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Echo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She shook her head slightly, taking another steadying breath to clear her head. “Of course, I’m all right. But how about you? How are you doing? I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a sister or a brother.” She moved toward him and gave him a soft smile that belied her tortured emotions.
“I’ll survive. Let’s get some air. You’ve looked like you’ve been seeing a ghost all day long.” He reached around her and pushed open the heavy door.
If Rand only knew how close his words came to expressing the truth, Echo thought. I don’t know exactly what I saw, but it wasn’t the reality I’ve always taken for granted.
Thump, whoosh.
The sound caused her stomach to knot as she questioned her sanity. She didn’t slow down as they exited the church, fearful the noise inside her head would catch her—overpower her and drag her back to that nightmare under the ocean! Echo swallowed hard.
A blast of wind roared around the side of the building, whipping a few hairs loose from Echo’s long, black braid.
“This has been an awful day,” she said as she brushed the hair out of her face.
“The garden gate is right here. Would you like to go out and gather your wits? You’re absolutely shaking, and so pale!”
His words were nearly her undoing. She turned her head away and swiped at the gathering tears that blurred her vision. “S-sure,” she spoke, her faltering voice a mere whisper. She wasn’t ready to face Paul again.
Fear pulled at her, wrapping its strong fingers around her throat, squeezing out a moan. The wind blew the heavy door back against the frame with a soft thud, hiding her hiccupping sob.
As they walked toward the garden, the sun streamed through Rand’s hair, highlighting the rich strands of auburn woven through it. She concentrated on his masculine form—his broad shoulders, narrow waist and long, muscular legs. Confidence and sorrow oozed from him. She felt as if her emotions had taken flight on the wind as it passed. She didn’t know what to expect next.
Turning toward her, Rand reached for her hand. In the light, his eyes were brownish gold. His dark eyebrows knitted together in concern. She pulled her hand away just in time, took a longer stride, and moved beside him.
They walked across the cement pad toward a bench in the shade of a flowering crab apple tree; the heady fragrance, so sweet and pure, filled the garden.
“How are you getting through all this?” she asked.
A gentle smile appeared on Rand’s lips. “Better than you are, I think.” A great sadness poured from him. “But I’m feeling better just getting out of there. All those people crushing against me made me squeamish.”
She looked into his eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly, another. “I think that’s my problem, too.”
The sound of air bubbles floating to the surface of the ocean filled her senses. A shudder began at her toes and raced up her spine. She had to calm down.
She relaxed—feeling comfortable with him. His eyes were kind and compassionate. This was his sister’s funeral, and he was taking care of her! She realized her head ached less and the tight muscles across her shoulders relaxed.
Echo didn’t want to let any of her problems affect Rand. His sadness shown plainly—the furrows of pain etched into his face by the grief he couldn’t hide.
“I feel so empty without her...” Tears filled his eyes as a heart-melting smile pulled at the corners of his full lips.
Echo looked down at his long shapely fingers, noticing the rich colored hairs sprinkled across the lightly tanned skin. She wanted to take his hand, she was afraid to after what had happened with Paul McGuire, but her desire to comfort Rand was stronger than her fear. Her stomach gnarled with pain as she reached out her trembling hand. He’d lost his sister, after all.
Taking a steadying breath, she curled her fingers around his hand. The contact was wonderful—no visions, nothing! Rand’s touch electrified her! Paul’s touch had enveloped her with evil. Contact with Rand fired her passion—she gasped as her heartbeat increased and her breath came in little gasps. She tried to hide her reactions. Rand didn’t need to know his touch fired arrows of screaming desire through her body.
A thick silence filled the space between them. Confusion circled her mind. The remains of the haunting vision pounded through her memory. Echo pulled her hand from Rand’s, raised her hands to her temples and began making small circles with her fingertips against her forehead. As much as she wanted to think it a nightmarish daydream, deep down she knew the truth. Undeniably, she’d had a psychic vision.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the clinic?”
Echo frowned and answered with a sigh, “No. I’m fine. It was the smell of incense and greasy food that did this.” She couldn’t tell him the truth, or what she thought was the truth. He would think her brain was damaged, or she was just plain crazy!
