“Piper? Piper?”
I come to on the floor of the employee room, my head in Mitchell’s lap.
“How do you feel?” Mitchell asks.
“Like my head’s been split down the center.” I reach for the back of my head as I sit up.
Mitchell is hesitant to let go of me as he asks, “Maggie?”
Emit eyes me as if unsure if he should call an ambulance since to him it must look like I fainted. “What just happened? Do you need a doctor?”
“No.” I get to my feet with some assistance from Mitchell. “Mr. Wilkes, my name is Piper Ashwell. I’m a psychic PI working with the Weltunkin PD. I just had a vision of Maggie Burns getting a phone call on Thursday night. She didn’t recognize the number and the line was nothing but static when she answered, so she took the phone outside.” My gaze goes to Mitchell. “Then she was hit over the head.”
“Are you saying she was attacked?” Emit asks, sounding more surprised by that than by the fact that I just saw what happened to Maggie.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, which means we need access to the footage from your security cameras. I’m assuming you have them in the back lot as well as the front.”
Emit’s brow furrows. “Well, the cameras are there, but they aren’t functioning. They’re more to deter people from trying to steal.”
“They don’t actually work.” Mitchell’s comment is more of a grumble of disappointment than anything else.
“Then we’ll need a list of every employee that was still here that night at...” What time was on her phone display? I close my eyes and recall the image. “11:43.”
“I’ll go check the employee schedule now. Give me one moment.” Emit disappears inside his office, not bothering to close the door behind him.
“You okay?” Mitchell asks me.
“Fine.”
“Then why are you pressing your hand against the top of your head?”
“To keep it from splitting in two.” I let out a deep breath. I’d take some aspirin, but doing so makes it tough to have visions and there may be more for me to read in Maggie’s locker.
Mitchell’s giving me that sympathetic look he’s gotten so good at over the past several weeks. I hate it.
“Don’t.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“I don’t have to touch you to know you’re lying through your teeth.” I turn away from him and go back to Maggie’s locker.
“Piper, don’t try to read anything else. You clearly need to recuperate from the vision you just had.”
I ignore him and grab the lunch bag from the shelf. Before trying to read it, I peek inside since the weight alone tells me it’s not empty. On the bottom of the bag is a small red apple.
“What is it?” Mitchell asks.
“What’s left of her dinner, I guess.” Something about the apple bothers me, though. I reach for it, but Emit returns from his office.
“Here you are. A list of all the employees who were working Thursday night. As you’ll see, many were on the same schedule as Maggie, so they would have still been here at 11:43.”
“Thank you,” Mitchell says, taking the list from Emit. “Piper, you about ready?”
“Yeah.” I stare at the apple, and one thought pops into my mind: forbidden fruit. I place the bag back on the shelf, but don’t bother closing the locker. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Wilkes.”
“My pleasure. If there’s anything else I can be of assistance with, please don’t hesitate to call. Maggie’s a good employee. She’s never even called out sick once in all the time she’s worked here.” He shakes his head. “I just hope she’s okay.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to find her,” Mitchell assures him.
He gives us a nod and motions for us to return the way we came, but I have another idea.
“I’d like to leave through the door Maggie left through if you don’t mind.” I want to see the back employee parking lot since that’s where Maggie was assaulted.
“Of course,” Emit says. “By all means.”
“Thank you again,” Mitchell says as he follows me out the back, getting the door for me.
I step out slowly, the memory of Maggie being hit over the head as soon as she came out here replaying in my mind. I reach for my head again even though I know the pain isn’t real. It just feels like it is.
“What are you sensing?” Mitchell asks.
“Nothing. She didn’t even have time to be afraid because she was hit so quickly.”
“So whoever took her knew she was on her way out here.”
I nod. “It was the person who called her phone. I need you to trace the number I saw on her display.” I take out my phone and text the number to him.
“As soon as I drop you off at your office, I’ll head to the station.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Who answers a call from an unknown number these days? Or did you get the sense she was expecting a call? I’d think if she was, the number would have been programmed in her phone and the call would have displayed a name instead.”
“Agreed. She definitely didn’t know who was calling.”
Mitchell is looking around at the ground. “She must have dropped her phone, right?”
