by Sandra Ross
“Wow,” she said. “That’s about the only word I can find at the moment, Skylar. How on earth did you do all of this? I mean, seriously. Did you call some of your friends or something?”
“Nope. I did it all myself. I meant it when I said that you just have to know how to balance things with your body weight. It wasn’t so hard.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” Eve said, laughing. “But I won’t ask any more questions.”
“Oh, and I finished putting in all of those files you needed. Also, I set up a message program for you on the computer. It’s something that will work while the office is closed and it can be set up to forward calls to your voice mail so that you can decide whether or not it’s important enough to call back right away.”
“Just how long were we gone?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah,” Eve said. “I don’t know how you managed to get all of that stuff done in such a short time.”
“I told you,” Skylar said. “I’m very organized.”
Hunter and Eve laughed as they shook their heads. Skylar explained the new computer message system to them and then showed them how to access the files she had input. Eve knew that she was going to rub Hunter’s face in this later since he had been a bit skeptical about hiring her.
“Well,” Evie said, with a rather bemused expression on her face, “I’m very impressed with your organizational skills, not to mention your furniture moving ability, although I’m still not sure I believe you did all by yourself.”
She added a little laugh onto the end of that one because she didn’t want to make Skylar think she was being called a liar, especially since everything looked so much better. Not only that, she had done all of the data entry plus setting up a computer message system. Where did this girl come from?
“I think that Skylar has earned a well-deserved lunch break,” Hunter said. “You’re probably starved after all that work especially since it’s nearly 2:00.”
“Actually, I do kind of need to run a couple of errands if you’re sure it’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” Evie and Hunter both said at the same time. “Take your time. We plan to be here for a while.”
“Sweet!” Skylar said as she grabbed her bag. “I’ll be back.”
As she flew out of the door, Eve certainly hoped she would be back. This girl was a miracle worker! There would be time to ponder that later, though. Right now, she needed to call Chad. She was pretty sure he would want to know what she had witnessed as soon as possible.
CHAPTER SEVEN
IT WAS ANOTHER hour before Chad was able to get to The Agency.
Now, they were sitting in Eve’s newly arranged office where she was trying her very best to explain to him what she had seen. He was pretty upset that she and Hunter had gone back to Sara’s house, even after he had expressly told them to wait. In fact, they couldn’t seem to get him off of that subject long enough to tell him what Eve had seen in her vision.
“You know, Eve, I would expect this shit out of you,” Chad fairly shouted. “But Hunter, I’m baffled and, quite frankly, stunned that you would go along with something like this. “
“Hold on, Chad,” Hunter said. “If you’re going to keep yelling like that, we’re not going to get anywhere. Aren’t you the least bit curious about what Evie saw?”
“Of course I am. I just don’t know how in the hell I’m supposed to explain this to my boss. He’s not a huge believer in things that he can’t see. Not only that, but the two of you could have been hurt by going back there alone. We still don’t know who did this to Sara or why. The murderer is still around and could be anyone.”
“Chad, come on,” Eve tried to placate him. “You’ve known me for years, right? Don’t you feel that you can trust me once in a while?”
“It’s not a matter of trust, Evie. I specifically told you not to go back to Sara’s house without me and you just totally ignored me. That’s what pisses me off. You have no regard for authority whatsoever. I could arrest you, you know.”
“Look, Chad, we can sit here and argue about my methods or I can tell you what I saw while we were there. It’s up to you, but the longer we go around in circles the longer it’s going to take you to act on what I have to say.”
Chad sighed heavily before indicating that she should start talking.
After she had relayed the details of her vision to him, Chad seemed to have forgotten how upset he had been with Eve just a few minutes earlier. Now he was excited that they had some information to work with.
“Okay, so what you’re saying is that this spider most likely arrived in a gift wrapped box?” Chad asked.
“That’s what I saw, yes,” Eve replied. “She brought it inside with her when she came in. But she was afraid of it, Chad. She put it on the bar in the kitchen and just stared at it for a long time before opening it. To me, she seemed to be reluctant to open the box.”
“And you saw this through the killer’s eyes?”
“That’s right. And let me tell you, I’ve never seen such rage and hatred in my life. Whoever this is needs to be found as soon as possible.”
Chad asked her a few more questions to clarify her vision but Eve hadn’t been able to tell who it was or why Sara was so afraid of that box.
“Chad, I need to go back there,” Eve said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll get more once I’m inside the house. You see, where I was standing had to have been where the killer was. Whoever did this was watching Sara and knew what was going to happen. That’s why I was seeing things through the killer’s eyes. If I can go inside of the house, there’s a good chance I’ll see through Sara’s eyes.”
“Evie, that’s not a good idea,” Hunter said firmly. “That last episode was hard enough on you. It’s not possible for you to go back there.”
“Hunter, we talked about this. I did just fine before you came along and I know what I’m doing now. So stop trying to tell me what I’m going to do and not do. Are we clear?”
