Instead, she made a cup of tea and took it down the hallway to her home studio. Her day job was graphic arts, but just like her sister, her heart was painting. Since she was old enough to hold a paintbrush, she’d found escape and salvation on the canvas. It was another bond between them, and right now it would help her feel closer to Alida.
Usually she worked in the daytime when the light was brilliant and warming. It helped her breathe life into her work, something that made her paintings distinctive and personal. Right now she didn’t need the light because she felt only darkness.
The paints she filled her palette with were shades of blue, cerulean, cobalt, and black. A single dab of yellow was the only bit of brightness. A new canvas on her easel, Thea began to work. Her brush moved, guided by emotion rather than thought. Tears blurred her vision as the image took shape. Outside, the night grew darker and the moon rose high and bright in the sky. She kept moving her brush across the canvas.
Several hours later, her cup of tea long forgotten, she laid down the palette and brush. Her tears had long since subsided, and now a bone-deep tiredness descended on her. Sleep would come now, but she still hesitated before leaving the studio. The painting tore at her heart. It encompassed all she was feeling, the darkness and despair, as well as the tiny bit of hope that both Katie and Lorna gave her. She might not be able to articulate her feelings, but she could paint them.
“That’s really something.”
She jumped at the same time a small scream burst from her. Whirling around, her hand on her chest, she said, “You just took about five years off my life.”
Lorna was leaning against the doorway dressed in old sweats and a baggy T-shirt. “What are you still doing up? You need some sleep.”
“Couldn’t turn my mind off.” Might as well be honest. Lorna would see right through a lie anyway.
Lorna nodded toward the painting. “That help?”
Thea turned to look at the painting and nodded. “Yes, a great deal, and now I think I can sleep.”
“Good. You look like you’re about ready to drop. Let me help you put this stuff away, and then you need to lie down.” Lorna walked into the room and started to screw lids on open tubes of paint.
Five minutes of working in silence and everything was tidied up, or as tidy as it got in her creative den. She flipped the lights off as they walked out together. “Why are you up? I thought you’d gone to bed hours ago.”
Lorna nodded as she walked. “I was asleep. Weird dreams woke me up, and I saw the lights in your studio when I got up to use the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what? You didn’t come in my room and wake me up.”
“I sent you the bad dreams.”
Lorna stopped and took Thea by the shoulders, turning her so they were face to face. “That’s crazy. You didn’t do any such thing. This psychic gig is the culprit. Ever since it hit, my life and my sleep have been crazy. None of it’s your fault.”
“But if I hadn’t asked you to come over and help—”
“Then I’d be having crazy-assed dreams at home.”
“It’d be different.”
“You didn’t drag me over here. I came of my own free will. Look, Thea, I love Alida, always have, and if this psychic thing that seems to be taking over my life isn’t good for helping someone I love, then what the hell is it all for?”
Tears pricked at her eyes again, and weariness almost buckled her knees. “Thank you,” she whispered on a sob.
Lorna let go of her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s get some sleep, and tomorrow, we’ll make something happen. I feel it right here.” She tapped her index finger on her heart.
How Thea wanted to believe that was true.
Chapter Seventeen
Lorna laced up her running shoes and headed outside. She couldn’t have asked for a nicer morning to run. On top of that it was a really good way to get her thoughts in order. After she and Thea had gone to bed, she’d slept without the interruption of dreams and woke up feeling gratefully rested. It was still quiet when she made it to the kitchen, and rather than hang out while Thea slept, she decided a run would help her focus her energies on finding Alida. Besides, the longer Thea could sleep without someone rattling around her house, the better.
Up here on the prairie the roads weren’t very runner-friendly, and watching for traffic moving too fast destroyed the relaxing element, so she jumped in her car and drove the back roads down to Indian Trail. A couple minutes from there and she was at Aubrey White Parkway, a lovely, quiet road that wound along the east side of the Spokane River in Riverside State Park. For her the best part was the river. When she lived in Spokane she often came here to run and drink in its quiet beauty.
Today she hoped the run would kick-start her preternatural talents. Her stalled powers didn’t make sense. Why could she help Tiana and Catherine when they were not just strangers but ghosts? If she could use it to assist those she would never know, she should be able to use it to help those she loved. That it wasn’t working out that way pissed her off more than she could say.
Cool air kissed her skin and the sun warmed her face as she ran along the curving road. As always, her muscles screamed and her breath hurt as she pushed herself to keep putting miles beneath her feet. Just as she did during every other run, she wished she were a natural runner. She wasn’t. Never had been and never would be. For Lorna, making herself a runner took hard work and a great deal of determination. It was important to prove to herself she could do it even as the pain and exertion took its toll. The beginning of every run made her question her ability to complete her upcoming endurance race.
After the first couple of painful miles, though, she always found her rhythm, and her stride became smooth and easy. Then her mind could turn away from the pain in her body while her breathing evened out and her pace became steady. This was the point when she realized her dream of completing her Ironman race could actually become a reality. Twenty-six point two miles seemed impossible when she wasn’t running. Once she got going and settled into her pace, she gained confidence.
