“Ellie?” What in the world? “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but I can’t sit out here.” She kept her voice low. “Could I please come in?”
“Of course, but Bee will be dropping by soon.” Actually, he should have been there already.
“That’s okay, I guess, but I don’t want anyone else to see me.” She peered in all directions from beneath her hat’s wide brim. “When you came by this morning, you said it was okay if I came in.”
“Of course it is. Come on inside.” Cass held the screen door open for Ellie to precede her. “But be warned, the air conditioner is on the fritz.”
“The heat doesn’t bother me.” Ellie took another quick look around the beach from beneath the brim of her hat before Cass shut the door.
Cass had spent the better part of an hour with John Hicks, and she’d been contemplating closing early, anyway, since she was so exhausted. Plus, it wasn’t like there’d been a mad rush of customers. It had been her quietest day all summer. She turned the Closed sign over, then locked up the front door as well.
Ellie chewed on her bottom lip and stared out the window. “Would you mind closing the curtains?”
Alarm bells screamed in Cass’s head. “We could sit upstairs if you’d prefer.”
“No, thanks.” She glanced back and forth between both doors before perching on the edge of a chair at the back table Cass usually used for readings, taking care to choose a seat facing the front door. “This is fine.”
While Ellie had always been a bit high-strung, this behavior was extreme, even for her.
Cass pulled the curtains across the back window. Though she kept curtains on the back window to avoid direct sunlight streaming in and blinding her customers during readings, she didn’t bother to keep them on the front window, so there was nothing she could do to block the view into the shop from the front deck. “Would you like something, Ellie? Tea, water?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine.” She motioned for Cass to sit. “Please, I don’t have much time, and I need you to do a reading.”
“Sure thing, Ellie.” Ellie always left calmer after a color reading, so Cass grabbed the basket of colored pencils and a stack of white paper she kept on the back shelf. She lit a few candles and set them on the side of the table, then sat and tried to calm her nerves enough to focus. “Okay, what’s got you so spooked?”
“Don’t worry about it, Cass. That’s not important.”
Respecting Ellie’s wishes, Cass let it drop. For now. She’d get to it in time. She centered a sheet of blank paper in front of her and laid a row of colored pencils on the table within easy reach. She rolled the pencils back and forth a few times while discreetly studying Ellie.
Ellie knew Cass’s routine, and they usually chatted while Cass tried to tune in to her feelings, but today she remained quiet, her right knee bouncing up and down beneath the table. At least she finally took her hat off and set it on the table within easy reach.
Without looking, Cass took a pencil from the row and started scribbling a swatch of color on the paper. Red. The color of fire and blood. While red could definitely symbolize danger, it could also have many other meanings. It was sometimes associated with power, though that didn’t feel right, not in connection with Ellie, who was as meek as they came. At least, she always had been before her husband had disappeared. Once Jay was gone, she’d become more independent, stronger. Strength; another of red’s possibilities. Could the choice show the strength Ellie had gained since losing both Jay and her mother? Maybe. She’d have to see what came next.
Ellie leaned forward. “Is something wrong?”
Usually, Cass explained her thoughts while doing a reading, but she didn’t know what to say to Ellie yet, so better not to say anything. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, Ellie, I was just caught up trying to determine why I chose red as your first color.”
She lurched forward, sitting even closer to the edge than she’d been, like a skittish animal ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. “Is that unusual? I don’t remember you ever using red for my color readings before. Does it mean something bad?”
“No, not necessarily. I just have to figure out what it’s trying to tell me. It may take another color or two before it becomes clear.” A fleeting memory resurfaced. Earlier in the day, she’d been concerned Ellie had met someone new, another man just as abusive as Jay had been. Red could also symbolize love.
“You’ll tell me even if you see something bad, right?”
Probably not, unless it could help save her. “Of course, but you know I only let good spirits in.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ellie slumped back a little.
Though Cass couldn’t see her hands beneath the table, her arms kept moving, and she could envision Ellie weaving her fingers together, then pulling them apart, a nervous habit Cass had come to recognize from past readings.
Cass set the red pencil aside, then chose another. Black. Her tension level ratcheted up a bit, though whether it was an empathetic feeling brought on by Ellie nervously twisting her fingers or a feeling in her own gut, she had no idea. She began to color, moving the pencil back and forth, slightly overlapping the blotch of red she’d already colored.