“I didn’t see what happened after she was hit, but it’s a good guess.” I don’t see how anyone would be able to hold onto a phone when they were knocked unconscious.
“There’s nothing on the ground other than cigarette butts from the employees smoking out here.”
I don’t want to leave with this little to go on. “Let me see the list of employees.” I hold my hand out to Mitchell. “Hopefully a name will jump out at me.”
Mitchell pulls the folded paper from his back pocket and hands it to me.
I close my eyes and clear my mind before unfolding the paper and focusing on the names.
One name practically jumps off the page at me. “Tanner Montgomery.”
Mitchell moves next to me to see the paper for himself. “He’s a butcher in the meat department. That seems almost too easy. A butcher being the bad guy.”
“I’m not saying he took Maggie.”
Mitchell takes a step back and eyes me. “Then why would his name stand out to you?”
“He has something to do with Maggie. I’m just not sure what it is. Let’s go talk to Emit again. Maybe he can tell us more about Tanner.” I start back inside.
Emit Wilkes is locking up his office. “Detectives, I was under the impression you’d left.”
“We were on our way out, but one name on this employee list caught my attention.” I turn the paper to him and tap Tanner’s name. “What can you tell us about Tanner Montgomery?”
Emit frowns, and his throat constricts as he swallows hard. “Tanner’s kind of a hothead. He’s only worked here for about four months. Some of the female employees have filed complaints against him.”
“Complaints for what?” Mitchell asks, his notepad and pen poised and ready.
“Crude comments mostly. He’s never physically touched any of the female employees, but he says things about the way they’re dressed and such. It’s all written up in his personnel file. He’s taking a sexual harassment seminar. It was a condition for him to remain employed here.” Emit’s chin drops. “You don’t think he did something to Maggie, do you? I’d never forgive myself for keeping him on here if it turns out...” He inhales sharply, unable to finish the thought.
“Mr. Wilkes, has Mr. Montgomery ever seemed violent in nature?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No. That’s why I didn’t fire him. He’s just a stupid kid.”
“Kid?” Mitchell asks, his brow raised.
“Well, he’s twenty-seven.”
A year younger than I am. I wonder if he sees me the same way.
“Ever since he started that seminar, I haven’t gotten a single complaint about him. I swear. Not that I’m defending him. If he did something, you’ll have my full cooperation.”
“Thank you. We’ll look into it.” Mitchell puts his pen and notepad inside his jacket.
“Yes, thank you again for your time, Mr. Wilkes.” I extend my hand to him.
“She’s married. Leave her alone. You’re already in enough trouble after Candice reported you.”
“Relax. Maggie’s not going to report me. All I did was tell her she had a nice rack. It was a compliment. She knows that.”
Emit wags a finger at Tanner. “I’m not putting my neck out on the line for you again, Tanner.”
“We both know Mom will make you stick up for me.”
I let go of Emit’s hand. “Tanner’s your son.” Emit’s comment about Tanner being a “kid” makes more sense now.
“What?” Mitchell’s gaze volleys between Emit and me.
“Stepson,” Emit says. “How did you...?” He looks down at his hand. “I can’t believe I fell for that.”
“Are you saying you were trying to hide this from Piper?” Mitchell asks.
“I guess I didn’t realize you could read people as well.” Emit shoves his hands into his pockets. “As for hiding my relation to Tanner, I’ve tried to do that from the start. He’s not exactly the model son. His father, my wife’s first husband, was a convicted rapist.”
“Was?” Mitchell asks.
Emit nods. “He’s dead. He died in prison from testicular cancer.”
I resist the urge to say he got what he deserved in the end. “I’m assuming you’re afraid the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree where Tanner is concerned.” Apple. The apple in Maggie’s lunch bag. Forbidden fruit. Is that what my senses were trying to tell me?
“My wife says he’s nothing like his father. That Tanner’s just all talk, but... With Maggie missing, I don’t know what to think.”
“We’re going to need to speak to Tanner. Is he here now?” Mitchell asks.
“No. It’s his day off.”
“I assume he doesn’t live at home anymore.” Mitchell has his phone in hand.
“No. He rents an apartment on First Street. It’s above the Italian restaurant.”
