A Deep and Dark December(76)

The water shut off and her gaze tracked to the window where the sun was just making its ascent, bringing a new day filled with old problems. A killer was still out there, probably planning his next move. Her father and aunt were still ill and she had only been able to hang on as long as she had because of Graham. The pain hadn’t come again since she’d fought it back the night before, but she could feel it hovering, waiting to swoop down and strike.

There had to be a way to make it all stop. A way to find a killer with an ability similar to hers and her family’s. But how? There were precious few clues as to his identity. It wasn’t like they could put an ad in the paper or stand in the middle of town and ask passersby if they’d committed murder.

But wait.

That’s exactly what they could do.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned as Graham came into the room. Everything was lighter now with full morning, but it took her a moment to realize that something had changed. Blinking his face into focus, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“What did you do?” she asked, sitting up.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his face set and serious. Taking her hand, he placed it on his jaw. “I shaved.”

She wriggled closer and put both hands on his face. “You look so different.”

“You don’t like it.”

“I’m just surprised. It’s been a while since I’ve seen your whole face.” And he was even more handsome than she remembered.

“It’ll make my pop happy.” Resentment bled through words that should’ve held resignation.

“Is that why you did it?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Something fierce and determined burned low and bright in the depths of his eyes. No. He hadn’t done this for his father. He’d done this for himself and maybe her too. He sat up straighter, his shoulders back, chin high, like a warrior preparing for battle. Warmth spread through her, beginning in her chest and radiating out to every point in her body. Pride maybe…or a deeper kind of recognition that went beyond affection and connection. There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t seem to know him.

“Come here.” She pulled him forward and rubbed her cheek against his. “Mmm, nice.” He smelled of soap and toothpaste. She imagined more mornings like this, just the two of them cocooned in their own little world.

He moved back. “Keep that up and I won’t be able to leave.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“So do I, but I have a killer to catch.”

She leaned back against the headboard, his words causing the world to crash back down in flaming chunks around them. Although things had changed between them, nothing had changed around them.

“Any ideas on how to do that?” she asked.

“A few. Yes.” He swelled with new purpose. “I also got a text that some of the lab results are in. So I’ll go over those and see if anything pops.”

She nodded, knowing as well as he did that those results would yield little information. They were dealing with a murderer who could kill without even being in the same room. The only exception was Deidre’s murder. Her murder was the only one in which he was physically present. Maybe they’d get lucky there.

“I have to go.” He leaned in and kissed her goodbye.

Although she knew he didn’t want to leave, she could feel his job pulling at him. A stray thought of taking a quick peek into the future lit across her synapses, stilling her for a moment. She pushed it away with a shake of her head.

“More pain?” he asked.

“No. Just a weird, random thought.”

He grinned, going for light. “Weird and random would describe your thought process.”

“Gee, thanks. Great morning after game you got there. You really know how to sweet talk the ladies.”

“Don’t need talk when I’ve got skills.”

“Maybe you should stay here and back up that boast.”

“No.” He kissed her hard and quick, then rose from the bed and backed toward the door. “Stop tempting me.”

“Yeah, bed head and morning breath are oh so tempting.”

“On you they are.” He glanced back as though someone called to him from the other room. “I really do have to go.”

“I know. Be careful.”

“You, too. Call me if you need me, okay?”

“Yeah.”

He left without a backwards glance and the room felt empty and lacking as though he’d stripped it of any purpose.

Just a quick glimpse.

She looked around as though someone had said the words aloud. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. If she focused on the killer, on how they’d catch him, maybe she could see him. No. She’d promised herself. Nothing good ever happened when she opened up the future.

When her ability had begun to manifest just after her eighth birthday, no one knew what it would be. Foretelling had come first and her father had thought she might be able to manipulate or alter the future. She’d told her mother about the strange waking dream she’d had about her uncle, her mother’s only sibling. Erin had described the car accident that would take her uncle’s life three days before it happened, right down to the fire that would make his remains difficult to identify.