“Black is bad, isn’t it?”
“Not always. It can be, but it can also symbolize a lot of other things.” She needed to settle her own nerves or she’d never be able to help calm Ellie.
Ellie glanced nervously from the front door to the back and back to the front, tears shimmering in her eyes, then leaned closer across the table and whispered, “It doesn’t mean I’m going to die, does it?”
“What? No! Of course not.”
“You’d tell me?”
“Yes. I would absolutely warn you if I saw something like that. I promise.” Not only would she warn her, she’d stick to her side like glue until whatever threat hovered over her had passed. “Black can symbolize a lot of other things, mystery, for instance, or fear.”
Heat spread through Cass, burning through her veins. Her heart pumped harder, faster, thudding almost painfully. In that instant, the certainty slammed through her. Fear. Ellie was terrified. But Cass could already tell that from her behavior. So, was she feeling Ellie’s fear in some psychic capacity, or had she simply chosen the color because she could tell how afraid Ellie was? Though she always tried not to look at the pencils, she could have inadvertently noticed where in the line the black pencil had been. “What are you so afraid of, Ellie?”
“What?” She jerked as if Cass had slapped her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ellie had never been one to open up or share her feelings. She’d thought she’d hidden her husband’s abusive behavior from the world, though it was common knowledge that Jay Callahan had treated his wife horribly. She’d refused to see his philandering ways, even though he thought nothing of parading around Bay Island with other women. If she’d gotten herself into another relationship like that, Cass needed to figure it out, and fast. But she was going to have to approach it a different way. “I started with the color red, which can symbolize strength. Then moved to the color of mystery and fear.”
She could interpret that two ways. Either Ellie had been strong and was now afraid, or Ellie would show great strength against her fears. The latter seemed right. “I think the combination of red and black is showing that you will remain strong even though you are frightened.”
Ellie scoffed, then caught herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I guess I just don’t view myself as strong.”
“How can you say that?” Ellie didn’t need a reading, she needed a friend. Cass set the paper and pencils aside. “You showed incredible strength when Jay left, leaving you to answer a million questions from the police. You seemed confident, determined to make a life for yourself. What’s changed?”
Tears shimmered in Ellie’s brown eyes, and she jumped to her feet. “I have to go.”
“What are you talking about?” Cass had to keep her there, couldn’t let her run out in the condition she was obviously in. “We didn’t finish your reading.”
“I have to get out of here.” Her head swiveled in every direction at once. “I shouldn’t have even come. If he catches me here . . .”
“If who catches you, Ellie? What is going on?”
Ellie slung her bag over her shoulder, smashed the straw hat back on her head, and whispered, “He’s back.”
Despite the heat in the shop, Cass’s insides went cold. “Who’s back?”
Ellie looked around and leaned even closer, even though the shop was clearly empty. “Jay. He’s back.”
“What!” The burning through her body intensified, nudging out the cold. “Has he contacted you?”
Ellie caught her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head. “But I saw him.”
“Where?”
“All different places. It’s like he’s everywhere, watching me, stalking me. I’ll be walking along, minding my own business, and all of a sudden, I get this feeling like I’m being watched. If I turn around quick enough, I catch just a glimpse of him as he disappears around a corner or behind something. It’s driving me crazy.” Ellie slouched against the table, deflated, as if telling her story had taken everything out of her.
“Are you sure it’s him?” Had Ellie become paranoid? Because that made more sense than Jay actually returning to Bay Island. Cass moved closer, wanting to put an arm around her, comfort her.
Ellie stiffened, and Cass froze and remained where she was.
“Positive,” Ellie sobbed.
“All right.” What could she do? Ask around and see if anyone else had seen him, for sure. “Have you called the police?”
Ellie’s eyes went wide and she stared at Cass as if she’d gone crazy.
“Ellie, if he’s back on Bay Island, you have to contact the police.” They’d arrest him the instant anyone laid eyes on him, but first they had to find him.
Ellie’s head whipped back and forth before Cass had even finished her sentence. “Not happening.”
“Okay. Just let me think for a minute.”
“Sorry, Cass. I shouldn’t have involved you. I have to get out of here. As much a Jay hates you, if he finds me here, well . . . it wouldn’t be good.” She hurried across the shop and paused at the back door, then sobbed. “Of course, you’re not the only Bay Island resident Jay has a major grudge against. So, I pretty much can’t talk to anyone.”
