Deadly Prophecy: A Second Sight Series Spin-Off, Page 3

  Wordlessly, they both watched her approach. Declan inwardly cringed as he watched Kate trip over the curb and almost bite it in front of the restaurant. So much for maintaining a professional appearance, Declan thought wryly.

  Kate rushed inside and Declan found all of the air in the room disappeared with her presence. He had no idea why he was experiencing the same magnetism with Kate he had shared with Jenna earlier. Kate was pretty, but not in the put-together way like Jenna. Jenna’s entire appearance portrayed refinement. Kate looked like she closed her eyes and grabbed the first thing out of her closet—a pair of well-worn jeans with a small hole starting in the knee and a faded yellow t-shirt.

  With a huge grin, Kate waved to them both and plopped down in the chair next to him. Her light brown hair was clipped to her neck with a few loose wavy tendrils managing to escape when she almost fell. Kate’s hazel eyes gave him an expectant look, forcing Declan to realize she was waiting for an introduction.

  “Kate, this is Jenna Carnavale. Jenna, this is Kate Edwards.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you. Declan called this morning and told me all about your brother.” Kate’s eyes softened while she lowered her dark lashes. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through right now. I promise we’ll help you in any way we can.”

  Jenna’s shoulders relaxed while she leaned forward. “Thank you. I was so nervous you wouldn’t take my case. I know it’s not your usual area of expertise, but I’ll take any help I can get. And name your price–whatever it is, I can pay it.”

  Kate waved her hand in front of her. “We only want to help. Most of our cases are pro bono anyway.”

  Declan stared at Kate as if she had grown another head. Not for the first time, he questioned the soundness of going into business with her. “That may sound gallant, but not entirely true.”

  Kate winked at Jenna. “Ignore Declan. He’s just worried he won’t be able to make the payments on his new Camaro.” Declan only rolled his eyes, not bothering to correct her. His newly acquired car was a Ford Mustang, but Kate was flighty when it came to remembering details. Kate tilted forward and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Whatever you feel comfortable with paying us is fine. But I promise it won’t affect what kind of effort we put into helping you.”

  Declan decided to let go of his frustration. He was already irritated and if Kate continued to bait him, he would lose his cool in front of Jenna.

  Declan’s eyes were drawn to Kate’s ring finger as she continued to talk to Jenna. Jenna was repeating the story of Tilda, while every few seconds Kate would give an appreciative nod. His stomach felt like he received a gut punch as he stared at the glittering diamond that now sat upon Kate’s ring finger.

  “Declan?” Kate’s sharp voice shook him out of his reverie. By the way the women were staring at him, he must’ve checked out of the conversation for some time.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “I asked you if we should order sandwiches before we discuss the case more.”

  “Always thinking of food first. Don’t chicks usually try to slim down before their weddings?”

  Kate’s eyes burned into his, but she didn’t reply. He had tried to make a joke to break the tension, but obviously she had heard the undercurrent of bitterness in his tone. She was too well-versed at seeing things through his bullshit.

  “Oh, I thought I picked up on something between the two of you. Are you engaged?” Jenna asked swinging her head back and forth between them.

  Kate guffawed. “Not likely. Declan can’t commit to a favorite color, so committing to one woman will probably never happen.”

  “I happen to like all the colors. What’s wrong with that?” He shrugged. “And for the record, if I did decide to propose to a girl, I would’ve never bought a used ring. I know Jared is just a detective, but couldn’t he afford to get you something from this decade?”

  Jumping up, Kate threw her foot out and nailed him in the shin. Declan yelped as she glared down at him. “It was his mother’s, you ass.” She spun on her heel. “Get your own damn sandwich.” Without a backwards glance, she stormed away towards the counter.

  Jenna’s cheeks had colored and Declan’s face fell—so much for not making an ass out of himself. Kate’s engagement had reverted him back to behaving like a fifth grader. Teasing each other was a normal part of his friendship with Kate, but Declan knew he had gone too far. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a shitty couple of days. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  Jenna nodded, seemingly accepting his apology. “It’s okay. You and Kate are exes I take it?”