“The smell of that place...it got to me, too,” Randall continued, observing her.
She could feel his gaze exploring her face. Why all these emotions? Sensations caused her head to throb, making her feel dizzy, and disconnected. One moment she was feeling an overwhelming sadness, the next, her heart was racing from Rand’s touch.
“Ann wouldn’t have liked the funeral,” Rand said, shaking his head, causing the curls gathered across his shoulders to glisten as they caught the sun. “All she wanted was a short prayer and her ashes scattered from the top of Devil’s Tower. It’s just too damn bad she didn’t leave a will stating that fact. Then I would’ve had legal recourse.”
Echo’s heart went out to him as his voice broke and his full bottom lip trembled. He bit down hard on it to stop the movement; his features contorted as he looked away. “Ann and I are dizygotic,” Rand whispered, a sad smile pulling at his lips.
“Die zie what?”
Rand’s golden-brown eyes widened momentarily, then fluttered shut. His jaw dropped slightly. He looked older than his thirty-eight years. Lines around his eyes were deeper, showing he’d not been sleeping well. It was the shocked look in his eyes before he closed them that surprised her the most. His hold on her hand tightened, causing her pain. Just as quickly, he loosened his grip with a sigh.
She ignored the feelings his grip had caused as he opened his eyes, unshed tears shimmering in them. Still grasping Echo’s hand, he said, “Dizygotic, Echo. That’s just another way to describe fraternal twins.”
Twins? Of course, Lex had told her that a few days ago, but it hadn’t registered. She could not fathom losing a part of herself. That must be the way Rand felt.
Her hand felt hot from his touch. The same strange heat she had felt when she had touched Paul McGuire just before she had the vision. The crisp green leaves and brilliant blue sky faded. An out-of-focus picture flashed before her. She saw people moving in slow motion. It was happening to her again!
~ * ~
“RANDALL! RANDALL! WHERE are you?” Ann screeched, running up the steps two at a time toward the second floor of the rustic ranch house. She tossed open Randy’s bedroom door. His room was a mess. He had artwork stuck to the walls, spilling off his desk— rejected items, mashed into crumpled balls, littering the floor around the trashcan.
Echo took a shuddering breath. Rand’s memories were pouring through her hand, and—hidden deep inside her—Echo knew that Ann’s spirit was remembering, too. Echo knew she was seeing the scene through Ann’s eyes.
“Dirt bag...where are you?”
“Aw, leave me alone, will ya?” Randall grumbled.
Ann snapped her head in the direction of the bunk beds. There he was! She saw his dangling sneaker laces near the footboard. “Come on, Rand...I need your help.”
“Now what? Did little Adam Carmichael tease you about your freckles again?” Randall turned the page of a Mad magazine.
She plopped her jeans-clad seat on the bed, then threw herself backward and lay beside him. Ann knew he would help her, but she had to beg him every time!
“No! It’s Mrs. Wells. She keeps blabbing about us. Fraternal twins, fraternal twins!” She mimed with her bottom lip protruding. “If she says that one more time, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” he interrupted.
“I...I...I don’t know. There must be something we can do.”
“Not my problem,” he said, turning another page slowly just to irritate her.
“It’s easy for you! You don’t have her for jazz band. You get to take art.”
Randall faced her. “I can’t help that. But I want to know why it bothers you so much.”
Ann looked down at her fingers. “The boys tease me...” She felt her face grow hot.
“Annie, I don’t understand.”
“They say I’m—I’m your brother! That’s what fraternal is.”
Tossing the magazine toward the foot of the bed, Randall sat up and draped his arm over her shoulder. He could always make her feel better. If she had a problem, he fixed it. He was only five minutes older than she was, but he was her big brother. They shared everything—even if he wanted privacy, she found her way to him.
“I’ve got a dictionary. What we need is a different name for us.”
“Like identical?”
“Damn, you’re stupid!”
“Randall! I’m gonna tell Mom—”
“Let me get the dictionary. We have to find something better than fraternal.”
Returning to the seclusion of the bunk bed, he dropped beside her and they sat cross-legged, flipping pages. He was going to take all night. Ann’s right knee hurt, and she rubbed it while watching him.
