“This does explain the blankets from the boathouse though. She’s down there all the time for work.”
“With Jake.” She groaned again. “What am I going to tell Jake? What am I going to tell Sully?”
Robin rocked back and forth. “Do we have to tell Sully?”
“We have to.”
“But Kara—”
“Is in danger.” Monica stopped her. “She’s in danger from this as much as anyone else. She clearly doesn’t know what’s going on. She could light herself on fire completely by accident. She probably feels like she’s going insane, Robin. We have to find her.”
“But they’ll arrest her,” Robin said. “And it’s not her fault.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we have to tell Sully. We need his help to find her before she hurts anyone else or herself.”
Mark brought two mugs of coffee into the living room. “I’ve got a cream and sugar and a cream only.”
Mark handed the sweetened one to Monica before he sat in the chair next to Robin’s side of the couch and gave her the coffee with cream. “You think you saw Kara? That makes no sense.”
“It does if Rosemarie is somehow taking advantage of Kara’s insomnia,” Robin said. “Maybe she’s the cause of it. Maybe she can influence Kara more easily when she’s low on sleep.”
“Sleep deprivation can seriously mess with your mind,” Mark said. “There are all sorts of studies about it. It’s one of the fastest ways to break someone down.”
“So if we put together what Bethany said about Rosemarie becoming more active ‘when the snow was on the ground,’ that fits with Kara. She arrived just before Christmas of last year.”
“There was snow on the ground,” Mark said. “What’s so special about Kara?” He glanced at Monica. “You checked her references, right?”
“Yeah, of course. I called all of them. She had three different employers listed. She’s been working in hotels since she was seventeen. No problems. No record. Nothing.”
“This isn’t about Kara,” Robin said. “This is about Rosemarie and what happened to her.”
“But you have to wonder why she targeted Kara,” Mark said. “Is there something special about her?”
There were a million things special about her, and none of them lined up with Kara being a serial arsonist. She was friendly and loved socializing. She was cautious and responsible. She was careful with things and with people.
“What am I going to tell Jake?” Monica whispered. “I think he may love this girl.”
Robin put a hand over hers. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure this out.”
Monica ached. She heard a car pull into the drive and had the sneaking suspicion she recognized her son’s Jeep engine.
Mark went to the door and let Jake in. He walked directly to his mom and pulled her up and into a hug. “Mami, it’s gonna be okay.” He held her tightly and rocked back and forth. “I just came from the house and they got most of the fire out before it even reached the inside.”
Monica held her giant little boy and started to sniffle.
“Don’t cry.” Jake squeezed her tighter. “The garage isn’t in good shape, and Sam and Caleb’s room got a little singed ’cause it’s on the corner, but there’s more water damage than smoke damage. I promise. Dad’s ugly old chair even survived.” He squeezed her again. “So stop crying, okay? It’s going to be fine.”
Monica couldn’t stop crying. None of this was fine. None of it was going to be fine. She was about to crush her son’s heart, and she couldn’t even tell him why. It wouldn’t make sense to her levelheaded kid, and he’d only think she was losing it.
“Jake, I have to tell you something.” She sniffed and pulled back. “I saw someone in the forest. I know there was accelerant used—”
“Gabe Peralta definitely thinks so. The way the perimeter of the house burned—”
She put a finger over his mouth. “Baby, I know. I already know who burned the house.”
Jake frowned. “Did you call Sully?”
Mark stood and put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “It’s going to seem confusing, but you need to listen.”
Jake was looking between Monica and Mark. “What’s going on?”
“Jake, I saw…” She cleared her throat. “She was behind the shed, right near the edge of the forest. She just disappeared into the trees, but I saw her.”
“Mom, who?” He put his hands on Monica’s shoulders. “You’re freaking me out. Just tell me so we can call Sully.”
“Baby, it was Kara.” Her voice barely rose over a whisper. “It was Kara in the forest.”
Jake blinked. “Kara what?”
“Kara is the one who burned the house.” Monica swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m pretty sure she’s the one who’s been setting the other fires too.”
Jake laughed. “Mom. Be serious.”
Robin put her hand on Jake’s shoulder. “She is, Jakey. Trust me, we don’t understand it either, but we’re sure there’s an explanation. This isn’t who she is.”
“I know!” He shrugged off both Mark and Robin’s hands, stepping away from Monica. “You guys are nuts if you think Kara— She didn’t grow up here. She doesn’t know where all the abandoned cabins even are, Mom. She’s not the one burning them. And she…” Jake stuttered, and Monica could see the first threads of doubt working into his mind. “Just because the blankets they found were from the boathouse, it doesn’t mean she did this.”
“Has she been upset lately?” Robin asked. “Confused? Called you any mornings when she was lost or confused? Maybe she woke up someplace she didn’t know?”
“What?” He glared. “She wouldn’t do that. She’s staying at Bailey’s. She doesn’t go out partying; she works, like, all the time. You know that.”
“And we don’t think she’s consciously doing these things,” Monica said. “We don’t think that. But we think something is happening to her and she’s in danger too.”
