked, she’d pass it off as stress. This was going to turn out all right. It was. Period.

  Thea watched out the window as they drove north up Highway 395. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful areas around here. Washington State was so diverse in its landscape, and each difference was lovely in its own way. Here the road took gentle curves and slow ascents. As they drove farther north, the trees grew thicker, the houses farther apart, and businesses thinned.

  A few miles past the Wandemere Mall, the last cluster of retail businesses before the landscape turned into a combination of residential and agricultural, Katie took a right onto a rough road. She followed it about a quarter of mile before they reached a turnout where a small transfer station was surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence. Tears pricked at the back of Thea’s eyes. She hadn’t been here before, but she recognized the place just the same.

  The padlocked gate was just as she’d seen in the pictures. To the right of the gate stood a sign post topped by a sign that read Authorized Personnel Only. In her mind’s eyes, she saw the dark-green Ford truck parked right in front of the sign, both the driver and passenger doors open, and scuff marks in the gravel outside the driver’s door. The scene was seared into her memory as though she’d stood here when it all went down. God, how she wanted to believe that Alida was safe somewhere and that those scuff marks meant nothing heinous.

  Katie brought the SUV to a stop, put it in park, and turned off the engine. Slowly Thea opened her door and got out. Equally as slowly, she walked toward the sign she’d seen only in photographs so far. A slight breeze ruffled the air, bringing with it the scent of alfalfa, plowed fields, and ranging cattle. Looking down at the parking area, she spotted the faintest hint of scuff marks in the loose gravel. Her breath caught in her throat, and she needed to give herself a moment to collect her emotions before she could walk closer.

  What would Alida do if their roles were reversed? Thea always considered her to be the stronger of the two. Smart and kind as well. It took her only a second to know what Alida would do if she were standing here now. She would charge forward to reunite them, and so that’s exactly what Thea planned to do. Still staring at the disturbed gravel, she kneeled and touched the drag marks with the tips of her fingers. As she did, a shot of energy soared through her body.

  *

  His power peaked when darkness blanketed the world, and yet now with the light of day still clinging, he felt the charge as though someone had hit him with a thousand volts of electricity. His body jerked and his head whipped back. With the shot came a flash of vision, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. At last he saw.

  Daylight lingered, not yet fading into night, and the Watcher kept to the shadows that the thick trees created. He turned his eyes to the east and stared at the sky, today clear and blue without a hint of storm. He could almost see her. Pain tore at her heart, and fear wrapped its ugly fingers around her soul.

  Evil walked the earth hundreds of miles away from this place where the ocean crashed against the rocks and the rain came too often. What it did in that place so far from here he could not see clearly, only that the one whose tears fell to the earth needed help. Not his assistance, for he was tethered to this place as surely as if he were chained to the tree he stood beneath. She needed not him but her.

  As he’d known it would, the heavens sent him a sign. She would once again do the Lord’s work, and through her, his salvation would come one step closer. He could feel her soul, and though he rarely smiled, he did so now. She would not be happy, for this was not the calling she believed in. If he could tell her, he would: the destiny God bestowed upon each was rarely what one would choose for their own life. Not chosen but exactly what each needed nonetheless. How deeply he understood that one undeniable truth.

  Of course, with thousands of years to reconcile that fact within his own heart he possessed a distinct advantage in that respect. She did not have a thousand years, or a hundred, or even one. She was forced to do the same in a matter of days. Her path was not for the weak or the frightened. She was strong and pure of heart. Thus, she would do what needed to be done and use the gift God blessed her with to make this earthly world a better place. That was her destiny.

  Today that meant answering the call from an old friend. With his head bowed and his hands held together, he visualized a house, a desk, and a newspaper. He nodded and opened his eyes. It wasn’t much, but for now it was enough. It would set into motion that which needed to happen.

  Soon, she would make a journey across the mountains, and whatever evil tried to hide, she would bring into the light.

  *

  At the sound of Thea’s scream, Katie raced to her side. Thea knelt in the gravel with both hands flat on the faint marks, seemingly evidence of Alida’s apparent abduction. Thea’s face was pasty white and her eyes were wild, as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. Katie’s heart pounded, and she feared bringing Thea here was a huge mistake.

