by K. J. Emrick
“What do you mean, Grace is the key? I don’t understand.” Darcy was confused. She saw herself take a pea pod that Millie handed to her. She ate it. It was sweet. She could feel the snap of it between her teeth.
Darcy sat bolt upright in bed gasping for air. She was disorientated. It was the middle of the night and dark in the room, where just a moment before she had been sitting in the bright sunlight with her aunt. She could still taste the sweet crunch of the pea pod in her mouth. She fumbled for the light switch and turned the light on. She squinted against the sudden harsh light as it filled the room.
Smudge meowed at her and she bent down to stroke her hand over his fur. “I’m fine, Smudge. I just had a strange dream. That’s all.”
Of course, she knew that wasn’t true. She knew her special dreams from her normal ones. This had not been a normal dream.
She decided to go and see Grace in the morning.
Chapter 12
“I knew it was you,” Aaron said with a broad smile on his face as he opened the door to Darcy the next morning. “You’re making a habit of banging on our door at an early hour.”
“I’m sorry, Aaron. How is she?”
He didn’t need to ask who she meant. “Grace just got up. You know the way down to the bedroom, right?”
“I do. Thanks.” She gave him a quick hug. She had always liked Aaron, even when she’d accused him of having something to do with Anna’s murder last month. He stood back to let her in and she went straight into Grace’s room.
Grace was just sitting up as Darcy entered the room. Rubbing at her eyes and yawning she said, “What’s wrong now, Darcy?”
Darcy went right to the same chair she’d used to visit with Grace yesterday. Sitting down she said, “I had a dream.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “So what does that mean for me?”
“I, um, need to try something.”
Grace was used to Darcy’s strange habits. She might not understand them, or even want to, but she knew they always worked. “Sure, sis. I’ll help any way I can.”
“That’s good, because I’m not really sure where to begin,” Darcy said as she took Grace’s hands between both of hers. “I’m going to try to figure out more about the night that you were attacked. Will you talk me through your night up to the last point you remember?”
“Darcy, we’ve done this already.”
“I know,” Darcy said with a patient smile. “Indulge me.”
“Okay. Well. Let me see. I had gone grocery shopping and then I walked home.” Darcy tried to visualize that. The images came to her slowly, her hands warm where she held Grace’s. Grace continued, “I was reaching for my keys when I felt a sudden sharp pain and then the next thing I remember was waking up and Aaron was carrying me to the bedroom.”
“Try to really picture those final moments,” Darcy said. She closed her eyes. As Grace did as she asked, a clear image came to Darcy’s mind. She no longer heard Grace’s voice. She saw everything as it transpired in her sister’s mind.
Grace walked up to her apartment door. She balanced a bag of groceries in one hand, and dug into her pants pocket for her keys with the other. Something hit her on the head and everything went black. No. Play that back. She was reaching for her keys and a thick, round piece of wood, like a cane, hit her at the base of her skull. Grace fell to the ground. She looked up at the attacker but his face was covered in shadow. His body was a blurred smudge in the memory. Blurry and undefined.
But there was something. A smell. A unique scent. It was almost like an herb. Rosemary, maybe?
Darcy snapped awake from her trance with a fantastic feeling inside. “I think that I was able to see a few things about what happened to you that you didn’t remember,” Darcy said to Grace. She explained how the attacker was definitely a man, and about the herb like scent.
“I’m glad to help,” said Grace a little skeptically as she squeezed Darcy’s hands.
“I’ll keep you updated.” Darcy rose and stretched. “I need to go and tell all of this to Jon.”
Darcy stopped by Jon’s apartment hoping maybe to catch him home if he had taken some more time off to visit with his old friends. He wasn’t there, as it turned out, but Dale and Cindy were. They welcomed her in.
“Hi,” she said to them. “Um. I thought maybe Jon would be here.”
“We came over to have breakfast with him,” Dale told her. “But he had to get to work. He told us we could hang out here for the day.”
