My mother ran out the front door. I saw that our front yard was filled with roses and other flowers. It was basically a flower garden now. A few butterflies flew this way and that.
It was actually kind of pretty. My mom was dressed in her usual hippyish blouse and pants.
She gave me a hug. “Good to see you, kiddo. Why haven’t you visited your poor mother earlier?”
“We talked just last week.”
“That’s not the same. So why are you here? I know it’s not to see me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, mom, of course I’m here to see you. But I’m also following a vision.”
“You’re doing that again? I thought after last time that you gave all that up?”
“Well, let’s just say that this particular vision did not want to be ignored. Can we please get in the house now? I don’t want the neighbors to know my business.”
My mother rolled her eyes but she let me through inside anyway.
“There’s some freshly made lemonade in the fridge,” she said.
It was an unusually warm day outside. It was only March, but it felt like the middle of summer in Picking Hill. But that wasn’t such a surprise to the people who grew up in the town. Tomorrow it could be raining and cold. You just never knew. And to top it off, the weatherman was usually guessing as well. I wondered if he still had a job.
After gulping some lemonade, I decided to ask my mom exactly that question.
“He’s still trucking,” she said. “He’s a local treasure. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just wondering if he said it was going to be a beautiful sunny day today.”
“He actually did. Though it was a beautiful day yesterday and he didn’t exactly predict that.”
“I love it that he has to predict the weather,” I said. I had an image of the old man looking into a crystal ball before every broadcast.
I sat down at the kitchen table. Mom offered me food but I said I already ate.
“You haven’t eaten anything like this,” she said, putting pecan pie on the table. “Made from scratch with all organic ingredients. Try it.”
I wanted to say no, but the pie looked so delicious that I caved. I got myself a piece. Mom did, too. She was always into sweets. More than anyone I knew while I was growing up. Let’s just say that I lost a lot of weight after moving away.
“So what’s this vision of yours?”
I told her about the guy with the gun and the other guy, that I just happened to meet on the train, as some kind of cosmic joke.
“I don’t like this. Have you talked to the local PD?”
“You mean, have I talked to my brother?” My brother was a deputy at the local police station. He used to make fun of me for my psychic gifts but stopped after he’d been proven wrong one too many times.
“I don’t like you getting involved with anything dangerous.”
“But you don’t mind if Brad is? Why? Because he’s male?”
“You know that’s not it. He’s a cop. He has a gun. It’s his job to deal with situations like this. You’re just…are you still doing that phone psychic thing?”
I nodded.
“You’re a phone psychic, Callie. And from what you’ve told me about this Dax guy, he sounds more than a little sketchy. I’d stay away from him if I were you. Just tell Bradley to keep an eye on him.”
“I wish I could. But you know my gift doesn’t work like that. The universe wants me to save him, that’s why I’m getting the vision. Now whether I succeed or not remains to be seen.”
I took a large piece of pie then and stuffed my mouth, trying to forget the last time I tried to save somebody.
My mom put her hand on mine. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”
“But it is. I saw her in my vision and I failed to help her. No one can convince me otherwise, so don’t even try.”
“I just wish you’d talk to someone about it, at least.”
“Like a therapist? A psychiatrist? I’m pretty sure if I told them I could see the future I’d be labeled crazy and maybe even sent into the nuthouse.”
“Okay, but you can talk to me. I’m always willing to listen.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I took another piece of pie just because I could. Mom topped off my lemonade.
I put my stuff in my old room, which had now become a guest room. All traces of my childhood gone.
“Most of it is up in the attic, some of it in the garage.”
“I’m good,” I said. “I don’t think I need to look at those boyband posters again.”
“So what are your plans for the day? Do you want to come with me to the store?”
My mother owned a soap and other goodies store in town. It was half gift shop, half beauty supplies. The soap she made herself, without any animal byproducts or unnatural chemicals. She did pretty well, especially online. She shipped her soaps all over the country, and even the world.
“Fine. I still have to figure out how to approach this particular vision. The guy already thinks I’m a stalker.”
My mother drove us there in her old-fashioned truck. It was actually kind of cute. The back was filled with soaps and other goodies she worked on.
I spent a couple of hours hanging around the shop, helping out when I could. I used to do it a lot when I was in high school, though the shop looked a lot different now than it did then.
Brad stopped by on his lunch break to say hi. He was surprised to see me.
“What are you doing here?” He asked me after a quick hug.
“Following a vision.”
“Are you telling me something terrible is going to happen in this little town? I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m not sure if it’ll happen here, but the man I saw in my vision is currently in town, hence why I’m here.”
“If you tell me his name, or describe how he looks, I might be of some help.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said, looking out at the street.
“And why not? You want to do this on your own?” he said.
“Yeah, Callie, why don’t you tell your brother about this Dax fellow. Maybe he can find out his last name.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said again.
“You’re as stubborn as your father,” my mother said.