“Here we go...” He pointed at the word. “It means fraternal twins!”
“Let me see.” She craned her neck to look at the page. “Dizzygotic! Rand, they’ll really say bad stuff about me then!”
“Annie—” Rand spoke authoritatively, his tone low and condescending. “It’s DI zie, not dizzy... dizygotic.”
~ * ~
ANN AND RANDALL’S LAUGHTER filled Echo’s ears as she was swept out of his memory. She pulled her hand from his to massage her knee. She could still feel the pain.
She had dropped into another episode of someone’s life! This time, instead of fear, she felt serene and at harmony with the world. She knew with all her heart that Ann and Randall had loved each other very much.
Rand swiveled his head toward her. His expression twisted with pain. “I’m sorry, I got lost in memories for a bit.”
It hurt so much to know all of this about him she had to look away. She wanted to comfort him, but she knew nothing could help—only time had the power to do that. She never knew what to say to someone at a time like this. Squirming, she dragged her gaze back to his face. He needed her now, and she couldn’t leave him adrift in the mire of this anguish.
“If there’s anything I can do to help you, please—just tell me.” She had to say the words, even though she knew he had heard them many times over the past week.
Changing the subject, he said, “I have to tell you this. I had a secret agenda when I asked you out here.”
Echo frowned.
“Oh, don’t look like that. It’s nothing ominous. I had to get out of there, too. If I’d stayed, I would have had to talk to Paul and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.” He paused, chewing on his bottom lip. “I think he killed my sister.”
Echo’s stomach did a slow roll as she heard the conviction in his voice. She didn’t want to talk about this with him. Not here. Not now.
“Randall, I’d better find Alexis, she has to go to work soon.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he wanted to say something to her, but he was reluctant to do so. “Okay. So, I’ll see you back at the hotel.”
Echo gave him a smile then turned hurriedly toward the garden gate. Finally, the funeral was over, and she could free herself from the eerie feelings that had plagued her today.
~ * ~
RANDALL STOPPED ON the stairs leading back into the church, turning to watch as Echo drove her older model car out of the lot. What had caused him to say such a thing to her? Echo had a certain something that intrigued him, and when she had asked, “die zie what?” his heart had nearly stopped. Echo’s voice had an eerie ring of familiarity. He could have sworn he’d heard Ann’s voice.
Grief was a strange thing. It made a person susceptible to all kinds of crazy notions. Ann’s death had left a big hole in his heart. At first, he felt angry with her for leaving him, but today, he found his anger had turned to pure rage—a killing rage directed at Paul McGuire. Although he knew in his soul that Paul had killed his sister, he shouldn’t have unloaded that on Echo.
He turned to walk up the steps, then stopped. What had Echo and Paul been talking about for so long after the service? It hadn’t appeared to be the act of one person consoling another. Paul had held Echo’s hand the whole time, but they had hardly spoken a word. Echo had been as white as a sheet when she pulled her hand free of Paul’s. Did Echo Brennen know something about Ann’s death? He would do anything to find out the truth about his sister’s murder. If it meant using Echo to find out the truth, so be it. Trusting women wasn’t his strong suit.
Mentally preparing himself to face Paul again, Rand opened the door. Now there was a man with no redeeming qualities, he thought, as he stepped into the church.
Sunlight from the chapel spilled out into the hallway and pulled Rand’s gaze toward the room. The chapel had four triangular shaped skylights in the center of the room, and rays of light shone on the wooden container that held Ann’s remains. At least she had gotten her wish to be cremated. Rand felt sure that as belligerent as Paul was, had it been under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have allowed her cremation. But on that island in Hawaii, cremation was the only means to transport a body back to the mainland.
Paul had intentionally denied Ann’s wishes by staging this big, phony funeral.
Stroking the polished surface of the small box, his voice a low whisper: “I’ll scatter your ashes off the tower, sis,” Rand swore.
“I wouldn’t feel so sure about that if I were you.”
Startled, Rand turned his head toward the sarcastic voice. “Well, Paul...why aren’t you holding court for all your old friends? Surely, you could drum up a date. After all, you can’t hurt Annie with your actions now.” He continued to stroke the wood as he would have stroked Ann’s hair.