Darcy made small talk with them for a while. She was getting a strange vibe from Dale. She might have been tempted to chalk it up to a little latent jealousy on her part as they had known Jon so much longer than she had, only she knew to trust her feelings. Even when they turned out to be wrong. As soon as it was polite to leave she said goodbye and headed over to the police station. Darcy found Jon busy at work behind his computer.
“Oh hi, Darcy. You’re out and about early today.” Jon got up to kiss her. She leaned into him, encouraging his affection.
He sat back down in his chair and she took the one in front of his desk. “Yeah. I needed to see Grace. I, uh, swung by your apartment to see you. Dale and Cindy told me you were here.”
“Oh yeah? You three have a nice visit?”
It seemed important to him that she did, so she told him yes, keeping her feelings about Dale to herself for now.
“I hated to leave them there at my apartment,” Jon went on, “but I got a call this morning from the Lieutenant at my old police department. He’s sending over the files from the first murder case by special courier. They should arrive any second.”
“That’s great. Speaking of that, I learned something important about the man who attacked Grace. I was able to read Grace’s memories this morning.”
“You…did what now?”
She laughed at the expression on his face. “Just listen.” She told him how she had walked through the event with Grace, experienced it with her, and had seen a man and how that man had a specific scent like the herb Rosemary.
Jon looked a little dumbfounded. “I don’t understand how you’re able to do this.”
Darcy shook her head. “If I ever figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, so let’s say what you saw is correct.” He waited for her to nod his head, then continued. “Do you have any ideas about who it could be?”
“Just one. But you won’t like it.” Jon raised his eyebrows. No stopping now. She took a deep breath and then just blurted it out. “Dale gives me a weird feeling.”
Jon shook his head vigorously. “Come on, Darcy. You’re wrong. Dale’s a nice guy. I’ve known him and Cindy since college. I would have picked up on something like that.”
“Look, I don’t know them like you do. I know that. And I don’t mean to upset you, Jon, really. But don’t you think it’s strange that he has family here in Misty Hollow? Strange that right at the time you start getting hand delivered letters from a psychopath, Dale and Cindy show up?”
“No, I don’t. They’re friends, Darcy. And Dale grew up here. There’s nothing strange about it.” Jon stiffened his back and Darcy knew that she wouldn’t change his mind. “I need to stay here and wait for those files to arrive. Why don’t I see you later?”
Darcy knew when she was being dismissed. She didn’t want to push him further. She said goodbye, and he said goodbye, and she left knowing that she would have to take things into her own hands.
Darcy headed back to Jon’s apartment. As she walked she noticed that the mists around the town had now gotten thicker. Bad things were happening. The town always knew. So did her sixth sense. She passed several of the town folk as they went about starting their day. Helen was entering the mayoral offices, Blake was opening up the post office, Aaron was going into his accounting office and Robbie and Lily were opening the bakery. She saw Sue opening up the bookstore. She stopped to ask her to watch the store for her and was surprised when Sue told her she had it taken care of before she even ask
ed.
“I guess I’ve been doing that a lot lately, haven’t I?” she asked Sue.
Sue winked at her and then went inside the store to turn the ‘CLOSED, THE END’ sign to ‘OPEN a good book today’.
She knocked on Jon’s door when she got there. Dale was standing on the other side when it opened. “Hey there,” he said. “We didn’t expect to see you again so soon. Uh, come in, I guess?” He stood back to let her enter.
Darcy could see Cindy in the little kitchenette off the living room and there was a lovely aroma of frying bacon and eggs in the air. “Hi,” Cindy called out to her. “Want to join us for breakfast?”
Darcy’s mouth began to water and her stomach rumbled reminding her that she hadn’t yet eaten this morning. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
“That’s great. It will give us a chance to get to know each other,” said Cindy as she brought the food to the table to serve.
Darcy sat down at the small round kitchen table. “I’d like that. Dale, I was surprised to know you had family here.”
