Twisted Whispers

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  She was also caught up in the aura of the woman next to her. She couldn’t help it. Thea was interesting and beautiful and alluring. It had been a really long time since anyone had captured her attention like this, and never once had it happened in the blink of an eye. Crazy as it seemed, she’d been infatuated the moment she laid eyes on the dark-haired beauty, and that wasn’t the way a good cop reacted in life or especially in the line of duty.

  What really bothered her even more than the unusual speed of her attraction to Thea was that she had no idea how Thea felt. So far she’d been nothing except gracious, forthcoming, and always available for Katie’s on-going questions. Not surprising, given how much she wanted to find her sister. Katie didn’t want to mistake her quickness to make time for Katie as anything more than a family member helping law enforcement to the best of her ability.

  She could tell herself to keep it on a professional level all she wanted, but her heart longed for it to be deeper. Her mind cautioned her not to make it out to be more than it was. But she wanted it to be a heartfelt connection, and the truth of it surprised her as much as it would anybody who knew her well. She wasn’t the kind of woman who jumped first and asked questions later. Oh no, she always asked questions first, and jump? No, she never jumped.

  She took a sip of the drink, loving the smoothness of the liquor and appreciating the way it soothed her jumping nerves. Given that she was the cop and expected to be the calm and rational one, it wouldn’t do for Thea to know how twitchy she really was at the moment. After one more healthy sip, she turned to study Thea.

  Holding her drink between her hands, Thea was focused on the firelight glowing through the amber liquid. She didn’t turn Katie’s way as she said, “I always thought we were the perfect siblings. We were tight in a way only other twins can understand, and I never minded the fact there were two of us. I know some twins resent that they have to share everything, but not me. I don’t believe Alida did either. It was the two of us against the world, and it was great. There’s something really special about the feeling that you’re never alone.”

  An echo of something sad filled her words. “I hear a but in there.”

  “I suppose you do, and really, it’s a brand-new one. I’m still reeling from everything I’ve learned. I want to close my eyes to shut it all out and convince myself there’s no way Alida wouldn’t come to me when she found out she was pregnant or when she was hurting at the loss of her baby. There’s no way she’d get involved with another man and not tell me. Except I can’t deny any of those things because I feel the truth of them all the way into my bones. She shut me out.”

  “She didn’t tell you any of it, did she?”

  Thea shook her head. “I wish she’d felt she could trust me, but obviously she didn’t.”

  “How do you feel about it?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she thought of how stupid they sounded.

  “Hurt. Sad. Disappointed.” She looked over at Katie with tears in her eyes. “Like I’d somehow betrayed her, and she didn’t trust me anymore.”

  Katie pressed her lips together and felt bad about even asking because it was clear how painful this was to Thea. All she could do now was damage control. “I don’t think that was it at all. I didn’t know her, but from everything I’ve discovered so far, she didn’t seem like a person who kept secrets without a really good reason. I don’t believe she’d hurt you if she could avoid it.”

  Tears fell from Thea’s eyes. If Katie didn’t feel awful before, she sure as hell did now. Some kind of cop she was to bring someone she was supposed to be helping to tears.

  Thea turned her tear-stained face to Katie. “God, you have no idea how much I want to believe that. All of it seems so unlike her. Maybe Alida and Grant were having issues, but it just doesn’t feel right that they would risk throwing away a relationship with more ups than downs. Neither one of them is that flaky. Losing the baby had to be devastating, and despite the strain of their loss I still believe they were a solid couple. They were the kind who could make it through whatever happened.”

  Katie didn’t know why, but she reached over and put her hand over Thea’s. It was cool, as if she were standing in a windstorm instead of sitting next to the warmth put off by the crackling fire pit. She fully expected Thea to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, her fingers wrapped around hers accepting, perhaps welcoming, the comfort she offered.

  “Even those closest to us sometimes feel lost and alone. Losing a baby is hard, and people work through loss in different ways. Hers was apparently to turn inward. As to the boyfriend, maybe she was working up the courage to tell you because she was less than proud of what she’d done.”

  Thea bent her head in Katie’s direction, giving Katie’s fingers a light squeeze. “It hurts my heart to think she’d hesitate to tell me anything. I’m the one person who would never judge her and would always have her back. At the same time, what you say makes sense. In time she probably would have told me about the child. The only reason she’d keep something from me is if she was ashamed. Or at least that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  Katie took her hand away, sorry to lose the warmth that had begun to return to Thea’s flesh. Still, for her anyway, it seemed like the right thing to do. She might be off duty, but any way she looked at it, this was more official than social. Hand-holding wasn’t particularly official, even if it was infinitely pleasurable.

  Thea glanced up into her eyes when she took her hand away, and the expression reflected there sent a flutter into Katie’s heart. What she saw in the depths of her beautiful eyes hardened her resolve. She was compelled to help this woman and would push through every obstacle to find her sister.

  Katie couldn’t look away. “All this information gives us a little bit of something more to work on, so don’t let it hurt you. Instead, think of it as arrows pointing us in the direction we need to go to find her.”

  “You’re good at your job, you know that?”