“It won’t be necessary because he seems to be on his way over here.” I pointed to the man heading toward the shop. It was the man from my vision. The man from the train. Dax was heading to my mother’s shop for some reason, and now I needed to find out why.
Chapter 3
When he saw me, he made a turn and walked quickly out of sight.
“Have you seen him here before?” I asked them.
“No, I don’t think so,” my mother said.
“First time I’ve seen him. It looks like he’s either afraid of the law or of you. Which one do you think it is, sis?”
“Bradley, don’t talk to your sister like that.” Then she turned toward me. “You didn’t tell him that you saw him dying in a vision, did you?”
“Of course not. Why does everything have to be my fault? Should I go and talk to him?”
“Maybe I should have a chat with him first,” Brad offered.
“But the universe wants me to save him, not you,” I reminded him.
Brad rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. But if I see someone avoiding the law like that, it’s kind of my responsibility to check it out.”
Brad was already on his way out of the shop when I decided to run after him.
“I’m coming with you,” I yelled after him.
He turned around and gave me a dubious look. “Are you sure that’s the best idea? The guy doesn’t seem that into you. Let it go, Callie.”
“Very funny,” I said, following him.
The day was bright and sunny. We looked all around but Dax was nowhere to be found.
“Let’s walk this way,” Brad said, heading the way we saw him go. “Maybe he’s
in one of the shops.”
We walked, we talked, but Dax was nowhere to be found.
“He couldn’t have just disappeared, could he?” Brad asked. “Please tell me that’s not possible.”
“Don’t look at me. Who knows, maybe he does have some invisibility powers or he could just be good at evading the police.”
“The universe wouldn’t want you to save a bad guy, would it?”
“I don’t think so. Unless it’s trying to punish me for turning my back on it.”
“Well, I’ve gotta get back to the station. Want a ride anywhere?”
I looked over at his police cruiser that was parked way back in front of our mother’s shop.
“No, I’m good. Some walking will do me good. I need to burn off those pecan pie calories.”
“I might just stop by the house then. You know pecan pie is my favorite.”
“Where do you live now?”
“I have an apartment right up there.” He pointed a few blocks up ahead.
“Do you do your own laundry now or do you bring it over to mom’s?”
He looked down guiltily.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Not everyone can just pack up and leave for the big city. Mom needed at least one of her kids to stay close.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
I kept on walking while Brad went back to his car. I still hoped that Dax would pop up out of one of the shops. Maybe I would tell him about my vision after all. Or maybe I could find out why he was acting shifty, walking around my hometown. He was on my turf now. That would make things a bit easier for me.
Usually, when I had a vision, I had to follow it to a strange city, a strange town, where I didn’t know anybody. It took quite a bit of doing to get the local PD to take me seriously. Some never did. Until it was too late, that is. And then they would accuse me of having inside information. It was a whole thing. Let’s just say that I have sat in more than a few jail cells over the years.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the case here, in my own hometown, with my own brother on the police force.
Dax popped up as soon as Brad’s police cruiser was out of sight.
“What the hell are you doing? You nearly scared me to death.”
“Sorry,” he said, looking around suspiciously. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Then why were you jumping out like that and why were you hiding between those two buildings? Are you in trouble with the law, Dax? If that even is your real name, that is.”
“Very funny,” he said but he didn’t look amused at all.
“I’m serious. Why were you avoiding my brother back there?”
“That was your brother?”
“Yup. And the store belongs to my mother.”
“So you were actually telling the truth when you said this was your hometown?”
“Yup.”
“That’s actually a nice surprise. Maybe you’re not a stalker after all.” He smiled wide.
“You’re avoiding my question. Why are you sneaking around and avoiding the police?”
“That’s none of your business. Have a nice day, Callie. I’ve got stuff to do.”
Dax walked away quickly.
“Try not to break any laws,” I called after him.
He turned around and glared at me. Then he crossed the street and pretty soon went behind another building. Whatever he was up to, it wasn’t anything good, that was for sure.
“Really, universe?” I asked as I looked up at the sky.
“Talking to yourself?” A man’s voice asked. An oddly familiar voice.
“Lucas, is that you?” I asked when I saw his familiar face. He still had his signature short red-brown hair and those mesmerizing green eyes.
“Yeah, long time no see. What have you been up to these last few years?”
“Oh, this and that. Are you still working with your father? Construction company, right?”
“Just Wright Construction. Though I’ve moved up from being a lowly employee. Now I’m a co-manager.”
“Good for you.” I looked around to see if I could spot Dax, but had no luck.
“Am I keeping you from something? You seem distracted.”
“Not anything in particular. So, are you married? Girlfriend?”
“Nope. Had a girl but it didn’t work out. You know how those things go.”
I knew all too well. Lucas and I had dated through most of high school and the beginning of college. But we drifted apart after that. He wanted me to stay in Picking Hill, which wasn’t a crime in itself, but my visions had another idea. Lucas couldn’t follow me out of Picking Hill, and that was that.