  Declan drummed his fingers against his thigh and tried to figure out a way to explain their complex relationship. “I had a vision of us as a couple before I met her. I thought it meant we were supposed to be together. We hooked up one night, but in the end, she chose the other guy.”

  “But you still work together?”

  “We’re friends too.” Jenna’s eyes filled with skepticism. “I know it doesn’t look like that, but we are.” At the moment, he was taking advantage of their close friendship. Kate’s loyalty would prevent her from staying mad at him. If he had to take a guess, Kate would likely forgive him as soon as she returned from the sandwich counter.

  Jenna bobbed her head up and down. “My ex got another girl pregnant a month after we broke up, so I understand how you feel. I hadn’t moved on and here he was starting a family with a woman he had just met.”

  Declan opened his mouth to reply, but quieted down as he saw Kate snake her way back through the tables towards them. He was going to tell Jenna he had moved on; almost a year had passed since Kate chose Jared over him. But his behavior obviously told a different story.

  Chapter Three

  “So, tell us exactly what happened to your brother,” Kate commanded. Kate was giving Declan another free pass, not dwelling on their fight like he anticipated. Declan should’ve been grateful for the reprieve, but it didn’t lessen the sick feeling he had felt in his stomach from the moment he heard Kate was engaged.

  Jenna patiently detailed again how Derek had been at a beach house with his friends the night he was killed. Kate asked the appropriate questions and made clucking noises of sympathy as Jenna told her the more gruesome bits: multiple stab wounds on his chest and a deep slash across his throat that almost decapitated him. No eyewitnesses and no obvious suspects. One theory the police presented had involved Derek getting ambushed on his walk to the liquor store and the perpetrator forcing him into a vehicle. Jenna had a different idea.

  “I think Derek’s friends know more than they are telling police,” Jenna stated grimly and leaned back in her chair. “First of all, they didn’t report him missing until the next afternoon although he was supposed to come back after a quick beer run.” She ticked off her fingers for emphasis. “Secondly, their timeline has changed several times. There were five people in that house and none of them can give an exact time when Derek left for the store. But the police seem to chalk it up to drinking.”

  “Jenna, we’ll do whatever we can to help.” Kate gnawed on her lower lip while casting an uneasy glance at Declan. “The only thing is we don’t normally work on this type of case. We may be able to tell you who killed Derek, but without any other evidence….”

  Declan nodded automatically, picking up on Kate’s logic. “The police won’t make an arrest based on psychic testimony.” After finishing her thought, he added, “We can point them in the right direction, but it could be worse for you.”

  “How so?” Jenna asked.

  “Because you may have to live with the fact whoever killed your brother isn’t going to be punished for the crime.”

  Jenna’s eyes flashed. “I’m not worried about that part. If I know who killed him, I will make it my personal mission that the person is held accountable.”

  Kate took a tentative bite of her turkey sandwich and chewed deliberately. She gave Declan several meaningful looks, but he shrugged in response. If Jen
na knew the risks, he didn’t want to talk her out of hiring them. And moreover, there was a chance their visions could help the police locate newly discovered evidence.

  Jenna had sounded emotional on the phone, but she seemed calmer in person. Her mouth was set in a severe line and she appeared resolute over finding out who took her brother away from her. He had been struck by her softness and femininity when he first saw her, but she had been hiding an underlying fierceness. Evidently, she wasn’t going to lie down and accept whatever hand life had decided to deal her. Declan respected that quality.

  Kate set aside her sandwich. “Look, I’m not trying to scare you off or tell you we won’t help. I only want you to understand that our abilities aren’t a perfect science. We don’t control the type of visions we see. We may get into the memories of Derek’s friends and find nothing to help solve the case. This isn’t to say his friends are innocent. Put simply, we don’t have the ability to pick and choose our visions. We may witness only the inane moments of their lives and not have any flashes of that night at the beach house.”