  The warmth she was already feeling by just being near Thea spread. Compliments from a pretty woman could do that. Compliments from this particular pretty woman were even better, the warmth even deeper. “I appreciate your kind words.”

  “No, I mean it,” she said with vehemence, the tears gone and her eyes now bright. “Whenever I talk to you, the hopeless feeling fades. I’m not stupid, Katie. I realize the longer this goes on, the more likely the ending isn’t going to be good. I hate it so much you can’t even imagine, yet when you’re around, some of the pain eases. You have a gift with what you do and how you make people feel.”

  She couldn’t help it; she took Thea’s hand again. “I may not have walked in your shoes, but I see what happens to people day in and day out. I feel for what you have to go through and will try my best to do what I can to ease your suffering. It’s what any good cop should do.”

  Thea brought their joined hands to her lips and kissed the back of Katie’s. She almost moaned and silently said a prayer that she could manage to maintain a little self-control.

  “Thank you,” Thea said as she released Katie’s hand.

  “We’ll find her,” Katie promised and hoped she wasn’t lying.

  Chapter Sixteen

  From the shadows he stood and watched through narrowed eyes. He wasn’t imagining it. For days now he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling someone was watching him and, even worse, following him. Now he knew it for a certainty.

  He didn’t understand how or why. He was careful. Nothing he’d done could be traced. He’d left no bit of evidence anywhere that could or would lead back to him and timed and implemented each move perfectly.

  So why was that fool watching him?

  Of course, he caught on quickly enough. It was, after all, part of his extraordinary gift. Time to turn the tables on whoever was tailing him. Now that he’d spotted the person following him, he planned to simply try to get a read on the reason behind the surveillance. Why would someone be interested in him? He’d done nothing t
o bring attention to himself. Several cars drove down the quiet street without pausing or looking at him as he leaned casually against the brick wall. Their lights flowed across the black SUV parked half a block away, its occupant keeping a low profile as if he believed he was invisible.

  Maybe that was true for everyone else, but not for him. The guy might as well have a flashing light on top of his rig. Leaning against the tree he wondered how long he should wait before leaving. Or would it be better to just walk up and confront him? That would be rich, and the temptation was almost too much to pass up. If he marched up and knocked on the car window, what could the guy say to him? No way would he be able to explain why he was here. The truth wasn’t an option, and a lie, well, that wouldn’t play so well either, considering where they were. This just wouldn’t be a good place to be for certain folks with certain reputations.

  It didn’t bother him. Granted, this wasn’t the kind of place he typically went to when he felt like hanging out, but at the moment, it served a very real purpose. First, it was nice and in a good location. Secondly, he didn’t care what anyone thought about his going into this particular establishment for a drink. The talk it would likely generate could prove to be very amusing. Others might not think so, and that was exactly the point behind going in for a drink.

  He kept his spot on the wall, continuing to watch couples, all men, walk inside. With a backward glance at the SUV, he pushed away and followed yet another couple as they walked hand-in-hand through the door. He happened to know the bar served some really great microbrew, and since he was thirsty he might as well avail himself.

  Smiling, he opened the glass door and strode inside the Gilded Goose. The lights were low, and he took an empty stool at the bar next to a good-looking young man in tight jeans and an equally tight shirt. Just because this wasn’t his usual scene didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate some of what the place had to offer. Fact was, the guy was easy on the eyes, and pretending to be interested was no big stretch.

  “No-Li,” he told the bartender and waited for the draft. He glanced at his bar mate and winked. The iced glass in his hand, he spun on the stool so he could see the doors. Before he finished the beer he held in his hand, he’d know which way his shadow was going to jump. He vaguely wondered how long he’d have to wait.

  *

  Lorna closed her laptop and lay back against the stack of pillows on the bed. Here she was in someone else’s home and a long way from home for very tragic reasons and, despite all that, was feeling great. Not a big surprise considering she’d just successfully completed a well-paying project for one of her best clients. A satisfying finish always made her feel fantastic.

  That wasn’t actually the reason her spirits were so buoyed. It was one hundred percent the result of the call from Renee. When she moved into Aunt Bea’s house, the very last thing she intended to do was fall in love. The very last thing and yet that’s precisely what happened. What fell into a person’s lap when they weren’t looking was amazing. Considering how wrapped up she was in her own misery at the time, and her obsession with Anna doing her wrong, it was a miracle she’d even noticed Renee at all.

  Fate brought them together. In fact, fate had brought each of them to that house on the shores of the Pacific Ocean and changed all their lives. If that wasn’t a higher power at work, she didn’t know what was. It was truly a special kind of magic.

  Of course she always questioned everything, especially herself. As much as she loved Renee, she’d second-guessed every little aspect of their relationship, including Renee’s depth of emotion toward her. Each day she’d awaken fully expecting Renee to pack up her dog along with her few belongings and head back to Seattle. Or, run back to Seattle. The fact that she wanted to stay with Lorna was almost too good to believe. She wasn’t that kind of lucky, or at least she never was before.

