In Plain Sight

by R E Gauthier

  Her confidence fled out the door as Miranda awoke and sat up; causing the quilted blanket to fall off of her chest and she couldn’t avoid looking at the uncovered small breasts. Her hands were under the blanket on the button fly of Miranda’s shorts. Knowing how this must look to the sleepy author her whole body heated up beyond comfort. I’m going to catch fire.

  “Why Agent I had no idea...you should wait till I’m fully awake...so much better for you and me bbothh.” The last of her broken sentence trailed off with a yawn and heavy eyelids as Miranda slipped back into sleep’s grasp.

  Kelsey’s breath blew out in a rush as she hurried to remove the shorts and return the blanket to completely cover Miranda’s near-nakedness. She closed the drapes and turned the air conditioner on cool and then almost ran from the room. Once inside her own room she breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  She threw herself down on to her own bed with a thud. “God this day has been a nightmare.” She said out loud. The person of interest in her biggest FBI case lay only feet away nearly naked and would spend the weekend with her. Then remembering the smile and laughter that came from the petite author earlier today she added, “Well maybe not all of it has been a nightmare.”

  She mentally replayed the day thus far and smiled when remembering the sleepy woman mumbling she thought she was sexy and cuddly. She couldn’t recall a time that anyone had ever said that about her and she rather liked being described in that manner.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You can close your eyes to stop seeing what you don’t want to see but you cannot close your heart to what you don’t want to feel.”

  Kelsey didn’t know how long she had been sleeping, but her stomach began to rumble waking her from a deep slumber. Standing she headed for the bathroom to take a shower, stripping off her clothes; she walked in and absently turned on the shower when she thought she heard movement in the adjoining room. Reality hit her full force. Shit, that’s the last thing I need to have her see me naked today. That would just make it official as the most fffed up day ever. She scurried into the shower stall and closed the frosted doors, just as the door opened and the nearly-naked, drowsy author made her way to the toilet.

  Miranda hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings she needed to take care of her strong urge to pee. With a blurry gaze she glanced at the frosted glass of the shower stall and was quickly and fully awake. A definitely naked form stood in the shower and water cascaded down the door.

  “Oh my...geezus,” she whispered as she tried to finish and leave as quickly as she could. It wasn’t bad enough she had woken up nearly naked in a strange bed but now she was also in that state with a naked goddess in the shower in front of her. She scurried out of the bathroom and immediately found her bra, tank top and pair of her jean shorts, folded neatly on the end of the bed and pulled them on. Being clothed gave her more confidence as she walked over to the adjoining bathroom door and locked it. Fully awake now, the events of the day came crashing back to her and she searched for her phone to call Jess to let her know she had arrived at her destination.

  Inside the shower stall Kelsey remembered seeing the petite author’s naked torso and rumbled hair as she tried to carefully remove her shorts. Her face aflame again as she recalled the fluttering in her belly and shaking hands. She had heard the door close quickly after the toilet flushed so she knew Miranda was no longer in the bathroom. Well I dodged that bullet; let’s see if I can get through the rest of this weekend without us seeing one another naked. Kelsey turned off the now cold shower and hurriedly made her way to her room; closing the door and locking it. She got dressed in a pair of soft worn jeans and a white cotton button down shirt and grabbed her sandals. Feeling better from the shower she headed downstairs to see what her grandmother had in store for her for the rest of the day. She also had to check in on their guest but hoped that this meeting would not be as awkward as their first. Hearing voices in the sunroom she headed in that direction to find Miranda and her Nanna talking quietly by the long bank of south facing windows. She took the opportunity to observe both women without them being aware that she was there, or so she thought.

  Both women turned their heads eerily at the same moment.

  “Mo Chridhe you were taught not to skulk about. I was just telling Miranda here about my plans for the garden on this side of the house,” Nanna said as she warmly touched the arm of the woman sitting beside her.

  Miranda had turned and saw the stunning agent dressed casually and looking so deliciously tanned in her white shirt she almost moaned out loud. Her eyebrows had arched up when Isla addressed her granddaughter with Mo Chridhe and before she could even ask the question, the lovely agent was quick with a reply.

  “Mo Chridhe means ‘my heart’ in Scottish Gaelic. It is the term of endearment Nanna uses for me.”

  Miranda’s brow rose and her mouth twitched and she tried not to smile.

  “Well I see Isla that your granddaughter not only has your height and beauty she also has your gift,” she said ducking her head and trying to hide her smile when she saw a surprised look on the agent’s face.

  “Yes Kelsey, Miranda knows about my gift. It would seem she is very receptive to reading.” Isla beckoned her granddaughter closer with her hands and an understanding look.

  “It would seem this author reads like an open book.” Miranda said before she laughed. “Pun intended there.” She couldn’t help but feel silly and giddy; the tall agent didn’t look fierce now. She looked like a young girl with laughing eyes and a twitching mouth like she was trying not to laugh out loud.

  She tried without success to keep from laughing out loud, the mischievous look on the author’s face and Nanna’s mirth-filled face caused her chest to constrict as laughter bubbled forth. Just then Kelsey’s phone rang. She excused herself; leaving the room and answered the call.