“Sure do,” he said. “I’ve always liked it here. I’m glad to be back. So, tell us, Darcy. Have you and Jon been together very long?”
“Oh, yes. Tell us about how you and Jon met?” Cindy added. “Back in college we thought he’d never find a decent girl.”
“Tell me about it,” Dale said. “You remember that one girl he dated? The one from your sorority, Cindy? Crazy girl?”
“You mean Karla? Wow. Wack job,” she said in a sing-song voice. Darcy did her best not to make a face. These two were starting to grate on her nerves. She didn’t want to know about Jon’s past love life and she didn’t want to talk about her and Jon either. She wanted answers to all of the questions this mystery had brought up. Dale had dodged her so far. She’d have to pin them down.
“Truthfully, I’d rather talk about you two.” Darcy looked at Cindy and then Dale who both looked a little put out that she’d changed the subject. Maybe she was being rude but that was too bad. Finding out who the mysterious poet was had to come first.
Stuffing food into her mouth Darcy watched Dale and Cindy closely. “So tell me guys. What did you study in college? Was it English, maybe?”
Not the best way to start an interrogation, she thought to herself. But it wasn’t like she could just come out and ask if either of them liked poetry or spoke Italian. She couldn’t just dive in to ask if they had known Jon’s friend Kyle, either. She had to be smart and subtle.
Before she could get any answers from them at all, though, the door slammed open and Jon stumbled into the apartment. He was holding a piece of cloth to the side of his head, and Darcy could see dried blood on his shirt.
She jumped up from her chair, spilling her plate across the floor. “What happened?!”
Darcy ran to him in a panic. Jon held her into a hug. She could tell he was hurting. “I was attacked,” he told her. “Just like Grace. I got hit from behind as soon as I left the police station.”
Chapter 13
“Why would you come here?” Darcy fussed. “You got hit on the head, you wonderful idiot. Why wouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“Darcy, it’s not that bad,” he told her, reminding her of how Grace had reacted under the same circumstances. “It hurts, sure, but the bleeding has stopped. No reason to go to the hospital. What I need to do is start getting serious about finding this guy.”
Darcy held onto Jon’s arm like she was worried he would fall to pieces in front of her if she didn’t. Dale and Cindy hovered nearby, obviously upset that their friend had been hurt. Not caring if they heard or not, Darcy asked Jon, “Did you see anything? Do you know who did this to you?”
“No, I didn’t see anything,” he answered. Then he inclined his head pointedly at Dale and Cindy. “But I know who didn’t do it. Anyway, whoever it was snuck up behind me on the street. Broad daylight, everything. They hit me from behind. I never even saw it coming.”
“Did they want anything? Take anything? Leave something with you?”
Dale cleared his throat. “You mean like one of those poems you told us about, Jon?” Darcy turned to him in surprise. “Yes, Darcy. Cindy and I knew what you were getting at with your stupid questions. I’m not concerned about that right now. I just want to know that Jon is okay.”
When she turned back to Jon, he had an “I told you so” expression on his face. “No, they didn’t take anything from me or leave anything. They just hit me and ran. One of the other officers found me out there and helped me get up and back into the station. I filled out a report and came back here. Figured I’d find you here, Darcy.”
Darcy twisted the antique ring on her finger for a moment, then took Jon’s hands in between hers. “Can I try the same thing with you that I did with Grace?”
He smiled at her. “I was hoping you would, actually.” He set aside the cloth and gave her his hands.
She felt a bit uncomfortable doing this in front of Dale and Cindy. They wouldn’t know what she was doing. They’d probably think she was crazy, and maybe Jon too. But she had to do it. She pushed her discomfort aside, and took Jon’s hands in hers.