A group of people stood at a distance watching the fracas, their voices rumbling in Rand’s ears, but they did nothing.
His lip curled in distaste; Paul sneered at him as he moved closer. But when he rolled his eyes—Rand’s fist jerked toward Paul as if it had a life of its own.
He watched as his knuckles smashed into Paul’s face...his jab moved as if in slow motion, flattening Paul’s nose against his cheekbones. Blood splattered across his face as he stumbled backward. Throwing his hands up to cover the damage, an animalistic roar started deep within Paul’s chest, erupting in a cry of rage. Paul lunged forward, his bloody hands reaching for Rand, but he wasn’t quick enough. Rand stepped aside, letting Paul crash to the floor. The hatred circulating through Rand’s body was so powerful and soul-consuming, it shocked him back to reality. He stood there, looking down at Paul in disgust. A bitter smile pulled at Rand’s lips. All of Paul’s friends watched his humiliation.
Paul pulled himself to his knees, then stood to face Rand. “Get the hell out of here!” His face grew purple and swelled with fury. “And I want you to get all your things from the ranch. Then I never want to see you again.”
Rand shrugged. “Fine. But you will see me. A lot. I’m going to dog you unmercifully until I prove you murdered Annie.”
Through his anger, he heard a loud gasp from the group that was growing larger by the moment.
He had to get out of there before he killed Paul with his bare hands. Picking up Ann’s wooden urn from the small table, he started for the door.
“Oh, Rand...don’t forget to leave the box right there on the table.”
Slowly moving back toward the table, he placed the urn on it. Watching the satisfied look on Paul’s face, Rand’s blood ran cold. The box? Was that how Paul thought of Ann?
Quickly turning on his heels, he headed for the outside doors. Trying to satisfy his need to hit Paul again, he slammed the palm of his hand against the polished wood surface, pushing it open.
Rand didn’t look back.
~ * ~
JEWEL AND MAGNOLIA were sitting on the top step of the landing as Echo entered the hotel after the service.
“Oh, Lord,” Jewel whispered.
Magnolia turned and looked at the other spirit. “What’s the matter?”
“Didn’t you see that?”
“See what?” Magnolia asked as she looked around.
Jewel leaned over the banister and looked toward the kitchen. “I know I’m not seeing things.”
“You are one exasperatin’ woman, Jewel! No. I didn’t see whatever you’re talkin’ about.”
Jewel shook her head in disbelief. “Maggie, I saw a soul trailing behind Echo when she came in the front door.”
“What the—” Magnolia began just as Echo walked back into the foyer, but Jewel reached out and covered Magnolia’s hand with hers to silence her.
Echo walked up the steps in a more sluggish manner than usual, sighing occasionally as she made her way up to the third floor. When Jewel heard Echo’s bedroom door close, she asked, “Did you see it this time?”
“Yes. What do you make of that?”
“I know I don’t like this. Something is terribly wrong, and if Echo’s not careful, she’s going to be the next one this old house traps,” Jewel said dejectedly, dropping her softly pointed chin into the cradle of her hand.
“Land sakes, Jewel! What are we goin’ to do? She and that handsome fella are our only hope of gettin’ out of this hell on earth.” Magnolia jumped to her feet, her taffeta dress and stiff petticoats rustling like dry leaves as she paced the landing behind Jewel.
Jewel looked up at Magnolia. “I wish I had some notion of how to help her. Now that she’s ‘seein’ things from our viewpoint, I wonder if she can picture us prowling around here?”
Magnolia’s black button top boots clicked whenever she’d stepped off the Oriental runner protecting the wood of the landing, so she had to be careful that no one heard her. “I can’t fathom how this happened. Do they all see...?”
“I don’t think so.” Jewel shook her head. “Don’t recollect seeing things when I was alive.”
“Maybe we should have.”
“Quit thinking that way, Magnolia,” Jewel scolded. “This girl needs help and what we need is a plan.”
“You are beginnin’ to sound just like your mother,” Magnolia taunted, then plopped back down on the step to think. “And she’ll be as mad as hell if she finds out we were interferin’ again.”
Jewel’s light blue gaze caught Magnolia’s brown. “It’s up to us. Our lives were taken from us. And now we have to fix things before it’s too late for Echo and the same thing happens to her.”
