by R E Gauthier
Miranda stretched out beside Kelsey and wiggled her toes in the air. “I don’t want to leave. This day has been heavenly so far; I cannot imagine it getting any better.”
Kelsey smiled. “Well then wait right here, I have to go do something before you can get out.” Kelsey grabbed the hotel robe as she lifted herself out of the tub and walked across the raised, wooden planked tub-surround. When she entered the outer room, Kelsey went to the garment bag hung on the back of the room door. Unzipping the bag, Kelsey removed the dress she had bought Miranda for the night’s celebration. She imagined seeing her lovely fiancée in this ever since she saw it in the storefront in the Pittsburgh dress shop. The color had drawn her to it that day, the richness of the shade of red would bring out the natural auburn highlights Miranda had in her hair. The long waist would accentuate Miranda’s tiny frame and make her appear taller. She had also found a pair of red heels from a designer that she saw Miranda bought from frequently.
Miranda told Kelsey she loved to dress up, but she usually found dresses that were not suited to her height disadvantage.
Kelsey saw the ultra-short dress and knew that it would fit a petite woman like her fiancée. The lace of the three-quarter length sleeves, dropping off of the bare-shoulder cutouts of the dress, was soft and would cling to Miranda. She also removed a small bag from a lingerie shop that sold her matching red panties, bra, and a garter belt to hold up the sheer stockings. Kelsey asked a woman that was about Miranda’s size to pick out all the essentials to complete Miranda’s cocktail dress ensemble. She was as eager to take the dress off as she was to see Miranda wearing it.
“I couldn’t wait any longer. I hope you’re ready for me…” Miranda’s voice stumbled over the words. “Kelsey what did you do?”
Kelsey bit her bottom lip. She had hoped and prayed she had made the right selections. “Do you like it? I saw it and thought of you. I hope I chose right.”
Miranda’s face was hard to decipher. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “Oh, you most certainly…I’ll show you just how much I love it later. If we want to make our dinner reservation, we better get dressed. What are you wearing? I hope you picked out a yummy outfit for you as well.”
Kelsey winked and grabbed the garment bag. “You’ll have to wait and see.” Dropping a quick kiss on Miranda’s up-turned mouth on her way past Miranda, Kelsey said, “let me know if you need any help getting anything on.”
“Oh, get out of here, or we’ll never be ready in time.” Miranda threw the wet towel she had wrapped around her chest onto the bed.
Kelsey stopped in her tracks to watch a naked Miranda saunter to the bed. Miranda smiled over her shoulder. Kelsey’s knees buckled with desire when her mind filled with images Miranda sent there with that smile. Goddess, please help me; how will I ever get through our meal?
***
Their dinner was spectacular, and Kelsey couldn’t keep her eyes off of the beautiful vision across the table from her. Miranda had mischievously smiled when Kelsey walked out of the bathroom in their room earlier. Dressed in a dark charcoal pin-striped pantsuit with a long waistcoat to match over a black lacy camisole, Kelsey walked out to see Miranda clad in the clingy, lace-flowered red dress. Kelsey decided to wear a pair of flat shoes so that Miranda’s pumps could elevate her petite height. She both saw and heard Miranda’s thoughts on how she looked in her suit. The image of hands removing the silk suit and camisole assailed Kelsey’s mind. Remembering what Miranda said brought back the same pleasurable tug in her lower belly. Yummy, how am I supposed to keep my mind off of you and remember to chew my food. Thankfully, Miranda remembered to chew her food and Kelsey didn’t have to administer the Heimlich.
Once they finished their meal, the two women stared at one another. Kelsey didn’t need to know what thoughts bounced around inside that lovely head. The images and thrill of the thoughts assaulted her mind.
Miranda licked her lips. “I know I said I was beyond stuffed, but there is one more thing I must have to satisfy my hunger tonight.”
Kelsey found it hard to remain in her seat. Her whole body felt on fire, and she nodded to the waiter. She had already arranged to have everything billed to their room, so she didn’t have to pay a bill.