“Are you… Are you insane? What is wrong with you?” Jake’s eyes were wide and disbelieving. “You’re going to tell Sully and Gabe this crazy theory, aren’t you?”
“Baby, we have to.”
“No!” He erupted. “She didn’t do this! She couldn’t. She’s too…” His voice caught. “She’s the best person I know. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t.”
Oh God, it hurt so much. There was nothing more awful than seeing your child in pain, and Jake’s heart was breaking right in front of her. “Honey, where would she go? We have to find her. We have to make sure she’s safe.”
“So you can put her in jail?” He stepped back. “Fuck no!”
Mark started toward him. “Jake—”
“No!” Jake raised a hand at Mark, halting the man who’d been like an uncle to him. “You all think she did this, and she didn’t. I’m not telling you anything.” He turned and walked to the door, turning around before he opened it. “She didn’t do this, and I don’t know why you’re blaming this on her. Kara didn’t do anything to you. She told me…” He looked away. “She told me she felt like she found a family here. After a really long time being alone, she found a family. And now you’re all turning on her. I don’t even know who you are right now, Mom. Or you either, Auntie Robin. She’s an innocent person, and you’re accusing her of trying to kill you.” Jake opened the door and slammed it behind him.
Monica collapsed on the couch. Robin sat next to her and put her arms around Monica’s shoulders while Mark sat on her other side. She didn’t even try to stop the tears from raining down her face.
“So that went well.” Monica wiped her face and covered her eyes with both hands. “He’s never going to forgive me, and I completely understand why. None of this makes any sense.”
Robin hugged her hard. “You told me the other day that you felt like Kara was one of your own kids.”
“Yeah.”
“Then you do what any good mom does. You do what is right for them. Even if it hur
ts. Even if they get mad. Even if it’s painful.”
Monica met Mark’s eyes over Robin’s shoulder. “Can you call Sully and Val? Ask them to come to the house. And bring Gabe Peralta with them.”
Sully and Val listened to Monica with open mouths and shocked expressions.
“Kara?” Val shook her head. “Not Kara.”
“Think about it,” Robin said. “The blankets from Russell House. The confusion you kept getting off them every time you read them. The timing that Bethany mentioned. Kara moved to Glimmer Lake just before Christmas.”
Gabe leaned back in an easy chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “So this young woman works for you, has no grudges against you—completely good terms there.”
Monica nodded.
“But she’s had insomnia and been a little scattered. Then you saw her on the edge of your property tonight after you’d inhaled a lot of smoke and you were woken in the middle of the night.”
Monica sighed. “You don’t think she did it.”
“I don’t think there’s any evidence she did. I don’t think she has any motive for it—unless you two are amazing liars—but you’re very quick to think this woman burned your house.”
“We don’t want to, but then why did she run away?”
“What if she witnessed something frightening? What if she was confused too? Maybe that’s why she ran.” He leaned forward. “Listen, I’m trying to be respectful of all the woo-woo stuff because I know this man isn’t a fool.” He pointed to Sully. “But I’m still an investigator. I’m going to look for Ms. Sinclair and ask her why she was there tonight, but if she has a good explanation, I’m not going to assume she did it because it fits into some narrative you three have dreamed up.” He looked at Val, Robin, then finally at Monica. “You’re exhausted and traumatized. All these feelings are normal, and you need to get some sleep, not keep brainstorming about all these psychic visions you claim to have.”
“We claim to have?” Val muttered. “Hey Gabe, you think this shit is fun? You think we want this? You think Monica has a rip-roaring time having nightmares about the town burning down? You think some of these spirits don’t scare the shit out of Robin? You think I enjoy picking up stray memories from every Tom, Dick, and Asshole in the mountains? We’re not making this shit up, and we don’t revel in it. We’re not attention seekers, and if you can’t tell we’re worried as hell for this girl, you’re a shitty investigator.”
Sully growled, “Val—”
“No! I know he’s your friend, but he ought to be observing a little more if you ask me.” She pointed to Monica and Robin and glared at Gabe. “You think they’re telling you this stuff for shits and giggles? You think they want to get Kara in trouble for some random reason? Look at them!”
Gabe’s face was as expressive as a brick wall, but Monica knew he was listening to every word.
“Robin and Monica are worried sick,” Mark added quietly. “We’re all worried sick. She’s not just a random employee, Chief Peralta. Kara and Monica’s son are dating pretty seriously. She’s like part of the family now.”
Val said, “This girl is being harassed and controlled by a malignant spirit that is fucking with her life, targeting her, and doesn’t care if she gets caught in the cross fire of her little revenge scheme. You think we’re out of our minds and she’s probably just a witness? Fine. But find her.” Val turned to Sully. “Both of you. Find her before someone gets hurt.”
Chapter 21
Monica managed to pull herself together with a solid coat of makeup, heavy caffeination, and some of the clothes she’d packed in her car. She hadn’t been back to the house, but Mark was going that afternoon to meet the insurance adjustor while Monica was at work.
She pulled up to Russell House, surprised to see Grace’s car in the driveway. She walked through the kitchen and grabbed coffee and a hug from Eve before she landed at the front desk where Grace was helping a family with young children check out.