“I know, but what can we do?” Magnolia asked.
“That spirit following her is trying to take over her body. I can see that for sure. We’ll have to watch her all the time, so that doesn’t happen.” Jewel’s face lit with enthusiasm. “We’ll sit in her room with her when she’s sleeping. That’s when the danger is the closest. She doesn’t need someone else’s thoughts spinning around in her noggin.”
Magnolia’s eyes grew wide. “So that’s what’s goin’ on! But Jewel, what’s that got to do with our predicament?”
Jewel’s lashes fluttered, and she closed her eyes before answering.
“I don’t know, but these strange happenings are for a reason, you can bet your bottom dollar on that.” She opened her eyes and looked at Magnolia. “We need to keep watching and see what happens.”
~ * ~
ECHO HAD SITUATED HER oak desk so she could look out onto the terrace. During the hours when there were guests present, she pulled the heavy, midnight blue draperies over the windows for privacy—but today she needed the sun’s warmth to chase away the darkness that had seeped into her soul.
Shivering slightly, she switched on the computer. She needed a printout of the day’s registrations. Tucking her fears aside, she looked through her e-mail and answered correspondence. Her workday passed quickly as she busied herself with financial matters and telephone calls. Around four o’clock, she stood and stretched, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. A steaming mug of cappuccino sounded delightful. Suddenly, a sensation like a spider tickling her spine jolted her from her tasks. Whirling around, she spotted Jerrica standing in the doorway watching her intently.
Guiltily, Jerrica looked away for a moment, but Echo continued to watch her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized this wasn’t the first time she’d caught Jerrica studying her.
Jerrica looked up again and smiled sheepishly. “I-I’m sorry for starin’, but I just love watchin’ ya work. When you’re typing, I bet ya go over a hundred words a minute,” she said in a rush. “While you were out this mornin’, you got a couple of phone calls. What do you want to do about them?”
Echo took the slips of pink paper Jerrica was holding out to her. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment. Had Jerrica always watched her like this? Or was this new psychic awareness of hers related to the visions?
Echo shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. No, she didn’t want to think the supernatural had anything to do with it. A headache pounded at her temples, causing her stomach to squeeze with nausea. Closing her eyes, she massaged her temples with her fingertips. She would give anything to go back to her corner of the third floor, where she had a small apartment, and take a nap.
Opening her eyes, she looked at Jerrica. She appreciated Jerrica, she really did. The woman was especially invaluable in re-acquainting Echo with the small community and its idiosyncrasies. She’d learned a lot about the community with Jerrica’s help. The woman had been a great help, actually—but Echo still didn’t know how to take her. Jerrica had a strange way of looking right through a person—she went way beyond eccentric!
Echo shuddered, then turned her attention to the messages. “The high school music department?”
“They’re just confirmin’ their reservation for Sunday night.” She pulled a yellow pencil from the graying knot at her crown and readied to write in a small notebook she took from the pocket of her smock. “Any ideas about the menu?”
“Thank heavens that noisy group is two days off. I don’t think my head could stand the noise of twenty screeching, giggling teenage girls.” Echo wiped a bead of perspiration from her brow and dropped into her comfortable desk chair. “Just fix what you want. I trust your judgment.”
Her luck didn’t continue. The other message invited her to attend a city council meeting—tonight. She tapped a tapered fingernail against her front teeth as she formed a thought. “Have you seen Alexis?”
“Nooo. Why?” Jerrica questioned.
“I think I’ll ask her to go to the meeting for me. I just don’t feel very well.”
Alexis walked into the office, pausing when the conversation died. “What? Did I interrupt something? Were you two talking about me again?” Her beautiful face broke into a smile as she teased them.
“Yes, we were talking about you.” Echo laughed. “You’ve been asking for more responsibility ever since you started working here. It’s your lucky day! I need you to attend the city council meeting tonight.”
“Well...I-I’m not sure,” Alexis stammered. Her animated expression turned into one of uncertainty.
“I have a headache from hell, Lex. Please. Will you go for me or not?”
“How long have you had this headache?” Jerrica interrupted. Her eyes narrowed and she took a step closer.
