Page 27
Story: In Her Eyes
She wraps her leftovers in her napkin and tosses them in the bag. “Can you tell me more about Alice?”
This surprises me. “You didn’t look her up on Google?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to be influenced by any outside sources.” She gestures for me to continue.
“Alice disappeared a week ago. Her roommate reported her missing in the morning when she realized Alice didn’t come home the night before and wasn’t at her job either. We confirmed that Alice worked the day before and left at five. Her car was found on the side of the road about an hour outside of town, with a tire blown out. The car was empty, except for the key fob, which was left inside.”
“Is she local?”
“Yes.”
“How old was she?”
“She was twenty-three.”
“And her family?”
“Her mother died when she was fourteen and she has no other family. Grew up in a group home.”
Ava gazes at the water. “That’s terrible.”
“It is.”
Her gaze drifts to the lake. Ava squints as if in deep thought. “Did you go back to the antique store?”
“Yes, that’s what I meant before—about having an interesting afternoon. The owner confirmed what you said. And he was quite angry about a civil war revolver?”
She laughs. “Did he say where he got the necklace from?”
Why am I telling her all of this? If anyone at the station finds out, I’ll not only be a laughingstock, but I’ll probably get fired. But she’s the first lead in the right direction I have, and my gut tells me to trust her. “Yes. From a small-time, local thug who’s been in jail once or twice for petty crimes.”
“How did you find that out?”
“Security cameras.”
“So, you watched Lynn and me go into the store . . .”
“And I watched the video of the thug selling the necklace to the store owner.”
She crosses her arms over the table. “Now what?”
“Now, I’ll pay our guy a visit and ask some questions.”
Her eyebrows scrunch. “Our guy?”
Why did I say that? We are not a team. I shake my head, more for myself than for her. “Did you remember anything else?”
She shivers. “No new information. But I had the visions again, and—”
“Is that normal? To have visions a second time without touching anything?”
“No, it’s never happened to me before. But I think I know why I had the visions again.”
“Why?” I lean closer to her, my torso halfway over the table.
“Because right after I had the visions, I saw Alice’s spirit standing in my room. And she asked for my help.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. My jaw locks, and I force myself to smooth my features. I push the words out. “What do you mean, you saw Alice standing in your room?”
This surprises me. “You didn’t look her up on Google?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to be influenced by any outside sources.” She gestures for me to continue.
“Alice disappeared a week ago. Her roommate reported her missing in the morning when she realized Alice didn’t come home the night before and wasn’t at her job either. We confirmed that Alice worked the day before and left at five. Her car was found on the side of the road about an hour outside of town, with a tire blown out. The car was empty, except for the key fob, which was left inside.”
“Is she local?”
“Yes.”
“How old was she?”
“She was twenty-three.”
“And her family?”
“Her mother died when she was fourteen and she has no other family. Grew up in a group home.”
Ava gazes at the water. “That’s terrible.”
“It is.”
Her gaze drifts to the lake. Ava squints as if in deep thought. “Did you go back to the antique store?”
“Yes, that’s what I meant before—about having an interesting afternoon. The owner confirmed what you said. And he was quite angry about a civil war revolver?”
She laughs. “Did he say where he got the necklace from?”
Why am I telling her all of this? If anyone at the station finds out, I’ll not only be a laughingstock, but I’ll probably get fired. But she’s the first lead in the right direction I have, and my gut tells me to trust her. “Yes. From a small-time, local thug who’s been in jail once or twice for petty crimes.”
“How did you find that out?”
“Security cameras.”
“So, you watched Lynn and me go into the store . . .”
“And I watched the video of the thug selling the necklace to the store owner.”
She crosses her arms over the table. “Now what?”
“Now, I’ll pay our guy a visit and ask some questions.”
Her eyebrows scrunch. “Our guy?”
Why did I say that? We are not a team. I shake my head, more for myself than for her. “Did you remember anything else?”
She shivers. “No new information. But I had the visions again, and—”
“Is that normal? To have visions a second time without touching anything?”
“No, it’s never happened to me before. But I think I know why I had the visions again.”
“Why?” I lean closer to her, my torso halfway over the table.
“Because right after I had the visions, I saw Alice’s spirit standing in my room. And she asked for my help.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. My jaw locks, and I force myself to smooth my features. I push the words out. “What do you mean, you saw Alice standing in your room?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124