They walked out of the sunroom dining area and approached the winding staircase to take them to their room. Kelsey held Miranda lightly by her waist, draping a hand on the narrow hips. She leaned in and said, “I battled all night from grabbing you and carrying you up to our room. I hope I won’t ruin that dress when we get there.”
Miranda’s face turned a lovely shade of pink. Her face lit up with a sexy smile. “I have had the same lascivious thoughts about you too. I’m wondering, do you have on anything under that suit?”
Kelsey raised one eyebrow. “Why Miss Gauthier, I do tell, you’re not at all what I imagined you’d be like when I first met you.”
“Really? I would have thought you would have imagined; I was exactly like this. I mean you knew I wrote lesbian erotica. It is not like you thought I would be a simple woman with simple desires,” Miranda said with a wide grin.
Kelsey gulped deeply. She remembered the first words she read penned by the author Miranda Gauthier; their racy, sexiness had her panting out her first orgasm. “Miss Miranda, there is nothing simple about you or my life with you in it.”
***
Arriving in their room, Kelsey took Miranda by the waist and spun her around. “I want to see you in that dress fully before I take it off.” Kelsey then set about doing exactly that. In no time Miranda stood in only her red assemble of panties, bra, garter and red sheer stockings in her high heels. “Now, that is what I have been waiting for all day.”
Miranda struck a tempting pose. “Well, then let’s not waste it. Get over here, so I can get under that delicious-looking fabric draping that tall body of yours. I’ve been waiting to strip that suit off of you ever since you walked out here wearing it.”
Kelsey found it torturous waiting for Miranda to slowly remove each article of clothing until she was standing in only her camisole and matching black panties. “You’re making me crazy; I cannot wait any longer.” Kelsey picked Miranda up in her arms and walked to the bed. Tossing her down on the bed, she then bent to brush the long lock of hair from Miranda’s forehead. “Perfection.” She leaned down and crushed a long, deep kiss on Miranda’s upturned mouth.
Miranda moaned loudly and grabbed the back of Kelsey’s head. “My sentiments exactly,” she growled.
Not able to wait any longer than necessary, Kelsey climbed onto the bed, on her hands and knees looking down over Miranda. Slowly she lowered her weight on top of the petite frame under her. “I’m going to take you like I’ve wanted to since we returned from Fiji, my dear. I’m sorry if you thought this would be a sweet seduction, my lack of patience will not permit me to take it slow tonight.”
Miranda smiled and closed her eyes as she pulled Kelsey even closer. “Yes, Please, Special Agent MacGregor, I want you to take my breath away.”
“Gladly, my dear, gladly,” Kelsey whispered as she lowered her hand and smiled when Miranda purred back.
Chapter Eleven
Kelsey’s vision recovery at 201 Pearl Drive, Canonsburg, February 19, 2012
“Can you tell me what you see?” Doc said in a low voice. He led Mack inward to access her memory of the vision she had September 2, 1990.
Nikki watched the look on Mack’s face soften. She didn’t look like a thirty-four-year-old seasoned FBI agent any longer. Instead, Mack looked like a much younger version of herself. Mack had arranged for Nikki and Doc to meet her at this house. It was the house that Aisling MacDonald and her parents died in, more than twenty-one years ago. Mack discovered through some investigation that the house was for sale and would be vacant. Paying the realty agent, a nominal fee, they had access to the house for most of the day. Doc wanted Mack to be in a place that connected to that night. They were sitting in a small bedroom on the second floor that Mack to
ld them was Aisling’s when she lived there.
Mack’s face broke into a smile. “I see Aisling she’s reading a book with a flashlight; she’s supposed to be asleep. She does this when her parents tell her to turn out the light.”
Doc was reading from a series of leading questions and instructions he and Mack planned ahead of time to draw Mack into the vision slowly. “Describe the bedroom.”
Mack smiled again. “Aisling loves pink. Her bedroom is painted pink with a purple butterfly stencil around the window. A big, puffy pink and purple comforter covered Aisling's bed. She has her favorite stuffed animals on the bed, and the rest are on the shelf in that corner.” Mack indicated the far corner across from where they sat.