“Jerrica, it has just been for a couple of hours. I think it was that awful food at the funeral.”
The woman smiled at her in a sweet, motherly fashion. “I don’t think a headache is part of food poisoning, dear. Oh, that poor Mr. McGuire. Every time I remember that sweet wife of his, I could just cry.” Jerrica’s barely lined face took on a look of concern as she shook her head, causing her unruly mop to wobble, making Echo smile through the pain. It didn’t look as if the knot would stand much more before it tumbled from its precarious perch. Apparently, Jerrica felt the erratic bobbing. She jammed the pencil back into the knot, stabilizing the heavy hair.
Poor man indeed! Echo’s stomach twisted with nausea.
Jerrica and Alexis moved toward her. “So? What do you say?” Echo asked Alexis.
The woman shook her head. “No! Send Jerrica. She can manage this.”
“Me? No way! I don’t know what goes on at those meetin’s.”
Echo sank back on to her chair. “Okay, what gives here? Do you have a date or something, Lex?” She hadn’t known Alexis to go anywhere with a man since her divorce.
Alexis’ face grew rosy under the scrutiny. “It’s nothing like that. I’ll meet him after the meeting. It won’t be late, will it?”
Standing, Echo said, “Nine o’clock probably. Who is he, Lex?” Echo looked at her friend. Alexis wouldn’t make eye contact with her, keeping her eyes averted. But why?
Alexis’ chest rose as she took a deep breath. “I’m going out to Paul’s ranch. He needs someone with him, especially tonight. Ann would have wanted that for him. After all, I was her friend.”
Echo couldn’t have been more surprised than if the floor had opened and she had fallen to the basement. Her stomach felt as if that had actually happened. “You can’t be serious, Lex!” she exclaimed. Alexis’ mouth dropped open, and she took a step back.
The movement brought Echo to her senses. “I-I’m sorry, Lex. I shouldn’t have said that. What are...are other people going to think when you go out there after nine tonight?” She couldn’t tell her friend about the vision. Would Alexis be in danger if Paul had really killed Ann? God only knew why he would have killed her. He could be crazy.
Alexis’ face contorted with fury. “What people are you talking about? Everyone loved Ann, but no one thinks a thing about Paul. He’s hurting and I’m going out to him as...a friend. I thought you’d be the one person who would understand.”
Jerrica had been standing silently near the door, but at Alexis’ words, she spoke up. “Now you just wait a minute, Alexis. Your friend cares about you. That’s why she’s showin’ all this concern. If you weren’t so darn riled up, you’d see that.”
Echo gave her a trembling smile and mouthed, “Thanks.”
“Okay, I’ll go, just quit badgering me.” Alexis’ shoulders sagged as the fight flew out of her. “I know you don’t feel well and I’m sorry, Echo. But I’m still going out to see him after the meeting.” She turned, her long hair whipping around behind her. The last thing Echo saw was her friend’s figure clad in tight, western cut jeans and a deep pink blouse as she blew out of the room.
~ * ~
ECHO WALKED FROM HER office and trudged up the staircase leading to the sleeping rooms. Looking over the balcony railing as she went up, she couldn’t help but admire the romantic surroundings of the dining room. The costly renovations had been worth it. If James hadn’t died, she would still be living a life of fear and regret. Echo mentally shook herself as guilt tried to overwhelm her. No. She couldn’t let herself feel this way. It wasn’t healthy.
After her divorce from James, he had become even more obsessed with her, and had stalked her mercilessly. After his death, when she received the money from his life insurance, she had been as surprised as his children from his first marriage that he had not changed the beneficiary.
They resented the fact that she inherited their father’s insurance money, and letters between their lawyer and hers had flown freely over the last three years. They wanted the money and, if it meant selling The Yellow Bordello, they didn’t care.
~ * ~
ECHO WALKED DOWN THE U-shaped balcony toward the front of the building and into her room. As she opened the door to the suite, chilly air rushed out, sending a shiver skittering up her spine. She felt like ice water had been thrown over her, flooding her body as it flushed the traces of the headache out with the residual heat. Heavy drapes shut out the sun, throwing the suite into a soothing darkness. As she went in the door, she kicked off the shoes she’d worn to the funeral, scooped them up and headed for the trashcan. They were ruined. Even degreaser couldn’t remove the chicken grease from them. The dense carpet of her living room tickled her toes and caressed her high arches, immediately relaxing her sore, tired feet.
