by Wendy Wang
“Something,” Charlie said coolly. “Does it matter?”
“No, I was just curious, that’s all. Anyway, the social worker figured she was lying.”
“Who?” Charlie asked.
“The foster mother. The social worker stopped by unexpectedly, and the foster mother told her he’d been gone a couple of days but she thought it might be longer.”
“Why would she wait so long?”
“My guess is that she wanted to continue getting her payment from the state. It was actually the social worker who reported him missing.”
“That's awful,” Charlie said. “Where are his parents?”
“The mother's dead. Drank herself to death from what the social worker said. The father was never in the picture. He died when the boy was a baby.”
“Oh my god, that’s so sad. How long’s he been in the system?”
“Since he was five.”
Charlie looked back at the picture. “When he left all he could think about was that he was free.”
“Well, that's not heartbreaking at all, is it?” Jason said, his voice full of irony. “Truth is, he may be free for now, but there are plenty of people out there who’ll take advantage of him.”
“What can we do?”
“Not much I can do, especially if he left the area. No chance you could tell me which direction he went in, is there?”
Charlie glanced down at the picture again, then closed her eyes. Lines of concentration carved her forehead and her jaw tightened. After a minute of holding her breath, she blew it out and opened her eyes. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I got nothing. Maybe you could call the company and find out what their nighttime schedules are and where they go.”
Jason shrugged. “Yeah. It’s worth a try. Thank you for coming. I really appreciate your help and the muffin.”
“I don't feel like I really did anything for you.”
“Of course you did. I didn’t have a lead and now I do.”
“Well, I just hope something pans out. Can you tell me what his name is?”
“What? You don’t know?” Jason teased.
Charlie gave him a death stare, and he laughed. “Sorry.” He pointed to the place on the form with the missing person’s name.”
Charlie looked down at Jason’s finger and read Jamison Goforth.
She frowned. “Hmmm.”
“What?”
“That’s not right. That’s not his name.”
“Well, that’s what the social worker gave me.”
“I understand, but I’m telling you, that’s not his name.”
“Charlie, I don’t know what to say. That’s the name that was given to me.”
“I keep hearing DJ. DJ.”
“Well, maybe the kid liked to mix music. Or maybe it was a nickname.”
“Maybe.” Charlie sighed softly and touched her finger to the boy's name on the form. Her expression softened and her eyes became distant, as if she were looking at something far away.
“What do you see?” Jason prompted gently.
“I see a pretty young woman with long dark hair holding a baby in her arms, rocking him back and forth. I can’t see her face because of her hair, but she’s nuzzling him and calling him DJ. I love you, DJ. Mama loves you.” Her voice rose, sounding almost like a little girl’s. Jason’s forearms broke into goose bumps as he listened to her slip into the head of the girl in her vision. “I love you, DJ. I love you so much.”
Charlie’s face jerked up and tears streaked her face now. “No, please. Just one more minute with him. Please.”
Charlie closed her eyes and her shoulders shook. She held her arms as if she were holding a baby and nuzzled against the invisible child. “Never forget me. Okay? I will never forget you.” Charlie acted as if she were giving the baby to someone else and then wept into her hands. It took her a few minutes to get herself under control. Jason watched her, waiting for any sign that Charlie had returned. Finally, she looked up at him and looked him straight in the face. “Was the boy adopted?”
“I don't—” Jason shook his head. “I have no idea. Is that even relevant?”
“Maybe.” She wiped the tears from her cheek. “Maybe he found out. Maybe he went looking for her. For his birth mother. She felt young.”
“How young?”
“Eighteen, maybe nineteen. And alone.”
Jason scribbled the info onto his notepad. “We'll see where it leads.”
“Evan has a friend who was adopted. This kid has everything. Two adoring parents, every toy imaginable, good school. But he was always still thinking about his birth mother. He didn't want to go live with her; he just wanted to know things about her. Maybe it was the same for DJ. Especially since his parents were out of the picture and he was in foster care.”
“Did you see that, too?”
“No. Just a theory.”
“Well, it's a good theory I guess, if he knew he was adopted. Anything else?”
“That's all I got.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I'll walk you out.”
Jason closed the manila folder and tucked it under his arm. He dropped it off on his desk before leading Charlie out of the building.
“So.” Charlie gave him a sly smile. “You and the social worker, huh?”
Jason's eyes widened. He stopped in the middle of the lobby and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on. You don’t usually investigate runaways. I mean not beyond the cursory report. You either like her or you're dating her.”
A choked sound escaped his throat, and he gaped at her for a good thirty seconds. The image of Shelby Banting flashed through his mind. He had flirted with her when she’d asked him for a favor. Her red lips had parted, and she’d pushed her dark hair behind one ear, revealing her long sexy neck. He scowled. “Dammit, you can be annoying sometimes.”
Charlie laughed, not the least bit offended. “That’s what they tell me.”
“I am not dating her.” He emphasized the word ‘not.’ “She’s just a friend.”
“Uh huh. I’m sure she is.”