Now as the sun continued to warm her skin and the scent of fresh air filled her lungs, she let her mind turn to Alida. She went over everything she’d seen so far and what she knew about her lifelong friend. What was she missing? It was there right at her fingertips, yet she couldn’t touch it. She definitely couldn’t see it. Little wonder she was frustrated.
Ahead of her a coyote ran across the road, heading down from the hillside brush toward the river below. She loved to run here because she never knew what she’d see. Sometimes it was fawns. Once a porcupine waddled down the road in front of her, and on a particularly good day, a bald eagle soared above her head. The random beauty of nature and wildlife nourished her soul.
Around the bend she reached the area known as the Bowl and Pitcher because of the huge basalt rock formations in the river. The temptation to detour was too great, and she veered off the road and followed the path leading down to the swinging bridge. In the center of the bridge, she stopped and savored its sway as she gazed out over the water. It was clear and fresh, rushing across the rocks beneath the bridge. She loved the way it made the bridge sway gently. From where she stood, she could easily see how the rocks had earned their names. A cave formed what looked like a sugar bowl tipped on its side, while the pitcher was a tall basalt pillar with a pouring spout jutting from the side. The amazing work of the glacial floods that once carved the landscape was breathtaking.
No one else was around, and she stood alone on the bridge for a long time. The beauty of what she saw, no matter which way she turned her head, filled her with peace. And then it hit her.
The truck.
*
“You want to do what?” Katie was holding the phone to her ear and thinking she’d just heard Thea wrong because what she’d just heard didn’t make sense.
“Not me. Lorna. She wants to sit in Alida’s truck. Please. She really feels i
t’s important.”
Katie ran a hand through her hair and tried to think. The cop part of her was screaming hell no. The woman part, the same one undeniably attracted to Thea, was leaning the other way. The woman part trumped the cop. Besides, why not let her try? At this point what could it hurt?
Of course the truck was in the impound lot and had already been searched from top to bottom by evidence technicians. How in the world Lorna thought she could glean anything else was beyond her. Then again, what did she really know about how a psychic worked? It wasn’t like she’d ever used one before. Wasn’t like she truly believed in them. Although, if pushed, she might have to admit that the more she was around Lorna, the less she thought she was a flake.
More importantly than her own fading reluctance, if it would make Thea feel better, then she was okay with it. Her own lack of progress certainly wasn’t doing much, and it was frustrating, particularly when considering her bold promise to find Alida. So far she wasn’t making good on that promise, which was totally unlike her. When she made a promise, she kept it. When she made this particular promise to this particular beautiful woman, it was set in stone.
It was far more than the simple fact Thea was gorgeous and she was drawn to be close to her every time she saw her. It was this case, period. The reality of a woman out doing her job and then vanishing was driving her crazy. No way in hell was she going to let this case go cold. Didn’t matter it wasn’t as high a priority with the rest of the department; it was on the top of her list. Whatever the outcome, she would find Alida.
So, if Thea wanted Lorna to sit in the truck, Katie didn’t have a thing to lose by letting her try. Chances were good they’d still be in the same place afterward, but she was game. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“All right, if you think it might help.”
“Lorna thinks it will, and that’s good enough for me.” Thea sounded excited.
“Okay, Thea, then bring her to the impound lot at one o’clock, and I’ll meet you there. We’ll give your psychic another shot.” She ended the call and shook her head. If any of her colleagues got wind of what she was about to do, she was never going to hear the end of it. When others in the department had opened up their investigations to psychics, she was the first in line to give them grief. Payback was going to be a bitch.
At five minutes to one when Thea came around the corner of the gated lot, Katie wasn’t shocked. Dark circles were half-moons under her eyes, but they did nothing to lessen her beauty. She could show up in ripped sweats with dirty hair and broken nails and still outshine any other woman in the room. Made her heart race.
Lorna was right behind Thea, and though she too looked tired, she didn’t radiate the soul-deep exhaustion written all over Thea’s face. And her step was sure and energetic. For someone who claimed not to really “get the psychic thing,” she exuded confidence and, more importantly, power. A flash of something like belief blew through Katie, and she suddenly realized how much she wanted Lorna to be able to help. Well, wasn’t that a fine turn of events?
At the same time frustration, fear, hope, and desperation roiled within her, fighting for domination. It took a tremendous amount of effort to keep calm and focused and not let the tiny voice in her head start screaming failure! She needed to remember this was an added tool to help in their search. The success or failure of what happened here wasn’t defining. A tool, it was only a tool.
For a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the promise she’d made Thea, she was going to stay strong. It was incredibly important to keep her promise. But it wasn’t just giving her word to Thea. Many eyes were on her. She was trying to carve out a career in a male-dominated world. Many of the men accepted her and worked side-by-side with her as though she were just another one of them. Others in her chosen profession, not so much. The resentment or outright hostility reminded her of the fifties. That mentality amazed her more than it irritated her. Sad for them, really. Times were moving on and they weren’t. In the end, they would be the ones hurt.