  When she put her hands on Thea’s shoulders, her body was shaking and cold to the touch. Definitely a big misstep. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  Thea took a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t know. I touched this spot, and it was like someone hit me with a Taser. My whole body started to shake and my vision began to blur. I’ve never felt anything like it, and right now it’s all I can do not to throw up.”

  “This was a bad idea,” Katie muttered as she put a hand under Thea’s arm and helped her to her feet. To Thea she said, “I need to take you home. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.”

  “No,” Thea snapped, standing up straight and shaking off Katie’s steadying hand. “No way am I leaving. Your idea to bring me here was dead on, and I’m not letting you run me home like I’m a sick little kid. I don’t know what just happened, and I don’t care if I feel like crap or throw up. This is the last place my sister was, and if being here, standing where she stood, can tell me something, then I’ll damned well listen.”

  Color was returning to Thea’s face, and determination gleamed in her eyes. Admiration began to replace the panic and dismay from a moment before. Thea was right; she wasn’t some delicate little flower that needed to wait in the safety of her house while other people did all the work. Even though Thea was an artist, it was clear she could handle the hard stuff. Katie was liking her more and more. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d glimpsed this kind of strength in another woman.

  “You’re sure?” She just had to ask.

  Thea nodded and met her gaze square on. “One hundred percent. Someone has hurt my sister, and I plan to find the son of a bitch sooner rather than later.”

  Katie looked around. The same vacant sense she got the first time she stopped here stayed with her. Usually at a crime scene something stood out, but not here. Everything screamed abduction, yet she couldn’t locate a single clue. One moment Alida Canwell had been here and the next she was gone, like a puff of smoke rising into oblivion in the sky. Frustrating didn’t even begin to describe how she felt.

  “Did you see or even sense anything here?” Katie wasn’t about to dismiss feelings, particularly when it came to twins. A lot of things in this world defied explanation, and the connection between many twins was one of those things. If Thea’s scream was any indication of the closeness between the two women, Katie hoped they possessed the special connection that could be the critical link to lead them to Alida.

  For at least a full minute Thea stood motionless, staring into the distance as if seeing something, except the look in her eyes spoke more of sadness than connection. Slowly she shook her head. “When I touched the ground I felt like knives were going up my arms. Pain, anger, evil, and yet
I didn’t even feel a flicker of her.” She closed her eyes and seemed to collect herself. “Katie, someone hurt my sister.”

  The note of despair in Thea’s voice tore at Katie. She wanted to say or do something to ease her heartache, but there was nothing she could offer. They weren’t any closer to discovering what had happened to Alida than they were when the call first came in.

  At the sound of wheels on the gravel drive, Katie turned. A dark-blue Yukon with county plates was slowly driving their way. She knew the rig. Undersheriff Vince Carl. He stopped and got out. As he walked their way, he oozed confidence and charm. At six five, with dark curly hair and sky-blue eyes, he was the kind of guy most women tripped over themselves to meet. She wasn’t one of those women, and it wasn’t just because she preferred women.

  She knew Vince way too well. And most days, she couldn’t stand him.

  “Hey, Katie, what’s up?”

  She kept her words calm and professional, her expression neutral. His showing up here unannounced pissed her off, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. “Walking through the Canwell case. What are you doing here?”

  He shrugged. “Driving by and saw you, that’s all.” A toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth bobbed up and down as he talked.

  She narrowed her eyes and resisted the urge to snatch the stupid toothpick out of his mouth and fling it away. He was just driving by? Of course he was. “Clear out here? Kind of out of your way, isn’t it?”

  Stopping next to her, he put his hands in his pockets, his stance relaxed and casual. The toothpick continued to bob. “Sure is, but this Canwell case bugs me, so I thought I’d drive around and see if anything struck me. Don’t like the way this thing dead-ends.”

  Katie tried not to let her irritation show on her face or come out in her words. If she did, he would run straight to the boss and report how emotional she was. They were always on the alert to see if she could stay cool under pressure. “This is my case, Vince.” She was proud of how even her voice sounded. Take that, you bastard.