Premonitions
Dream Catcher Series
Book One
by Brynette L. Turner
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Brynette L. Turner
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book or artwork may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or artist, except where permitted by law.
Acknowledgements
I can’t say Thank You enough to the many people who have always encouraged me and been patient while I use them as sounding boards for ideas and details. Naturally, the love and support of my family and friends keep me focused and encouraged. For this book, I would also like to thank Shawn L. Howard for providing insight into the mind of law enforcement officials and clarification of how procedures work. To my beta readers, Carina Turner, Monique Williamson, and Anna Marie Turner: your feedback helped me to clarify what I was trying to say and resolve areas that needed more attention. Without each of you, this book wouldn’t have developed into something I’m pleased to offer to my readers.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE
“Stephanie, this is Chaz Winters; Chaz, Stephanie Ballard.” To Chaz, she added an explanation that this was her very best friend in the whole wide world with a mischievous giggle. And with those introductions, Karen settled onto her high-back stool to observe the two people who’d agreed to this blind date. She watched them shake hands and tried not to smile at the tiny lift of her girlfriend’s left eyebrow. Instant attraction; she could sense it. Was Stephanie also feeling it? Of course, she must be—Karen was almost never wrong about matchmaking.
She turned her attention to the man who’d just entered the bar and was approaching them—her fiancé. Victor always looked sexy in his suit and loosened tie, even at the end of the day when he’d been raking his fingers through his hair and his eyes were a little dulled by fatigue.
“Sorry for being late.” He shook Chaz’s hand and gave Stephanie a quick hug. Then, he planted a lingering kiss on his future bride’s forehead and wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders as he slid onto the bar stool beside hers. “How are you feeling?” His free hand rested on the lightweight lavender dress stretched over a very round belly.
“Greater than great,” she beamed. “It’s been an uneventful day.” In other words, she’d had none of the fatigue or nausea that seemed to have resurfaced even though the pregnancy was almost over. At the moment, Karen wasn’t too worried about her symptoms. In fact, her only concern was whether her best friend was going to enjoy her time with the tall, dark, and handsome owner of the pool hall. Of course, she would.
Having arrived nearly fifteen minutes earlier, she and Stephanie were munching on chips and had already ordered their drinks: Sprite with a twist of lime and a garnish of fresh mint for the baby incubator and a Mexican mojito with extra mint for the single woman. The drinks looked so similar that Karen made a mental note to pay attention to which glass she grabbed.
The two men ordered tequila shots and the bartender quickly set them down so he could tend to the other patrons. As was typical for a Friday night, the bar was crowded and the restaurant was filling up. The piped-in music could barely be heard over the mixture of conversations, laughter, ice clinking into tall glasses, and food sizzling as servers brought out dinner orders.
Chaz, dressed in a lightweight sweater and perfectly fitted slacks, leaned slightly toward Stephanie and asked where she worked, how well she liked her job, etc.—usual first date stuff. Work was always a safe ice-breaker topic.
“Earlier, Steph was telling me about her latest project,” Karen encouraged her friend.
“There isn’t much to tell,” Stephanie insisted as she tucked a curl behind her ear. She shook her head and it immediately popped back out. “Just another boring set of calculations for a development company. I honestly don’t understand why Mr. Kinsett wants to expand the business when he and his wife are almost ready to retire.”
“Does he know they’re going to retire?” Karen winked.
Stephanie sent a warning glance to the other woman before saying, “I would hope so. They’re almost eighty years old. It doesn’t take a mind-reader to know they shouldn’t be investing such a large amount of capital right now.” She took a quick sip of her drink before continuing. “Mrs. Kinsett is having some sort of medical problem. And, it doesn’t seem like any of their relatives are interested in running the business, so there’s not a clear reason why they want to go ahead with this project.” She shrugged and turned her attention to Chaz. “I’m sure you have much more interesting days at the pool hall.”
Chaz easily talked about how he could relate to Mr. Kinsett’s situation. He’d taken over the pool hall on the eastside of Erie from an uncle nearly a year ago and was trying to make it more profitable rather than be forced to sell it to someone other than family. While running the business was more work than fun, he honestly enjoyed being around the variety of people. His smile was as easy as the way he talked about his business.
“I usually get there around dinner time,” he explained, “just as the after-work young professionals are winding down the happy hour and a more settled clientele is arriving. There are mostly groups challenging each other to a few friendly games and the couples, like Karen and Victor, who just want to spend time with their special person.” He shrugged. “It’s my job to notice what’s going on and to walk around and make sure everyone is happy but not rowdy.”