“Okay, Eve,” Hunter barked as he rose from his chair. “Do whatever the hell you want. But I won’t be a part of it. If you’re going to kill yourself, you’ll do it without my help!”
With that, he stalked out of the office. Chad and Eve both heard the front door to The Agency slam as he exited. They looked at each other ruefully.
“Is there any truth to what he’s saying, Evie?” Chad asked. “Are these visions dangerous for you?”
“No, Chad. They’re not dangerous, but they might look that way to someone watching. I do get skull crushing headaches during the visions and usually the pain causes me to pass out for a few minutes. But then I’m fine.”
“Good God, Eve! You should have told me what these things do to you! I can’t put you through that again! Damn, I’m so sorry.”
“Chad, you didn’t put me through anything. I did it on my own and Hunter is still getting used to seeing me have the visions. I know he means well, but he’s got to learn that I can take care of myself. Now, don’t worry about him. I’ll handle Hunter. Just tell me when we can get back into Sara’s house. I know I can get more to help you find her killer.”
It took a little while longer, but Eve finally convinced Chad to let her have one more crack at Sara’s house. She knew that he was torn because he didn’t want to cause her any pain but, at the same time, he really wanted to catch this murderer. It was the latter part that she knew would get her inside the house. Finally, he agreed but he was adamant that she would give herself a full twenty-four hours to rest and recover from today’s events. She had no choice but to agree.
After Chad left, she called Skylar and told her not to bother coming back to the office until the next morning. She was going home to try and figure out more from what her vision had shown her today. Besides, she hadn’t wanted to admit to anyone how much that vision had taken out of her. The headache was still there, just behind her eyes, even though the pain was tolerable now. All she needed was a couple of painkillers and a nap. Then she would be fine.
Eve felt bad now for having snapped at Hunter in front of Chad. There was a lot for both of them to work on, especially herself. She would have to learn how to curb her temper more, and snapping at him in front of other people was just inexcusable. She put her car into gear and pulled away from the curb. Now, she was in a hurry to get home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
STEPHANIE ANDERSON’S FIRST gift arrived at 5PM that evening. Having just come home from work, she was in the midst of changing into more comfortable clothes when her doorbell rang. Quickly pulling on her t-shirt, she zipped her jeans and ran down the hall to the front door. Glancing through her peephole, she saw a young man standing on her porch with a huge bouquet of flowers. Puzzled, she opened the door.
“Hi there, are you Ms. Stephanie Anderson?” the young man asked.
“Yes, I am,” she said still staring at the flowers.
“These are for you!” he said with a smile.
“Seriously?” she asked with pure skepticism in her voice.
“Yes, Ma’am,” the man said as he handed her the bouquet. “There you go!”
Stephanie accepted the bouquet and realized that she probably needed to give the guy a tip. Setting it down on her foyer table, she turned back to him.
“Hang on a sec,” she said reaching into her purse.
Handing him a $5 bill, she thanked him and slowly closed the door. Now who on earth could be sending her flowers. Not Ryan. They had broken up months ago and she had heard he was dating someone new. Ah, there’s a card, she thought and reached over to open it.
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman, Your Secret Admirer
Shaking her head and laughing a little, she put the card back in the envelope. Well, I don’t mind playing a little game for a while, she thought. These really are gorgeous flowers. In fact, all of my favorites are in here. Roses, carnations, orchids. Damn, this was certainly not a cheap bouquet. Whoever her secret admirer was must have plenty of money.
Picking up the bouquet, she carried it into the living room and gave it a place of honor on the mantle.
* * *
A PAIR OF malevolent eyes shone from across the street as they watched Stephanie accept the bouquet. Part two of the game had begun.
I wonder just how long it will take Eve Snow to connect the dots, the Secret Admirer thought; a cruel smile forming. I’ve been waiting a long time for this and I plan to savor each moment of it.
Enjoy your flowers, Stephanie. You’ll be hearing from me again soon. I promise.
Eve arrived home to an empty house. Hunter’s car wasn’t in the driveway and he didn’t appear to be inside, either. She sighed. She had really hoped to be able to talk things over with him and apologize to him for how she had acted.
Climbing the stairs, she went into the master bathroom and retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen. She downed four of them with a glass of water and went back into the bedroom.
It was really strange how quickly she had become accustomed to Hunter being here with her all the time. Before he had returned to her life, she never noticed an empty house, let alone minded one. She enjoyed her privacy.
Now that Hunter had pretty much moved in with her, she found that she didn’t like this feeling of being alone. She grabbed her laptop and propped some pillows behind her and settled on the bed. Looking up Sara’s name, she found a few links to her but most of the information was around Sara’s murder. Even those articles didn’t carry a lot of information because the police hadn’t released much. She knew more than these articles told.
In the end, Eve decided that this was a rather futile measure. Closing her laptop, she set aside and leaned her head back on the pillows. Her headache had started to subside now, but she was so tired. She let her eyes close. Maybe resting just a minute would help…..
