Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3)

by Matthew Goldstein

  10

  He shut the computer down and grabbed the phone to dial Asher. “Asher! Asher! I got it!” he shouted when Asher answered, incapable of forming a coherent thought.

  “Got what? What's going on? You figured it out?”

  “Yes, yes! I located someone based solely on her picture. I'm going to start searching for a missing person this weekend.”

  “Holy shit, dude. That's crazy. How did you do it?”

  Cole's brain whirled, deciding on a half-truth. “I was able to see a person's physical appearance from their aura. I practiced it all day.”

  “This is really crazy. I want to come down there right away and get this ball rolling. We have people to save. Someone might be in trouble as we speak.” He let out an exasperated grunt. “Rrrr – but this weekend isn't good and it's already Friday night. Okay, next week I'll try taking off a couple days and come down for a long weekend. Maybe Thursday? Is that good? Does that work?”

  Cole was thrown off-guard by Asher's enthusiasm. “Uh, I guess so. I'll have to double-check.”

  “Okay, I'll let you know about my end too. Damn, I can't wait. Hopefully by next week I'll have caught up to my little protégé and we can double-team an investigation.”

  “This is going to be awesome. Yeah, get here whenever you can. Let me know.”

  “Will do. Later.”

  Is that what you did? Meredith thought-said when he hung up. You saw the person's physical appearance and practiced it, huh?

  I'm sorry, Mom. You know I appreciate you finding that person for me. In the moment, I didn't know how to explain it and this just seemed easier.

  I'm sure it did.

  Cole found Beth in her bedroom getting ready for bed and, keeping a lid on his excitement, informed her that Asher would be coming in. She looked less than thrilled, but put up no argument. She just nodded and said she was going to sleep.

  Lying in bed that night full of energy, Cole was certain he would never fall asleep. All he wanted to do was get out there and search for the missing person. He went over in his head everything that he knew, preparing for his first case. She was a middle-aged woman who lived a little over a mile away. A week ago, her husband had returned from work to find an empty house and had heard nothing of her since.

  Hey, Mom, you there?

  Yes.

  Can you scout around for that woman to see if you can sense her now, and then again during my ride to school tomorrow?

  I will do that on one condition. You promise that if I find her, you call the police. I will not put you in a dangerous situation. We don't know why she's missing and the police are much better equipped to handle this. Deal?

  Okay, yeah, fine, deal. Cole couldn't help being a little disappointed, but it was a reasonable request and the best deal he was going to get.

  Meredith said nothing else that night, and eventually Cole grew weary of waiting and fell asleep. When he awoke the following morning, the first thing he did was ask if she had found the missing woman, to which there was no response. As it was Saturday, he wanted to get an early start to his manhunt before he had to go to Michelle's, but there was little he could do without his mother.

  Come on, Mom. Where are you?

  He decided to give it a shot alone. He preferred being able to do it without any help, and without having to rely on his mother to be there and to be willing. After throwing on some clothes, he went out for a stroll around the neighborhood, hoping to be back before Beth missed him. There was likely another hour before she woke up.

  It was a brisk morning and he was enjoying the walk, with or without finding a missing person. All he wanted to do was stroll the neighborhood for the rest of the day. As much as he needed to catch up on schoolwork, after the events of last night he was not looking forward to going over to Michelle's house.

  As he walked, he scanned the auras of the people that he passed, and for each one he compared it to his mental image of the missing person. As the sun rose higher in the sky, he grew frustrated at his inability to identify the people to which he was connecting, and the overall feeling of fruitlessness in finding one random person.

  It's okay, Meredith said inside his head. I scanned the area. She's not here.

  Oh, thanks. Yeah, I should get back before Beth finds me missing and freaks.

  He returned to the house, and found Beth in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

  “Was that the front door I heard?” Beth said from the stove. “Were you outside?”

  “Yeah, I went for a walk.”

  “Nice day out?”

  “Uh huh. Hey, do you think we can take a ride around this morning to search for a missing person?”

  Beth looked up from the stove. “I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Do you think this is such a good idea? It could be really dangerous to barge in on someone who's is missing. What if there's a crazy person holding them hostage?”

  “Mom said it was okay, and besides, she made me promise to call the police once we located her. So, please, can we do it?”

  “Really, Mere?” Beth pressed her lips together and then said, “Fine, but you'd better not be lying about this. Aren't you going to Michelle's later? We can go a little out of our way when I drop you off.”

  “All right, but I'm going to go for another walk after breakfast.”

  “Fine by me.”

  After a quick breakfast, Cole headed out in the opposite direction of his last walk for his mom to explore a new area. When this proved futile, he decided it was late enough to give Michelle a call. She answered enthusiastically and told him he could come over after lunch, around one o'clock. He gathered his books into his backpack, had an early lunch, and was ready to leave by noon.

  Will you be able to help me on the way to Michelle's? he asked to his mom.

  Of course. I'll do my best to look.

  “Can we please get going?” he said to Beth. “I want to have time to drive around first.”

  “You're really becoming quite the time sink,” Beth said as she pulled on her jacket. “I can't keep this up forever.”