Acutely aware of the audience watching her and still holding his hands she instructed him, “Take me through what happened.” He did as she asked, relating the whole thing just as he remembered it. As he spoke, his words came to life and Jon’s apartment faded away. Their hands warmed up and a tingling sensation crept up her back. Darcy saw everything through Jon’s eyes. He left the police station, in a rush to get somewhere, and then as he stepped out the door and turned left, pain blossomed in the back of his head and he collapsed.
She had him tell it again, and then a third time, and the images got stronger as she did. The figure was still in the shadows behind him, but this time she caught the same smell she had with Grace’s attacker. It smelt delicious, liked baked bread and herbs.
The world rushed back in on her and she was back in Jon’s apartment again.
“I recognized the scent this time, Jon! It’s from the bakery. I remember talking to Lily about the new recipes she was trying. It was Lily all along!”
“Well, she must have had help,” Jon said as he stood up. “She was locked up when your sister got attacked, remember?”
“Okay, so she had help, but I’m telling you I know that smell.”
Dale and Cindy exchanged a glance. “What smell, exactly?” Cindy asked them.
Jon gave them a weak smile. “I’ll explain it to you later. Right now Darcy and I have to go find someone.”
He stood up, slowly, with a twinge that he tried to hide from Darcy. “Come on. We have to go and get Lily. This time, we won’t let her go until we know what’s going on.”
Darcy thought that sounded like a great plan.
Darcy and Jon went straight to the bakery. As they entered they could see Lily behind the counter serving a customer. They waited until she was finished before moving up to the counter. When Lily saw them she said, “What are you doing here? I don’t really want to see you two, I’ve had enough of you.”
“Well that’s just too bad,” Jon said as he walked behind the counter while pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “I’m arresting you for assault. I need you to come down to the station with me.” He stopped in front of her with a wicked smile. “Unless you want to try hitting me again?”
Lily started to cry. “I don’t know why you’re doing this to me.” She let Jon put the handcuffs on without a fight, and Jon led her out of the shop and into the street where a crowd was gathering already.
Darcy cringed when she saw Helen rushing down the sidewalk to find out what was going on at her shop. “I’m sorry, Helen,” Darcy said to her. “I’ll explain it later, I promise.”
Helen gaped at her. “This is exactly what you did with me last time, Darcy. Can’t you keep out of things?”
Darcy didn’t know what to say to that. She just knew she had to find out who was doing all this. She turned away, her eyes low. The
fog was rolling in thick around them. The troubles were definitely not over.
When they reached the police station Jon led Lily straight into the interrogation room. Darcy watched from the other side of the one way glass as Lily cried and Jon settled himself across from her.
“What do you know about Kyle Young?” Jon asked Lily.
Lily was still sobbing and took a few moments to get herself under control. Jon waited. “I told you before. I have never heard of Kyle Young. And I’m done. I don’t know why I am here and I refuse to say anything else without a lawyer present.”
Jon sighed and stood up. Taking Lily by her elbow he escorted her to a cell. The look she shot Darcy on the way by could have melted lead.
“So now what?” Darcy asked him when he got back. She had hoped that Lily would confess to the murders, to Kyle’s and then also to the one Jon had Kyle looking into when he’d been killed.
Jon shrugged. “We wait for her lawyer to get here I guess. I should have just started with asking about the assaults on me and Grace.” They went out to the front office of the police station and sat down at Jon’s desk to go over what they knew.
It didn’t take long for Lily’s brother Robbie to burst into the police station. They could hear him out front arguing with the secretary, demanding to be let in.
Jon rolled his eyes. “This, I didn’t really need.”
He went out to the front area, being buzzed through with a grateful expression by the little old woman who acted as the department’s secretary. Darcy followed. When Robbie saw them, he stepped toward them, stabbing his finger in the air at Jon. His eyes and his hair were both wild. “I want to see my sister. Now!”
“Robbie, we don’t let people we’re holding have visitors.” Jon tried to crowd the man back to the door. “I’m sorry. She’s asked for an attorney. When he gets here, maybe you can talk to her then. Now, I’m going to ask you to leave. Got it?”