Mitchell nods. “Then I think that’s where we’re headed next.”
“Any chance you could keep me out of the conversation?” Emit asks. “My wife would kill me if she found out I said anything bad about Tanner.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Wilkes. It was my vision that led me to Tanner.” I turn on my heel and head for the back door.
Mitchell falls into step with me. “So, what are you thinking? Is Tanner our guy?”
“Could be. I’m not sure.” I take one last look around the back parking lot. If only Maggie hadn’t been hit so quickly. But that could mean the person who struck her was behind her the whole time, which would be possible if they work here, too. Like Tanner does.
We detour to my house so I can walk Jezebel, the golden retriever I acquired during our last case. After Jez’s former owner was killed, she became my pet—though she’s more like my therapy dog considering she’s very attune to my visions and how to bring me out of the particularly bad ones.
She greets me with her usual barrage of kisses to my nose and cheeks. “Okay, okay. That’s enough, Jez.” I stand up and grab her leash from the kitchen counter.
“Want me to walk her?” Mitchell asks.
I know he’s asking partly because he enjoys walking Jez and partly because he knows my landlord doesn’t allow dogs and seeing me with Jez would put me at risk of being evicted for breaking the terms of my rental agreement.
“Sure,” I say, handing him the leash. Though one of these days I really need to talk to Mr. Hall about Jez. Luckily for me, Dad is good friends with Theodore Hall and can hopefully pull some strings for me.
“Come on, Jez,” Mitchell says, bending down to secure her leash.
“Be good for Mitchell,” I tell her.
She gives a slight bob of her head as if in agreement.
Mitchell laughs. “You two are so in sync it’s creepy.”
“You should definitely be scared,” I tell him. “You know I can read her and see exactly what you’re doing when you’re walking her. Like hitting on the blonde from the second floor.”
His eyes widen. “I wasn’t...” He huffs and walks out the door.
Seeing him squirm gives me way more pleasure than it should. I grab my phone and call Dad to fill him in on my visions before asking what he’s uncovered.
“I’ve checked all of Maggie’s social media accounts. The last time she posted anywhere was at 8:37 Thursday night. She said she had a migraine and couldn’t wait until her shift was over so she could go to bed.”
“Is Tanner Montgomery one of her followers anywhere?” I ask.
“Let me check.” He clicks some keys on his laptop, and I do my best to wait patiently. “Definite no on Instagram.” More key clicks. “They aren’t friends on Facebook.” A few more clicks. “And Maggie’s not on Twitter.”
“Okay. Well, Mitchell and I are going to head to Tanner’s apartment in a few. If that doesn’t turn up any solid leads, we’ll go talk to Maggie’s husband.”
“What’s your gut telling you?” Dad asks.
I walk to the window and stare out at Mitchell and Jez walking along the sidewalk back to the apartment complex. “That the person who called her is the one who knocked her out. He was either waiting outside for her or followed her out of the back room.”
“I assume Mitchell is running the number that called Maggie.”
“Yeah, or at least he’s going to.” Mitchell had his phone to his ear as he walked back into the apartment building, so it’s possible he called someone at the station to run the number.
“This is good. You’re doing great, Piper.”
“Want to meet us at Tanner’s apartment?”
“No. You two go on ahead. I promised your mother I’d have lunch with her today.”
“Okay, Dad. Enjoy, and give Mom a hug for me.”
“Will do, pumpkin.” He hangs up.
The door opens, and Jez comes bounding for me, making Mitchell drop the leash to avoid being dragged.
“Whoa. Easy, girl. Easy.” I pocket my phone and bend down to pet her head, scratching behind her left ear, which is her favorite spot. “Did Mitchell hit on anyone out there?” I ask, pretending to read her.
“No, I didn’t.” He huffs. “Can we go now? This case isn’t going to solve itself.”
“You look way too eager to interrogate Tanner Montgomery.”
Mitchell’s expression becomes stone-cold serious. “You’ve read me before. You should know that while I’ve dated my share of women, I have the utmost respect for them. If this guy is anything like his father, then I want him behind bars for life.”
I can’t disagree with him, but my gut is telling me Tanner’s name jumped out at me for another reason. And once again, I’m not sure what my abilities are trying to show me.