He hated the smugness in her voice. There was no use lying to her, though. He’d had to learn that lesson a few times before it finally sank in. He glanced around to see who might be listening then leaned in close. “I’m just helping her out. That’s all. She kind of screwed this up. Missed a couple of appointments with the foster parents. She feels guilty that the boy went missing on her watch.”
“Oh.” Charlie nodded, a smirk still on her lips. Something in her tone made him think she didn’t believe him. “Sure.”
“We’re not dating.” Jason cringed at the crescendo of his voice. “She’s not my type.”
Charlie’s smug smile faded, and she shifted her feet. His heart sank. He’d said too much. A quick glance into her face told him all he needed to know about her thoughts on the matter. Awkwardness crept up between them. He blew out a heavy breath. Was she still hung up on that mortician? He wasn’t sure, but it apparently didn’t matter. “Anyway, I need to get back upstairs.”
“Right,” she said and started to turn toward the exit.
“Hey,” he called after her. “How long will you be gone?”
“A week.”
“Well, have fun.”
She smiled and the easiness between them returned. “Thanks, I will.”
“Text me when you get back.”
“I will.”
He started for the stairs but a cold finger of intuition touched his heart, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to tell her to be careful. But it was too late. She was gone.
Chapter 3
Friday morning Charlie stopped at the Kitchen Witch Café to have breakfast before running the long list of errands her cousin had given her. The restaurant bustled with diners so she took one of the free seats at the counter. She inhaled the heavenly scent of banana pancakes and bacon lingering in the air. Her mouth watered as she gave the specials on the chalkboard a c
ursory glance. She already knew what she wanted, and she watched Jen at the other end of the counter making bright chitchat while filling coffee cups as she went. When she stopped in front of Charlie, she grabbed a white cup from beneath the counter and set it in front of her. Jen filled it three quarters of the way up then put a small stainless steel pitcher full of milk on the counter. Charlie topped off the cup with milk, filling it to the brim before ripping open three packets of sugar. She stirred her sweet concoction and took a sip, closing her eyes as the warm liquid slipped down her throat.
“Nectar of the gods,” she muttered and opened her eyes.
Jen laughed and took her order pad from the front pocket of her apron. “Banana pancakes with maple pecan syrup and bacon coming right up.”
“And they call me a mind-reader,” Charlie teased.
“Nope,” her cousin quipped, giving her a knowing grin. “You’re just very predictable. Especially when it comes to your food.”
Charlie shrugged. “Well, a girl's gotta have some sort of stability in her life.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Jen teased and headed for the pass-through to put in the order.
Charlie wrapped her hands around her warm cup. She took another sip and breathed in the scent of the fresh coffee.
The door opened and the bell above it rang announcing another patron. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention and her heart fluttered against her will. She didn’t have turn around to find the cause. She knew just by his energy that Tom Sharon had stepped into the café. Charlie raised her gaze, staring straight ahead.
She felt him stop and hesitate. Was he wondering what move he should make? Whether he should just turn around and leave or take the empty seat at the end of the counter and pretend he didn't see her? Either of these two options would have been fine with her.
“Good morning, Charlie,” she heard him say. Damn. He went a different way.
“Good morning,” she said, trying not to sound too cool but also not too inviting. After all, she had an empty seat next to her. She didn't want him to get it in his head that it was okay for him to sit there.
Tom sat next to her and leaned with his elbows on the counter.
Charlie glanced at him and forced a smile to be polite. His handsome face caught her off guard, causing her stomach to flip flop. Damn him and his glamour.
“Hi,” he said in a soft, silky voice.
“Hi.” Of course, he took the seat next to her. Of course, he did. Charlie looked at the two empty seats near the end of the counter then glanced at the empty two-top table near the front window. She sighed and shifted her gaze to her coffee cup.
“I haven’t seen you in a while.” He took a napkin from the chrome holder in front of him and started to shred it. “How’ve you been?”
“Good,” she said.
“How’s Evan?”
“Good.”
An awkward silence settled between them. Charlie shifted this way and that but couldn’t get comfortable, then finished off the rest of her coffee. She glanced toward her cousin who was chatting with a customer at the opposite end of the lunch counter.
“Jen looks good.”
“Uh-huh.” Charlie nodded.
Tom blew out a heavy breath and from the corner of her eye she saw his shoulders slump in defeat. “Is it always going to be like this?”
“Like what?” Her words sounded too shrill in her ears and she cringed.
He shrugged one shoulder. “Strained conversation made up mostly of me asking questions and you offering up one-word responses.”
“It’s not that bad. Don’t be dramatic.”
“You sound angry.”
Charlie bristled. “Well, I'm not.”
“Do you want me to move?” he asked softly.
Some part of her screamed, Yes, dammit, yes. Go sit in the corner out of my sight. But another part of her, a part she didn't quite want to acknowledge, piped up. “It's a free country. You can sit wherever you want.”
“Hi, Tom.” Jen pulled a white coffee cup from beneath the counter. “Coffee or hot tea today?”
“Hot tea would be lovely. Thank you.”