“…and since you paid online, it looks like that’s all I need from you.” Grace spoke softly. “Thank you so much for your patience.”
“Of course.” The woman checking out handed her toddler to his father and reached for the receipt Grace handed her in an envelope. “I’m so sorry Kara’s not here this morning. She and Jake made this vacation amazing.”
“Yeah.” The husband had one kid over his shoulder and kept the other from bolting with a finger hooked in the child’s collar. “The fishing trip was everything we wanted for the boys’ first catch. This is a really special place.”
“We’ll definitely be back.”
Grace smiled graciously. “I am so happy to hear that. I’ll pass the message along to Kara when she’s feeling better.”
“Thanks!”
“Bye. We’ll see you again next summer.”
One of the little ones said, “Tell Mister Jake thank you for the boat ride.”
Monica walked behind the counter and sidled over to Grace, bringing up the morning schedule on the computer.
“Thank you,” she said. “I didn’t know they’d be checking out so early.”
“Long drive to Ventura. They said they wanted to beat traffic.” Grace took a deep breath and put an arm around Monica’s shoulders. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” She blinked hard and tried not to give in to her emotions. “The roof is pretty damaged, but there’s more water damage than fire damage inside from what Jake told Mark last night.”
“You tell me and Philip if you need anything. Anything, Monica. I mean it.” She patted the counter. “I’ll be here the rest of the week. I don’t know how to work all the computer things, but Eve helped me out a little, and I can smile and run a credit card when I need to.”
“Grace, you don’t have to—”
“Nonsense.” She cut Monica off with a flick of her diamond-clad wrist. “Am I a partner or not? Now, what do we know about Kara? What is going on with that girl? Robin said she was at the fire? Surely there’s some kind of mistake.”
Grace had no idea that her daughter and her daughter’s two best friends had developed sudden psychic abilities, and Robin had no intention of filling her in.
Monica picked her words carefully. “We don’t know what’s going on with Kara. We think there must be some rational explanation, we just don’t know what yet. The police are looking for her because Robin and I are worried she might be in some kind of trouble.”
“If she’s mixed up in any of these arson cases, I’d say she has a lot of trouble.” Grace shook her head. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. It makes no sense.” She patted Grace’s shoulder. “I’m sure Sully will figure it out though. We just need to find her and make sure she’s safe.”
As if on cue, Jake walked in from the kitchen area, making a beeline for the front desk. He kept his face stoic as he addressed Monica. “I’ll be taking off this afternoon to go to the sheriff’s office and answer some questions. Kara’s missing, and I’m filing a report.”
“Good.” Monica could tell her soft words surprised him. “Do you need any help with the schedule this afternoon?”
Jake blinked hard. “No. I’m clear all afternoon, and I don’t have anything on the schedule until a fishing trip early tomorrow morning with the Randall party.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything. Or if Sully’s found her.”
Jake hesitated for a long time. “You told him. Last night you told him you think—”
“I told him.”
“And?” His jaw clenched.
“Sully and Gabe both agree that this seems out of character and there’s obviously stuff we don’t know, but we need to find her and make sure she’s safe.”
“I tried calling her phone.”
“And?”
He swallowed hard. “It went straight to voice mail. She hasn’t logged anything online since yesterday morning.”
Monica nodded. “Okay. Have you gone by Bailey’s?”
“Why don’t I run by and talk to Hettie? She knows Kara was working for me.”
Jake lifted his chin in a quick jerk. “Fine.” He walked back the way he came without a backward glance.
“He’s angry,” Grace said. “He’s worried about her.”
“He’s angry that I think Kara was involved with starting the fires even though I don’t think she’s to blame for it.”
“What a strange situation.” Grace shook her head. “Maybe she was taking one of those medications that makes you do strange things when you sleep! Who knows? You remember Brent, don’t you?”
Monica nodded. “Fishing in his sleep. Pretty hard to forget.”
“I’m sure it’s something like that,” Grace said. “That poor girl. She’s probably taking some pill that’s making her sleepwalk and do dangerous things.”
Monica began to see the beginnings of a narrative that could convince Glimmer Lake residents that Kara wasn’t a horrible arsonist without trying to sell the town on the idea of ghostly possession.
“You know…” Monica spoke slowly. “I think she maybe was taking something. She said insomnia was a longtime problem.”
“Then I’m sure that’s what’s going on. I bet if you changed those pills, she’d be fine.”
“Right.”
Right.
It didn’t really matter if it was true or not. Monica could see that Grace had already worked it out in her mind and found it plausible. If Grace could find “sleep arson” believable, the rest of Glimmer Lake probably could too. What other reason could there be for a nice young lady like Kara Sinclair to start the fires?
“You know what? I’m going to make some calls,” Monica said. “Maybe I can find someone who knows Kara’s family. They need to know what’s going on.”
“I’ll cover the desk.” Grace put both hands on the shiny reception desk. “And I’ll answer any calls.”
“Right.” Monica glanced at Eve, who was making reassuring hand motions and pointing her fingers to her eyes and back to Grace.
Psychic Dreams: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Glimmer Lake Book 3) Page 15