Nikki followed Mack’s face as she looked from one spot to another describing the bedroom right down to the vanity and chair that sat at one time where Nikki sat. Mack certainly believed she was there as if she were sitting in the very room once again. The expression on her best friend’s face was one of childlike innocence.
“Can you tell me what time it is? Is there a clock?” Doc was trying to determine a timeline that could substantiate the events they knew had occurred that night according to the police file.
Mack turned around and looked at the spot by the window. “Aisling has a clock radio that Nanna bought her for Christmas. It is right there. It’s eleven, twenty-three. Aisling should be asleep.”
“What is Aisling doing now, is she still reading her book?” Doc asked to bring Mack back to the task at hand.
Mack’s face scrunched up and she turned her head as if she were trying to hear something outside the room.
“What is it, Kelsey? Do you hear something?” Doc used Mack’s given name because, in essence, they were talking to thirteen-year-old Kelsey MacGregor, not their friend and colleague, Mack.
Mack’s face looked in horror. “Aisling is frightened. Something isn’t right. She’s climbing out from under her covers and hiding under her bed.”
Doc repeated his earlier question, this time being specific to the location of the sound. “Kelsey, what do you hear outside the room?”
Mack cocked her head and frowned. “Someone is walking down the hallway past Aisling’s room and towards Aunt Cat and Uncle Ethan’s bedroom.”
“Can you see the face of the person? Can you go outside the room to see who it is?”
When Nikki had read the questions that Mack had written down, she found it hard to imagine how if thirteen-year-old Kelsey was in her cousin’s bedroom, she could also see what was going on in the rest of the house. Mack had explained that they were not questioning her about a standard memory of what she saw but what her vision had revealed to her from the events of that night. So, they needed to direct Mack back to her vision and to do that Doc would have to ask her what she saw happening in the bedroom down the hall as well as in Aisling’s room.
Mack closed her eyes and then gasped. “The man is wearing all black. Another man is walking behind him.”
“How can you tell they are men? How tall are they?” Doc asked Mack to be more specific with her descriptions.
“The man in front must be quite tall because he reaches to the top of the painting on the wall. The man behind him is shorter and wider. They have big feet, only men can have feet that big, and their shoulders are broad.” Mack spoke like a teenager, not an FBI agent trained to notice slight nuisances that would define the sex and height of a suspect she confronted.
“Can you see their faces?” Doc urged Mack to try and see the men closer.
“They’re wearing masks. No, not masks, but their hoods shadow the faces.”
“Are you certain it’s shadows?” Doc asked, indicating to the notes Mack had made for him.
Nikki carefully reached across and took the page Doc held out to her. She quickly read the notes Mack had written about that night. Nikki remembered reading that Mack hadn’t seen any faces before they went into the bedroom; she had seen the face of the one man assaulting her Aunt Cat and cousin. If Mack remembered not seeing the men, then why did she now say, she saw the men outside of the bedrooms?
Mack shook her head. “Their faces are dark; I cannot see anything.”
Doc shot Nikki a perplexed look. He shrugged as he asked. “Can you see what they’re doing now”?
Mack shuddered. “They’re going into Aunt Cat and Uncle Ethan’s bedroom,” she whispered.
“Can you see their hands? Are there any distinctive rings or features of the hands as they open the door?”
Mack shook her head. “They’re wearing gloves. Oh my God, one of them has a gun.”
“Kelsey, it’s okay, you’re safe. Remember you are only experiencing a vision. They cannot see you.”
“Yes, I know, but they’re going to hurt them. I need to wake up; I need to get help.”
“Slow down your breathing. Kelsey, it’s a vision you cannot wake up. You must stay here and tell us what you see.”
Kelsey squeezed her eyes closed and took a few deep breaths. “I’m afraid; I don’t want to see them get hurt.”
“Please. You must keep watching so you can help us. It’s a vision, and you saw the man’s face. You can help the police find them.” Doc urged Mack to continue.
Nikki watched Mack straighten up and take another deep breath. She smiled because her best friend was a frightened young girl, but even then, her inner strength was showing through the fear.
“They’re walking into the dark room, and I hear Uncle Ethan saying something.”
“Can you hear what he is saying?”