  “Only 'til I can drive,” Cole said with a smirk.

  “Oh, great. This is one of the reasons I never wanted kids. I don't want to think about that right now. Let's go.”

  They took the long way to Michelle's, driving slowly around blocks to give Meredith time to search the nearby houses. Meredith found nothing, and they arrived at Michelle's on time.

  “Well, that was fun,” Beth said as she pulled in front of Michelle's house. “Tell your mom I said hi, and that I'm sorry this is how she has to spend her afterlife.”

  Tell her it's not so bad, Meredith thought-said, laughing

  “Very funny, Aunt Beth. She can hear you, by the way. She said it's not so bad.”

  “Oh. She can? Huh.”

  “Well, see you later. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you.”

  “And I'll be waiting by the phone in anticipation.”

  Cole jumped out of the car and Beth drove off. Mom, could you maybe not listen in when I'm around friends? I feel awkward when I know you're there.

  I understand. Don't want your mom in your personal affairs, she said jokingly. Have fun.

  Cole rang the bell and Michelle answered the door. After looking out at the empty street, she smiled and said, “Guess she must have been in a rush.”

  “That's just how she is,” Cole said. He followed her to the back room where they set up for another study session.

  Michelle opened a book on her desk, stopped, and turned to Cole. “I'm sorry if things were awkward yesterday. I realized you didn't know anyone else, but my friends are cool if you get to know them.”

  “Oh, it's fine. I was fine,” Cole said quickly, wishing to simply move past the subject and forget all about it.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, I had fun. I promise,” he added upon seeing Michelle's unwanted sympathy.

  She brightened. “I'm glad. We should do it again. Hopefully soon.” S
he hesitated. “Although, I got into a little argument with Arthur last night.”

  Not knowing what to say, Cole blurted out, “I'm sorry.”

  She blushed. “Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. It was nothing major. He's a great guy. Really. Usually. Look at me acting so stupid. All I meant was that we'll make up and then make plans to go out again. Anyway, it was nice having you around.”

  Cole still had no idea what to say. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, let's get to work. So where were we?” She launched into a new lesson plan, describing in detail each of the examples in the textbook and how to solve them.

  Cole followed as best he could, asking questions when he did not understand something. He was making good progress, but over the course of the next half hour, a nagging thought began to grow in his mind. He would bat it away, only for it to return, stronger each time. Soon he was too preoccupied to pay any attention. His palms became sweaty, and his mind raced. No, it's a stupid idea, he told himself. Do not, I repeat, do not, do it.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Michelle said.

  Cole hadn't realized that she had stopped teaching and was now staring at him. His heart raced faster. “There's something I need to tell you.”

  “What? Should I be worried?” Michelle said, growing concerned and confused.

  “No. Well, something I need to show you. Or, I don't know what. Never mind. No, never mind.”

  “What? You can't leave me hanging like that. Come on, what was it? You can tell me. I won't judge.”

  I don't think this is a good idea, Cole.

  Mom! I asked you not to listen in! I can do this if I want.

  I can't stop you, but think about it first.

  I did. He focused his attention on Michelle. “It's not that, it's -” He hesitated, closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and met Michelle's gaze. I have a little secret.

  11

  Michelle's eyes shot open. “You... Did you...? What the hell was that? Did you whisper that to me? Am I going crazy?”

  Shhh, not so loud. No, you're not going crazy. This is real.

  “Oh my God!” Her eyes opened even wider and she clapped a hand over her mouth. In a whispered shout she said, “This is crazy. This is crazy. This is insane. How do – did – How?”

  I'm not sure exactly. A little talent I have.

  “A little talent?! You're – you're telepathic! Like for real. That's not possible.”

  It shouldn't be. But somehow it is.

  “Please, say something out loud. This is really freaking me out.”

  “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to know. I wanted to share my secret with you.”

  “That's...” She took a long, slow breath. “Okay, I'm okay. I still think I'm dreaming, but I'm going to try not to freak out. It's just so... freaky. How long have you been able to do this?”

  “Only recently. When I left for a month.”

  “What did you do when you were gone? Was it some kind of ritual? Like a cult?”

  “No, nothing like that. I could always do this, but I met someone who showed me how.”

  “Does that mean anyone can do it? Can I do it?”

  Cole smiled. “I'm not positive but I don't think so. I've always felt mental connections to people but I never understood how to utilize it.”

  Michelle jumped out of her chair, her face ecstatic. “This is amazing. You have superpowers. Like in real life. Wow. Wow. I wanna go shout this out to the world.”

  “Please don't,” Cole said, suddenly worried. “I kind of want to keep this between us.”

  Michelle laughed. “Don't worry. I wasn't actually going to do that. I'm just really freaking excited. Your secret is safe with me. I promise. I feel so privileged that you told me.” She sat back down. “It means a lot. So what do you do with it? Do you mess with people?”

  “Ha, a little, sometimes.”

  “I figured. Boys will be boys. You have to tell me how this works.”

  To the best of his ability, Cole described the process of connecting to other people's minds and sending a message to them. As he spoke, he was certain that he had made the right decision in telling her.