Karen nodded absently as the conversation drifted to other topics. She had closely observed him keeping watch over the establishment. There was a strong calmness to him that she’d noticed not long after he’d first starting managing the pool hall. He talked with everyone, laughed easily, and didn’t seem to miss anything. So, over a few months, Karen and Victor kept watching how he interacted with the female patrons and were relieved to see that he didn’t seem to take any of them seriously. They flirted unashamedly, but he was always professional in his response. She thought about how it didn’t matter what day the couple showed up with other friends, Chaz was there and his personality was always the same—friendly, steady, dependable. He could be perfect for Stephanie, and she for him. Too bad that she didn’t like billiards or they could have met a long time ago.
Karen laughed quietly at her mental
observations and joined the conversation about football. Stephanie knew what she was talking about and was passionate about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chaz was noticeably impressed; his fascination was evident in the way he never stopped smiling and rarely looked away from his date. Everyone was having a good time.
“I definitely have to thank you,” Chaz said to Karen. Then, to his date, he sent a warm smile and made a comment that she was pretty amazing, a remark that made her blush. Victor and Karen immediately chimed in that they couldn’t agree more and that their friend was definitely special and one of a kind.
“Can we please change the subject?” The blush deepened as everyone chuckled at her discomfort.
“Maybe we should get a table and order dinner,” was Chaz’s suggestion. It was a good sign for a blind date. He could have very easily used the pool hall as an excuse to end the night early.
“Yes! I’m definitely ready to order some real food,” Karen eagerly agreed. “But first, I need to make a pit stop.” She waddled off to the restroom and her fiancé went to find a hostess to ask about moving them to a booth.
Everything was going well, Stephanie thought, and she could definitely see herself enjoying a little more of his broad smile and inquisitive eyes. Blind dates were usually unpredictable, so she was relieved that he wanted to spend a little more time with them. With her, she corrected silently. Yeah, the interest was definitely mutual.
“You’ve gotten quiet on me,” he said so softly that she had to lean a bit closer to hear him. A hand lightly touched hers and his eyes smiled.
“Just wondering about you,” was Stephanie’s reply.
“Questions you didn’t want to ask in front of your friends?” He chuckled. “Ask away.”
“Okay.” She looked him in the eyes and studied every nuance of his reaction as she said, “According to Karen, you haven’t been interested in anyone you’ve met over these past months, so why are you here tonight?”
“Because I saw you with Karen once and was curious as to whether you were the same person she wanted me to meet.” He pushed aside his now watery second drink. “You were shopping for shoes, I think. Anyway, the two of you were totally caught up in having a good time and you were smiling, relaxed, carefree. Beautiful. I remember wondering whether you’re always that way.”
“Not always,” came out with a lighthearted laugh. “It’s just easy to be happy around Karen. She has a way of brightening anybody’s mood. Plus, she’s a good friend; we know a lot about each other.”
“Such as her knowing what kind of man you like.” It was a comment, not a question.
“Yeah, that too.” Stephanie got a good vibe about Chaz. His eyes held hers as she tipped her head sideways in a gesture of continued curiosity. What was it about him that was so captivating? Déjà vu hit at that moment: she couldn’t remember having a dream of the specific scene, but then it unfolded in her mind a split second ahead of when it was actually happening. His same arm movement and shift of body. Her same fiddling with the empty drink glass on the bar.
“What’s your next question?” Chaz was asking.
“Oh . . .” She had to bring her attention back to the conversation. “I was going to ask whether you believe in fate, destiny, serendipity—whatever you want to call it.”
“Definitely.”
“So, some things are just meant to happen?” She watched him nod. “And do you believe some people are more open than others to following the vibes they sense from a person?”
He seemed to think about that for a moment. His eyes said he already had an answer but wasn’t sure whether to tell her; Stephanie could sense that a mild suspicion of her reason for asking was his strongest reason for hesitating.
“Do you believe it?” was his non-answer.
“Definitely,” was her confident reply.
He nodded again as he honestly considered what she’d said. Something comfortable and magical passed between them in that instant. Stephanie saw a slight warmth creep into his eyes and could only return the expression.
“Okay, our booth is ready,” Victor was saying as he rejoined them. His voice broke the spell.
He reached for Karen, who was just returning, and the foursome moved away from the noisy bar to the other side of the restaurant where mostly families were situated. Chaz’s hand rested casually on Stephanie’s back as they wove through the tables, and his arm was comfortably touching hers after they were seated. Stephanie was sure that she wasn’t imagining the electricity between them.
