“Are you hungry? Did you get lunch?” Charlotte asked, rapid fire. “We had the most marvelous lunch, and the show was fantastic. Tell her, Larissa.”
“It was amazing,” Larissa said.
We sat in the backseat, with Deputy Duncan chauffeuring us to the campsite. Since Elvis was the only one of our pets here, I assumed Larissa and Charlotte had smuggled him along on their jaunt. I reached for my necklace, but instead of the usual surge of peace, I got nothing. I’d drained it on my dreamwalk.
Not good.
I realized Charlotte had said something else, and I’d missed it. “Sorry. I’m a little scattered from today. Do you mind if we catch up later?”
Charlotte’s mouth formed an O. She nodded toward the officer like she got the message. “Absolutely. We’ll table this for now.”
Larissa reached for my hand. I saw the worry in her bright green eyes, so like her father’s. I’m tired, hon. That’s all. I need to sleep it off. Nothing’s wrong.
She gave a slight nod and squeezed my hand. What had I been thinking to take on a case so far from home? My blitz of adrenaline wore off. A yawn overtook me, and my eyes drifted shut again. Charlotte’s loud voice in my ear startled me awake. “We’re here. Wake up, or you’ll spend the night in this guy’s car.”
Somehow, I clambered to my feet and trudged to my bed in the camper. I fell into it face first.
* * *
Pale light bathed the camper. I inhaled the faint citrus aroma of my detergent on the bedding, felt the welcome press of warm pets and Larissa on the firm mattress beside me. The light was thin and pink-tinged. Dawn. I’d slept from dusk to dawn.
My stomach grumbled, letting me know I’d missed dinner. Come to think of it, I didn’t remember eating lunch yesterday either. That was some dreamwalk. Way longer than usual, and with a distressing void in my memory. After I’d heard from Haney, something else had happened, and it kept me out of my body for hours.
I turned over onto my back, feeling the comforting energy of gemstones in the bed as the blanket shifted with me. My mom must’ve added those last night after I crashed.
Wood smoke scented the air. Charlotte and Larissa were still in the camper with me. That left my parents or the deputy outside; most likely my dad was tending the campfire. I lifted the thin curtain and struggled to discern the shapes outside. Officer Duncan’s SUV was gone. In its place was a regular police cruiser, complete with another deputy.
A quick questing of my other senses revealed two other people nearby. One at the fire and one in the camper. My parents. Joy replaced the worry in my thoughts.
The dogs edged into my warm spot on the bed as soon as I left it. The cats claimed the pillow. I kept the spare blanket around my shoulders, slipped my feet into sneakers, and exited the camper.
My mother had already dressed for the day, and her thick gray braid hung over her right shoulder. I leaned down and hugged her. “Hey, you’re up early.”
Mom’s entire body radiated love and comfort. “I hoped you’d awaken soon. I made you some of my special broth.” She patted the ground beside her. “Join me.”
I took the offered bowl in my hands and drank it greedily. “Where’s Dad?” I managed between sips.
“Sleeping. He had a restless night.”
Mom’s voice sounded stilted. I noticed her rounded shoulders and became concerned. “Anything wrong?”
“Nope. Just regular stuff.”
A truth and yet not a truth. “Hmm.”
Mom handed me my necklace. “I recharged this for you first thing this morning, and I brought along your spare.”
My fingers closed over it, and the gemstone hummed happily in my hand. I clasped it around my neck, feeling worlds better by the second. “Thank you. I don’t know how you do the things you do, but you certainly are a blessing to me. After the long dreamwalk yesterday, I realized I was lucky you guys came along on the trip.”
“Don’t fret. We’re happy to be here. I can’t recall the last time Tab and I visited our friends in the mountains. Annabelle’s meadow has such good energy.”
“It’s nice, especially the scenery, except for wondering if Burl Sayer will blaze through here again. But our guard will take care of it if he does. Anyway, the strange death I’m working to help solve happened a few coves down the lake. I’m hoping that by now Sheriff Blair has more on Haney, which is the name the dead guy gave me in the dreamwalk yesterday.”
“Your father spoke with Gail last night. She said Haney’s prints were in the system. Randolph “Haney” Haynesworth, son of working class parents, grew up less than an hour from here. He has a history of disappearing, including about two weeks ago, when the group home he lived in reported him missing.”
“Does he have a criminal history?” Group home meant Haney had an issue and couldn’t live alone. “Is there something wrong with him?”
“I don’t know anything more than what the cops told your father,” Mom said. “He has some petty theft charges. We’re looking at his known associates.”
I met her steady gaze. “You thinking to investigate Sheriff Blair’s case? She won’t like the competition.”
“Sorry. I misspoke. The cops are checking Haney out. Not me. I leave all the investigating in the family to you.”
“I’m helping with the investigation because I owe Wayne for getting Larissa back from her Powell grandparents. I’d rather be hanging out with y’all, even though I am flattered they want my help. This case isn’t open and shut. It will take time to figure out what happened to Haney.”
“You’ll figure it out. I have confidence in you.”
“Thanks, but I’m not doing anything special. I use my talents same as you do when you retune the crystals. I couldn’t do my part without your help.”
Mom blushed.
The fire crackled and hissed. I set my empty mug down and stretched. “It feels weird, though, not knowing the people here, their background, or the place. I wish I had more context. Being an outsider makes an investigation twice as hard.”
“You’re no ordinary outsider. You’ve got a direct pipeline to the victim’s thoughts. Every sheriff in this state wants you on their payroll.”
I recoiled. “How do they even know about me?”
“Word gets around.”
Her simple statement rang true, but I didn’t want to believe it. “No, it doesn’t. Dad kept a very low profile. People all over the state didn’t know about him. He wasn’t invited to solve cases everywhere.”
“Sorry to disillusion you, dear, but your father consulted on numerous outside cases.”