  “That's, huh, a little creepy, but kinda cool. You, like, tap into their brain. Weird.” Her eyes lost focus as she drifted into thought. “You just blew my mind. I don't know what to believe anymore. What other paranormal fantasy ideas are real? Do you have any other powers?”

  Cole smiled. “Not that I know of.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Maybe you do! Maybe you need to, like, unlock it, like this one.”

  “Maybe,” Cole said, laughing.

  “Wow, seriously, this makes you pretty much the coolest person I know. We need to have some fun with this.” She glanced at her textbook and sighed. “I'm sorry, I don't know how I'm going to be able to concentrate on work right now. Take a break and come back later?”

  “Sure.” He stood and stretched his arms. “What were you thinking?”

  She didn't seem to hear him. She was staring at him, a profound awe sketched across her face. “I am never going to be able to look at you the same way again.”

  Cole averted his eyes and didn't say anything.

  “Hey, do you think we could play a prank on my brother?” Michelle said with a huge mischievous smile on her face.

  Cole laughed. “Sure, if you want to. But let me point out that when you asked if I pranked people, you said 'boys will be boys'.”

  “Shut up, he's my brother. That's an exception. Okay, so how are we gonna do this?” She playfully tapped her chin in thought. “It has to be subtle. I don't want him knowing what actually happened. Hmm, any ideas?”

  “How about you ask him a question, but instead of saying the last word you mouth it, and I send it to him?”

  “Ooh, nice. Let's do it. I'll say, hmm... 'Do you know what we're having for' – and you say 'dinner'. Sound good?”

  “Yep.” Cole's heart quickened at the finality of that word. This would be difficult to get just right, but more importantly, it felt risky. It was one thing to prank a stranger from whom you could run away, but this was a lot more personal. What if he got suspicious and started asking questions? What if he didn't let it go?

  “I can't wait. This is gonna be so much fun!” Michelle said. “Come on, let's do it.”

  Cole remained frozen in his seat, his frantic paranoid thoughts bombarding him relentlessly, until he said, “Hey, Michelle?”

  She was already halfway out the door, but she stopped and turned around. “Yeah, what's up? Not ready?”

  “It's just, do you think -” He stopped. Michelle was staring at him with bright eyes full of glee and excitement. “It's nothing. I'm ready.”

  He followed her out to the living room where her brother was on the couch watching TV. She moved in front of him, next to the TV, while Cole stayed at the back of the room behind him, his heart refusing to slow.

  “Hey, uh, Mark?” she said.

  “What is it?” he said irritably without looking away from the TV.

  Michelle glanced up at Cole who nodded, feeling a thrill course through his body. He connected to Mark and watched Michelle intently, determined to perform flawlessly.

  “Do you know what we’re having for –” Michelle spoke slowly, mouthing each word distinctly and then continuing to mouth the word ‘dinner’.

  The instant that Michelle had said the word ‘for’, Cole transmitted dinner toward the back of Mark’s head. Mark immediately stiffened, his attention no longer on the TV, but now on Michelle.

  “How did you –” he started. “What was that?” His voice showed a strained control over strong emotions.

  “What do you mean?” Michelle said, playing the innocent card but unable to contain a smirk. “I just asked if you knew what was for dinner.”

  Mark’s head whipped around and caught sight of Cole. “You! Did you whisper in my ear? That’s really weird, man.” He turned back to Michelle. “Take your
weird little friend outta here and don’t let him near me again.”

  “You got it,” Michelle said, outright laughing now, and led Cole back to their study room. As soon as she had closed the door she burst out, “Wasn’t that hilarious? Totally worth it. You nailed it.”

  “Thanks. Yeah, it was fun. But I think he really hates me now.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s an idiot and he’ll probably forget it happened in an hour.” She looked at their open books and groaned. “Oooh, I guess we’d better get back to work. I don’t want to be the reason you fail.” She sat down and placed a book on her lap. “Hey, speaking of school, you’re going to have to help me out on tests. We could never get caught.” That same mischievous smile had returned.

  “Yeah, except who’s the one being tutored because he’s so far behind?” Cole laughed.

  “All the more reason to catch you up. Okay, so where were we?” She dove back into their lesson, continuing from where they had left off.

  Cole listened, still somewhat distracted but feeling like a huge weight had been lifted. He had revealed his secret and it had gone as smoothly as he could have hoped. He was grateful that Michelle had agreed to keep it a secret, though whether or not she would keep her promise nagged at him slightly. They finished the lesson without any further interruptions, despite the fact that Michelle was jittery to the point of nearly leaping out of her chair, her leg bouncing as if the floor were vibrating.

  At last they reached the final question, and before she had even time to close the book she said, very rapidly as if the words were fighting to get out all at once, “Have you really not told anyone else?”

  “The only people who know are the person who taught me and my aunt who was with me.”

  “And you want to keep it that way.”

  “Yes, I don’t want this getting out, please.”

  “I swore I would keep it secret. You can trust me. But I was thinking, I mean you have superpowers and all. Have you ever thought about somehow using this for something more important?”