The shoes made a horrific clatter as she dropped them into the empty container. The sound bounced around the hard surfaces in the kitchen. Although her living quarters had been the first area remodeled, she had done little in the way of decoration. She had been too busy getting the rest of the building ready. This room could become the next area to be decorated, with everything going smoothly in the hotel.
The gleaming white cabinets, white appliances, white tile floor and white walls amplified every sound. She needed some color in here, as well as in her life. The windows needed thick curtains, and a couple of racks with bright-colored towels would tone down some of the clatter. Reaching up to unravel her thick braid, Echo walked toward the bedroom. The conditioned air reached her damp scalp and continued to cool her. She inched her fingers through the heavy tresses, pulling the hair away from her head.
Every summer she thought about cutting the mass, but, she couldn’t bring herself to make an appointment. Besides, she liked it—most of the time, anyway. At this moment, she felt like Medusa, her hair sticking out from her head like snakes. Although her hands weren’t bronzed, she doubted her stare could turn anyone to stone.
Wooden blinds blocked the light from the room. Setting the cordless telephone on the nightstand beside the bed, Echo stripped and pulled the duvet-covered quilt back.
Feeling luxuriously relaxed as she let the cool material glide over her naked body, Echo stretched. She enjoyed sleeping with only a bottom sheet and her quilt. A top sheet twisted around her, confining her. A heavy blanket with the quilt felt too heavy—the weight smashing her down into the mattress. James had loved the heavy feel of thick blankets. Maybe she slept this way now to spite him.
Her stomach rolled.
No. She wouldn’t think of him as the demanding, controlling beast he had become toward the end of their marriage—the end of his life. She would think about how he had been at the beginning of their relationship. He’d showered her with gifts and attention, sweeping her off her feet. That should have been her first clue. If it sounded too good to be true, it probably was.
Sometimes she missed him so much, but other times she hated him for the way he had treated her.
Sleep descended and drew her into its depths as her mind rambled.
In her drowsy state, Echo felt as if she were floating; the feeling of the bedding against her body faded. She struggled unsuccessfully to open her eyes and panic raced through her unresponsive body.
Her body began a rhythmic twitching as the dark room faded. First her legs, then her arms moved in an erratic, jerky movement. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she feared they would break from the internal pressure.
Thump, whoosh.
Thump, whoosh.
There it was again, the deafening sound announcing the return of the vision.
As quickly as it had begun, the sound vanished, but in its place, a raw terror filled her mind. Echo didn’t know what was worse, the thunderous hammering of her heart, or the soft whisper of silence.
She listened intently. A faint sound became louder and louder, reaching a crescendo as a wave struck her consciousness, sweeping her into the vision.
No, no, no. Dread filled her. This couldn’t be happening again. She had convinced herself she had become delusional at the funeral.
Suddenly, she was absorbing all that Ann McGuire had ever felt, known, or experienced.
Ann’s heart was full as she smiled at her husband, Paul, standing in the middle of the boat bobbing up and down on the rolling ocean. It was so like him to give her wonderful presents, but scuba diving lessons went way beyond flowers and jewelry.
The instructor reached for her breathing regulator to adjust the position in her mouth. As he did, she gasped with surprise and toppled off the side of the boat, crashing into the water.
Her heart pounded irregularly as she fought, with her arms flailing, feet kicking, to bob up to the surface of the ocean. I’m going to die! The words screamed through her mind. She didn’t want to go... there were so many things she had to do!
She lost consciousness. The only sound she could hear was the beating of her heart pounding with an ever-slowing thump, whoosh through her ears. Then nothing.
~ * ~
“MAGGIE! GET IN HERE now!” Jewel screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if she awakened every living person in the house. She needed help. Echo had slipped into a daze of some sort. Everything she’d tried to awaken her had failed.
“What’s wrong, Jewel?” Magnolia asked as she appeared in the room
“Look at her...she won’t wake up. I think she’s going to die.”