Mack cocked her head and closed her eyes. “I’m inside the room now, and Uncle Ethan is whispering to Aunt Cat; she’s crying.”
Nikki saw Mack’s face transform into the one she saw many times in a dire situation. Eyes were steely and fixed, Mack pinched her lips in a thin line, and clenched her jaw. Her best friend was preparing for action.
Doc must have seen the same look because he said, “Kelsey remember you’re not there; you are watching what is happening in your vision.”
“The big man is saying, “No one will get hurt if you just play along.” The other one is pointing a gun at Uncle Ethan. He says, “Don’t get cute; get your hands where we can see them.” Mack shuddered as she closed her eyes tight.
“Kelsey, we need you to tell us what is happening. Can you keep doing that for us?”
Mack nods and opens her eyes and opens her mouth, then closes it.
“What is wrong Kelsey?”
“Uncle Ethan is putting a plastic thing on Aunt Cat’s wrists. He’s telling her it has to be this way. She’s crying and telling him she wished there was another way. He’s angry and tells her that they talked about this and it’s the only way out. Aunt Cat is nodding and cries louder and saying, “stop, please stop.” I don’t understand why she’s saying this.” Mack shakes her head and looks around. “I’m with Aisling, she’s scared. She’s summoned me back to her bedroom. I cannot see what is happening with Aunt Cat and Uncle Ethan.”
“It’s okay Kelsey, what is Aisling doing?”
Aisling is imagining me with her.”
Doc frowned and shook his head.
Nikki shrugged. There was no reason for Mack to be going off script, but the vision was not proceeding as Mack had described in her notes.
Doc looked so perplexed but tried again to urge Mack back to her aunt and uncle’s bedroom. “Kelsey, we need to leave Aisling and go back to your uncle and aunt’s bedroom. We need to see what is happening in there; can you do that for us?”
Mack frowns and shakes her head. “I cannot see anything. Something is blocking me.”
Doc looks at the notes Mack gave him. “Kelsey, do you hear what is happening in the other room?”
“I can hear Aunt Cat crying, and then a man shouts, and Uncle Ethan is yelling, “stop.” Oh my God, I hear a gun go off. The men shot someone. Aisling is sobbing and saying, “no, please no daddy.” Aisling saw her daddy get shot.”
Nikki
remembered the notes and Mack said she saw her uncle Ethan get shot in the shoulder, but didn’t say she heard gunshots until after the attack on her aunt and cousin. Mack’s description didn’t make any sense. What is going on here? Why is Mack seeing something different in her vision now? Doc looked as confused as Nikki felt.
“Kelsey are you sure you heard a gunshot?”
Mack is nodding, and her face is ashen. “I see the blood; the man is holding the gun over Uncle Ethan. His head is bleeding, and he’s not moving. The smaller man is holding a gun to Aunt Cat’s head, and then he shoots.” Mack stops and closes her eyes, swallowing hard she continues retelling the scene. “She is dead, they’ve killed them both.”
Nikki remembered the police’s crime scene photos and recalled seeing Mack’s uncle and aunt died on their bed with blood around the man’s head and a single gunshot to his head, and the woman had a large hole in her chest. Mack’s memory was consistent with the police report, but not with her nightmare of that night. Something wasn’t right.
Doc makes an entry on his phone.
Nikki’s phone buzzes. She looks down and sees that Doc sent her a text. What should we do? It’s not like she told us it happened. Nikki texted back: Wait to see what she says about Aisling.
Doc nods. “I know this is horrible to witness, but you have to go back to Aisling’s room. Can you do that for us?”
Mack’s pale face and dark eyes are devoid of all expression as she nods. “Aisling is crying and is so scared. I don’t want them to hurt her. I don’t think I can watch it.”
“I know you’re afraid, but you can help the police find the bad men who did this. You only have to be brave for a little while longer. Just remember you’re not there, you see this in your vision. We need you to tell us what happens to Aisling so that you can tell the police. Can you do this for us?”
Mack nods with more conviction than she had since their session began. “I’ll try, but I’m scared.”
“I know, but we need you to be brave, just a bit longer, okay?”