  Declan jumped in quickly. “But there is a strong possibility we’ll have a vision detailing exactly how and why Derek was murdered. My theory is the visions we see are the thoughts at the forefront of your mind. If you killed someone, you will be thinking back to that moment.” He added as an afterthought, “But what you do with that information is up to you. Even if the police can’t prosecute, maybe the details surrounding his death can bring you closure.”

  Jenna appeared satisfied. “Great. When can you get started?”

  Kate looked poised to argue, but he continued in a rush. “For starters, we’ll need as much information as you can get us about Derek and his friends. For us to have a vision, we need a visual representation of the person. Gather up any photos you have of Derek’s friends or point us somewhere online where we can see their pictures.”

  Kate remained uncharacteristically quiet as Jenna and Declan ironed out the details. Jenna gave Declan the names of the five friends who stayed with Derek at the beach house. While Jenna collected photos of the friends, Declan could do some preliminary research and try to locate their social media profiles online. Jenna would also let them know if she thought of anyone else who would want to harm her brother.

  After wrapping up the case details, Declan and Kate walked Jenna out of the restaurant and promised to be in touch. Declan watched Jenna drive off in a silver BMW, his mind whirring with the possibilities of who killed her brother. He needed a case to throw himself into and unmasking a murderer was a challenge. But his normal caseload was often just as daunting. Finding someone who had been kidnapped alive and well was a rarity in his business. The truth was most people who disappeared without a trace were likely killed shortly after being taken. Or they had simply checked out of their current life and didn’t want to be found. It led to a lot of disappointments in his work. Very few people wanted to write out a check unless a happy reunion was in the cards. The upshot of the Carnavale case was Jenna wasn’t poised for a positive outcome—she knew exactly what she was getting into by hiring them.

  Before he could ask Kate her opinion on the case, she shoved him hard. His back slammed into the brick siding of the restaurant. He glared down at her as she twisted her lips into a hateful expression. “What the hell was that?”

  “What are you talking about?” He held up his hands in surrender. “I told you what she wanted over the phone. Not every case is going to be about someone missing.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. You’ve been a bastard since yesterday and now embarrassed me in front of a client.”

  “You’re the one who kicked me and made a scene. I was joking with you; it’s how we always are.” Kate opened her mouth to retort, but he rallied on. “I don’t know why you’re so sensitive about getting married to Jared. Maybe it’s a mental problem. Have you talked to your mom about it? Maybe your parents’ divorce has given you commitment issues.”

  “Or maybe you’re a dick. Yes, we always rag on each other, but this was different. You called me fat and made fun of my ring.”

  “You act like such a girl sometimes. I always tease you about how much you eat and your relationship with Jared. Stop being so uptight.” He wouldn’t relent and own up to his jealousy. Even if he wanted to be honest about his feelings, he didn’t have the words to describe what was going on in his heart. He wanted Kate, but he didn’t want Kate. He couldn’t make sense of the inner conflict.

  “We’ve been friends for a while now and I know you, Dec. I know when you’re messing with me and when something else is going on.” After a long sigh, she said shakily, “You’re not happy about the engagement.”

  He guffawed. “Christ, Kate; leave it alone. My life doesn’t revolve around you and your convoluted love life. I said I’m happy for you. What else do you want? Should I throw you a bridal shower? Offer to give you away at the wedding?”

  Kate took an uncertain step away from him. “No. I thought you would be my friend and Jared’s friend. I assumed you would be a decent human being and realize I’m finally happy after almost losing Jared. Twice. I can’t change what happened between me and you, but if you can’t deal with it, then maybe we should reconsider a partnership.” She crossed her arms across her chest, staring him down with a challenging look.