  “Hello Nikki, what’s up?” She answered the phone with when she saw the photo of her best friend pop onto the screen.

  “Nothing much Mack; I’m just checking in with you to see how your trip home is going.”

  “Well its going pretty good, but I did need to make a quick trip to Montreal this morning.”

  “Montreal? Like as in Montreal, Canada? What were you doing there?”

  “Long story but suffice to say that I have met our author and she is now sitting in my Nanna’s sunroom talking about gardening and lord knows what by now.”

  “Wha...okay wait you said she’s there right now?”

  Nikki sounded as confused as Kelsey was bewildered by the day’s events.

  “Yeah she’s here and she is the ex-girlfriend of our victim Katherine Montgomery...” She said. And I have seen her half naked and she thinks I’m sexy and cuddly.

  “So she is the woman we need to talk to. Have you had time to ask her about where she was that night?”

  “Well that is part of the long story. She didn’t know Kate was dead and in the interest of keeping everyone happy and from yelling at me, I have promised not to talk about the case at all until Monday.”

  “Okay, so she didn’t know her EX is dead, so she can’t be our witness.”

  “Like I said we haven’t talked about the case and I promised Nanna I wouldn’t. She may have seen something else maybe the killer arriving or leaving, just because she didn’t know her ex-lover died that night doesn’t mean she’s not still a witness.” Kelsey had been thinking all day about the ramifications of Miranda not knowing about Katherine Montgomery’s murder. Where had the urine stain come from if it hadn’t happened when Miranda had seen her EX murdered? Finding her had been her goal for days and now that she had it may blow a hole in her own theories about their witness. “She still may have seen something and like Doc said, she maybe too traumatized to remember seeing everything.”

  “So she’s there at your grandmother’s place and you’re driving back to Baltimore with her tomorrow?”

  “Yes Miranda and I will likely be leaving late tomorrow afternoon to make
it back to the hotel by nightfall.”

  “Miranda...? You are calling her Miranda now? Well isn’t that cozy?”

  “Nikki it was silly to keep calling her Miss Gauthier and her calling me Senior Special Agent MacGregor. I mean she’s here chatting with Nanna, sleeping in a guestroom next to me and will likely be meeting my entire family tonight; if Nanna has anything to say about it. It’s not like I can treat her like just a regular witness.”

  “So why is she staying there? I mean I’m sure she could have stayed at a hotel until she came to Baltimore. She could have come directly to Baltimore and I could have entertained her instead.” Nikki said emphasizing the word ‘entertained’.

  Frowning Kelsey shook her head, knowing full well what Nikki meant by ‘entertaining’ All of a sudden she felt more annoyed than she normally would have.

  “Well that would have been great, you fraternizing with our witness before we get a chance to get her official statement about Miss Montgomery’s death.”

  Nikki guffawed into the phone.

  “Wow look who is calling the kettle black? What do you think you are doing right now? Fraternizing doesn’t even begin to describe living with the witness under the same roof. Can you say conflict of interest? Besides I have often wondered what she looks like. Is she as sexy as I have imagined?”

  “Nikki you know me, I would never jeopardize a case...if I could I would never have done anything I did today...but you know Nanna. She can be a menacing lady you don’t want to cross and she wanted Miranda here with us until we both leave for Baltimore. She took a call from Jess Harrington this morning and between those two they had me promising to take care of Miranda after she had a panic attack in her hotel room. To answer your last question I don’t how sexy you imagined her but she is certainly not what I had imagined.”

  “Really...? What did you imagine? Maybe you can take a quick snap of her with your phone; I’ve been dying to know what she really looks like ever since the first story I read of hers.”

  “I’m not snapping a picture of her with my phone. I think that’s called an invasion of privacy. I’m worried enough about how this may look, I don’t need her complaining to the review board about how I treated her.”

  “You always play your cards close to the vest and if there is anyone who rarely breaks protocols, it is you.” Nikki chuckled. “You must have REALLY pissed off your Nanna somehow.”

  Laughing along with her best friend she knew Nikki said rarely because she had been present when she had.

  “I did, but not intentionally, not that it matters now and now I am paying for it royally. But it’s not that bad, I mean Miranda is very likable and you know my Nanna with likable people, she’ll have Miranda promising to come to all our family holiday gatherings.”

  “Your Nanna is the best.I only wished I had come with you, your Nanny still owes me some of those Scottish oatcakes. I know you wouldn’t be doing any of this if you had a choice but please be careful. Miranda Gauthier could be a witness but what if she’s lying about everything, she could even be our killer.”

  “I know Nikki; I have thought about that ever since I found out she was the missing Miranda, but wait till you meet her, it will be a far leap to believe she could be our killer.”

  “Follow the evidence Mack, isn’t that what you always say?”

  “Yeah Nikki...yeah don’t remind me. I better go I hear those two laughing, that can’t be good.”

  “All right Mack, just remember to call me as soon as you get back into Baltimore. Do you want to meet before we start the questioning or would you rather question her on your own?”