She had to stall, had to gain control of the situation, had to calm Ellie. And she had about two seconds to accomplish it all. “When did you start seeing him?”
“I don’t remember. Maybe a few weeks ago?”
“Where?” She had to get answers quickly, before Ellie bolted.
“All over.”
“And what did you do?”
“What do you think I did? I ran home, called out sick for the rest of the week, and dyed my hair back to its original color. Then, this morning, I went back to work. I thought maybe I overreacted, you know?”
Cass nodded, afraid Ellie would clam up if she interrupted.
“But then, I saw him at the shop, or rather, outside the shop, right after you left.”
Cass’s heart broke for her. It hadn’t been easy for Ellie to come out of her shell, to go to work full-time, to put her life back together after losing everything she knew. “Please, Ellie. Just sit down and give me a few minutes to figure this out.”
“I’m sorry, Cass. I can’t. If he catches me here, it won’t go well for either of us. Don’t forget, he hates you even more than he hates me. Anyway, mostly I guess I just wanted to warn you.” She shook her head then unlocked the door and rushed out the way she’d come in.
Cass looked after her, helpless to stop her, not sure what she could do to help. She grabbed her cell phone and started to dial Luke’s number. If Ellie wouldn’t contact the police, then Cass would have to do it herself. But what if Ellie was wrong? Cass hadn’t seen Jay or anyone else hanging around when she’d visited Ellie at the shop. The entire area had been pretty much deserted, except for the farmer driving the tractor.
She put the cell phone down atop the stack of paper on the table. Leaving the paper and pencils where they were, Cass got her crystal ball from the side counter. While the color readings seemed to relax her clients, and even her, the crystal ball allowed her to focus better. She put it on the table, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and chugged down half of it. She locked the back door and gave a quick look around to make sure Jay wasn’t lurking outside somewhere.
Tourists packed the beach as far as she could see, their scattered beach tents and umbrellas impeding her view. Where on earth was Bee?
Beast scrambled to his feet and trotted to her side. He tilted his head and watched her. Was he tuned in to her change of mood? Or did he think they were going for a walk because she’d stood at the back door so long? Probably the latter, but you never knew. Dogs followed their instincts more readily than humans.
She checked the front door lock, scanned the boardwalk for any sign of Jay, then returned to the table and centered the crystal ball in front of her.
Her mind reeled, jumping around from thoughts of Ellie to Jay. The art thefts Luke and Tank were investigating made so much more sense now. She would definitely have to call them sooner rather than later, but there was one thing she had to try first.
The sense of impending doom that had been plaguing her all week returned with a vengeance. Instead of ignoring it, though, Cass latched on to it, embraced it, searching her heart for what was troubling her so badly. If Ellie was right, and Jay really had returned to Bay Island, it was more important than ever that she figure out what was going on.
The thought of seeking guidance from a spirit brought both terror and awe. She gazed into the crystal ball, her focus fully absorbed in its distorted depths. She concentrated, bringing the woman’s voice she’d been hearing into her mind.
Blackness filled the orb’s center, only a small swirl at first, as it had been within the fire agate, then the dark patch expanded. The churning mass solidified into a shape, a silhouette of a woman. No discernible features marked the blackness.
“Help him.”
Cass tried to latch on to the voice, to the woman’s image, but both eluded her, slipping away every time she tried to grasp them like sand pouring through her fingers. “I will help, if you tell me what I need to do.”
“He needs you.”
“Who does? Emmett?”
“Help him.”
Features started to emerge within the ball, colors. Blond hair billowed and whipped behind the woman, as if caught in a ferocious windstorm. Blue eyes, magnified by the crystal’s distortion, pleaded for help.
Cass tried to connect, tried to reach out. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Find him.”
Find whom? Jay? There didn’t seem to be much sense in asking the vision. Their communication seemed to be totally one-sided.
“Find him.”
The blackness started to fade, returning to its former abstract, contorting form. Cass tried to hold on, concentrated harder. Drops of blood splattered against the table. Still, she held on. The flow of blood from her nose increased.
“Find him. Help him,” the shape repeated in Cass’s mind as it receded.
“No. Wait. Please. I don’t know—”
Pounding on the front door ripped her from the vision.