Eve!
She heard her name being called urgently but was having trouble swimming up out of the murkiness of sleep.
Eve! You’ve got to listen!
Finally, she was able to open her eyes and focus.
There standing at the foot of her bed was Sara.
Eve blinked hard a few times.
“Sara? Is that you?” she finally managed to ask.
“I don’t have much time, Eve, and you’ve got to stop this! It’s already started again! The Secret Admirer is going to kill again and you’ve got to stop it!”
As Eve became more aware, she noticed that Sara seemed to be floating rather than standing. She wasn’t sure what should be frightening her more; the fact that Sara was floating at the foot of her bed or that Sara was here at all. Wasn’t Sara dead?
“Sara, what are you talking about?”
“The killer! The Secret Admirer! There’s going to be another murder and the victim has already been chosen.”
“Are you saying that you know who killed you?”
“The next victim has been chosen. Look in your past, Eve. It’s all connected.”
“Wait, Sara! Who is the next victim?”
“I’ve got to go, Eve. Look in your past!”
* * *
A JARRING NOISE at her head startled Eve awake. It was her cell phone. Fumbling around on her nightstand, she finally located it.
“Yeah,” she croaked in a sleep filled voice.
“Evie, it’s me.”
Hunter’s low sexy voice came across the airwaves. Immediately, Eve was wide awake and sat up.
“Heyyy,” she drawled. “Where are you?”
“I’m at my sister’s house,” he answered.
“Oh, you’re at Suzanne’s?”
“Yeah, I’m going to have dinner here and spend the night.”
“Why would you do that? Hunter, I was hoping we could talk,” she said.
“We can talk tomorrow, when I get home.”
“Hunter, I’m so sorry for what happened at the office today,” Eve said. “I had no right to speak to you that way, and certainly not in front of Chad. I promise you it won’t ever happen again.”
“Thanks for saying that, Evie. I appreciate it.”
“But you’re still not coming home tonight.”
“Honestly, I just need a little breather. It will be okay, Evie. But I need to stay here tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I see,” Evie said coldly. “You sleep well.”
“I love you, Evie,” he said quietly.
But Eve was already pushing the button to disconnect the call.
CHAPTER NINE
EVE WENT DOWNSTAIRS to the kitchen and poured a glass of cold sangria. Probably not the best idea considering the ibuprofen she had taken earlier, but she wanted it. Then she decided that she would temper the sangria with a little food.
Rummaging through her refrigerator, she discovered that she probably needed to do some food shopping tomorrow. But she had eggs, milk, cheese, and butter. Those were all the ingredients she needed to whip up an omelet. A little more digging netted her some mushrooms and scallions. This was starting to shape up into a great omelet.
She sipped on her sangria as she cooked. As the aroma of the food hit her nostrils, she realized just how hungry she was.
Of course I’m hungry, she thought. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.
She allowed herself to briefly wonder what sort of feast that Hunter was indulging in right now. Eve knew from experience what a fantastic cook Suzanne was and she found herself to be a bit jealous that he was getting to enjoy that particular culinary experience.
“Oh well, I don’t care,” she muttered to herself. “My omelet will be perfect!”
As it turned out, the omelet was damned close to perfect.
She carried her plate and glass of sangria into
the family room where she set it on the coffee table. Picking up the remote, she clicked on the television and then sat back to eat.
Now, she thought, I can try to figure out what that dream I had earlier meant.
Mentally, she went back over each part of it. She knew that it had been Sara speaking to her in her dream, but she wasn’t sure if it had actually been a dream or a vision that she had had while sleeping. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about it until now. None of it had made any sense to her previously, but it might now that she could calmly recall the dream.
Eve had never had actual medium experiences in that she didn’t normally have the ability to communicate with the dead. That didn’t mean it couldn’t happen under certain conditions. She had had a tie with Sara in life so it was very possible that Sara had sought her out. Obviously, Sara had information about her murderer but she had seemed more concerned with something that was coming.
Now what was it that Sara had said? Something about a secret admirer? And I’m supposed to look into my past for some reason.
Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and tried to re-enter her dream. Slowly it came back to her.
Sara had been at the foot of the bed talking about a secret admirer. Now, what on earth did that mean? Oh god! Wait! Sara said another victim had been chosen! Sara had been trying to tell her that someone else was going to be killed!
I’ve got to call Chad!
Reaching for her cell phone, she put together in her head what she would say to Chad about all of this. In the end, she just asked him to come over because she had something to tell him about Sara’s murder. He agreed to stop by before going home.
Finishing her omelet, Eve carried her plate and fork back into the kitchen and poured another glass of sangria. She returned to the family room and settled down to wait for Chad. As she glanced at the television, she saw that the news program was putting up a picture of Sara. Turning up the volume, she listened to the newscaster talk about Sara’s murder.