Karen kept everyone laughing as they looked over the menus and tried to determine what to order. She wanted one of everything and each option was more tempting than the previous one. Then she pouted that she probably wouldn’t be able to eat a full meal with the baby taking up so much room inside of her and settled on a dish that would be good reheated.
As they waited for the food to arrive, the talk shifted to current events in the news and somehow drifted into two separate conversations that were somewhat related enough for people to bounce between them. Yet, neither Karen nor Victor interrupted any moments when the conversation was soft words spoken just between Stephanie and Chaz.
“He’s definitely fascinated,” the pregnant woman told her friend when the two women took a restroom break.
“Yeah?” Stephanie dabbed on fresh lipstick and smiled at her friend in the mirror that took up the entire wall behind the row of sinks. “So am I.”
“Any special insights?” Karen gave a conspiratorial wink at the other woman’s reflection.
“Nothing specific; just a good vibe. He’s a good person.”
“Hell, I figured that out before I ever suggested the two of you get together.” She laughed. “But seriously, you didn’t pick up anything other than happy waves?” Hands absently rubbed her too-full belly.
“Not really.” Stephanie wasn’t ready to mention the déjà vu moment. She simply frowned at her friend and shoved the tube of lipstick back into her purse. “There’s something I can’t nail down that’s making me feel really connected.”
“Sleep on it,” Karen urged. “It’ll come to you.” She laughed and waddled toward the door.
Yeah, sleep on it. Strange things came into Stephanie’s dreams. Things that sometimes hinted at information she couldn’t know otherwise. Things that often came true. Things that had made other people say she was weird before she’d learned not to trust everyone with that detail about herself. Anyway, her gift had never been anything to fear; and she preferred to think of herself as one-of-a-kind.
Yes, she was as unique as the man waiting for her in the dining room.
Except he wasn’t waiting.
“Sorry, Steph,” Victor apologized. “Chaz got a call and said he had to leave. But he wanted me to tell you that he enjoyed the evening.”
“Did he ask for her phone number?” Karen wanted to know as she slid back into the booth. Her fiancé could only shrug. “That’s okay,” the woman assured her friend. “It was probably work. We’ll see him over the next couple of weeks and find out what happened.”
It didn’t matter to Stephanie. That déjà vu moment said a lot: something about their meeting was meant to happen, and she trusted her instincts. Always.
She’d see him again.
CHAPTER TWO
Chaz wasn’t as confident about whether he would see her. In fact, as he drove to the pool hall, he considered that the date, no matter how innocent, might have been a mistake. Stephanie seemed to see right into him and had a way of looking at him as though no one else was around when they were talking. He was too attracted to her, and his life didn’t need complications.
He parked his car in a designated space behind the building, turned off the engine, and retrieved his gun from the glove box. He shoved it into a pocket. Checking his surroundings carefully before getting out of the car, he reminded himself that his business was not one where he could afford to be distracted by Stephanie’s loveliness. He pressed a button placed inconspicuously agains
t the side of the door frame before unlocking the rear entrance and stepping inside. The key would have set off a silent alarm otherwise.
Down a rear set of stairs behind another locked door was a private area, supposedly for employees only, but the real break room was above the pool hall, not below. Consistent with its apparent purpose, a 250-lb, muscular bouncer appeared to lounge at the opposite end of the space and was flipping through the pages of that morning’s newspaper. However, he was neither taking a break nor reading the paper; and only the fact that Chaz had pushed a second hidden button made him set aside his gun that was, like Chaz’s, loaded and ready to fire. At his end of the room, concealed by a row of lockers, was another doorway. The two men exchanged lighthearted greetings before the bouncer aimed what looked like a TV remote at the door and punched a series of numbers. It swung open—no handle, no peepholes, no windows. All these precautions were for a very good reason.
Chaz stepped into the private gambling club. He was immediately greeted with a nod from the bartender at the end of the room who was setting a couple of beer bottles on a tray for the lone waitress to carry to a table. Modest though it may be, two poker games were underway across the room and a couple of patrons were seated at one of the blackjack tables, another six at a roulette wheel, and a few more at the cash bar. While there was a legal casino in downtown Erie, slightly higher payoffs and a more discreet environment assured the return of long-time customers who didn’t want their vices to be publicly known.
A floor-to-ceiling two-way mirror lined a large section of one wall. The pool hall’s owner spoke warmly to all of his gambling regulars as he made his way to the bank of glass that slid open just as he reached it. Chaz entered, pushed the door closed with a soft click, walked over to the desk along one edge of the small room, and lifted a stack of papers.
Premonitions: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 1 Page 1