  Her ultimatum surprised him. She struggled after her psychic powers materialized, making her world-weary. Typically, she avoided confrontations and was the master at forcing optimism on everyone in her vicinity. Although they traded barbs, there was never any heat behind their words. But she was no longer joking. He could tell she was fed up with him and ready to walk at any further signs of provocation.

  Declan stared over her head into the parking lot. “We’re good. I swear. Maybe my jokes were tasteless, but I didn’t mean any harm. We make a good team and it would be stupid to walk away from what we started to build together.”

  Kate stared at him for a long moment, apparently weighing whether to accept his halfhearted apology or leave him for good. His heart thudded against his rib cage as he tried to look outwardly nonplussed. The threat of her leaving not only their business but also their friendship grounded him. Finally, she said, “Fine, but our business needs ground rules.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “What kind of rules?”

  “For one, there will be no sleeping with the clients.” Declan’s jaw dropped as Kate continued on. Maybe her powers did extend to mind reading. “Don’t give me that faux innocent look. I saw the way you were checking out Jenna’s boobs and picturing her with no clothes on. We can’t have you scorning women who have come to us for help.”

  Declan thought the rule was completely unnecessary, but his relationship with Kate was shaky at the minute. He would relent to appease her. Although he wouldn’t admit that he actually agreed with her logic. Sex with Jenna would muddle the client-and-psychic dynamic. But damn, he wished she weren’t his client. More than once over the course of lunch, his mind went into the gutter and mentally stripped off Jenna’s clothes.

  “Fine, “ he said with feigned huffiness. “My rule is to stop hitting me. If we’re working together, I can’t be worried about your violent urges.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “You bring out the worst in me. Sometimes I feel like I’m Daffy Duck and you’re Bugs Bunny and you’re just looking for ways to work me into a frenzy.”

  “And sometimes you say things and I pray you’re being ironic.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a charming smile. “This case can be the start of something great for us. Jenna Carnavale’s family is loaded with all sorts of connections in New York and New Jersey. They own a huge party planning business catering to celebrities and the rich with loads of disposable income. If we solve Derek’s case, it will be the best kind of advertising.”

  Kate frowned at him, but didn’t voice her displeasure. He didn’t want to come across as uncaring, but she had a tendency to forget he
was a survivor at his core. Always, he’d use his abilities for his own personal gain first and foremost. If others happened to benefit, then that was simply an added bonus.

  “I have to go, but text me what you find on Derek. Maybe we could split the suspects up and see if they’re hiding anything.” Shouldering her purse closer to her body, she added, “And no meeting with Jenna on your own. I have to chaperone to make sure you keep your pants on.”

  Declan rolled his eyes. “You act like I have no self-control. I can go out tonight and bring home someone with me in ten seconds flat. I don’t shit where I eat.”

  Making a non-committal noise in the back of her throat, Kate lifted her eyebrows. “Great policy. I’ll buy you a t-shirt with that saying for your birthday so you don’t forget it.”

  He spun around before calling back to her in a dismissive tone, “Goodbye, Kit Kat.”

  Chapter Four

  “Kate, we need to talk,” Jared said, leaning back in his chair. Kate sat across from him, unsuccessfully twirling spaghetti around her fork. Before she could bring the fork to her mouth, the strands slipped back onto her plate. Her brow furrowed as she brought her attention back to Jared. Her fork dropped with a clank against the side of the plate.

  “If you’re going to break up with me, please don’t do it in the most clichéd way possible,” she said. Although humor was in her voice, the tension was palpable too. Her tone was unnaturally high-pitched and her cheeks flushed a deep red. Apparently, the idea of Jared ending things with her was an underlying fear.

  They were dining in a small, but crowded, restaurant. The couple was evidently celebrating some sort of occasion since Kate was wearing a dress, a rarity in her wardrobe. Her discomfort in the black sheath was apparent as she pulled at the sides of the skirt. While waiting for him to speak, her eyes darted around the room nervously. On the other hand, Jared looked relaxed and at ease in his polo shirt and slacks.