“So, do you want to get some drinks later? Right now I’m heading to a work site, but since I saw you, I decided to say hi.”
“Maybe later, sure,” I said, though admittedly I was distracted thinking about Dax and his imminent death. I really needed to find him and tell him what I saw. Sure, he might say I was crazy, but at least he’d know. That could change things in his favor if he was smart enough to listen.
“I’ll pick you up at eight. You’re staying at your mom’s, right?”
“Yeah.”
Lucas was gone. He actually got into a pickup truck that I didn’t even know he had gotten out of. Did he stop just to say hi to me, or did he have a lunch break and was now just getting back to his truck?
And then it dawned on me that our drinks out could be construed as a date. What had I done? I sure hoped he didn’t get the wrong message. I wasn’t moving back to Picking Hill, that was for sure. My life was in Chicago now. It wasn’t the greatest life, but it was mine. Even if I had to do a job I hated to pay for it.
That reminded me that I hadn’t taken any psychic calls since coming to Picking Hill. I had to make sure to at least do a few hours later if I was going to keep my job with Psychics R Us. Ugh. That was definitely something I wasn’t looking forward to.
I decided to walk back to mom’s shop. Going after Dax was a bust, unless the universe wanted me to think he was some shady character I shouldn’t even try saving. Though from the little interaction I had with him, he didn’t seem like a criminal.
“What happened?” My mother asked as soon as she saw me. “You look out of breath.”
“Too much exercise,” I said. “I ran into Lucas of all people.”
My mother smiled. “He’s always been the one for you, Callie. Why don’t you give him another chance?”
“Mother, please. That’s over and done with and you know it. Plus, I’m not moving back to town. I’m just visiting. You know that, right?”
“What would be so bad about moving back here? You can help me around the shop. You can rekindle your romance with Lucas, get married. Maybe give your mother some grandchildren before she gets too old to enjoy them.”
“If you want any grandchildren, you can nag Brad about it. And I’m never getting back together with Lucas. His life is here, mine is not.”
“Why do you have to be so mean to your mother?”
“I’m not mean. I’m just telling you the truth.”
“I still think Lucas is the one.”
“And I still don’t believe there is such a thing as The One. So what else is new?”
“One of these days you’re going to wake up old and alone and you’ll realize what a mistake you made by letting Lucas go. He’s a handsome young man with a well-paying job and roots in this town. What more could a Picking Hill girl ask for? Even Bradley thinks you two made a great item.”
I found that last bit hard to believe. Brad and Lucas had never been friendly as long as I knew them, which was pretty much our whole lives.
Before I could come up with a retort to the ridiculous things my mother was saying, I was stopped by police sirens in the distance. And then they got closer. And then we stood frozen as two police cruisers rushed by us.
“I have to borrow your keys,” I quickly said, holding out my hand.
&n
bsp; “You can’t be serious. Let the police handle it.”
“Mom, I don’t have time to argue. I have to see if it’s about the guy I saw in my vision. If he’s already dead…”
“I’m sure it’s nothing as nefarious as that. Picking Hill doesn’t have murders. We never have.”
“Keys please,” I said impatiently.
As soon as the keys hit my hand, I was running out the door.
“Please be careful!” My mother called after me.
I could still hear the police sirens in the distance. If I was fast enough, I might just be able to catch them.
I lost sight of them, but I just followed the line of stopped cars. Pretty soon, I saw that all the police cruisers, all three of them that is, and that’s including the sheriff’s car, were parked by the local lake. I parked my car further out and ran the rest of the way.
As soon as the sheriff spotted me, he sent Brad to stop me.
“You can’t be here, Callie, and you know it. Please go back,” Brad said, blocking me from going any further.
But that didn’t stop me from looking over his shoulder. I could see that there was a body in the distance, right by the water, but I couldn’t make out the face. It definitely looked like a man’s body.
“Let me through,” I pleaded with Brad. “I have to see if it’s him.”
“Him who?”
“The guy from my vision.”
Before Brad could answer, I used the momentary distraction to slip through and ran as fast as I could around the sheriff and the other officer.
They pulled me back pretty quickly. But not before I got a chance to look at the body. It wasn’t Dax. Or at least it didn’t look like him to me. The guy that was by the water had different clothes on, too. I didn’t recognize him.
“Take her away. Now,” the sheriff told Brad.
I walked away by myself. “It’s fine. I’m going,” I said.
“And I don’t want to see you close to one of my crime scenes again, you understand?” The sheriff said. “If I do, I won’t hesitate from throwing some cuffs on you, no matter whose sister you are. Got it?”
“Yes, sheriff,” I said sarcastically.
Brad gave me a look. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
I went back to the car. I looked back one last time at the scene by the lake. Then I noticed movement from the corner of my eye.
Deadly Visions Page 2