  Now, if the fates would smile on Merry and Jeremy, her world would be complete. She knew her brother. He’d sold his interest in the company he helped build to his partner and would now be on the lookout for the next great adventure. When she’d first heard what he did she couldn’t help but think he’d made a big mistake. His company was crazy successful, and he loved the process involved with developing it into something so viable. To walk away like that wasn’t him, and at the time she was very worried about him.

  For a week or so anyway, and then she came to see that what he did was absolutely the right thing for him. As he grew more rested and relaxed, a wonderful change came over him. He was calmer, he was happier, and he was more focused than she’d seen him for a long time.

  That was all fine and dandy, except as he restored himself, she also realized his mind would once again start spinning, and he wouldn’t be happy just hanging around the house with his big sister. As delighted as she was about Renee, she felt sad knowing that, before too long, Jeremy and Merry would likely be gone. The house wouldn’t just seem empty without them; it would be empty. Not something she wanted to think about right now. This strange new world of hers worked in an odd and exciting way. She dreaded the idea it could all disappear as quickly as it came to be.

  Before she lost her pleasant buzz to melancholy, she picked up her phone. “Hey, bro,” she said when Jeremy answered.

  “What’s up?” His tone was happy, upbeat. No need to dwell on what might be. Live in the moment.

  “I wish I could tell you things are going well here and I’m helping Thea, but that’s not so. I can’t seem to tap into anything helpful here like I did with Tiana. I think my so-called gift is a dud on this side of the mountains. Maybe it only works on the west side.”

  “Hmm, there’s got to be something you can do. I don’t care what side of the mountains you’re on, you’ve got the touch, sister. You’re a little touched too, so one or the other should help.”

  She couldn’t help smiling. “You are so funny.”

  “Yeah, I am a funny guy, aren’t I?”

  “Pain in the ass, actually.”

  “You been talking to Merry again?”

  “Speaking of Merry, how’s she doing?”

  His voice sobered. “Oh, man, she’s been throwing up like the flu on steroids.”

  “Seriously, Jeremy, is she okay?” She didn’t have any firsthand experience with pregnancy and worried about her sister-in-law to be. Merry had been looking a little pale before Lorna left.

  “I actually talked to the doctor in town, and he told me some women have a first trimester filled with nausea. She should be fine.”

  “Should be?” Lorna wasn’t all that fond of the word should. She liked firm, concrete answers.

  “Gotta say, after talking with him I felt a lot better. He was honest and said there are always risks, but the majority of the time it all works out. He seemed pretty certain that’s the case with Merry. Me, I’m just trying to be there for her and help her through since there’s not much else I can do.”

  “You’re a good guy, Jeremy.” She was proud of him and couldn’t imagine him doing a thing to change her opinion.

  “I don’t know about that. I mean I’m an unemployed dad-to-be with no prospects in sight. How good is that?” It was the first time she’d heard a note of defeat in his voice.

  “I thought you told me you were working on something?”

  “I am, but who knows if it’ll turn into something or be a total bust and I’ll be living off your largesse forever.”

  Not in a million years is what she wanted to tell him. He wasn’t that kind of guy. “Make you a bet.”

  “I love bets.” His words were a little more upbeat.

  “Geez, how did I know that?”

  “You’re psychic.”

  “Ha ha. Here’s the thing. I bet you a hundred bucks you’ll have something new lined up inside of thirty days.”

  His laugh was more of a snort. “Out here in never-never land? Are you kidding me? What am I gonna do, take up commercial fishing? I’m a horrible fisherman.”

  “A hundred bucks,” Lorna repe
ated.

  “You’re on, big sister. Besides, in a month I’ll probably need that hundred bucks.”

  *

  Thea watched out the front window until long after Katie’s car disappeared from sight. Since the first day Alida disappeared, she’d felt adrift, lost in a tidal wave of despair and fear. Tonight, for the first time, she felt different. Safe.

  It was more than just feeling safe, and she knew it. Deputy Sheriff Katie Carlisle was interesting and intelligent. Having a brain combined with her dark and attractive good looks was incredibly alluring, so it was no wonder she felt such a draw to her. She’d been single for a couple of years and so busy it was fine to be alone. Her career as a graphics artist took off about the same time things ended between her and Sue. They were still friends, and Sue remained a very vocal supporter of her art and the company she created.

  Since the breakup with Sue she’d had a date or two, but no one had lit her fire. Until now, that is. It was nice to feel the tug of attraction and desire again, and it was scary as all get-out.

  With her right hand she rotated the control to close the blinds, shutting out the soft glow of lights from neighboring porches. Then she turned away from the window and stared into the shadowy darkness of the room. Sleep would be a good thing, except it wouldn’t come. She’d managed very little of it in the last few days, and she held no hope tonight would be different. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t turn off her mind or her worry. A couple of well-meaning friends had suggested meds to help her sleep, but she didn’t care to take that route. Insomnia was going to be an intimate acquaintance until she and Alida were reunited, and she could live with that.

  If she were inclined to walk down the hall and knock on the guest room door, Lorna wouldn’t hesitate to talk with her if she was awake. She was sure to be asleep by now, and she didn’t want to bother her. It was bad enough she’d dragged her away from her own life and into the chaos of the investigation concerning Alida’s disappearance. Disrupting her night just to keep her company wasn’t right.