Still, a failure, any failure, would stock ammunition in their belts. They would love to point fingers and remind the powers that be how this was a man’s job and women just weren’t cut out for it. A bullshit attitude, to be sure, and most of those in the upper echelons knew better than to buy in. Giving them a chance to voice those ugly sentiments, however, was something she’d do anything to avoid.
Her final reason was the most important. Once she had been the victim, and for no reason other than because of who she was. What she was. It could have crushed her and destroyed her future. It didn’t, and she had many to thank for that, not the least of which were family and friends who stood by her and lifted her up. They gave her courage to be as the phoenix and rise from the ashes. She couldn’t walk away and not find another victim. It simply wasn’t in her and would be a disservice to those who were always on her six.
Now, she motioned for Lorna and Thea to follow her into the impound office where they signed in as guests and were given laminated badges to clip to their shirts. Once the administrative duties were behind them, they stepped out into the yard packed with vehicles of every make, model, and year. The one they searched for was in the south corner of the front row.
“What do you think this will do?” she asked Lorna when they were out of earshot of the personnel assigned to the impound lot.
Lorna looked at her and shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just think it’s worth a shot. The psychic thing was strongest back at the house when I wrapped my fingers around a necklace that belonged to one of the victims. I’m thinking if I touch something Alida was holding around the time she disappeared…well, who knows what might happen. It could work.”
“What did you see before?” Despite her lingering skepticism Katie was curious. More than curious though, she wanted to believe this approach would work, even if her lifelong disbelief still held her back from vocalizing as much. What she wouldn’t give to find Alida Canwell right now.
Again Lorna shrugged. “At first it was like I was watching through the window and seeing things as they happened outside. In the end, things shifted and suddenly it was like Tiana McCafferty and I shared a single body. Let me tell you, that was pretty damned weird, and I really hope it doesn’t happen again. It’s work enough just being me. Sharing the mind, body, and spirit of another person is freaky, especially when that person has been dead for about a century.”
A little shiver went down Katie’s back. It was beyond her to even imagine what it was like to have a ghost inside. If that’s what really happened, the skeptic in her added. Still, Lorna’s face was devoid of anything resembling deceit. Katie’s years of experience with people who lied told her Lorna was being truthful. The issue wasn’t whether the shared body experience did or didn’t happen. Lorna believed it did, and whether Katie believed it happened or not didn’t change the fact Lorna was able to solve a mystery.
The crunch of their footsteps on the gravel lot stopped when they reached the utility-company pickup truck involved with Alida’s disappearance. It looked exactly as it did the day it was towed here and top-notch crime-scene techs did their work. Katie had been disappointed when the techs’ report reached her desk, but she hadn’t questioned their inability to find anything. If there had been anything to find, they would have found it. She didn’t hold out much hope Lorna would have any better luck.
For a minute or so they all stood looking at the truck, nobody moving any closer to the sturdy four-wheel drive vehicle that had served as Alida’s rolling office. It was as if all three of them were afraid to touch it. Actually, Katie wasn’t afraid to touch the truck. She just knew in her case it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. For Lorna and Thea, it was different. A shadow of fear drifted across each of their faces. Finally, Lorna took in a big breath and then let it out slowly.
“Okay, ladies, waiting isn’t going to make this any easier, so I might as well give it a try. You ready, Thea?” Lorna asked.
Quiet and pale since the minute they reached the truck, Thea seemed a little lost and uncomfortable, as if she wished she was anywhere but here. Katie wanted to reach over and take her hand, but it wouldn’t have been either proper or professional. At a personal level she couldn’t help thinking it would have been very much the right thing to do. Her professional training won out, however, and she kept her hands to herself, clenched and tight to her sides, digging her short nails into the skin of her palms.
With a nod to Lorna, Thea answered her in a low, strained voice. “I’m ready if you are.”
Lorna gave a single nod in answer. “Let’s get it done.”
With purpose, Lorna walked to the driver’s side door and pulled it open. From Katie’s perspective the only sign something might be happening was the tightening around Lorna’s lips, which were now pressed together in a grim line. She didn’t pause, though, and pulled herself into the cab and behind the wheel. With both hands on the steering wheel, for a moment she didn’t seem to be experiencing anything, but then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped sideways in the seat.
Thea jumped in the direction of the pickup’s cab at the same time she grabbed Katie’s hand in a death grip.
*
It wasn’t like he was following her. Not like the dumb ass following him last night. No, this was a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. Well, that and his incredible skills of observation. Not that he was bragging, but he was always aware of what was going on around him, which is why he was able to spot them right away.
Why were the three women going into the impound lot? At first it made little sense to him why they’d be here. Then it hit him. This was all about the truck. They were going to check out the pickup.
He smiled as he watched them walk across the lot, two of them tall and athletic, one slender and willowy. All attractive in their unique way, though only one could make him look twice. So much like her sister and not like her at the same time. His angel was special, and not even a twin sister could ever come close to stepping into her shoes. His angel was one of a kind, and she was all his forever. The other woman was simply a shallow imitation.
Twisted Whispers Page 17