Jen nodded and smiled, then gave Charlie a pointed look. Be nice, her cousin’s eyes told her. Charlie twisted her lips into a defiant scowl.
“Coming right up.” Jen headed to the coffee station and filled a small metal pitcher with hot water. She grabbed two tea bags and placed them on a saucer. A few seconds later she put the pitcher and tea bags in front of Tom. “So, how are things at the mortuary?”
“Things are good,” he said in a solemn voice. “Death will always be in business.”
Jen nodded. “Indeed, it will.” She pulled her order pad from her front apron pocket and poised her pen. “So, what are you gonna have today?”
Charlie stared at her cousin, her mouth a little ajar. How could she treat him like he was just like anyone else? He was a reaper, wearing a human face. He didn't need to eat.
“I am betting that Charlie ordered the banana pancakes.” Tom’s mouth drew up into a sly smile.
“You would win that bet.” Jen winked at Charlie.
“I'll have the same.” He tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into his tea.
“You won't be sorry.” Jen scribbled the order on her pad.
“May I?” Tom pointed to the half-full pitcher of milk in front of Charlie.
“Of course.” She pushed it over to him.
“So, it's spring break soon?”
“Yes.” Charlie twirled her finger around the rim of her cup and glanced down the counter at her cousin. Jen stopped to fill another coffee cup.
“Are you doing anything special with Evan?”
Charlie didn’t look at him. “Evan’s spending spring break with his dad.”
“Well, that will be nice for him. Are you doing anything special?”
She hesitated. Should she tell him? Part of her hated that he was a lying liar and that she couldn’t trust him. But another part of her missed their easy banter. Missed that she could truly be herself with him, without judgment.
“My cousins and I are heading to the mountains of North Carolina for the week,” Charlie answered after a moment.
“That sounds wonderful.” His tone seemed a little wistful.
She straightened her back. Not wanting her moment of softness to give him the wrong impression. It didn’t matter if she missed him. He was not human, no matter what sort of mask he presented to the world and there was nothing that would change that fact. “I’m still mad at you,” she blurted out and then cringed inwardly. Way to go, Charlie.
“You have every right to be.”
“What you did was inexcusable.” She fiddled with the spoon next to her cup, turning it over.
“I know,” he said in a small voice. “But is it unforgivable?”
She met his gaze and was drawn into his brown eyes. Fiery amber flecks made her heart melt just a little. “I don't know.”
“I don't expect things to be the way they were before.”
Why was her life always broken into before and after? It seemed things were before she married Scott and after she divorced Scott. Now it was Tom stepping into those shoes. Before she learned his identity and after.
“Some things can't be unlearned or unseen. Or undone.” She said.
“You’re right.” He took a sip of his tea and flipped the spoon over, laying it across the cup. “I understand.” He rose from his seat, took a fancy black leather wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a five-dollar-bill. He laid the money next to the cup of tea and glanced up to catch Jen's attention. She smiled and headed back his way. “Can I get my pancakes to go please?”
“Of course. Is everything okay?” Jen called up a surprised smile. Jen's gaze bounced between Charlie and back to Tom.
“Everything is perfect,” he said in a silky, charming voice. “I just realized I need to get into work early. You know the dead don't wait.”
; “Right.” Jen’s face grew taut as her smile widened. “I'm sure Charlie completely understands that. Don't you, Charlie?”
Charlie nodded, giving her cousin a dirty look. “Of course. Who better to understand than me?”
“It'll just be a few minutes,” Jen said. “You want some more tea while you wait?”
“No thanks. I'm going to go grab a paper outside.”
“Sure. No problem. It's good to see you.”
“You, too. Have a great vacation if I don’t see you for lunch.”
“Thanks.” Jen smiled and something silent passed between them. Charlie perked up, watching the exchange.
“See you around, Charlie.” Tom turned and walked away before Charlie could respond.
Jen’s lips deflated into a flat line and Charlie braced herself.
“Okay.” Jen leaned in close and lowered her voice, but it didn’t diminish the anger flaring beneath. “It's been almost five months. I'm not saying that you should date him. I mean, after all, he is — well — what he is. But he saved your life. And that means something. Maybe you should cut him some slack,” her cousin said through partially gritted teeth.
“He betrayed me,” Charlie hissed and glanced around to see if anyone was even noticing their little back-and-forth exchange.
“So did Scott but you don't have any problem forgiving him.” Her cousin's rebuke hit her hard, sending a shard of pain through her heart.
“That’s different. Scott’s the father of my child.”
“Yes, and for years he was an abusive asshole,” Jen whisper-yelled.
“He never hit me,” Charlie countered.
“No, he didn’t raise a finger. All he did was make you feel like nothing for nearly ten years.” Jen’s gaze bore into Charlie.
Charlie didn’t dare look away. She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I watched Tom die. Okay? When he didn't even have to. Do you have any idea how horrible that was?”
“Of course, I do. I was there, remember?” Jen’s tone softened. “But he sacrificed his mortal form to save you. Not to hurt you. You think he didn’t know the risk of showing you his real identity?”