  “It’s best if we both question her for protocols’ sake”

  “No problems but will you still call me when you get in?”

  “Sure will do...bye Nikki.”

  “Bye Mack and be careful.”

  Kelsey closed out the call just as she saw her grandmother and Miranda came into the kitchen. She hoped they hadn’t heard her end of that conversation.

  “Kelsey if you are going to Three Rivers and then back before tonight’s festivities you better shake a leg.” Nana swatted her backside as she walked past her.

  Always tickled by her Nanna’s silly idioms some so old fashioned she hadn’t heard them anywhere but when her beloved grandmother spoke them.

  “I don’t want to leave you with too much to do before they all get here. Besides Miranda is my responsibility until... I can always go to the youth center another time I am in town.”

  “No you can’t do that. Coach has been asking about you for months and you promised. You always keep your promises Mo Chridhe.” Nanna tsked and tweaked her ear, shaking her head she winked at Miranda. “Besides I will take good care of her while you’re away.”

  Miranda blushed and attempted to hide a wide smile when she looked at the author.

  “Okay I’ll go, but only because you promised that you were having it catered. When will the caterers arrive and when does everyone get here?”

  “Don’t you worry, you have plenty of time, and it’s only one o’clock and the caterers get here at four and your dad said everyone is to start arriving by six. Now you get and leave us two to talk about you while you’re gone.”

  Rolling her eyes, this only served to garner another stern look.

  “Please Nanna don’t embarrass me”, she complained.

  “I said to get didn’t I? You don’t want me upset again today do you?” She said winking conspiratorially at Miranda. “Besides Miranda has promised to show me a few of her yoga poses after we have had a snack.”

  Reminded of her hunger and the main reason that sent her downstairs earlier she said, “Can I at least join you two for a snack before I leave? I haven’t eaten for hours and I am famished.”

  “You can grab a sandwich before you go, but don’t dawdle.” She leaned in and kissed her frowning granddaughter’s cheek and again patted her behind.

  Reluctantly she went to the fridge and made herself a quick sandwich. She knew Nanna was only teasing her but she still didn’t want to take any chances. I’ll avoid her wrath today at all costs.

  Nanna and the petite author were chatting with their heads bowed and laughed about something. She shrugged and decided that she might as well admit defeat where those two women were concerned. They only just met a short time ago and they were already thick as thieves. I don’t stand a chance.

  Miranda glanced over at the darkly attractive agent, who now looked like a young girl. She had trouble not laughing out loud at the contrite expression on the agent’s face. She felt for the agent being the recipient of the older woman’s mocking annoyance, she certainly wouldn’t want the intimidating Isla MacKenzie to turn real displeasure on her. The beautiful woman in front of her clearly had much respect and love for her grandmother; yet another endearing quality. Heaven help me.

  She smiled and thought about a dream she had earlier or had it been a memory? A beautiful face looked down at her and hands were removing her clothes. Had Agent Macgregor removed her clothes? She had figured Nanna had been the one to remove her shirt, bra and shorts to make her more comfortable. The crooked smile on that face and quick wink gave her the answer she sought. Kelsey had been the one to see her half-naked. That thought was disconcerting but also exciting when she remembered she had seen what appeared to be interest in those eyes. Before she could think on it any further the agent had turned and called out she was leaving.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “First sight is the ability to see what’s right in front of you and second sight is the ability to see everything else.”

  Kelsey had only made it to the next block and the impact of the revelation hit her: I can read Miranda’s thoughts and emotions. The ramifications were staggering, her grandmother had told her that her mother and she had the Second Sight but Kelsey had always denied she had it. Today all that denial didn’t matter as the gift she had been given by birth had finally rose to be reckoned with. Nanna had told them the story
of the Gaels, the ancient people of the Scottish Highlands, having certain individuals who had two sights. The normal sight and the supernormal sight of the Seer or Da-shealladh was a gift passed down from generation to generation and over the centuries had sent many a MacGregor woman to burn or drown as a witch. Along with the ability to read certain individuals thoughts, feelings and desires; the gift also manifested itself in dreams and visions of the future.

  The enormity of this had Kelsey trying to remember if she had ever read anyone before, but she couldn’t recall ever being able to do so before today. She thought about what this could mean, why now and why with Miranda? Her life is only getting more complicating with each passing moment. I don’t need this on top of everything else. Most important case, I maybe a lesbian, I’m a seer, and I’m attracted to...No I can’t think about that right now. Focus. Just focus.

  She wouldn’t have time to ponder this any further as she neared the Center and saw that Coach Matt Thompson stood outside with a group of adolescents painting a moral on the building.

  Coach Thompson saw her immediately as she parked and his smile grew when she exited her car. He hadn’t seen her for over ten years but he’d recognize Kelsey’s androgynous looks and height anywhere, she looked so much like her grandmother, the beautiful Isla Mackenzie

  “Kelsey it is so good to see you after all these years,” he said as he walked up to her.

  “It is good to see you too Coach. I see you are still keeping everyone too busy to get into trouble,” she said this with a wink and nodded toward the six boys and girls spraying and painting the wall.